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Tearful PFLAG Ad: “It’s Never Too Late For Love To Call Back”

Television viewers watching the Tony Awards last night were wrecked by a new video from Verizon that features real families who struggled with a family member coming out, but were eventually able to find better communication and understanding.
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Television viewers watching the Tony Awards last night were wrecked by a new video from Verizon that features real families who struggled with a family member coming out, but were eventually able to find better communication and understanding.

Verizon worked with PFLAG, the nation’s largest organization uniting families and allies with people who are LGBTQ, on the message that a bad “first call” doesn’t have to be the end of family relationships.

“It’s never too late for love to call back.”

Lee Hirsch, who helmed the award-winning 2011 documentary Bully, was brought on to direct the campaign.

Titled “Love Calls Back,” the video features four real-life LGBTQ people who got a bad reaction when they called loved ones to come out.

The spot begins with a young woman speaking to the camera: “Me and my mom were always BFFs until I called her and told her I, like, want to date a girl… and she lost it.”

The camera cuts to the mother, who shares, “It was a shock. It’s not what I wanted for my daughter.”

“She has to live her own life and do what she wants,” the mother continues. “I haven’t said that to her — but I think that would have made a big difference.”

The clip cuts to the mother calling her daughter to say, “You know when you first called me, I should have told you how much I loved you then.”

“Whoever you bring into this home will have my love also,” she adds.

The Twitterverse was shook:

Verizon has announced a series of initiatives for Pride Month that includes content shared across major media outlets like Yahoo News and HuffPost, as well as employee engagement at 19 Pride events across the country.

The communications giant is also donating $250,000 to PFLAG to help build programs that offer support to families and their LGBTQ loved ones.

Verizon and PFLAG created a similar spot last year for Pride, but in that sixty second spot, all goes well for those coming out:

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Poll: Presidential Voters Say Age More Disqualifying Than Being Gay

A new a Reuters/Ipsos poll may be good news for Mayor Pete Buttigieg as the survey shows age may be a more disqualifying factor for presidential candidates than sexual orientation.

Via Reuters:

Overall, the poll found that 48% of adults in the United States said they were “much” or “somewhat” less likely to support someone for the White House if the person was older than 70, while 34% were less likely to vote for someone who is gay.

And 12% said they were more likely to vote for a gay candidate, compared with 11% who said they were more likely to support a candidate who is over 70.

The current Democratic field of candidates running for the 2020 presidential nomination includes two septuagenarians – former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

The poll also showed that minorities were more likely to be supportive of a gay candidate than whites, and millennials were more supportive than Baby Boomers. Additionally, urban dwellers were more supportive than those living in rural areas.

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DC Pride Stampede Caused By Disorderly Straight Couple

Aftabjit Singh arrested at DC Pride for pulling a gun

The mass stampede that brought an end to DC Pride this weekend was triggered by an altercation involving a straight couple, according to the Washington Blade.

When a concerned citizen flagged down police to point out a man with what looked to be a gun, officers approached Aftabjit Singh, 38, and “conducted a stop.”

The officers saw “what appeared to be the body and trigger of a silver handgun” in Singh’s bag. It turned out to be a BB gun.

Singh admitted to pulling the gun on another man who he claimed hit on his “significant other.” He was arrested and charged with possession of a prohibited weapon, possession of a BB gun, Carrying a Dangerous Weapon (Outside Home or Place of Business), and Disorderly Conduct – Cause Unreasonable Fear.

His girlfriend, Melissa Duffy, 43, was also charged for assaulting a police officer after she became irate over her boyfriend being arrested.

When the crowd reacted to Singh pulling the gun, hundreds of Pride attendees went running. Police report at least seven were hospitalized for minor injuries.

Police didn’t confirm any gun shots fired, although several people reported they heard what sounded like ‘popping’ sounds. Tom Roussey, a reporter for the local ABC affiliate, tweeted that police believe the crashing sound of barricades being knocked down by frightened spectators was the cause of the sounds.

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The 73rd Annual Tony Awards Tonight On CBS

I was a member of the theater community years before I realized I was also part of the LGBTQ community.

