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Creepy New Video From Jehovah’s Witnesses Compares Gays To Terrorists

A creepy, new “educational video” from the Jehovah’s Witnesses teaches kids that their school friends’ gay parents can avoid hell by not being gay.

Because, “they can change.”

Oh – and the mom in the video goes on to compare gays to terrorists attempting to board an airplane.

#Hideous

From the Friendly Atheist:

The mother proceeds to tell the child why same-sex couples are going against the will of Jehovah by comparing gay marriage to a terrorist trying to get through airport security… and telling the daughter that “people can change,” a subtle nod to the widely debunked notion that gay people can turn straight, something JWs believe regardless of the evidence against it.

What an awful message to teach your children. That the only way gay people can be truly happy is to deny themselves a loving relationship. That people can just “turn off” the gay switch. That there’s anything wrong with a family that doesn’t resemble your own. That the TSA won’t allow you to bring a bag full of gay genes through the metal detector.

Watch the cringe-worthy video below:

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Cyndi Lauper Takes A Country Music DETOUR

Music icon and LGBT ally Cyndi Lauper goes country with her latest album, DETOUR

LGBT ally, music icon, Grammy®, Emmy® and Tony®-winning singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper’s takes a “detour” on her celebrated musical journey with DETOUR, her 11th studio album, which finds the pink haired diva putting her signature spin on a dozen classic country songs.

DETOUR showcases Lauper’s unmistakable voice on country classics from the ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s and features guest appearances from county music stars Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, and Willie Nelson. Lauper recorded the album in Nashville alongside a band comprised of the city’s top session players.

DETOUR will be available May 6 on CD and digitally.

For the album, Lauper duets with several special guests, including country music royalty: Emmylou Harris (on the title track), Willie Nelson (“Night Life,” a song he wrote over 50 years ago), Vince Gill (Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty’s “You’re The Reason Our Kids Are Ugly”) and Alison Krauss (Dolly Parton’s “Hard Candy Christmas.” Jewel also makes an appearance on DETOUR, showcasing her prodigious yodeling skills on “I Want To Be A Cowboy’s Sweetheart,” which was the first country song by a woman to sell one million copies.

Lauper is launching a 35 city tour of the U.S. which will conclude in my hometown of Las Vegas (good choice, Cyndi!).

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Starbucks Sued For “Too Much Ice” In Iced Drinks

Seriously.

According to the $5 million dollar lawsuit, filed by Chicago resident Stacy Pincus, Starbucks’ Venti 24 ounce iced drinks often only contain 14 ounces of actual beverage and the rest is ice.

Starbucks responded to the lawsuit today saying the claim is totally unfounded, and that customers are always welcome to have their drink remade at anytime by request.

The lawsuit seeks class-action status, which could allow it to cover customers for the last decade. Among other things, the lawsuit seeks damages, restitution and attorneys’ fees.

Watch ABC News’ report by Gio Benitez (hello recently married hottie):

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Donald Trump: Lyin’ Ted Is Becoming “More And More Unhinged”

During an interview with “Fox & Friends” this morning, Donald Trump took some swings at opponent Ted Cruz which included parroting a recent National Enquirer article citing Cruz’s father, Rafael Cruz, linking him to President John F. Kennedy’s assassin.

This was, predictably, followed by Cruz responding to the accusation:

“This man is a pathological liar. He doesn’t know the difference between truth and lies,” Cruz said at a press conference. “He lies — practically every word that comes out of his mouth.”

At various points, he called Trump a “narcissist” and “serial philanderer” and said “morality doesn’t exist” for him.

Cruz also responded at length to the Republican presidential frontrunner’s suggestion earlier in the day that Cruz’s father, Rafael Cruz, was somehow linked to Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin of President John F. Kennedy.

The Texas senator mocked Trump’s suggestions, going on a sarcastic riff to lump in Trump with famous conspiracy theorists.

“Yes, my dad killed JFK. He’s secretly Elvis. And Jimmy Hoffa is buried in his backyard,” Cruz said.

And, of course, The Donald wasn’t about to let Cruz have the last word. Said Trump:

Ted Cruz is a desperate candidate trying to save his failing campaign. It is no surprise he has resorted to his usual tactics of over-the-top rhetoric that nobody believes.

Over the last week, I have watched Lyin’ Ted become more and more unhinged as he is unable to react under the pressure and stress of losing, in all cases by landslides, the last six primary elections — in fact, coming in last place in all but one of them.

Today’s ridiculous outburst only proves what I have been saying for a long time, that Ted Cruz does not have the temperament to be President of the United States.

File this under #InfightingIsFun

Needless to say, all eyes are on the primary in Indiana tonight as pundits and pols are watching to see if Trump can score a decisive victory in an attempt to shut out Cruz from any delegates.

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New Music: Radiohead “Burn The Witch”

Radiohead fans are excited today as the band has dropped it’s latest single and music video today.

Titled “Burn The Witch,” the music video is a study in darkness that lurks just below the surface. Lush orchestral arrangements accompany front man Thom Yorke’s signature vocals.

From NPR:

Hours after a couple of teasing Instagram posts floated onto the Web — one of a bluebird, the other of a medievally clad woman being tied to a tree by men in True Detective Season 1 masks — the band debuted “Burn the Witch,” a very promising herald of the band’s ninth album, due whenever it decides to drop it. It’s a great portent, a very balanced blending of Thom Yorke’s soulful mature vocal style and Jonny Greenwod’s increasingly focused, classically informed musical approach.

