CNN reports that Bud Light will sell rainbow-colored aluminum bottles in bars nationwide for Pride Month 2019.
For each case of beer sold, Bud Light will donate $1 to GLAAD.
The rainbow bottles are among Pride Month actions the company is taking this year with GLAAD. It’s also a sponsor of the Governors Ball Music Festival May 31-June 2 in New York and will host an all-LGBT lineup of performers on its own stage.
The company’s support of the LGBT community dates back to the 1980s, said Andy Goeler, vice president of marketing, in a news release.
“The way we see it, our beer is for everyone to enjoy,” Goeler said. “With the release of these new bottles, we hope to create something that everyone can feel proud to hold during Pride month.”
Pride month is celebrated each June. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the riots at New York’s Stonewall Inn that launched the gay rights movement.
“Bud Light stood with the community at a time when many brands did not, and their continued outspoken support sets the bar for other global brands,” Zeke Stokes, GLAAD’s chief programs officer, said in a new release.
• An openly gay congressman who is a political opponent of anti-LGBT Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is leaving his job and the country amid death threats.
• In a ‘Hold my Dom Pérignon’ moment, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross (who is a billionaire) says he doesn’t understand why federal workers not getting paid during the Trump shutdown don’t just ‘take out loans’ to feed their families. #clueless
And this is billionaire Wilbur Ross saying he doesn’t understand why federal workers not getting paid during the #TrumpShutdown don’t just take out loans *to feed their families*.
• The Trump Administration has waived anti-discrimination requirements for a federally-funded child welfare agency in South Carolina opening the door for discrimination of LGBTQ and non-Christian people who may be seeking to foster or adopt.
• Citing the recent article in The Atlantic regarding allegations of sexual abuse against director Bryan Singer, GLAAD has made the decision to remove Bohemian Rhapsody from contention for a GLAAD Media Award in the ‘Outstanding Film – Wide Release’ category this year.
• Dido has shared a gorgeous live rendition of her new single “Give You Up,” from her first album in five years, Still On My Mind, out March 8th.
Dido describes the track as “a good break up song, where you’ve been hurt but feel strong.”
“It’s that point in a relationship where you are pulling yourself out of the gutter and deciding that it’s their loss,” she adds. “Which I can totally relate to.”
GLAAD recently released its 14th annual Where We Are on TVreport; a comprehensive forecast of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer (LGBTQ) characters expected in primetime scripted programming in the 2018-19 television season.
This is the 23rd year GLAAD has tracked the presence of LGBTQ characters on television.
First time since GLAAD began tracking these statistics, there are more LGBTQ people of color (50%) than white LGBTQ people (49%) on broadcast television.
Of the 857 regular characters on broadcast scripted primetime programming, 75 identified as LGBTQ. Additionally, there were 38 recurring LGBTQ characters.
Netflix had the highest number of LGBTQ characters on streaming platforms, and FX was the top cable network thanks to this year’s LGBTQ-themed series Pose and The Assassination of Gianni Versace.
It’s great to hit record highs, but GLAAD is pushing for even more visibility on television with a 2-year goal of 10% of series regular characters on primetime broadcast television being LGBTQ.
While the LGBTQ community was giddy over the success of gay-themed Call Me By Your Name at this year’s Academy Awards where James Ivory won the Oscar for “Best Screenplay,” a new study shows depictions of LGBTQ characters in movies released by major studios last year actually declined.
LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD took a look at the 109 films released by major studios in 2017. And in issuing their annual Studio Responsibility Index found that gay, lesbian, bi, trans and queer characters appeared in only 14 films (12.8%).
That marks a precipitous drop from the 18.4% of major studio films found to be inclusive in 2016. Indeed, this is the lowest percentage of films featuring LGBTQ characters since GLAAD began reporting on the issue in 2012.
Additionally, GLAAD notes that many of the gay characters in 2017 films were barely seen on screen. Looking at the 14 films that included LGBTQ characters, in half of them the LGBTQ characters had less than five minutes of screen time.
There was some good news to report: diversity increased as 16 of the 28 LGBT-identified characters were people of color. That makes for 57% of the total characters in 2017 versus only 20% in 2016.
It’s important to note that the report did not include the LGBTQ representation in the films released by the smaller, boutique labels like Sony Pictures Classics, which produced Call Me By Your Name, and Fox Searchlight, which served up the Billie Jean King/Bobby Riggs redux, Battle of the Sexes.
When you add those outlets to other similar offices – like Universal’s Focus and Lionsgate affiliate Roadside Attractions – to the mix, you do get a more diverse, inclusive result.
Of the 40 films released by those labels in 2017, 28% contained LGBTQ characters, which is almost double the 17% in 2016.
In a recent interview with Time Out London, Sir Ian McKellen spoke about the lack of LGBTQ representation in Hollywood:
“Well, nobody looks to Hollywood for social commentary, do they? They only recently discovered that there were black people in the world. Hollywood has mistreated women in every possible way throughout its history. Gay men don’t exist. Gods and Monsters [1998], I think, was the beginning of Hollywood admitting that there were gay people knocking around, even though half of Hollywood is gay.”
• Model Nick Sandell spent time at the beach; I was stuck in my office watching the sun go by. By the time I got done with work, the dang clouds had rolled in 🙁
• Andy Warhol’s iconic Interview Magazine has shuttered. Employees were told today at an “all-hands meeting” that the magazine had folded.
• A proposal to include discussions on the topics of transgender, sexual orientation and sexual identity in Fort Worth, Texas, public schools has found it’s protesters.
• As other states are trying to limit LGBTs ability to adopt or foster homeless children, Connecticut is actively trying to recruit members of the community to participate in adoption/fostering.
• Pope Francis told a gay man that God made him exactly as he is, and that God loves him just as he is.
