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LGBTQ Entertainment Critics Announce Nominees For Best In 2019 Film & TV

Via press release: GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, comprised of 260 mainly U.S. journalists covering film and television, has named its nominees for 2019’s finest movies, performances and more across a host of mainstream and LGBTQ-focused categories. Full disclosure – I’m a voting member of GALECA “International” films lead the pack: South Korean director Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite—the left-field hit satire comparing the lives of the rich and the poor—and the French lesbian romance Portrait of a Lady on Fire each counts 6 nominations, while director Pedro Almodovar’s semi-autobiographical opus Pain and Glory has 5 nods. Those films join Hustlers, Little Women and director Quentin Tarantino’s florid alternate-reality trip Once Upon a Time in … Hollywood on the group’s eclectic, diverse Film of the Year shortlist. “It’s a true testament to the rising impact of global films—and the ability of film to move us in any language—to see films from a variety of countries rank so highly with our Dorian Awards voters,” says GALECA President Diane Anderson-Minshall, Editorial Director of The Advocate. “We’re proud to help remind everyone that the world can connect through cinema.” For Director of the Year, Bong competes with the likes of Sam Mendes, helmer of the stunning World War I epic 1917, and Women director Greta Gerwig, a previous Dorian winner in the category for Lady Bird. Renée Zellweger (Judy), Lupita Nyong’o (Us) and Alfre Woodard (Clemency) add excitement to the award season race with their nominations for Film Performance of the Year—Actress nominations, while fresh faces Florence Pugh (Little Women) and Zhao Shuzen (The Farewell) perk up the respective Supporting category. As for the Actor categories, they’re peppered with notable surnames: Banderas, Driver and Sandler; Pitt, Pesci and Pacino. Among the professional LGBTQ journalists group’s trademark categories, Booksmart and The Last Black Man in San Francisco are among the contenders for Unsung Film of the Year, while Cats and the cheeky, crazy-popular murder mystery Knives Out duke it out for Campy Flick of the Year HBO’s acerbic rich-family soap Succession, Netflix’s searing and female-centric mystery Unbelievable and last year’s multi-winner Pose, all up for TV Drama of the Year, with Hulu’s high-school friendship spoof PEN15 and Comedy Central’s tart The Other Two making nice-surprise showings in the comedy arena. Phoebe Waller-Bridge, star-creator of the also-nominated comedy Fleabag star-creator, is up for three Dorians, including TV Performance of the Year—Actress and Wilde Wit of the Year. All Dorian Award Winners, including the recipient of the Society’s annual Timeless career-achievement award, will be revealed Wednesday, January 8. Olivia Wilde, the first-time director of Booksmart, will be receiving a special honor at the group’s Dorian Awards Winners Toast, which will be held on Sunday, February 2, in Los Angeles, before football fever kicks in. The invitation-only event will include a raise of the glass to Wilde, named GALECA’s Wilde Artist of the Year. It bears noting that the acclaimed Booksmart’s stars, Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever, each hold a Dorian nomination for GALECA’s “We’re Wilde About You!” Rising Star award. You can follow the Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics on Instagram,  Twitter, and Facebook. FULL LIST OF 11TH DORIAN AWARDS NOMINATIONS (Note: Categories with six or more contenders involve a tie) Film of the Year Hustlers Little Women Once Upon a Time in … Hollywood Pain and Glory Parasite Portrait of a Lady on Fire Director of the Year  Pedro Almodovar, Pain and Glory Greta Gerwig, Little Women Bong Joon-ho, Parasite Sam Mendes, 1917 Celine Sciamma, Portrait of a Lady on Fire Film Performance of the Year — Actress  Awkwafina, The Farewell Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story Lupita Nyong’o, Us Alfre Woodard, Clemency Renée Zellweger, Judy Film Performance of the Year — Actor Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory Adam Driver, Marriage Story Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems Joaquin Phoenix, Joker Taron Egerton, Rocketman Film Performance of the Year — Supporting Actress  Laura Dern, Marriage Story Florence Pugh, Little Women Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers Margot Robbie, Bombshell Zhao Shuzhen, The Farewell Film Performance of the Year — Supporting Actor Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Al Pacino, The Irishman Joe Pesci, The Irishman Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in … Hollywood Song Kang-ho, Parasite LGBTQ Film of the Year  Booksmart End of the Century Pain and Glory Portrait of a Lady on Fire Rocketman Foreign Language Film of the Year The Atlantics Pain and Glory Parasite Portrait of a Lady on Fire The Farewell Screenplay of the Year Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story Bong Joon-ho, Han Jin-won, Parasite Greta Gerwig, Little Women Céline Sciamma, Portrait of a Lady on Fire Rian Johnson, Knives Out Documentary of the Year  American Factory Apollo 11 For Sama Honeyland One Child Nation LGBTQ Documentary of the Year  Circus of Books Gay Chorus Deep South The Gospel of Eureka 5B Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street Visually Striking Film of the Year  Midsommar 1917 The Lighthouse Parasite Portrait of a Lady on Fire Unsung Film of the Year Booksmart Her Smell Gloria Bell The Last Black Man in San Francisco Waves Campy Flick of the Year  Cats Greta Knives Out Ma Serenity TV Drama of the Year Chernobyl Euphoria Pose Succession Unbelievable TV Comedy of the Year Fleabag The Other Two PEN15 Russian Doll Schitt’s Creek TV Performance of the Year — Actor  Bill Hader, Barry Dan Levy, Schitt’s Creek Jharrel Jerome, When They See Us Billy Porter, Pose Jeremy Strong, Succession TV Performance of the Year — Actress  Natasha Lyonne, Russian Doll Catherine O’Hara, Schitt’s Creek Mj Rodriguez, Pose Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fleabag Michelle Williams, Fosse/Verdon LGBTQ TV Show of the Year  Euphoria The Other Two Pose Schitt’s Creek Tales of the City Unsung TV Show of the Year Gentleman Jack On Becoming a God in Central Florida The Other Two PEN15 Years and Years TV Current Affairs Show of the Year Full Frontal with Samantha Bee The Rachel Maddow Show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Leaving Neverland TV Musical Performance of the Year Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, “Shallow,” The 91st Academy Awards Lizzo, “Truth Hurts,” VMAs 2019 Megan Mullally, “The Man That Got Way,” Will & Grace Annie Murphy, “A Little Bit Alexis,” Schitt’s Creek Michelle Williams, “Who’s Got the Pain?,” Fosse/Verdon Campy TV Show of the Year  American Horror Story 1984 Big Little Lies RuPaul’s Drag Race The Politician Riverdale The “We’re Wilde About You!” Rising Star Award Roman Griffin Davis Kaitlyn Dever Beanie Feldstein Florence Pugh Hunter Schafer Wilde Wit of the Year  (Honoring a performer, writer or commentator whose observations both challenge and amuse) Dan Levy Billy Porter Randy Rainbow Taika Waititi Phoebe Waller-Bridge Wilde Artist of the Decade (Special Accolade) Lady Gaga Greta Gerwig Ryan Murphy Billy Porter Phoebe Waller-Bridge  

