Bremen Menelli (via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Fitness guru Bremen Menelli (above) got his pump on (for a change). #woof • The Advocate: How gay fashion designer Christian Siriano became an ‘accidental activist.’ From being a Stonewall Day Ambassador to producing over 150K face masks for health care workers in NY, Siriano has shown up. • New Music: Dropping the ‘Dixie,’ newly-renamed The Chicks released this powerful new music video and song, “March March.” Featuring visuals that include climate change, LGBTQ issues, Black Lives Matter, and more, the video begins with the quote, “If your voice held no power, they wouldn’t try to silence you.”
• Fox News: Former Vice President Joe Biden tops Donald Trump by 9 points, 49-40 percent, in a Fox News survey of Florida registered voters. That’s up from a 3-point edge in April. If Trump loses Florida and any other state he won in 2016, that’s the whole ballgame. • Today: A surprise birthday party last month (which had 25 attendees) has ended up with 18 members of a Texas family being diagnosed with COVID-19, including a couple in their 80s and a cancer patient. Texas health officials reported a record 4,389 hospitalizations and 5,551 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday. • Gallup Polling: More Americans (70%) say marijuana is more ‘morally acceptable’ than same-sex relationships (66%). The difference is mainly among – surprise – conservatives who approve of marijuana by 51% but only 43% give a thumbs up to gay/lesbian relationships. • Instagram: Do I really have to add anything here…?
Pierre Vuala (via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Fitness trainer and model Pierre Vuala (above) offers up this #FBF moment until “traveling is a thing again.” Follow him on the Gram of Insta here. • Instinct: A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the State Department must recognize that the daughter of a gay couple in Maryland has been a U.S. citizen since her birth in Canada via a surrogate last year. The Trump administration had changed the interpretation of a 1952 citizenship law to view children born abroad via surrogacy as being born “out of wedlock.” • KIT212: Don’t miss Kenneth’s weekly round-up of the what’s what in local LGBTQ publications. • Washington Post: Even though the population of the European Union surpasses the United States by more than 100 million (446 million vs. 328 million), coronavirus cases in the U.S. haven’t fallen as quickly as in the EU. (graphic via Washington Post) • Media Matters: referencing the Supreme Court’s rulings on marriage equality and this week’s decision on LGBTQ employment protections, Rush Limbaugh blames the “deep state” for “cultural rot.” Rushbo told his listeners, “We are so low that when we look up, we see a filthy gutter.” • The Hill: Oklahoma has reported more than 800 new coronavirus cases in the past two days, marking a significant spike ahead of a massive rally for President Trump in the state planned for Saturday. The state reported 352 new cases on Friday, one day after a record 450 new cases on Thursday. • Outsports: Declaring himself “proud and free,” Daniel Arcos, a pro basketball player from Chile, came out Wednesday as gay in an Instagram post. The 26-year-old forward in the top Chile pro basketball league posted a three-page letter on Instagram in which he talked about his struggles to accept himself but decided the time to make a statement was now. He followed the post with a message of thanks to supporters: “Thank each of the messages of support, signs of affection and respect. The tranquility that I have with myself is incredible. #pride.”
Joel Green (via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Wise words of the day from fitness guy Joel Green (above) – “It’s not about your reflection, it’s what you see beyond it.” #DreamBigger • Washington Blade: Sara Hegazy, 30, an LGBTQ rights activist from Egypt who was arrested for raising a rainbow flag during a 2017 concert in Cairo died by suicide on Sunday at her home in Canada. She was reportedly tortured for months in prison before an Egyptian court ordered her release on bail in January 2018. • KIT212: Kenneth’s weekly ‘Wrestle Wednesday’ (below) is really worth the click 🙂 (via kenneth-in-the-212) • CNN: Martin Gugino, the 75-year-old protester who was pushed to the ground by two Buffalo, New York police officers earlier this month, has a fractured skull and is still unable to walk, his lawyer said in a statement provided to CNN. Gugino’s attorney passed along a message from the senior protester: “I think it’s very unnecessary to focus on me. There are plenty of other things to think about besides me.” • NY Daily News: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has issued an order requiring all lawmakers to wear masks in committee hearings after Rep. Tom Rice (R-South Carolina) announced he and several family members have contracted the COVID-19 virus. Rice has refused to wear a mask at House meetings. Pelosi has ordered the Sargeant at Arms to deny entry by any violators. • OMG Blog: RuPaul is so good at ‘Family Feud’ he doesn’t even need to hear the question! Watch below.
