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Franklin Graham: Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy Personally Assured Me Their Anti-LGBTQ Ways Will Continue

Franklin Graham: Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy Personally Assured Me Their Anti-LGBTQ Ways Will Continue

Evangelist Franklin Graham said on Thursday that he called Chick-fil-A CEO and can assure everyone that the company’s anti-LGBTQ ways aren’t changing anytime soon. Earlier this week, a media report said that Christian-owned Chick-fil-A promised to stop giving to anti-LGBTQ charities, a vow it has made at least once before, and broken.

RELATED: Chick-fil-A is Already Hedging on the Report it Will Stop Donating to Anti-LGBTQ Charities: ‘No Organization Will Be Excluded’

Wrote Graham: “Has Chick-fil-A caved? Some are saying they’ve rolled over, that they’ve conceded to the LGBTQ protests because they released a statement about their charitable giving. They announced that in 2020 they’re giving to fight hunger and homelessness and support education. What’s wrong with that? I picked up the phone and called Dan Cathy. Dan was very clear that they have not bowed down to anyone’s demands, including the LGBTQ community. They will continue to support whoever they want to support. They haven’t changed who they are or what they believe. Chick-fil-A remains committed to Christian values. Dan Cathy assured me that this isn’t going to change. I hope all those who jumped to the wrong conclusion about them read this.”

“In my opinion, the gay movement wouldn’t ever be happy with Chick-fil-A unless they were open on Sunday, gave all of their charitable donations to LGBTQ organizations, and flew the rainbow flag over their stores!,” Graham added. Their hatred for Chick-fil-A is rooted in founder Truett Cathy’s strong stand for biblical “traditional” values and his desire to honor God. No fast food chain does a better job. I went through the drive-thru at Chick-fil-A yesterday morning, and I thought I might get dinner there—but a whole lot of other people had the same idea! A Chick-fil-A sandwich with waffle fries sounds really good right now!”

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Franklin Graham: Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy Personally Assured Me Their Anti-LGBTQ Ways Will Continue

Pete Davidson Talks About Jerking Off to Leonardo DiCaprio, Being a Straight Dude with Gay Friends

Pete Davidson Talks About Jerking Off to Leonardo DiCaprio, Being a Straight Dude with Gay Friends

Pete Davidson shows off all his doll parts in PAPER magazine’s Break the Internet issue. In a wide-ranging interview, the Saturday Night Live player talks about what it means to be an LGBT ally, and his sexual awakening with the star of Titanic.

Said Davidson on being an ally: “Well, nothing’s cooler to me than seeing my friends crush it. I also have the most talented friends ever. And I think my friends are a good reflection of me…anybody that I f**k with is sweet and morally sound, you know? I find it super weird that it’s weird that a straight dude has gay friends…like, some straight dudes do have gay friends, but like they make like a big show of it as opposed to them genuinely being a friend…I really feel like I have to be careful when I’m saying this, but I do feel like a lot of women in entertainment use gay men as props. If you really listen to any of the songs that they’re doing, or any of the things that they’re doing, it’s to promote them[selves]. It’s rarely for the LGBT community. It’s to make them look good. Like, how cool they are that they’re hanging out with gay people.”

On his sexual awakening, Davidson added: “Well, I used to jerk off to Leonardo DiCaprio… Uhh, like his acting. Yeah. I used to have a HUGE crush on Leonardo DiCaprio. I had this huge poster of him from The Beach in my room, and there used to be, like, ‘Leo love books’… Do you remember? Like, right when Titanic came out [when I was] in like third or fourth grade, he was just like, ‘teen milk.’ There were love books and I had all of them. He was the coolest. I’ve met him twice and I’ve just shaken hands and run away fast, like…”

Read the full interview at PAPER

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Pete Davidson Talks About Jerking Off to Leonardo DiCaprio, Being a Straight Dude with Gay Friends

New Trump Advisor Believes Homosexuality is an ‘Abomination’, Won’t Appear on a Show with a Gay Host ‘and Pretend Like That’s Normal’ — WATCH

New Trump Advisor Believes Homosexuality is an ‘Abomination’, Won’t Appear on a Show with a Gay Host ‘and Pretend Like That’s Normal’ — WATCH

Media Matters reports that Donald Trump has a new surrogate named Clarence Mason Weaver who believes that homosexuality is “evil” and “an abomination.” Weaver believes that there is nothing wrong with being homophobic, and has warned people to “worry about homosexual training” in schools. He has said he would not appear on a program with a gay host, and would have a problem with gay co-workers.

