LGBTQ news and entertainment
In this week’s podcast:
• The Equality Act passes in the House of Representatives
• Nevada bans the gay panic defense
• An Australian rugby player loses his $4 million contract thanks to homophobic social media posts
• FX’s groundbreaking series POSE honored at the Peabody Awards
• The Elton John ‘musical fantasy biopic’ Rocketman premieres at the Cannes Film Festival
All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report
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| Bruno Tarchetti (via Instagram) |
Some news items you might have missed:
• Personal trainer and InstaHunk Bruno Tarchetti is today’s Monday Man Crush. #furrygoodness
• Twenty-three year-old Muhlaysia Booker, a Black transgender woman who was beaten in front of several bystanders last month, was fatally shot in Dallas on May 18. She is the 4th transgender person to be killed in the U.S. in 2019.
• Alabama Public Television refused to air an episode of the animated children’s show, Arthur, which featured the character ‘Mr. Ratburn’ marrying his male partner, Patrick.
• FX’s groundbreaking series Pose was honored over the weekend with a Peabody Award, which recognizes “when storytelling is done well; when stories matter.”
• Cathay Pacific Airline has a new ad campaign that’s LGBTQ-inclusive.
• Thousands marched through Belfast in Northern Ireland demanding marriage equality. Northern Ireland is the only region in the United Kingdom which has not legalized same-sex marriage.
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| Donald Trump |
A federal judge ruled today that Congress has the right to subpoena Donald Trump’s financial records from accounting firm Mazars USA.
Via Politico:
U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta’s ruling delivers a striking blow to the president’s efforts to resist Democratic investigations, and is certain to give Democrats further legal basis to investigate Trump, his finances, and his presidential campaign.
In addition to upholding the House Oversight and Reform Committee’s subpoena to accounting firm Mazars USA for eight years of Trump’s financial records, Mehta took the extra step of denying the president’s request for a stay pending appeal.
Jay Sekulow, one of the president’s personal attorneys, said: “We will be filing a timely notice of appeal to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.”
Speaking with reporters at the White House on Monday, Trump called Mehta’s ruling “ridiculous” and “totally wrong.”
The subpoena is part of an investigation into whether Trump committed crimes related to his finances before becoming president.
The House Oversight Committee is looking to corroborate statements made by Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, regarding Trump artificially inflating and deflating the values of his assets to suit his personal financial benefit.
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| Bella Hadid (L) and Lil Miquela (R) |
A new ad spot by Calvin Klein has resulted in a backlash, forcing the fashion brand to issue an apology to the LGBTQ community.
The video ad featured model Bella Hadid kissing robot model Lil Miquela. Miquela is a CGI with more than one million followers on Instagram.
Some called the ad queer-baiting, using a same-sex kiss to promote the brand.
Calvin Klein issued this statement:
“The concept of our latest #MYCALVINS campaign is to promote freedom of expression for a wide range of identities, including a spectrum of gender and sexual identities. This specific campaign was created to challenge conventional norms and stereotypes in advertising. In this particular video, we explored the blurred lines between reality and imagination
“We understand and acknowledge how featuring someone who identifies as heterosexual in a same-sex kiss could be perceived a queerbaiting. As a company with a longstanding tradition of advocating for LGBTQ+ rights, it was certainly not our intention to misrepresent the LGTBQ+ community. We sincerely regret any offense we caused.”
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| Boy George |
During the blind auditions for the Australian edition of The Voice, Boy George inquired if a contestant played guitar.
The young singer replied he can play guitar, but “no one really cares if I play guitar.”
The comment caught BG a bit sideways as moments later, the pop star stormed off the set.
When a producer ran after him, the singer yelled back, “Don’t follow me – I’m annoyed.”
The look on the face of the young singer, who clearly didn’t mean to offend anyone, was painful.
Watch below.
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| Mayor Pete Buttigieg |
Openly gay Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg had an impressive showing Sunday night as he answered questions at a Fox News town hall event hosted by anchor Chris Wallace.
While most Democratic candidates aren’t heading over to the conservative cable news outlet for coverage, Buttigieg defended the appearance. “If we don’t show up, the conservative media will tell our side of the story for us,” he told Wallace.
The 37-year-old mayor is the third Democratic contender to show up to a Fox News event. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) participated in a Q&A for the conservative cable news outlet in April, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn) appeared at a network town hall earlier in May.
Last week, however, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) declined an invitation from Fox News to appear at a similar event.
“A lot of folks in my party were critical of me even doing this with Fox News,” Buttigieg told Wallace. “And I get where that’s coming from, especially when you see what goes on with some of the opinion hosts on this network.”