Paulo Batista (via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Woofy transgender bodybuilder Paulo Batista (above) is literally pumped to be back in the gym: “One of my first days back to a gym in a while! It felt great to get a real pump and sweat in!” • Buzzfeed News: Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling doubled down on her recent anti-transgender comments, releasing an extensive statement about her fears of “current trans activism,” which recycles dangerous anti-trans stereotypes and cliches. #DeeplyDisappointing • People: CNN anchor Anderson Cooper opens up about being a dad to adorable baby Wyatt. “This is a dream come true,” the veteran journalist says of parenthood. • Pride Month TV: The acclaimed documentary, The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson, celebrates one of the icons of the gay rights movement, and the self-described “street queen” of NY’s gay ghetto in the 1960s. When Johnson’s body was found in the Hudson River in 1992, police called it a suicide and didn’t investigate. David France’s film seeks to uncover the truth of her death while celebrating her legacy. Streaming now on Netflix.
• The Hill: The final testing stage for a potential coronavirus vaccine developed by Moderna is set to begin in July. John Mascola, the director of the vaccine research center at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told the Wall Street Journal the trials will involve about 30,000 people at more than 50 sites, which will mostly be within the U.S. • Washington Post: Last week, the hashtag #LadyGraham exploded on social media in response to allegations made on Twitter by gay adult-film star Sean Harding against Sen. Lindsey O. Graham of South Carolina. The hashtag purportedly refers to Graham’s nickname among male sex workers. What followed has been a mixed bag of political commentary, wanton speculation and downright trolling. • Politico: The Trump administration is preparing to open the door to oil and gas drilling off Florida’s coast — but will wait until after the November election to avoid blowback in a swing state whose waters both parties have long considered sacrosanct, according to four people familiar with the plan. • Out Music: Acclaimed out singer/songwriter Rufus Wainwright drops his latest music video, “You Ain’t Big,” from his upcoming album Unfollow the Rules. “I originally wrote the song “You Ain’t Big” about the strange fact that in the music business worldwide until recently (our estimation has fallen considerably) no matter how well you’ve done anywhere else, if you couldn’t make it in the heartland of the US you weren’t really considered a true star,” shares Wainwright. “Think Little Richard, Elvis, the Beatles, and Julio Iglesias.” “Its vintage sound harkens back to the classical American country music sound of the 40s and 50s and with the help of opposing images in the video of how different life was for white people compared to black people in the 1950’s, as it has sadly remained,” adds the two-time Juno Award winner. “I think it rings appropriate for this time and professes a certain truth.”
Joe Blizzard (via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Woofy Joe Blizzard (above) is back in the gym, offering up selfies. Don’t mind if I do… 🙂 Follow him on Instagram here. • Mr. Man: The world’s leading online library of male nude scenes in film has revealed its ‘Hottest Gay TV Scenes of All Time.’ The diverse list features several men of color like Billy Porter and Omid Abtahi, an actor with cerebral palsy, and some of Hollywood’s top stars who have dared to portray gay sex on the small screen. • Gay Star News: Puerto Rico’s governor has signed a new Civil Code that leaves out LGBT+ protections despite a rise in LGBT+ murders. The new Civil Code makes no mention of protection from hate speech or discrimination in employment, goods and services. Governor Wanda Vázquez has already received backlash for her response to the killing of at least 10 LGBTQ Puerto Ricans in 2019 and 2020. • Poz: During a study researching a vaccine for HIV, scientists found that soon after taking the participants off antiretroviral (ARV) treatment for a period of close monitoring, the virus rapidly rebounded in their semen. The discovery raises concerns that men who participate in such trials while taking a break in their usual HIV meds are at risk of transmitting the virus through sex. • Roll Call: After the recent dust-up between Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Donald Trump over protests in the DC area, House Democrats plan to bring up a vote on statehood for the District. Expect it to pass in the House, but Senate Republicans will never let it happen. DC voters are overwhelmingly Democratic, and statehood would give the Dems two more Senators plus a voting member of the House. • Twitter: Social media star Sarah Cooper’s latest lip-dub of Donald Trump takes on ‘How to lobster.’ If you don’t follow her yet, you really should. Funny, funny stuff.
