Author: Randy Slovacek

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Funny: TripAdvisor Shades ‘Straight Pride’ Using Gay Anthem Song Titles

Earlier this week, I reported on streaming giant Netflix sending a cease-and-desist letter to the organizer’s of the upcoming ‘Straight Pride Parade’ scheduled in Boston next month.

The homophobic organizer’s used several corporations logos without permission in an effort to appear that they were “in negotiations” with the companies for sponsorship.

Nope, they weren’t.

Netflix got sassy with a sentence in the letter reading, “You should know that we’re unafraid of bullies. Our legal department is here, it’s queer, and it’s telling you to steer clear.”

Well, now TripAdvisor got wind of the homophobes using their logo, and they ain’t having it either.

Check out the letter TripAdvisor sent the organizers using the titles of several LGBT anthem song titles. You’ll note the capitalized words:

Dear Mr. Hugo,

I am writing on behalf of TripAdvisor LLC concerning Super Fun Happy America’s unauthorized use of TripAdvisor’s logo, as displayed on your website [snip]. I’m Coming Out and saying this clearly: you are infringing upon TripAdvisor’s intellectual property rights. Further, your statement that you are “in negotiations” with TripAdvisor as a “potential sponsor” is completely false.

To be precise, your use of the TripAdvisor trademark and our Beautiful logo infringes TripAdvisor’s trademark and trade name rights. TripAdvisor’s trademarks are protected in many countries around the world and Over The Rainbow, including in the United States under Registration Nos. 2727627, 3171193, 4612678, and 445774. We have become a well-known brand for our reviews of hotels, restaurants, experiences and even the occasional YMCA, but we weren’t Born This Way – we obtained that recognition through significant advertising and promotion since as early as 2000. As a result of the breadth of the services it provides and its widespread renown, TripAdvisor enjoys substantial rights in its mark and name.

Contrary to your claims, TripAdvisor is not “in negotiations” with your organization for sponsorship of its “Straight Pride Parade.” Similarly, we have not authorized you to use our name or logo in any way. You Need To Calm Down – you are not sponsored by, associated or affiliated with TripAdvisor in any way, and thus, your use of our marks could confuse the public as to an affiliation with TripAdvisor. These inaccurate statements, which I trust do not show your True Colors, infringe on TripAdvisor’s rights under the Lanham Act, and impinge upon our Freedom! to decide with what organizations we want to associate our brand. Have A Little Respect and remove those statements. TripAdvisor and I Will Survive without being associated with your event.

There is nothing Vogue or acceptable about making false claims about others merely to support your own cause. If I Could Turn Back Time, I would tell you not to use our name in the first place. But now that you have, TripAdvisor demands that you remove all uses of our name, mark and logo from your website (and anywhere else you might use it) within 24 hour and not use them again. In other words, Black Me Out with an “X” on the above webpage. You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) disappointment that you thought this might be an acceptable way to do business.

The travel website also tweeted, “TripAdvisor is a proud and inclusive workplace. Our lawyers are definitely the most creative defenders of diversity!” The tweet also tagged gay divas Madonna, Lady Gaga, Diana Ross, Cher, Christina Aguilera, Cyndi Lauper, Gloria Gaynor, and Taylor Swift.

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Billy Porter: ‘Conservatives Are Human Beings, Too – It’s All About Respecting Each Other’s Humanity’

In the afterglow of his Emmy Award nomination in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series category for his work as 'Pray Tell' in the acclaimed FX series POSE, Billy Porter shared with The Wrap how the show is teaching all kinds of people - himself included - about a world too few understand.
Billy Porter in POSE

In the afterglow of his Emmy Award nomination in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
category for his work as ‘Pray Tell’ in the acclaimed FX series POSE, Billy Porter shared with The Wrap how the show is teaching all kinds of people – himself included – about a world too few understand.

“There are a lot of older white people who are watching the show who stop me on the street and thank us for being brave and bold enough to stand inside of our truth — when many in the world think our truth is insignificant, that our truth is mutable, that it’s dismissible. That our humanity is up for legislation, constantly.”

“Some of the people that I’ve come in contact with are conservatives. Conservatives are human beings, too. They can be moved and can be changed. It’s all about respecting each other’s humanity. We get to teach people how to do that. How to love. How to choose love and not hate.”

“I came out when I was 16 in 1987 and we went straight to the front line to fight for our lives. I have realized with this show that the T in LGBTQ has been really absent from my knowledge,” he said.

“If you want to see real authenticity, the bravest kind of authenticity, look at these transgender people and how they live.

