Ellen Talks to Beauty Guru NikkieTutorials About Blackmail That Led to Her Coming Out: WATCH
Ellen DeGeneres sat down with popular YouTube beauty guru Nikkie De Jager (NikkieTutorials) about her recent coming out as transgender and the blackmail attempt that led her to do it.
Said De Jager: “A couple of weeks ago I got emails from a certain person and he was not okay with the fact that I was ‘lying’ and he wanted to expose that. He had a very pressuring voice and was like, ‘if we don’t get an answer by tomorrow, it’s out.’ I feel like his whole goal with this was to destroy my life. But plot twist. That didn’t happen.”
BLACK GAY TEENAGER SHOT AND KILLED IN LOUISIANA, FAMILY WANTS FBI INVESTIGATION, CITING LOCAL SHERIFF’S CONFLICTS OF INTEREST: Ja’Quarius Taylor, 17, described as “loving, funny and full of life”, was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head near a lake on Jan 12, reports Jade Cunningham (@Cunningham_JL) of 4WWL in New Orleans. The family, from Washington Parish north of New Orleans, said in a statement issued by their attorney: “The family has a legal team to help ensure a full, fair, and just investigation is happening. We hope the FBI will get involved because of the perceived conflicts of interest and family relations the local sheriff may have. We’re looking at this as a hate crime based on the race and sexual orientation of Ja’Quarius Taylor.” Read and watch more at 4WWL.
A Washington Parish family wants answers after their 17-year-old son was shot and killed. What his classmates had to say coming up at 6 on @WWLTVpic.twitter.com/YHllZFAWoL
RECORD NUMBER OF FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES NOW PROTECT TRANS EMPLOYEES: HRC’s 2020 Corporate Equality Index reports that 91% of Fortune 500 companies have explicit gender identity non-discrimination protections in their company policies. In total, 98% of the companies HRC reviewed offer similar protections for transgender employees, up from 5% in 2002. Read more from Sam Manzella (@_sammanzella) at NewNowNext.
WHAT WE’RE READING WEDNESDAY — HRC IN DAVOS TO ADVOCATE FOR LGBTQ EQUALITY: HRC is in Davos this week for the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting where government leaders, CEOs and other decision-makers gather to address the most pressing issues on the global agenda. HRC President Alphonso David, along with several HRC staffers, are on-the-ground to ensure that LGBTQ equality is at the forefront of that agenda. Also in Davos yesterday, HRC launched the 2020 Corporate Equality Index at an event hosted by the Partnership for Global LGBTI Equality. More from HRC.
NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR PHIL MURPHY SIGNS LEGISLATION BANNING “LGBTQ PANIC” LEGAL DEFENSE: “We will always stand with our LGBTQ+ community and promote full equality for all our residents,” said Murphy (@GovMurphy). “‘LGBTQ panic’ defenses are rooted in homophobia and abhorrent excuses that should never be used to justify violence against vulnerable populations. With this new law, we are enacting critical measures to protect our friends and neighbors in the LGBTQ+ community.” More from NJ.gov.
HRC JOINS THOUSANDS OF LGBTQ ACTIVISTS FROM THE U.S. AND AROUND THE WORLD AT 2020 CREATING CHANGE CONFERENCE: More from Washington Blade.
We had a great time at Creating Change #CC20
✔️ meeting advocates
✔️ sharing best practices
✔️ learning emerging trends
✔️ meeting you! pic.twitter.com/hEvywzzxHQ
GET CULTURED – Entertainment, arts and sports news!
49ERS’ KATIE SOWERS TO MAKE HISTORY AS FIRST FEMALE AND OPENLY LGBTQ PERSON TO COACH AT A SUPER BOWL: “No matter what you do in life, one of the most important things is to be true to who you are,” Sower (@KatieSowers) told Outsports in 2017 when she publicly came out. “There are so many people who identify as LGBT in the NFL, as in any business, that do not feel comfortable being public about their sexual orientation.” Sower was the second woman hired as a full-time coach for an NFL team and the first openly LGBTQ coach in the league’s history. More from CBS.
