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Billy Porter: Tips For Living Your Best Life

Billy Porter

On his way to LaLa Land and the 2019 Golden Globe Awards where he is nominated for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series” for his star turn in the FX series, Pose, Billy Porter dropped by Buzzfeeds’ Cocoa Butter to share his ‘Seven Tips To Live By.’

Having survived highs and lows in the business of show for over 30 years, Mr. Porter knows of what he speaks.

1. “Choose yourself, save yourself, bet on yourself!”

How is someone going to believe in you if you don’t? Enough said.


 2. “Dress for the job you want, not the job you have!”

Billy adds with a smile, “So if you’re wondering why I’m always turning it with the clothing and the looks, darling, that is why – I have goals.”


 3. “Don’t wait for anyone to give you permission to practice your art!”

Porter told me once that Tony Award-winning stage director George C. Wolfe shared this little bon mot with him in the early 2000s when he was an Artist in Residence at the Public Theatre in NYC. “You need to be practicing it always, every day, every moment you get. People usually ain’t listening, but sometimes they do. You’ve got to be ready…when it’s time.”


 4. “Be on time!”

Porter explains exactly what that means to him: “Fifteen minutes early is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable. The doors will be locked!”


 5. “When people show you who they are, believe them the first time.”

With a glint in his eye, the 49-year-old leans into the camera and continues, “Y’all know what I’m talking about; we got a lot of people we could be talking about.”


 6. “Be of service.”

A wider purpose adds dimension to your work. “When your intention is service, everything else will work itself out,” says Porter.


 7. “Mean what you say and say what you mean – and deliver. Be impeccable with your word.”

Make sure you watch the 2019 Golden Globe Awards tonight on NBC (8pm EST – 5pm PST).

You know I’ll be cheering for Billy!

(h/t Cocoa Butter)

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Haters Lose In Court Trying To Shutdown ‘Drag Queen Storytime’

Rockell Blu reads ‘Everyone Is Special’ at Drag Queen Storytime in Florida

A federal judge ruled on Thursday that Christian activists who attempted to stop Houston libraries from hosting “Drag Queen Storytime” lack standing to bring their suit, and so, the case was dismissed.

The program, which brings drag queens to children’s story-telling hours in libraries, bookstores and schools, was begun over a year ago by the nonprofit RADAR Productions.

Drag Queen Storytime encourages children to suspend belief and explore their imagination while learning to embrace diversity and tolerance.

The American Library Association has fully endorsed these types of programs, in any iteration, as a right to intellectual freedom. They have even curated a collection of resources for individuals seeking to bring Drag Queen Storytime to their libraries or community spaces.

Three men, including a pastor, filed suit against Houston Public Library Executive Director Rhea Lawson and Mayor Sylvester Turner in October 2018.

In the lawsuit, plaintiff Tex Christopher declared that “‘gay marriage’ is ‘fake marriage’” and as a Houston taxpayer and library cardholder he has standing because the library spent money on books for the story hours and paid for flyers to promote them.

More from CourtHouseNews:

U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal dismissed their lawsuit Thursday for lack of standing and failure to state a viable First Amendment Establishment Clause claim.

Rosenthal said the men could not prove the threshold issue that they had been injured by the story hour because it’s unclear from their pleadings that any of them attended the events.

“The plaintiffs assert the very opposite: they purposefully avoided ‘Drag Queen Storytime’ because of its alleged immorality and potential to harm their children. Instead of witnessing the event, the plaintiffs ‘researched [it] online,’” Rosenthal wrote in a 19-page order.

To put these men in some context, it’s notable that one of the plaintiffs, Chris Sevier, has previously filed lawsuits claiming if men can marry men, then he should be able to marry his laptop computer.

Christopher now says he plans on appealing to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.

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Another Lie: Trump Says Former Presidents Wish They’d Built ‘The Wall’

Donald Trump

Donald Trump told reporters on Friday that former presidents have shared with him privately that they wish they had built a wall along the Mexican border.

