Category: Uncategorized

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Netflix Green Light’s Season 2 Of Queer Eye Reboot

The cast of Queer Eye

Netflix has announced, thanks to much critical praise, the reboot of Queer Eye has been green lit for a second season.

All five of the new cast – Antoni Porowski (Food & Wine), Bobby Berk (Interior Design), Karamo Brown (Culture), Jonathan Van Ness (Grooming) and Tan France (Fashion) – will return in season 2.

Along with Queer Eye, four more series – The Toys That Made Us, Dope, Drug Lords and Nailed It! – were also renewed.

According to Netflix’s unscripted content chief Bela Bajaria fans can look forward to 8 new episodes of QE by the end of the year.

“These series are indicative of what we’re trying to accomplish for Netflix unscripted: working with world-class producers to create the best unscripted shows on television,” Bela Bajaria, vice president of content at Netflix, said. “These series elevate the genre with innovative takes on familiar formats. They deliver immersive and nuanced stories. They elicit so many emotions from viewers, from tears of laughter to tears of joy – and that’s just ‘Queer Eye.’”

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Gus Kenworthy Covers Gay Times Magazine

Out Olympian Gus Kenworthy gives you some cowboy-style for the cover of Gay Times Magazine.

From the tease:

Gus Kenworthy made history after coming out in 2015 as the first out and proud action sports star. Now with a Sochi silver medal around his neck, the Olympic finalist has become a powerful role model to a new generation of queer youth, diversifying what an LGBTQ person can or can’t be and leading by example.

Speaking exclusively with Gay Times, Gus talks to us on the importance of representation, his close friendship with fellow olympian Adam Rippon, and his upcoming spot as a guest judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race.

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GOP Sen. Joni Ernst Breaks From Trump, Supports Transgender Military Service

Sen. Joni Ernst

Republican Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), the first female combat veteran elected to the U.S. Senate, has broken with Donald Trump on his anti-transgender military policy.

On CBS’ “Face the Nation,” the first-term senator who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said trans people who are qualified to be in the U.S. armed forces “should serve” and she would welcome them.

From The Washington Blade:

“I have asked transgenders myself, if you are willing to lay down your life beside me, I would welcome you into our military,” Ernst said.

The Iowa Republican, however, emphasized transgender people must “meet physical requirements” for being in the military and she’d “support the president and the administration in making sure that standards are met.”

“If there are transgenders that meet those qualifications, certainly I would gladly have them serving in the United States military,” Ernst added.

Asked by CBS News’ Margaret Brennan if she’d call on Trump to change his position, Ernst demurred, but said she’s happy to talk with the administration.

“I think the White House has done a very studied analysis of how we have the best qualified people coming into the military, and so, I’m happy to have those discussions with the administration, but, again, making sure that those standards are applied fairly across the spectrum of every citizen that wants to join our United States military,” Ernst said.

Ernst’s comments come just days after Trump announced his plans to keep his ban on transgender service in the military following a report by Defense Secretary James Mattis.

Currently four federal courts have injunctions blocking Trump’s ban.

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Stormy Daniels Interview Nets 10 Year High In Ratings For “60 Minutes”

Stormy Daniels (via screen capture)

The much-anticipated Stormy Daniels interview with Anderson Cooper on CBS’ 60 Minutes was a ratings bonanza for the newsmagazine. Last night’s audience of over 23 million was the largest since 2008’s interview with Barack and Michelle Obama.

My two big take aways from last night’s 60 Minutes interview with Stormy Daniels:

Daniels’ revealing the specifics of an actual threat to her brought criminal behavior into this tale of woe.

From Axios:

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, said an unknown man physically threatened her in 2011 in parking lot with her infant daughter after she granted a tell-all interview to In Touch magazine. Daniels recalled, “I was in a parking lot … And a guy walked up on me and said to me, ‘Leave Trump alone. Forget the story.’ And then he leaned around and looked at my daughter and said, ‘That’s a beautiful little girl. It’d be a shame if something happened to her mom.’ And then he was gone.”

The second issue of interest was learning Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s lawyer, may very well be in much more jeopardy for paying the $130,000 to Daniels that he originally thought.

If Cohen’s $130,000 payment — which he claims he made personally — actually violates campaign finance laws. Former FEC chairman Trevor Potter spoke to “60 Minutes” about the situation, stating that Cohen could be in trouble if he was never reimbursed by Trump:

If Trump paid Cohen back: “If he was then reimbursed by the president, that doesn’t remove the fact that the initial payment violated Cohen’s contribution limits. I guess it mitigates it if he’s paid back by the candidate because the candidate could have paid for it without limit.”

