Posted on

News Round-Up: May 27, 2021

Guardians of the Galaxy star Dave Bautista and friends
Dave Bautista and friends (via Instagram)
Dave Bautista and friends (via Instagram)

Some news items you might have missed:

• Yahoo News: 52-year-old Guardians of the Galaxy star Dave Bautista (center above) was asked about a shirtless, speedo-clad photo he took while down under in Australia. “I guess, when in Australia!” the retired wrestler joked on during an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show.

• Outsports: The LGBTQ sports site has compiled a list of all of the 2021 Pride Nights taking place throughout Major League Baseball. Currently, 17 teams have scheduled a Pride Night on their 2021 calendars.

• Axios: New studies indicate those who’ve recovered from COVID-19 and got vaccinated won’t need boosters, per the New York Times. However, those who weren’t infected but were vaccinated will likely need boosters. Check out the graphic below tracking the increase/decrease of COVID-19 cases over the past year.

Graphic showing increase/decrease of COVID infections for past year
(graphic via Axios)

• ABC News: Joseph Costello, a high school freshman, will have his college education paid for thanks to getting a COVID-19 vaccine. Joseph, of Englewood, Ohio, was announced Wednesday as the winner of a full-ride, four-year scholarship – with room, board, tuition and books – in Ohio’s Vax-a-Million lottery. Additionally, an Ohio couple won the first weekly million-dollar prize in a separate drawing.

• Variety: Oscar winner Vanessa Redgrave is now distancing herself from the proposed Italian film, “The Man Who Drew God,” which has been announced as Kevin Spacey’s return to acting. The actress was reportedly attached to the project which is expected to be directed by her husband of 15 years, Franco Nero.

• HuffPost: Lil Nas X says he’ll “never trust pants again” after his SNL wardrobe malfunction. The Grammy winner set the record straight about splitting his pants on “Saturday Night Live” over the weekend, assuring fans the wardrobe malfunction was not a publicity stunt.

Posted on

Kevin Spacey Returns To Acting As ‘Sex Abuse Investigator’

Academy Award-winner Kevin Spacey

Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey will play a ‘sex abuse investigator’ in his first acting role since sexual assault accusations derailed his career nearly four years ago.

The Oscar winner will appear in an Italian drama titled, The Man Who Drew God, which will also star Vanessa Redgrave.

Redgrave’s husband, Franco Nero, will direct the film as well as star as a blind artist falsely accused of sex abuse, according to The Independent.

Spacey will reportedly play a detective investigating the wrongfully accused artist.

“I’m very happy Kevin agreed to participate in my film,” Nero told ABC News. “I consider him a great actor, and I can’t wait to start the movie.”

In the fall of 2017, Spacey experienced a slew of allegations of sexual misconduct which brought his career to an utter and complete halt.

Broadway and TV star Anthony Rapp (RENT, Star Trek: Discovery) claimed Spacey assaulted him at a party at Spacey’s New York City apartment in the 1980s when Rapp was 14-years-old.

Nearly 20 men accused Spacey of sexual misconduct during his time at London’s Old Vic Theatre between 1995 and 2013.

An anonymous massage therapist levels charges of sexual impropriety but the accuser died before a court could decide the matter.

And prosecutors in Massachusetts dropped charges against Spacey in 2019 in regard to allegations of groping an 18-year-old at a Nantucket bar in 2016. The case was dropped when the accuser invoked his 5th Amendment rights.

In response to the allegations, Spacey was dropped from his acclaimed Netflix series House of Cards. He was also replaced in the 2017 drama All the Time in the World. Christopher Plummer was tapped to reshoot all of Spacey’s scenes in the already-completed film and went on to score an Oscar nomination for his performance.

In a video message recorded last year, Spacey said experiencing his career coming to a “grinding, screeching halt” led him to ask himself, “If I can’t act, who am I?”

“I only valued and defined myself through work, that’s who I was,” said Spacey. “If that wasn’t going to be a possibility anymore then who am I? If all I’m left with is just me?”

Although he’s kept a low profile, for the past three years he has shared video messages on Christmas Eve, sometimes (perplexingly) in the persona of his House of Cards character.

