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Supreme Court Rules In Favor Of Anti-Gay Colorado Baker

The U.S. Supreme Court has just ruled in favor of an anti-LGBT baker in Colorado who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex wedding.

With Justice Anthony Kennedy writing for the majority, the court rules that when the Colorado Civil Rights Commission considered the Masterpiece Cakeshop matter “it did not do so with the religious neutrality that the Constitution requires.”

The plaintiffs argued that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission showed animus against baker Jack Phillips suggesting that members of the commission believed that Phillips Claimed religious freedom in an effort to justify discrimination.

From the Associated Press:

The Associated Press reports:

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that a Lakewood baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple because of religious beliefs did not violate Colorado’s anti-discrimination law. The case pitted Jack Phillips, the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, and the couple, Charlie Craig and David Mullins.

The court ruled that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission’s actions violated the free exercise clause. In arguments before the court in December, Justine Anthony Kennedy, the author of all the court’s major gay-rights cases, worried that a ruling in favor of Phillips might allow shop owners to put up signs saying “We do not bake cakes for gay weddings.”

Only Justices Ginsburg and Sotomayor opposed the narrow ruling in favor of the baker.

In his conclusion, Kennedy makes clear that the ruling here only addresses vacating the decision by the Colorado Civil Rights Commission regarding religious neutrality.

Kennedy states that this is not a license to discriminate against gay persons “seeking goods and services in an open market.”

From the last paragraph of the ruling:

The outcome of cases like this in other circumstances must await further elaboration in the courts, all in the context of recognizing that these disputes must be re- solved with tolerance, without undue disrespect to sincere religious beliefs, and without subjecting gay persons to indignities when they seek goods and services in an open market.

Louise Melling, deputy legal director of the ACLU, issued a statement which read, “The court reversed the Masterpiece Cakeshop decision based on concerns unique to the case but reaffirmed its longstanding rule that states can prevent the harms of discrimination in the marketplace, including against LGBT people.”

Lamda Legal issued a statement which read, in part:

The Court today has offered dangerous encouragement to those who would deny civil rights to #LGBTQ people and people living with #HIV. Religious freedom under our Constitution has always meant the right to believe whatever you wish but not to act on your beliefs in ways that harm others. The Court alarmingly fails to heed that distinction.

More from LGBT activists:

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Will & Grace Pride Mash-Up: “You Are Exactly Who You Are Supposed To Be”

Sean Hayes in ‘Will & Grace’

“You are exactly who you are supposed to be.”

You could say that’s one of the ineffable messages of Pride Month.

And underscoring yet again the impact Will & Grace has had on LGBTs and allies alike, this one minute video gets to the center of what has made the show such an enduring success.

Humor with heart.

The newly-released mash-up from the iconic sitcom in honor of Pride Month reminds us why the Will & Grace reboot been an amazing revival for NBC and the LGBT community.

Take, for example, the clip from the latest season between Will and guest star Ben Platt:

Will: “My coming out was pretty typical – my mom cried, my dad drank…”

Ben: “I told my parents when I was 8. They both threw me a coming out party on the same weekend.”

Will: “That’s not a coming out story. How’s James Franco supposed to win an Oscar playing that???”

While it gets a good laugh, the brief scene combines comedy and light with a subject many experienced as painful.

The quick video tribute offers coming out moments from Will and Jack, as well as the infamous “television kiss” between the two dashing urbanites.

Eric McCormak (L) and Sean Hayes (R)

We’re also treated to moments of pride by parents on the show, something most of America had never seen before W&G.

And why? Because as Jack tells us, “That’s what we do in the community – we ‘gay it forward.’”

Because Pride Month isn’t just about a party, or history, or a slogan.

“The minute you forget what we went through to get here, is the minute it could all be taken away.”

Well done, NBC.

Happy Pride, folks.

