Category: LGBTQ Pride

Posted on

Cast Of POSE Serves Up Virtual Performance Of Billy Porter’s “Love Yourself”

Check out this sneak peek from the upcoming “Pose-A-Thon” scheduled for Friday, June 26 at 10 PM ET. The cast and creators of FX’s Pose — including Tony Award winners Billy Porter and Patti LuPone – plus Mj Rodriguez, Janet Mock, Charlayne Woodard, and Indya Moore offer this virtual performance of Porter’s single “Love Yourself.” The video also features Angel Bismark Curiel, Dyllón Burnside, Dominique Jackson, Jeremy McClain, Jason Rodriguez, Angelica Ross, and creator-executive producer Steven Canals. In honor of Pride Month, Billy Porter and Mj Rodriguez, along with the cast and producers of Pose, come together for a one-hour virtual event in partnership with GLSEN, Hetrick-Martin Institute, and Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund. POSE-A-THON airs simultaneously on FX, Freeform and Hulu on Friday, June 26th at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT

Posted on

Pride Plays Presents Free Livestream Of ‘The Men From The Boys’

  A star-studded cast of Pride Plays’ livestream of Mart Crowley’s The Men from the Boys is set to include Mario Cantone, Charlie Carver, Rick Elice, Telly Leung, Lou Liberatore, Carson McCally, Kevyn Morrow, Denis O’Hare and James Joseph O’Neil. The Men from the Boys revisits the beloved characters from the iconic gay-themed play, The Boys in the Band,  years after the events of the original play. The free stream at 7 pm Eastern this Friday, June 26, will be directed by Zachary Quinto, who starred in the recent Tony Award-winning revival of Crowley’s The Boys in the Band. Sponsorship and VIP opportunities, which include a post-show Zoom party with Quinto and Pride Plays producer and celebrated actor Michael Urie, are also available. The Pride Plays season, which is presented by Playbill, benefits Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. With every dollar donated, you’ll support those living with and affected by HIV/AIDS, COVID-19 and other critical illnesses, as well as champion organizations working toward social justice and anti-racism.

Posted on

Zales & Kay Jewelers Announce Two Virtual Pride Events Benefiting GLAAD

KAY Jewelers and Zales will be kicking off two very special PRIDE virtual events this week to stand on the side of love and equality. As part of these initiatives, they will be donating to GLAAD, an organization dedicated to accelerating LGBTQ+ acceptance. First, since ‘every kiss begins with KAY,’ on National Kiss Day – celebrated annually on June 22nd – KAY Jewelers wants that kiss to stand for equality, inclusion and PRIDE. Often members of the LGBTQ+ community feel uncomfortable expressing their love in public. KAY Jewelers is encouraging friends, advocates and members of the LGBTQ+ community to share a kiss with their partner or loved one using the hashtag #EveryKiss. With this campaign, KAY wants to proudly stand on the side of love with the goal of reaching over a million kisses online! To participate, on Monday, June 22, post a photo of yourself to your social media feed using #EveryKiss and geotag your location. The kisses will then be collected and featured on Kay’s social media channels to promote love and pride around the US! Additionally, in an effort to promote inclusiveness and coming together, Zales will be hosting a virtual Pride Parade on Instagram calling on influencers and allies of the LGBTQ+ movement alike to participate and show their love and support. Zales wants to remind people that although we may have to celebrate apart, when it comes to PRIDE, we are always together. To participate, record a video of yourself on Instagram parading from left to right on the screen as if you were walking in a Pride parade. Post the video by June 28th using the hashtag #PrideTogether and geotag your location. Zales will then string together the individual pride marches so it seems like one seamless digital pride parade happening across the country! On Pride Sunday, June 28th, the digital Pride parade will air live on Instagram for everyone to enjoy and celebrate from the comfort and safety of their homes! Stay tuned for some surprise guests to emcee the event!

