LGBTQ news and entertainment
“Magic” first hit #1 in the USA back in 1980 and stayed there for 4 weeks. Now – 31 years later – it’s climbing the charts again.
A brand new remix with new vocals from Olivia was released exclusively on iTunes on Sunday – reaching #5 on the dance chart and #39 overall in 24 hours.
This new mix is a charity single, with all proceeds from sales going to the Olivia Newton-John Cancer & Wellness Centre.
Congratulations to a great star. A great star who continues to make a difference.
Take a look. The results may surprise you. Watch to the end when they recap what happened in NY state.
From Primetime on ABC News
Gov. Bill Haslam signed a bill Monday that overturns Metro’s nondiscrimination ordinance.
It took months of debate before Nashville passed the measure prohibiting companies that work with the city from discriminating against gays and lesbians.
The Human Rights Campaign responds: “Discrimination should have no place in the Volunteer State and the Chamber’s opposition to this law sent a strong signal that corporations are on the leading edge of positive change,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese. “In contrast Governor Haslam has put discrimination ahead of the state’s values and even business interests by signing this horrible legislation.”
Major corporations spoke out against the bill and in favor of workplaces that respect and welcome all individuals. Since the bill passed late last week, Aloca, FedEx, AT&T, KPMG, UnitedHealth Group, Whirlpool, Comcast and other companies publicly disavowed the bill.
To think that Nashville wanted to add “sexual orientation” to their non-discrimination statute and the state legislature literally is saying “no, it’s ok to discriminate against gays and lesbians.”
Sad, kids. Very, very sad.
Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah apologized again Monday for directing an anti-gay slur at a fan during Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals, and was fined $50K by the NBA.
Noah and NBA officials met Monday morning. The league had no immediate comment, but Noah said he emerged from that talk prepared to “pay the price” for what happened when he returned to the bench with two fouls midway through the first quarter of Sunday night’s game against the Miami Heat.
“The fan said something that was disrespectful towards me,” Noah said. “And I went back at him. Got it on camera. I don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings. Anybody who knows me knows that I’m not like that. I’m an open-minded guy. I said the wrong thing and I’m going to pay the consequences — deal with the consequences — like a man. I don’t want to be a distraction to the team right now.”
Television cameras captured Noah saying an expletive, followed by the slur. Noah said he did not realize the gravity of the situation until he was questioned by reporters after the game Sunday, adding that he meant “no disrespect” to anyone.
Last month, Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers was fined $100,000 for directing the same slur toward a referee.
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, or GLAAD, said it reached out to the NBA and the Bulls on Monday “to discuss next steps,” and called upon the league to reiterate to its players that anti-gay words should not be tolerated in the game.
“Last month the NBA sent an important message about how such slurs fuel a climate of intolerance and are unacceptable,” GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios said in a statement. “These anti-gay remarks, coming so soon after, demonstrate how much needs to be done.”
Also Monday, the Human Rights Campaign called Noah’s use of the slur “just plain unacceptable.”
“At a time when the NBA and a growing number of pro-athletes are publicly standing up for equality, it’s too bad Mr. Noah worked against their efforts last night,” HRC President Joe Solmonese said. “That said, we’re pleased he quickly realized the error of his ways and apologized.”
Noah repeated often Monday that he was apologetic for the incident. He said he would “learn from my mistakes,” and acknowledged that being frustrated over picking up his second foul did not excuse his words.
I appreciate that he apologized. And I understand there’s a lot of testosterone in the game. BUT if these guys make huge amounts of money based on skills and discipline that got them to where they are – then surely they can exercise enough “discipline” to not fall in the easy trap of using anti-gay slurs. I believe a message does need to be sent – especially so soon after Kobe Bryant was caught doing the same thing. Kids look up to these athletes and when they see this behavior slide, they think it’s ok to do it too.
For today only, Amazon is offering Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” CD for download – the entire CD – for only .99 cents.
Download Lady Gaga’s Born This Way CD for only .99 cents
If you want it kids, go get it!
The poll, done by HRC and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, shows that Christians of all ages support LGBT equality.
In fact, 68 percent of Christians favor protecting LGBT people from discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations compared.
74 percent of Christians (compared to 76 percent overall) favor a law to prohibit bullying and harassment against minority groups in schools, including LGBT students or the children of LGBT parents.
70 percent of Christians believe that when religious leaders condemn LGBT people it does more harm than good.
A majority of Christians – 52 percent – also oppose the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act, according to a previous HRC poll by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research poll.
Finally, an astounding 86 percent of Christians believe their faith leads them to the conclusion that the law should treat all people equally, including LGBT people.
I’m always so proud that NY state is a big part of my life. Everyone should be proud that NY has a governor standing on the right side of history. I hope this helps put support over the top.
Go NY!
The GLEE Summer Tour opened in Las Vegas to a packed crowd screaming all night.
The League of Extraordinary Dancers opened for the tour.
Check out the video above. The poster of the video apparently has the whole show on their “youtube channel.” Click here to look for a particular song.
The finale was “Loser Like Me” – see that by clicking here: http://youtu.be/9ekTnDdvLGs – which brought the house down (as if the other songs hadn’t already) followed by 5 “encores.”
Looks like it’s going to make a TON of money for the TV show producers.
Here’s the set list:
From HuffingtonPost.com: Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich defended the large debt he owed to the luxury jewelry store Tiffany & Co. in 2005 and 2006, saying he can spend his money as he pleases.
“We’re private citizens,” Gingrich said in an interview with Bob Schieffer on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday. “I work very hard. We have a reasonably good income. I currently owe nothing except I owe one mortgage on a house that’s a rental property in Wisconsin. Everything else is totally paid for. My home is paid for, my cars are paid for, we don’t have a separate house. We don’t do elaborate things.”
Politico’s Jake Sherman reported last week that financial disclosure forms filed with the U.S. House of Representatives show that in 2005 and 2006, Gingrich carried as much as $500,000 in debt on a “revolving charge account” with the jewelry store.
“It’s a normal way of doing business,” he said in defense of what he called a “standard, low-interest account.”
“I mean, you’re running for president,” insisted Schieffer. “You’re going to be the guy in charge of the Treasury Department. It just sticks out like a sore thumb.”
Ummm… he has a “reasonably good income? He owes $500,000 on jewelry and he says he makes a REASONABLY good income? That’s about ten times what the average American makes.
While trying to cast others as “elitists” it’s kind of hard to avoid looking fairly “elite” when you spend that kind of money on “gifts” and think you have a “reasonably good” income.
Talk about out of touch.
Justin Timberlake was back with the funny. He, Andy Samburg and Lady Gaga joined in for the latest in their hysterical video shorts.