• Alabama Senator Doug Jones has become the 46th co-sponsor to The Equality Act, which seeks to add ‘sexual orientation and gender identity’ protections to existing civil rights laws. Jones says his (hottie) openly gay son Carson’s coming out helped shape his political views on LGBTQ rights.
• Amazon video just got that much more gay as the streaming giant has just added dozens and dozens of LGBTQ films that screened at Outfest in L.A. to Amazon Prime.
• A recent report by Goldman Sachs analysts pointed out that curing diseases doesn’t make nearly as much money for Pharma companies as creating drugs that treat (but don’t cure) chronic illnesses. The statement adds fuel to the conspiracy theory that should cures for diseases like AIDS might be discovered, they might be withheld in favor of “treatment” drugs.
• The Maine House of Representatives has approved legislation that would protect LGBTQ youth from so-called “ex-gay therapy.”
• It appears Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, liked to record conversations with associates. Folks in TrumpLand are worried some of those recordings which might have been included in the Monday raid on Cohen’s offices, contain material damaging to Trump.
• Olympian Adam Rippon opened last night’s GLAAD Media Awards by calling his bestie Gus Kenworthy onstage and explaining, “I’ve had such a big year, but my biggest achievement so far is finally getting Gus to come out of his shell. Four years ago he was afraid to kiss his boyfriend after he won silver in Sochi. Now, he’s unleashed.”
Gus agreed saying, “Literally, I’ll kiss anybody.” And with that laid a big smooch on Adam.
GLAAD has announced Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons will be honored with the Stephen F. Kolzak Award at the 29th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles.
Via press release:
GLAAD’s Stephen F. Kolzak Award is presented to an LGBTQ media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting LGBTQ acceptance. Previous recipients include Laverne Cox, Ellen DeGeneres, Wanda Sykes, Ruby Rose, Troye Sivan, Chaz Bono and Sir Ian McKellen.
Jim Parsons is a four-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner who has become a fan favorite for his role as Sheldon Cooper in the long-running sitcom The Big Bang Theory.
Parsons will next appear on Broadway in the revival of the iconic comic drama The Boys in the Band which opens on May 31, 2018. The landmark 1968 play was a theatrical game-changer with its focus on a group of gay men in New York City who gather for a friend’s birthday party. Parsons co-stars with Matt Bomer, Zachary Quinto, Andrew Rannells, Robin de Jesús, and, Michael Benjamin Washington in the highly anticipated production.
GLAAD announced today that pop superstar Britney Spears will be honored with this year’s Vanguard Award at the 29th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles on April 12.
Via press release:
GLAAD’s Vanguard Award is presented to media professionals who have made a significant difference in promoting equality and acceptance of LGBTQ people. Previous honorees include Jennifer Lopez, Cher, Kerry Washington, Elizabeth Taylor, Whoopi Goldberg, Drew Barrymore, Janet Jackson, Demi Lovato, and Patricia Arquette.
Britney Spears is a multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning pop icon, and one of the most successful and celebrated entertainers in pop history with more than 100 million records sold worldwide. Spears is a longtime ally and supporter of the LGBTQ community. She has reliably stood up for LGBTQ youth on GLAAD’s Spirit Day by going purple on social media to speak out against bullying. In 2017, Spears was among 140 entertainers including Jennifer Lawrence, Ariana Grande, and Laverne Cox to speak out in an open letter against two anti-LGBTQ bills which targeted transgender youth in Texas and were later defeated.
Spears has a legacy of embracing her LGBTQ fans. Most recently, Spears penned a heartwarming love letter to the LGBTQ community with Billboard Pride in which she shared that the community’s unwavering loyalty and acceptance both uplift and inspire her. “I have a secret to share with you,” Spears wrote. “You see it’s actually you that lifts me up. The unwavering loyalty. The lack of judgment. The unapologetic truth. Acceptance! Your stories are what inspire me, bring me joy, and make me and my sons strive to be better people.”
For information on how you can attend this year’s GLAAD Media Awards, visit glaad.org/mediaawards.
• Well hello there, Jared Techau (above). Fortunately for his Instagram followers, the University of Kentucky grad is dating photographer Brian Kaminski who’s on his gig capturing Techau regularly.
• An organization that delivers meals to people with HIV/AIDS in hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico has been without electricity for more than two months.
• A new Fox News poll shows Democrat Doug Jones leading in the Alabama Senate race against embattled Republican Roy Moore 50%-42%.
• A federal judge has declared a mistrial in New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez’s corruption case due to a deadlocked jury. Republicans were looking for a guilty verdict in hopes GOP Gov. Chris Christie would get to appoint a replacement before he leaves office.
• GLAAD has teamed up with gay songwriter/activist Justin Tranter to create a PSA Calling for more LGBTQ inclusion in music. The video features a wide range of folks from RuPaul to country songwriter Shane McAnally and members of the Los Angeles Trans Chorus. Watch below.
Tony Award winner Billy Porter at the 28th Annual GLAAD Media Awards
In accepting GLAAD’s Vito Russo Award at the 28th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York City on May 6, my man Billy Porter preached to the people about being silenced, remembered those who fought for equality before us, and issued a powerful call to unite against forces that try to discriminate and divide people.
I’ve known the Tony Award winner (Kinky Boots) for almost 30 years, and this is prime “Billy.”
Get your war clothes on, people. Stay strong. Stay vigilant. Stay visible. Stay hopeful. Stay focused. Be brave. Be fierce.
Resist. Resist. Resist. Resist. Resist.
I recently interviewed him about his fantastic new album, Billy Porter Presents the Soul of Richard Rodgers, and halfway through the interview Billy connected the dots between his music and his activism. And we were off!
I, of course, could not have been more thrilled. Check out that interview on my podcast over on iTunes.
