Author: Randy Slovacek

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Photos: Cyndi Lauper’s 9th Annual ‘Home For The Holidays’ Benefit Concert

Billy Porter at the 9th Annual “Home for the Holidays” event for True Colors United
Cyndi Lauper – the Grammy, Emmy and Tony-winning icon and advocate – hosted for her 9th annual Cyndi Lauper & Friends: Home for the Holidays benefit concert, presented by Marriott International and AEG, on December 10th. Along with Cyndi and her band, guests this year included modern pop icon Kesha, Grammy/Tony/Emmy-winner Billy Porter, 3x Grammy-winning artist Brandi Carlile, prolific chart-topper and staunch LGBTQ advocate Belinda Carlisle, punk icon Henry Rollins, legendary comics Carol Leifer and Lily Tomlin, and Grammy & Emmy-nominated actress/performer Margaret Cho, among many others. Cyndi also welcomed back Emmy-winner and TCU board member Carson Kressley as host.
Belinda Carlisle and Cyndi Lauper perform ‘True Colors’
“Home for the Holidays is known for always having a cool and eclectic mix of performers,” said Lauper. “I mean, c’mon. Where else are you gonna see Billy Porter and Henry Rollins on the same bill! It’s going to be such a great night.” 100% of the net proceeds from the concert will support True Colors United’s programs to prevent and end homelessness among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. In America, up to 40% of the 4.2 million youth experiencing homelessness in America are LGBTQ and, according to a recent study from Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, LGBTQ young people are 120% more likely to experience homelessness than non-LGBTQ youth. Among many other initiatives, Lauper, who co-founded the organization eleven years ago, has testified and helped secure funding in Congress for a new federal program that is working to finally bring an end to youth homelessness in over 70 communities nationwide. Head over to the official website for more information.
The one and only Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper with Kesha
L-R Margaret Cho, Kesha, Cyndi Lauper, Billy Porter, Justin Tranter
Emmy and Grammy Award winner Billy Porter
(all photos courtesy of True Colors United)

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Introducing Your Boo To The Family At Christmastime

The holidays can bring you and your significant-other closer even as you cope with the stress of including them in family events. The folks at ForHims.com have come up with some helpful tips for that big moment when you introduce your boo to the family: Tell your parents about your partner:

  • Have a quick meeting with them without your partner to go over your expectations
  • Share your partner’s stories and dietary restrictions and hobbies

Set expectations for your partner

  • Tell your partner about good things about your parents’
  • Talk to your partner about your parents’ viewpoints and what topics to pay attention to

Help your partner be prepared

  • Let them know what your family’s dinner etiquette is like
  • Prepare some answers to some common questions your parents might ask

Exit strategy

  • Arrange a code word or signal with your S.O. beforehand which means, “I need to get out of here now.”
  • Have another commitment in mind that you can use as an excuse for escaping
  • Only commit to visiting for a limited period of time

Final Words: Give it Time All first-time family meetings with your S.O. can bring some anxiety. But, don’t stress out, have patience and be open to understanding different viewpoints.

(graphic via ForHims.com)

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Judge Sues State Commission After Reprimand For Turning Away Same-Sex Weddings

