Tag: homophobic

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Gay Man Loses Front Teeth In Homophobic Attack Over Pride Flag

Tom Anderson (screen capture via Boston 25 News)
A gay man in the southeastern Massachusetts town of Taunton was attacked in his own front yard in late June for hanging a rainbow Pride flag. Tom Anderson told local news affiliate Boston 25 News he and his husband Jacob had the flag up for only an hour when a random driver by stopped his car, got out and attacked him. As the man approached, Anderson says he cursed at him, using homophobic slurs and punched him in the face. “I was kind of in a state of disbelief like ‘Really? I’m in my own yard,’” Anderson told the news outlet. “I saw the guy just come up and yell those nasty words at my husband and then hit him two or three times and then took off back into his car and screeched away,” said Jacob Anderson, Tom’s husband. As a result of the attack, Tom lost his two front teeth and required several stitches to close his wounds.
(screen capture)
“It’s definitely a hate crime just based on the words he used,” Jacob added. The couple says another person passing by witnessed the attack and stopped to help them. The local police were called and given a description of the man and his car but no word yet on if the attacker has been found. Taunton Police say the investigation is ongoing. Tom says his concern is that people may think “this is okay to do.” Still, the Andersons share their community has been “amazing.” Since the incident, they’ve seen an outpouring of support from friends, neighbors, co-workers, and even strangers. The couple, who have been married nine years, say they’ve even received a home security system as a gift. And instead of becoming fearful in the aftermath of the attack, Tom says he has no plans to stop flying his Pride flag. In fact, he says, “I want to just keep it up all year long now.” (source: Boston 25 News)

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Viral Video: Homophobic ‘Karen’ Goes Full-On Anti-Grindr

Oh, lord have mercy, ‘Karens’ gonna ‘Karen’… This homophobic Karen caught on video in a Toronto shopping mall parking lot goes full-on anti-Grindr as she calls out “punks” and “young people” for recording inhabitants of the Karen-verse. It’s not clear how the incident began, but from the start of the video clip shared on Twitter, ‘Karen’ has parked her non-electric Hyundai Elantra at a charging station. From the beginning, ‘Karen’ is irritated by the presence of the camera recording her as she slaps her broadside announcing, “Take this!” Heading back to her car, the woman announces she’s going to record her own video as well grousing about “punks who think they own the world and can do what they want.” At this point, security guards have noticed ‘Karen’ parking in the wrong spot and approach her, but she dismisses them because “I have to do my video.” Turning to the person recording the episode, the woman unloads. “You’re disgusting and I’m so sick of these young people who think they’re all that,” she declares. “Here you go, sweetheart, let’s test you.” (Hand on hip, hand off hip) “My goodness, nothing better to do with your time, because this is what your generation does,” she says before making an odd observation: “You go on Grindr and do hookups. You show every part of your body, and you have no self-respect. Oh my goodness, none whatsoever.” At that point, one of the security guards tries to step in again, but ‘Karen’ is on a roll. “He! He comes and tells me what I can do,” she announces to the security guard. “He’s not my boss.” The guard points to a sign attached to the top of the electric charging station indicating the space is reserved for ELECTRIC CARS, but to no avail. “Oh well, I’m sorry – I can’t see. I can’t see,” she demures. “Need to make it bigger! Bigger!” As she climbs into her car, she tells the person recording, “Yours goes up, mine goes up, and it WILL have a lot to say!” In that the Grindr reference was so out of left-field, some folks in the Twitterverse asked why ‘Karen’ had to drag the gays wondering if she’d caught her husband cheating on the gay dating app. Others inquired as to who does her choreography because her ‘Karen-isms’ were so on point.