“This should have been done by all of the presidents that preceded me and they all know it,” Trump said. “Some of them have told me that we should have done it.”

But spokesmen for three of the four living former presidents – Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama — say (guess what?) that has not happened.

From Politico:

Asked if Clinton told Trump that he should have built a border wall, Clinton spokesman Angel Ureña said, “He did not. In fact, they’ve not talked since the inauguration.”

Bush spokesman Freddy Ford also said the two men had not discussed the matter. And Obama, for his part, has not spoken with Trump since his inauguration, except for a brief exchange at George H.W. Bush’s funeral in Washington, D.C.

No official word from Jimmy Carter, but in September he said, “If I were president again, I’d change all of Trump’s policies.”

So, there you go.

*****************************************

UPDATE – January 7, 2019 – Jimmy Carter has weighed in officially now saying, “I have not discussed the border wall with President Trump, and do not support him on the issue.”

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Don Lemon On Kevin Hart Debacle: “Stop Lowkey Cosigning Homophobia”

CNN’s Don Lemon addresses the ongoing Kevin Hart/homophobia story

I’ve been conflicted watching this whole Kevin Hart kerfuffle on whether he should or shouldn’t host the Oscars after homophobic tweets and jokes from some years ago resurfaced.

Yesterday, I posted a segment from Ellen DeGeneres’ talk show where she implored Hart to reconsider hosting the Academy Awards saying she knows him, she knows he’s grown as a person and she believes in him and his apology.

As you may recall, Hart was selected to host on December 4, but stepped down from the gig three days later in the aftermath of the homophobic tweets returned to the spotlight.

In the interview, Hart says, “It’s ten years old. This is stuff I’ve addressed. I’ve talked about this; this isn’t new. I’ve addressed it. I’ve apologized for it.”

Now, I believe we can change to some degree as we grow older. And I believe a good, straightforward apology is something to be accepted.

One sticking point I’ve had, though, is Hart saying he had apologized for his ‘jokes’ already and didn’t want to keep doing so.

Out journalist Louis Virtel had this take on that statement:

But I couldn’t find an actual apology in his history, other than the one he issued after he stepped down from the Oscar gig.

It turns out I’m not the only one.

CNN host Don Lemon, armed with some info via Vulture, took to the airwaves last night to weigh in on the issue now that Ellen had hosted Hart on her afternoon talk show and urged Hart to reconsider hosting the Oscars.

Lemon says he felt the need to address the issue as a member of both the LGBTQ and Black communities.

“These issues need to be addressed especially when it comes to black youth in our country. They need to know that they have value. And it’s ok to be who they are.

“We in the African American community have to stop low-key cosigning homophobia. It is not cool. And we won’t tolerate jokes that tell those youth otherwise.

“We need to talk about how some people who’ve messed up can become allies as well. Because apologizing and moving on does not make the world a better place for people who are gay or are transgender. Being an ally does.”

Lemon also noted that LGBTQ homeless youth are disproportionately black, with black kids representing some 62% of homeless trans youth.

Lemon then contrasts Hart’s jokes about violence against a potentially gay son is especially harmful. “The truth is that is a reality for many little boys in the United States,” said Lemon. “Somewhere, a black dad is beating his black son.”

Lemon also announced that the Oscars and ABC have now said they want Hart to host the Academy Awards if he signals he wants the job.

I’m not always the biggest fan of Lemon, but I think he has salient points here. Definitely worth the watching.

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Nancy Pelosi Names The Equality Act As A Top Priority In New Congress

As Nancy Pelosi returned to her position as Speaker of the House yesterday, she made a point of saying passage of The Equality Act will be a priority in the upcoming Congress.
(image via office of the Speaker of the House)

As Nancy Pelosi returned to her position as Speaker of the House yesterday, she made a point of saying passage of The Equality Act will be a priority in the upcoming Congress.