Posted on

News Round-Up: June 8, 2020

Fitness guru Joel Green (via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Woofy Joel Green (above) offers some good advice this Monday – ‘Do not give your past the power to define your future.’ Follow him on Instagram here. • Amazon Prime: The streaming video platform has curated a collection of LGBTQ films, documentaries, and television series all in one place for you to peruse including Rocketman, The Handmaiden, The L Word, RuPaul’s Drag Race and more. • Provincetown: The Massachusetts LGBTQ getaway is open for business just in time for Pride Month. The announcement by Governor Charlie Baker of Phase 2 of the reopening, effective today, allows lodging, restaurants, and retail to open under newly eased and specific guidelines mandated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
(image via Provincetown Instagram)
• Out: Oregon State Head Coach Jonathan Smith dismissed sophomore football player Rocco Carley after learning he’d used racist and homophobic language in a recently discovered audio recording. Smith, along with the school’s Athletic Director Scott Barnes, agreed on booting Carley from the team saying what they heard was “entirely unacceptable, regardless of the circumstance or environment.” Carley has issued an apology saying – like just about everyone who finds themselves in this predicament – the recording doesn’t ‘represent’ who he is today. • The Advocate: L.A. Pride organizers have stepped away from the previously announced Black solidarity march after the event came under fire for its involvement with law enforcement. Some activists noted that any partnership with cops is counterintuitive to the purpose of the protests taking place in response to the killing of George Floyd, police brutality, and race-based violence. Pride organizers say they are “in full support” of the new protest, which is now named the All Black Lives Matter March. • New Music: Dig the super-catchy new single from pop-rock band Neon Trees, “New Best Friend,” from the band’s upcoming album, I Can Feel You Forgetting Me. “They call me crazy, but crazy’s my new best friend.” “’New Best Friend’ is about embracing the crazy that lives within all of us,” shared out frontman Tyler Glenn. “The nostalgic highs, the unflattering lows, and the beautiful messiness of being human. I’ve realized that there are memories with people that have come and gone in my life, and while I reminisce on those moments, ultimately at the end of the day I’m still left with myself.”

Posted on

LA Pride Announces Solidarity March With Black Lives Matter Movement

The previously canceled LA Pride parade will march after all. The organizers, Christopher Street West, announced in early May the annual parade and Pride festival would not take place this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But half a century after the first Pride parade recognized the Stonewall riots, the LGBTQ community will march on June 14 in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. “In 1970, we gathered on Hollywood Boulevard to protest police brutality and oppression to our community,” said Estevan Montemayor, the organization’s president. “We will do that again this year, where it began, in solidarity with Black Lives Matter.” Montemayor called for “all community members who believe that we must root out this racial injustice and stand in solidarity with the black community and fight for real reform and change in this country on all levels of government to join us in this peaceful protest, in this march for justice.” “It is our moral imperative to honor the legacy of Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, who bravely led the Stonewall uprising, by standing in solidarity with the Black community against systemic racism and joining the fight for meaningful and long-lasting reform,” he added. A peaceful protest march in response to racial injustice is planned for Sunday, June 14. It will begin at 10 a.m. at the intersection of Hollywood and Highland boulevards and proceed to West Hollywood, where the parade normally takes place, ending at Santa Monica and San Vicente boulevards. The California Department of Public Health recommends that participants engaging in the march should wear face coverings at all times. Additionally, Los Angeles will celebrate its first-ever virtual Pride Parade. The primetime 90-minute special will air on ABC7, Saturday, June 13 (7:30 – 9:00 p.m. PDT), with an encore presentation on Sunday, June 14, 2020, at 2:00 pm PDT.

View this post on Instagram

To our LA Pride family: While we had previously cancelled all in-person events due to COVID-19, we have decided to peacefully assemble a protest in Hollywood, where the first ever permitted Pride Parade took place, in solidarity with the Black community. 50 years ago, Christopher Street West (CSW) took to the streets of Hollywood Boulevard to peacefully protest against police brutality and oppression. We feel that it is our moral imperative to honor the legacies of Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, who bravely led the Stonewall uprising, by standing in solidarity with the Black community against systemic racism and joining the fight for meaningful and long-lasting reform. The California Department of Public Health recommends that participants engaging in the march should wear face coverings at all times. WHEN: Sunday, June 14, 2020 at 10am PT WHERE: Hollywood Blvd. and Highland Ave. Hollywood, CA 90028 Together With Pride, LA Pride

A post shared by LA Pride (@lapride) on

The reversal comes about in light of the recent protests taking place across the country after video footage of white Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, went viral. Kneeling on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, Chauvin continued pressing his knee on Floyd’s neck for three minutes even after he lost consciousness. Bystanders begged the officer to check his pulse. Chauvin did not. Chauvin was eventually charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter, and yesterday those charges were upgraded to second-degree murder. The three other police officers – Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng, who helped restrain Floyd, and Tou Thao, who stood near the others – are now charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. Two autopsies on Floyd have determined that he died by homicide.

