L-R President Donald Trump, former Vice President Joe Biden Via Reuters:
Two-thirds of registered American voters oppose delaying the Nov. 3 presidential election due to the coronavirus pandemic, and more than half think President Donald Trump floated the idea of postponing it last week to help himself politically, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling released on Wednesday.
The national public opinion poll was conducted from July 31 to Aug. 4, shortly after Trump said without providing evidence that a surge in mail-in voting would lead to widespread voter fraud and suggested the election be delayed.
The idea was immediately rejected by Democrats and Republicans in Congress, who have sole authority to change the election date.
Most Americans also rejected the suggestion. The poll showed 66% of registered voters oppose postponing the November vote, including 8 out of 10 Democrats and 5 in 10 Republicans.
Another 23% of registered voters – mostly Republicans – supported an election delay and 11% said they were not sure.
L-R Melody Betts, Kyle Motsinger (screen capture from ‘No Shame’) NYC-based indie singer/songwriter Kyle Motsinger releases the music video to his newest single, “No Shame.” The new single, which has a positive message of self-love, is available now on iTunes, so check out this exclusive peek at the colorful music video and song today. It’s worth noting in 2017, Attitude Magazine conducted a body survey that revealed 84% of people said they felt under “intense pressure” to have a so-called “good body.” Motsinger opens the song with just a few of the self-doubts (hair, body image, body hair) many people, especially in the LGBTQ community, might experience in terms of judging ourselves (and others!) on a daily basis. But then, this furry ginger drops the beat and the shame:
My body is beautiful (Tell myself every day) My body is beautiful (No matter what critics say) My body is beautiful (No one can take that away) My body is beautiful (Can’t tell me that I don’t slay)
Motsinger teams up with singer/actor Melody Betts for the upbeat, disco-tastic track. Audiences will recognize Betts from the acclaimed Jesus Christ Superstar Live! on NBC, and the Broadway production of Sara Bareilles’s Waitress. The video also co-stars Mark Oleszko/Lyra Vega, & Larry Darnell Penn Whitfield. On top of being a banging pop bop, the message of the song takes stares down negative feelings of self-image in high style.
I recently chatted with the furry ginger about the new track and why messaging about body positivity seems to be improving in the LGBTQ community.
The Randy Report: What was the inspiration behind writing the song? Kyle Motsinger: “No Shame” was a response to some criticism I was getting from my conservative family about performances I was doing in NYC that were either more burlesque in nature or featured outfits that were revealing. I’ve gotten to a point where I sometimes feel pretty confident about my body. I say sometimes because there are always days where I maybe don’t feel as fearless as I’d like to be. I wrote this song because I think bodies are beautiful and I don’t think it’s indecent to tastefully show them off. Of course, I probably have a different definition of “tasteful” than some. TRR: You really embrace a groovy disco vibe (which I love). Is that just your innate musical style or is it about meshing a certain message to music? KM: I’m glad you love it! I love dipping my toe into different musical styles for different songs. For me, the story of the song dictates the feel of it. Disco felt right for an anthem about loving your body. My second album is full of an eclectic mix of musical styles. I sum that up in the title song. My music sounds “Any Way I Want It To.” It’s a little sassy and I love that. L-R Larry Darnell Penn Whitfield, Melody Betts, Mark Oleszko/Lyra Vega (screen capture)TRR: Social messaging to combat body shaming seems to have become more mainstream. Do you think so? Or no? KM: I think it has and I’m really glad! There’s always been an image of what you’re supposed to strive for. Diversity has never been very prevalent in terms of body image. I see it changing though. Even in the gay community, I’m seeing more love for bears, trans people, and people of color. We still have work to do though. It was important to me that the music video for “No Shame” showed racial and body diversity. The world is more diverse than media would lead you to believe. It is getting better though.
