Reese Witherspoon Proves She’s a Scream Queen in a Hilarious Game of ‘Can You Feel It?’ — WATCH
Reese Witherspoon screwed with Jimmy Fallon’s head (and Yoda’s) in a hilarious game of “Can You Feel It?” on The Tonight Show. Watch as The Morning Show actress and Fallon touch gourds, dentures, melted Snickers bars, spiders, and the Jedi master.
View co-host Sunny Hostin is revisiting Chapa’s story on her new series Truth About Murder, and welcomed Chapa and her mother back to the show to reflect on the attack and her life since.
Although the attack was not deemed a hate crime, Hostin said she wanted to revisit Chapa’s story because she doesn’t believe the media covers enough the attacks that happen to the LGBTQ+ community.
Are Great British Bake Off Contestants Michael and Henry the Show’s First Sweet Gay Romance?
Henry Bird and Michael Chakraverty, two of the bakers from this season’s Great British Bake Off, are rumored to be a couple, and fans of the show are thrilled to see the sweetness come together.
Alice Fevronia, another of the show’s bakers, was thought to be dating Bird, but that rumor was extinguished when she posted this Instagram, captioned, “Brother from another mother.”
Alice later shared this photo to her Instagram story, showing Bird and Chakraverty in an intimate embrace over a bowl of chocolate, captioned “BAE-ke Off ”
Chris Martin, Dracula, Michael Che, Katie Hill, Stunt Kissing, Hal Fischer, John Oliver, Cameroon, Jane Fonda: HOT LINKS
RIP. Former U.S. Senator Kay Hagan dies at 66: “Hagan’s three-year battle with encephalitis, caused by Powassan virus, ended when she died in her sleep at home.”
HORROR MOVIE (OF THEIR OWN MAKING). GOP lawmakers lost and adrift: “In hushed conversations over the past week, GOP senators lamented that the fast-expanding probe is fraying their party, which remains completely in Trump’s grip. They voiced exasperation at the expectation that they defend the president against the troublesome picture that has been painted, with neither convincing arguments from the White House nor confidence that something worse won’t soon be discovered.”
KATIE HILL. Congresswoman to resign amid allegations of relationships with staffers: “This is what needs to happen so that the good people who supported me will no longer be subjected to the pain inflicted by my abusive husband and the brutality of hateful political operatives who seem to happily provide a platform to a monster who is driving a smear campaign built around cyber exploitation.”
It is with a broken heart that today I announce my resignation from Congress. This is the hardest thing I have ever had to do, but I believe it is the best thing for my constituents, my community, and our country.
THE GAY SEVENTIES. Hal Fischer’s Castro scene photos revived. “San Francisco’s gay world in the late 1970s was a cultural event unlike any previously seen in the city, from its political activity to an overall feeling of social and sexual liberation following the Stonewall riots in New York. Photographer Hal Fischer knew it demanded documentation.”
DEEP DIVE OF THE DAY. John Oliver digs into Trump’s position on Syria. “I’m not saying that it is easy, or even possible, to get a situation this difficult completely right. But it’s genuinely hard to get it this wrong. We took a fundamentally stable situation, betrayed a strategically vital ally, and immensely damaged our reputation.”
JONATHAN CHEBAN. Kim Kardashian’s famous best friend legally changed his name to Foodgod. “If you don’t know, FG’s been all about the eats for a while now — being a bonafide foodie is kinda his thing, and he proudly showcases it all over his social media pages. Literally, it seems like just about every post is related to good grub … he even sleeps with food.”
BELGIUM. Former teacher caught selling meth over Grindr: “I have been dealing for several months now. Sometimes about 30 to 40 customers a day pass by, earning me around €400 a day,” he said after the police caught him, reports Bruzz. “I sell to finance my own use,” he added.
CAMEROON. Secret video room gives gay men respite: “The flickering light of a video screen illuminates faces of young men sitting on benches — members of a video club catering exclusively for gaymen, a haven in a society where it is perilous to be same-sex attracted.”
NYC. Jury awarded $1.75 million to gay man who said cops beat and slurred him: “Jurors in Brooklyn Federal Court deliberated 16 hours before deciding that four cops used excessive force on Louis Falcone in a June 19, 2015 incident that started when his mother called 911 because Falcone was fighting with his brother.”
STUNT KISS OF THE DAY. Ellen and Jennifer Aniston.
INFLUENCER VIDEO OF THE DAY.
TEASER TRAILER OF THE DAY. BBC’s Dracula.
POP INTERVIEW OF THE DAY. Chris Martin on Coldplay’s new album.
Claudia López: Bogotá, Colombia Elects Openly Gay Woman Mayor in Historic First
Claudia López, an openly gaywoman, has been elected mayor of the Colombian capital of Bogotá.