Posted on

Joe Biden On 50th Anniversary Of Pride Month ‘I Believe In The LGBTQ+ Community’

L-R President Donald Trump, former Vice President Joe Biden
As in previous years, President Donald Trump did not issue a presidential proclamation recognizing June as Pride Month. Now, I realize we are in the middle of a global pandemic, skyrocketing unemployment and racially-charged protests across the nation. But Trump’s office did manage, in the last days of May, to prepare proclamations recognizing June as Great Outdoors Month, National Ocean Month, and National Homeownership Month, to name just a few. Last year, Trump broke his silence of the previous two years to dispatch – no, not a proclamation – but two tweets wherein he lauded his administration’s “global campaign to decriminalize homosexuality” around the world. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1134538168324300800 You may recall when he was initially asked about the effort in February 2019, he didn’t know anything about it. But this year? Nothing. Trump has, however, been selling an uninspired, rainbow-themed campaign t-shirt on his website for months, so…there’s that. Contrast that with former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate, who penned a lengthy statement honoring the 50th anniversary of LGBTQ Pride. https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1267650896562843648 Noting the first Pride event occurred a year after the Stonewall protests, Biden remarked on past progress by the LGBTQ community from Harvey Milk’s election to office in San Francisco to the historic candidacy of Pete Buttigieg, the first openly gay mayor to run for president. He also pointed to positive steps made during the Obama-Biden Administration including “signing the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law; repealed Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell; addressed the epidemic of bullying in schools; established the advancement of LGBTQ+ equality as a foreign policy priority; and the White House beamed bright with the colors of the rainbow to mark the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision recognizing marriage equality.” I’ll note here that the Obama-Biden administration issued presidential proclamations recognizing Pride Month 8 years in a row. Biden then shifted his focus forward to the damage done to the LGBTQ community by the Trump-Pence administration. “Donald Trump and Mike Pence have systematically used the power of the White House as a literal bully pulpit to undermine LGBTQ+ rights,” he wrote. “They have given safe harbor to white supremacists and other forms of hate. Predictably, we’ve experienced a rise in hate crimes targeting LGBTQ+ people.” Biden mentions just some of the ways Team Trump has worked to reduce rights and protections for LGBTQ people including banning transgender individuals from serving in the U.S. military, denying LGBTQ people access from critical health care, and ignoring the “epidemic of violence” against trans people. “This is wrong,” Biden continued. “We must send a clear message that hatred and bigotry have no place in America or on the world stage.” He promises that, as President, he will “take swift action to reverse these odious policies and advance our progress toward ending discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals.” “There are dark and challenging realities ahead that we cannot ignore,” he adds before striking an upbeat tone. “Yet, I remain optimistic because I believe in who we are as a nation. I believe in the story of this country and the LGBTQ+ community.” You can read the full text of Biden’s statement on the 50th Anniversary of Pride here.

Posted on

No Pride Love From Trump Administration For 4th Year In A Row

Human Rights Campaign President Alphonso David

Human Rights Campaign President Alphonso David
While Donald Trump and Mike Pence took the time to acknowledge Global Coptic Day today, for the fourth year in a row they failed to recognize Pride Month. In response, Human Rights Campaign President Alphonso David issued the following statement:

“This June, the Trump-Pence administration has yet again failed to recognize Pride Month to honor the history of the LGBTQ community and acknowledge the ongoing movement toward full equality,” said HRC President Alphonso David. “In a global pandemic and national crisis highlighting ongoing racial violence and police brutality across the country — violence that particularly targets Black lives — Trump and his administration have stoked division, hate, and anger with continued attacks on LGBTQ people, people of color, immigrants, and other vulnerable communities.

