The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that, as of Sunday, 90,351,750 Americans have received at least one shot of coronavirus vaccine. Breaking those numbers down, 58,873,710 Americans have received one shot of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine (which constitutes 17.7% of the population), and 30,686,881 have received both shots (9.2%). So far, 116,363,405 doses of vaccine have been delivered to healthcare professionals to use. Herd immunity would be reached, at the earliest, with an estimated 70% of the 330,000,000 people in the U.S. vaccinated, which would be about 231,000,000 people. (graphic via CDC)
In this week’s podcast: • A new Gallup Poll shows more people identify as LGBTQ than ever before • Virginia has outlawed the use of the ‘gay panic’ and ‘trans panic’ legal defenses • Houston police have arrested a man who assaulted and killed a man he met using Grindr • The Equality Act begins its trek through Congress (again) • The largest Protestant adoption and foster agency has announced it will open up its services to LGBTQ families • And the creators of the acclaimed FX series POSE have announced the upcoming 3rd season will be its last All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report podcast
The U.S. Capitol building (via senate.gov) After a 27 hour marathon session, the U.S. Senate voted 50-49 on Saturday to approve President Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID relief package. The vote was split down party lines with all 50 Democrats voting for the bill and all Republicans (minus one absent GOP senator) voting against. The $1.9 trillion price tag is less than the $2.2 trillion package passed with bipartisan support last March. This vote makes clear the Senate Republicans plan to obstruct the Biden administration. The package heads back to the House due to some changes made to the legislation in the Senate most notably removing language that would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Last month, the Senate parliamentarian ruled the minimum wage language was not allowed since the Democrats were using a simple majority vote via budget reconciliation. In its present form, the bill will:
• Provide $46 billion for COVID testing and tracing; $7.6 billion for pandemic response at community health centers; $5.2 billion to support research, development and manufacturing of vaccines, therapeutics and other medical products; and $7.7 billion to expand the public health care workforce.
• $1,400 stimulus payments for most Americans. • $128.6 billion to help K-12 schools reopen. • $350 billion in state and local aid. • $25 billion in aid to restaurants and other food and drinking establishments. • $19 billion in emergency rental assistance. • $7.25 billion in funds for Paycheck Protection Program loans. • Extends the enhanced federal unemployment insurance of $300 per week through September 6 and will make the first $10,200 of unemployment benefits received in 2020 non-taxable for households making less than $150,000. President Biden issued a short statement about the passage of the American Rescue Plan (including throwing some shade in the direction of “the former guy”):
“When I was elected, I said we were going to get the government out of the business of battling on Twitter and back in the business of delivering for the American people, of making a difference in their lives, giving everyone a chance, a fighting chance of showing the American people that their government can work for them.
“I really want to thank the American people for making all this possible. Without the overwhelming bipartisan support of the American people, this would not have happened. Your elected officials heard you.”
Today, the Senate passed the American Rescue Plan – bringing us one step closer to delivering much-needed relief. Tune in as I deliver remarks. https://t.co/wX8fXNGYqi
Do people not have anything better to do than harass a pop singer’s teenage child?
Former boy bander Duncan James, of the UK group Blue, told The Sun that his daughter Tianie, like a lot of 16-year-olds, is at an age where she’s totally into her phone and being active on social media.
But James wasn’t expecting his daughter to get trolled by haters about her famous dad being gay. “People can be quite nasty about me being gay and say quite horrible things about the fact that I’m a gay dad,” said James.
The 42-year-old singer and actor says Tianie has received messages like, “Isn’t it disgusting your dad’s gay? How do you feel?”
WTH?
“‘You must be ashamed of him,’ and stuff like that, and you’re just like ‘Why are you writing to a kid saying awful stuff like that? Are you really crazy?’ People are just awful.”
James, who came out in 2009, admits he’s had his share of online haters over the years.