Austin Addison, of Butler County, Pennsylvania, is reportedly facing charges after he was caught on video slapping a Burger King worker across the face. The incident was recorded and the video has circulated widely on social media. Several reports say Addison entered the restaurant hyper-angry and looking for a female employee who he apparently knew. The clip begins mid-incident up with Addison screaming about an employee who ‘can’t count except for robbery and stealing stuff.’ Along the way, he threatens to somehow get the employee put in jail for ‘the rest of her life.’ For some unknown reason, the poor guy behind the counter, in trying to calm Addison down, gets slapped.
He was later picked up and charged with criminal mischief, disorderly conduct and harassment. From Heavy.com:
Court documents, available online on the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania website, show the incident at Burger King happened on June 26. A complaint was filed on July 8 and Addison was arrested on July 30. Records show he was released on his own recognizance, meaning he did not need to pay bail or post bond.
The criminal mischief charge is a second-degree misdemeanor, which in Pennsylvania, carries a possible punishment of up to two years behind bars and a fine up to $5,000 if convicted. Addison’s arraignment hearing was scheduled for September 22.
Me and Snoopy (photo: Denise Truscello) Some news items you might have missed: • Snoop Watch: Just a quick check-in to say Snoopy (the short one above) is doing great settling in with Michael and me. For those interested in #BeagleLife, most of my posts about Snoopy will be on Instagram here. Thanks to Denise Truscello for the pic and to everyone for all the messages of support about our new 14-year-old addition 🙂 • Instinct Magazine: The Lifetime TV channel has announced that it will release its first-ever holiday film with a same-sex romance as the central storyline. The upcoming tv movie is titled The Christmas Set-Up and follows two former high school friends who get (surprise!) ‘set-up’ by one’s mother during holidays at home. • Out Music: Acclaimed singer and songwriter VINCINT recently released “Hard 2 Forget,” the eagerly awaited follow-up to his acclaimed debut EP, The Feeling. The out artist has received raves from the media like this from Eonline: “VINCINT has kept us captivated with his sumptuous synth-pop sound and his outrageous vocals. As masterful with a full-throated belt as he is slipping into a soft falsetto, his is a voice.”
• WOW: Former Grey’s Anatomy actor Isaiah Washington (who was fired from the show for using a homophobic slur) came out to FoxNews as a Trump supporter. In April, the actor tweeted he had left the Democratic party. • Sunday Times: Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber on why the now-infamous CATS movie turned out the way it did – “The problem with the film was that [director] Tom Hooper decided that he didn’t want anybody involved in it who was involved in the original show. The whole thing was ridiculous.” • CNN: After repeatedly seeking to discredit mail-in voting, Donald Trump on Tuesday claimed Florida’s election system is “safe and secure” and encouraged Floridians to vote by mail.
Whether you call it Vote by Mail or Absentee Voting, in Florida the election system is Safe and Secure, Tried and True. Florida’s Voting system has been cleaned up (we defeated Democrats attempts at change), so in Florida I encourage all to request a Ballot & Vote by Mail! #MAGA
Broadway Bares goes virtual in 2020Broadway Bares: Zoom In, this year’s virtual edition of the acclaimed annual fundraiser, raised a spectacular $596,504 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Every dollar donated will go to provide healthy meals, lifesaving medication, emergency financial assistance and so much more to people living with HIV/AIDS, COVID-19, and other critical illnesses. From BC/EFA Director Tom Viola:
Saturday night’s virtual BROADWAY BARES: ZOOM IN was epic! An outstanding show and fundraising opportunity!
Thanks to all 93,000+ folks who joined us this past Saturday night and over the weekend online to raise $596,504.
What a way to celebrate 30 years of fierce performances, dynamic fundraising and a community’s passionate commitment to extending itself to others and personal well-being. There have always been so many people involved with making Bares happen, and this year’s virtual edition – even in the midst of all that currently challenges us – showed the depth and breadth of our commitment to take care of each other.