The BBC reports: “The 49-year-old centre-left candidate had won 35.2% of the vote with nearly all votes counted. Mayor of Bogotá is widely considered the second-most important political post in Colombia after the presidency. … A journalist-turned politician, Ms López is a member of the of the country’s Green Alliance party. Known for her outspoken criticism of right-wing politicians, she has also been heavily involved with anti-corruption efforts in Colombia. Her policies include putting more police on the streets, fighting child labour and creating better educational opportunities for people over 45.”
Lopez kissed her partner Angélica Lozano Correa after the victory.
This is @ClaudiaLopez, the new mayor of #Bogota, kissing her partner @AngelicaLozanoC in celebration after today’s elections. This is a momentous symbol, a sign of change and of good things to come. That I have the privilege of calling them my friends only makes this sweeter. pic.twitter.com/1LIF9ad8c1
Gracias a todas y todos los maestros, mentores, jefes, colegas, compañeros, amigos y ciudadanos que me enseñaron, quisieron y apoyaron para llegar a éste día en la vida.
Gracias a mi ciudad y su extraordinaria ciudadanía por confiar y darme esta oportunidad.
#EnVivo#ClaudiaAlcaldesa Mi primera rueda de prensa como alcaldesa electa de Bogotá. ¡Son muchos los retos que nos esperan! Hoy inician 4 años de trabajo duro y sin descanso para volver a hacer de Bogotá el mejor hogar de todos los colombianos: t.co/QNG8IbnbKapic.twitter.com/xjLkWtnwY1
Jeff Goldblum’s Dad Kept His Brother’s Sexuality a Secret, Sent Him to ‘Gay Conversion Therapy’
In a new interview, actor Jeff Goldblum talked about his gay late older brother Lee, and the cruel punishments exerted upon him by their father, which included conversion therapy. Lee died in 2000.
Goldblum told The Sunday Timesthat his father Harold kept Lee’s sexuality a secret from the rest of the family: “He didn’t tell the rest of us. Sent him to a therapist in order to ‘fix him’. It was all secret. That’s not so nourishing. My dad was, without knowing why, conspicuously cruel to [Lee] at times.”
Lee suffered from “troubles of one kind or another” throughout his life including “physical ailments, [being] overweight, pharmaceuticals abuse and self-medication issues,” Goldblum said, and after a stint in the army and a job as a taxi driver returned to live with the parents who had treated him so cruelly.
Goldblum stars in a new series from Disney+ streaming on November 12, The World According to Jeff Goldblum. The show seems like an Anthony Bourdain-style adventure series based around the actor. Who knows, perhaps he’ll show up at New Orleans’s Southern Decadence and dance for some gay men?
TIM COOK. Apple CEO gives rare interview to People En Español, talks about decision to come out: “What was driving me was [that] I was getting notes from kids who were struggling with their sexual orientation. They were depressed. Some said [they] had suicidal thoughts. Some had been banished by their own parents and family. It weighed on me in terms of what I could do. Obviously I couldn’t talk to each one individually that reached out, but you always know if you have people reaching out to you that there’s many more that don’t, that are just out there wondering whether they have a future or not, wondering whether life gets better … From there I really decided. There’s been a lot of people that came before me that made it possible for me to sit here today, and I needed to do something to help those people that were in a younger generation. It probably took a year between getting the words exactly like I wanted and picking the right time for the company, because I didn’t want it to be a distraction and so forth. I have not regretted it for one minute. Not at all.”
NEW YORK CITY. Tensions rise as congressional candidates seek endorsement of Stonewall Democratic Club: “Sparks flew during a Stonewall Democratic Club of New York City endorsement meeting on October 23, but the night culminated with members expectedly backing out gay City Councilmember Ritchie Torres in next year’s congressional race to replace José Serrano in the Bronx.”
CASTING. Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci play gaycouple on road trip in Supernova: “‘Supernova’ is a deeply romantic, modern love story,” said Macqueen, who also wrote the script. “It follows two people who are bound together by their love for each other but being pushed apart by the situation they find themselves in. It is an intimate, naked portrayal of a relationship facing a fissure that threatens to cut it to its very core.”
MECHANICAL FANTASY BOX. A new album from disco legend Patrick Cowley. ‘Before his death in 1982, the producer and musician Patrick Cowley was best known for electronic disco productions that defined San Francisco’s gay hi-NRG scene. He was one of the first entertainers with national impact (if not the first) to die of AIDS (his “Menergy” and “Megatron Man” hit the top of Billboard’s club chart in 1981). The party line is that his “career began to rise as his health failed him” (words cribbed from his Bay Area Reporter obit), and the music he made in his final year had a starry slickness to it suggesting even better things to come.’
Nightline’s James Longman Came Out to the Head of the Chechnya Police Force Accused of Torturing and Murdering Gay Men — WATCH
Nightline’s James Longman spent a year talking to several victims of the anti-LGBT campaigns before going to the southern Russian republic of Chechnya to meet the police authorities accused of the so-called “gay purge” and go inside Chechen prisons.