According to IMDB, The Man Who Drew God will be released in Italy on October 5, 2021.

Posted on

Kevin Spacey Is Back With His (Now) Annual Christmas Eve Video

Academy Award-winner Kevin Spacey

Academy Award-winner (and accused sexual assaulter) Kevin Spacey posted his third-holiday video on his YouTube channel today.

I guess it’s a tradition now?

Titled “1-800 XMAS,” this year’s installment takes on a more somber tone than past years. Spacey chooses not to take on his ‘Frank Underwood’persona from House of Cards and instead speaks as himself to people struggling over the holiday season.

“If you’re standing in a place that you can no longer remain standing, if you’re suffering, if you need help, if you feel guilt or shame, if you’re struggling with your identity, if your back’s up against the wall, or if you feel that there is no path for you, whatever your situation, I promise you there is a path,” said Spacey. “At this time during this holiday and beyond, even if you don’t feel it, there are people out there who understand and who can help, because you are not alone.”

In essence, the video takes on an odd sort of ‘It Gets Better’ messaging.

Spacey shared his first ‘holiday’ video in 2018 in the aftermath of being accused of sexual misconduct with a young man in Massachusetts as well as allegations from actor Anthony Rapp. Recorded as what seemed to be his House of Cards character, the message appeared to be a veiled denial of the mounting accusations against him.

The Massachusetts man eventually invoked his 5th Amendment rights which led to the charges being dropped. And another accuser, a massage therapist, died before the case could go to court. That man’s estate decided to drop the allegations as well.

Last year’s video offered a message to folks that when people do something you don’t like, you should ‘kill them with kindness.‘

Posted on

News Round-Up: September 10, 2020

Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov (screen capture via HBO Sports)

Some news items you might have missed:

• The Daily Beast: A Russian social media dissident was captured in Chechnya and forced to sit on a glass bottle as an act of apology to Putin’s favorite enforcer, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov (above).

• OUT: Jussie Smollett in a recent Instagram Live chat, “From the very, very beginning, it was set up to seem like I was lying about something or everything.” The gay Empire actor was referencing his January 2019 claim that two men attacked him near his Chicago apartment while spewing racist and homophobic slurs, physically assaulting him, and hanging a noose around his neck. The police alleged it was a false report.

• Edge Media: Actor Anthony Rapp (Star Trek: Discovery, Rent) and an anonymous accuser have filed a civil lawsuit in New York State court Manhattan against Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey for alleged sexual assaults in the 1980s.

Oscar winner Kevin Spacey (screen capture via YouTube)

• NY Daily News: The Trump administration has secretly siphoned nearly $4 million away from a program that tracks and treats FDNY firefighters and medics suffering from 9/11 related illnesses. The Treasury Department mysteriously started withholding parts of payments — nearly four years ago — meant to cover medical services for to firefighters, emergency medical technicians and paramedics treated by the FDNY World Trade Center Health Program.

• The Advocate: Donald Trump has unveiled a new shortlist of potential U.S. Supreme Court nominees, and it includes such anti-LGBTQ+ types as Sens. Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton, and Josh Hawley as well as the lawyer who defended the Defense of Marriage Act.

• Washington Blade: The venerable LGBTQ news outlet has officially endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden for president. “There’s no reason for any informed American voter to grant Trump another four years. There’s even less reason for LGBTQ voters to support him, no matter what the hypocrites at Log Cabin tell you.”

• Election 2020: A new campaign ad from Joe Biden hits Donald Trump over the revelations Trump knew the severity of the coronavirus for months while telling the American people “it’s like the flu.”

Posted on

News Round-Up: January 3, 2020

Nathan McCallum (via Instagram)

Some news items you might have missed:

• InstaHunks: Where in the world is fitness guy Nathan McCallum…and how do I get there? 🙂

• Instinct Magazine: RuPaul’s nascent talk show, which had a three-week trial run this past summer, has not been picked up for syndication.

• NewNowNext: The Equitable Restroom Act went into effect in Illinois on January 1, which requires single-occupancy bathrooms in public places to be marked with signs labeling them as “All-Gender.”

