L-R Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis (image via Hulu) The new trailer for the Hulu Original Christmas romantic comedy, Happiest Season, is here and it’s adorbs. Directed by Clea DuVall, the film stars Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis, Victor Garber, Academy Award-winner Mary Steenburgen, plus a scene-stealing performance by Schitt’s Creek creator/star, Dan Levy. From the official synopsis:
Meeting your girlfriend’s family for the first time can be tough. Planning to propose at her family’s annual Christmas dinner — until you realize that they don’t even know she’s gay — is even harder. When Abby (Kristen Stewart) learns that Harper (Mackenzie Davis) has kept their relationship a secret from her family, she begins to question the girlfriend she thought she knew.
When the couple arrives at Harper’s parent’s house, she’s introduced as that go-to status of ‘orphan roommate.’
Abby calls her bestie, played by Levy, who finds it difficult to believe folks aren’t picking up on the truth:
Levy: So her parents believe she brought home her lesbian friend for Christmas?Stewart: Not exactly. They also think that I’m straight.Levy: Have they ever MET a lesbian?
With fresh and funny performances, Happiest Season combines all too familiar issues like balancing your family’s acceptance, being true to yourself, and trying not to ruin Christmas. Look for Happiest Season to premiere on Hulu on November 25. Plus, the movie features a soundtrack with LGBTQ artists like Tegan and Sara, Shea Diamond, and more. And don’t forget the Lifetime Channel and the Hallmark Channel are also sending us LGBTQ-themed romantic comedies, so expect your holiday to even more merry and bright!
(image via Andrew Christian) Some news items you might have missed: • The Advocate: Underwear company Andrew Christian recently has apologized for marketing a harness (above) emblazoned with the word “slave” using a POC to model them. “As you accurately noted in your article our ‘Master’ and ‘Slave’ harnesses and underwear only reference the ‘Master’ and ‘Slave’ terminology of the BDSM culture and has nothing to do with anything else. We sincerely apologize if anyone finds the image of the model offensive and we will replace it immediately.” • Out Music: Colton Ford releases his first new music in years with the single, “Stronger.” The inspirational ballad features upbeat lyrics that share Ford’s own positive self speak: “We have to stay conscious of what we are telling ourselves, as that impacts and influences everything we experience in this life.” You can stream the full track here.
• NBC News: Georgia plans a recount of votes in its presidential race, but in the past 50 years, few recounts have led to changes in the winners. And in the handful of still-uncalled battleground states, there hasn’t been a flip following a recount in at least the last two decades. • Statista: As the presidential election results unfolded before the American people last week, the stock market saw the writing on the wall. The S&P 500 closed the week up 7.3 percent on Friday marking the best election week rally since 1928. The Nasdaq and Dow Jones saw similar gains. (graphic via Statista) • The Independent: Donald Trump’s Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Ben Carson, has become the latest Trump administration official to test positive for Covid-19. Carson attended the election night party at the White House on Tuesday where few in attendance wore masks to prevent the spread of the virus. • Mediaite: Fox News cut away from the White House press secretary this afternoon after she alleged that the Democratic party was “welcoming fraud and you are welcoming illegal voting.” Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto cut in saying, “Unless she has more details to back that up, I can’t in good countenance continue showing this.”
My favorite meme of the day – and yes, it’s fake but pretty funny. It is, however, based on remarks made by Trump during a campaign rally in Macon, Georgia last month. Trump told the crowd he might have to “leave the country” if he were to lose to now-President-elect Joe Biden. “You know what, running against the worst candidate in the history of presidential politics puts pressure on me. Could you imagine if I lose, my whole life, what am I gonna do? I’m gonna say, I lost to the worst candidate in the history of politics. I’m not gonna feel so good. Maybe I’ll have to leave the country. I don’t know.”
"Maybe I'll have to leave the country. I don't know." — Trump on what could happen if he loses to Biden pic.twitter.com/NGrXDwjaSd
With Joe Biden and Kamala Harris projected to be the next President and Vice President of the U.S., many are looking to who might be tapped by California Gov. Gavin Newsom to take Sen. Harris’s seat in the U.S.Senate.
Politico reports that those inside Newsom’s inner circle say he would like to make a historic choice, and there are multiple contenders being mentioned who could become the first openly LGBTQ senator from the Golden State.
Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, viewed as a rising star in the Democratic Party, is reportedly on the shortlist of those being considered for the Senate seat. Garcia would be the first openly gay and first Latino senator from California.
In a recent poll by the USC Schwarzenegger Institute, Garcia received the highest response (57%) when voters were asked about individual possible candidates.
According to that survey, almost half of voters (48%) would prefer someone without experience in Washington, D.C., or in Sacramento. Thirty-one percent said they would like to see Newsom pick the state’s first Latino U.S. senator and 24% hoped for the state’s first LGBTQ U.S. Senator.
