Politics, pop culture and entertainment news of interest to the LGBTQ community
The Norway Postal Service presents its utterly charming Christmas short-film, “When Harry Met Santa.” Continue reading “Norway Postal Service Releases Touching Short Film ‘When Harry Met Santa’”
In this week’s podcast:
• HIV diagnoses in the UK drop to their lowest levels in 20 years
• Norway expands hate speech laws to protect all LGBTQ citizens
• Lawmakers in Hungary have drafted a constitutional change that effectively prohibits same-sex couples from adopting
• A citizens’ petition in Poland proposes banning Pride parades
• Sarah McBride is set to become the highest-ranking transgender legislator in the country
• Out political journalist Steve Kornacki shines on Election Night on social media as ‘Korsnacki’ and ‘Map Daddy’
• Don’t miss the upcoming gay holiday romance movie Dashing in December on Paramount TV
All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report
Some news items you might have missed:
• Just found out I’m going to be on the same Atlantis cruise later this month with this guy (above). #WoofForWolff
• George Michael made secret donations to Project Angel Food in Los Angeles totaling more than $650,000 after the death of his partner to HIV-related causes in 1993.
• The state of Florida will offer HIV prevention treatment PrEP for free statewide by the end of 2018.
• The ABC hit TV sitcom Modern Family will probably come to a close after it’s 10th season next year. The LGBT-inclusive series has won 22 Primetime Emmy Awards to date.
• Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen apparently doesn’t know if Norway is a predominantly white country. #SRSLY
• Jax Jones recently dropped his latest dance bop, “Breathe,” featuring vocals by Ina Wroldsen.
With a catchy chorus, the melodic house track jumped to #6 in just a few weeks on the UK Singles chart. Listen below – bet you bounce.
Even though he is one of Norway’s richest men, Stein Erik Hagen has just come out of the closet at the age of 59.
His career began as a supermarket owner, but now is chairman of Orkla, a Norwegian conglomerate with 30,000 employees in more than 40 countries.
He has four children from two former marriages.
Via Instinct
Coming out to NRK, he said: ‘I realized that I was gay in adulthood. When I was in my 20s we did not know what it was. We had heard about it, but it was not something we associated ourselves with.’
He was born in July 1956 and the law decriminalizing homosexuality in Norway didn’t come in until he was 16-years-old, he said.
But while he has never been open about his sexuality, Hagen has been a gay rights campaigner for years.
He campaigned for acceptance in the church, investing hundreds of thousands of krone into the fight.
Gay Star News speculates that Hagen, said to worth between $2.4-$3.6 billion dollars, could be the richest single gay man in the world.
I’ll admit I’m a bit surprised that a country that I consider fairly “liberal” socially led Hagen to be so uncomfortable with being open about sexuality until his late 50s.