(h/t The OUTFront)

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Broadway’s FROZEN Performs “Let It Go” On The View With Spectacular Results

Whoopi Goldberg surprises The View‘s audience with a sneak peek of Frozen on Broadway — and star Caissie Levy’s performance of ‘Let It Go’ makes a television debut!

Seriously, the stage magic and costume change are spectacular.

Spec-ta-cu-lar.

Back in the day, I was told legendary producer David Merrick wouldn’t allow the “Hello, Dolly!” number to be performed on television because he felt like it was giving the big moment away.

I think there can be some wisdom there. Although, to be fair, shows like Wicked have performed their “big” moments on the Tony Awards for years, so…

In any case, Caissie Levy sings the hell out of the incredibly difficult song, and that costume change… wow.

Watch below.

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Ryan Murphy’s New Queer-Centric Series, POSE, Premieres Tonight On FX

Tony Award winner Billy Porter in POSE

In the first episode of Ryan Murphy’s new groundbreaking series, POSE, Tony Award winner Billy Porter announces, “You ain’t dead yet.”

Porter, starring as the drag ball emcee Pray Tell, is giving some tough love to House mother Blanca Rodriguez (Mj Rodriguez). “There is nothing more tragic than a sad queen,” he adds.

The show, which centers on marginalized queer and brown people, signals early on there will be no resorting to sad-sack tropes about unhappy, suffering queers.

From Buzzfeed:

By centering negotiations of identity and oppression — as well as love and desire — between queer characters of color, the show allows for thoughtful exploration of intra-community hierarchies and conflicts. There are some limitations to this woke soap approach, but the show stands out in a television landscape dominated by straight stories “about race” and white stories “about queerness.” In telling a kind of intersectional fairy tale of queer brown lives, the show highlights just how limited the scope of most TV creators’ imaginations still is.

Pose’s story — as laid out in the first four episodes made available to critics — is ostensibly organized around a battle between two warring ball houses: the House of Abundance, mothered by Elektra Abundance (Dominique Jackson) and their upstart rivals, the House of Evangelista, led by former Abundance daughter Blanca Rodriguez (Mj Rodriguez). The show uses the House structures and the ball setting to dramatize the stories of the gay men and trans women of color who were — and are — the real-life protagonists of those settings, in service of Murphy’s usual goal of turning characters who might be written elsewhere as sidekicks into stars.

Ultimately, Pose is a queer fantasy, and a savvy take on the importance of fantasy for subjects marginalized through race, gender, and sexuality. “How lucky are we?” a house daughter says to Elektra at one point. “We create ourselves. Shit, we are the real dream girls.”

And in the glossy world of Pose, they finally are.

POSE premieres tonight at 9PM on FX.

A post shared by fxnetworks (@fxnetworks) on Jun 3, 2018 at 1:43pm PDT

A post shared by Pose FX (@poseonfx) on Apr 26, 2018 at 10:00am PDT

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Elton John To Deliver Major HIV/AIDS Speech In Honor Of Princess Diana

Elton John

Five-time Grammy Award-winner Elton John will deliver this year’s “Diana, Princess of Wales Lecture” on HIV this June in association with the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

The National AIDS Trust began the lecture series in 1999, in honor of Princess Diana who had passed away just two years earlier.

On June 8, John will address an audience of health workers, politicians, civic leaders, celebrities, and people living with HIV/AIDS in London.

John shared a close bond with Diana and her commitment to ending HIV/AIDS.

In his speech, John is expected to call on governments to target the elimination of HIV/AIDS by the year 2030.

“I am delighted to be able to deliver this lecture and to remember the enormous contribution Diana, Princess of Wales made to this cause,” John says in a statement. “In the quarter century since the Elton John AIDS Foundation was established, the global AIDS fight has changed beyond recognition. Yet tolerance and courage has never been more important in the fight to create an AIDS-free generation and make the world a more accepting place for those living with HIV.”

“2018 is a critical time in the global HIV epidemic,” says NAT chief executive Deborah Gold. “We have all the tools we need to beat HIV, yet we lack the level of investment or political priority necessary to use them fully. We are delighted that Sir Elton John, who has enormous credibility in this battle, will be speaking on this subject.”