But this had to be my favorite shade thrown, LOL…

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News Round-Up: June 8, 2020

Fitness guru Joel Green (via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Woofy Joel Green (above) offers some good advice this Monday – ‘Do not give your past the power to define your future.’ Follow him on Instagram here. • Amazon Prime: The streaming video platform has curated a collection of LGBTQ films, documentaries, and television series all in one place for you to peruse including Rocketman, The Handmaiden, The L Word, RuPaul’s Drag Race and more. • Provincetown: The Massachusetts LGBTQ getaway is open for business just in time for Pride Month. The announcement by Governor Charlie Baker of Phase 2 of the reopening, effective today, allows lodging, restaurants, and retail to open under newly eased and specific guidelines mandated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
(image via Provincetown Instagram)
• Out: Oregon State Head Coach Jonathan Smith dismissed sophomore football player Rocco Carley after learning he’d used racist and homophobic language in a recently discovered audio recording. Smith, along with the school’s Athletic Director Scott Barnes, agreed on booting Carley from the team saying what they heard was “entirely unacceptable, regardless of the circumstance or environment.” Carley has issued an apology saying – like just about everyone who finds themselves in this predicament – the recording doesn’t ‘represent’ who he is today. • The Advocate: L.A. Pride organizers have stepped away from the previously announced Black solidarity march after the event came under fire for its involvement with law enforcement. Some activists noted that any partnership with cops is counterintuitive to the purpose of the protests taking place in response to the killing of George Floyd, police brutality, and race-based violence. Pride organizers say they are “in full support” of the new protest, which is now named the All Black Lives Matter March. • New Music: Dig the super-catchy new single from pop-rock band Neon Trees, “New Best Friend,” from the band’s upcoming album, I Can Feel You Forgetting Me. “They call me crazy, but crazy’s my new best friend.” “’New Best Friend’ is about embracing the crazy that lives within all of us,” shared out frontman Tyler Glenn. “The nostalgic highs, the unflattering lows, and the beautiful messiness of being human. I’ve realized that there are memories with people that have come and gone in my life, and while I reminisce on those moments, ultimately at the end of the day I’m still left with myself.”

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Vandals Burn ‘FAG’ Into The Front Lawn Of Ohio Gay Couple

(image via Facebook)
Bradley O’Dell and his fiancé Mike Stone were recently stunned to see someone had used chemicals to burn a homophobic slur into their front lawn. The couple told local news station WHIO that they’ve lived in their home in Arcanum, Darke County, for about a year. “I grew up in this town,” said O’Dell. “I moved back for a reason and that’s because I know this community as a whole is great.” But on May 22nd, Stone says he walked outside to find someone had burned the homophobic slur ‘F*G’ into the grass in their front yard. “I never in a million years thought I would see that in my front yard,” Stone said. “I’m angry, I don’t understand. But, as a gay man, I feel like I’ve gone through this before. It’s almost like it comes with the territory.”

“Am I pissed? Livid like you’ve probably never seen me,” wrote Stone in a Facebook post. “Did I go right ahead and mow that sh*t down and go about my day? After filing a police report and finding out many of our neighbors have security cameras that cover our block, you flippin bet I did.” Adding that the couple refuses to let an act of “small-minded ignorance” be allowed to bring negativity into their lives, they created a fundraiser on Facebook for the local organization Have a Gay Day. The organization works to create a safe environment for the purpose of equality, education, and support for the LGBTQ community and its allies. In six days, the fundraiser has racked up nearly $5,000 in donations. “The love and support that has been shown and spread from our story has been incredible,” wrote Stone thanking friends, family, and strangers for their contributions. “Whether you are near or far, thank you for all of the love and compassion you have shown us and each other.” “If this hateful act had to happen, we are thrilled to be able to turn it into a message of love and support,” he added. Arcanum Police Chief Marcus Ballinger told WHIO that the investigation into who is responsible for the vandalism is still underway, but he’s not sure what the culprit would be charged with. “It all comes down to what the prosecutors’ office decides how they want to proceed,” said Ballinger. “Right now we’re in the investigative phase of the case.” Ohio has no statewide hate crime statute regarding crimes against someone for sexual orientation.  

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News Round-Up: May 22, 2020

(images via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • Buzzfeed News: Mike Shultz (above), a gay nurse who attended the Winter Party Festival in Miami Beach, shared side-by-side before and after photos on Instagram to demonstrate how COVID-19 had affected his body in six weeks. “I wanted to show it can happen to anyone. It doesn’t matter if you’re young or old, have preexisting conditions or not. It can affect you.” • KIT212: Check out the what’s what in local LGBTQ publications like South Florida Hot Spots chatting with former American Idol alum David Hernandez (below).
(image via South Florida Hot Spots)
• Gay Star News: On March 3, three men shouting homophobic abuse at a 37-year-old in the heart of London pushed him into the street and attacked him. The police have arrested three men, all aged 21 years old, on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm. • New Music: Superstar duo Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande dropped their new music video, “Rain On Me,” at midnight and it immediately shot to #1 in 26 countries on iTunes. “Rain On Me” is the second single from Lady Gaga’s highly anticipated sixth studio album Chromatica, which will be released on May 29.

• New York Times: The W Hotel in Barcelona, Spain, currently has just one occupant among its hundreds of luxury guest rooms. Maintenance engineer Daniel Ordoñez has lived alone in the hotel since March handling tasks that must be done on a regular basis like opening the 1,400 water taps every five days. • Washington Post: A study of 96,000 hospitalized coronavirus patients on six continents found that those who received an antimalarial drug promoted by President Trump as a “game-changer” in the fight against the virus had a significantly higher risk of death compared with those who did not. People treated with hydroxychloroquine were also more likely to develop a type of irregular heart rhythm, or arrhythmia, that can lead to sudden cardiac death. • Entertainment Weekly: I found this look back at the “mad, sad, totally fab life of Paul Lynde” by EW a great read. Click the play button below to relive some of the comedian’s funniest one-liners on the iconic game show, Hollywood Squares.