Weaver, a right-wing commentator was recently named to an advisory board position in Trump’s campaign.

Here’s a video Weaver posted about a Best Buy ad he saw which featured a lesbian which made him tell his daughter “homosexuality is a abomination. Not just a sin. It’s abomination.”

Added Weaver: “How can you find common ground with evil and sin? … I can work with homosexuals. I’ve worked with a lot of homosexuals. Worked with a lot of them. Political and social things. But I’m not going to stand there and pretend like that’s not a sin. Like you would not — I would not pretend like I don’t sin. I would not pretend, I’m not going to try to fool God to make you feel comfortable. I appear on programs all the time with homosexuals. I will not appear on a program with a homosexual host and pretend like that’s normal.”

Weaver continued: “It can be very difficult for you to tell me as a woman, ‘Hey, this is Betty, my wife.’ You’re not going to get a ‘congratulations.” No. I may say, ‘How you doing?” If you ask me what I think about you being married to that woman, you’re going to get your feelings hurt. You’re going to get your feelings hurt. Christians stand up for God, and when you stand up for God, you’re going to upset the ungodly.”

Media Matters adds: “Weaver has frequently pushed misogynistic rhetoric, including saying that women aren’t equal to men and that they damaged society when they won the ”right’ to leave the home and go to work’; claiming that women who report sexual misconduct at work are the reason ‘why we don’t want to be around you in a business’; and stating that women should carry themselves as ‘handmaidens’ and ‘be submissive.’”

Media Matters wrote earlier this week: “The Trump campaign recently launched its ‘Black Voices for Trump’ coalition, with President Donald Trump speaking at a rally in Atlanta, GA. The campaign also announced the members of its advisory board, which includes numerous right-wing media personalities such as radio host Herman Cain, Fox Nation hosts Diamond and Silk, and Fox News contributors Deneen Borelli and Alveda King. The campaign lists the involvement of Clarence Mason Weaver (who usually goes by Mason Weaver in media appearances and also lists his name as Clarence A. Mason on his website), a right-wing author and purported motivational speaker.”

The post New Trump Advisor Believes Homosexuality is an ‘Abomination’, Won’t Appear on a Show with a Gay Host ‘and Pretend Like That’s Normal’ — WATCH appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.


New Trump Advisor Believes Homosexuality is an ‘Abomination’, Won’t Appear on a Show with a Gay Host ‘and Pretend Like That’s Normal’ — WATCH

Luke Evans Loves the Way He Tastes, and Taron Egerton Agrees He’s ‘Delicious’ — WATCH

Luke Evans Loves the Way He Tastes, and Taron Egerton Agrees He’s ‘Delicious’ — WATCH

Luke Evans is celebrating the release of his new album At Last, which features covers of Pat Benatar’s “Love is a Battlefield”, Cher’s “If I Could Turn Back Time”, U2’s “With or Without You”, Maria McKee’s “Show Me Heaven” and more.

Corinthia Hotel in London wanted to show its support, and sent him a pastry emblazoned with a frosting photo of the album’s cover, which Evans gobbled up shirtless in his kitchen. Wrote Evans: “Nom nom nom thanks for my breakfast this morning!”

Taron Egerton couldn’t help but chime in on the thirsty moment. Quipped the Rocketman star: “Delicious. Lovely cake too.”

A few selections from Evans’s album.

The post Luke Evans Loves the Way He Tastes, and Taron Egerton Agrees He’s ‘Delicious’ — WATCH appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.


Luke Evans Loves the Way He Tastes, and Taron Egerton Agrees He’s ‘Delicious’ — WATCH

Pete Buttigieg Fields Question About Outreach to Black Voters in Dem Debate: ‘I Do Have the Experience of Feeling Like a Stranger in My Country’ — WATCH

Pete Buttigieg Fields Question About Outreach to Black Voters in Dem Debate: ‘I Do Have the Experience of Feeling Like a Stranger in My Country’ — WATCH

Kamala Harris was asked at last night’s Democratic debate about her criticism of Pete Buttigieg’s outreach to black voters, and what prompted her to make the criticism.

Harris had said, earlier in the week, “The Democratic nominee has got to be someone who has the experience of connecting with all of who we are, as the diversity of the American people.”

