Author: Randy Slovacek

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American Idol: Cynthia Erivo & Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon Sing “Time After Time”

Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon, the openly gay son of a Maryland pastor, had the good fortune to be paired with Tony/Grammy/Emmy Award-winning actress (The Color Purple) Cynthia Erivo for a luscious, show stopping performance of Cyndi Lauper’s classic hit, “Time After Time.”
Cynthia Erivo & Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon on ‘American Idol’

It was “Celebrity Duets” week on American Idol, and the talent competition saw 6 contestants eliminated as the show heads towards opening up the voting to the public next week.

Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon, the openly gay son of a Maryland pastor, had the good fortune to be paired with Tony/Grammy/Emmy Award-winning actress (The Color Purple) Cynthia Erivo for a luscious, show stopping performance of Cyndi Lauper’s classic hit, “Time After Time.”

Side note: Erivo’s performance in the Broadway revival of Color Purple was a transformational experience – easily one of the most powerful star turns this writer has ever seen onstage. She deserved every accolade and honor for her gut-wrenching turn as “Miss Celie.”

And now, back to American Idol…

The song was an inspired choice that played to both singers’ strengths. With complicated runs, obvious chemistry and effortless high notes, the performance definitely impressed the judges.

Katy Perry: “It’s like you guys’ souls were singing to each other…It was a spiritual moment for me.”

Luke Bryan: “It was incredible. I’m sitting on the edge of my seat going, ‘Please go for the big note;’ and you did it, and you just knocked it outta the park. Great job.”

Lionel Richie: “That was glorious. Glorious…We just witnessed a masterful performance.”

In a recent interview with Out, Harmon shared that American Idol hasn’t quite told his story as honestly as he’d like.

Thus far, his narrative has been one of rejection by his family after he came out.

“I’ve never said that my parents have rejected me, or don’t accept me as me, their son,” Harmon told Out. “And that in combination with my parents not being able to make it to the first couple performances and [not being] featured on the show yet, you know, it’s easy for people to take that and run with it and say, ‘Oh, Jeremiah’s parents are these monstrous, abusive people,’ which in reality, they’re just trying to integrate this experience and they’re processing it in their own way.”

Racking up strong performances like “Time After Time,” plus previous turns with “Landslide” and an original song, “Heaven,” Harmon’s family will have more time to “process” the experience as Harmon advanced to the Top 14 and will continue his AI journey.

Watch Harmon and Erivo make musical magic with “Time After Time” below.

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Trailer For Upcoming Revival Of Armistead Maupin’s ‘Tales Of The City’

Murray Bartlett and Laura Linney in ‘Tales of the City’

Netflix’s highly anticipated revival of Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City has released its first official teaser trailer.

Based on the serial novels by Maupin, Tales of the City chronicles the lives of a group of friends living at 28 Barbary Lane in San Francisco.

“When I first got off the bus years ago,” says Laura Linney’s character at the beginning of the trailer, “I had the strangest feeling that I’d come home.”

Before HBO’s Looking or Showtime’s Queer As Folk, Tales of the City developed a huge following due to the acclaimed PBS miniseries in 1993. That success spawned two sequels (More Tales of the City in 1998, Further Tales of the City in 2001) produced by Showtime.

More than 20 years later, original cast members Laura Linney and Olympia Dukakis are back, and they are joined by new cast members including Ellen Page, Charlie Barnett, Murray Bartlet, Daniela Vega and Molly Ringwald.

In the 10-episode series, Mary Ann Singleton (Laura Linney) returns to San Francisco after 20 years and is reunited with her ex-hubby Brian (Paul Gross) and daughter Shawna (Ellen Page).

Despite a “picture-perfect” life in Connecticut, a mid-life crisis sends Mary Ann back into the world of Anna Madrigal (Dukakis) and Maupin’s signature slate of eccentric San Francisco characters.

Look for RuPaul’s Drag Race alum, Bob the Drag Queen, in the mix along with more of the rich tapestry of community that is San Francisco.

Olympia Dukakis and Bob the Drag Queen (courtesy photo)
Olympia Dukakis and Bob the Drag Queen (courtesy photo)

The series is scheduled to have its world premiere at the San Francisco Film Festival this Friday, April 10.

The rest of the world will have to wait until the June 7 debut on Netflix.

Check out the new teaser trailer for Tales of the City below.