Congratulations to @49ers assistant coach @KatieSowers, who will become the first female and first openly gay coach to compete in the #SuperBowl! ��️����
POSE CO-CREATOR STEVEN CANALS TO PARTNER WITH 20TH CENTURY FOX TV: “I’m grateful to be partnering with 20th to continue creating original content that centers diverse voices and moves the industry’s needle toward more inclusion and equity,” Canals (@StevenCanals) told Deadline. Pose made history for featuring the largest number of trans actors ever cast in regular roles for a scripted series. More from Deadline.
BROADWAY POWER COUPLE RICHIE JACKSON AND JORDAN ROTH ON TRUMP ATTENDING THEIR WEDDING AND RAISING A GAY SON: Richie shares with The Daily Beast the experience of Trump attending his 2012 wedding as a friend of his new father-in-law, and writing Gay Like Me for his son, who is growing up the era of Trump-Pence. “It has been very painful,” Richie wrote, looking back at Trump’s attendance at the wedding. “It is a complete betrayal that some people in our family continue to support him.” More from Tim Teeman (@TimeTeeman) from The Daily Beast.
GLOBAL EQUALITY NEWS
KOSOVO BASIC COURT OF PRISHTINA AFFIRMS TRANSGENDER RIGHTS IN LANDMARK DECISION: In December, the court affirmed the right of transgender citizen Blert Morina to change his name and sex marker on personal identification documents. More from Kosovo 2.0.
OTTAWA TO BE HOME TO CANADA’S NEW LGBTQ NATIONAL MONUMENT: More from Ottawa Citizen.
READING RAINBOW – Bookmark now to read on your lunch break! Entertainment Weekly reports that RuPaul’s Drag Race icon and superstar RuPaul (@RuPaul) to host SNL for the first time; Iowa Democrats shares a special message from LGBTQ and Deaf advocate Nyle DiMarco (@NyleDiMarco) to Iowa voters
For the first time in #IACaucus history, we are offering people who need an accommodation a chance to request one for their caucus site. Just one more way these will be our most accessible caucuses in @iowademocrats history. Thank you @NyleDiMarco for helping to spread the word! t.co/knB0pxOm8M
GLAAD celebrates bisexual+ representation amongst the nominees for the 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards
Credit: NBC/ESPN
The 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards nominations were announced on January 8, and this year’s selections included several incredible projects showcasing positive representations of the bisexual community.
According to GLAAD’s Where We Are on TV 2019-2020 report, there was a slight decrease in the percentage of bisexual characters on television in the past year, but up to 128 characters from 117 in the previous report. Despite the lingering appearances of harmful tropes about bisexual people in the media, there are still many positive and worthy representations throughout this year’s nominees for the 31st GLAAD Annual Media Awards.
This year, NBCs Brooklyn Nine Nine is again nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series. Following a diverse group of detectives based in New York, the show features two LGBTQ leads – including a bisexual Latina detective named Rosa Diaz, who is portrayed by bisexual actress Stephanie Beatriz. Throughout the series, Rosa’s character is unapologetic about her sexuality while also facing many of her own personal challenges, including coming out to her parents and striking a balance between her love for work and her love for her girlfriend.
Schitt’s Creek returns to the 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards as a nominee for Outstanding Comedy Series. Emmy-nominated showrunner, writer, and actor Dan Levy stars as David Rose, one of the first openly pansexual characters depicted on television. The show captures a wealthy dysfunctional family that loses everything and must rebuild in Schitt’s Creek. When he recently received GLAAD’s Davidson/Valentini Award at the 2019 GLAAD Gala San Francisco, Levy said that the vision behind Schitt’s Creek was “to create a place where everybody fits in, where love is celebrated and peoples differences are a way to start conversations.”
Breaking barriers for the LGBTQ community and people of color, Vida highlights the importance of bisexual visibility and acceptance in Hollywood. Melissa Barrera and Mishel Prada portray the captivating story of two Latina sisters restarting their lives in their childhood home after the death of their mother. Barrera portrays Lyn, who fearlessly lives her truth as a bisexualwoman after finding out her late mother identified as queer as well. Nominated once again for Outstanding Comedy Series, ‘Vida’ promotes open conversation about the bisexual+ community and cultural acceptance. Vida won the GLAAD Award for Outstanding Comedy Series at the 30th Annual GLAAD Media Awards.