At 71-years-old, John is keeping a full-on, robust schedule after announcing his upcoming Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour earlier this year.

In addition to a massive world tour, the pop music legend is also busy working on a musical adaptation of hit movie, The Devil Wears Prada, and penning new tunes for the upcoming live-action film of his huge Broadway blockbuster, The Lion King.

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InstaHunk Round-Up

Steve Raider (via Instagram)

It’s the first weekend of Pride Month 2018, so let’s take a look-see at what the Hunks of Instagram have been up to.

Steve Raider was into some Sunday Funday, looking for a playmate (above).

Raider, who famously loves his time at the beach, was in full-on “Live, laugh, love” mode for Pride:

A post shared by Steve Raider (@steve_raider) on Jun 2, 2018 at 5:20am PDT

Eliad Cohen took his Papa Party to Barcelona:

Architect Preston Brock was in Dallas for Fur Ball:

Superstar Ricky Martin was grooving in the Las Vegas heat and onstage:

A post shared by Ricky (@ricky_martin) on Jun 2, 2018 at 6:02pm PDT

ModernBear was brought us this scruffy InstaGay:

Celebrating Pride in Israel:

A post shared by Steve Peña (@therealstevepena) on Jun 2, 2018 at 3:48pm PDT

Pride in São Paulo:

And illustrator Silverjow could be looking ahead to Daddy Day later this month with this:

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White House Lawyers Admit Trump Dictated Cover-Up Letter For His Son

Don Trump Jr. (L) and Donald Trump (R)

Wow.

In a newly released memo, Donald Trump’s lawyers admitted for the first time that Trump dictated a statement to deceive the public about his son’s June 2016 Trump Tower meeting with a Russian government lawyer.

From CNN:

In a confidential letter to special counsel Robert Mueller in January, President Donald Trump’s legal team acknowledged for the first time that Trump “dictated” the first misleading statement put out about his son’s controversial 2016 meeting with Russians at Trump Tower.

“You have received all of the notes, communications and testimony indicating that the President dictated a short but accurate response to the New York Times article on behalf of his son, Donald Trump, Jr.,” the letter said, according to The New York Times, which published a copy of it. “His son then followed up by making a full public disclosure regarding the meeting, including his public testimony that there was nothing to the meeting and certainly no evidence of collusion.”

Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow, NBC interview, 7/16/17: “The President was not — did not — draft the response. The response came from Donald Trump Jr. and — I’m sure — in consultation with his lawyer. … Let me say this — but I do want to be clear — that the President was not involved in the drafting of the statement and did not issue the statement. It came from Donald Trump Jr.”

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders, daily press briefing, 8/1/17: “He certainly didn’t dictate, but he — like I said, he weighed in, offered suggestion like any father would do.”

The White House has denied any involvement in the misleading statement which originally described the meeting was about child adoption. Instead, emails showed Russian actors were offering dirt on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Trump Jr. took the meeting after responding, “I love it!”

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Donald Trump Throws Former Campaign Chair Paul Manafort Under The Bus

Donald Trump (L), Paul Manfort (R)

President Trump continued his attacks on the FBI and Department of Justice this morning, this time for not informing him during the 2016 election cycle that his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, was being investigated at the time.

Ranting on Twitter, Trump tweeted that Manafort “came into the campaign very late and was with us for a short period of time,” but said the campaign “should have been told that Comey and the boys were doing a number on him, and he wouldn’t have been hired!”

Manafort joined the campaign team in June 2016, but stepped down two months later after media reports of his dealings with the Ukraine government came to light.

It might be time to cut that deal with the Special Counsel, Mr. Manafort.

Manafort has been charged with dozens of crimes including bank fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and more.

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Big Bang Theory‘s Jim Parsons On Roseanne Scandal – “How Did You Type That?”

Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons on Roseanne's racist tweets - "How? Why?"
Jim Parsons

In a candid interview, CNN’s Van Jones asks The Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons if Roseanne Barr went too far with her tweets.