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Taylor Swift Donates $133K To Fight Anti-LGBTQ Legislation In Tennessee

International recording artist Taylor Swift has donated $113,000 to the Tennessee Equality Project to aid in its attempts to stop state lawmakers from passing a slew of legislation that has been labeled as a “slate of hate.”
Taylor Swift

International recording artist Taylor Swift has donated $113,000 to the Tennessee Equality Project to aid in its attempts to stop state lawmakers from passing a slew of legislation that has been labeled as a “slate of hate.”

Chris Sanders, of Tennessee Equality Project, announced the donation.

“She sees our struggle in Tennessee and continues to add her voice with so many good people, including religious leaders, who are speaking out for love in the face of fear,” Sanders said on Facebook.

In a handwritten note to the organization, Swift praised the group for organizing a group of Tennessee faith leaders in a petition against the legislation.

“I’m so grateful that they’re giving all people a place to worship,” she wrote.

The bills being considered in the state legislature would:

• Allow adoption agencies to legally discriminate against prospective LGBTQ parents

• Ban transgender people from using the bathroom or locker room that aligns with their gender identity

• Ban marriage equality in spite of the 2015 Obergefell decision at the U.S. Supreme Court

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Attorney General Will Release Mueller Report “Within A Week”

Testifying before the House Appropriations Committee on budget matters, Attorney General William P. Barr said he will be releasing a redacted version of the Mueller report within a week.

Testifying before the House Appropriations Committee on budget matters, Attorney General William P. Barr said he will be releasing a redacted version of the Mueller report within a week.

From the New York Times:

Attorney General William P. Barr said he will deliver the Mueller report to Congress and the public within a week, reiterating his earlier promise to release it by mid-April.

Testifying before lawmakers, Mr. Barr said he would be transparent about redactions in the report. But he demurred when asked whether he has briefed the White House on it.

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Massachusetts Is The 16th State To Ban ‘Conversion Therapy’ For Minors

With a stroke of his pen, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has signed a bill into law banning the harmful practice of so-called 'conversion therapy' for minors in his state.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker

With a stroke of his pen, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has signed a bill into law banning the harmful practice of so-called ‘conversion therapy’ for minors in his state.

That brings the total number of states to prohibit the medically discredited practice to 16.

Massachusetts joins New Jersey, California, Oregon, Illinois, Vermont, New Mexico, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Nevada, Washington, Hawaii, Delaware, Maryland, New Hampshire, and New York, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

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Felicity Huffman Plus 13 Will Plead Guilty To College Scandal

Felicity Huffman (image via Wikimedia)

Former Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman will plead guilty in the recent college admissions scandal.

According to Variety, Huffman was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. The criminal complaint alleges she paid $15,000 to a college admissions consultant, William Singer, to improve her daughter’s SAT score.

Huffman arranged to have her daughter take the SAT at the West Hollywood Test Center, which Singer controlled.

Huffman was also able to obtain extra time for her daughter to take the test. Singer admitted to hiring a proctor to correct answers on students’ exams.

Huffman’s daughter got a 1420 on the test, a 400 point improvement on her PSAT result.

The Oscar-nominated actress issued a statement about the guilty plea:

“I am in full acceptance of my guilt, and with deep regret and shame over what I have done, I accept full responsibility for my actions and will accept the consequences that stem from those actions.

“I am ashamed of the pain I have caused my daughter, my family, my friends, my colleagues and the educational community. I want to apologize to them and, especially, I want to apologize to the students who work hard every day to get into college, and to their parents who make tremendous sacrifices to support their children and do so honestly.”

“My daughter knew absolutely nothing about my actions, and in my misguided and profoundly wrong way, I have betrayed her. This transgression toward her and the public I will carry for the rest of my life. My desire to help my daughter is no excuse to break the law or engage in dishonesty.”

(image by Angela George, CC BY-SA 3.0)

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Mayor Pete Wows The Crowd At LGBTQ Victory Fund Brunch

Mayor Pete Buttigieg wowed the crowd at this year's LGBTQ Victory Fund brunch in Washington DC.
Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana

It was quite the heady weekend for White House hopeful Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana.

He began his Sunday on the front page of the Washington Post. That was followed with a full Meet The Press segment with NBC News’ Chuck Todd.

From there, he went straight to a fundraising brunch for the LGBTQ Victory Fund which supports – who else? – LGBTQ candidates.

Speaking to the audience, Buttigieg shared that his dream as a child was to explore space. Clearly, things took a different direction.

