Politics, pop culture and entertainment news of interest to the LGBTQ community
Jon Gruden has resigned as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders after emails spanning a seven year period revealed homophobic, racist and misogynistic comments. Continue reading “Jon Gruden Resigns From Raiders After Anti-Gay, Racist Emails”
During an appearance on Fox News Thursday night, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) was asked his thoughts on the surge in COVID-19 cases across the country, and Patrick pointed the finger at Black Americans. Continue reading “Texas Lt. Gov. Blames African Americans For COVID Surge”
When an employee at Davidovich Bakery on the Lower East Side of Manhattan asked a woman ordering bagels to mask up while in the establishment, she lobbed the n-word his way.
Oh, and it turns out she’s a COVID denier as well.
From the New York Daily News:
A security guard tells the clerk it’s up to him if he wants to serve her — and he said he did not — the guard tells the customer: “Ma’am, he’s not going to serve you, so please leave.”
“Why, cause he’s a b—h-ass n—–?” she responded, and then repeated the slur.
The woman, who spoke to The News on Tuesday, identified herself as Stephanie Denaro of Queens. “I said, ‘You’re a bitch-ass n—-r,’ a term they use,” she said in a phone interview. “All of my children have a Black father. That’s a term I’ve heard them use all my life.”
When asked if she was concerned about the video going viral, she said, “It’s actually great, because they’re forcing people in New York City to wear masks. It’s political theater. I don’t believe in COVID-19. It’s a hoax to convince people to use absentee ballots to steal the election from Donald Trump.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMv4EaLhTCd/
That’s it. The entire planet – all the hospitalizations and deaths in the U.S., Brazil, Europe, the UK…all of that was staged in order to scrounge up absentee ballots so Trump would lose.
Okay…
Davidovich Bakery issued a statement expressing its strong support for the employee via social media:
We want to commend our employee on his handling of the sad incident which occurred at the Essex Market. As is true with any family an attack on one member of the family is an attack on all of us. Davidovich is a family run business and a family. We stand with all our employees for handling this situation of hate and bigotry with professionalism and grace. We intend to make it clear that this customer or anyone who uses racism and any insensitive language, simply is not welcome in our stores.
They thought the patrolman’s body cam was broken. It wasn’t.
A police chief and a patrolman from the town of Hamilton, Georgia, were fired after body cam footage showed the men making racist comments regarding slavery and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
Police Chief Gene Allmond and patrolman John Brooks are seen on the body cam footage (captured last June) discussing a range of topics. At the time, they believed the body cam was defective.
Later, the camera was examined and found that the camera had merely run out of storage because it was full.
At one point, the recording shows Allmond and Brooks discussing then-candidate Joe Biden’s considering Mayor Bottoms and Stacey Abrams for his running mate. Officer Brooks says during the conversation, “If I had to f*ck a [n-word], I’d rather f*ck the mayor [Keisha Lance Bottoms] than Stacey Abrams.”
As the two began to prepare for patrolling a Black Lives Matter rally, the conversation shifted to slavery. Chief Allmond offers his thoughts on the subject: “They furnished them a house to live in, they furnished them clothes to put on their back, they furnished them food to put on their table, and all they had to do” was work.
At another point in the video, Mr. Brooks is discussing a recent police shooting and complains, “How come when you tase a f*cking [n-word] it’s like you done killed them 27 times?”
Note – the six minute footage has been posted by local ABC News affiliate WTVM.
According to the New York Times, a city employee discovered the conversation while reviewing the footage. The employee contacted Buddy Walker, an assistant to Mayor Julie Brown, and eventually watched the footage with Ransom Farley, the mayor pro tempore.
In viewing the footage with Mr. Farley, who is Black, Mr. Walker, who is white, said, “To look at the video with him, to listen to someone he’s known for many years – my reaction was incredibly bad. You can imagine his reaction.”
Mr. Farley told the New York Times, “It hurts when you think you know somebody and you don’t.”
The mayor and City Council met on Monday, January 25, and everyone agreed they “knew what had to be done.”
Informed he had the option to resign or be fired, Mr. Brooks asked to see the video recording.