The legislation, which has already been introduced in the House before, would outlaw LGBTQ discrimination on a federal level.

“We will make America fairer by passing the Equality Act to end discrimination against the LGBTQ community,” Pelosi said in remarks as she was reelected to Speaker.

I’m always grateful to see LGBTQ legislation brought up, and the Equality Act does stand a good chance of being passed in the House with the newly-installed Democratic majority.

But with the Senate in Republican-control and Donald Trump in the White House, I’m not counting on the legislation becoming law any time soon, unfortunately.

The Human Rights Campaign estimates nearly 50% of LGBTQ Americans live in one of 30 states with no legal protections whatsoever, and could lose their job, be evicted or denied public services based on their sexuality or gender identity.

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Trump Considering Declaring ‘National Emergency’ To Get Funds For His Border Wall

Donald Trump may declare a national emergency to fund his border wall
Donald Trump may declare a national emergency to fund his border wall

Donald Trump told the press today that he is considering declaring a national emergency in order to allocate funds to build his infamous ‘border wall.’

Trump didn’t offer details on how that process would work.

In related news, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told the press today that Trump said in a meeting today regarding the current government shutdown that he “would keep the government shutdown for a very long period of time – months or even years.”

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Photog Bruce Weber Releases Suggestive Texts Sent By Model Suing Him

Jason Boyce has accused photog Bruce Weber of sexual misconduct
(image via Instagram)

Celebrated fashion photographer, Bruce Weber, has been under attack for the past year fighting a slew of sexual misconduct accusations by over 20 male models.

One of those models, Jason Boyce, filed a lawsuit against the photographer last year alleging inappropriate sexual behavior during a 2014 photo shoot.

The Los Angeles Times reported at the time of the lawsuit:

The complaint alleges that Weber grabbed Boyce and kissed him on the lips. It also states, “Weber put his fingers in Mr. Boyce’s mouth. Shocked, Mr. Boyce opened his eyes. Mr. Weber told him to keep his eyes closed, and kept his fingers in Mr. Boyce’s mouth. ‘If you just had confidence, you’d go really far,’ Mr. Weber whispered. ‘How far do you want to make it? How ambitious are you?’ Mr. Boyce did not respond.”

Then, in December, five additional models filed a lawsuit according to The New York Times. The new filing labels Weber a “serial sexual predator” alleging he touched the men while leading ‘breathing exercises’ during photo shoots, and insinuated he could help their careers if they complied.

Weber’s lawyer, Jayne Weintraub, issued a statement to The New York Times that called the new allegations against the 72-year-old “outrageous.”

“Bruce Weber has never lured, recruited, or forced anyone to do anything and has never inappropriately touched a model,” wrote Weintraub in an email. “This lawsuit is nothing more than a media-hungry lawyer’s attempt to extort Mr. Weber with false, fictitious and legally frivolous claims. We are confident that Mr. Weber will prevail against these false allegations; not just with words, but with evidence in a court of law.”

Weintraub and Weber are now asking that Boyce’s lawsuit be dismissed, and have submitted with their filing several racy pics and text messages they say Boyce sent to Weber before and after the 2014 photo shoot in question.

Via The Daily Mail:

“It has been over a year since Plaintiff, an unsuccessful 32-year old male model, filed his complaint containing false and salacious allegations that Mr. Weber, an internationally acclaimed fashion photographer, inappropriately touched him during a brief photo shoot in 2014.”

“Since then, Plaintiff has refused to provide required discovery and failed to identify any evidence to support his claims, because his claims are false. Nonetheless, now, almost one year later, Plaintiff is ‘doubling down’ on his false claims’ charade, by seeking leave to amend and assert a claim against Mr. Weber under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015.”

The new filing says Boyce “repeatedly texted pictures of himself to Mr. Weber in provocative poses, both prior to and after the brief photo shoot, demonstrating that Plaintiff was soliciting Mr. Weber, not the other way around.”

