LGBTQ news and entertainment
In this delicious new short from The Simpsons, President Trump makes one more desperate plea to patch things up with now-fired FBI Director James Comey.
I don’t know what’s more on the nose: Mike Pence erasing the “Vice” from his name plate or the ghost of Richard Nixon thanking Trump for helping him move up to being “the 44th best president.”
Watch below.
Just last week, the Trump campaign announced a rally to be held in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
But today, the campaign announced the rally would have to be “rescheduled” due to “an unforeseen change in President Trump’s schedule.”
“Due to an unforeseen change in President Trump’s schedule, we will need to unfortunately postpone the previously scheduled rally in Cedar Rapids on June 1st.
“Stay tuned for information on a rescheduled date early next week. Our sincere apologies for any inconvenience this may have cause. President Trump will see you in Iowa very soon.”
Gee, I wonder what came up…?
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Responding to reports that President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, had talks with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak about setting up “secret lines of communication,” National Security Advisor Gen. H.R. McMaster said he’s “not concerned.”
From Politico:
McMaster told American reporters traveling with Trump at the G7 summit in Sicily that the U.S. frequently sets up backchannels to countries for discreet communications.
“We have backchannel communications with a number of countries,” McMaster said in response to questions.
“What that allows you to do is communicate in a discreet manner so I’m not concerned.”
Christmas in May?
Fans of the 2003 rom-com Love Actually got a special gift this year for Red Nose Day – a short film
reunion of the original cast members!
The short film was created for the Red Nose Day charity broadcast, which aired in the UK back in March, and finally aired for US audiences on Thursday.
The clip begins with Keira Knightley opening her front door to Andrew Lincoln and his cue cards (“How do you like the beard?”
Lots of familiar faces from the original film abound: Liam Neeson, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Rowan Atkinson, Bill Nighy, Colin Firth, Lucia Moniz, Laura Linney, and cameos by Patrick Dempsey and Kate Moss.
Hugh Grant, returning as the UK prime minister, wraps up the film speaking to reporters about the state of things in the world: “Usain Bolt has run his last Olympics, the Harry Potter films are finished, Piers Morgan is still alive.”
But he shifts the topic to more a more positive view bringing the story around to giving, “Metallica’s album is an absolute cracker. And on a deeper level, I’m optimistic. Wherever you see tragedy, you see bravery, too. Wherever you see ordinary people in need, you see extraordinary people come to their aid.”
The film’s original writer-director Richard Curtis made the reunion happen for Comic Relief, the charity that organized Red Nose Day, to raise money and awareness to help children living in poverty in America and around the world. The effort has brought in more than $1 billion in donations worldwide.
You can still donate to Red Nose Day by clicking here.
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Some news items you might have missed:
• Memorial Day weekend means we head into the dog days of summer. I’m not complaining 😉
• During a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos told lawmakers she had no problem with private schools receiving publicly-funded vouchers denying admission to students from LGBTQ families.
• United Airlines wrongly accused a gay dad of having his hand “too close” to his son’s genitals during a flight. United has since apologized but asked the man to “keep it low key” due to the airline’s recent bad press.
• In high school, Wyatt Pertuset was homecoming king, prom king, student body president and an out football player. Check out his terrific coming out story over at OutSports.
• Speaking of out athletes, the former CEO of the Cleveland Browns thinks Michael Sam’s short foray into the NFL could prevent other closeted football players from coming out.
• The White House may have a team of lawyers vet President Trump’s tweets before the Donald sends them out into the interwebs.
• Check out hottie Rob Gronkowski get soaking wet washing his car, serve sushi from his bare bod and literally flip out in a pillow fight in the new “On My Mind” video from dance music DJ/producer 3LAU. I like the song, btw.
The Washington Post is reporting Donald Trump’s closest adviser, son-in-law Jared Kushner, spoke to high level Russian officials regarding setting up a secret line of communication with the Kremlin.
Jared Kushner and Russia’s ambassador to Washington discussed the possibility of setting up a secret and secure communications channel between Trump’s transition team and the Kremlin, using Russian diplomatic facilities in an apparent move to shield their pre-inauguration discussions from monitoring, according to U.S. officials briefed on intelligence reports.