“As a kid I was hoping one day I’d be an astronaut,” he shared, “but no way would I have believed that one fine day in the spring of 2019 I would be standing in a ballroom in Washington, 37 years old, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, in my eighth year as mayor of my hometown, a couple hours after going on Meet The Press as a credible contender for the American presidency, with my husband looking on from his table!”

Funny how that happens, no?

The 37-year-old mayor confided that he wasn’t always so comfortable being open about his sexuality. In fact, he says he would have “done anything” to change that part of himself.

When I was younger, I would have done anything to not be gay. When I began to halfway realize what it meant, it launched in me something I can only describe as a kind of war. And if the war had been settled on the terms that I would have wished for when I was 15 or 20 or, frankly, even 25 I would not be standing here. If you had offered me a pill to make me straight, I would’ve swallowed it before you had time to give me a sip of water.

Mayor Pete added, “Thank God, there was no pill.”

The military veteran also spoke eloquently about his marriage to his husband, Chasten. In doing so, he referenced Vice President Mike Pence, who has a long history of anti-LGBTQ positions including opposing same-sex marriage.

“Being married to Chasten has made me a better human being because it has made me more compassionate, more understanding, more self-aware and more decent,” he said at the fundraising brunch.

“My marriage to Chasten has made me a better man. And yes, Mr. Vice President, it has moved me closer to God,” he added.

The two-term mayor also told the crowd that if Pence and others have a “problem” with him being gay, then their problem is not with Buttigieg but with his “creator.”

“Speaking only for myself, I can tell you that if me being gay was a choice, it was a choice that was made far, far above my pay grade,” Buttigieg said.

“And that’s the thing I wish the Mike Pences of the world would understand,” he continued. “If you’ve got a problem with who I am, your problem is not with me. Your quarrel, sir, is with my creator.”

Buttigieg has announced an “event” for Sunday, April 14, where he is expected to officially announce his entry into the 2020 presidential race.

His team has announced he raised over $7 million in the first quarter and has surpassed the 65,000 donor threshold in order to qualify for the first two Democratic debates scheduled for this summer.

You can watch Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s full speech at the LGBTQ Victory Fund brunch below.

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Madonna Will Perform Two Songs At Eurovision Grand Finale

International pop star Madonna has been confirmed for the Eurovision Grand Finale in Tel Aviv on May 18.
Madonna (image via Instagram)

International pop star Madonna has been confirmed for the Eurovision Grand Finale in Tel Aviv on May 18.

The Jerusalem Post reports that Madge asked for $1 million to perform two songs – one catalogue hit and one new track from her upcoming album – at the international music event.

Sylvan Adams, an Israeli-Canadian billionaire, offered to cover the cost telling the Post, “I saw the importance of bringing the iconic singer to Tel Aviv and creating a memorable historic performance.

Adams told reporters at the INTV conference that he sees the opportunity as a way to boost tourism to Israel.

“I think the more people we bring here, the more people see our true nature, and the true beauty of our country and our people, and the freedom and openness and tolerance and safety of our country,” said Adams.

Traveling with an entourage of 60 people, the 60-year-old pop icon will arrive four days before the live performance.

Madonna’s last performance in Israel was in 2012 when she launched her world tour in Tel Aviv.

Her appearance comes at a complicated time for the LGBTQ community in Israel.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a group of LGBTQ activists that he would not promise to promote LGBTQ equality.

In February, the Association for LGBTQ Equality sent a report to Israel’s President Rivlin which documented a 54% jump from 2017 to 2018 in homophobic incidents.

(h/t Jerusalem Post)

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Homeland Security Secretary Nielsen The Latest Target Of “Reputation Killer” Trump

Everyone is talking about the sudden departure of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen this past weekend.
Kirstjen Nielsen

Everyone is talking about the sudden departure of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen this past weekend.

She showed up for a meeting at the White House with Donald Trump on Sunday, and before she could even make her resignation public, Trump beat her via Twitter.

According to the New York Times:

“I have determined that it is the right time for me to step aside,” Ms. Nielsen said in a resignation letter. “I hope that the next secretary will have the support of Congress and the courts in fixing the laws which have impeded our ability to fully secure America’s borders and which have contributed to discord in our nation’s discourse.”

Ms. Nielsen had requested the meeting to plan “a way forward” at the border, in part thinking she could have a reasoned conversation with Mr. Trump about the role, according to three people familiar with the meeting. She came prepared with a list of things that needed to change to improve the relationship with the president.

Mr. Trump in recent weeks had asked Ms. Nielsen to close the ports of entry along the border and to stop accepting asylum seekers, which Ms. Nielsen found ineffective and inappropriate. While the 30-minute meeting was cordial, Mr. Trump was determined to ask for her resignation. After the meeting, she submitted it.