“The choice in this world. The necessity to be authentic. We throw that word around a lot. I always say it’s easy to be who you are when what you are is what’s popular. These are true heroes, in my book. and true teachers. They’re teaching us what it means to be honest to be truthful to be authentic — no matter what.”

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Out Music: Sam Smith Busts A Move With “How Do You Sleep?”

Well, look at Sam Smith get down with his bad self.

After a tremendously successful year that saw Dancing With a Stranger garner an amazing one billion streams, hitting #1 in both the US and UK, and going platinum in 15 countries, it seems Mr. Smith is in the mood to dance about.

Smith begins his new single, “How Do You Sleep,” singing ‘I’m done hating myself for feeling / I’m done crying myself awake,’ to an ambient, light-as-air accompaniment before the track kicks into a mid-tempo dance groove complete with hooky chorus.

And that’s when Smith surprises by busting a move (a lot of them!) with a company of half-naked male dancers choreographed by Parris Goebel.

It’s a nice change of pace for the 4-time Grammy Award winner.

The singer tweeted to his fans, “My heart is beating so fast. I’m so proud of this one. Thank you to all the beautiful humans who’ve helped me really come out my shell over the past year. I hope you all enjoy this & please learn the moves so we can dance together soon.”

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Woman Beaten Unconscious In Long Island Hate Crime

A lesbian couple on Long Island were attacked earlier this month in Patchogue in an assault that police say they are investigating as a hate crime.
Kimberly Page was brutally attacked by a group of four men on Long Island

A lesbian couple on Long Island were attacked during the early morning hours of July 7 in an assault that police say they are investigating as a hate crime.

Kimberly Page told Suffolk police she and her girlfriend had been socializing with co-workers and friends in a local bar prior to the assault.

After leaving the bar, the couple were approached on the street by a group of four men, one of whom made homophobic comments to Page’s girlfriend asking why she would want to be with another female.

The women say they ignored the men, but the group persisted. Page says she told them, “I’m trying to make it known I’m not trying to fight or have an altercation.”

Page told NewsDay: “My girlfriend [was] in high heels, a little bit more feminine than I am, and [the suspect said] ‘I’m not going to fight you because you’re a woman, I’m going to fight her,’ meaning me, ‘ because she’s a man.’”

At that point, the man slapped Page’s girlfriend, knocking her to the ground, and then he punched Page causing her to lose consciousness.

“I know now that he was bashing my head on the concrete ground multiple times,” Page told reporters at a press conference. “While that is going on, another one of the men was holding and pushing my girlfriend to the ground, in order for her not to help me.”

Both women were taken to nearby Long Island Community Hospital. Page was held overnight and treated for non-life-threatening injuries, and her girlfriend was treated as well.

At the press conference, Page’s mother, said, “We love Kimberly, we love everything about Kimberly. We wouldn’t change anything about her. But every time she leave the house, I’m afraid.”

Suffolk County Police are offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest in the attack.

Anyone with pertinent information can contact Suffolk County Crime Stoppers via anonymous tip by calling 1-800-220-TIPS, texting “SCPD” and your message to “CRIMES” (274637) or by email at www.tipsubmit.com. All calls, text messages and emails will be kept confidential.

Suffolk County police say they are looking for the man circled in the surveillance photo below in conjunction with the attack.

(photo: SCPD)
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Twitter Responds To CATS Movie Trailer

(screen capture via CATS trailer/Youtube)

Yesterday I shared the newly-unveiled trailer for the upcoming film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hit musical, CATS, due out at Christmas.

Having been a part of the CATS family back in the 1980s, as a cast member of the original national touring companies, I have a personal fondness for the show.

And as a creative person, I knew the movie might take a different direction here and there, and I’m one to keep an open mind.

That said, apparently the trailer didn’t sit all that well with some folks on the interwebs, and they made themselves known on Twitter.

I’ll say up front – let’s not bash the movie before we see it. But, some of these tweets are pretty funny.

Take a look:

And, of course, that burning question:

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Leaked Memo Urges GOP House Members To Pressure Amazon Regarding Conversion Therapy Books

(stock photo of depressed teen via Depositphotos)

A memo currently being circulated among Republican members of Congress asks the lawmakers to “contact Amazon with concerns” regarding “censorship” after the online retail giant announced it had removed books on the subject of so-called ‘conversion therapy.’

Earlier this month, Amazon announced it had removed all books by Dr. Joseph Nicolosi, widely credited as the ‘father of conversion therapy.’

The action by Amazon was the result of months of complaints and an online petition that garnered over 82,000 signatures demanding the removal of the titles which included A Parent’s Guide to Preventing Homosexuality, Healing Homosexualityand How a Gay Boy Became a Straight Man.