Buttigieg’s campaign was criticized this week for using a stock photo in the rollout of his Douglass Plan for Black Americans. The photo was of a Kenyan woman and her child.

Replied Harris, in part: “I was asked a question that related to a stock photograph that his campaign published. But, listen, I think that it really speaks to a larger issue, and I’ll speak to the larger issue. I believe that the mayor has made apologies for that. The larger issue is that for too long I think candidates have taken for granted constituencies that have been the backbone of the Democratic Party and have overlooked those constituencies and have — you know, they show up when it’s, you know, close to election time and show up in a black church and want to get the vote, but just haven’t been there before. … And I’m running for president because I believe that we have to have leadership in this country who has worked with and have the experience of working with all folks. And we’ve got to re-create the Obama coalition to win. And that means about women, that’s people of color, that’s our LGBTQ community, that’s working people, that’s our labor unions. But that is how we are going to win this election, and I intend to win.”

Buttigieg responded: “My response is, I completely agree. And I welcome the challenge of connecting with black voters in America who don’t yet know me. And before I share what’s in my plans, let me talk about what’s in my heart and why this is so important. As mayor of a city that is racially diverse and largely low income, for eight years, I have lived and breathed the successes and struggles of a community where far too many people live with the consequences of racial inequity that has built-up over centuries but been compounded by policies and decisions from within living memory.”

“I care about this because my faith teaches me that salvation has to do with how I make myself useful to those who have been excluded, marginalized, and cast aside and oppressed in society,” Buttigieg added. “And I care about this because, while I do not have the experience of ever having been discriminated against because of the color of my skin, I do have the experience of sometimes feeling like a stranger in my own country, turning on the news and seeing my own rights come up for debate, and seeing my rights expanded by a coalition of people like me and people not at all like me, working side by side, shoulder to shoulder, making it possible for me to be standing here. Wearing this wedding ring in a way that couldn’t have happened two elections ago lets me know just how deep my obligation is to help those whose rights are on the line every day, even if they are nothing like me in their experience.”

Kamala Harris, careful not to personally attack Pete Buttigieg over his lack of appeal with black voters, explained what she called “the larger issue” of candidates taking for granted constituencies that have been the backbone of the Democratic party t.co/EWaRlzzV3s pic.twitter.com/qiXzDNCXez

— POLITICO (@politico) November 21, 2019

Buttigieg’s response was well received, at least by black voters in this focus group:

.@PeteButtigieg improved his standing with every undecided voter in our @foxla focus group.

Several were moved by his comments about the African American community.

“What I heard from him is he’s willing to learn. He’s willing to listen.”

Many say he won #DemocraticDebate pic.twitter.com/chTZO1FbTL

— Elex Michaelson (@Elex_Michaelson) November 21, 2019

The post Pete Buttigieg Fields Question About Outreach to Black Voters in Dem Debate: ‘I Do Have the Experience of Feeling Like a Stranger in My Country’ — WATCH appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.


Pete Buttigieg Fields Question About Outreach to Black Voters in Dem Debate: ‘I Do Have the Experience of Feeling Like a Stranger in My Country’ — WATCH

Jury Awards Gay Spouse of Deceased Smoker $157.4 Million in Suit Against Phillip Morris and RJ Reynolds

Jury Awards Gay Spouse of Deceased Smoker $157.4 Million in Suit Against Phillip Morris and RJ Reynolds

Photo by Martin Jernberg on Unsplash / Illustration

A Broward County, Florida jury awarded $157.4 million to the gay spouse of a deceased smoker in a wrongful death lawsuit against tobacco giants Phillip Morris and RJ Reynolds. Bryan Rintoul’s husband Edward Caprio died of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in 2018. $9.2 million in compensatory damages and $148.2 million in punitive damages were awarded.

The case differed from other cases against big tobacco, in that it was the first time a gay couple had won, and same-sex marriage was a factor in the case.

Local10 reports: “Florida law allows spouses to sue for wrongful death only if they were married before the person got sick. However, Jonathan Gdanski of Schlesinger Law Offices claimed the couple would have been married before Edward developed COPD in 1996 if same-sex marriages had been legal at the time. Although the couple married in 2015, Rintoul and Caprio had been together since the 1970s. The jury agreed…”

The Sun Sentinel adds: “The five-week trial that ended Friday combined the Schlesinger firm’s persistence in tobacco cases with a newer legal frontier — ensuring that same-sex couples are not penalized for being unable to marry legally until relatively recently. Broward Circuit Judge David Haimes allowed the case to proceed with Rintoul as the plaintiff after Caprio died early last year at 74. ‘There hasn’t been another case like this in Florida,’ Schlesinger said. ‘I’m not sure there’s been another case nationwide.’”