“Similarly, Plaintiff’s allegation that he was so horrified at the thought of running into Mr. Weber that he fled New York and sought refuge in California, cannot be reconciled with the provocative and solicitous texts that Plaintiff sent to Mr. Weber over the next several months,” added Weintraub.

Over decades of work, Weber has shot enormously successful photo campaigns for companies like Abercrombie & Fitch, Louis Vuitton and Versace.

Boyce currently lists his employment as a fitness coach on his Instagram.

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Appeals Court Sides With Trump Administration In Trans Military Ban

A panel of three judges in the D.C. Court of Appeals ruled unanimously to overturn an injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly which prohibited the implementation of the anti-trans policy.

Donald Trump has scored a win in his fight to ban transgender people from the U.S. military as a federal appeals court ruled in his favor today, reports The Washington Post.

A panel of three judges in the D.C. Court of Appeals ruled unanimously to overturn an injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly which prohibited the implementation of the anti-trans policy.

It’s important to note that three other judges have ruled against the trans ban and those injunctions remain in place nationwide. And so, trans soldiers will continue to be able to serve in the U.S. military for now.

In fact, today’s ruling indicates the D.C. Circuit Court may have more to say about the ban later as the five-page decision handed down today only addressed Kollar-Kotelly’s injunction saying she technically “made an erroneous finding that the Mattis Plan was not a new policy” because she failed to note certain nuances about the plan issued by former Defense Secretary James Mattis.

“The government took substantial steps to cure the procedural deficiencies the court identified in the enjoined 2017 Presidential Memorandum,” the order says. “These included the creation of a panel of military and medical experts, the consideration of new evidence gleaned from the implementation of the policy on the service of transgender individuals instituted by then-Secretary of Defense Ash Carter (‘the Carter Policy’), and a reassessment of the priorities of the group that produced the Carter Policy.”

While Donald Trump’s July 2017 tweets were a blanket ban on transgender service members, the Mattis Plan would ban “transgender persons who require or have undergone gender transition are disqualified from military service.”

The newly-tweaked policy would allow trans troops to remain in service if they “have been stable” in their biological sex for 36 months and do not seek hormone treatment or gender reassignment surgery.

Transgender advocates say gender dysphoria is a literally a defining characteristic of being transgender, and so the Mattis Plan still represents a full-fledged ban.

LGBTQ advocacy groups the National Center for Lesbian Rights and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) quickly denounced the ruling in a joint statement.

“Today’s ruling is a devastating slap in the face to transgender service members who have proved their fitness to serve and their dedication to this country,” said NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter. “We will keep fighting this cruel and irrational policy, which serves no purpose other than to weaken the military and punish transgender service members for their patriotism and service.”

“Today’s decision is based on the absurd idea that forcing transgender people to suppress who they are in order to serve is not a ban,” said GLAD Transgender Rights Project Director Jennifer Levi. “It ignores the reality of transgender people’s lives, with devastating consequences, and rests on a complete failure to understand who transgender people are. It is also destabilizing to the military to so dramatically reverse a policy that has been in place for over 2 years that senior military officials acknowledge has operated with no problems.”

A 2016 study by the RAND Corporation found that allowing the estimated 2,000-11,000 active-duty transgender troops to remain in the military would “have minimal impact on readiness and health care costs” for the Pentagon.

The research estimated health care costs for trans soldiers would cost only $2.4 million to $8.4 million a year, which represents a tiny 0.04 to 0.13 percent increase in spending.

Additionally, the study concluded there would be “little or no impact on unit cohesion, operational effectiveness or readiness” in the U.S. military should trans soldiers be allowed to continue serving.

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Britney Spears Cancels Upcoming Las Vegas Residency “Domination”

Britney Spears (image via Facebook/BritneySpears)

In an announcement on her social media today, pop star Britney Spears announced the cancellation of her upcoming residency “Domination” in Las Vegas which was set to open February 13.