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.”
Ramses Principe and King share a ‘cheat meal’ (via Instagram) Catching up on how some of my favorite InstaHunks spent their weekend. First up (above), fitness expert Ramses Principe shared his ‘cheat day’ meal with his handsome bestie, King. David Mcintosh also spent some weekend time with his perfectly adorable pooch:
DJ Thiago Oliveira (via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: DJ Thiago Oliveira (above) getting in some straight-up social distancing at the beach in Spain. Follow the ‘Daddy Wolf’ on Instagram here. • NBC News: The Trump administration submitted a brief to the Supreme Court on Wednesday arguing that a taxpayer-funded organization should be able to refuse to work with same-sex couples and others whom the group considers to be in violation of its religious beliefs. • Out Music: Trey Pearson, who first found fame fronting the Christian rock band Everyday Sunday, channels LGBTQ Pride’s history of protest in his latest music video, “1984.” Pearson, who came out as gay four years ago, called the song “a love letter sent to us from the LGBT community of the ’80s” to inspire people in a time of crisis and uprising.
• Washington Post: Donald Trump’s former chief of staff John F. Kelly defended former defense secretary Jim Mattis on Thursday over Mattis’s criticism of the president’s handling of nationwide protests. Kelly also dismissed Trump’s assertion that the president fired the retired general in 2018. “The president did not fire him. He did not ask for his resignation. The president has clearly forgotten how it actually happened or is confused.” • Out: Following fellow gay dating app Grindr, Jack’d and Scruff have announced they will disable their ethnicity filters in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. “We stand in solidarity with the fight against systemic racism and historic oppression of the Black community.” • Lincoln Project: The conservative anti-Trump PAC drops this new campaign ad writing, “Trump is no longer hiding that he’s a brazen authoritarian, so desiring of control and power that he’s willing to turn our once peaceful cities into #warzones.
Joe Blizzard (via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Woofy Joe Blizzard (above) is giving you boo-boo face over having to deal with home-gym workouts. Don’t worry, Joe, the gyms will open soon. Follow him on Insta here. • Deadline: In surprising news, Ruby Rose, the star of the CW’s freshman drama series Batwoman, is leaving the Warner Bros. TV/Berlanti Prods. drama after one season. The series, which already has been renewed for a second season, will continue with the title role getting recast. Rose, an alum of Orange is the New Black, returned to the small screen with Batwoman, playing the first gay lead character — male or female — of a live-action superhero series. • ABC News: After nine homes over five years, 17-year-old Michael was adopted by Chad and Paul Beanblossom of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Despite the coronavirus pandemic shutting down court proceedings, 80 people including friends, family and adoption specialists witnessed the special moment unfold over the Zoom teleconferencing app.
• The Gaily Grind: Matt Belanger, an Emmy-winning news anchor in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was viciously attacked in what police believe was a hate crime fueled by homophobia. He suffered an eye injury which could result in permanent vision damage. Vennie Jerome Williams, 39, was arrested in connection to the assault. While in police custody, authorities said Williams “made statements indicating that he assaulted [Belanger] because he perceived that [he] was homosexual.” • Politico: More vetting of Tara Reade’s allegations of sexual assault by former Vice President Joe Biden reveals those who have tried to help her in the past were left with an unsavory impression. A number of those who crossed paths with Reade say they remember two things: She spoke favorably about her time working for Biden, and she left them feeling duped. • The Advocate: CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, appearing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show last Thursday, that along with his newborn son Wyatt, he considers being gay “one of the great blessings” of his life.
Gustavo Naspolini and mom (via Instagram) Welcome to this weekend edition of InstaHunk Round-Up. First up, we honor and send bestest wishes to all mothers in whatever fashion it manifests! We start off with Gustavo Naspolini (above) wishing his mother her well-deserved recognition. Pierre Vuala celebrated fitness victories large and small:
