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:
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.”
ABC: You’re three years into your term. What did you do when you became president to restock those cupboards that you say are bare?
DJ/producer David Nazar (via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: DJ/producer David Nazar (above) sends regards from his “balcony vacation” in Miami, Florida. Follow him on Instagram here. • Human Rights Campaign: May is officially recognized as Mental Health Awareness Month, and now more than ever, it’s crucial to shine a light on mental health in the LGBTQ community. Click the link for information about how LGBTQ people are more likely to experience depression, anxiety, lowered self-esteem, and even suicidal thoughts compared to their straight and cisgender peers. • Broadway Bares: The 30th-anniversary performance of the annual striptease spectacular, featuring the sexist dancers on Broadway, is being postponed until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. While the June spectacle has been postponed, plans are in the works to still celebrate Broadway Bares online this summer. Check out this clip from last year’s “Game Night” edition.
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution: An internal poll conducted for the Georgia House GOP Caucus held bad news for U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, the former financial executive who dumped millions in stocks after receiving coronavirus briefings in January. Loeffler only received 11% support in the survey regarding her upcoming race this fall, and essentially tied with two Democratic candidates. U.S. Rep. Doug Collins leads the field with 29% of the vote and outpaces Loeffler among Republicans by a 62-18 margin. • KIT212: Check out Kenneth’s weekly look at what’s making news in LGBTQ magazines like South Florida’s Hot Spots! (below). • Gay Star News: Magistrates in Israel have ruled the ironically named Rainbow Color print shop must compensate an LGBT+ association after it refused to print posters for the Ben Gurion University LGBT group three years ago. The Beersheba Magistrates Court said the duty to serve customers comes before religious beliefs. • Instagram: In the middle of Madonna’s ‘Madame X’ themed post on Thursday, the pop-star revealed she’d “taken a test” and found out she “had the antibodies.” Madge didn’t elaborate as to when she was tested. She added, “So tomorrow, I’m just going to go for a long drive in a car, and I’m going to roll down the window, and I’m going to breathe in, I’m going to breathe in the COVID-19 air. Yup. I hope the sun is shining.” Note – scientists have not determined if having the coronavirus makes one immune going forward.
(via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Woofy Steve_in_LA (above) chilled with his bestie today. What a handsome dog…the canine is a looker, too. Follow Steve on Instagram here. • Instinct Magazine: World of Wonder Productions, in partnership with The Stonewall Inn, will present a live-stream concert on Thursday, April 23rd at 8PM ET/ 5 PT, hosted by Michelle Visage and Tyler Oakley with proceeds from the event to benefit LGBTQ+ nightlife industry professionals affected by COVID-19. Among those scheduled to appear are Alan Cumming, Betty Who, Greyson Chance, John Cameron Mitchell, Kim Petras, Lorna Luft, Peppermint, Rufus Wainwright, Shoshana Bean, Todrick Hall, Troye Sivan, VINCINT and a special performance by Cyndi Lauper. • NBC News: The crew for The Ellen DeGeneres Show is furious over lack of communication from the producers, a proposed pay cut during the coronavirus threat, and the hiring of a non-union tech company to help DeGeneres tape remotely from her home in California. • Advocate: According to a new independent poll from Levada Center almost one in five (18 percent) of Russians believe that LGBTQ people should be “eliminated,” while 32 percent of Russians believe that gays and lesbians should be “isolated from society.” And that’s actually an improvement from past surveys. • Pink News: A trans woman was stabbed 20 times and had her eye gouged out to ‘send a message’ to Colombia’s LGBT+ community, say local leaders. • Politico: The Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday reaffirmed its support for the U.S. intelligence community’s conclusion that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election with the goal of putting Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Tuesday’s bipartisan report, from a panel chaired by North Carolina Republican Richard Burr, undercuts Trump’s years of efforts to portray allegations of Kremlin assistance to his campaign as a “hoax,” driven by Democrats and a “deep state” embedded within the government bureaucracy. • Out Music: LA-based indie artist Onsen releases the new song “Be There”, a track about the one that got away. Though the track is about lost love, it was written when the epiphany of desire occurred but before the letdown. As a result, it reflects on the relationship in a positive light.
Drew Straus, aka Onsen, gives his side of the story: “After playing it cool for too long, a person I liked had drifted away. ‘Be There’ is a confession, that I took them for granted and realized foolishly late that I’m on board and want to make it work.”
Joe Blizzard (via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Woofy Joe Blizzard (above) proclaims he’s in “dad bod mode.” I think someone needs to explain the term “dad bod” to Joe cause that ain’t no “dad bod.” Follow him on the Gram of Insta here. #grrrr • Pink News: Piers Morgan apologized to Lady Gaga after her One World: Together At Home concert raised more than $127 million for the World Health Organization’s coronavirus relief efforts. The Good Morning Britain host was among those who dismissed Gaga’s involvement with the World Health Organization (WHO) when it was first announced in early April. • NY Times: From surgeon-quality personal protection to the home-stitched square and the bandit’s bandanna, New Yorkers pulled on a newly essential accessory and ventured into a landscape that changed yet again on Friday as masks became mandatory beginning last Friday. • LiarLiarPantsOnFire: I can’t watch the White House press briefings on the pandemic live anymore because Donald Trump’s lying and self-aggrandizement are too much for me to stomach. But this moment today with PBS Newshour’s Yamiche Alcindor takes the cake.
TRUMP: I took coronavirus very seriously
ALCINDOR: You held rallies in February and March TRUMP: I haven’t left the White House in months ALCINDOR: You held a rally in March TRUMP: Did I hold a rally? I’m sorry pic.twitter.com/MPDK8lZAeD — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 20, 2020
• The Gaily Grind: Anti-LGBT televangelist and former Republican presidential candidate Pat Robertson linked the deadly COVID-19 pandemic to same-sex marriage on Monday because, of course. • The Tennessean: Gov. Bill Lee announced Monday that his stay-at-home order will not be extended past April 30, and that some businesses around the state will begin reopening next week. A governor-appointed, 30-member economic recovery group is working towards some businesses reopening as early as Monday, April 27. Lee said this office has not yet determined what types of businesses will be targeted to reopen first next week. • The Advocate: Actor Leslie Jordan (Will & Grace) has become an Instagram sensation since adjourning to an Airbnb not far from his mother and sisters in Tennessee last month. The actor catapulted from about 80K Instagram followers to 3 million in the span of a month thanks to his homespun videos in which he exercises with a back scratcher, then uses it as a baton, does yoga (as only he could), and engages in “pillow talk” dishing about Hollywood luminaries.
(image via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Gorgeous photo of the moon over Turkey from Instagram user mostafa.rok (above). Follow him here. #AnyoneSeeAMoon? • The Advocate: Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips is being sued (again) after refusing to bake a birthday cake for a transgender woman. • Washington Examiner: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) announced Thursday that Ohio will begin to reopen some of its businesses on May 1. The governor has a stay-at-home order in place until May 1 and opted not to extend it as he begins to roll out his plan for relaxing some of the social distancing guidelines. • Gallup Polling: As Donald Trump works to contain the damage from the novel coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., the rally in support he enjoyed as the nation entered a virtual lockdown has faded. His job approval rating, now 43%, has slipped six percentage points since mid-March when he earned 49% approval, which tied his personal best. (graphic via Gallup) • OUT: Illustrator Tommy Taylor has transformed Disney Princes into the quarantined gays we know and love. • Newsweek: According to survey averages from Real Clear Politics, Biden is ahead of Trump in half a dozen states critical to the Electoral College map this November: Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. • Twitter: I am not mad at Spain’s army uniforms for members of its elite La Legión, and neither is the internet.