The first woman and openly LGBTQ person to lead the state Senate, State Senate pro Tempore Toni Atkins of San Diego, is also among those being floated to be the next senator from California. In the aforementioned survey, Atkins received 40% support.
The Victory Fund, which supports more representation of queer Americans in public office, adds to those possibilities California Assemblymember Evan Low, U.S. Representative Mark Takano, and California Senator Scott Wiener.
Newsom could still make history with a non-LGBTQ choice like Secretary of State Alex Padilla or state Attorney General Xavier Becerra. Either would be the first Latino senator in California history, plus choosing a statewide officer for the seat would allow the governor to name both the next senator and a powerful state officeholder’s replacement as well.
Many in political circles say the replacement should, like Harris, be a woman of color making Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) of Los Angeles a strong contender. Bass was long reported as a possible choice for running mate for Biden and garnered 53% support in the Schwarzenegger Institute poll.
Also in the mix are Rep. Barbara Lee from Oakland who had 51% approval in the Institute’s survey,and freshman Rep. Katie Porter, who has shown to have strong support among younger voters. One small snag for Porter could be that she’s the first Democrat to represent California’s 45th District. A traditionally red district, if she were to take Harris’s seat, her House seat could possibly flip back to Republican.
Newsom has told the press he won’t begin the formal process of vetting candidates until after the election results were certified.
L-R Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Mark Esper (images: Flickr/WhiteHouse – public domain) Donald Trump took to Twitter this morning to announce the news that he had “terminated” Mark Esper as his Secretary of Defense. From the New York Times:
Mr. Esper’s downfall had been expected for months, after he took the rare step in June of disagreeing publicly with Mr. Trump and saying that active-duty military troops should not be sent to control the wave of protests in American cities. The president, who had threatened to use the Insurrection Act to do exactly that, was furious, officials said.
Mr. Esper, 56, a former secretary of the Army and a former Raytheon executive, became defense secretary last July after Mr. Trump withdrew the nomination of Patrick M. Shanahan, the acting defense secretary, amid an F.B.I. inquiry into allegations from Mr. Shanahan’s former wife that he punched her in the stomach. Mr. Shanahan denied the accusations.
Mr. Shanahan had been standing in for Jim Mattis, who resigned as defense secretary in 2018, citing his own differences with the president.
…Chris will do a GREAT job! Mark Esper has been terminated. I would like to thank him for his service.
(image via Instagram/KarensGoingWild) Some news items you might have missed: • Instagram: The above image is from the hysterical Karens Going Wild account. I laughed out loud at this. Follow the account here. • Boy Culture: Matt Rettenmund’s venerable LGBTQ blog turns 15! Matt reflects on how ‘blogging’ has changed over the years, what it’s like to be a trailblazer plus his 100 Favorite Posts over the years. Congrats and thanks to Boy Culture! • The Guardian: New diagnoses of HIV among gay and bisexual men in the UK have dropped to their lowest level in 20 years. A PHE report reveals that overall, across all genders and sexualities, the number of people with a new HIV diagnosis dropped by 10% from 4,580 cases in 2018 to 4,139 in 2019. • American Independent: I’ve been receiving money begs from the Trump campaign practically every hour since Joe Biden was projected to be the winner of the 2020 election. The emails say they are looking for help with Trump’s legal defense fund, but the fine print indicates that less than half of each donation will go toward the campaign’s “recount account,” while 60% will go to pay off the Trump campaign’s debt. • Washington Post: More than 107,607 new cases of the coronavirus were reported in the U.S. on Sunday. The country’s seven-day new case average was more than 100,000 and for five of the past seven days, more than 1,000 deaths were recorded. More than half of states reported a new high for their seven-day average of cases • Newsweek: Meanwhile, just a day after hearing the news that he had lost the 2020 election while on a golf course in Virginia, Donald Trump returned for what is believed to be his 300th round of golf since he was inaugurated. • The Advocate: Exit polling of over 15,000+ for the presidential election show LGBTQ support for Donald Trump doubled since 2016 from 14 percent to 28 percent of self-identified LGBTQ people. The so-called #GaysForTrump are not taking it well.
The woke gay left are just the absolute worst bunch of miserable narcissistic imbeciles. Glad to never associate with them and the last few days have proved it. #MAGAGays#GaysForTrump#ConservativeGays.
Alex Trebek (image via Jeopardy!) Longtime Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek has passed away at the age of 80 after a nearly two-year battle with pancreatic cancer. From PEOPLE:
In a somber video message to fans shared March 6, the ABC game show host vowed to “fight” the disease and also continue working on the game show, which he hosted for 35 years. “Now normally the prognosis for this is not very encouraging, but I’m going to fight this and I’m going to keep working,” he said.