As a young kid, I found the theater to be a safe space. Wondering, pretending, working hard to acquire skills I would eventually take pride in – these were all things that helped me become the man I am today. 

Hey hey – check that word ‘pride’
And it was in that community that I discovered an extended family that became even closer to me than my birth family.

I was fortunate to spend decades working professionally in the theater, and specifically on ‘the Broad Way.’

I think it’s awesome that the Tony Awards, theater’s biggest night, falls during Pride Month. My two worlds celebrating at the same time, and both with a sense of pride and community.

I’m looking forward to watching the telecast on CBS tonight for several reasons.

Having appeared in Broadway productions (Chicago the Musical, Follies, Hello, Dolly!) I can tell you when you’re working on a show that’s nominated – and especially when your show wins – there is a sense of pride in the work you’ve accomplished that always gave me a lump in my throat and my heart beat a bit faster.

Tonight, as theater hands out its highest honor, I’ll be cheering as so many of my friends and extended family are recognized for the incredible work they bring to the Great White Way.

And there are several LGBTQ-themed productions and out actors in the mix to take home Tonys tonight.

The Prom, a ground-breaking musical comedy about a midwestern high school student who is told she can’t bring her lesbian girlfriend to the prom received 7 nominations including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, Best Director as well as Best Leading Actor/Musical for Brooks Ashmanskas and two Best Leading Actress/Musical noms for Beth Leavel and Caitlin Kinnunen.

The production already won the Drama Desk Award for “Best Musical” so you can bet it’s in the hunt for the top trophy.

Choir Boy, a coming-of-age story that follows a gay choir leader at a boarding school for black men by Moonlight’s Tarell Alvin McCraney, received 5 nominations including Best Play and Best Leading Actor/Play (Jeremy Pope).

Two acclaimed LGBTQ-themed revivals of plays – The Boys in the Band and Torch Song – were nominated for Best Revival of a Play. Even though Boys had an all-star cast, only Robin De Jesús scored a nomination for his performance.

The Cher Show, which chronicles the life and music of the one and only Cher, was shut out of the Best Musical category but received 3 nominations (Best Actress/Musical, Best Costumes/Musical and Best Lighting Design/Musical). Stephanie J. Block scored the Drama Desk Award for “Outstanding Actress in a Musical.”

Additionally, Judith Light will be honored with the Isabelle Stevenson Award, which is given “to an individual from the theatre community who has made a substantial contribution of volunteered time and effort on behalf of one or more humanitarian, social service or charitable organizations, regardless of whether such organizations relate to the theatre.”

Two-time Tony Award winner Judith Light
Already a two-time Tony Award winner for Other Desert Cities and The Assembled Parties, Light will receive the honorary award for her decades of work on behalf of the LGBTQ community and HIV/AIDS advocacy.

“The HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ communities are inspirations and demonstrations of how to be and live in the world; courageous, honorable, and uplifting,” said Light in a statement.

“They inspire me and it is my privilege to be of service to them,” she added. “I am humbled by this recognition from my theater family, whom I so respect, honor, and love.”

I stopped making predictions long ago, but it does seem the artsy Hadestown has found many fans in the race for “Best Musical,” although the show was not nominated in that category at the Drama Desk Awards.

And ok, I lied – I’ll make one prediction for Stephanie J. Block to take home a Tony for her impressive turn as ‘Star’ Cher in The Cher Show. (Three actresses play the Oscar winner at different stages of her life/career).

Block has a huge body of work the already includes two Tony nominations, her performance was easily one of the best on Broadway this season, and she’s very well liked by the theater community.

Note – The New York Times reports this interesting factoid about tonight’s proceedings:

“This year, for the first time, voters are receiving personalized electronic ballots based on their self-reported attendance, meaning that they cannot vote in categories in which they have not confirmed seeing all the nominees. As a result, the number of ballots cast, particularly in play categories, is likely to be smaller than in past years.”

So, keep that in mind when you enjoy the telecast.

The 73rd Annual Tony Awards will be broadcast on CBS beginning at 8pm EST hosted by The Late Late Show’s James Corden.