Apple TV+ received its first nomination this year for Dickinson, which sees Hailee Steinfeld graciously portray Emily Dickinson, one of the greatest poets of all time. Dickinson explores Emily’s romantic relationships with men and women, and how these relationships connect to her growth as a poet in the 1850s. The Outstanding Comedy Series nominee pushes the conversation for understanding, acceptance, and equality for women and the bisexual community.
MTV’s Are You the One – nominated for Outstanding Reality Program – made history this past season with its first ever sexually fluid cast. During the season, sixteen LGBTQ strangers from around the world live together in Hawaii while trying to find their perfect match for the chance to win one million dollars. Each week, the contestants have the opportunity to mingle and match with anyone in the house or they risk saying losing all that money. This season includes open and accepting conversations about underrepresentation of bi+ people in media.
Another series nominated this year for Outstanding Reality Program this year is Bachelor in Paradise. This past season, Demi Burnett became the first openly bisexual contestant to ever appear on the show. Bachelor in Paradise is an ABC dating show that brings singles from previous seasons of The Bachelor to paradise for a second chance at love. On the show, Demi Burnett unapologetically came out as bisexual and created room for a more inclusive conversation about sexuality.
With her talk show A Little Late with Little Singh, comedian Lilly Singh became the first openly bisexual person, as well as the first person of Indian descent, to host an American major broadcast network late night talk show. In her segment “Lilly is Struggling to Date Women” – which is nominated for Outstanding Variety or Talk Show Episode – Singh is honest about her new experiences as she becomes more familiar with dating women. As a result, Lilly continues to not only combat stereotypes about bisexuality, but also increases visibility and representation for LGBTQ people of color.
In August 2019, 27 year old NFL free agent Ryan Russell revealed he is bisexual and appeared in an ESPN segment titled “Ryan Russell Reveals His Truth,” where he shared his story with the hope of inspiring and influencing other LGBTQ athletes around the world. In the segment, which is nominated for Outstanding TV Journalism Segment, Russell talks about losing his best friend in 2018, and how that inspired him to decide to live his truth and come out as bisexual. Set free, Russell’s story of triumph has helped to create a greater conversation surrounding LGBTQ inclusion in the NFL and beyond.
The 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards f ature several other series, films, and projects that highlight bisexual representation, including Batwoman, Euphoria, Killing Eve, The L Word: Generation Q, The Politician, and Shadowhunters, Adam, Rent: Live, Transparent: Musicale Finale, Mrs. Fletcher, Tales of the City, and The Loud House. For a full list of nominees for the 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards, click here. A tip sheet with a breakdown of nominations by media and trends among the nominees is also available here.
Then there’s that time he purchased a gay-oriented Miami Beach hostel for a pool boy he met at a nearby resort. The evangelical Christian was then photographed dancing at a club nearby.
Basically, from Miami Beach to Lynchburg, Virginia, the country’s most prominent evangelical seems to be living the life of a kind of international playboy. Suddenly his support for libertine Donald Trump makes more sense.
While these episodes have damaged his reputation—and critics are reveling in the moralist’s rank hypocrisy—I’d like to discuss a more serious topic that’s gone under the media’s radar that I believe is even more damning. It involves not just allegations of Falwell’s profligate lifestyle but the very well-being and safety of Liberty’s LGBTQ+ students.
As a reluctant alumnus of Falwell Jr.’s institution, I have a personal testimonial to add to the conversation surrounding LU’s legitimacy that will hopefully shed light on the kind of school that Falwell is running while he indulges in a lavish, student-funded lifestyle.
My story begins in a drop-ceiling, dark room in the back of a quiet Liberty academic wing as a 2008 freshman where I was sitting next to a fellow student raptured in prayer. The ambiance of this “prayer room,” a space aptly named for its daily use, was curated by the school in an attempt to create a reflective atmosphere to focus its visitors’ attention on God, sin, and things eternal.
