Politics, pop culture and entertainment news of interest to the LGBTQ community
Checking in with some favorite InstaHunks this week beginning with Garrett Magee, of Bravo’s Backyard Envy, said ‘no’ to gardening this week as the snowstorms dumped on the northeast… Continue reading “InstaHunk Round-Up: Weekend Edition”
Checking in with some of my favorite InstHunks this week, Dr. Jake Jacob reflected on his early years of coming out. Continue reading “InstaHunk Round-Up: Weekend Edition”
Sharing some of our favorite Instagram posts this week beginning with woofy Fabrício Ternes (above) who stopped us in our tracks with this subdued pic from Brazil. #ThatSmile
The Pit Crew hotties from RuPaul’s Drag Race got ready for some Pride Month action:
Joel Green was serving up some ‘power red’ at the beach:
Fashion designer Daniel Sheehan has a message for Pride Month:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CPpYdyBB-Yl/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Houston Scott (clearly) likes chest day:
Former pro rugby player/current CrossFitter Dan Tai is a serious “witness to the fitness.” How about those calves? #dang
Olympic and world champion diver Tom Daley got thisclose to being porn-adjacent in his photo shoot for Man About Town:
Luffy found his way to Barcelona (lucky Barcelona…)
https://www.instagram.com/p/CPicFKGFIuZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Mr. Gay Vegas (aka J.Son & host of the Temptation Sundays gay pool parties) won an Emmy Award for his reporting in Las Vegas on the BLM movement:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CPxPyyWHbC8/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Andre Chandler threw down a big boy dance:
Intrepid YouTuber Max Emerson entertained with this visual nugget:
Mike Taveira (photo: David-Simon Dayan)Some news items you might have missed:
• CNBC: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a case concerning the rights of LGBTQ Americans on Wednesday morning in a dispute that advocates are warning could pierce holes in the nation’s anti-discrimination laws. Arguments, which will take place just a day after the presidential election, will mark the first major fight to come before Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who was sworn in a week ago.
• Instinct Magazine: Taiwan held one of the few Pride Parades this year as nearly 130,000 people gathered to march, dance, and visit a Rainbow Market of 100 LGBTQ-owned or supportive businesses/organizations. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, other countries have gone without Pride events this year, but Taiwan has not had a reported diagnosis of COVID-19 since April. In total, the country has had only 554 recorded cases and only seven deaths nationwide.
• Out Music: Out recording artist Mike Taveira (top image) offers his new single, “Karma.” An uber-catchy pop-bop groove, Taveira calls the track “the breakup anthem for anyone who feels like their ex has yet received the karma they deserve.”
“I do believe in karma and I do believe she is coming,” says Taveira. “She just likes to wait for the perfect timing and I was impatient, which led to the song.”
• The Advocate: Parliament House, the iconic Orlando nightclub that has been serving central Florida’s LGBTQ+ population for 45 years, is closing, though the owners say it’s not a permanent closure. In a Facebook post, they tried to get the money for much-needed renovations, but they sadly couldn’t reach their goal.
• The Signorile Report: Michelangelo takes a look at what it will take for a President Joe Biden to get The Equality Act passed in his first 100 days as promised.
• KIT212: I’m catching up on Kenneth’s weekly round-up of LGBTQ publications like DNA Magazine’s 250th issue featuring cover model Julian Gabriel (below).
(image via DNA Magazine)
Greg Bloomer and Bisquit (via Instagram)Some news items you might have missed:
• Woof Wednesday: Chicago InstaHunk Greg Bloomer and his handsome pooch Bisquit (above) make Hump Day just that much better 🙂
• CNBC: U.S. presidential nominee Joe Biden’s campaign broke its single-hour fundraising record as the Democrat’s debate with President Donald Trump wrapped up on Tuesday, pulling in $3.8 million, a campaign official said.
• VoteVets: Air Force veteran and fighter jet pilot Captain ‘Sully’ Sullenberger endorses former Vice President Joe Biden for president. “Leadership isn’t just about sitting in the pilot seat. It’s about knowing what you’re doing and taking responsibility.”
* Celebitchy: Coronavirus depression nearly caused designer Tom Ford to skip his next collection. “I was irritated when I had a Zoom meeting because it meant washing my hair and perhaps trimming my beard. At the time, the thought of designing a collection seemed frivolous when so many important and disturbing things were happening in our world.”
• Reuters: Results from an early study of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine showed that it produced virus-neutralizing antibodies in older adults at levels similar to those seen in younger adults, with side effects roughly on par with high-dose flu shots, according to researchers.
• Twitter: After telling the violent group Proud Boys to “stand by” at last night’s presidential debate debacle and refusing to denounce white supremacy, Trump told reporters today he doesn’t know who the Proud Boys are but “Antifa is the real problem.”
“Antifa is a real problem” — Trump on what he meant last night when he told the Proud Boys to “stand by” pic.twitter.com/B7B8dGE6gW
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 30, 2020
L-R Blake Lee, Ben Lewis (via Instagram)Some news items you might have missed:
• TVLine: Blake Lee (Parks and Recreation, Mixology) and Ben Lewis (Arrow, Shadowhunters) – a married couple in real life (above) – have been announced to star in Lifetime’s first-ever holiday movie with an LGBTQ storyline, The Christmas Setup. Fran Drescher, of The Nanny fame, will play Lewis’s mother in the TV flick.
• Boy Culture: Madonna’s biopic has been fast-tracked by Universal, and today we learn not only is the Queen of Pop co-writing the script with Diablo Cody, but Madge will direct the film of her life as well.
• LGBTQ Nation: A city councilwoman in Minot, North Dakota, came out & delivered an epic smackdown to man complaining about a Pride flag. “So Mr. Walker, if you’re not aware, and I think a lot of people in this room are not aware and have come here just because this is a gay issue, I am proudly the first openly elected lesbian in North Dakota. So that is why I am not paying any heed to your crap.”
• Pew Research: A new 13-nation Pew Research Center survey indicates America’s reputation has declined among many key allies and partners since Donald Trump took office. In several countries, the share of the public with a favorable view of the U.S. is as low as it has been at any point since the Center began polling on this topic nearly two decades ago.
• Edge Media: An Italian man has been accused of killing his 18-year-old sister in a rage because she was dating a transgender man. The suspect told authorities that he “wanted to teach her a lesson.”
• CNBC: More on the death of civility – CNBC host Jim Cramer called House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “Crazy Nancy” to her face during an interview on Tuesday morning — a derogatory term usually used by Donald Trump. The Mad Money host was asking Pelosi about stalled negotiations on a 4th coronavirus stimulus package when the nickname popped out.
“What deal can we have, Crazy Nancy — I’m sorry, that was the president,” Cramer said, realizing the moment didn’t play as well as he’d planned in his head. “I have such reverence for the office, I would never use that term.” Pelosi (D-Calif.) stayed calm telling Cramer: “But you just did. But you just did.”
Here’s the clip: pic.twitter.com/4k2Cw5WL0d
— The Recount (@therecount) September 15, 2020
Daniel Montoya (via Instagram)Some news items you might have missed:
• InstaHunks: I am not mad at fitness guy Daniel Montoya (above) on a beach, just saying… #TGIF Follow him on Instagram here.
• Attitude Magazine: Bright Light Bright Light, aka Rod Thomas, may be musically inspired by the LGBTQ+ community – but he hasn’t always felt like he fit in. In a new interview, the singer opens up about being left in the dark while trying to find his place in the LGBTQ+ world.
• KIT212: Check out Kenneth’s round-up of LGBTQ publications like GLOSS Magazine featuring an interview with Emmy/Grammy/Tony winner Billy Porter (below).
• Media Matters: Facebook is profiting from harmful anti-transgender political ads despite its hate speech policies.
• Washington Post: Blood plasma looked like a promising COVID-19 treatment. Then Donald Trump got involved spawning confusion about the treatment and creating a political backlash that specialists say has stifled an expected spike in demand.
• CBS News: An officer with the Oxford Police Department arrived to break up a house party over the weekend that violated capacity rules, which currently allow gatherings of no more than 10 people. But after scanning the ID of one of the students who lives in the house, he saw a note on his computer that the student tested positive for COVID-19 just one week prior. “How many other people have COVID?” the officer asked. “They all do,” the student replied.