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News Round-Up: January 3, 2020

Nathan McCallum (via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Where in the world is fitness guy Nathan McCallum…and how do I get there? 🙂 • Instinct Magazine: RuPaul’s nascent talk show, which had a three-week trial run this past summer, has not been picked up for syndication. • NewNowNext: The Equitable Restroom Act went into effect in Illinois on January 1, which requires single-occupancy bathrooms in public places to be marked with signs labeling them as “All-Gender.” • KIT212: Kenneth serves up his weekly round-up (below) of the what’s what in gay rags across the country. • LGBTQ Nation: A gay man’s sister kidnapped him & forced him into conversion therapy where he was beaten and flogged. His family thought being gay was “demonic,” so his sister hired a “prophet” to beat it out of him. • Variety: Kevin Spacey has settled a lawsuit with the estate of a man who had accused him of sexual assault, following the accuser’s death in September. A trial was set to take place in federal court in June 2020, but when the accuser died, the accuser’s estate filed a notice dismissing the lawsuit on Monday. Each side agreed to pay their own costs. • WRAL: The United Methodist Church appears poised to split into two separate denominations over the issue of LGBTQ inclusion. The United Methodist Church is currently the third largest Christian denomination in the United States. • Politico: Why Pete Buttigieg enrages the political left – “The unspoken truth about the furor Buttigieg arouses is that his success threatens a core belief of young progressives: that their ideology owns the future, and that the rise of millennials into Democratic politics is going to bring an inevitable demographic triumph for the party’s far left wing.” • Twitter: As many have pointed out, before the 2012 presidential election, Donald Trump repeatedly predicted (wrongly) that President Obama would start a war with Iran in order to secure re-election. We all know Trump projects his own thoughts on others as this video clip resurfaces:

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Domestic Dispute Ends With Crushing Conclusion

Corey Jones (mugshot via EBRSO)
Someone needs to work on their aggressive anger issues. Louisiana teen Corey Jones, 18, was arrested New Year’s Eve after a domestic dispute ended in his ripping his boyfriend’s testicle sac. According to Baton Rouge news outlet WAFB, the victim had returned home after having “a bad day at work.” As a verbal argument began between the two men, the victim locked himself in his bedroom but Jones broke in and the altercation became physical. The incident continued to escalate until Jones allegedly grabbed the victim’s scrotum and squeezed so hard, the testicle sac “ripped and began to bleed uncontrollably.” WAFB reports the victim was treated with stitches at a nearby hospital but the ‘significant laceration’ will leave a permanent scar. Jones was arrested and charged with domestic abuse battery with serious bodily injury. He is currently being held at East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.