Amin Dzhabrailov, a gay Chechen man who was captured and tortured and beaten for days, described his experience, telling Longman that his captors staged his execution: “They tell me that they know that I’m gay, and [to] tell [them] about more gayguys… The sense was [they would] probably just torture them also. … I didn’t give any name[s]. … They took off my shoes… and they put me on the wall, put [a] bag on my head…. That guy charged his gun, and put [it] right here on my head. And I started painting the wall with my blood. And he said that it’s my last seconds.”
For Longman, who is gay, the trip to Chechnya turned personal and very stressful when he made the decision to come out to General Apti Alaudinov, the head of the Chechen police force.
Wrote Longman in an account of the trip: “And so, at close to 11 p.m., we were bundled out of the restaurant and into his car. We were heading to a police station. Because Chechen officials totally deny the accounts of police brutality toward gay people, we did not expect to see something incriminating or necessarily much at all. But as we swept into the parade ground and we were met by 50 or so armed commandos, all standing to attention. … I’ve definitely had some awkward coming out moments in my life. But I don’t think any can compare to telling a man who is the head of a police force accused of torturing hundreds of LGBTQ people that I’m gay.”
“We made our way to the prison block, and by this time, we had amassed a small following of armed guards and other officials: a bigger audience for the general’s one-man show,” added Longman. “As we walked, I gradually got the sense that it might be ok to tell him I’m gay. I asked the others quietly. ‘I think I’m going to tell him guys, are you OK with that?’ They were. And so, as we stood in the cell, I said, ‘Do you remember earlier when you asked if one of us was gay? What if I told you I was gay?’”
“I could feel the guards shifting behind the camera. John later told me he heard them all whispering to each other,” continued Longman. “Alaudinov was doing his best to make it seem like it didn’t matter to him.”
Replied Alaudinov: “There is no problem. Nobody has any issues with you. You are a guest. Come here as a guest and leave from here as a guest. You don’t understand something: You can say anything about us — any horror stories — but I, as [the] head of Chechen Police, I don’t have a goal to see who you are and what your sexual orientation is. I am not interested to know it. It’s your life and you should live however you want. But at the same time, don’t teach us how we have to live.”
Watch the entire segment below, following a teaser segment from ABC News.
Wesley Woods, the gay adult performer who made headlines in 2017 when he came after fellow performer Colby Keller for his support of Donald Trump and in 2018 when he was the victim of an anti-gay hate crime in West Hollywood, has announced his retirement.
Woods told AVN: “I can’t get out fast enough. My asshole hairs are burning. I love the industry; I love everyone in it. But definitely the past year, I have treated it much more like work. I show up when I need to and I live my life. I realized I had to start protecting my energy and myself—and sometimes that means backing away. When you’re constantly surrounded on social media by dicks, assholes and bodies it can become toxic, and you have to know when to put your phone down and walk away.”
Woods told Askmen that the anti-gay assault ultimately led him to the decision: “After my assault in August 2018, I felt completely isolated from the world. It’s hard to explain, but I’ll never forget that feeling. The assault stirred up so many emotions and I began to back away from friends, withdrew from family and slowed down on social media. Initially, I didn’t handle the situation very well. I threw myself into work, constantly traveling and drinking. I didn’t feel like myself, and in some ways I took on the emotional energy that it was my fault that this happened, and that I deserved it. It became harder and harder to wake up happy, which was something that once seemed so inherently natural to me.”
“I spoke with a few therapists and after months of intensive work on myself emotionally and mentally, I finally began to allow myself to focus on me what makes me happy, what I want to do, where I want to go and who I want to be,” he added. “My isolation made me seek out a different approach to what I’m doing, a deeper listening to who I want to be, where I want things to go. I want to do more standup, I’d love to somehow help queer homeless youth and I want to be a source of light, love, and inclusivity in our community. I’ve given so much time and energy to the adult film industry, and I want to focus my time and energy elsewhere. This isn’t to say that you can’t do and be it all, I’m just being called to something else. I can feel it.”
Brandon T. Jackson Says God Has Forgiven Him for Playing Gay in ‘Tropic Thunder’
Brandon T. Jackson in Tropic Thunder.
Actor Brandon T. Jackson says God has forgiven him for playing gay in the 2008 Ben Stiller movie Tropic Thunder.
TMZ reports: ‘Jackson famously played Alpa Chino in the 2008 Ben Stiller flick — a closeted actor who accidentally revealed feelings for a guy named “Lance” … it was a hilarious scene. But, Jackson is now a pretty religious Black Hebrew Israelite — and playing gay doesn’t jive with his religious beliefs. “I was on thin ice then with the father,” Jackson said on “TMZ Live” … “But, he had his mercy and his grace was there.’
TMZ adds: ‘Jackson says the bigger issue is when he wore a women’s dress for his role in the 2011 Martin Lawrence flick, “Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son.” Jackson says he broke a religious law prohibiting men from wearing women’s clothing — “And, when you break a law you get punished.”‘
