Two Men Indicted for Murders of Transgender Women in Puerto Rico

The suspects are charged with murdering Serena Angelique Velázquez and Layla Pelaez after discovering the women were trans.

www.advocate.com/crime/2020/5/14/two-men-indicted-murders-transgender-women-puerto-rico

Bad Bunny once again proves that he’s the ultimate LGBTQ ally

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Bad Bunny says he’s “never felt as masculine” as the day he did drag for his music video “Yo Perreo Sola.”

The song, which translates to “I twerk alone,” explores the issue of sexual harassment many women face when they go out to nightclubs.

Related: Bad Bunny twerks in latex and thigh-highs in new music video

“I wrote [the song] from the perspective of a woman,” the Puerto Rican trap artist says. “I wanted a woman to sing it, because it doesn’t mean the same thing when a man sings it. But I do feel like that woman sometimes.”

He continues, “I have always felt like there [was] a part of me that is very feminine. But I never felt as masculine as I did the day I dressed up like a drag queen.”

The 26-year-old goes on to say he anticipated people would criticize the video, but he didn’t care.

“I knew there were going to be comments saying, ‘F*ggot! Gay! Bad Bunny is over!’” Bad Bunny says, but “I did it to show support to those who need it. I may not be gay, but I’m a human who cares.”

Related: 6 times Bad Bunny proved to be one of the most woke LGBTQ allies out there

He adds that he feels particularly committed to standing up for the rights of trans people, especially trans women, who are often the biggest targets for violence and discrimination.

“I feel a big commitment to the community,” he says. “Now that we are in quarantine, 108 cases of gender-based violence [have been reported] in Puerto Rico.”

“As a human being, violence against women affects me. So I am going to do what is within my reach to [work] against that. … My message shouldn’t be a feminist message. It’s a universal message.”

Scroll down for more pics from Bad Bunny’s Instagram page…

Related: Bad Bunny opens up about sexual fluidity, won’t rule out being with a man

www.queerty.com/bad-bunny-proves-hes-ultimate-lgbtq-ally-20200514?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Trump Claims He Had His Own Pandemic Response Plan: ‘Much Better’ Than Obama’s ‘Paper Packet’ (WATCH)

In response to damning testimony from Dr. Rick Bright, President Donald Trump and White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany claimed Thursday that the administration had created its own pandemic response plan prior to the COVID-19 crisis.

Trump and Kayleigh McEnany are now trying to dismiss the pandemic response plan Obama left for Trump as a mere “paper packet” that paled in comparison to Trump’s (nonexistent) plan pic.twitter.com/lsQ8UJUqK7

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 14, 2020

“The Obama-Biden plan that has been referenced, was insufficient and wasn’t going to work,” McEnany said as she and the president prepared to board Marine One for a visit to a medical-supply facility in Pennsylvania. “So what our administration did under the leadership of President Trump, is do an entire 28-team pandemic preparedness report. Beyond that, we did a whole exercise on pandemic preparedness in August of last year, and had an entire after-reaction report put together. In other words, the Obama-Biden paper packet was superseded by a President Trump-style Pandemic preparedness plan.”

Trump added: “Which was much better, which was much more complete, which was a lot tougher. We were given very little when we came in to this administration, and they’ve done a fantastic job.”

Dr. Bright: “There is no master coordinated plan on how to respond to this outbreak.” pic.twitter.com/uuRY5CMXM5

— Erick Fernandez (@ErickFernandez) May 14, 2020

In his testimony before a House panel on Thursday, Bright said: “There is no master, coordinated plan on how to respond to this outbreak. We don’t have a strategy or plan in place that identifies each of those critical components and we don’t have as designated agency that is sourcing those critical components and coming up with a strategy to make sure that we have those supplies when we need them.”

Some background from The Courier: To help the incoming administration be better prepared to fight future pandemics, officials under President Obama took what they learned from these battles and prepared a 69-page playbook. Written by Obama’s National Security Council and finalized in 2016, the playbook detailed strategies for when and how to obtain personal protective equipment, and included recommendations on how the government should move quickly to detect and contain potential outbreaks, secure additional funding, and possibly even invoke the Defense Production Act to compel private companies to produce needed medical supplies. But the Trump administration ignored the playbook. Instead, as the Associated Press reported, the Trump administration wasted nearly two months that could have been used to bolster the federal stockpile of critically needed supplies and equipment. Federal agencies waited until mid-March to begin placing bulk orders of N95 respirator masks, mechanical ventilators, and other equipment needed by front-line health care workers. By then, it was too late. Doctors, nurses, and hospital administrators have spent weeks pleading for more PPE, ventilators, and medical supplies. 

A few reactions from Twitter below.

