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News Round-Up: December 5, 2020

‘Dashing in December’ star Juan Pablo Di Pace (image via Facebook)
Some news items you might have missed: • ET Canada: Juan Pablo Di Pace (starring in the holiday rom-com Dashing in December) says all gay roles don’t need to be played by gay actors. “We do what we do because we love experiencing other people’s stories and lives and what would be of the Meryl Streep’s of the world if we all had to do the thing that we are. Actors like playing and playing is inhabiting another human being.” • Pink News: Switzerland has taken a major step on the path to equality after its parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of a law to pass same-sex marriage. The council of states – the upper house of Switzerland’s legislature – voted by 22-15 to approve landmark legislation to make same-sex marriage a reality. • Kenneth-in-the-212: Make sure and check out Kenneth’s weekly round-up of the what’s what in LGBTQ publications like Colombian actor/model Diego Arnary on the cover of DNA Magazine.
Columbian actor/model Diego Arnary covers DNA Magazine
• Instinct Magazine: A TikTok user, who was kicked out of his house when his father found out he was gay, discovered his dad secretly had sex with men for pay. • Gay Star News: Jamaica has been told it is breaching international law and human rights by continuing to persecute LGBT+ people. • The Advocate: Out singer/songwriter Trey Pearson, who rose to fame in the Christian rock band Everyday Sunday, released his latest single, “We Don’t Want Your War,” in order to remind the world that, even as the pandemic rages, social injustice continues to take root.

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Georgia: Trump Asks Governor To Overturn Biden Victory

Donald Trump, Gov. Brian Kemp
Even after making the Governor of Georgia his punching bag, Donald Trump reportedly called on Gov. Brian Kemp this morning asking him to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in his state. From the Washington Post:

President Trump called Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) on Saturday morning to urge him to persuade the state legislature to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the state and asked the governor to order an audit of absentee ballot signatures, the latest brazen effort by the president to interfere in the 2020 election.

Hours before he was scheduled to hold a rally in Georgia on behalf of the state’s two GOP senators, Trump pressed Kemp to call a special session of the state legislature to get lawmakers to override the results and appoint electors that would back him, according to a person familiar with the conversation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private call.

He also asked the governor to demand an audit of signatures on mail ballots, something Kemp has previously noted he has no power to do.

Trump went on to question whether Kemp was a real Republican in a tweet wherein he publicly called on the governor to permit the ‘simple signature verification.’ But Georgia state law prohibits the governor from interfering in elections. After Kemp responded to Trump’s tweet saying he’s publicly called for the signature audit in the past, Trump came back at Kemp again. In related news, the Trump campaign lost legal challenges in six states on Friday.

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A Rollicking Ride Of Merry Music ‘The Award Winning Holiday Album’