Thank you to ZOOM IN’s remarkable creative and technical team, guest hosts and interviewees, all lead by the impeccable and gracious genius of Jerry Mitchell.
We will be back – live, sexy and in-person – at Hammerstein Ballroom in June 2021.
The cast of Broadway Bares: Zoom In! (photo: Matthew Murphy) Since March 12, Broadway Cares has: • Sent more than $6.5 million to The Actors Fund through our COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Fund • Award another $1 million to the Every Artist Insured program • Grant $2 million to many nearly overwhelmed social service agencies across the country with $885,000 in additional emergency grants to those serving many who fall outside of the usual safety net of social services If you haven’t yet, you can watch the awesome one-hour show below or on YouTube here. And if you feel moved to donate a few dollars, you can do that here.
Some of the world-famous Rockettes onstage at Radio City Music Hall (via Instagram) For the first time since its debut in 1933, the Radio City Christmas Spectacularfeaturing the world-famous Radio City Rockettes, is being canceled. From the New York Post:
MSG Entertainment, which owns the glamorous Radio City Music Hall where the Rockettes perform, made the decision to close the curtain on the popular show amid ongoing uncertainty tied to the coronavirus pandemic.
This year’s performance, known for iconic dance numbers like “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers” and the “12 Days of Christmas,” had been slated to run from Nov. 6 to Jan. 3.
The events company, which also owns Madison Square Garden, also announced plans to lay off 350 people — about one-third of its corporate workforce — as the pandemic continues to squeeze venues that rely on live performances.
Its sister company, MSG Sports, which owns the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers, is cutting 50 jobs, or about 15 percent of its corporate staff.
Running for two months plus rehearsals, I can remember as a dancer in NYC the Christmas Spectacular was a job a LOT of theater artists folks prized each year. Paid well and you got to be home in NYC for the holidays. If you’ve never seen it, you should there’s a reason why it’s run for all these decades. Festive, fun and very family-friendly.
Donald Trump speaking to Axios (screen capture) Other than Fox News’ Chris Wallace, I think this is the first extended example of a journalist going back and forth with Donald Trump on actual COVID-19 facts and data. Axios’ Jonathan Swan got a 38 minute sit down with Trump. In this clip, Trump argues about his ‘great success’ in addressing the coronavirus pandemic. Trump, it seems is comfortable with the ratio of death to diagnosed cases, while Swan is talking about the proportion of deaths to population in countries. Swan: “Oh, you’re doing death as a proportion of cases. I’m talking about death as a proportion of population. That’s where the U.S. is really bad. Much worse than South Korea, Germany, etc.” Trump: “You can’t do that.” Swan: “Why can’t I do that?” As Swan points out, for example, South Korea has a population of 51 million but has experienced only 300 deaths from COVID-19 which factors out to 0.0005 percentage of the population has died from the virus. The U.S. has a population of 328,000,000+ but has suffered over 155,000+ deaths from coronavirus which means our percentage of the population that has died is much higher at .047. You’ll note in the clip, Trump hands Swan a graph with only four countries listed showing the U.S. being ‘the best.’ Talk about pick and choose. In the second clip below, as Trump argues the virus is ‘under control,’ Swan points out 1,000 Americans are dying on average each day. “It is what it is,” says Trump. Trump also admits he didn’t attend the funeral of civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) because “he didn’t come to my inauguration.” However, Trump does wish accused sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell “well.” Full interview at the end of this post.