“I’ve had quite a lot of people from other countries writing to me in disbelief that I’m gay, saying I’m going to burn in hell, it’s a sin and I’m going to be punished by God,” he shared with The Sun.
James was recently in UK headlines for a happier reason as he and his boyfriend of two years, Rodrigo Reis, made their TV debut as a couple in February on the popular talk show Loose Women.
The couple explained they met in Reis’s home country of Brazil at an afterparty following a Blue concert. James admits to being smitten with Reis on the spot saying, “I saw him across the bar – he’s very much my type. I was like, ‘Oh, he’s hot.’”
But Reis told the TV viewers he had no idea who James was.
“In Brazil, where I’m from, they [Blue] are not so famous,” shared Reis. “But I knew this guy had to be mine.”
And two years later, James says life is working out great.
“He’s met my daughter and they really get on, so it’s just fantastic,” said James. “I didn’t identify as gay for many years because of my issues with coming out, but finally I’m happy in my skin and this guy makes me proud to be gay.”
Duncan and his Blue bandmates had a string of hits in the 2000s including this cover of Elton John’s “Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word.” After their last album had disappointing sales, the group was dropped by its label. The guys don’t plan on releasing new music but do continue to tour (when…there’s not a pandemic happening). Duncan went on to develop a successful career as an actor onstage and television.
(screen capture)American Dance Machine for the 21st Century has released its latest virtual video, “Cool” from West Side Story, performed by 10 talented dancers around New York City. “Cool” was directed by Tony Award nominee Joshua Bergasse, with choreography by Jerome Robbins recreated by Robert La Fosse. Bergasse has staged for ADM21 include “20th Century Fox Mambo” which Josh created for the hit NBC series “Smash,” and “The Great Lover” pas de deux for the 2014 revival of On The Town which was originally choreographed by Jerome Robbins, the revival for which Josh received his first Tony nomination. Back in December, ADM21 released its first virtual video, “The Music and the Mirror” from A Chorus Line, performed by 27 singer/dancers coached by Tony Award winner Donna McKechnie.
President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil (photo: Flickr/Isac Nóbrega – CC license) President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil told the people of his country they need to stop “fussing and whining” about the surging COVID-19 cases and move on. Bolsonaro has repeatedly denied the severity of the pandemic even as the country is seeing record cases of coronavirus. From Reuters:
Brazil has the world’s second-highest death toll over the past year, after the United States. While the U.S. outbreak is ebbing, Brazil is facing its worst phase of the epidemic yet, pushing its hospital system to the brink of collapse.
“Enough fussing and whining. How much longer will the crying go on?” Bolsonaro told a crowd at an event. “How much longer will you stay at home and close everything? No one can stand it anymore. We regret the deaths, again, but we need a solution.”
The Health Ministry registered 75,102 additional cases of coronavirus on Thursday, the most in a single day since July and the second-highest on record. Brazil also recorded 1,699, decreasing slightly from the previous two days of record deaths.
Reuters adds that only 3.5% of Brazil’s population has received even one shot of vaccine for the coronavirus. Read the full article here.
Billy Porter in the acclaimed FX series POSEPose Executive Producer, Writer, Director and Co-creator Steven Canals announced via Twitter today the acclaimed series will end after the upcoming third season. “Hey Pose fam! We made the decision to end [the show] after 3 seasons because we reached the intended ending of our story,” tweeted Canals. “This experience has been life changing. THANK YOU is too small a word. And yet, it’s what is in my heart. Hope to see you May 2nd when we debut.”
Hey Pose fam! We made the decision to end @PoseOnFX after 3 seasons because we reached the intended ending of our story. This experience has been life changing. THANK YOU is too small a word. And yet, it’s what is in my heart. Hope to see you in May 2nd when we debut. #PoseFXpic.twitter.com/P9fMZfrS06
“‘Write the TV show you want to watch!’ That’s what I was told in 2014 while completing my MFA in screenwriting. At the time we weren’t seeing very many Black and Latino characters — that happened to also be LGBTQ+ — populating screens. And so I wrote the first draft of a pilot the ‘younger me’ deserved. Pose was conceived as a love letter to the underground NY ballroom community, to my beloved New York, to my queer & trans family, to myself.
