LGBTQ news and entertainment
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From UpWorthy: Syndicated columnist Amy Dickinson received a letter from a parent who felt “betrayed” that their son “will not stop being gay.”
“Ask Amy” gives an incredible response that certainly made me laugh.
We may have people who believe crappy things like this parent, but we also have awesome people like Amy who offer sarcasm mixed with important real talk to highlight the ridiculousness of their homophobic views.
Bravo Amy Dickinson!
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Last night’s episode of Big Brother saw 22-year-old Texas college student Aaryn Gries evicted from the house in a unanimous vote. Gries’s gameplay was overshadowed by the racist and homophobic comments she made earlier this season that were recorded on the show’s live feeds.
Gries initially attempted to sweep the issue under the rug by saying her comments were “taken completely out of context,” but host Julie Chen pulled no punches in grilling Gries during the exit interview:
CHEN: “We want to point out everyone in the house went in knowing that everything they say, everything they do gets broadcast live on the internet. So when you say the intention was not to hurt anyone, let me just read back some of the things you said. Referring to [African-American contestant] Candice, you said ‘Be careful what you say in the dark, you might not see the b*tch.’ Referring to [Asian-American contestant] Helen, you said ‘Shut up, go make some rice.’ Referring to [openly gay contestant] Andy, you said “No one is going to vote for whoever that queer puts up.” Can you see how those things could be interpreted as racist and as homophobic?”
GRIES: “I do, but I do not remember saying those things [audience laughs]. And those things were not meant to be serious and if I said those things I feel horrible for that and I regret that. I don’t even know what else to say about that…
It’s actually kind of fascinating to watch the clip below as Gries reacts to Chen’s questions. Her breathing starts to get heavy as she hears her own words tossed back her way. Her convenient amnesia is almost sad.
I grew up in Texas – I know this animal. “If I said those thing…” Wow. IF. As though Julie Chen were making it up.
Towards the end of the interview, however, Gries seems to finally understand the gravity of her situation:
“I honestly feel horrible. I feel like, in Texas we say things that are, sometimes we joke and we don’t mean it and I really feel bad that this is how its being seen and how I’ve come across to people. I don’t want to seem like that person and I really do respect everyone in this game although we’ve had some hard times cause we’re all fighting for our lives in the game.”
Because Gries is heading to the jury house portion of the game, she was not informed of her newly minted unemployment status as a result of the statements.
(via Towleroad)
On The Talk today, Julie Chen, host of CBS’ Big Brother discussed the recent spate of racist and homophobic remarks happening on the hit reality show:
“When I first found out that Aaryn, who is a 22-year-old girl, made anti-gay, anti-black, and anti-Asian comments, I have to be honest, you know… the Asian ones hit me the most. I heard about her describing Asians as ‘squinty-eyed’ and ‘go make a bowl of rice.’ She said that about Helen, who is Chinese and in the house. It stung. I took it personally. I’m a human being.
“And the really sad part was, it took me back to the 70’s when I was growing up in Queens and when I was 7 years old getting bullied, being called a ‘chink’, and people pulling their eyes. But it took me back so many years, and I thought to myself, ‘Wow, I haven’t heard comments like that’ — year is 2013. And then I felt ignorant. There are still people in the country who feel that way and act that way? Yes there is, yes there is. And afterwards, it just made me sad because she’s 22 and she’s college educated.”
Chen says that CBS made the decision to air the remarks because it is now developing into a storyline of sorts on Big Brother:
“CBS and Big Brother showed it because it is now driving a story. It is now affecting how the other players want to see her gone. You know, if it didn’t drive story, and it didn’t have a dynamic on what it is to the elements of the game, it maybe, you can’t just put it in there and say, ‘Judge her, everybody.’ It has to have to do with the game and the rules of the game…She and the other houseguests have no idea that it has made national headlines.”
(h/t Towleroad)
Poland’s first openly gay MP Robert Biedron was the victim of a homophobic attack after a Gay Pride parade on Saturday in Warsaw.
From Polskie Radio:
Biedron said that the attack took place in a cafe in central Warsaw where the MP was relaxing with a group of friends following the march.
“An aggressive man insulted us, using homophobic statements. He began to choke one of my friends and punched him in the face. “When he recognized me he spat in my face, raised his fists and and kicked me in the stomach,” the MP said.
According to Biedron, the assailant then ran away but was arrested shortly afterwards.
Meanwhile, Biedron noted that the march itself had been considerably less problematic this year. The MP stressed that there were no signs of stones or bottles being thrown at marchers on Saturday, in contrast to some previous occasions.
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| Nevada Congressman Joe Heck |
Joey Heck, the 16-year-old son of Nevada Rep. Joe Heck referred to President Obama as a “f—-t” and “n—a”, praising former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney for making the Democrat “his slave” during a 2012 presidential debate.
The Nevada teen, who just finished the 10th grade, said “Romney raped Obama” in a presidential debate and lauded the former Republican candidate for making the Democrat “his slave,” according to BuzzFeed.
“Crack that whip Romney,” Heck wrote last year in another message. Yet another post skewered Obama, indicating all he could do was “spear chucking and rock skipping. The sports they do in his home country.”
Homophobic messages also populated his Twitter account.
“There are gays everywhere. Maybe that’s gods way of thinning out the population because f—-ts can’t have babies,” he posted in a retweeted message.
Congressman Heck released a statement saying “that type of language has never been permitted in our home,” of the messages posted on Twitter by the youngest of his three children.
“My son also apologizes for his insensitive behavior. My wife and I have addressed this family matter directly with him and he has learned from it,” the boy’s father, 51, added.
Joey’s tweets were made public shortly after news broke of homophobic, racist and anti-Semitic social media postings from Tanner Flake, the teenage son of Republican Sen. Jeff Flake.
The Arizona Republican similarly said that he was disappointed in his son and offered assurances that his son had apologized.
(via NY Daily News)
Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) apologized today after offensive statements on his teenage son’s social media accounts were uncovered by Buzzfeed.
Sen. Jeff Flake’s high school-aged son Tanner used twitter to threaten the “faggot” who stole his bike that he “will find you, and … will beat the crap out of you,” joked about an acquaintance stealing one-liners because he’s Jewish, and went by the name “n1ggerkiller” in an online game.
Another message said “I’m down to own some faggots.”
Said Flake to Buzzfeed:
“I’m very disappointed in my teenage son’s words, and I sincerely apologize for the insensitivity. This language is unacceptable, anywhere. Needless to say, I’ve already spoken with him about this, he has apologized, and I apologize as well.”
Flake’s son’s YouTube comments contain the same slurs, and also “called Mexicans the ‘scum of the Earth’ and on several occasions bragged that his father is a member of Congress. Here are a few more samples of Tanner Flakes YouTube comments:
“you faggot retard pussy piece of crap i hope you die in a hole slowly and painfully”
“you gay fag ni**er go shoot yourself because no body likes you”
“Mexicans are the scum of the earth.”
“Then some ni**er started rapping and I looked at her album art and saw that it was Flo Rida.”
“IT’S THE NI**ER FAMILY!!!!”
“Stupid little ni**er”
“go die in a hole you stupid ni**er”
“The black guy always fails first…”
“Yes, because one white dude goes nuts. No. Black people do crap like this all of the time.”
“When he called himself a cheap jew i loled hard”
Find more examples over on Buzzfeed.