In this extraordinary interview, @potus said deaths were down across Florida, Texas, and Arizona So what’s the data? Across those 3 states, using 7-d moving avg: yesterday: 634 deaths 2 weeks ago: 435 deaths That’s a 45% increase. Deaths are increasing We aren’t the best https://t.co/dH6vuYkJWa
Trump tells #AxiosOnHBO that he “can’t say one way or the other” whether John Lewis was impressive. “He didn’t come to my inauguration.” pic.twitter.com/L0uevhjrG4
Tom Goss and Jason Villegas in ‘Nerdy Bear’ (photo: Catalin Stelian) It’s always nice to start the day with a smile 🙂 So, I was happy to see an email this morning from award-winning, guitar-toting, singer/songwriter Tom Goss announcing, “Nerdy Bears are the cutest bears! Naturally, I wrote a song and made a video about it.” While Tom has spent much of the past year promoting his latest album titled, Territories, a moody, richly-layered synth-pop collection exploring the complexities of love. But now, he’s back in fun mode with this homage to those plus-size gamer guys. (screen capture) “Given the hot mess that is 2020 I thought the world could use something light and full of fun, ” says Tom. “And what’s more fun than a ‘Nerdy Bear?'”
Nerdy bear, behind them glasses you’re a dirty bear.So shake that a** in daddy underwear, and let me sneak into your secret lair.
Tom’s handsome co-star, Jason Villegas (Chubby Tanuki on Instagram), is totally ‘game’ for the role.
You can find my previous coverage of terrific Tom on The Randy Report here. Back in 2013, over 200 bears joined together to make Tom’s super-fun video romp, “Bears.” Complete with lots of robust, hirsute men playing with Super Soakers, careening down a slip and slide, and dancing in a club (usually in slow motion), the video celebrates all the furry goodness.
Sgt. Keith Wildhaber (image via Wildhaber) Some news items you might have missed: • St. Louis Today: Openly gay St. Louis County police lieutenant Keith Wildhaber (above), who in February settled a workplace discrimination lawsuit against the police department for $10.25 million, said Friday that he is stepping down from command of its Diversity and Inclusion unit. In a Facebook post he wrote, “The dog whispers of a gay, white guy being unable to lead Diversity and Inclusion were loud and clear. Systemic racism is alive and well.” • Cosmopolitan: James Corden, currently the host of The Late Late Show, might be in talks to replace Ellen DeGeneres on her daytime talk show. The possible shake-up comes shortly after toxic work environment claims were made against Ellen’s longtime show. • Vimeo: Snowflake, a new film that depicts the fear of a nation when a dictatorial politician is suddenly thrust into the White House, will begin streaming on Vimeo on August 4. While most of the characters in the film are gay, Snowflake shows how their other identities – age, race, and their economic status – shape their individual views. Check out the trailer below.
• The Advocate: Tennis legend Martina Navratilova, who’s faced criticism for anti-transgender comments over the past year, signed a letter supporting Idaho’s law barring trans females from competing in women’s and girls’ interscholastic sports. The NCAA, which has already announced its opposition to the law, is considering potentially moving the March Madness men’s basketball tournament from Boise. • Deadline: Pose star Angelica Ross has inked a development & production deal with Pigeon, the production company behind OWN’s Iyanla: Fix My Life. The transgender actress and activist will work with Pigeon to develop and co-produce scripted and non-scripted content. • AFP Fact Check: Donald Trump went on a voter fraud Twitter rant after the Nevada legislature approved mail-in-voting for all registered voters. But AFP’s fact-checking showed actual voter fraud is minuscule to non-existent.
In an illegal late night coup, Nevada’s clubhouse Governor made it impossible for Republicans to win the state. Post Office could never handle the Traffic of Mail-In Votes without preparation. Using Covid to steal the state. See you in Court! https://t.co/cNSPINgCY7
Swedish pop star Darin (image via Instagram) Darin Zanyar, one of Sweden’s best-known pop stars with seven #1 albums since he came to fame on Swedish Idol in 2004, has come out as gay in a post on Instagram. The singer/songwriter, who generally goes by the single name moniker Darin, shared his post during Stockholm’s annual Pride celebration. “Everyone in the world should be able to be proud and accepted for who they are,” wrote Darin on Instagram. “I know how difficult it can be. Took me a while, but I am proud to be gay. Happy pride!”
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