If Trump didn’t pay Cohen back: “Then he is still out on the line, having made a illegal in kind contribution to the campaign.”

Daniels’ lawyer Michael Avenatti producing a FedEx slip from the delivery of the signed NDA to Trump Tower was something. It was incredibly stupid to have the document sent to Trump Tower if keeping Trump out of the equation was the point. Not a biggie, but another slice to add to the pie of evidence.

Other than those bits of info, the much-hyped interview wasn’t all that explosive.

Along the way, I do think Stormy knew how to get under the Trumpster’s skin by making a point to say she didn’t want to have sex with him and insinuating it wasn’t all that.

After repeating Trump’s alleged offer to try and get her on The Apprentice, I’d love for a reporter to check in with the producers of the show at the time and ask if Stormy Daniels’ name ever came up in discussions with Trump.

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Puerto Vallarta: Gay Man Shot While Holding His Husband’s Hand In Public

(image via Facebook)

A Palm Springs couple vacationing in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, were the victims of a shooting incident in early morning hours early Saturday. The couple say the attack was a hate crime because they were holding hands.

From The Desert Sun:

At about 2:30 a.m., at the end of a night of dancing, Carl Blea and Marc Lange were holding hands and walking to the condo where they were staying, Lange said. As they passed through a plaza, a man standing nearby yelled something at them. Blea then noticed the man pull out a gun and tried to get himself and Lange to safety.

Lange, speaking by phone from a Puerto Vallarta hospital Sunday morning, said a bullet struck Blea below his right buttock and exited through his thigh. He said if Blea hadn’t seen the gun and reacted so quickly, both of them might be dead.

The men believe the shooting was a targeted hate crime because they’re gay. Lange called it “a random act of hatred.” He said he’s told police what happened multiple times.

According to Lange, the local media is reporting the incident as a botched robbery but he disputes that claim saying they never spoke to the man that shot them.

He believes the media is trying to downplay the shooting in an effort to protect tourism in the Mexican city.

In a post on Facebook, Lange added:

I post this only because there has been no local press or alerts made to the puerto Vallarta area.

Last night we were involved in nothing more than a hate crime.

Last night my husband and I were walking home hand in hand from an evening out in puerto Vallarta. As we cross the street walking into a well lite area, Cardenas Lazaro park, we pass a white car and a person who looked like he had done hard time in prison, wife beater and tattoos both face and body (circle tattoo on right side of face). As we walk pass him he shouts something. I turn to look and then turn away, Carl Blea looks and see this person pull out a gun which is now pointed at us. Carl begins to run and pulls me away from the shooter. A bullet is shot and Carl goes down. Shot. We have no idea what is happening. A concrete building separates us from the shooter. I scream for help….. someone finally helps, police arrive, 45 min later the ambulance arrives.

This person was there for no other reason than to kill innocent people. We happened to be his target. There is nothing in the local newspaper or news warning people of this incident.

As readers of The Randy Report know, hubby Michael and I often vacation in Puerto Vallarta. While I’ve never seen any violence during my travels there, I’m also aware that as a gay man in a country who’s views on LGBT rights and protections are iffy, I don’t hold Michael’s hand in public.

(h/t Towleroad)

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Excuse Me For A Moment…

I don’t take my fellow LGBTQ media colleagues to task very often, but I have to say I’ve been stunned how little coverage the passing of Tony Award winner Sammy Williams of A Chorus Line fame got in the LGBTQ media.

I’ll admit up front that some outlets like Boy Culture and Kenneth-in-the-212 took time to acknowledge the huge contribution that Williams made with his groundbreaking performance as a gay dancer in the original Broadway production of A Chorus Line as “Paul San Marco.”

But so many – and you know who you are – didn’t take even a few minutes to briefly write or even link to remembrances of the actor.

I even wrote to a few major outlets to point up his passing.

In addition to the Tony Award, Williams was honored with the Obie Award and a Special Theatre World Award for his stunning work.

It’s no exaggeration to say Sammy’s performance in A Chorus Line changed lives.

Audiences gay and straight had rarely seen such a raw, authentic portrayal of a gay man on the Broadway stage before his Tony Award-winning performance. For many gay men it was heart-stopping to see our lives presented without any pulled punches.