He also asked his fans to lift up prayers on his behalf. “And with the love and support of my family and friends, and with the help of your prayers also, I plan to beat the low survival rate statistics for this disease,” continued Trebek, who also quipped that he must continue working because of the terms of his contract through the 2021-22 season.
By the end of August, Trebek had completed his chemotherapy treatments, and announced in a video that he was “on the mend.”
“I’ve gone through a lot of chemotherapy, and thankfully that is now over,” he said. “I’m on the mend and that’s all I can hope for right now.”
Sadly, he announced in September 2019 that he had to undergo chemotherapy again.
Since he joined Jeopardy! in 1984, Trebek hosted over 8,000 episodes of the venerable game show. Along the way, Trebek’s work was recognized with several accolades including 8 Daytime Emmy Awards as well as a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1999. But it was the viewers and players who held Trebek in perhaps the highest regard. In November of 2019, I wrote about a moment on the show when a contestant realized he couldn’t win the episode, he decided to use his final Jeopardy! answer to send a message of love to the beloved host. Contestant Dhruv Gaur wrote “We love you, Alex” after being stumped on the answer. The hashtag #WeLoveYouAlex soon began trending on Twitter.
I was not ready for this touching moment on today’s @Jeopardy episode when a player sent a touching message. Hearing Alex Trebek’s unshakeable voice break got me. #weloveyoualexpic.twitter.com/GDsqdm0Qqm
In 2014, the easy-going Canadian-born host penned an essay for Salon Magazine expressing his support for the LGBTQ community: “I’m in favor of equal pay for women, and the Lilly Ledbetter act. I believe in equal rights for the LGBT community; in fact, this winter, I braved the Minnesota winter weather to attend a gay wedding (which was officiated over by my wife).” Rest in peace Alex Trebek.
Jeopardy! is saddened to share that Alex Trebek passed away peacefully at home early this morning, surrounded by family and friends. Thank you, Alex. pic.twitter.com/Yk2a90CHIM
(images via Joe Biden/Jill Biden Instagram) As part of the Biden family, I’m thrilled to see we’ll be welcoming Champ and Major Biden as the nation’s ‘First Dogs.’ Presidential pets have long been a tradition in the White House although Donald Trump is the first president since James Polk to not have a pet while in office. According to PEOPLE, Biden’s German shepherd, Major, will also make history as the first rescue dog to live at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
The Biden family adopted Major from the Delaware Humane Association in November 2018, 10 years after the couple welcomed their first German shepherd, Champ.
Champ was welcomed on Christmas 2008 and the beloved pet lived at the vice presidential residence at the U.S. Naval Observatory during Biden’s two terms with former President Barack Obama.
Former President George W. Bush (photo: public domain) Former President George W. Bush issued this statement of congratulations today regarding President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’s victory in the 2020 race. Along the way, Bush thanked Biden for his “patriotic message” in his acceptance last night and noted Biden has “won his opportunity to lead and unify our country.” Bush also tipped his hat to Donald Trump for his “hard-fought campaign” and acknowledged Trump “has the right to request recounts and pursue legal challenges, and any unresolved issues will be properly adjudicated.”
I just talked to the President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden. I extended my warm congratulations and thanked him for the patriotic message he delivered last night. I also called Kamala Harris to congratulate her on her historic election to the vice presidency.
Though we have political differences, I know Joe Biden to be a good man, who has won his opportunity to lead and unify our country. The President-elect reiterated that while he ran as a Democrat, he will govern for all Americans. I offered him the same thing I offered Presidents Trump and Obama: my prayers for his success, and my pledge to help in any way I can.
I want to congratulate President Trump and his supporters on a hard-fought campaign. He earned the votes of more than 70 million Americans – an extraordinary political achievement. They have spoken, and their voices will continue to be heard through elected Republicans at every level of government.
The fact that so many of our fellow citizens participated in this election is a positive sign of the health of our democracy and a reminder to the world of its strength.
No matter how you voted, your vote counted. President Trump has the right to request recounts and pursue legal challenges, and any unresolved issues will be properly adjudicated. The American people can have confidence that this election was fundamentally fair, its integrity will be upheld, and its outcome is clear.
With fresh and funny performances, Happiest Season combines all too familiar issues like balancing your family’s acceptance, being true to yourself, and trying not to ruin Christmas. Look for Happiest Season to premiere on Hulu on November 25. Plus, the movie features a soundtrack with LGBTQ artists like Tegan and Sara, Shea Diamond, and more. And don’t forget the Lifetime Channel and the Hallmark Channel are also sending us LGBTQ-themed romantic comedies, so expect your holiday to even more merry and bright!
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