Justice of the Peace Dianne Hensley (screen capture)
A judge in Texas is suing the state agency that oversees judicial misconduct after she was reprimanded for refusing to marry same-sex couples. Justice of the Peace Dianne Hensley, of McLennan County, has filed a lawsuit against the State Commission on Judicial Conduct saying the disciplinary action constituted a violation of her rights under the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act. On Monday, December 2, the Commission issued a warning to Hensley saying her refusal to perform same-sex marriages cast “doubt on her capacity to act impartially to persons appearing before her as a judge due to the person’s sexual orientation.” According to the Houston Chronicle, such warnings are the second-highest order of discipline the committee can take against a judge. Continuing to turn away same-sex couples could result in impeachment by the Commission, removing her from her judicial post. In 2017, Hensley told the Waco Tribune-Herald that her “Bible-believing” Christian conscience keeps her from performing same-sex weddings and she feels she’s entitled to a “religious exemption.” The Tribune-Herald reports Hensley is seeking $10,000 in damages as well as a declaratory judgment that the commission violated her religious rights. Additionally, she asks for class-action relief to allow any justice of the peace to turn away same-sex couples who want to get married. After the historic June 2015 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court which made marriage equality the law of the land, some judges and justices of the peace who did not approve of same-sex marriages stopped performing wedding ceremonies altogether to avoid discriminating against LGBTQs. The court filing notes that Hensley has officiated 328 wedding ceremonies since August 2016, all of them were for heterosexual couples. In the clip below, Hensley tells the local news station KXXV, “I have no desire to offend anybody, but the last person I want to offend is God.” A local LGBTQ activist, Carmen Saenz, told the news station Hensley is “free to believe however she wants.” Saenz added, “But you can’t discriminate against people as an elected official.” Hensley issued a statement to KXXV saying, “I sought a solution so that anyone in McLennan County who wants to get married can do so. I have, do, and always will follow the law.”

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Olivia Wilde To Be Honored By LGBTQ Entertainment Critics

Olivia Wilde (image via Instagram)
GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA.org) has chosen Olivia Wilde as its Wilde Artist of the Year for 2019, with a special tribute to the Booksmart filmmaker set for Sunday, February 2 at the national group’s 11th Dorian Awards Winners Toast in L.A. Full disclosure – I’m a voting member of GALECA 🙂 The accolade, named for GALECA’s “patron saint” Oscar Wilde, goes to “a truly groundbreaking force in film, theater and/or television.” “Olivia’s inventive direction of Booksmart, with its vivid, heartbreaking and humanly funny depiction of teen lives—be they straight or gay—makes the movie a much-needed enlightened update to even the most beloved genre classics,” said GALECA Executive Director John Griffiths. “As an organization whose awards go to all of film and TV, not only LGBTQ-centric, we love how Olivia’s dedication to keeping all of Booksmart‘s characters’ emotions so affectingly real—amid the movie’s fresh and layered plot, no less—practically leaps off the screen. She’s too smart to ever let the cast—a diverse group that reflects actual high school campus experience for a change—slip into stereotypes. No wonder Booksmart’s become such a touchstone for Gen Z.” Wilde’s ability to get “such moving, bold and even star-making performances” out of Booksmart’s stars Kaitlyn Dever, Beanie Feldstein and Diana Silvers, “shows how wildly talented a director she is,” added GALECA President Diane Anderson-Minshall, Editorial Director of The Advocate magazine. “And the awkward first-love scenes were beyond evocative. All said, we’re thrilled to be able to raise a glass to the woman who directed one of the year’s best-reviewed films.” In addition to earning raves for her first-time directorial effort, Wilde also scored excellent notices earlier this year for her brave and raw performance as Sadie, a victim of domestic abuse turned vigilante, in the independent film A Vigilante. She previously appeared in such films as director Spike Jonze’s Her, Ron Howard’s Rush and the indie hit Butter. Currently, she can be seen on-screen alongside Sam Rockwell and Kathy Bates in director Clint Eastwood’s Richard Jewell. Away from acting, Wilde is a strong activist who works with major organizations in the push for women’s rights, voter rights, and education and health for the poor. Past GALECA’s Dorian Award for Wilde Artist of the Year winners include the likes of Jordan Peele, Todd Haynes, Kate McKinnon, Jill Soloway and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Dorian Award nominations across 27 film and TV categories—including the group’s trademark Campy and Unsung honors—will be announced January 3, 2020. Winners aside from Olivia Wilde will be revealed January 8.   (via press release)

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Teen Bodybuilder Inspiring Folks To Take Charge Of Their Lives

Alex Tilinca (image via Instagram)
Alex Tilinca is a lot like other 18-year-olds in their freshman year of college. Having reached the end of his first semester as a marketing major at Hofstra University, the teen is putting all his attention on his studies for upcoming final exams. Being a good student, he’s stepped away for a short time from his favorite sport, amateur bodybuilding, where Tilinca doesn’t just compete in competitions, but he’s an award-winning transgender competitor in the sport.