The song’s lyrics scorn the kind of communal complicity that Yorke sees as leading to environmental disaster. As the video shows in cute Claymation-style harkening back to the cult-classic film The Wicker Man, the round robin of blame captured in lines like “stay in the shadows, cheer the gallows” doesn’t solve anything, only adding to the “low flying panic attack” that “Burn the Witch” expertly evokes. Radiohead has been making beautiful music about the end of the world for a long time; this offering suggests that the new album will join in that mission as one of the band’s most stirring calls to act.

Watch the video below and check it out on iTunes here.

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Cirque du Soleil Dad’s Morning Workout With Son

(h/t Boy Culture)

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2016 Tony Award Nominations Announced

The 2016 Tony Award nominations were announced this morning and, no surprise, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Hamilton leads all productions with a record-breaking 16 nominations.

What is surprising to me is the omission of Audra McDonald and her two previous Tony Award winning male stars (Brian Stokes Mitchell, Billy Porter)  in any of the performance categories for  Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed.

Click here for a list of notable snubs this year.

The full list of nominations follows:

Best Play
Eclipsed– Author: Danai Gurira
The Father – Author: Florian Zeller
The Humans – Author: Stephen Karam
King Charles III – Author: Mike Bartlett


Best Musical
Bright Star
Hamilton
School of Rock-The Musical
Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed
Waitress

Best Revival of a Play
Arthur Miller’s The Crucible
Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge
Blackbird
Long Day’s Journey Into Night
Noises Off

Best Revival of a Musical
The Color Purple
Fiddler on the Roof
She Loves Me
Spring Awakening

Best Book of a Musical
Bright Star – Steve Martin
Hamilton – Lin-Manuel Miranda
School of Rock-The Musical – Julian Fellowes
Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed – George C. Wolfe


Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Bright Star – Music: Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, Lyrics: Edie Brickell
Hamilton – Music & Lyrics: Lin-Manuel Miranda
School of Rock-The Musical – Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Lyrics: Glenn Slater
Waitress – Music & Lyrics: Sara Bareilles

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play
Gabriel Byrne, Long Day’s Journey Into Night
Jeff Daniels, Blackbird
Frank Langella, The Father
Tim Pigott-Smith, King Charles III
Mark Strong, Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play
Jessica Lange, Long Day’s Journey Into Night
Laurie Metcalf, Misery
Lupita Nyong’o, Eclipsed
Sophie Okonedo, Arthur Miller’s The Crucible
Michelle Williams, Blackbird

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
Alex Brightman, School of Rock-The Musical
Danny Burstein, Fiddler on the Roof
Zachary Levi, She Loves Me
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton
Leslie Odom, Jr., Hamilton

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
Laura Benanti, She Loves Me
Carmen Cusack, Bright Star
Cynthia Erivo, The Color Purple
Jessie Mueller, Waitress
Phillipa Soo, Hamilton

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Reed Birney, The Humans
Bill Camp, Arthur Miller’s The Crucible
David Furr, Noises Off
Richard Goulding, King Charles III
Michael Shannon, Long Day’s Journey Into Night

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Pascale Armand, Eclipsed
Megan Hilty, Noises Off
Jayne Houdyshell, The Humans
Andrea Martin, Noises Off
Saycon Sengbloh, Eclipsed

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Daveed Diggs, Hamilton
Brandon Victor Dixon, Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed
Christopher Fitzgerald, Waitress
Jonathan Groff, Hamilton
Christopher Jackson, Hamilton

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple
Renée Elise Goldsberry, Hamilton
Jane Krakowski, She Loves Me
Jennifer Simard, Disaster!
Adrienne Warren, Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed

Best Scenic Design of a Play
Beowulf Boritt, Thérèse Raquin
Christopher Oram, Hughie
Jan Versweyveld, Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge
David Zinn, The Humans

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Es Devlin & Finn Ross, American Psycho
David Korins, Hamilton
Santo Loquasto, Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed
David Rockwell, She Loves Me

Best Costume Design of a Play
Jane Greenwood, Long Day’s Journey Into Night
Michael Krass, Noises Off
Clint Ramos, Eclipsed
Tom Scutt, King Charles III

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Gregg Barnes, Tuck Everlasting
Jeff Mahshie, She Loves Me
Ann Roth, Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed
Paul Tazewell, Hamilton

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Natasha Katz, Long Day’s Journey Into Night
Justin Townsend, The Humans
Jan Versweyveld, Arthur Miller’s The Crucible
Jan Versweyveld, Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Howell Binkley, Hamilton
Jules Fisher & Peggy Eisenhauer, Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed
Ben Stanton, Spring Awakening
Justin Townsend, American Psycho
 
Best Direction of a Play
Rupert Goold, King Charles III
Jonathan Kent, Long Day’s Journey Into Night
Joe Mantello, The Humans
Liesl Tommy, Eclipsed
Ivo Van Hove, Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge
 
Best Direction of a Musical
Michael Arden, Spring Awakening
John Doyle, The Color Purple
Scott Ellis, She Loves Me
Thomas Kail, Hamilton
George C. Wolfe, Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed
 
Best Choreography
Andy Blankenbuehler, Hamilton
Savion Glover, Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed
Hofesh Shechter, Fiddler on the Roof
Randy Skinner, Dames at Sea
Sergio Trujillo, On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan

Best Orchestrations
August Eriksmoen, Bright Star
Larry Hochman, She Loves Me
Alex Lacamoire, Hamilton
Daryl Waters, Shuffle Along, Or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed
 
Recipients of Awards and Honors in Non-competitive Categories
  
Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre
Sheldon Harnick
Marshall W. Mason
Special Tony Award
National Endowment for the Arts
Miles Wilkin
Regional Theatre Tony Award
Paper Mill Playhouse
Millburn, NJ
Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award
Brian Stokes Mitchell
Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre
Seth Gelblum
Joan Lader
Sally Ann Parsons