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News Round-Up: August 2, 2015

Some news stories you may have missed:

• HBO programming chief Michael Lombardo acknowledges canceling LGBT series “Looking” was a painful decision.

• Just for the fun of it – here’s the best TV bloopers from local news reports in the past month. Folks are human, don’t you know?

• Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker still backs a Constitutional amendment allowing states to ban same-sex marriage.

• Anti-gay Congressman Steve King says the recent SCOTUS ruling on same-sex marriage means you can now marry your lawn mower.

• Donald Trump may be riding high amid his GOP competitors, but a new poll shows every Democratic nominee would beat him.

• Did former One Directioner Zayn Malik throw shade at his former bandmates?

• GOP hopeful Dr. Ben Carson doesn’t know if the Bible has “authority” over the U.S. Constitution.
(Here’s a clue – it doesn’t. Separation of Church and State and all that, don’t you know…)

• Two current NFL players say they would come out if the media wouldn’t make “a big deal out of it.”

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One Direction Drops First New Track Minus Zayn Malik – “Drag Me Down”

One Direction apparently surprised folks this morning when they decided to drop their first “post-Zayn Malik” track on the internet – “Drag Me Down.”

Swapping lyric lines (as they do in the boy band genre) the group sounds as bouncy, bright and complete as ever.

From Billboard:

On its first single without recently departed member Zayn Malik — and its first since its five-year anniversary as a group — One Direction romantically alludes to the diehard Directioners and their place in the group’s phenomenal run of success; it’s basically the Backstreet Boys’ “Larger Than Life” with a slightly less bombastic guitar riff.

The best news for One Direction fans is that the quartet does not sound incomplete: the group compensates for Malik’s absence by giving each member ample time to shine, and the harmonies admirably resonate on the call-and-response portions of the pre-chorus.

Take a listen below.

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Did One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson Come Out?

Twitter-land is apparently agog today over a short six second Vine that would appear to show One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson “coming out” as he enters an elevator at his hotel this weekend in Australia.

Via Vocativ:

A single, barely audible Vine video has fuelled rumors that Louis Tomlinson of One Direction is gay, and sparked an enormous frenzy of Twitter speculation. In less than 10 hours, fans posted over 285,000 tweets with the new hashtag #ImGayItsPrettyUnfortunate.

Last night a One Direction fan, who calls herself Amber Almighty, posted a Vine video of band member Louis Tomlinson. The shaky audio from this video is nearly impossible to understand. However, Amber claims the singer said “I’m gay, it’s pretty unfortunate,” (which she later slowed down and changed to “I’m gay, it’s pretty important.”) Even though Tomlinson quoshed similar rumors in the past, insisting he is straight, once more Twitter has erupted in delirium over the singer’s sexuality.

Coincidentally, Tomlinson recently changed his Twitter picture to an anonymous egg and supposedly unfollowed One Direction’s management, fueling rumors that his “coming out” caused conflict with the band’s management. Fans on Twitter replied passionately, promising their support and denouncing anyone threatening to “leave the fandom” if Tomlinson’s homosexuality was confirmed.

Here’s the original Vine, followed by another version a user says they “slowed down” to hear more clearly.

At the end of the day, does anyone really care?

Straight or gay, just be yourself, Louis.

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One Direction – “Story of My Life” shred

I hadn’t heard of a “shred” before, so I clicked play and literally laughed out loud. The longer it goes on, the funnier it got for me.  When Harry Styles hits the chorus I just break up. 

It goes without saying that this isn’t the real guys singing.  But wouldn’t it be funny if this is what they really sound like?

Kinda like this recording from the sound board of Britney Spears mic feed live in concert…


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One Direction’s Liam has “huge love” for Duck Dynasty’s “values”

Everyone is entitled to an opinion. But One Direction’s Liam Payne confused the Twitterverse with his tweet today sending”huge love” to the Duck Dynasty family.

You’ll recall the Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson recently found himself in hot water due to his anti-gay remarks in a GQ Magazine interview.

It’s impossible to believe that Liam Payne sent his message not thinking it would relate to the anti-gay animus coming from Phil Robertson and company.

Payne later tweeted: “Being a fan of someones show and the way they still hold a family together doesnt mean i am ok with all they say.”

Hmm…..