“The first pride started with protest. LGBTQ people — led in large part by transgender women of color — resisted police brutality and violence at Stonewall, the Black Cat, and Compton’s Cafeteria, among others. In this moment, we must unite like never before and take action, combat racism in all its forms and end white supremacy, not as necessary corollaries to our mission, but as integral to the objective of full equality.”

In order to help the LGBTQ community and its allies celebrate Pride Month in this moment, HRC is today officially launching its #PrideInside toolkit, a series of resources to help HRC members, the LGBTQ community and its allies celebrate Pride. The toolkit can be found at HRC.org/pride.

Posted on

Share Your Parade Of Pride In The Rizzle 360Pride Contest

(stock image via Unsplash)
(Guest post by Rizzle) Everyone is Born Free and Equal – Speak Out for LGBTQ Community Rizzle, a vibrant 60-second video platform, will be hosting the 360Pride contest to support the LGBTQ community! And yes, winners of 360Pride can win up to $750 in prizes. People who are different feel isolated – as though they don’t belong anywhere. Due to the current pandemic, individuals who were already isolated feel even more so. Members of the LGBTQ community can find it hard to be heard and form relationships. Sometimes they’re brought up in environments that’s not as accepting as others which makes it difficult to be heard. Rizzle wants people from the LGBTQ community to share their stories with the Rizzle community. We want different voices with diverse backgrounds to speak out on their experiences. Rizzle is a place where you can be who you are. It’s a community that not only respects people with diverse backgrounds but celebrates them. Rizzle’s goal is to celebrate who you are as an individual. We want to hear from a variety of people from the LGBTQ community and understand your perspective. We want your videos to inspire, educate, and entertain audiences who are, and aren’t, part of the LGBTQ community! Joining 360Pride is the perfect opportunity to share and celebrate your story. It’s super easy to create a video on Rizzle. NO EDITS NEEDED, just using just your phone – point, record, upload! Rizzle360 is all things news, opinions, pop culture, and more. Download Rizzle here.

Posted on

Skittles ‘Gives Up The Rainbow’ In Honor Of Pride Month

Multi-colored candy Skittles has announced it’s giving up its ‘giving up its rainbow’ in honor of Pride Month this year. In an Instagram post, the popular candy company wrote, “During PRIDE only #OneRainbow matters. That’s why we are giving up our rainbow to show support for the LGBTQ+ community! For every SKITTLES Pride Pack sold we are donating $1 to GLAAD. 🌈” The special-edition grey ‘Pride Packs’ will be available at CVS and select Walmart stores beginning this coming week through the month of June. This isn’t the first time Skittles has gone colorless. CNN reports the brand has released the limited-edition ‘Pride Packs’ in Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom in previous years. For the US debut, Skittles has partnered with LGBTQ+ advocacy group GLAAD – one dollar will be donated to the organization for every pack of gray Skittles sold up to $100,000. And, in case you’re worrying – losing the colors doesn’t mean losing the fruity rainbow flavors. Have no fear – you’ll still get to ‘taste the rainbow.’

Posted on

PBS Celebrates Pride Month With PRIDELAND One-Hour Special & Digital Series

PBS is celebrating LGTBQ+ Pride Month with the launch of PRIDELAND a new one-hour special and short-form digital series following host and actor Dyllón Burnside (from FX’s Pose) on a journey across the South. The six-episode, short-form series will launch on PBS Voices, a new documentary-focused YouTube Channel by PBS Digital Studios, beginning Thursday, May 26. A one-hour companion special, also hosted by Burnside, will premiere on Friday, June 12 at 9:00 p.m. ET (check local listings) on PBS, PBS.org and the PBS Video App.

PBS will also air an encore presentation of The Lavender Scare, the gripping documentary that tells the untold story of how tens of thousands of homosexual federal workers were either fired or denied employment in the 1950s, stirring outrage in the gay community and starting an LGBTQ rights movement with an unlikely hero at the forefront. The acclaimed documentary (winner of 16 awards for Best Documentary) will air on PBS on Friday, June 12 at 10:00 p.m. ET.