Long before we had actors like out actors like Sean Hayes and Jim Parsons put gay life in front of audiences, even before we had straight actor Billy Crystal in the 70s TV show Soap, Sammy Williams had the courage and talent to stand alone in a single spotlight and stun audiences with a 7-minute monologue with no special effects or tricks – just the power of the sound of his voice – wherein he chronicled his character’s difficult journey as a young gay dancer who could only find safety in the company of drag queens.

Drag queens, Tony Awards, Broadway, authentic gay life – these are subjects constantly in the gay press but for the most part Williams’ passing went ignored.

A Chorus Line won not only 7 Tony Awards (one for Williams) but a Pulitzer Prize for Drama – in great part because of Williams’ performance.

He was a courageous artist and trailblazer.

He deserved more.

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Podcast: Emma Gonzalez’s Stunning Silence At The March For Our Lives, Trump Tries Trans Ban Again, Singer/Songwriter Tom Goss In Concert

In this week’s podcast:

• Out Parkland high school senior Emma González stunned the nation at the March for Our Lives with her powerful closing speech

• Donald Trump tried again this week with his ban on transgender soldiers in the US military

• Celebrities are buying out showings of the new coming out movie “Love, Simon” which has now grossed $24 million at the box office

• My review of out singer/songwriter Tom Goss live in concert

All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report.

Hit play below.

If you enjoy catching up on the week’s LGBTQ headlines with my 15 minute podcast newsmagazine, I’d appreciate it if you would share The Randy Report with your friends.

I like to think of this podcast as the 60 Minutes of gay news — only shorter 🙂

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Entertainment Reporter Karl Schmid Comes Out As HIV+ In Heartfelt Facebook Post

Reporter Karl Schmid

Karl Schmid, entertainment reporter for the Los Angeles ABC affiliate, came out as HIV positive in a thoughtful, heartfelt post on Facebook Friday night.

Hi. I’m a 37 year old HIV+ man who has been poz for almost ten years. I work in television. And on the side of the camera where, for better or worse it’s considered “taboo” for people “like me” to be “like me”. For 10 years I’ve struggled with “do I or don’t I”? For ten years the stigma and industry professionals have said, “don’t! It’ll ruin you”.

But here’s the thing. I’m me. I’m just like you. I have a big heart and I want to be loved and accepted. I may be on TV from time to time, but at the end of the day I’m just an average guy who wants want we all want. To be accepted and loved by our friends and family and to be encouraged by our peers.

So here’s what I say, stand tall, and stand proud. You can’t make everybody happy but you can make you happy. And so long as you tell the truth, you will never have to remember anything.

Labels are things that come and go but your dignity and who you are is what defines you. I know who I am, I know what I stand for and while in the past I may not have always had clarity, I do now.

Love me or hate me, that’s up to you. But, for anyone who has ever doubted themselves because of those scary three letters and one symbol, let me tell you this, you are somebody who matters. Your feelings, your thoughts, your emotions count. And don’t let anybody tell you otherwise.

I’m Karl Schmid, and I’m an HIV-positive man!

Bravo to Schmid for having the courage to share his story. Even with new drugs which make having HIV more of a chronic disease than a death sentence, and the wider and wider use of PrEP to stop the spread of infection, the stigma of being HIV+ is still a very real issue for many.

The 37-year-old Australian native regularly reports from the red carpet of celebrity events and also hosts the TV show Operation Vacation on Logo.

Saturday morning Schmid followed up with an upbeat tweet thanking folks for their support and for sharing their own stories.

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Rick Santorum: These Kids Should Learn CPR Instead Of Protesting

Eternal douche nozzle Rick Santorum told a panel on CNN today that kids are “looking to someone else to solve their problem” when they should be taking individual action like “taking CPR classes.”

It’s worth noting that, while CPR is useful for heart stoppage, the shooting victim of an AR-15 with multiple holes ripped through their body would probably lose even more blood faster if someone started pumping on their heart.

In late February, during another panel discussion on CNN Santorum pointed to “broken homes without dads” as being something that is “common in these shootings.”

Host Jake Tapper pointed out a flaw in Santorum’s theory, as far as the Parkland shooting was concerned. “His dad had died,” Tapper told Santorum. “It wasn’t a ‘broken home.’”

#idiot

It’s so strange to me that conservatives, who used to champion rising up and taking a stand, all seem so opposed to these students raising their voices.

Watch below.

Twitter jumped on the comment including Parkland senior Emma Gonzalez who trolled Santorum in righteous fashion: