LGBTQ news and entertainment
Some news items you might have missed: • Men’s Journal: Early readers of TRR will remember I had a long-running “affinity” for True Blood/Magic Mike star Joe Manganiello. Well, it looks like he’s busier and better than ever. Continue reading “Joe Manganiello Is Back + Team USA’s Out Athletes + More News”
Some news items you might have missed: • OUT: Olympic silver medalist Gus Kenworthy has penned an open letter offering queer pearls of wisdom for LGBTQ+ athletes competing at this year’s Olympic Games. Continue reading “Gus Kenworthy Sends Support To LGBTQ Paris Olympians + More”
Some news items you might have missed: • LGBTQ Nation: In a personal essay, Justice Horn (above), chairman of the Kansas City LGBTQ Commission, shares how he wasn’t always proud to be a Black queer man. But one heart-wrenching moment changed everything. Continue reading “Justice Horn On What It Took For Him To Be Out & Proud + More News”
Taylor Zakhar Perez as Alex Claremont-Diaz and Nicholas Galitzine as Prince Henry in Prime Video’s Red, White & Royal Blue
Ireen Wüst of the Netherlands has become the first athlete in history to win individual gold medals in five consecutive Olympic Games. The out bisexual speed skater scored her latest gold in the 1,500-meter race today. Continue reading “Out Speed Skater Makes Olympic History”
Out US speed skater Brittany Bowe was honored as an official flag bearer for Team USA in the opening ceremonies for the Olympic Games in Beijing. Continue reading “Out Speed Skater Serves As Team USA Flag Bearer At Beijing Olympics”
Adam Rippon (right) and Jussi-Pekka Kajaala are engaged (image via Instagram/Adam Rippon)Out Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon has announced the happy news that he and his longtime boo Jussi-Pekka ‘JP’ Kajaala are now engaged.
“JP and I didn’t get to see each other for almost all of 2020 because of the pandemic,” said in a post on Instagram. “When there was finally a chance for me to go and see him in Finland, I jumped at it. I was there for a little over two months.”
Amid sharing jokes, shoveling snow, binge-watching The Crown, and even booting up for a little skating, “We bought ourselves some rings and said that magic word.. ‘duh!’ We got engaged.”
“I’m excited to marry JP because he’s just the best,” Rippon tells PEOPLE in an statement. “He’s kind, he’s funny, and he’s just as beautiful on the inside as he is on the out (which is a lot). He’s my cheerleader and I’m his. I just love him a lot.”
Leading up to the big moment, Rippon says the couple “did everything together.” They bought the rings together, picked them up together, and even simultaneously dropped down to a knee and popped the question in unison so they could both “be the one who proposed.”
“We went to a nice dinner and we did it at the same time,” the 31-year-old athlete told Good Morning America. “We did three, two, one, and we put the rings on.”
Rippon became a household name during the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where he scored a bronze medal as part of Team USA. As a result, he became the first openly gay U.S. athlete to medal at the Olympics – and playfully declared himself ‘America’s sweetheart.’
It was while competing abroad that Rippon met his future fiancé on Tinder.
Since that time, the couple has been out and proud about their relationship. Kajaala has appeared with Rippon on red carpets at events and shared moments on each others Instagram accounts.
Rippon, a longtime LGBTQ activist, says the exposure was done with a purpose.
“I think that representation and seeing people in different circumstances can help inspire,” he told GMA. “I think growing up, I never really saw myself getting married because I didn’t see how it would happen.”
“It was with JP, the first time I thought, ‘Oh yeah, I know the feeling I can marry somebody,’” he added.
The couple hasn’t picked a date yet, but Rippon says he’d be happy with a small, non-Olympic sized ceremony.
“I think what we are just going to do is wear some cool clothes, go to the courthouse, get married, come home and maybe go to Houston Steakhouse after and that will be that.”
Congratulations to the happy couple!
Out Olympic silver medalist Gus Kenworthy is making one more run at the Olympics, but this time he’ll be skiing Brit-style. After two Winter Olympics competing for the United States, Kenworthy, 28, says he will switch to represent Great Britain after his application to switch to GB Snowsport was approved Tuesday by the International Ski Federation. The handsome Gus says the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing will most likely be his last. Born in Chelmsford, England, his family relocated to Colorado in the US when he was three. His mother is British and he holds a British passport. He currently resides in Los Angeles. Kenworthy shared with his Instagram followers: “I am very excited to announce that I will be competing for Team GB on the road to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. “Although I was raised in the US I was born in the UK and my mum is British through-and-through. She has been my #1 fan for my entire life and has proudly stood at the bottom of the mountain waving the stars and stripes in support of me for two Olympic cycles. “Now, in what is sure to be my last Olympic appearance, I’d like to return the honor by proudly holding up the British flag for her.”