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Bronx Teen Charged In Fatal Christmas Eve Attack On Gay Couple

A Bronx teen has been charged with murder, gang assault and robbery for the brutal beating that killed 60-year-old Juan Fresnada on Christmas Eve. New York Daily News reports Abu Conteh, 18, was arrested on Tuesday in connection with the mugging that profited a gang of attackers $1 and led to the death of Fresnada. As previously reported, Fresnada and his longtime boyfriend, Byron Caceres, 26, were assaulted around 1:30 a.m. on Christmas Eve when they were targeted by muggers outside a McDonald’s restaurant. Fresnada attempted to protect his younger partner in the attack but was overwhelmed as three men took part in the assault which lasted about 15 minutes according to Caceres. In surveillance video, one of the gang can be seen slamming a metal trash can down on Fresnada’s head before fleeing the scene of the crime leaving the elder man bleeding in the street as cars, passers-by and a city bus passed by without stopping. Surveillance video showed Fresnada bleeding on the ground as passers-by, cars, and even a city bus passed by without checking on the man bleeding on the sidewalk.

Fresnada eventually died from his injuries inflicted by the gang, which included swelling in the brain, after clinging to life for three days on a ventilator at Lincoln Hospital. Conteh was reportedly picked up at his home not far from the scene of the crime after being identified as one of the assailants. Two accomplices have also been identified and police are currently searching for them. The 18-year-old’s mother, Isataturay Conteh, told the Daily News her son is innocent. “He saw people fighting and he knows those people in the video but he never touched that man,” said the mother. “It’s not him who killed this man.” Even with the arrest of Conteh, Caceres says he’s been worried that the suspects might come looking for him. “I’m nervous about it,” he told the Daily News. “I’m thinking a lot about it…. A lot of people told me that I should cover my face when I was talking to the news.” “Hopefully justice comes on the way,” he added. “If I have to go to court, if I have to go the grand jury, if I have to do something to recognize this guy, I will do it.” The couple had lived together in a small apartment in the Bronx since 2016.

Juan Fresnada and Byron Caceres
(source: NY Daily News)

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Trump Orders US Forces To Kill Head Of Iran Military

Donald Trump
From CBS News:

Qasem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds military Force, was killed Thursday night in an airstrike in Baghdad. The U.S. Defense Department said late Thursday that the “decisive defensive action to protect U.S. personnel” was ordered by President Trump.

“This strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans,” the Defense Department said. Mr. Trump tweeted a photo of an American flag late Thursday.

The missile attack comes hours after Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the U.S. military will be ready if Iran and its allies plan new attacks, like the one this week at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. The U.S. Defense Department blamed Soleimani and the Quds Force for the embassy attack, as well as the attack on December 27 that killed an American defense contractor. 

The Pentagon issued this statement:

At the direction of the President, the U.S. military has taken decisive defensive action to protect U.S. personnel abroad by killing Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization.

General Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region. General Soleimani and his Quds Force were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more.

He had orchestrated attacks on coalition bases in Iraq over the last several months – including the attack on December 27th – culminating in the death and wounding of additional American and Iraqi personnel. General Soleimani also approved the attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad that took place this week.

Trump took to Twitter to share a pixelated image of the American flag:

NBC News reports that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling on the Trump administration to immediately brief lawmakers on the U.S. airstrike that killed a top Iranian commander in Iraq and what the White House plans to do next. “Tonight’s airstrike risks provoking further dangerous escalation of violence. America — and the world — cannot afford to have tensions escalate to the point of no return,” Pelosi said in a statement late Thursday. Pelosi added that the strike was carried out without an “authorization for use of military force” against Iran and without the consultation of Congress. Past tweets from Trump immediately went viral recalling the Donald’s claims that President Obama would begin a war with Iran in order to secure his re-election. All of this comes, of course, amid Trump being impeached over his dealing with the president of Ukraine regarding a phony investigation about his presumed political opponent in the upcoming 2020 presidential election.

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JustFor.Fans Announces Top Accounts For 2019

L-R Gabriel Cross, Griffin Barrows, Max Konnor (images via Instagram)
Dominic Ford, the creator of JustFor.Fans, has announced the most followed gay accounts on the popular fan site platform. “This list is incredibly diverse in porn star vs. amateur, age, race, body type,” wrote Ford on Twitter. “It is the point of a platform like JFF where everyone stands an equal chance of being successful.” “I am proud of everyone on the JFF platform, and this list is a microcosm of that diversity,” added the entrepreneur.