Marissa Rosen & Marty Thomas release ‘The Award Winning Holiday Album’
Broadway veterans Marty Thomas (Wicked, Xanadu, The Secret Garden) and Marissa Rosen (Kristin Chenoweth: For The Girls), drop their debut duet album today – a rollicking, rambunctious ride of music and comedy, The Award Winning Holiday Album. Widely known as ‘Broadway best friends,’ the dynamic duo has been performing together for close to ten years. They met performing in the off-Broadway musical The Big Gay Italian Wedding and parlayed their natural report into a very successful nightclub act. Pairing comedy with holiday bops, The Award-Winning Holiday Album takes the listener on a (mainly) upbeat musical journey via big band (“Everybody’s Waitin’ for) the Man with the Bag”), groovy 60s pop (Sia’s “Puppies Are Forever”), R&B/Blues (“Please Come Home This Christmas”), and Broadway (“There Is A Santa Claus” from Elf). Marty and Marissa close out the set with a perfectly pensive and heartfelt “Hard Candy Christmas” from The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. The duo are joined by guest stars Christina Bianco, Diana DeGarmo, Melinda Doolittle, Rachel Potter, Alysha Umphress, and Jessica Vosk. Beginning with their appearance (wink wink)  at the “World Holiday Music Awards,” the new collection is a fun musical frolic perfect for making your holiday season bright. I chatted with Thomas about the genesis of the project, choices in making the collection “inclusive” of more than just Christmas, how chemistry comes into play when collaborating, and more. The Randy Report: Congratulations on The Award Winning Holiday Album. You’re already ‘award-winning’ before being released! Most recording artists take their holiday albums straight on down the ‘music lane,’ but you specifically bring the comedy here. How did you come to that approach? Marty Thomas: All that we’ve had to keep us company during this pandemic is art, hope, and humor. The concept of this album has been an inside joke all year and Marissa and I finally figured out that it was a joke that might be funny to someone else too! The whole award show approach developed organically as we were curating the album. My boyfriend says I laugh at all of my own “dad jokes” more than the rest of the world. If that’s true, I guess I’m okay with that. TRR: The tracklist is an eclectic mix of holiday tunes. How did you choose the songs? MT: We definitely wanted to try and steer clear of the same 10 tracks every artist releases on their debut holiday album. We also wanted to represent our individual backgrounds and our love of cabaret and musical theater. We poured through so much music and put a lot of care into narrowing the setlist. It was very important for me to represent Marissa’s family and their celebration of Hanukkah as well as my celebration of Christmas. There really aren’t a lot of Hanukkah bops out there so I was determined to arrange a disco Hanukkah anthem to get the party started. I found a song by Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, tailored it to fit Marissa’s strengths and it quickly became my favorite track on the album. Six of our besties from around the country all signed on to record remotely and I was able to create my dream arrangement of Dolly Parton’s “Hard Candy Christmas.” This album was incredibly joyful to create. TRR: You’ve been ‘Broadway best friends’ for so long. How does that rapport come into play when you’re creating something new? MT: Marissa is one of the hardest working, most creative people I know. I often have to “sell” her on my stupid ideas, but she is always open to putting in the work and creating. We can sort of read each other’s minds musically, and hilariously sound almost identical when singing backup vocals. We weren’t able to enlist any studio singers for the record because of the pandemic and recorded the entire thing in the corner of my studio apartment. All of the vocals you hear on the record are just the two of us. Our long history of working and singing together really came into play nicely. Also, it was just really nice to get to hang out together, like the good old days before Trump gummed up the works. TRR:  After a lot of fun upbeat tunes, the final track on the album is “Hard Candy Christmas” from The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. The sentiment is a bit melancholy but definitely forward-looking. It feels like that was a conscious choice to end on? MT: That’s awesome to hear because that’s exactly what I was going for. I imagined it as a very welcomed zoom-call style catch up with our friends from around the country. I’ve always seen that song as a sad, yet still hopeful message. I wanted it to musically represent us comforting each other, supporting each other, and encouraging a bright future. Positivity and vulnerability are hot commodities these days. Marissa and I truly hope someone else out there can relate to the tune. TRR: This whole album could be a cabaret act in itself. Have you considered turning The Award Winning Holiday Album into a live performance? MT: ABSOLUTELY! What’s the point of waking up in the morning if the process can’t eventually be turned into a cabaret act!? Lol. I love creating old school albums, intended to be listened to, from beginning to end. My hope is to do a new holiday album and a holiday concert/party annually. If anything positive came from this window of time 2020 gave us, possibly it was the drive and the time to begin a new joyful journey with my best friend.

The Award Winning Holiday Album is available on all digital download/streaming sites now. You can follow Marty and Marissa on Instagram here. Take a listen to the terrific ‘finale’ for the album, “Hard Candy Christmas,” below.

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News Round-Up: December 4, 2020

U.S. flag and Pride flag

Some news items you might have missed: • Edge Media: A new report published by the Washington Post suggests that President-elect Joe Biden may have won the 2020 election because of higher LGBTQ voter turnout. • Pew Research: A new poll shows 60% of American adults say they will get vaccinated for the coronavirus, up from 51% in September. • CNBC: Sidney Powell, who has already been booted from the Trump legal team, asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit to order Georgia officials to “preserve all data on the Dominion System” and allow “Republican Electors to audit” that system in 10 counties. Finding it has no jurisdiction to hear the appeal, the 11th Circuit Court sent the Kraken lawsuit back to its cage in the District Court.

• Nevada Independent: A Carson City District Court judge rejected a legal request to award the state’s six electoral votes to Donald Trump. Judge James Russell ruled that he found the evidence offered by the Trump campaign to have “little to no value,” and failed to provide under any standard of proof that the campaign’s long list of alleged fraud and vote irregularities could be backed up under any evidentiary standard. • Detroit Free Press: Team Trump also lost in Michigan today as well. The court chastised the campaign for dragging its feet on the appeal, said the certification of Michigan’s election results by the Board of State Canvassers in the interim had made the lawsuit moot, and said that if the Trump campaign wanted to challenge the results it could have requested a recount, but it did not. • WXKY Radio: New York Young Republicans hoped to keep the New Jersey location of their annual fundraiser a secret but were outed by folks tweeting from the party. Jersey City chief prosecutor Jake Hudnut responded to a tweet by an attendee taunting New York Gov. Cuomo to “come and get me” by tweeting “Gov. Cuomo may not be able to ‘come and get’ you, but I can.”

