In this week’s headlines: • A new lawsuit challenges Virginia’s new law banning LGBTQ discrimination • Atlanta’s gay nightclub Heretic shut down over COVID-19 diagnoses after a sweaty dance party • A pro football player’s homophobic Twitter rant backfires bigtime • A small town council refused to recognize Pride Month, so activists staged a ‘Pride Ambush’ • Billy Porter breaks down another barrier as he becomes the first out Black man to cover ESSENCE Magazine Plus, new music from out UK singer Paul Middleton “When Love Takes Over” All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report
Billy Porter in an outtake from his ESSENCE photo shoot Chalk up another first for Grammy/Tony/Emmy Award-winner Billy Porter as he becomes the first openly gay Black man to appear on the cover of ESSENCE Magazine. It’s not the first barrier broken by the Pose star. Last year, he was the first gay Black man to win an Emmy Award in an acting category. And, he was also the first man to cover Allure Magazine. In the cover story for Essence, titled ‘Why Billy Porter is a National Treasure,’ writer Tre’vell Anderson chronicles Porter’s journey to ‘here.’ ‘Here’ is where Porter finds himself after multiple gigs on Broadway in the 1990s (Five Guys Named Moe, Miss Saigon, Grease) which ultimately led to his stepping out of the spotlight after being passed over for the serious roles he desired (and deserved) and would eventually appear in (Angels In America, Kinky Boots). “I chose myself over whatever might be,” he says, noting his number of years of unemployment after he made the choice to ‘lean into’ his truth. “But by taking myself out of the masculinity game, that literally turned my life around, and all of those layers were building blocks to the authentic human being you see in front of you who gives zero f–ks. “When I actually leaned into my truth,” he adds, “this is what ultimately happened. Did it take two-plus decades? Yes, but it’s happening and this is my ministry.” He also discusses his recent cover of Buffalo Springfield’s 1966 activism classic “For What It’s Worth.” “Being first-generation post-civil rights and feeding directly into, as a gay man, the AIDS crisis, activism is in my DNA,” Porter says. “And while I don’t fancy myself an organizer, you tell me where to show up, I’m going to show up. I’m that kind of activist.”
Porter also directly addresses the conflict he sees while standing at the intersection of the Black Lives Matter movement and the homophobia he’s experienced by conservative Black people. “You all want to act like you’re concerned about our salvation,” he says referencing church-going African Americans who don’t embrace LGBTQ authenticity. “But don’t worry about my salvation. Let me do that. If you think I’m going to hell, you keep that s–t to yourself. I don’t need tolerance. I don’t need acceptance. We demand respect for our humanity, too.” He also addresses the November election (“get your little asses registered”), and his upcoming projects including the role of ‘Fairy Godmother’ in Sony’s live-action remake of Cinderella. It’s an excellent profile of an artist who has learned to lean into his own truth. “Did it take two-plus decades? Yes,” says Porter.”But it’s happening and this is my ministry.” Read the full article at ESSENCE.
Some news items you might have missed: • The Gaily Grind: The U.S. House unanimously passed a bill Friday that would establish the Pulse nightclub in Orlando as a national memorial site, four years after a gunman opened fire on hundreds of people inside the club, killing 49 LGBTQ Americans and wounding dozens more. • Texas Tribune: Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday expressed regret for the first time about the reopening process he spearheaded during the coronavirus pandemic, saying he should not have allowed bars to open as quickly. “If I could go back and redo anything, it probably would have been to slow down the opening of bars, now seeing in the aftermath of how quickly the coronavirus spread in the bar setting,” Abbott said. • New Music: The late Harry Hains, a compelling musician, actor (best known for American Horror Story, The OA) as well as artist and model, didn’t define himself by the constructs surrounding us, and his concept of ANTIBOY offers a portal into an age of existence where there is complete unparalleled freedom to live without preconceptions and societal labels. At a time when society is rising up to break down old systems and demanding equality for all, Harry’s personal perspective of the intersection of sexuality, gender, race, and self-expression endures because of its cultural relevance.
• NY Times: In the middle of a world-wide pandemic, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court late Thursday to overturn the Affordable Care Act — a move that, if successful, would bring a permanent end to the health insurance program popularly known as Obamacare and wipe out coverage for as many as 23 million Americans. • NPR: Donald Trump’s disapproval numbers are at an all-time high, according to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll. Trump’s approval rating sits at just 40% overall, while a record 58% disapprove. What’s more, a whopping 49% of voters “strongly disapprove” of the job Trump is doing. That kind of intensity of disapproval is a record never before seen for this president or any past one. • Twitter: Add another musical group not having Donald Trump use their music at his rallies. Brendon Urie, lead singer for Panic! At The Disco, made it short and sweet in tweeting his disgust at the Trump campaign for using one his band’s song during its MAGA rally in Phoenix this week. “Dear Trump campaign,” Urie wrote on Twitter. “F*ck you. You’re not invited. Stop playing my song. No thanks, Brendon Urie, Panic! At The Disco & company.”