Phillip Morris and RJ Reynolds are expected to appeal.

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Jury Awards Gay Spouse of Deceased Smoker $157.4 Million in Suit Against Phillip Morris and RJ Reynolds

Badass Woman Removes Shirt, Rescues Crying Koala from Raging Australian Bushfire in Gripping Video

Badass Woman Removes Shirt, Rescues Crying Koala from Raging Australian Bushfire in Gripping Video

A woman rescued a crying, burned, and desperate koala from an Australian bushfire in New South Wales in a gripping video that has gone viral around the world.

Euronews reports: “A local woman, who told Australia’s Nine News her name was Toni, rushed to the koala’s aid, wrapping the animal in her shirt and a blanket and pouring water over it. She said she would transport the injured koala to the nearby Port Macquarie Koala Hospital. The country’s koala populations have been a major victim of the flames, with more than 350 of the marsupials feared killed in a major habitat.”

Bushfires continue to rage across the continent. “The koala has been treated for his burns and is still in ‘very serious condition.’ according to CNN.

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Badass Woman Removes Shirt, Rescues Crying Koala from Raging Australian Bushfire in Gripping Video

‘Makeup by Mario’ Dedivanovic, Kim Kardashian’s Longtime Makeup Artist, Breaks Down in Tears After Coming Out as Gay in Emotional Speech: WATCH

‘Makeup by Mario’ Dedivanovic, Kim Kardashian’s Longtime Makeup Artist, Breaks Down in Tears After Coming Out as Gay in Emotional Speech: WATCH

‘Makeup by Mario’ Dedivanovic, Kim Kardashian’s longtime makeup artist, broke down in tears after coming out as gay in an emotional speech after Kardashian presented him with the Artist Achievement Award at the American Influencer Awards at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood on Tuesday night.

Said Dedivanovic: “I’ve been having an internal struggle, recently, and my entire life, to find that light I knew I deserved. This is my 19th years as an artist and I am a 37-year-old man. … As I began to let go and to give all of the cushion and security that I’ve built over the years, I realized that I was starting to feel more confident, less insecure, more willing to show my true self, less afraid to speak and to share, and more comfortable in my own skin.”

“I don’t care as much about what I look like, and what I wear, and what I own,” he continued. “I don’t feel a need to be validated any more. I’m starting to see my true value and purpose in life. And it isn’t about social media, likes, subscribers, fame, fortune, and accolades, and all of those surface things. It isn’t about any of that stuff, because that stuff is just that. It’s stuff. And that stuff clouds your vision and your true purpose here on Earth as a human.”

Dedivanovic then spoke about his family: “A couple of days ago, on my mother’s 73rd birthday, I walked home after a day of stressful meetings at work and she was there doing my laundry and I broke down to her crying. I told her, finally, that I had spent my entire life and childhood suppressing my thoughts, suppressing my dreams, my feelings, my creativity and trying to be invisible so that no one would know how I’m feeling inside. And so that no one would see how I walk or how I talk, protecting myself so no one would make fun of me because I knew that I was born different. I was traumatized to be me. I had been living in fear my entire life. I had been ashamed. Ashamed of the way that I was born, a human with a good pure heart. She said, ‘Mario, from this day forward you are never again to live in shame or fear and to be afraid of who you are.’”

Dedivanovic said he woke up the next morning feeling lighter. He then addressed his father, and the Albanians in his home country directly.

“I’m asking you to open your hearts and open your souls,” said Dedivanovic. “Because so many little boys and girls around the world are growing up with pain and fear like I did, thinking of killing themselves every single day like I did. Because they are different and they are scared to be themselves, because their culture or their family judged them and shamed them. Little kids are scared that their … family will not accept them because they were born different. We are not different. We all bleed the same and we are all deserving of the right to feel happiness and be loved.”

He concluded: “Right now I stand here for the first time in my life a proud, 37-year-old gay man. And right now, I finally feel that bright light I’ve been dreaming of my whole life. … I’m finally happy to be me.”

Dedivanovic later wrote to his 7 million Instagram followers: “Finally free thank you all. I love you.”