• KIT212: Kenneth serves up his weekly round-up (below) of the what’s what in gay rags across the country.

• LGBTQ Nation: A gay man’s sister kidnapped him & forced him into conversion therapy where he was beaten and flogged. His family thought being gay was “demonic,” so his sister hired a “prophet” to beat it out of him.

• Variety: Kevin Spacey has settled a lawsuit with the estate of a man who had accused him of sexual assault, following the accuser’s death in September. A trial was set to take place in federal court in June 2020, but when the accuser died, the accuser’s estate filed a notice dismissing the lawsuit on Monday. Each side agreed to pay their own costs.

• WRAL: The United Methodist Church appears poised to split into two separate denominations over the issue of LGBTQ inclusion. The United Methodist Church is currently the third largest Christian denomination in the United States.

• Politico: Why Pete Buttigieg enrages the political left – “The unspoken truth about the furor Buttigieg arouses is that his success threatens a core belief of young progressives: that their ideology owns the future, and that the rise of millennials into Democratic politics is going to bring an inevitable demographic triumph for the party’s far left wing.”

• Twitter: As many have pointed out, before the 2012 presidential election, Donald Trump repeatedly predicted (wrongly) that President Obama would start a war with Iran in order to secure re-election. We all know Trump projects his own thoughts on others as this video clip resurfaces:

Posted on

Kevin Spacey Drops Another Oddly Unsettling Video

Academy Award-winner Kevin Spacey has dropped another oddly unsettling video on his YouTube channel.

Tending to a raging fire, Spacey appears to still be inhabiting his ‘Frank Underwood’ character from the Netflix series House of Cards as he addresses the viewer saying, “You didn’t really think I was going to miss the opportunity to wish you a Merry Christmas, did you?”

Noting that he’s happy to “have my health back,” the 60-year-old shares that he’s “made some changes in his life” and he’d like the viewer to join him.

“As we walk into 2020, I want to cast my vote for more good in this world,” says Spacey. “Ah yes, I know what you’re thinking – could he be serious?”

“I’m dead serious,” he continues.

“The next time someone does something you don’t like, you can go on the attack – but you can also hold your fire, and do the unexpected,” advises Spacey. “You can (long dramatic pause)…kill them with kindness.”

Cue the creepy, dramatic music as the actor pauses before turning back to his fireplace.

You’ll recall Spacey last shared a similarly odd video during the 2018 holidays, again as his House of Cards persona.

At the time, the Oscar winner was facing legal challenges on several fronts. One concerned allegations of sexual harassment of a male teen at a Nantucket restaurant in Massachusetts, but the charges were dropped when the teen asserted his Fifth Amendment rights.

In the 2018 video, as he was just days away from being arraigned, he told the viewer, “You wouldn’t believe the worst without evidence, would you? You wouldn’t rush to judgments without facts, would you?”

Another case of sexual assault was brought by a masseur in Calfornia but was dismissed when his accuser suddenly died which makes today’s advise to “kill them with kindness” somewhat chilling.

(h/t Boy Culture)

Posted on

Anonymous Kevin Spacey Accuser Dies Prior To Trial

The anonymous accuser of Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey has died before his lawsuit could go to trail

A massage therapist, who was permitted to anonymously file a lawsuit against Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey (above screen capture) for sexual assault, has apparently died.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Spacey’s legal team filed a notice in court that the accuser’s attorneys had notified them on September 11 that their client had ‘recently passed.’

No details regarding the therapist’s death were disclosed.

The plaintiff, using the name ‘John Doe,’ filed suit in September 2018 alleging Spacey forced him to grope the actor’s genitals twice during a massage at Spacey’s private residence in October 2016.

After asking to leave, Doe claimed Spacey offered him oral sex.

Doe was suing for battery, assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress and false imprisonment.

In April, Spacey’s attorneys asked a federal judge to order the accuser to identify himself or dismiss the lawsuit.

But in May, U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Lew ruled the massage therapist’s lawsuit could continue anonymously due to his “vulnerability to humiliation, harassment, and threats” which was “exacerbated by the nature of Defendant’s status as a high-profile celebrity and the media attention that comes with it.”