Dear Trump Campaign,
Fuck you. You’re not invited. Stop playing my song. No thanks, Brendon Urie, Panic! At The Disco & company. — Brendon Urie (@brendonurie) June 24, 2020
Emmy/Grammy/Tony Award winner Billy Porter drops this disco-tastic new track, “Finally Ready.” Porter describes the collaboration with The Shapeshifters as “a declaration of Pride, of breaking free from past traumas to take a chance on love.” Cinematic strings, live horns and Billy’s unmistakably powerful voice create a sonic dancescape complete with a message of Pride via Billy’s joyful lyrics. “Finally Ready” hits on so many levels for me,” says the Pose star. “First, being ‘finally ready’ to experience what real love is. And thankfully, I have somebody who loves me enough to love me through trauma, to be present, and allow me to grow, into this.” “I’m also ‘finally ready’ to be who I am, who I’ve always been,” he adds. “It has been a rough road, I’ve been through so many changes, but I always kept the faith and now I’m here.” “And lastly, I’ve made a lot of different kinds of music – R&B, show tunes, ballads. But it should come as no surprise to anyone at all that disco is in my blood! I love to feel sparkly and have that light shine back into the audience. So, yes, I am ‘finally ready’ to make a classic disco record.” “Now, let’s dance!”
Some news items you might have missed: • Queerty: The sugar baby of a retired priest says he grieved for two days before collecting his roughly £260,000 ($330,000) inheritance. Now he’s insisting he is not a gold digger. • Australia: My hubby Michael recently helped coordinate pop icon Olivia Newton-John taking part in this terrific video (below) of unity from Australia and all the Aussies banding together to get to the other side of the COVID-19 crisis.
• NBC News: Despite massive problems at the voting booth, Democratic turnout in Georgia’s primaries skyrocketed — with three times as many votes cast in the Senate primary as in 2016. With 91 percent of the vote in as of Friday, nearly 960,000 voters had cast ballots in the Democratic Senate primary race won by Jon Ossoff, compared to 310,000 who voted in the Senate primary in 2016. • Out Music: Grammy/Emmy/Tony Award winner Billy Porter drops “For What It’s Worth (King Garbage Remix)” today. Porter released his acclaimed cover version of the classic Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth” on April 24 as a means to encourage and support voter registration and voter initiatives across the country. In light of recent events, the song is now organically taking on its original intent as the ultimate protest anthem.
• AP News: Joe Biden’s search for a running mate has apparently been whittled down to as few as six serious contenders after initial interviews. Those still in contention include Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Kamala Harris of California, as well as Susan Rice, who served as President Barack Obama’s national security adviser. Also in contention are Florida Rep. Val Demings and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. • Twitter: The legendary Liza Minnelli will outlive us all. If you don’t know it, make sure to check out this humorous Twitter account humor account, curated with love by Scott Gorenstein, of all the people, trends and pop culture references the diva Liza has outlived.
Liza Minnelli has outlived displaying the Confederate flag at NASCAR events and properties. The ban on the flag is an extraordinary move from #NASCAR which traces its roots—and a large amount of its fanbase – to the Deep South where fans routinely display the flag on race day.
— LizaMinnelliOutlives (@LiZaOutlives) June 11, 2020
Liza Minnelli has outlived the Minneapolis Police Department after a veto-proof City Council announced their intent to disband the department and invest in proven community-led public safety.#MinneapolisPoliceDisbandmentParty#PoliceReformNow
— LizaMinnelliOutlives (@LiZaOutlives) June 7, 2020
Liza Minnelli has outlived the career of Rep. Steve King who lost the Republican primary. King is a racist whose remarks made him one of the most controversial politicians in the country and a pariah within the Republican Party. #SteveKingpic.twitter.com/BuBv842axt
— LizaMinnelliOutlives (@LiZaOutlives) June 3, 2020
Liza Minnelli has outlived the Copacabana, the world-famous NYC nightclub.