Conversion therapy, sometimes known as reparative therapy, has been shown to lead to depression, anxiety, drug use, homelessness and suicide.

The discredited practice of attempting to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity has been widely denounced by major medical organizations like the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association as phony ‘pseudo-science.’

Currently, 18 states plus dozens of local municipalities have banned the harmful practice for minors.

But Vice News obtained a copy of the memo, given to members of the Republican Study Committee, which includes more than 70% of all GOP members of the House. The document was handed out during a private meeting of the members on Wednesday.

It would appear that Republicans want to see Nicolosi’s books back in circulation on Amazon.

“These books were available on Amazon until an LGBT activist repeatedly petitioned Amazon to remove the ‘homophobic books’ from the company’s website,” reads the memo per Vice News. “Amazon removed Dr. Nicolosi’s books and those of several other authors on similar topics.”

“It is not clear that any of the banned books have violated an Amazon policy,” continues the document. “But rather that the company is choosing to censor speech.”

The memo urges the GOP lawmakers to read an article from the Federalist which tries to assert hypocrisy for banning books on conversion therapy when Amazon still sells history book about Hitler, Mussolini, KKK leader David Duke and U.S. terrorist Timothy McVeigh.

Calling the LGBTQ community “a supposedly oppressed and marginalized group,” the Federalistarticle states the community “wields an extravagant amount of power” aimed at “anyone who chooses not to support” LGBTQ rights.

Vice News contacted Rep. Mark Walker (R-NC) who has previously chaired the Republican Study Committee. Walker shared he didn’t know about the move to pressure Amazon but admitted he thinks Amazon shouldn’t be in the business of ‘banning speech.’

The author of the online petition, Sky Gray, told Vice News via email that the goal of banning conversion therapy books could be hampered with members of Congress getting involved.

”It shouldn’t be surprising that the conservatives are in support of conversion therapy; they’ve made it clear they are in the past,” said Gray. “It looks like this is going to be a bigger fight than previously anticipated, though I knew it would be an uphill battle.”

“Looks like the hill just got a lot steeper, with this knowledge in mind,” he added.

A poll conducted by Public Policy Polling released in April this year showed 80% of respondents believe performing conversion therapy on minors should be illegal.

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CNN Draws Lineups For 2nd Democratic Debates As Biden Continues To Lead

A new NBC News|SurveyMonkey online poll shows former Vice President Joe Biden still leading the pack of 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, although the numbers are beginning to tighten.

Biden garnered 25% support in the survey taken after the first Democratic debate.
Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) tied at second with 16% support each.
California Sen. Kamala Harris barely behind them with 14% and Mayor Pete Buttigieg rounds out the Top 5 with 8% support.

These seem to be coalescing into the top tier candidates.

In related news, CNN drew the placements last night for the second Democratic debates set to take place July 30 and 31.

Looks like Sanders and Warren will get to go head-to-head on the first night along with Mayor Pete, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, while Harris and Biden will have another chance to go at it on the second night .

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InstaHunk Round-Up: Heat Wave Edition

Paleontologist Francesc Gascó

There’s a heat wave spreading across the U.S., and according to weather.com, it looks like we won’t be seeing any relief until early next week.

We figure if it’s going to be hot, let’s enjoy it. So we’re checking in on some of our favorite celebs and InstaHunks to see what they’re doing to beat the heat.

Paleontologist Francesc Gascó (above) took one look out the window and said, “Nope, not gonna do it.”

Ignacio Pérez Rey says the answer is cold showers. Lots and lots of cold showers.

A post shared by Ignacio Pérez Rey (@igperey) on Jul 19, 2019 at 9:05am PDT

Fitness trainer Ramses Principe says he was chilling with three pints of ice cream last night.

Britney Spears’ main squeeze, fitness model Sam Asghari, says when Brit-Brit is in the mood for moves, they hit it.

A post shared by Sam Asghari (@samasghari) on Jul 17, 2019 at 8:55pm PDT

International pop star Ricky Martin is actually turning UP the heat, and not in the way we’re used to. Martin has been down in Puerto Rico helping fire up protesters who are raising their voices in response to leaked homophobic and sexist text messages between Gov. Ricardo Rosselló and his associates.

A post shared by Ricky (@ricky_martin) on Jul 17, 2019 at 10:20pm PDT

Woofy Joe Blizzard describes himself as “a bit of a nerd, introverted and shy…” Uh-huh.

Brazilian travel blogger Rodiney Santiago is all smiles at Manhattan Beach in California.