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News Round-Up: May 7, 2020

Fitness guru Craig Ramsay (via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunk: Fitness guru and Bravo star Craig Ramsay (above) is giving you serious legs in Palm Springs. He’s been promoting his fitness routines “Stretch – a reason to wine.” • OutRight Action International: The German Bundestag (Parliament) passed a bill today banning the harmful practice of “conversion therapy” on minors. With its passage, Germany joins Malta, Ecuador, Brazil, and Taiwan to become only the 5th country in the world to ban “conversion therapy.” • Military Times: The Defense Department has issued new guidance that says a past COVID-19 diagnosis is “permanently disqualifying” for those trying to join the U.S. military. • Pink News: Oscar winner Kevin Spacey has broken his silence for the first time since a rash of sexual assault allegations brought a halt to his acting career. Speaking via video as part of a three-day business conference he reportedly compared his “emotional struggles” after being accused are comparable to those of people affected by coronavirus. • New Music: Trans pop-star Kim Petras has released her brand new single “Malibu,” a glittering, summery pop-bop. “‘Malibu’ is a return to color, the feeling of being in love, and the escapism pop that I love the most,” says Kim.

• Towleroad: A gay couple in Tulsa is speaking out after a “Christian” neighbor put up horrific anti-LGBT signs, including a rainbow flag with a black “X” in his yard, directly across the street from their house. • Media Matters: Fox News has devoted seven and a half times as much coverage to Shelley Luther, a Dallas, Texas, salon owner, jailed for reopening her business in violation of the state’s stay-at-home order than the network has given to the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, a black man in Georgia who was out for a jog and was killed by two white men with ties to local law enforcement. • Vox: For folks who might be conflicted about Tara Reade’s allegations aimed at former Vice President Joe Biden, I encourage you to read this detailed account from a journalist who interviewed Reade several times. Reporter Laura McGann notes that as a supporter of the Me Too movement, she writes, “I wanted to believe Reade when she first came to me, and I worked hard to find the evidence to make certain others would believe her, too. I couldn’t find it.” • HuffPost: Donald Trump has regularly cast blame on those in the White House before him, saying falsely that he was left with “empty cupboards” when he replaced then-President Barack Obama. When asked by ABC News what HE had done to restock those cupboards over the past three years, Trump replied, “Well, uh, I have a lot of things going on.”

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Councilwoman Apologizes For Shouting Homophobic Slurs, Won’t Resign

Trenton city councilwoman Robin Vaughn
Robin Vaughn, a city council member in Trenton, New Jersey, has issued an apology for her vicious, homophobic screed unleashed against the city’s first openly gay mayor during a conference call among city officials. News outlets reported the lengthy expletive-laced rant last week which included Vaughn calling Mayor Reed Gusciora a “bitchass” and “motherf***king drug addict pedophile.” And that was just the beginning. Additionally, she turned her fire on another official, Joe Harrison, accusing him of performing oral and anal sex for the mayor. According to The Trentonian, Vaughn said the mayor and Harrison weren’t “real men,” and suggested, “the only thing [Gusciora] brought into City Hall is a bunch of young boys, and they’re sitting up there in the mayor’s suite.” Here’s an excerpt from the conference call. The full meeting can be heard here.

Having listened to the recorded conference call, it seems to me as though the words came out of her mouth way too easily, as if she uses them on a regular basis. After the rant was reported in the media, Gov. Phil Murphy and both U.S. senators – Sen. Bob Menendez and Sen. Cory Booker – have called for her resignation. But neither local nor state officials have the authority to remove her from office. Christian Fuscarino, executive director of Garden State Equality, told The Trentonian in a statement Sunday:

“Councilwoman Vaughn is unfit to serve the people of Trenton. There’s no need to parse words here: for her hateful anti-LGBTQ language and defending the anti-Semitic slurs of others, she must resign. Her words are an attack on the diversity of Trenton’s community, the city’s elected leadership, and our state as a whole. Any decent-minded New Jerseyan who believes in the success and future of our state’s capital should denounce this hateful rhetoric and call for her to step down immediately.”

Vaughn has reportedly announced she will not resign from her position. Her apology, issued on her Facebook page, begins, “I apologize. That must be the first thing you hear from me.” “I am deeply and specifically sorry for the language that has offended so many,” she continued. “It was also not my intent to attack anyone on the basis of any classification or personal preferences, but I should have been more sensitive to the potential implication of my words and how they might be perceived.” You can see the full statement below. During a subsequent teleconference meeting on Tuesday, the city council voted against a call to censure Vaughn.