This morning, folks believe Nielsen’s tenure in the Trump administration could be a “reputation killer.”

“Kirstjen Nielsen I think is a great example of what happens when you go to work for Donald Trump,” said CNN’s Jeffrey Toobin. “He is the great reputation killer. Here is this woman who was a reasonably admired bureaucrat. For the rest of her life people will look at her and think, ‘Oh, that’s the woman who put children in cages. That’s the woman who broke up families across the border.’ You know what? They’ll be right.”

The NY Times also notes that Trump reportedly urged Nielsen to take illegal actions to tamp down what he saw as the immigration ’emergency.”

The president called Ms. Nielsen at home early in the mornings to demand that she take action to stop migrants from entering the country, including doing things that were clearly illegal, such as blocking all migrants from seeking asylum.

She repeatedly noted the limitations imposed on her department by federal laws, court settlements and international obligations.

Those responses only infuriated Mr. Trump further.

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Hunky Taron Egerton Covers GQ Magazine UK

As Kingsman star Taron Egerton prepares for the release of his latest cinematic adventure - playing Elton John in the upcoming musical fantasy biopic Rocketman - the handsome actor makes an unexpected admission.
Taron Egerton (screen capture via YouTube)

As Kingsman star Taron Egerton prepares for the release of his latest cinematic adventure – playing Elton John in the upcoming musical fantasy biopic Rocketman – the handsome actor makes an unexpected admission.

“Without ever wishing to seem ungrateful for the Kingsmanthing,” he tells GQ UK’s Chris Mandle for this month’s cover story, “as much as I love the films, especially the first, I will always feel like something of an imposter in that world.”

Imposter? What you talking about, Taron?

“The ‘guy’, the ‘bro’, the ‘stunt guy’,” says the 29-year-old actor, highlighting the phrases with air quotes. “I’ve never been that guy. I’m just not. I’m the guy who was playing Seymour in Little Shop Of Horrors when he was 17.”

When Mandle points out that it’s all acting anyway, Egerton conceded – a bit.

“Maybe,” said the handsome actor. “But I always felt more at home in a gay club than at a football match, far more at home.”

(photo: Gavin Bond)

And speaking of “gay,” Egerton addresses the reports about a certain sex scene that was rumored to have been excised from the film, but then wasn’t.

“Well, the stuff we shot was pretty explicit,” Egerton shares. “I mean, that’s why I made the film. Those scenes are desperately -important when you have an icon of that magnitude, who means so much to one community.”

Calling Elton John “a standard bearer” for the LGBTQ community, Egerton felt it his responsibility to live up to that.

“For me, especially as a heterosexual actor, not to push the envelope as far as I can or try to make it a wholehearted celebration of being a gay man would be wrong,” he told GQ.

The Welsh actor has heard the stories about Bohemian Rhapsody being “straight-washed” for other countries where overt gay-isms don’t go over so well. He says banking box office bucks shouldn’t trump a film’s cinematic integrity.

“It’s a studio movie. It’s Elton John. We’ve got to own that. I don’t care how well the film does in Russia. It doesn’t matter. It can’t matter. What’s an extra $25 million at the box office? What are you willing to do for that? Sacrifice sleeping at night because you watered the whole thing down?”

What Egerton won’t ‘water down’ is the small amount of his life he shares on social media. Taron is going to be Taron.

Still somewhat new to Instagram, he posted a photo of a longtime friend last October, with the caption “Cutie. My boy.” Egerton learned how quickly people will read into a post and assume he was attempting to come out.

He clarified the situation in an interview, saying he’s straight, but shares the background of the post with GQ UK.

“I’ve known that guy since I was eleven,” he explained. “And he is a cutie. I call all my friend stuff like that. Anyone can tell you. [But] it doesn’t mean I want to f*ck any of them.”

In fact, Egerton isn’t all that fond of labels when it comes to how we view each other.

“I’m not someone who really subscribes to this binary view of male and female archetypes or ways of behaving,” he says. “And it’s only going to happen more and more. The lines are blurring. People are identifying and expressing themselves more fluidly. Our concept of what a straight man or gay man looks like or is expected to behave in 20 years will be nothing like it is now.”

Egerton’s GQ UK cover story (with gorgeous photography by Gavin Bond) is on newsstands now.

Rocketman hits theaters May 31.

(h/t GQ UK)