“I mean, when you got Tucker Carlson saying that immigrants make American dirty; when you got Laura Ingraham comparing detention centers with children in cages to summer camps—summer camps—then, there is a reason why anyone has to swallow hard and think twice before participating in this media ecosystem,” he continued.
“But, I also believe that even though some of those hosts are not always there in good faith, I think a lot of people tune into this network who do it in good faith,” he concluded.
Even though some of these hosts are not always there in good faith, I think a lot of people tune into this network in good faith.Whether it’s going on Fox or going into places where Democrats haven’t been seen much, we have to find people where they are–not change our values. pic.twitter.com/xNHoD0uzE4
— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) May 20, 2019
Across a wide variety of topics, Buttigieg answered questions without pause or having to qualify his responses.
In the aftermath of Alabama’s newly-passed ban on abortion, Wallace asked Buttigieg his thoughts on the legislation. Buttigieg answered that he trusts “women to draw the line.”
“I trust women to draw the line when it is their own body,” he said. “I believe that the right of a woman to make her own decisions about her own reproductive health and her own body is a national right, I believe it is an American freedom.”
The decision to have an abortion “is not going to be made any better, medically or morally, because the government is dictating how that decision should be made,” he added.
I believe that the right of a woman to make her own decisions about her reproductive health and about her body is a national right. I believe it is an American freedom that should be enjoyed by women in every state. The next president needs to be ready to protect those rights. pic.twitter.com/NM5IJkO9GO— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) May 20, 2019
Asked how he felt he would handle attacks and tweets from Donald Trump in a general election, Buttigieg replied, “The tweets are…I don’t care.”
The answer spurred a big round of applause from the audience attending the event in Claremont, New Hampshire.
Buttigieg did note that it was “hard for anyone to look away” when the Trumpster tweets, but qualified that saying “it is the nature of grotesque things that you can’t look away.”
We have to make it less about him and more about what matters. That’s the best way to defeat him. pic.twitter.com/2PxuncQ6bW— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) May 20, 2019
At the end of the hour-long town hall, Buttigieg was given a chance to address the audience directly. His appeal was met with a standing ovation, surprising Wallace.
Pete Buttigieg Gets Standing Ovation at End of Fox News Town Hall, Surprising Chris Wallace https://t.co/umsBxi5h8v pic.twitter.com/SU6G9RpwCE— Mediaite (@Mediaite) May 20, 2019
The Hill reports the town hall event drew 1.1 million viewers.
The appearance clearly got under the president’s skin as Trump criticized his favorite network via Twitter.
Hard to believe that @FoxNews is wasting airtime on Mayor Pete, as Chris Wallace likes to call him. Fox is moving more and more to the losing (wrong) side in covering the Dems. They got dumped from the Democrats boring debates, and they just want in. They forgot the people…..— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2019
….who got them there. Chris Wallace said, “I actually think, whether you like his opinions or not, that Mayor Pete has a lot of substance…fascinating biography.” Gee, he never speaks well of me – I like Mike Wallace better…and Alfred E. Newman will never be President!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2019
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| Donald Trump |
Donald Trump has uncharacteristically broken with his base calling for exceptions in cases of rape, incest and the health of the mother.
Over the weekend, Trump tweeted, “As most people know, and for those who would like to know, I am strongly Pro-Life, with the three exceptions – Rape, Incest and protecting the Life of the mother – the same position taken by Ronald Reagan.”
He went on to trumpet his 105 conservative judges he’s appointed in his two years in office and called for sticking together warning that “all of our hard fought gains for Life can, and will, rapidly disappear.”
His comments follows Alabama’s recent passage of a near-total abortion ban, becoming the nation’s most restrictive law on the procedure. Unlike other states which restrict abortion, Alabama’s new law makes for no exception in cases involving rape or incest.
As most people know, and for those who would like to know, I am strongly Pro-Life, with the three exceptions – Rape, Incest and protecting the Life of the mother – the same position taken by Ronald Reagan. We have come very far in the last two years with 105 wonderful new…..— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2019
….Federal Judges (many more to come), two great new Supreme Court Justices, the Mexico City Policy, and a whole new & positive attitude about the Right to Life. The Radical Left, with late term abortion (and worse), is imploding on this issue. We must stick together and Win….— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2019
….for Life in 2020. If we are foolish and do not stay UNITED as one, all of our hard fought gains for Life can, and will, rapidly disappear!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2019
The Twitterverse also chimed in:
When I worked on The Art of the Deal, and long after, Trump was openly and unequivocally pro-choice. He now opposes abortion purely and only because his base — and especially Evangelicals — oppose abortion.— Tony Schwartz (@tonyschwartz) May 19, 2019
Trump is lying today about his views on abortion. He told us during the campaign he wants to PROSECUTE WOMEN who get abortions. That is exactly what the GOP plans to do next if Trump is able to win re-election and can appoint more Supreme Court justices. Here's Trump telling us: pic.twitter.com/n16ZNNXG5A— (((DeanObeidallah))) (@DeanObeidallah) May 19, 2019
Reminder: In March 2016, Trump unequivocally called for women who get abortions to be punished
TRUMP: "The answer is there has to be some form of punishment"
MATTHEWS: "For the woman?"