The post Trump Claims He Had His Own Pandemic Response Plan: ‘Much Better’ Than Obama’s ‘Paper Packet’ (WATCH) appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Trump Claims He Had His Own Pandemic Response Plan: ‘Much Better’ Than Obama’s ‘Paper Packet’ (WATCH)

McConnell and Trump Attack Obama Legacy With Racism, Illegalities

They’re responding to Obama’s critiques of Trump with racially charged comments and calls for pointless investigations.

www.advocate.com/commentary/2020/5/14/mcconnell-and-trump-attack-obama-legacy-racism-illegalities

‘Top Model’ judge Jay Manuel spills all the tea on working with Tyra Banks, says “It was a struggle”

Model Tyra Banks was recently accused of being a bully after clips from America’s Next Top Model, which premiered in 2003 and aired for 24 seasons, began recirculating online. Now, former ANTM judge and creative director Jay Manuel is speaking out about his experiences on the show and he says that, yeah, she was kinda awful, but he still respects her.

In an interview with Variety, 47-year-old Manuel says he was often made to feel uncomfortable by the things that were said and done on the show, but he felt silenced by Banks and co-executive producer Ken Mock.

“Many times when you’re working in an environment like that, you have to listen to your executive producers, and ultimately the two voices at the top were Ken and Tyra,” he says. “There were sometimes several objections by other producers and myself about layers that were added to creative, and we were just told to execute.”

“The team wasn’t really supported, so to speak.”

Manuel, whose novel “The Wig, The Bitch & The Meltdown,” inspired by his time on ANTM, will be released later this year, adds that he thinks it’s “a little unfair for people to persecute Tyra now” since she has already taken heat and apologized for her behavior in past years.

But, he adds, “I can’t really defend her either because when ratings were high and things were great, she remained a clear figurehead, because it was her show.”

One of Banks’ indefensible actions included telling a model not to be too proud about being queer or she might turn people off, which Manuel says was an uncomfortable moment for him to film.

“I was in the room, and I was sitting right next to her. I remember feeling a little uncomfortable with the statement,” he recalls.

He elaborates:

I could see Tyra trying to draw the parallel and what she was trying to illustrate, and I was confused by it because we ask these girls to come in the room and the producers remind the girls before they come in, “Tell them who you are. You’re not just a pretty face. You have to have a discussion about who you are.” These girls are coached to speak their truth and tell Tyra who they are, and then Tyra said that, so it seemed a bit unfair. You can see it on that model’s face, like, “Wait a minute, I was told to say everything about myself, and now you’re telling me to not say this?”

Looking back, Manuel calls the whole situation “confusing.”

“At the time, I had not done reality TV, and I was also learning as I went along,” he says, “and I was guided by Tyra and Ken, and you have to trust your producers to follow their lead. It was a struggle to process some stuff at times.”

Asked about his relationship with Banks today, Manuel says they’ve exchanged a few emails here and there, but they haven’t actually seen each other since a brief run-in at BeautyCon back in 2017.

“To be very honest, we really have no relationship to speak of, which is really sad,” he says. “Our time together on ANTM was amazingly productive and, at times, magical. We got to experience being part of a global phenomenon.”

He continues, “Tyra is a pioneer in many respects and I have nothing but respect for her in everything that she’s accomplished in business. The fashion industry is a difficult industry. Tyra was an incredible model. She understands the business. I think what she was trying to do was give the girls a taste of tough love of what they had to experience.”

Related: That time Tyra Banks told a model not to be proud about being gay has come back to haunt her

www.queerty.com/top-model-judge-jay-manuel-spills-tea-working-tyra-banks-says-struggle-20200514?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Fight Breaks Out Over Doll With Noose At Anti-Lockdown ‘Judgment Day’ Protest in Michigan: WATCH

A fight erupted among anti-lockdown protesters at the Michigan Capitol on Thursday, after some objected to the display of a doll with a noose around its neck.

MLive.com reports: J. Scott Park, an MLive photographer, witnessed the fight break out after a man carrying a garbage can filled with a sign, an ax and an American flag removed the flag from the can. Attached to the bottom of the flag was an unclothed doll with brown hair that was hanging from a noose. Organizers of the protest called the display “hate speech” and when one protester tried to take the doll off the flag a skirmish broke out. The man who brought the flag fled away from the fight and to the lawn of the Capitol where Michigan State Police surrounded him. The man was taken into the Capitol building following the altercation. Michigan State Police reported there were no injuries and no arrests were made. MSP public information officer Lt. Brian Oleksyk said the man who brought the flag was interviewed by police and he will be allowed to press charges if he elects to.

More from the Hill: Armed protestors gathered outside the state Capitol in Michigan on Thursday for planned “judgment day” demonstrations against the state’s stay-at-home order. The protests follow previous large gatherings of activists at the Capitol. The demonstration was organized by a conservative militia group, Michigan United for Liberty, the Associated Press reported. … Many previous demonstrations have shown protestors defying state orders by gathering without masks and standing close together. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) said Wednesday, “I don’t particularly want to see people congregating, period. We know that contributes to spread.”

Noose on a necked doll, That’s fugged up… pic.twitter.com/JZPIfZRW4q

— Djane Unchained (@cuddlymoose) May 14, 2020

The post Fight Breaks Out Over Doll With Noose At Anti-Lockdown ‘Judgment Day’ Protest in Michigan: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Fight Breaks Out Over Doll With Noose At Anti-Lockdown ‘Judgment Day’ Protest in Michigan: WATCH