This room also doubled as a waiting room for Pastor Dane Emerick, the man who “counseled” men struggling with “sexual sin” and who continues this work today at Liberty as Associate Director of Community Life. As I sat there listening to the prayer of my neighbor, I could not stop fidgeting.
Frankly, I was thinking less about Jesus at that moment and more about the secret I would be divulging in a matter of minutes.
I had hidden this carefully-kept secret up until this moment, my freshman year at Liberty. In fact, in all my religious zeal as a somewhat recent convert, I chose to attend Liberty, in large part, to address my secret, to work through it, and become “fixed.” The problem I didn’t realize at the time is that you can’t fix what ain’t broken, and my secret—the fact that I’m gay—didn’t need to be shared with an untrustworthy man who, from all appearances, had a problematic preoccupation with pornography, masturbation, and homosexuality.
But, at the time, I thought I was worthy of a “cure,” and so I, a nervous wreck, sat in the dark prayer room, waiting.
In this room, I ran through a series of questions. Was it really safe to tell him that I’m gay? Was he actually not going to report me to student conduct? Were my professors or resident advisors—or (heaven forbid) my mother—going to find out?
I had preemptively tried to ensure that I wouldn’t be outed by Pastor Dane before meeting in-person. I wanted to know whether or not I would be punished for sharing that I liked men or for having found myself in the arms of another man at the beginning of the school year. (And this man was not just any man—he was none other than one of my dorm’s Spiritual Life Directors, the supposed byword of evangelical purity.)
Contemplating the best method to reach out to Pastor Dane after my encounter with my Spiritual Life Director, I created an anonymous e-mail address to inquire about his reparative “therapy” services. And as a Canadian boy in line with the gay stereotype of living outside the world of sports, I concocted a real doozy, a virtual name that would be as far away from my eighteen-year-old-self as possible: texasfootballfan@——.com, or something along those lines.
Pastor Dane responded, informing me that I would indeed not be punished if I were to share with him any information regarding my sexuality or sexual history. So, I decided to go ahead and meet the guy. But as I waited in the shadowy prayer room, the reality that my secret was about to come to light set in. There was no longer anything that could conceal it, except for me bolting for the exit before he opened his office door.
But before I had time to run, Pastor Dane emerged from his small office, saying goodbye to another male student and hello to me. He was older, married with children and grandchildren, with a high, faltering voice. After he greeted me and upon trading in small talk in his dimly-lit office, I tensely sat in front of this man who promised that “there is victory in Christ over homosexuality,” that “things would be okay,” and that we would “work things out.”
Pastor Dane asked me a series of highly personal questions about myself, my family, my relationship to my mum and dad (oh how strangely Freudian he was for a Christian “minister” who rejected the scientific and medical consensus that homosexuality is perfectly healthy). These unsettling conversations that came to define our weekly meetings would take place over the span of my four undergrad years.
After sharing scripture with me and handing me my workbook—Alan Medinger’s Growth into Manhood: Resuming the Journey—a reparative therapy manual written by an “ex-gay”—he told me that I didn’t have to choose to be gay, that if I set my eyes on Christ and if I found that one “special girl” (there is so much to say here, but I shall refrain), I could live a life of godly normalcy. And, at the time and for years to come, I thoroughly believed it.
Talking embarrassedly about my predilection for men in our first meeting, sitting in my cherry-red, American Eagle hoodie (about which I should have been infinitely more embarrassed and for which I still hold my college-self accountable), I entered the dark world of gay reparative therapy. Repression, deep-seated shame, self-hatred: These were the enduring fruits of my meetings with Pastor Dane—not, as you surely anticipated, attraction to any “special girl.”
My experiences at Liberty and in gay reparative therapy are unexceptional in the literal sense of the word. There were and are many students at Liberty and other Christian colleges who, like me, were and are forced to live in queer subterfuge, in fear of being ostracized and reprimanded for simply being themselves and who undergo similar bogus “therapy” sessions.