T: "Yeah. There has to be some form"
M: "Imprisonment?"
T: "It will have to be determined" pic.twitter.com/Djkcz2aCCT— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 18, 2019
Trump is never guided my a moral compass — just an applause meter.
Over 10 years after Reagan left office, Trump said in an interview with Tim Russert: “I’m very pro-choice.”
He is now facilitating the evangelical extremism that will ban abortions even in cases of rape/incest. https://t.co/vadMnacfqJ— Mrs. Betty Bowers (@BettyBowers) May 19, 2019
Checking in with our favorite InstaHunks this Sunday.
Rick and the Griffopotamus are living for Sunday sunshine in Atlanta.
Steve Raider went all ‘Lara Croft – Tomb Raider’ for a photo shoot.
My longtime buddy, Brandon Pereyda, who over the past ten years went from an aerialist at Chippendales to becoming the face of Cirque du Soliel’s fabulous Zumanity here in Las Vegas got all chained and vulnerable.
Amazing Race alum Seth Tyler is giving you fabulous 40!
Dan Tai is talking about “wild beauty,” and I know exactly what he means (I think).
Big props for a big guy – Calum Von Moger gets into the Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) spirit here in Las Vegas in grand style.
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| Mayor Pete Buttigieg addresses how to handle a bully |
Mayor Pete Buttigieg drew questions from a fishbowl at a town hall appearance in Iowa City last night, and ended up offering advice to young person who had been bullied.
Eleven-year-old Rebecca Johann told ABC News that she has experienced bullying and wanted the mayor’s advice on how to handle it.
Addressing Rebecca and the other 600 attendees at the Wildwood Smokehouse & Saloon, Buttigieg admitted he had faced bullying himself.
He began his answer by giving props to the girl for being willing to discuss about the subject. “Part of the advice I’d give would is to be willing to talk about it, so I think you’re leading the way on that – thank you for raising the question,” he said.
“I had experiences with bullying when I was growing up,” Buttigieg told the young girl. “Everybody who’s different can be bullied. And the secret is – everybody’s different in some way.“
“It’s tough, it can make you feel angry, it can make you feel worse, and it can bring out the worst in you, too,” he added.
“The first thing you’ve got to know is you have nothing to be ashamed of,” drawing applause from the crowd. “And the second part, this is a much harder part to remember is that the person who is bullying you probably has something a little broken in them, and it’s part of why they’re trying to get your attention.”
Referencing the current occupant of the Oval Office who’s made a career out of trying to bully folks, the 37-year-old candidate added, “I think it really matter that we have a president that doesn’t show that type of behavior – it’s one of the reasons I’m running for president.”
And the crowd goes wild!!!
“So, the hard part, if you really want to pop that balloon and take the air out of that bully, is to turn to a bully and ask if they are ok.,” continued Buttigieg. “And they won’t know what to do with it.
Watch the clip below for the rest of Mayor Pete’s answer.
It’s worth noting that the mayor directly addressed young Rebecca for the entirety of his response. He didn’t ‘play to the audience’ or make the moment about himself.
#Leadership
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| Kate McKinnon, Paul Rudd and Beck Bennett on SNL |
“I’m just a Harvard-educated, multilingual, war veteran, Rhodes scholar. I’m just like you.”
In what is demonstrably a show of his impact so far on the presidential race, Democratic hopeful Mayor Pete Buttigieg, played by Saturday Night Live host Paul Rudd, made his first SNL appearance on last night’s season finale, as a guest on The View.
Leslie Jones’s Whoopi Goldberg welcomes Mayor Pete saying, “I heard when you grow up, you want to be president.”
“Well, I am grown up,” Mayor Pete tells the gaggle of daily talkers. “I may only be 37 years old, but I do feel like I represent everyday Americans. I’m just a Harvard-educated, multilingual, war veteran, Rhodes scholar. I’m just like you.”
Asked about being the first openly gay man who’s a serious contender for the White House, Pete responds, “I do want to say that I wouldn’t be running for president if I didn’t believe America was ready to accept not only a gay man but a boring gay man in the public eye.”
Before the sketch draws to a close, Beck Bennett offers his take as Chasten Buttigieg, our first possible First Gentleman: “Wow, this is all so new to me,” he says. “Usually I’m just home with the dogs.”
But in the end, the ladies all seem to have eyes for only one presidential candidate, leaving the Buttigieg men a little confounded.
Watch below.