Spain is deploying its army to help manage their coronavirus outbreak and not to be insensitive at an anxiety-inducing time but uh… I think I speak for all New Yorkers when I say, Spain, hi, can you deploy some of that in our direction? We will comply with your orders. pic.twitter.com/LyxIPsGu3g
InstaHunk Green.Joel Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Hunky Green.Joel (above) makes it black and white – he wants you to “Rise up and attack the day with enthusiasm!!” • Boy Culture: Matt Rettenmund pays tribute to Madonna on the 30th anniversary of the Blond Ambition Tour with lots of rare video clips from the record-setting production. • The Gaily Grind: Ireland’s prime minister, openly gay Leo Varadkar, will be returning to medical practice to work as a doctor as the country battles the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The prime minister left the medical profession in 2013 after working as a doctor for seven years. By 2017, he’d become the country’s youngest-ever prime minister. • Out Music: California native St. Panther recently released her debut single, “Infrastructure,” in advance of her upcoming album later this summer. The out hip-hop artist brings a 90s sensibility to a very ‘now’ soul sound. Drop the beat below.
• LA Times: Event production companies, that usually build tents, staging and facilities for tens of thousands of revelers at music, sports and dining events have seen hundreds of such events canceled. But they are now busy using their resources to help build temporary hospital stations to help accommodate the COVID-19 pandemic. • NY Times: A member of the crew of the coronavirus-infected USS Theodore Roosevelt died Monday of complications related to the disease, 11 days after the aircraft carrier’s captain was fired for pressing his concern that the Navy had done too little to safeguard his crew. Of the 4,860 crew members aboard the Roosevelt, 585 have tested positive for COVID-19. • NY Post: Bishop Gerald O. Glenn, the Pastor of New Deliverance Evangelistic Church in Richmond who proudly defied coronavirus safety guidelines in order to hold church services, died from COVID-19 complications on Saturday. He told the congregation he’d keep preaching “unless I’m in jail or the hospital” because “people are healed” in his church. • Broadway Cares: The stream of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS’ benefit concert celebrating Disney on Broadway’s 25th anniversary will be rescheduled for Friday, April 17, 2020, at 7 PM ET after the American Federation of Musicians dropped its opposition to the stream. The online playback will raise money for Broadway Cares’ COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Fund, which is helping everyone in the theater and performing arts community impacted by the pandemic.
Mitch Fit (image via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Woofy ginger Mitch Fit (above) is catching up on his reading during COVID-19 quarantining. I just finished an autobiography by an America’s Got Talent alum for an interview soon to come. Who else is reading to pass the time these days? And what? Share in the comments section. • KIT212: Leftover fabric from the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt is now being used to make coronavirus masks. • Deadline: ABC’s hit sitcom Modern Family may have ended its 11 season run last night, but a “Cam & Mitchell” spinoff could happen… • NowThis News: Donald Trump called mail-in voting ‘corrupt’ moments before confirming that he himself voted by mail this year. Democrats have pushed for funding for expanded vote-by-mail elections as part of debates on COVID-19 stimulus bills. Trump told Fox News vote-by-mail would endanger GOP election chances.
President Trump: "I think mail-in voting is horrible, it's corrupt."
Reporter: "You voted by mail in Florida's election last month, didn't you?"
Salon: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday quietly removed bizarre guidelines for using the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment for the new coronavirus. The unproven treatment has been repeatedly hyped by President Donald Trump in spite of the warnings of Dr. Anthony Fauci. • Daily Kos: The former acting Navy secretary’s round-trip flight to Guam to tell the crew of the USS Roosevelt why their commander, Capt. Brett Crozier, was fired after he penned a letter to higher-ups pleading for help with COVID-19 infections on his ship, cost American taxpayers more than $243,000. • Power99: A Mississippi barber has died from the coronavirus after his family says he continued to cut customers’ hair during the pandemic. Eugene Thompson tested positive on March 22 and felt symptoms as early as March 17. However, it appeared that he was still accepting clients at his shop as well around that time, social media posts show. • InstaHunks 2: Singer/songwriter Justin Utley – who I recently interviewed for his terrific new single and music video “American Nightmare” – is looking super-jacked these days. Dang…
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