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New Music: Sapphire Hart, ANTIBOY, Lani Renaldo, Kristen Ford, WEISS

Sapphire Hart (courtesy photo)
Five new songs to discover this week from 5 distinctly different artists. Inspired by the intoxicating highs and plummeting lows of love, out artist Hailee Kaleem Wright aka Sapphire Hart releases her emotional music video for her single “Toxic Love Story.” “Toxic Love Story” discusses the unfortunate difficulties that many face when dealing with matters of the heart. Love is a double-edged sword and through a soulful melody and lyrics, Hart proves to her listeners that the emotion we hold dear can hurt just as much as it heals. Directed By Paul Gratland and Sidney Dupont, the black and white video depicts Hart, reflecting on a relationship fraught with infidelity issues and holding accountability for the decisions made. Follow Hart on Instagram here.

The late Harry Hains aka ANTIBOY
The family of the late Harry Hains celebrates the release of the full-length debut album, A Glitch In Paradise, under Hains’s artistic alter-ego, ANTIBOY, with the new music video for “Dream.” “Dream” explores the idea of how a partner not being able to accept pure love can foster pain and rejection within the relationship – the next glitch in “paradise.” The “Dream” video opens up a fantastical utopia of fragmented moments that blend the everyday with the surreal, just like dreams, as a cast of characters explore unattainable love, touch, closeness, relationships, and euphoria, led by transgender model and activist Andreja Pejić, who progresses from unsettlingly perfect and robotic to completely unhinged.

Lani Renaldo (courtesy photo)
Los Angeles based queer artist Lani Renaldo drops her latest – “Woman” – exploring the poignant idea of being judged for how you present yourself. “When I wrote the track, I was reflecting on this idea that if I dressed differently or wore makeup, tried to pass in a more feminine way that maybe it would shape my relationships differently,” says Renaldo. “Maybe I would be liked and though I think there have been several times I’ve been made to feel ashamed for how I look or who I love, I forgive those people that made me feel that way.” Lani Renaldo has seen success performing with the likes of Alessia Cara at the AMA’s and opening for Halsey at The Shrine. Her collaboration on “Malibuu” with Matt Dimona topped Spotify’s Global 50 chart and currently has over six million streams.

LGBTQ indie rock musician Kristen Ford drops this acoustic gem: “I Want You In My Corner.” “The song was recorded very minimally, just acoustic guitar and vocals,” shares Ford. “We were trying to be as venerable as possible.” “The video plays on the strings that connect all of us: strangers, lovers, musical collaborators. It was a very queer video to make. We had a lesbian director, bisexual co-star, and me! Kayce actually played on the track as well so it was fun to do multiple dimensions of creation together in this way.” Ford has performed at Pride festivals nationwide alongside Betty Who, Billy Gilman, Troye Sivan, and Melissa Ferrick.

And how about we dance our way into the weekend with new remixes of Lady Gaga’s “911”, the latest single taken from the new album Chromatica. You can check out the bouncy take from WEISS below. Sofi Tukker and Bruno Martini also took a turn with the tune.

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Trump Considering ‘Preemptive’ Pardons For As Many As 20 Allies

The list of possible “preemptive” pardons from Donald Trump is apparently even longer than originally thought. From Politico:

President Donald Trump is considering preemptively pardoning as many as 20 aides and associates before leaving office, frustrating Republicans who believe offering legal reprieves to his friends and family members could backfire.

Trump’s strategy, like much of his presidency, is nontraditional. He is eschewing the typical protocol of processing cases through the Justice Department. And he may argue that such preemptive pardons for his friends and family members are necessary to spare them from paying millions in legal fees to fight what he describes as witch hunts.

Those up for clemency include everyone from Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, to several members of his family — all people who haven’t been charged with a crime.

The Donald is reportedly concerned that pardoning these folks ‘would look like an admission of guilt.’ Which, by the way, is what it would be.

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House Votes 228-164 To Decriminalize Marijuana

For the first time, the House of Representatives voted in favor of decriminalizing marijuana and providing for the regulation and taxation of cannabis. Five Republicans joined 222 Democrats and one independent to approve the bill. The five Republicans: Matt Gaetz, Brian Mast, Tom McClintock, Don Young, Denver Riggleman From the Washington Post:

The vote was 228-to-164 and marked the first time either chamber of Congress has voted on the issue of federally decriminalizing cannabis.

The measure is not expected to pass into law, and, due to political skittishness, it was only voted on after the November election and more than a year after it emerged from committee. But the House took a stand at a moment of increasing momentum, with voters last month opting to liberalize marijuana laws in five states — including three that President Trump won handily.

Currently, 15 states have some form of recreational cannabis legalization, while 36 states have approved marijuana for medical use.