— LizaMinnelliOutlives (@LiZaOutlives) May 27, 2020
In this week’s podcast: • Billy Porter shares his ‘Message to America’ Link to full video here (warning – strong language) • A federal judge issued an important ruling for same-sex married couples • Audible produces a free series of coming out stories titled, Coming Out Party: A Pride Celebration. Click here for more info. • Veteran gay journalist Thomas Roberts has announced a free daily news show featuring ‘gay good news’ titled, Thomas Roberts Live at 5 • The Village People have had enough of Donald Trump • The co-writer/producer of Diana Ross’s “I’m Coming Out” shares a revealing story about the song’s iconic queer history All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report.
Billy Porter has a ‘Message to America’ Tony/Grammy/Emmy Award-winner Billy Porter took to Instagram this week to share his candid, and sometimes blistering, “Message to America.” Porter, who doesn’t demure from expressing his opinions, begins by calling out white Americans who continue to deny systemic racism in the United States. The Pose star then shifts his attention to the African-American community noting the violence committed by black men against LGBTQ people, especially transgender women of color. “My basic human rights have been up for legislation every single day that I have had breath in my body from all sides,” says Porter. “And by that, I mean that the black community’s relationship with the LGBTQ+ community is appalling at best and eerily similar to that of white supremacists versus black folk.” “Hear me, black people, and hear me well – I’m calling you out right here and right now,” he continued. “You cannot expect our demands of equality to be met with any real legislative policy and change when y’all turn around and inflict the same kind of hate and oppression on us. The tragic reality here is that black trans, as well as gender non-conforming, women and men are being killed in the United States by cis black men to such a degree that it is nearly the worst emergency for trans women on the planet.” “The murders of black trans women by black men since 2016 have helped drive the most violent period for LGBTQ+ people on record,” he added. “Just this past week, during the riots, during the peaceful protests, Iyonna Dior was brutally beaten by a gang of black men while trying to peacefully protests for our rights.” “LGBTQ+ black folks are black people, too! Our lives matter, too! So this is my response to those of y’all who don’t understand that: F*ck you! And, yes, I am cussing. It’s time for cussing.” Speaking to “all my homophobic and transphobic brothers and sisters,” Porter was clear and direct in his message: “Get your f*cking houses in order.” Porter’s remarks refer to a transwoman, Iyonna Dior, who was beaten by a group of more than 20 men by a group of onlookers. She managed to escape, though not before sustaining heavy bruising and swelling. The actor also addressed the upcoming presidential election in no uncertain terms: “We have two clear choices in November: vote this motherf*cker and all his cronies out of office, reset, and begin the American experiment again at zero, or not.” “In November, this election is the most important that we’ve ever seen in our lifetime. Democracy is on the ballot. White supremacy is on the ballot. Homophobia, women’s rights, trans rights, Muslim rights, all human rights all on the ballot this November, and I ask you America: will we be better than this? I guess we’ll know the answer come November.” “It’s time for change, and this time, change for good,” said Porter in closing. “Vote, vote, vote, vote,” he says, his passionate voice rising with emotion. “God bless you all, and God bless the United States of America.”
L-R Dyllon Burnside, Billy Porter (screen capture) As Pride Month 2020 has begun amid ongoing concerns for dealing with the COVID-19 health threat, this certainly would be a good time to serve up a new season of the critically-acclaimed FX series Pose. But alas, while the first two seasons of the diverse, queer-themed series premiered in time for Pride, this year we are without our fix of ballroom fierceness as production was shut down early in the coronavirus pandemic. Series star Indya Moore, who plays aspiring model ‘Angel Evangelista,’ recently told Variety, “When production paused, I wasn’t shocked — I knew it would happen — but it was a bittersweet moment for me.” “On the one hand, if anyone had gotten sick, it surely would have spread fast,” they added. “On the other hand, most folks working on a production are living paycheck to paycheck. So I was worried about how they are going to survive.” Co-creator Steven Canals shared with the venerable Hollywood outlet that the show will definitely return – it was renewed for Season 3 after just one episode of the second season had aired – but how the storytelling is handled may shift.
“Things like kissing — we will likely forgo those moments,” said Canals. “The place on our show where the biggest impact will be felt will be the ball scenes,” he added referring to the massive number of background actors featured in the dance sequences. “Those scenes have 125 to 150 background actors,” explained Canals. “That’s tricky because that’s such an important and critical part of our show and the narrative. We’re just, only now, having conversations of ‘Is there a world where we forgo these things?’”