“I don’t even know where to start with this, because this is so tough for me to say,” says the 37-year-old singer. “I will not be performing my new show Domination. I’ve been looking forward to this show and seeing all of you this year, so doing this breaks my heart.”

Stating that “it’s important to always put your family first,” Spears cites her father’s recent health complications and hospitalization for the cause of her decision.

Jamie Spears suffered a ruptured colon two months ago and underwent emergency surgery in Las Vegas. He remained hospitalized for 28 days.

Brit says she needs to put her “full focus and energy” on her family for now, and hoped that fans understand.

She closed by thanking fans for their continued support and prayers.

I don’t even know where to start with this, because this is so tough for me to say. I will not be performing my new show Domination. I’ve been looking forward to this show and seeing all of you this year, so doing this breaks my heart. However, it’s important to always put your family first… and that’s the decision I had to make. A couple of months ago, my father was hospitalized and almost died. We’re all so grateful that he came out of it alive, but he still has a long road ahead of him. I had to make the difficult decision to put my full focus and energy on my family at this time. I hope you all can understand. More information on ticket refunds is available on britneyspears.com. I appreciate your prayers and support for my family during this time. Thank you, and love you all… always.
A post shared by Britney Spears (@britneyspears) on Jan 4, 2019 at 9:01am PST

In a statement to Variety, Spears’ rep said the singer is taking “an indefinite work hiatus” until further notice.

“Domination” was scheduled for a 32-show run at the new Park MGM resort in Las Vegas.

It’s unclear if the production will be rescheduled at a later date.

“Domination” was to be the follow-up to Spears’ initial Las Vegas residency, “Piece of Me,” which ended a four-year run at Planet Hollywood’s Axis Theater in early 2018.

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Ellen DeGeneres Faces Backlash After Urging Kevin Hart To Reconsider Decision To Not Host Oscars

During today's chat, Ellen basically lets Hart have the floor to explain what hosting the Oscars meant to him, how he viewed the shit storm over his homophobic tweets involved statements from a decade ago and how he's spent ten years moving on from that 'immature' comedian into becoming a grown, cultured man. DeGeneres urged Hart to reconsider his decision on stepping down as Academy Awards host.
Kevin Hart and Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen Degeneres feels so strongly that comedian Kevin Hart should reverse his decision and host the upcoming Academy Awards, she interviewed him for her show about it.

The segment was set to air Monday, but she felt SO emphatic about the issue she moved the interview to air today.

In December, Hart stepped down as host of the Oscars after a social media uproar over past homophobic tweets.

One tweet from 2010 said a user’s profile picture looked “like a gay billboard for AIDS.” Another tweet, from 2012, read: “Yo if my son comes home & try’s 2 play with my daughters doll house I’m going 2 break it over his head & say n my voice ‘stop that’s gay.'”

During today’s chat, Ellen basically lets Hart have the floor to explain what hosting the Oscars meant to him, how he viewed the shit storm over his homophobic tweets involved statements from a decade ago and how he’s spent ten years moving on from that ‘immature’ comedian into becoming a grown, cultured man.

DeGeneres urged Hart to reconsider his decision on stepping down as Academy Awards host.

“As a gay person. I am sensitive to all of that. You’ve already expressed that it’s not being educated on the subject, not realizing how dangerous those words are, not realizing how many kids are killed for being gay or beaten up every day,” DeGeneres told Hart.

In fact, DeGeneres shares that she actually called the Academy on Hart’s behalf.

“I called them, I said ‘Kevin’s on. I have no idea if he wants to come back and host. What are your thoughts?’ And they were like, ‘oh my God, we want him to host. We feel like maybe he was misunderstood or it was handled wrong or we said the wrong thing. But we want him to host.Wwhatever we can do we would be thrilled and he should host the Oscars’”

Hart now says he’ll reconsider his decision.

The 2019 Academy Awards airs February 24.

Some LGBTQ activists are not having Ellen giving Hart a platform and her support here.