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News Round-Up: December 3, 2020

A moment from Todrick Hall’s “Bells, Bows, Gifts, Trees”
Some news items you might have missed: • Edge Media: Will Columbia be 2021’s most popular LGBTQ travel destination? The South American country has been gaining traction as the next hot spot for queer travelers. • NewNowNext: Inspired by the legendary Black and Latino houses and vogue balls in 1980s New York City, the illuminating, fierce documentary Deep In Vogue introduces North Americans to Manchester’s “Northern Vogue” scene. The film will be available on December 8.

• The Hill: Former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton are offering to publicly take the COVID-19 vaccine to prove its safety and encourage Americans to be inoculated. • NowThis News:  This is the Trump campaign’s star witness before Michigan state legislators today whose unhinged voter fraud testimony broke the internet. “With friends like this, who needs enemies?”

• The Gaily Grind: Also at the Michigan hearing today, another of Rudy Giuliani’s witnesses said she thinks “all Chinese look alike” while making the argument for a voter ID requirement in Michigan. • Instinct Magazine: Sleigh what!? Todrick Hall has reworked his now-legendary track ‘Nails Hair Hips Heels’ for the holidays, serving up a brand new version titled “Bells Bows Gifts Trees” that is sure to help get us through a holiday season like we’ve never seen before.

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OnlyFans Performer Pleads Not Guilty To Posting Sex Video Without Consent

Fabricio Da Silva Claudino (image via Instagram)
An OnlyFans performer who was arrested for secretly recording a sexual interlude with his boyfriend and then uploading the clip to his account without permission has changed his plea from guilty to not guilty. Fabricio Da Silva Claudino, a former flight attendant for Emirates, reportedly filmed the video last year in July at their home in Marrickville, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. As Instinct previously reported, Claudino pleaded guilty this past June to 11 counts of recording and distributing without consent several explicit images and a video clip. At the time, the police report entered into evidence read, “The victim is clearly unaware of this activity being recorded and can be depicted in the recording as face down throughout.” “At one point the defendant positions the mobile phone towards a mirror where his face is depicted … at no stage, did the victim consent to the defendant taking this recording.” But the amateur porn performer changed his plea during a video hearing this week to not guilty.

Claudino admitted to recording the episode and distributing the images but says he did so with his ex-boyfriend’s consent.

He also told the court he only pleaded guilty because he was advised to do so by solicitor Brett Galloway.

“He said, ‘If you continue to plead not guilty your case will be adjourned to December 2020 or maybe longer to set a new hearing date because of the COVID-19 pandemic’,” said Claudino according to ABC News Australia.

The 32-year-old reportedly felt a guilty plea would speed his return to Brazil so he could care for his mother, who is currently facing cancer.

“I said, ‘I am the only financial support she has had since I was 18 — she is my priority at the moment,'” he said. “If this is the only way out of the situation, I agree to plead guilty.”

Claudino claims he turned to OnlyFans after his breakup (the relationship lasted about five months) as a means to earn the money to travel back home. Without a work visa, he was unable to secure legal employment.

Fabricio Da Silva Claudino (image via Instagram)

After finding new legal representation, Claudino was apparently informed: “a month’s worth of WhatsApp messages had been deleted from his mobile phone.”

His new lawyer, Alex Maroulis, told ABC News he is working to retrieve a text message chat about OnlyFans between his client and the ex-boyfriend.

Claudino says the missing text messages “would be in the period where the text messages have not been provided by [the alleged victim] or deliberately deleted by [the alleged victim].”

“With [the alleged victim’s] consent, I posted on the website ‘OnlyFans’ sexually explicit material of us and I did not show [his] face in any of the sexually explicit images that I posted on OnlyFans.”

Claudino also referenced a conversation he had with his ex in which he also obtained what he considered ‘verbal consent’ regarding sharing the video clip on OnlyFans.

“He said, ‘If you post any of our sex videos make sure my face does not appear — I will see how it goes for you and how much money you make, and I might join myself to make some money and get out of debt,'” says Claudino.

The alleged victim vehemently denies he gave consent regarding making the video or sharing it publicly.

The Australian ex-boyfriend told ABC News in February he discovered the videos while Claudino was visiting a friend in Melbourne. Apparently, distinctive body tattoos made it evident it was him in the clip.

Those tattoos, which he says he used to display proudly, now “feel like branding. I feel dirty … I lost my identity forever.”

Despite being granted bail in September, Claudino remains incarcerated. His next court appearance is scheduled for next week.

(source: ABC News Australia)  

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Funny: ‘Match Made In Hell’

Ok, this was quite clever. Ryan Reynolds’s new ad for the dating app Match featuring Taylor Swift’s song ‘Love Story.’ Reynolds calls it “a Love Story for the ages. Or at least this age.” Satan: Two zero two zero? 2020: Please, just call me 2020… So, where are you from? Satan: Hell… 2020: Me too.