Live your life, do what YOU want, not what everyone expects you to do or be. I don’t live my life to please the haters, I live my life to please myself, the people who love and support me. What’s important to me is not others opinions of me, but what’s important to me is my opinion of myself . I take my conscience more serious than my reputation, because my conscience is who I am and my reputation is what people think of ME. And what the others think is their problem. Just smile and try your best To be in nature, or even viewing scenes of nature, because it reduces anger, fear, and stress and increases pleasant feelings. Exposure to nature not only makes you feel better emotionally, it contributes to your physical wellbeing, reducing blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension, and the production of stress hormones. #rodineysantiago #smile #beach #beachworkout #rodineymotivation photo by 📸 @alfiecinematic
A post shared by Ródiney Santiago (@rodineysantiago) on Jul 17, 2019 at 11:06am PDT

UK TV personality and fitness guy ’King’ David McIntosh says he can’t even think of a caption for this post “Cos my brains so cooked from Miami, I can’t think of one.”

Cheyenne Jackson is walking it out in rehearsals for Into The Woods at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles next weekend. Check out his new take on ‘Prince Charming:’

DJ Thiago Oliveira (Daddy Wolf) had enough of the heat (he was in Hell’s Kitchen, so there you go…)

Rick and the Griffopotamus are out on Lake Lanier in Georgia in a stare-down with the sun. “Lookin at the sun like, ‘Damn, sis. You extra fiery today. Why you so lit?’”

Out college athlete Jake Bain is being a beach bum getting baked out on Hilton Head Island.

A post shared by Jake Bain (@jake.bain) on Jul 18, 2019 at 2:59pm PDT

“Where’s the beef?” Hunky artist & model Steve Raider knows the way…

A post shared by Steve Raider (@steve_raider) on Jul 18, 2019 at 6:24am PDT

Even in the heat, Mayor Pete Buttigieg is out in neighborhoods talking to folks at the Veteran’s Community Project.

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Podcast: Emmy Award Nominations, Bullied Teen Convicted, ‘Straight Pride’ Gets Smackdown, Kevin Spacey

In this week's podcast: • The 2019 Emmy Award nominations have been announced and there’s good news for lots of LGBTQ artists • A gay high school student in NYC has been found guilty of manslaughter after stabbing two of his bullies • 'Straight Pride' organizers get a smackdown by Netflix's legal team • Out rapper Lil Nas X keeps breaking records on the Billboard charts • Charges against Kevin Spacey are dropped after his accuser invokes his 5th Amendment rights All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report

In this week’s podcast:

• The 2019 Emmy Award nominations have been announced and there’s good news for lots of LGBTQ artists

• A gay high school student in NYC has been found guilty of manslaughter after stabbing two of his bullies

• ‘Straight Pride’ organizers get a smackdown by Netflix’s legal team

• Out rapper Lil Nas X keeps breaking records on the Billboard charts

• Charges against Kevin Spacey are dropped after his accuser invokes his 5th Amendment rights

All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report

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News Round-Up: July 18, 2019

Rugby legend and LGBTQ ally Ben Cohen

Some news items you might have missed:

• InstaHunks: LGBTQ ally Ben Cohen is inviting supporters of his anti-bullying foundation to come out and join him for cross-training. I’ll go, but only if I can follow Ben 🙂

• New York Times: A federal judge on Thursday denied bail for Jeffrey Epstein, the financier facing sex-trafficking charges in Manhattan, rejecting his request to await trial under home detention at his Upper East Side mansion.

• NPR: Some of Puerto Rico’s biggest stars rallied a crowd of many thousands in San Juan on Wednesday, calling on the island’s governor, Ricardo Rosselló, to resign. It was the fifth day in a row of protests in the U.S. territory, following a leak of hundreds of pages of misogynistic and homophobic texts between the governor and his main advisers.

• Washington Post: The House passed a bill by a vote of 231-199 that would raise the federal minimum wage for the first time in a decade. However, don’t expect the legislation to be taken up in the Republican-controlled Senate.

• AFP News: Donald Trump asked Nobel laureate Nadia Murad how she won the Nobel Peace Prize after she explained how she won the Nobel Prize. Murad survived in the aftermath of her mother and six brothers being killed by ISIS and that 3,000 Yazidis remained missing. Trump asked, “And you had the Nobel Prize? That’s incredible. They gave it to you for what reason?” Murad paused, then repeated her story.

• The Lion King: Check out Beyoncé’s musical contribution to the upcoming live-action remake of Disney’s The Lion King.

Titled “Spirit,” I find the video gorgeous. I’m on the fence about the melody. Let me know what you think.