Last August, Tilinca enter the Teen Classic Physique competition in the Bronx and took home the first place trophy beating out cisgender bodybuilders. “It was like the universe was telling me to keep going. Don’t stop,” Tilinca told New York Newsday. “This is what I’m meant to do with my life. It shows it’s possible to do what I want to do.” While he’s talking a breather from the sport to focus on his studies, he still has an amazing physique. In a recent Instagram post, he told his 18,000+ followers he’s letting his 5’3” body “situate” at his current weight (165 lbs)  and giving his body “a breather to really settle.”

Tilinca says he didn’t set out with the intention of becoming a bodybuilder. He started lifting after having top surgery two years ago and wanted to put on some weight. “I just wanted a little more muscle,” he told Newsday. “But I really think once you get the bug, it’s very, very hard to just stop.” “When I saw bodybuilding, I saw it as a tool of control over what you look like,” Tilinca said. “For someone being trans, that’s amazing. It’s really empowering. If you don’t like something, you know you can change it. It’s like sculpting your own body.” Newsday spoke with two-time Mr. Olympia runner-up Sadik Hadzovic, who has coached Alex, about the empowering nature of bodybuilding. “I can relate to what Alex went through,” Hadzovic told Newsday. “When I was 18 years old, I hated my body. Whether you are a man or woman or transgender or not, it doesn’t make a difference. We are all the same. We just want to improve ourselves and be a little bigger, a little faster, look a little better.” Obviously, Tilinca’s progress in the eighteen months he’s been working out has yielded incredible results. In the below post on Instagram, he weighed 130 lbs. and had 5-6% body fat.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Anyone wanna guess my waist size about 2 days out here? 🤔 . #throwback

A post shared by Alex Tilinca (@alextilinca) on

The National Physique Committee (NPC) is the largest amateur bodybuilding organization in the United States and often viewed as a stepping stone to competing at the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBF) competitions. The IFBF hosts the annual competition that awards the Mr. Olympia title. Tilinca says his ultimate goal is to become the first trans man to win the biggest prize of all in the bodybuilding world, Mr. Olympia. Newsday notes that the National Physique Committee doesn’t have any specific rules in regard to transgender competitors on its official website, and so Tilinca never told anyone he’s trans. He just put his head down and worked hard on his body. It’s important to the teen that the world see transgender people not as “victims” but as people who can “do anything they set their minds to.” And he’s proving that one bicep curl at a time. Go, Alex! Click here to watch Newsday’s video feature on Alex.

(h/t Outsports, Newsday)

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News Round-Up: December 16, 2019

Some news items you might have missed: • Reddit: Hottie David Beckham (above) has a really, really nice…watch. • NY Times: The latest developments on the impeachment of Donald Trump. • Philadelphia Inquirer: Democratic Rep. Jeff Van Drew announced last week his intention to switch parties and become a Republican after less than a year in office. Voter fraud might be rare, but Van Drew has essentially defrauded people who voted him in. • NBC News: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) isn’t even pretending to be an impartial juror. “I’m not trying to pretend to be a fair juror here.” Please note: Senate rules require members to take a specific oath before an impeachment trial gets underway: “I solemnly swear (or affirm) that in all things appertaining to the trial of ____, now pending, I will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws, so help me God.” • Washington Post: U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan of Washington, D.C. rejected Michael Flynn’s attacks against the FBI and the Justice Department, setting a long-delayed sentencing for President Trump’s former national security adviser for Jan. 28. • LA Times: The Supreme Court refused Monday to hear a major case on homelessness, letting stand a ruling that protects homeless people’s right to sleep on the sidewalk or in public parks if no other shelter is available. • Politico: Congress is on the verge of a sweeping health care reform – Federally prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to people under 21. • PBS News Hour poll: Biden leads with 24%, followed closely by Sanders at 22%. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is third with 17%, followed by South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg at 13%, all together making up a clear top tier of four candidates. • Christmas Music: Faith Hill’s “Where Are You Christmas?” from the soundtrack of the 2000 holiday film, Dr. Suess’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas,  co-written by James Horner and Will Jennings. Christmas and pop power ballad (with a big ole key change) all in one. What’s not to like?