Addressing the recent scandals with Roseanne Barr, who saw her #1 series on ABC get cancelled over racist tweets, and Samantha Bee, who got in hot water calling Ivanka Trump the “c-word” on the air, CNN’s Van Jones asked Parsons if it’s difficult to be funny without consequences in the age of Donald Trump.

“It crosses my mind every single time I sit down for an interview or speak in public, anything,…It’s hard to speak your mind,” said the 45-year-old actor from Texas.

“We’re easily offended right now, frequently about things that are probably not that important.”

Jones asked how Parsons processed the recent Roseanne debacle to which Parsons says, “I only thought about it on an emotional scale, which as ‘how’ and ‘why?’ That was my reaction to it.”

“Reading the tweet, I thought, ‘How did you type that?’”

Parsons did pivot to the current political thought regarding Donald Trump’s infamous “grab’em by the pussy” remark: “It’s ok to say certain things as an elected official right now that it’s not necessarily ok to say as an entertainer. And I find that fascinating.”

The actor also lamented the unemployment effect of Roseanne’s hideous tweets on her fellow actors and crew of her sitcom. Riffing on the current whisper campaign in Hollywood about possible spin-off series for Sara Gilbert or Laurie Metcalfe, Jones inquired if Metcalfe should be given her own show.

Parson emphatically responded, “Laurie should always be given her own show.”

From Parson’s Instagram recently:

A post shared by Jim Parsons (@therealjimparsons) on May 29, 2018 at 3:14pm PDT

Jones shifted to the issue of red-state citizens feeling locked out of the Hollywood industry to which Parsons (a native Texan) shared, “I have so many conservative traits about me. I’m such a family-first type of guy.”

And speaking of traditional values and family-first, Jones brought up Parsons wedding in 2017, “As recently as 2012, people like Barack Obama was a bit hesitant to say publicly he was for marriage equality. Five years later, 2017, you’re married and it’s no big deal. Nobody cares at all.”

“In fact, the big deal, which really took me by surprise considering how traditional I am, was how meaningful the day was,” said Parsons.

“We did it because it was meaningful, but to actually go through the wedding; to be there in front of all of your loved ones, your family. It really gave such meaning to doing this so people could bear witness to it. It meant so much more to me than I was prepared for. Especially having grown up where it wasn’t a possibility.”

One of the busiest men in show business, Parsons not only has his long-running Big Bang Theory sitcom on CBS but he opened on Broadway this week in the iconic, groundbreaking gay-themed play, The Boys in the Band.

And, his new movie, A Kid Like Jake, landed in theaters on Friday wherein Parsons plays the father of a four-year-old who enjoys “gender-expansive play” dressing up in whatever gender clothes feels best at the time.

Watch the CNN segment below and you don’t forget to check out The Boys in the Band and A Kid Like Jake, both open now.

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Missouri: African-American Drivers Are 85% More Likely To Be Pulled Over Than Whites

African-Americans are 85% more likely to be stopped by police in Missouri than whites
(image via Depositphotos)

A new report from the Missouri Attorney General’s office shows African-American drivers are 85% more likely to be pulled over than whites.

That’s a ten percent jump from the previous year and the highest level in the 18 year history of the annual report.

More from the AP:

Attorney General Josh Hawley on Friday released his office’s annual Vehicle Stops Report. The “disparity index” comparing traffic stops among races showed a jump from last year, when blacks were 75 percent more likely than whites to be stopped. Until now, last year’s percentage had been the highest since the reports began in 2000.

John Gaskin, spokesman for the St. Louis County chapter of the NAACP, said the numbers are shocking.

“Quite frankly, it’s really deplorable,” Gaskin said. “It’s why we’ve ended up in a situation where people are talking about travel advisories and African-American groups are less likely to come and do business in our state.”

In light of last year’s vehicle stop data and other racial concerns, the NAACP issued a travel warning to the state.