In light of that ruling, the two legal teams had begun planning for what many expected to be a seven to eleven-day trial.

In August, there were reports that the therapist claimed to know of two other “masseur victims” of Spacey’s “sexual assaults who expressed concern for their safety and/or do not want their names revealed publicly in the media.”

The lawsuit could still continue, although according to The Hollywood Reporter the issue of anonymity could become complicated.

For the family of the accuser to show standing, they would probably have to identify the accuser. The judge may not be as inclined to protect the privacy of a deceased man since he would no longer be ‘vulnerable to humiliation.’

In July, prosecutors in Massachusetts dropped criminal charges against Spacey just days after his accuser invoked his Fifth Amendment rights while on the witness stand.

Spacey was facing charges of indecent assault and battery in connection to allegations of ‘groping’ an 18-year-old male at a Nantucket bar.

But the case fell apart when the teen’s cellphone went missing. Spacey’s lawyers alleged the teen and his mother had altered text messages before handing the phone over to the police.

Posted on

Podcast: POSE Scores At 2019 Imagen Awards; Trans Student Kicked Out Of Christian College; Ice Cream Ad Goes Awry

In this week's podcast: • POSE star MJ Rodriguez honored as "Best Actress" in TV series at 2019 Imagen Awards which recognize positive portrayals of Latinx people in the media • New ad spot compares eating ice cream with hugging your same-sex boyfriend in countries where homosexuality is punishable with prison time (what???) • Illinois becomes the 5th state to include LGBTQ history in public school curriculum • A trans student is kicked out of his Christian college for having top surgery • A masseur suing Kevin Spacey for alleged sexual battery says other alleged victims have contacted him

In this week’s podcast:

• POSE star MJ Rodriguez honored as “Best Actress” in TV series at 2019 Imagen Awards which recognize positive portrayals of Latinx people in the media

• New ad spot compares eating ice cream with hugging your same-sex boyfriend in countries where homosexuality is punishable with prison time (what???)

• Illinois becomes the 5th state to include LGBTQ history in public school curriculum

• A trans student is kicked out of his Christian college for having top surgery

• A masseur suing Kevin Spacey for alleged sexual battery says other alleged victims have contacted him

All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report

Posted on

Masseur Suing Kevin Spacey Says Other Alleged Victims Have Reached Out To Him

The Blast is reporting the masseur who filed a lawsuit against Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey for alleged sexual battery says two other men have told him they, too, were victims of sexual misconduct by Spacey.
Kevin Spacey in a Massachusetts courtroom last month

The Blast is reporting the masseur who filed a lawsuit against Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey for alleged sexual battery says two other men have told him they, too, were victims of sexual misconduct by Spacey.

According to court documents obtained by The Blast, the man suing the actor, using the pseudonym John Doe, says he has new witnesses.

He claims to know of two other “masseur victims” of Spacey’s “sexual assaults who expressed concern for their safety and/or do not want their names revealed publicly in the media.”

Doe says his lawyers will meet with Spacey’s to figure out the best plan to reveal the names to the actor, without harming the men in the process.

Spacey accuses Doe of refusing to turn over the names or other basic information about his allegations, including the date of the alleged sexual assault.

The actor “believes trial will be necessary” and that a “settlement is highly unlikely.”

Criminal charges against Spacey were dropped last month when a Nantucket teen, who had accused the actor of groping him in 2017, refused to waive his 5th Amendment rights.

The Usual Suspects star then made an unexpected appearance at a museum in Rome last week where he performed an impromptu reading of the poem.

Posted on

Podcast: HIV Charity Scammed, Coke’s Hungarian Backlash, Spacey Returns, Univision New Gay TV Series

In this week’s podcast:

• An Ohio Republican lawmaker faced backlash after she blamed gays, video games, drag queens and more for recent mass shootings

• A New York City pastor is accused of scamming over $600,000 from two charities that help HIV+ drug addicts

• Coca-Cola faces backlash for same-sex ad campaign in Hungary

• Kevin Spacey resurfaces for an impromptu performance in Italy

* Univision is about to premiere its first Spanish language broadcast television series featuring a gay couple as the lead characters

All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report