Because being gay is considered antithetical to LU’s campus ethos, few students—if any—were out and/or proud about their sexuality when I was in attendance. Needless to say, though other students on campus knew about the conversion therapy program’s existence, those of us in conversion therapy certainly did not publicize our weekly meetings with Pastor Dane.
At Liberty, homosexuality (and any other “deviant” category located under the umbrella of the LGBTQIA+ acronym) is both considered a sin and, according to the school’s honor code, a punishable one at that. Students are reprimanded for homosexual conduct, under threat of expulsion. And Liberty still offers reparative therapy today for those who seek it, just like the “therapy” I went through from 2008–2012.
Among the numerous ways that Liberty policed student sexuality—from strict rules surrounding PDA to its no-sex or pornography policy (good luck with that)—the least talked about, but certainly one of the most toxic aspects, is its reparative therapy program led by Pastor Dane.
Freshman year at Liberty
Such “therapy” wreaks emotional, psychological, and, indeed, spiritual damage. Unsurprisingly, it does not assist individuals in working through their psychological issues that are often connected to homophobia such as sexism and toxic masculinity. Instead, it demands that participants integrate such pathologies and internalize the homophobia that so rampantly surrounds them. Yes, these were the souvenirs I took with me after my time in Pastor Dane’s “therapy.” Reparative? No. Damaging? No doubt.
In addition to the overwhelming number of members and leaders of ex-gay ministries who have renounced earlier assertions about being able to change their sexual orientations, all professional scientific organizations make clear that sexual orientation cannot be chosen or changed and thus contest conversion therapy. These include the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Medical Association, the American Psychoanalytic Association, to name just a few.
Because of its reparative therapy program, along with the disappointingly poor education I and many of my fellow alumni received at LU—which in its own right is cause for serious investigation—I believe it is high time to re-evaluate Liberty’s legitimacy as a university.
Putting aside the impassioned vitriol that was heaped on the LGBTQ+ community in several of my classes, I was taught, for instance, the ten reasons why the Bible supports capitalism; how the earth was created 10-15 thousand years ago; how women ought to submit to men in marriage; etc. And all of this was taught in courses for which I received “academic” credit—reason enough for the Southern Association of Schools and Colleges to re-examine Liberty’s accreditation.
But just as importantly, for a university in 2020 to house a reparative therapy program that creates a sexual climate of fear and loathing calls into serious question its status as a genuine university, that is, as a place of actual higher education. Put differently, willful ignorance toward scientific findings, in tandem with the direct assault against queer students’ well-being, does not a university make.
When I look back on my four years at Liberty, particularly my time with Pastor Dane, I am deeply saddened by the part of my youth that I wasted. To have had a normal undergrad experience—and a gay one at that—is still a foreign concept to me, something I refused myself in the name of, what I believed to be, godly living.
I wish that I could go back to tell Pastor Dane, who is still doing his dirty business at Liberty, that his “therapy” service has ruined and is ruining lives. I wish that I could go back and tell every queer student at LU that God’s not angry at them, that if anyone is angry, it is the ever-shrinking tide of evangelicals who lash out and judge everyone else yet refuse to look at their own sin. And I wish I could go back and tell my eighteen-year-old self that my sexuality is something to be embraced, not refused, and that I am loved and loved deeply for precisely who I am.
However, as I do not have many contacts left on campus (particularly not my eighteen-year-old self), my remaining energy is best spent using my experience in gay reparative therapy as fodder for outing conversion programs like Liberty’s for what they are: intellectually undependable, wildly ineffective, and emphatically outdated.
Lucas Wilson holds a BA in English, summa cum laude, from Liberty University and an MA in English from McMaster University. He then completed his MTS with a Certificate in Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt University, graduating first in his class. He is now a PhD candidate in Comparative Studies at Florida Atlantic University, completing his dissertation and teaching in his hometown of Toronto, Ontario.
Watch Lucas’ three-minute talk about Liberty U’s immoral conversion therapy:
‘Work In Progress,’ ‘Awkwafina’, SNL and More Must-See TV This Week
Abby McEnany in Work In Progress
Check out our weekly guide to TV this week, and make sure you’re catching the big premieres, crucial episodes and the stuff you won’t admit you watch when no one’s looking.
Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens makes its hyped debut Wednesday at 10:30 p.m. Eastern on Comedy Central. Although the titular star has been garnering praise for years over YouTube, Crazy Rich Asians and a dramatic turn in The Farewell, it’s her co-star to keep an eye on here. Bowen Yang, the historic recent SNL hire, is one of the names at the forefront of comedy. As an Asian-American member of the LGBTQ community, it’s thrilling to watch Yang’s rise to stardom. However, it’s his razor-sharp mind for the pop zeitgeist and devastating takes on contemporary queer culture that make him one to watch in 2020 and beyond.
The hunks of Riverdale return with new episodes Wednesday at 8 p.m. Eastern on the CW. Come for the eye-candy, stay for the bizarre occult storylines and random musical moments.
Aidy Bryant is back in the brilliant Shrill on Hulu Friday. Bryant shines in the spotlight as a series lead, but we’re here for her character’s queer roommate Fran (Lolly Adefope).
Saturday Night Live is back with new episodes this weekend. In addition to host Adam Driver, bisexual pop songstress Halsey will serve as musical guest Saturday at 11:30 p.m. Eastern on NBC.
If you only watch one thing this week, make it the season finale of Work In Progress Sunday at 11 p.m. Eastern on Showtime. This dark comedy, inspired by series co-creator and star Abby McEnany, is perfect for anyone who loved the quirky Josh Thomas’ Please Like Me. The eight-episode first season wraps Sunday, but the series has been renewed for a second season.
Lilly Singh to host the 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York
Credit: Ryan Pfluger
GLAAD today announced that Lilly Singh, openly bisexual executive producer and host of NBC’s “A Little Late with Lilly Singh,” will serve as host of the 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York at the Hilton Midtown on Thursday, March 19. The 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards are presented by Delta, Gilead, Hyundai, and Ketel One Family-Made Vodka.
“As she continues to break new ground for LGBTQ people of color on mainstream television, Lilly Singh inspires so many young LGBTQ people who feel like they have never seen themselves represented,” said GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “Lilly is hilarious, authentic, and perfectly captures the celebratory spirit of the GLAAD Media Awards.”
Lilly Singh is a multi-faceted entertainer, actress, producer, writer and creator. With her NBC late-night talk show “A Little Late with Lilly Singh,” Singh is the only woman to currently host a late-night talk show on a broadcast television network. Singh is also the first openly bisexual person and the first person of Indian descent to do so. She is also an executive producer as part of her company, Unicorn Island Productions.
A leading force in the digital world, she has amassed a global audience of over 32 million followers on YouTube and across her other social media channels, where she writes, produces and stars in comedic and inspirational videos. Singh was named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Hollywood & Entertainment list, Fast Company’s Most Creative People and TIME named her one of the most influential people on the internet.
Singh is nominated for her first ever GLAAD Media Award this year for her segment “Lilly is Struggling to Date Women,” which is nominated for Outstanding Variety or Talk Show Episode. Singh also participated in GLAAD’s Spirit Day, the largest annual anti-LGBTQ bullying campaign.
GLAAD also announced today that award-winning actress, producer, and activist Judith Light will be honored with the Excellence in Media Award at the 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York. GLAAD previously announced that Ryan Murphy will be honored with the Vito Russo Award at the New York ceremony. Taylor Swift will receive the Vanguard Award and Janet Mock will receive the Stephen F. Kolzak Award at the 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles on Thursday, April 16.
GLAAD also announced over 175 nominees in 30 categories for the 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards, including the returning category for Outstanding Broadway Production. The Outstanding Kids & Family Programming category expanded to ten nominees as a result of an increase in LGBTQ images across the kids and family television programming and an increase in GLAAD’s work to advocate for inclusion in this genre. GLAAD also announced Special Recognition honors for Netflix’s Special and for pioneering LGBTQ journalists Karen Ocamb and Mark Segal. For a full list of nominees for the 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards, click here.