Canals shares that the entire season hadn’t been fully scripted yet when the production shut down. “I haven’t had anybody reach out asking for those scripts,” said Canals. “It’s all been about family and really caring for each other’s well-being.” But Canals does guarantee there will be another season of Pose, and one that will put the powerful LGBTQ politics of the series “upfront and center,” where they always have been. “So in terms of the narrative of Season 3 and the way we’re moving forward, I think it will inherently address what’s happening currently with COVID-19,” adds the openly queer screenwriter. “All of that was already baked into the DNA of the show.” It’s hard to imagine the series without the now-iconic ballroom scenes depicting so much LGBTQ tribal pride. Or groundbreaking love scenes between Emmy Award-winner Billy Porter’s ‘Pray Tell’ and Dyllon Burnside’s ‘Ricky Evangelista.’ But trust and believe, the creative powers that brought us the most diverse LGBTQ cast of actors and writers will find a way. Season 1 of Pose is currently available on Netflix with Season 2 joining the lineup on the streaming platform on June 11.
A man asks sex advice columnist if isolation could make him gay (stock image) Some news items you might have missed: • Chicago Tribune: A 32-year-old man wrote to sex advice columnist Anna Pulley to ask if being isolated during the COVID-19 pandemic could be responsible for developing a sexual attraction to men. • KSTP: Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has called for the police officer involved in the incident that led to the death of George Floyd to be arrested. Floyd was pronounced dead Monday night after he was taken into custody by police in south Minneapolis. A video that was circulated online shows an officer holding his knee on the back of Floyd’s neck for several minutes. • The Lincoln Project: As the COVID-19 death toll crossed the 100,000 mark in the U.S. today, the conservative anti-Trump group The Lincoln Project released a new campaign ad criticizing the Donald’s handling of the coronavirus health threat. The spot features Trump announcing on February 26 that “You have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero.” As his words echo, a shot of seven body bags slowly pulls back to reveal thousands.
• Out: NBA great Dwyane Wade and his daughter Zaya were celebrating this weekend by posting pics on social media of their matching bright red-dyed hair. It was yet another way the Hall of Fame parent is supporting and empowering his teenage trans child. • Hollywood Reporter: California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing has filed a lawsuit against the executive producers of the CBS series Criminal Minds, Disney and the network itself. The filing alleges multiple instances of sexual touching by Gregory St. Johns, a director of photography on the show. According to the lawsuit, over a dozen male employees were fired at the request of St. Johns when they complained or didn’t respond to his behavior which included butt slaps and pinches. • EXTRA: Pose star Billy Porter shares that quarantining with his husband Adam Smith has been “a very deepening time for our relationship.” Along with expressing the importance of self-care, Porter added, “I am mentally solid, I have been going through some trauma therapy that’s really intense.”
During former Vice President Joe Biden’s streaming event on Saturday celebrating the one-year anniversary of his entry into the 2020 presidential race, Emmy/Tony/Grammy Award winner Billy Porter premiered the lyric video for his new single, “For What It’s Worth.” Biden’s “Soul of a Nation” event encouraged supporters to take action to help support their local communities as well as thanking front line essential workers and first responders. It was a theme of community that inspired Porter to record the ubiquitous classic: “I decided to record ‘For What It’s Worth’ because I wanted to have my art and my music matter, make a difference. I come from the generation where the music reflected what was going on in the world. I wanted to have a hand in bringing that back and speaking truth directly to power.” Tying into the theme of Biden’s event, Porter called for citizens to make sure they are registered to vote and then do so in November. “Our voices and our votes matter now more than ever,” said Porter. “I’m not going to tell you who to vote for, I just want you to vote. I, personally, will be casting my vote for Joe Biden.” You can register to vote by clicking here. For the song’s video, Porter turned to artist Kameron Neal to create a compelling and important piece of visual art. “This lyric video is EVERYTHING!,” said Porter. “Kameron Neal did an amazing job of capturing the right tone with the right imagery, usage of color, the interesting typography, and the reference to the classic Selma to Montgomery March photo. When I saw the final version, I cried.”
In this week’s headlines: • A new lawsuit challenges Virginia’s new law banning LGBTQ discrimination • Atlanta’s gay nightclub Heretic shut down over COVID-19 diagnoses after a sweaty dance party • A pro football player’s homophobic Twitter rant backfires bigtime • A small town council refused to recognize Pride Month, so activists staged a ‘Pride Ambush’ • Billy Porter breaks down another barrier as he becomes the first out Black man to cover ESSENCE Magazine Plus, new music from out UK singer Paul Middleton “When Love Takes Over” All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report 
Tying into the theme of Biden’s event, Porter called for citizens to make sure they are registered to vote and then do so in November. “Our voices and our votes matter now more than ever,” said Porter. “I’m not going to tell you who to vote for, I just want you to vote. I, personally, will be casting my vote for Joe Biden.” You can register to vote