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Video: Sheriff’s Deputy Body Slams 12-Year-Old TWICE

From ABC News:

A sheriff’s deputy caught on security video twice body-slamming a child under the age of 12 at a North Carolina middle school was fired on Monday morning and state investigators are deciding whether to file criminal charges against him, officials said.

The deputy’s termination is “effective immediately,” Vance County, North Carolina, Sheriff Curtis Brame told ABC station WTVD in Durham, North Carolina. The disturbing incident occurred on Thursday at the Vance County Middle School in Henderson, about 40 miles northeast of Durham.

In the school surveillance video, the deputy, a school resource officer, is seen walking with the child down a hallway when suddenly he lunges at the boy, lifts him off the ground and slams him to the floor on his back. Without checking the child for injuries, the deputy picks the student up again and throws him to the floor a second time and drags him down the hall and out of the view of the camera, according to the footage.

Trust and believe, if an adult man picked up a child of mine and body-slammed them like this, he’d be more than fired. This comes less than a week after a Florida sheriff’s deputy, caught on video slamming a 15-year-old student face-first into the pavement, was fired. Remember – Attorney General William Barr says people need to show more respect to law enforcement. This isn’t how you inspire respect.

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Hallmark Channel Drops Then Reinstates LGBTQ Inclusive Commercials

The Hallmark Channel is having a decidedly difficult December. The cable television channel announced on Thursday it would stop airing four ads from the wedding planning website Zola which included lesbian brides kissing in marriage ceremonies after virulently anti-LGBTQ organization One Million Moms complained about the spots. At the time, a spokesperson for the company told the New York Times it did not accept ads “that are deemed controversial.”  The spokesman said the women’s public displays of affection “violated the channel’s policies,” but didn’t elaborate as to why a nearly identical ad featuring a bride and groom kissing was not rejected.

Zola then announced it would pull all of its advertising from the channel. In a statement released on Sunday, president and CEO Mike Perry said the team at Hallmark Channel’s parent company, Crown Media Family Networks, had “been agonizing over this decision as we’ve seen the hurt it has unintentionally caused” and that “they believe this was the wrong decision.” “Our mission is rooted in helping all people connect, celebrate traditions and be inspired to capture meaningful moments in their lives,” he said. “Anything that detracts from this purpose is not who we are. We are truly sorry for the hurt and disappointment this has caused.” Perry added his company would work with national LGBTQ media advocacy group GLAAD “to better represent the LGBTQ community across our portfolio of brands,” and that it planned on contacting Zola to “re-establish our partnership and reinstate the commercials.”

“We were deeply troubled when Hallmark rejected our commercials for featuring a lesbian couple celebrating their marriage, and are relieved to see that decision was reversed,” said Mike Chi, the chief marketing officer of Zola. “We are humbled by everyone who showed support not only for Zola, but for all the LGBTQ couples and families who express their love on their wedding day, and every day.” Sarah Kate Ellis, the president and chief executive of GLAAD, said: “The Hallmark Channel’s decision to correct its mistake sends an important message to LGBTQ people and represents a major loss for fringe organizations, like One Million Moms, whose sole purpose is to hurt families like mine. LGBTQ people are, and will continue to be, a part of advertisements and family programming, and that will never change.” Amid all the flip-flopping by Hallmark, Freeform, formerly ABC Family which has created LGBTQ-friendly content like The Fosters, The Bold Type, and Good Trouble, tweeted that it would be happy to air Zola’s inclusive ads over the holidays. “This is what happens when you focus all your energy on exclusion instead of clever plotlines,” tweeted Freeform. “Call us, Zola. We celebrate the holidays with everyone.”

Earlier in December, the Hallmark Channel network was targeted by outraged conservatives after CEO Bill Abbott said he was “open” to creating LGBTQ-themed holiday movies last month. (image via screen capture)