The post ‘Makeup by Mario’ Dedivanovic, Kim Kardashian’s Longtime Makeup Artist, Breaks Down in Tears After Coming Out as Gay in Emotional Speech: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.


‘Makeup by Mario’ Dedivanovic, Kim Kardashian’s Longtime Makeup Artist, Breaks Down in Tears After Coming Out as Gay in Emotional Speech: WATCH

Netflix Offers a Tease of RuPaul in the Upcoming Scripted Series ‘AJ and the Queen’ — WATCH

Netflix Offers a Tease of RuPaul in the Upcoming Scripted Series ‘AJ and the Queen’ — WATCH

Netflix has released a first teaser for AJ and The Queen, the upcoming hourlong scripted comedy series set to debut on January 10 starring RuPaul and co-written by RuPaul and Michael Patrick King. The clip features RuPaul in a variety of costumes preparing for the stage.

The show’s synopsis gives us a better idea of what it’s all about: “Robert Lee (RuPaul), better known as the drag queen Ruby Red, has big dreams of opening his very own drag club. After years of performing in clubs all across the country, he has scrimped and saved and is one signed lease away from turning his dreams into a reality until he realizes he’s been swindled by a charismatic grifter (Josh Segarra) and his eye-patch wearing partner-in-crime, Lady Danger (Tia Carrere). With his heart broken and money stolen, Robert has no choice but to pick up the pieces and start over, and a cross country Ruby Red roadshow provides the perfect opportunity to do just that. But when AJ (Izzy G.), a scrappy, streetwise 10-year-old escaping a difficult home life, stows away in Robert’s rundown RV, the consummate performer suddenly finds himself in a new set of shoes: de facto parent. Fabulously mismatched yet perfectly paired, AJ and Ruby must find a way to navigate through tough times as they learn a few tricks from one another and roll on to brighter days.”

The post Netflix Offers a Tease of RuPaul in the Upcoming Scripted Series ‘AJ and the Queen’ — WATCH appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.


Netflix Offers a Tease of RuPaul in the Upcoming Scripted Series ‘AJ and the Queen’ — WATCH

2004 Family Christmas Movie Goes Viral After Viewers Discover Nearly Identical Gay and Straight Versions, Created by Swapping One Parent

2004 Family Christmas Movie Goes Viral After Viewers Discover Nearly Identical Gay and Straight Versions, Created by Swapping One Parent

The 2004 movies Too Cool for Christmas and A Very Cool Christmas went viral this week after social media realized that they are the exact same movie expect for one parent, who was swapped out to create a gay and straight version of the films.

Fascinating. And since one version is on Hulu and the other on Prime you can open two windows and play both at the same time. I know because I just did… t.co/sLcukrqULA pic.twitter.com/bHLFdfdQje

— David F. Sandberg (@ponysmasher) November 11, 2019

Director Sam Irvin spoke to Buzzfeed News about the films: “Back in those days, there was a little bit less open-mindedness to having gay characters. [Filmmakers thought] they would have better chances of selling [the straight version] to those more lucrative markets, but also be able to do an alternate version.”

“Great, we have it! Now let’s swap the actors and do it again.” pic.twitter.com/kGpX2e3onp

— David F. Sandberg (@ponysmasher) November 11, 2019

Irvin said he created the gay version for the LGBTQ network Here TV because it couldn’t afford to finance a full movie so filmmakers swapped a gay actor into the straight version, being produced by Lifetime after networks agreed on the deal. The straight version is now on Hulu and the gay version on Amazon Prime.

Wrote one Twitter user: “Other than the gender of the actor that plays the other parent, the two versions of the film are virtually identical with identical lines being delivered by both the actors and the actress and the exact same camera shots being used for their scenes in both versions…one for the more tolerant Canadian audience and the other one for the presumably more conservative US audience at the time.”

Irvin said it was his insistence that they be identical: “I’m an openly gay director and they said, ‘Why don’t you tweak the dialogue for the dads to make it more gay or whatever?’ And I said, ‘Absolutely not. The whole point would be that there is no difference at all, and it shouldn’t matter.’ I wouldn’t do it.”

More at Buzzfeed News.

The post 2004 Family Christmas Movie Goes Viral After Viewers Discover Nearly Identical Gay and Straight Versions, Created by Swapping One Parent appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.


2004 Family Christmas Movie Goes Viral After Viewers Discover Nearly Identical Gay and Straight Versions, Created by Swapping One Parent