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Pro Golfer Dropped By Sponsors After Sharing Homophobic Meme

Scott Piercy (screen capture)
Professional golfer Scott Piercy found out the cost of posting homophobic content online after he shared an anti-gay meme about former Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg. Three of his sponsors quickly cut ties with the 41-year-old in the wake of the backlash. On Monday, Piercy shared a meme on his Instagram account featuring alt-right mascot Pepe the Frog reporting the news for “QNN,” referencing QAnon, the far-right conspiracy theory detailing a supposed secret plot by an alleged “deep state” against Donald Trump. The headline in the graphic read, “PETER PULLS OUT EARLY FROM BEHIND” with a photo of Buttigieg looking surprised. The internet quickly clapped back with many suggesting the post violated the PGA Tour’s conduct unbecoming a professional” mandate. By Tuesday, Piercy issued a non-apology via social media. “Whenever i [sic] post my intent is NEVER to offend,” he said. “I want to apologize if any of my recents [sic] story posts have been offensive. I will do better!” The PGA Tour acknowledged the social media activity telling Golf Digest, “We were made aware of Scott’s post and are disappointed in the lack of judgment used.” But three of Piercy’s sponsors went further than that. Titleist, FootJoy, and J. Lindeberg quickly ended their sponsorships with Piercy. “As a global lifestyle brand, we strive to support and show our love and compassion for all demographics around the world,” read a statement by J.Lindeberg to GOLF.com. “When we choose our ambassadors, we choose individuals we know will represent us well on and off the golf course. The claims from Scott Piercy were unacceptable and far from our views and beliefs. We have since terminated our contract with Mr. Piercy.” Although no official statements were released by Titleist or FootJoy, the companies did confirm to GOLF.com that they canceled all business relationships with Piercy following the controversy.

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News Round-Up: February 18, 2020

Follow woofy Wes Dupee on Instagram here
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Gymbear Wes Dupee gets his food prep on (above). Readers – how many of you have a weekly food prep schedule? Do you get tired of the same food, or is it the convenience you like? • IOM Today: A gay man was beaten in a late-night encounter when an older man mistakenly thought he was flirting with him. The victim says he feels lucky he didn’t lose any teeth. • Netflix: The streaming giant’s latest queer comedy series, Feel Good, stars Mae Martin as herself, a Canadian comedian living in London, navigating a relationship with her new girlfriend, George and dealing with sobriety. Did I mention the awesome Lisa Kudrow plays Martin’s mother? #squeee! The six-episode first season of the dark comedy drops March 19 on Netflix.

• Media Matters: Rush Limbaugh told his listeners on Monday that Donald Trump personally told him to ‘never apologize’ for Rushbo’s anti-gay remarks about White House hopeful Pete Buttigieg. Last week, Limbaugh suggested Trump could have “fun” with Buttigieg kissing his husband on stage. He also wondered aloud how to explain Buttigieg kissing his husband to their children. • OUT: ‘Over-aggressive anti-spam settings’ temporarily prevented some users from logging into their accounts on the bear-centric dating app Growlr causing users to believe they had been suspended. #DontPokeTheBears • NBC News: Sen. Bernie Sanders has jumped out to a 12-point lead in the Democratic presidential contest after his victory in New Hampshire’s primary and his second-place finish in Iowa while former Vice President Joe Biden has seen his support drop by 11 points since his disappointing finishes in both contests, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Tuesday. The survey also shows former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg gaining ground in the Democratic race in the past month.

(graphic via NBC News)

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Buttigieg: ‘I’m Not Going To Be Lectured On Family Values From The Likes Of Rush Limbaugh’

During appearances on Sunday morning talk shows, Democratic White House hopeful Pete Buttigieg was asked about comments made this week by conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh. Limbaugh asked listeners if they could see Donald Trump having homophobic “fun” with Buttigieg kissing his husband on stage. He also wondered aloud how parents would explain Buttigieg kissing his husband to their children. Buttigieg responded to Chris Wallace on FOX News Sunday: “I’m in a faithful, loving, committed marriage. I’m proud of my marriage. I’m proud of my husband. I’m not going to be lectured on family values from the likes of Rush Limbaugh or anybody who supports Donald J. Trump as the moral as well as political leader of the United States. America has moved on and we should have politics of belonging that welcomes everybody. That’s what the American people are for. I’m saddened for what the GOP has become if they embrace that kind of homophobic rhetoric.”

The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, expressed similar sentiments when speaking to CNN’s Dana Bash on State of the Nation: “I love my husband, I am faithful to my husband. On stage, we usually just go for a hug, but I love him very much. And I am not going to take lectures on family values from the likes of Rush Limbaugh.”