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Franklin Graham: “Gay Pride Flag Is Offensive To Christians”

Homophobe Franklin Graham celebrated on his Facebook page the news that the Trump administration is rejecting requests from US embassies to fly the Pride flag during Pride Month.
Franklin Graham

Homophobe Franklin Graham celebrated on his Facebook page the news that the Trump administration is rejecting requests from US embassies to fly the Pride flag during Pride Month.

“I want to thank President Donald J. Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for making the decision not to fly the gay flag over our embassies during June in recognition of gay pride month. That is the right decision.

“The only flag that should fly over our embassies is the flag of the United States of America.

“The gay pride flag is offensive to Christians and millions of people of other faiths, not only in this country but around the world. The U.S. flag represents our nation—everyone—regardless of race, religion, or sexual orientation.”

What a dick.

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My Favorite Thing Today: “The Wow Concert”

From CBS’s Sunday Morning: “The Wow Concert”

It was an unusual outburst for a classical music concert: an audience member shouted out “Wow!” at the very end of Mozart’s “Masonic Funeral Music,” performed by the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston. The group’s president and CEO, David Snead, was determined to find out who had broken audience protocol in such a forthright way. The answer to his query proved very surprising, as Steve Hartman discovered.

Wait for it…

(h/t theOUTfront)

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Pride History: Stonewall Icon Marsha P. Johnson “Darling, I Want My Gay Rights Now”

Marsha P. Johnson (Credit: Diana Davies/New York Public Library)

As we recognize Pride Month, in addition to the celebrations and Pride festivals/parades, I do want to offer a few short bits of history along the way so we know whose shoulders on which we stand today.

Pioneering drag performer, activist and a leader at the Stonewall Rebellion will be honored with a monument near the Stonewall Inn this year.

Learn why in one minute:

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NY Times: Trump “Unsettles The Settled”

The New York Times, in reporting on Donald Trump's 'last minute' escape from implementing tariffs on Mexico, notes the pattern Donald Trump seems to have in his negotiations that end up with - who else? - him looking like a hero for a mess he created in the first place.
Donald Trump

The New York Times, in reporting on Donald Trump’s ‘last minute’ escape from implementing tariffs on Mexico, notes the pattern Donald Trump seems to have in his negotiations that end up with – who else? – him looking like a hero for a mess he created in the first place.

These are often dramas of his own making, with him naturally the hero. He stakes out maximalist positions and issues brutal ultimatums to compel action, arguing that extreme problems demand extreme tactics. At times, though, it can seem like little more than smoke and mirrors substituting for serious policymaking, a way of pretending to make progress without actually solving the underlying problem.

“This is a pattern we’ve seen since the first days of this administration,” said Ned Price, a former C.I.A. official who worked on President Barack Obama’s National Security Council staff and is now director of policy at National Security Action, a progressive foreign policy advocacy organization.

“The president manufactures a crisis, galvanizes his base around the challenge, leaves the definition of success undefined, pretends to play hardball and, lo and behold, finds a solution that entails little more than window-dressing, if that,” Mr. Price said. “For Trump, it’s a win-win.” But “the loser tends to be the American people, oftentimes Trump’s base first and foremost,” he added.

As I, and many other people smarter than me, noted already, the ‘deal’ Trump announced with Mexico is actually a collection of prior agreements with our southern neighbor assembled to look like a wholly new agreement.

It’s not.

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Pride Music: Sam Smith Covers Whitney Houston’s “How Will I Know”

Back in 2014, out recording artist Sam Smith debuted his new cover of the Whitney Houston hit “How Will I Know” while visiting the SiriusXM Studios yesterday.

I love when folks slow a song down and we discover a whole new side to the writer’s work.

Gorgeous idea here.

(h/t JMG)

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Conflicting Reports Regarding Possible Shooting At DC Pride

Earlier today at DC Pride

UPDATE: Capital Pride now reports ‘the threat has been contained’ but there are still conflicting reports.

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There have been reports of gunshots at Washington DC Pride.

Very few details at this time. DC Pride has announced the Pride parade has been suspended.

According to reports, a heavy police presence is responding.