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Gus Kenworthy Helps College Student Be ‘Fearless’ In Coming Out

Gus Kenworthy, Ashley Graham help John to come out to his parents

Ellen DeGeneres has launched a new web series titled, Fearless, hosted by entrepreneur and body positive activist Ashley Graham.

The digital series, hosted on EllenTube, focuses on helping people struggling with their own confidence issues to rally the courage to rise above, take the next step and become unapologetically fearless.

In this episode, Ashley helps 20-year-old college student John come out to his parents.

John admits he’s come out to his friends but the idea of telling his parents he’s gay has him “freaked out.”

He says that he first became aware of being attracted to boys in 7th grade but it wasn’t until after he graduated high school and a friend asked him point blank if he was gay.

Gus Kenworthy on coming out

Ashley brings in out Olympian Gus Kenworthy to help John get up the nerve to make the call to his parents.

Kenworthy famously came out on the cover of ESPN Magazine back in 2015. Since then, he’s become one of the leading voices for LGBTQ representation and authenticity.

Gus shares that coming out for him, while scary and nerve-wracking (he didn’t sleep the night before), was ultimately a very positive experience.

Ashley asks if Gus’s friends wanted to talk about the gay thing after he came out and Gus laughs saying, “There’s a thing that straight people are going to do to you; they’re like, ‘Oh my god, you’re gay? You should meet my friend Jason, he’s gay.’”

And with that, they send John off to make THE call to his parents.

The reaction? Watch the video below to find out. Plus, there’s a surprise twist!

At the end of the short video, Gus has these words for those facing their own coming out:

“For anyone who’s watching that’s in the closet and struggling with their identity, their sexuality, I just want to let you know that you are valid, you are seen, you are heard, you are loved. And it can be really scary thinking about taking that step and revealing who you are and being so transparent with the world. But you’re going to be so much happier for it, and you living your life authentically and unapologetically is going to make it that much easier for other people to do the same.”

Follow the digital series Fearless here with new episodes every Wednesday.

Past episodes include Laverne Cox meeting a transgender man who’s never met another trans person before, and Ashley giving a teacher a lesson on body confidence.

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Special Counsel Has Emails Between Trump Allies Discussing WikiLeaks Emails Before They Happened

Special Counsel Robert Mueller apparently has email correspondence between Trump ally Roger Stone and InfoWars' Jerome Corsi discussing the release of DNC emails by WikiLeaks before it happened.
Donald Trump

Special Counsel Robert Mueller apparently has email correspondence between Trump ally Roger Stone and InfoWars’ Jerome Corsi discussing the release of DNC emails by WikiLeaks before it happened.

From NBC News:

Two months before WikiLeaks released emails stolen from the Clinton campaign, right-wing conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi sent an email to former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone anticipating the document dump, according to draft court papers obtained by NBC News.

“Word is friend in embassy plans 2 more dumps,” Corsi wrote on Aug. 2, 2016, referring to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, according to the draft court papers. “One shortly after I’m back. 2nd in Oct. Impact planned to be very damaging.”

The email was revealed in a draft court document, known as a statement of the offense, sent to Corsi by special counsel Robert Mueller’s office. Mueller also sent Corsi a draft plea agreement stipulating that the special counsel would not oppose Corsi requesting a sentence of probation if he agreed to plead guilty to one count of lying to federal investigators.

As NBC News reported on Monday, Corsi said he has rejected the deal. He has described Mueller’s team as “thugs” and insisted that he did not “intentionally lie” about his communications related to WikiLeaks.

NBC News goes on to note that Corsi SCRUBBED his computer between Jan. 13, 2017, and March 1, 2017, deleting all email correspondence that predated Oct. 11, 2016, including the messages from Stone about WikiLeaks.

Corsi denies all of this saying it was all an educated guess.

“Why did I think they were coming out in October? Because I said to myself if I had these emails I’d use them as the October surprise,” Corsi told NBC News on Tuesday. “And why did I think they would come out serially, drip by drip? Because Assange is very strategic. He understands the news cycle.”

Earlier today, The Guardian reported that former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort met with WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London right before he took over the Trump campaign.

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Top Ranked Djokovic Wouldn’t Have A Problem With An Out Pro Tennis Player

Novak Djokovic (image via WikiMedia)

The top ranked male tennis player in the world, Novak Djokovic, says he would support the coming out of a male pro tennis player.

Outsports reports that after his round-robin win at the the ATP World Tour Finals in London earlier this month, Djokovic told reporters he would see a fellow player coming out as a “courageous move.”

Although there are several female professional tennis player both past and present, no professional male player has come out publicly at this time.

When asked what his reaction would be to a player coming out, the 14-time grand slam champion said, “I wouldn’t have anything against that, absolutely.”

“It’s everybody’s right to have sexual orientation as they desire, any kind of direction in life they desire,” he replied. “I respect it.”

The Serbian did acknowledge that while he doesn’t “see people differently if they come out like that,” he was quick to add that “certain parts of the world are not ready to accept that.”

He would know. His native country of Serbia has a troubled past when it comes to LGBTQ rights and protections.

Although Serbia has an openly gay Prime Minister, Ana Brnabić, the country offers no legal recognition for same-sex relationships and adoption by gay couples isn’t allowed.

In fact, it wasn’t until 1994 that the country reversed its laws making homosexuality illegal.

Djokovic, however, has a much more LGBTQ-friendly history.

Gay Star News points up an episode at the 2012 US Open when, during a practice session, a young boy asked the superstar to marry him.

With a warm smile, Djokovic laughed, shook the boy’s hand and actually invited him onto the court for a little practice.

Watch the ‘proposal’ and Djokovic’s reaction below.

And thanks, ND, for being a true champion.

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Jake Borelli Assumed His ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Character Was Straight

Jake Borelli for Gay Times Magazine (all photos – Gray Hamner)

Actor Jake Borelli, who recently came out as gay on social media moments after his character on Grey’s Anatomy, Dr. Levi “Glasses” Schmitt, experienced his first same-sex kiss, graces the cover the newest issue of Gay Times Magazine.

The totally adorable actor shares with Gay Times that since the airing of the now-famous ‘elevator kiss’ between Schmitt and hunky Dr. Nico Kim (played by Alex Landi), he’s “received so many messages” he can barely keep up.

“I sat there for like four hours and some of them were heartbreaking, and some of them were filled with joy and excitement,” Borelli shares with Gay Times. “It was beautiful to see how brave all of the fans were being with sharing their story. It truly felt like we were doing this together.”

The TV relationship is the latest in a long run of LGBT diverse representation on Grey’s Anatomy, now in its 15th season.

Borelli shares that he, like the rest of the audience, assumed Schmitt was straight during his first season with the show last year. With this new development in Schmitt’s storyline, Borelli thinks there’s an important lesson to be learned.

“You probably shouldn’t assume anything about anybody’s sexuality because I assumed he was straight,” says Borelli. “I would say he doesn’t even know yet at this point. He’s still learning, he’s still grappling with his own sexuality.”

In fact, Borelli admits he’s had to step back and adjust the backstory he’d created for the character now that this new dynamic has come into play.

“I think we came up with something really beautiful and really exciting, and it’s a story I would’ve loved to have seen when I was younger,” says the 27-year-old actor. “It’s a story that fits right into my own history, and it’s very close to me in some ways.”

And while he acknowledges the role and storyline may be “way bigger than me and my own coming out,” he hopes the Hollywood ‘powers that be’ take note of how the TV audience is embracing the Schmitt/Kim romance.

“I can’t imagine other tastemakers in the industry aren’t seeing this and aren’t getting super excited about it,” clearly enjoying the positive reactions he’s seeing. “We’re craving diversity and representation and different stories – stories that weren’t at the forefront of the narrative.”

Grey’s Anatomy airs on ABC at 8/7c on Thursdays.

Click here to order Borelli’s issue of Gay Times Magazine.

(Photo credit: Gray Hamner/courtesy Gay Times Magazine, styling by Tyler Cunningham)

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Taron Egerton Says Upcoming Elton John Biopic ‘Rocketman’ Will Have A Sex Scene

Taron Egerton (image via WikiMedia)

Taron Egerton, star of the Kingsman movie franchise, shares that he’s filmed a sex scene for the upcoming Elton John biopic, Rocketman.

The 29-year-old plays the legendary pop superstar and Richard Madden, of the hit UK TV series The Bodyguard, plays his longtime manager, John Reid, with whom he also dated for five years.

“I probably shouldn’t be telling you this but we have a sex scene,” Egerton shared with The List. “We went to some places together and got quite physical.”

Richard Madden and Taron Egerton (via Instagram)

“I’ve watched it back and I think it looks great,” he shared. “The grown-up nature of the film, combined with it being a musical, makes it feel quite zeitgeisty.”

Earlier reports alluded to the film being designed as a ‘musical fantasy’ and Egerton seemed to elaborate on that saying, “It’s basically about Elton in rehab, so we’re not watering anything down.”

And while the recent Bohemian Rhapsody seemed to shy away from rocker Freddie Mercury’s sex life, Rocketman promises to be explicit in its portrayal of Elton John’s love affairs.

“It’s very consciously a proud, gay film and it’s also open to showing Elton’s darker moments,” he added.

“The movie we shot is absolutely a celebration of everything that Elton John is and part of that is his sexuality,” he recently told MTV International. “I actually think the gay community will be quite surprised by quite how gay it feels.”

The Robin Hood star also notes that he’s not “remotely perturbed by male intimacy” adding that he’s “quite proud of what we’ve done with it.”

Rocketman hits theaters May 17, 2019.

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Trump’s Epic Meltdown Over Mueller/Manafort/Wikileaks News

Donald Trump began his Tuesday ‘executive time’ by tweeting an epic rant over the latest news that Special Counsel Robert Mueller has announced former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort repeatedly lied to his investigators after receiving a plea deal.

Mueller now says any request for leniency for Manafort is off the table.

I’m telling you now – Manafort is pulling his shenanigans because Trump has promised a pardon.

This may have something to do with the state of the matter: The Guardian is reporting today that Manafort held secret talks with Julian Assange, inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, in 2013, 2015 and in Spring 2016, around the time Trump named him as his convention manager.

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The First-Ever Selfie From Mars

Mars selfie courtesy of NASA’s InSight

NASA shares the first images of the InSight spacecraft after the probe successfully landed on the surface of Mars.

The robot spacecraft snapped the image of itself making this the first-ever selfie from Mars.

The exploration of Mars continues with this 8th successful landing on the red planet since the Viking probes in 1976.

InSight has company, by the way, NASA’s Curiosity rover is still running around Mars gathering information as it has since landing in 2012.

According to CBS News, InSight will operate from its stationary site for the next two years, which is the length of a Martian year. The InSight mission will study the early evolution of terrestrial planets.

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News Round-Up: November 26, 2018

Some news items you might have missed:

• Talk about Man-Crush Monday – a reader sent me the pic above and woof! How could I not post it? Anyone know who the hottie is?

• An Australian student came out to his Catholic school during an assembly packed full of his classmates and teachers to thunderous applause.

• Daryll Rowe, who intentionally spread HIV to other men through Grindr hookups, has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 12 years to be served.

• Model Rain Dove, whose birth certificate is marked female but now identifies at non-binary, was maced in a ladies room by a mother who decided Rain didn’t belong in the bathroom.

• Jury selection has begun in the trial of Neo-Nazi James Alex Fields Jr. who brutally ran down counter-protesters at the Neo-nazi rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 12, 2017, killing Heather Heyer and injuring several more.

• RuPaul and VH1 have teamed up with the New York Gay Men’s Chorus to create a holiday anthem like no other in advance of the upcoming RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars 4 premiering December 14 on VH1.

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Report: Mueller Says Paul Manafort Violated Plea Deal, Lied To Investigators

Major media outlets are reporting that former chair of Donald Trump's presidential campaign has lied Special Counsel Robert Mueller thus voiding his plea agreement for leniency in sentencing.
Paul Manafort

Major media outlets are reporting that former chair of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign has lied Special Counsel Robert Mueller thus voiding his plea agreement for leniency in sentencing.

From The New York Times:

Mr. Manafort’s “crimes and lies” during a series of interviews with prosecutors working for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, and the F.B.I. relieve them of all promises they made to him in the plea agreement reached in mid-September, investigators wrote in the filing.

A jury in Northern Virginia convicted Mr. Manafort, 69, of eight counts of financial fraud in August stemming from his work as a political consultant in Ukraine. Faced with a second trial in the District of Columbia on related charges in September, he pleaded guilty to two conspiracy counts and to an open-ended arrangement requiring him to answer “fully, truthfully, completely and forthrightly” questions about “any and all matters” of interest to the government.

Without a motion from prosecutors asking for leniency, Mr. Manafort is expected to face a prison term of at least 10 years for his crimes. He is scheduled to be sentenced in the Northern Virginia case on Feb. 8.

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Viral Video Of The Day: Hang Gliding Gone Wrong

(screen capture)

Whoaaaaa!

Talk about spine-tingling.

Florida-based Chris Gursky, an auto-parts manager and photographer, shares his near-death experience hang gliding in Switzerland as the pilot took off without ensuring Gurdsky was properly tethered to the glider.

The incident, captured in crystal-clear video, is really something.

In posting the video to YouTube, Gursky writes, “My first time hang gliding turned into a near death experience as my safety harness was never hooked to the glider. For 2 minutes 14 seconds I had to hang on for my life! The landing was a rough one, but I lived to tell the story.”

Watch below.

(h/t JoeMyGod)