“I, along with my incredible collaborators, never intended on changing the TV landscape. I simply wanted to tell an honest story about family, resilience, and love. How fortunate am I to have done that for three seasons. I’m filled with gratitude to our intrepid writers, cast, crew, and producers who worked tirelessly to make Pose come to life, humbled by our loyal audience, thankful to the ballroom community who trusted us to tell their story, overwhelmed by the critics who warmly embraced us, and forever indebted to Ryan Murphy, FX, and 20th Television for changing my life.”
The series garnered multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for its first two seasons including a win for Billy Porter for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series at the 2019 Emmy Awards. Pose Season 3 premieres May 2 on FX.
Jacob Chansley (screen capture) Some news items you might have missed: • Fox News: The ‘QAnon Shaman’ (aka Jacob Chansley) says not receiving a presidential pardon “wounded” and “deeply disappointed” him. “I regret entering that building. I regret entering that building with every fiber of my being.” • The Daily Beast: The governor of Texas didn’t consult his team of medical experts before lifting the state’s face mask mandate. Anyone surprised? Anyone? Me neither… • BosGuy: The Boston Eagle (aka ‘The dirty bird’) has officially closed after 40 years of operation and its location is available for rent. • New York Times: Richard Barnett, the Arkansas man charged with breaking into Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office and stealing her mail during the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, threw a tantrum during a virtual court hearing on Thursday, yelling at the judge and his own lawyers that it wasn’t “fair” that he was still in jail weeks after his arrest. He’s the guy photographed with his feet on Pelosi’s desk. • Stonewall Gazette: The 1999 docudrama Beefcake is an entertaining homage to muscle magazines that were popular from the 1940s to the 1960s. Athletic Model Guild and Physique Pictorial magazine provided not only eye-candy but a way to explore inner desires for millions of gay and bisexual men at a time when homosexuality was illegal. • Boy Culture: Matt Rettenmund writes, “This butt is wasted, but at least it’s had its picture taken …” #BigBooty
Instead of attempting a Zoom-adapted awards show, this year’s SAG Awards will be a short and sweet one-hour pre-taped, fully edited affair including the reveal of the winners. From Variety:
The SAG Awards, which airs Sunday, April 4, at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on TNT and TBS, won’t have a host, a red carpet or even a set. Instead, the show will include comedy bits mixed in with the SAG Awards’ signature “I Am An Actor” mini-speeches from performers. Those will be sprinkled throughout the hour along with winner announcements in 13 categories and the “In Memoriam.”
Days before the broadcast, nominees from each category will gather together in their own Zoom room, where the winner will be revealed and can give their acceptance speech.
That means, in a departure from normal protocol for the show, winners and their category mates will know the results days before the rest of the world sees them on the SAG Awards telecast.
In all honesty, a pre-shot, edited, packed-to-the-gills awards gala will probably attract more viewers than a rambling, hours-long special. According to Nielsen, this year’s Golden Globe Awards Show viewership (6.9 million) was barely one-third the size of 2020’s viewership (18.3 million) and by far the least-watched ceremony in modern Globes history.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that, as of Sunday, 90,351,750 Americans have received at least one shot of coronavirus vaccine. Breaking those numbers down, 58,873,710 Americans have received one shot of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine (which constitutes 17.7% of the population), and 30,686,881 have received both shots (9.2%). So far, 116,363,405 doses of vaccine have been delivered to healthcare professionals to use. Herd immunity would be reached, at the earliest, with an estimated 70% of the 330,000,000 people in the U.S. vaccinated, which would be about 231,000,000 people. 
The series garnered multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for its first two seasons including a win for Billy Porter for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series at the 2019 Emmy Awards. Pose Season 3 premieres May 2 on FX.
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