WATCH: While hosting a large house party, Miami University students admit to police they recently tested positive for COVID-19 https://t.co/7LbUJvHSw5 pic.twitter.com/lW3gDqByYj
— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 11, 2020
Gustavo Naspolini (via Instagram)Some news stories you might have missed:
• InstaHunks: Woofy Gustavo Naspolini (above) in Greece reminds me that I was SUPPOSED to be there right now on a cruise. #NoWorriesImOk
• Washington Blade: Richard Grenell, the former acting director of national intelligence and who’s now the quisling face of the Trump campaign’s LGBTQ outreach, snapped at a reporter Friday at the White House briefing for asking him about the global initiative Grenell himself had led to decriminalize homosexuality. #SoMuchWinning
• KIT212: Don’t miss Kenneth’s round-up of the latest from LGBTQ publications like DNA Magazine (below) currently serving up “The Sexiest Men Alive 2020” with Argentine model Leonel Ledesma.
(image via DNA Magazine)• Boy Culture: Even the widow of Mr. Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood) can’t stand Donald Trump – “The fact [is] that I can’t believe anything he says, not even the simplest thing. This man is pathologically ill. Mentally ill.”
• Associated Press: North Carolina began sending out more than 600,000 ballots to voters today — responding to a massive spike in requests that has played out across the country as voters look for a safer way to cast ballots during the pandemic. The 618,000 ballots requested in the initial wave in North Carolina were more than 16 times the number the state sent out at the same time four years ago. The requests came overwhelmingly from Democratic and independent voters.
• The Hill: A key forecasting model – often cited by experts and used by the White House – has revised its prediction of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S., now estimating a peak of 410,451 by January 1.
• InstaHunks II: One more from Gustavo Naspolini in Greece. I’ll get there someday. In the meantime, I’ve got a pool and Chardonnay to keep me happy 🙂 #HappyLaborDayWeekend
In this week’s podcast:
• The Trump campaign claims the Donald is the “most pro-gay president in American history” – but don’t fall for that
• A federal court rules in favor of a gay couple granting their daughter her legal US citizenship
• Scientists discover an HIV strain resistant to PrEP
• LGBTQ icon Marsha P Johnson gets honored in her home state
• The one and only Cher raises $2 million for Joe Biden hosting an LGBTQ fund-raiser
• Out singer/songwriter NIKO dropped his newest single “Try” dedicated to his partner
All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report
Cher (photo: Machado Cicala via Karpel Group)Some news items you might have missed:
• Washington Blade: The one and only Cher (above) headlined an LGBTQ fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden Monday evening which raised over $2 million in half an hour. Paraphrasing her hit song “Believe,” the icon asked the viewing audience, “So ask yourself, do you believe in life after Trump?”
• Insider: A straight-identifying man in his 20s says he’s only ever slept with women, but lately sex has been slowed up, so he’s been chatting with dudes on Grindr and he’s not sure why, so he’s seeking advice. “I’ve been going on Grindr and talking to other men with no intention of ever meeting them. I just like flirting with the people on there.”
• Dad of the Day: Channing Tatum shared the pic below surrounded by unicorns with the news that he’s penned his first children’s book, “The One and Only Sparkella,” dedicated to his 6-year-old daughter, Everly.
“Guys, I don’t know about you but things got a little weird for me in quarantine. I ended up accidentally locking myself in my 7-year-old daughter’s room. And I ended up finding my inner child. So this is what I created for my little girl. From what is, I guess, the little girl in me. Thanks for reading.”
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution: A federal judge on Monday extended the deadline for absentee ballots to be returned in Georgia, ruling that they must be counted if postmarked by Election Day and delivered up to three days afterward. The ruling invalidates Georgia’s requirement that ballots had to be received at county election offices by 7 p.m. on Election Day.
• The Gaily Grind: Actress/comedian Niecy Nash dumped her husband in December, and announced her marriage to musician Jessica Betts on Instagram on Monday, coming out in the process.
• Instagram: Director/producer Ryan Murphy, who is heading up Netflix’s upcoming film adaptation of the Broadway musical The Prom, shared a cast photo teasing in the caption, “Christmas is right around the corner…”
The pic is our first look at several of the stars in costume: Meryl Streep as Dee Dee Allen, Nicole Kidman as Angie Dickinson, James Corden as Barry Glickman, Andrew Rannells as Trent Oliver, Ariana DeBose as Alyssa Greene, Keegan-Michael Key as Mr. Hawkins, Kerry Washington as Mrs. Greene, Kevin Chamberlin as Sheldon Saperstein, and newcomer Jo Ellen Pellman as Emma Nolan.