Ford told Out that he opted to share a Top 15 because his list is ordered by the most subscribers. But when ordered by the most profits, some from numbers 11-15 jumped up into the top ten. Those fifteen gay adult accounts garnering the most attention on the streaming platform are listed below with links to their (NSFW) Twitter accounts: 1. Griffin Barrow 2. Gabriel Cross 3. Rhyheim Shabazz 4. Rafael Alencar 5. RopeTrainKeep 6. DeepFillerNYC 7. HungerFF 8. RealMenFullBush 9. Max Konnor 10. PhatRabbitKill2 11. ItsKravemelanin 12. CadeMaddoxX 13. RoccoSteeleNYC 14. MichaelLucasNYC 15. AdamRussoXXX

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Cheri Oteri’s ‘Barbara Walters’ Leaves Anderson Cooper In Tears

SNL alum Cheri Oteri as ‘Barbrsa Walters’ on NYE
While it was fun to see SNL alum Cheri Oteri revive to her ‘Barbara Walters’ persona for New Year’s Eve, it was even more hysterical watching Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper laugh uncontrollably during the clip.

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White Evangelicals Oppose LGBTQ Rights More Than Other Religious Groups

A new poll shows white evangelicals have stark differences from other religious groups when it comes to civil rights protections for LGBTQ Americans. Conducted by the Associated Press/NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, the survey’s results indicate 39 percent of white evangelicals oppose extending anti-discrimination protections to LGBTQ people, while only 13 percent of other Americans oppose such protections. Thirty-three percent of evangelicals support government restrictions on discrimination against LGBTQs in schools, housing or the workplace. In comparison, 66 percent of other Americans support banning LGBTQ discrimination. The poll also shows white evangelical Protestants believe religion should have more influence on public policy than it currently does. Sixty-two percent of evangelicals believe religion should have an influence on LGBTQ issues, while only 30 percent of other Americans agree. And it will come as no surprise that President Trump garners strong support (79%) from white evangelicals, while other Americans strongly disapprove of his job performance. (Source: AP/NORC Center for Public Affairs Research)

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Trump, Sanders, Yang & Buttigieg Announce Fundraising Totals

Mayor Pete Buttigieg campaigns in Iowa
Pete Buttigieg raised more than $24.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, according to the New York Times. Buttigieg’s campaign announced it had now received more than two million donations from more than 733,000 people since he entered the race, and 326,000 people had donated to the South Bend mayor’s effort in the fourth quarter. Since entering the race, the 37-year-old White House hopeful has raised more than $76 million. CBS News reports Sen. Bernie Sanders scored $34.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2019. Sanders’ best fundraising month was December, when he collected 900,000 donations totaling over $18 million. Still seeking a last-minute boost in the polls that would allow him to qualify for the January Democratic debate, entrepreneur Andrew Yang’s presidential campaign announced he had raised $16.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2019 putting him among the Democratic field’s top five fund-raisers. And over in Trump Land, the Donald’s re-election campaign pulled in $46 million in the fourth quarter of 2019. The Trump campaign begins the 2020 re-election year with cash on hand of $102.7 million. Update – Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s campaign announced the Democrat from Hawaii raised $3.4 million in the last quarter of 2019. The New York Times reports Joe Biden reported raising $22.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, a significant improvement from his lackluster fund-raising performance in the previous three months.

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Julián Castro Drops Out Of Democratic Presidential Race

Former HUD Secretary Julián Castro
The New York Times reports former housing secretary Julián Castro is ending his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Julián Castro, the former housing secretary who was the only Latino candidate in the Democratic primary, said Thursday he would end his bid for the presidency, capping a yearlong campaign where he struggled in polls but remained a policy pacesetter on immigration and fighting poverty.

Throughout his campaign, Mr. Castro, 45, a native of San Antonio who spent five years as its mayor, portrayed himself as an unapologetic liberal who was shaped by his humble beginnings and had been overlooked by the press. Though he created some memorable moments as he championed progressive policy and challenged his rivals on the campaign trail, Mr. Castro failed to catch on with voters and was unable to break into the upper tier of a crowded primary field. His exit is the latest departure of a candidate of color from a field that began as the most racially diverse ever in a Democratic primary.

“I’ve determined that it simply isn’t our time,” Mr. Castro said in a nearly four-minute video message released by his campaign, which included a montage from his year on the trail, including visits to the border and a homeless encampment in Oakland. “Today it’s with a heavy heart, and profound gratitude, that I will suspend my campaign for president.”