Leslie JordanSome news items you might have missed:
• Hollywood Reporter: Emmy-winning Will & Grace star Leslie Jordan and 4-time Tony-winning playwright/librettist Terrence McNally are among the seven 2023 inductees to the National LGBTQ Wall of Honor.
• The Advocate: A fifth grade teacher in Florida is being “investigated” for showing her students the PG-rated Disney animated movie Strange World, which features a gay character. The teacher had signed permission slips from all parents to show PG films in class.
The teacher told district board members the movie was in no way sexual and was tied to the current lesson plan of the environment and ecosystems.
The fifth grade teacher had shown Strange World to her class, then a school board member reporter her to the state's department of education over its queer content. https://t.co/x1QSD55Vkb
— The Advocate (@TheAdvocateMag) May 15, 2023
• NPR: Taiwan legalized gay marriage in 2019, becoming the only place in Asia that allows it. And today Taiwan’s legislature passed an amendment that allows same-sex couples full adoption rights.
• Pink News: A Publix grocery store staffer in Florida refused to write the word “trans” on a cake celebrating the LGBTQ community. The staffer agreed to write “People deserve joy,” but “Trans people deserve joy” was too much saying it would be “taking a stance.” #ItsADamnCake
• Sports Illustrated: Grammy Award-winning out trans pop star Kim Petras is one of four Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover girls this year. Petras joins actress Megan Fox, lifestyle guru Martha Stewart and previous SI Swimsuit model Brooks Nader.
• Reuters: I know it’s early, but the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll shows President Joe Biden leading Donald Trump by six percentage points in a hypothetical match-up, 44% to 38%. Sixty-three percent of registered voters said they were less likely to support a candidate who backs severe restrictions on abortion.
• CBS News: A viral video (over 3.5 million views) appears to show a New York City hospital worker attempting to take a Citi Bike from a Black teenager who had already rented the bike on his own account. When a white man finally intercedes, she relents.
This is unacceptable! A white woman was caught on camera attempting to STEAL a Citi Bike from a young Black man in NYC. She grossly tried to weaponize her tears to paint this man as a threat. This is EXACTLY the type of behavior that has endangered so many Black men in the past! pic.twitter.com/CLUMNzjSDY
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) May 15, 2023