Ambassador Sergei Kislyak reported to his superiors in Moscow that Kushner, son-in-law and confidant to then-President-elect Trump, made the proposal during a meeting on Dec. 1 or 2 at Trump Tower, according to intercepts of Russian communications that were reviewed by U.S. officials. Kislyak said Kushner suggested using Russian diplomatic facilities in the United States for the communications.
The meeting also was attended by Michael Flynn, Trump’s first national security adviser.
The White House disclosed the fact of the meeting only in March, playing down its significance. But people familiar with the matter say the FBI now considers the encounter, as well as another meeting Kushner had with a Russian banker, to be of investigative interest.
Now, why would you want to hide your communications with Russia unless you were doing something you shouldn’t?
“Secret” meaning “not subject to monitoring by the US government.” Anybody got an innocent explanation for that? https://t.co/qFnGjtNuGK— David Frum (@davidfrum) May 26, 2017
In addition to being a super shady idea, this was also a really stupid idea. Classic Trump! https://t.co/HlcomAtxFx— Josh Barro (@jbarro) May 26, 2017
Who among us has never set up a secret, secure back-channel line of communication with the Russian government?— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) May 26, 2017
If true, this is treasonous activity, whether borne of malice or naïveté, or both. https://t.co/Wm4rk3bgtC— Evan McMullin (@Evan_McMullin) May 26, 2017
Less than 24 hours before the opening ceremonies in Miami, the organizers of the 2017 OutGames cancelled most events including the opening and closing ceremonies.
From the Miami Herald:
The long-planned sporting and cultural event known as the World OutGames, a 10-day LGBT-themed event advertised as a spectacular gathering of athletes from around the world, unraveled Friday about 24 hours before the opening ceremonies.
Organizers announced that the opening and closing ceremonies, along with nearly all of its sports events, were canceled due to financial issues. The bombshell revelation came via a short Facebook post from the event’s board of directors Friday.
“It is with deep regret that due to financial burdens, World OutGames must cancel its sports programming and Opening and Closing Ceremony with the exception of soccer, aquatics and country western dance,” reads the text. “The Human Rights Conference and cultural programs will continue as planned. We thank everyone who has supported the effort and apologize to those who will be impacted by this difficult decision.”
And with that, the high hopes for the 10-day event were dashed as athletes from around the world streamed into Miami, ready to compete only to learn the games were canceled. Some arrived before the announcement, and others found out mid-air.
How very disappointing for the athletes. According to reports, many participants found out in mid-air on their way to Miami.
In anticipation of the premiere of the upcoming Wonder Woman flick on June 2nd, check out “To Be Human” by Randy Report favorite, Sia, from the film’s soundtrack.
And, in truth, who better to voice a track from Wonder Woman than Sia?
The film, starring Gal Gadot and Chris Pine, marks the first superhero film ever to be directed by a woman (Patty Jenkins) with a leading female protagonist in the storyline.
No stranger to film soundtracks, Queen Sia has contributed songs to 50 Shades Darker, The Hunger Games, Twilight, The Neon Demon, and San Andreas.
U.K. artist Labrinth guests on the sweeping, anthemic track.
Listen below.
Love this video from Corridor Digital that turns the iconic “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen into a dark movie scene.
Any way the wind blows…
People Magazine reports that Gauthier Destenay, the First Gentleman of Luxembourg, joined the female partners of world leaders for dinner at the current conference of NATO leaders in Belgium.
The gathering took place at the Royal Castle in Brussels.
Prime Minister Bettel, 44, and Belgian architect Destenay entered a civil partnership in 2010 and married in 2015 after Luxembourg’s legislators approved gay marriage. Bettel became the first openly gay Prime Minister of Luxembourg in December 2013, after an election campaign in which his sexuality was not a secret nor an issue.
Bettel is the world’s only gay head of government since Iceland’s former Prime Minister Johanna Sigurðardóttir, a lesbian, and Belgium’s Elio Di Rupo finished their mandates in 2013 and 2015 respectively.
This is great. Luxembourg’s First Husband lines up with the First Ladies at a NATO conference.🏳️🌈
Via @Channel4News pic.twitter.com/lZbLeAmS5u— Greg Hogben (@MyDaughtersArmy) May 26, 2017