Mr. Walker told the New York Times, “He watched the entire video and then came in and told the mayor pro temp that he was sorry — that that was really not the way he was.”
“I’m not accepting your apology, because you’re sorry that you got caught,” Farley told Brooks. “You’re not sorry because of what you said.”
But Mr. Farley wasn’t done.
“I own the fact that I am Black and I am gay,” Mr. Farley continued. “If you’re a bigot, if you’re a racist, own it.”
#MicDrop
Both men agreed to resign, but when Mr. Brooks didn’t return his police department equipment on time, he was fired.
Speaking to the Times, Mr. Farley made a point to note that the two men weren’t done in because someone tried to entrap them.
“Nobody told on them,” said Mr. Farley. “They told on themselves.”
(source: New York Times)
Two American women who were detained by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent for speaking Spanish in a convenience store in Montana have reportedly agreed to a settlement after suing the agency.
Martha “Mimi” Hernandez and Ana Suda and were buying groceries in a store in the town of Havre on May 16, 2018, when CBP Agent Paul O’Neal stopped them and asked for their IDs. He told the pair (on video) that he was stopping them because he overheard them “speaking Spanish which is very unheard of ‘up here.'”
Note – Hernandez was born in El Centro, California, and moved to Montana in 2010. Suda was born in El Paso, Texas, and moved to Montana in 2014.
USA Today reports that during the lawsuit, text messages were found on O’Neill’s phone that contained derogatory and racist language.
According to the ACLU, the lawsuit also found O’Neill belonged to a secret Facebook group called the “I’m 10-15,” where CBP agents and former agents shared ugly comments and joked about the deaths of migrants. The group has since been disbanded.
A video statement obtained by the ACLU showed a CBP supervisor admitting that his agents routinely viewed people speaking Spanish with suspicion in Havre, which is majority white but has a growing Latino population.
“[Havre] is a small place,” the CBP supervisor said on the video. “And we have a lot of agents here, and nobody really has much to do… I was sitting at the mall off duty with my family. I’m sitting there at the restaurant, I look up it’s — there’s two Mexicans. Maybe I should call about this.”
The amount of the settlement has not been disclosed. Hernandez and Suda eventually moved away from Havre after facing backlash for speaking out.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) took a moment this morning to clap back against Donald Trump’s comment yesterday when he floated a birther theory that Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) might not be eligible to run for vice president.
Trump told reporters on Thursday, “I heard today that she doesn’t meet the requirements. I have no idea if that’s right. I would have assumed the Democrats would have checked that out before she gets chosen to run for vice president.”
Ahem, Harris was born in Oakland, California – on US soil – in 1964. The 14th Amendment makes it very clear she is a natural-born citizen and can run for veep.
Graham made note of this on Twitter:
President Trump on claims that :Kamala Harris isn't eligible to run for Vice President because she's an anchor baby: "I heard it today that she doesn't meet the requirements…I have no idea if that's right. I would have assumed the Democrats would have checked that out." pic.twitter.com/H887X43GJK
— CSPAN (@cspan) August 13, 2020
However, there is no issue as to whether or not she is an American citizen.
She was born in the United States in 1964 to parents who were legally present.
Under the Constitution and Supreme Court precedent, she is unequivocally an American citizen.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) August 14, 2020
Just to let you know this stuff really IS out there.
Via The Gaily Grind:
The man, who was later identified as 19-year-old Colton Allen of Bedford, Indiana, posted the video after someone left a note on his windshield saying, “f*ck you.”
After showing off the note, Allen goes around his pickup truck with an unidentified cameraman to show why someone might be compelled to leave the hostile note.
The video, originally posted on Snapchat by Allen’s friend, Brady Headrick, went viral after it was shared on social media by former NBA player Rex Chapman on July 12.
The cameraman asks “What are they are hating on, Mr. Colton?”
He replied, “I honestly don’t understand why they’re so upset,” grabbing the noose and characterizing it as his “dog’s leash.”
Near the end of the video, the cameraman suggests the noose is “just hanging” in the event the driver needs to “pull somebody out.”
“It’s not like it can be a noose or anything. That’s racist,” the cameraman said, to which Allen agreed.
There’s a lot more about Allen, who graduated from Bedford North Lawrence High School in 2020, over at Heavy.com. Before he made his Facebook profile more private, his Facebook page included several memes and posts about his right-wing views and his support of President Donald Trump.
Man from Indiana doesn’t think the noose on the back of his Confederate truck is racist pic.twitter.com/8UgczAKtV1
— Fifty Shades of Whey (@davenewworld_2) July 12, 2020
Some news items you might have missed:
• Back2Stonewall: Out actor-comedian Billy Eichner is set to play TV icon Paul Lynde in the upcoming biopic Man in the Box. While Lynde never officially “out,” his sexuality was well-known in front of and behind the camera throughout a run on television beginning in the ’50s up until his death in 1982.
• KOMO: The cast and creators of the Emmy-nominated cult HBO classic The Comeback will reunite on July 21 as part of the Stars In the House daily live-streamed series. The show’s creator and star Lisa Kudrow will be on board to chat on the satirical reality show that followed one woman’s journey as a B-list sitcom actress trying to reclaim A-list status via reality TV. Hot hubby Michael and I loved the series – Kudrow was brilliant walking the fine line of reality/scripted TV.
• ABC News: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell revealed Tuesday morning that Senate Republicans plan to support another round of stimulus checks to Americans in their next coronavirus relief proposal. This time around, however, Republicans would like to lower the income threshold to qualify. The cap on payments in the first CARES bill was $99,000.
• NPR: Teachers in Florida are suing the state to block an emergency order requiring schools to open next month with in-person instruction. They say, with the surge of coronavirus cases, the order violates a provision in Florida’s constitution requiring the state to ensure schools are operated safely.
• BroBible: A teen employee at a Lowe’s store in Washington, Kyle Sales, was forced to change his tee-shirt reading “Black Panther Wakanda Forever” after a ‘Karen’ complained the shirt was racist. After the exchange, Sales went home and put a jersey over his Black Panther movie shirt. The next day, ‘Karen’ returned demanding to know how Sales was punished.
• Boy Culture: Donald Trump, at his daily coronavirus presser, was asked about Ghislaine Maxwell — perhaps you’ve heard of her? The lady accused of running a child-sex ring for Jeffrey Epstein, who died on Trump’s watch? Yeah, he said — twice — “I wish her well.”
Trump coolly admits to having met Ghislaine Maxwell several times, and says — twice — “I wish her well.” Astounding. Video: pic.twitter.com/R8lwDfTKhR
— Boy Culture Blog (@mattrett) July 21, 2020
Here’s a sad example that there’s a jerk in just about every demographic.
A video shared on social media shows a confrontation between a driver and a pedestrian escalate to violence after the driver realized he was captured on video calling a Black sanitation worker a “f*cking n****r.”
The incident took place on New York City’s Upper East Side over the weekend. After shouting the racist slur, the driver noticed a pedestrian was recording the ugliness.
“Are you recording me?” asked the driver.
“Yeah,” says the pedestrian.
“Why?” the driver asks.
In a pretty spot-on assessment, the pedestrian replied, “Because you’re an asshole.”
“I’m an asshole? Honey, look in the mirror, okay? The only person who is an asshole is you for recording,” says the racist driver.
During the exchange, the motorist asked the pedestrian, “Are you gay, too?”
“Too?” Oh god, he’s gay? Dang it…
“No,” the pedestrian replies.
“No, you’re not? Well, you look like it,” the driver snaps back.
When the pedestrian shares he plans on uploading the video to the internet, the driver scoffs, “Okay, I’ll get fans, honey. That’s what I’ll do.”
It’s at that point the driver exits his car and assaults the pedestrian. Along the way snatches the phone recording the incident and hurls it to the ground.
The driver probably thought he’d solved his internet problem, except others nearby noticed the exchange and were recording as well.
The YouTube poster writes that prior to the beginning of the clip, the driver “was repeatedly shouting at a Black sanitation worker, yelling “you’re a n*****”. The noise was enough for several residents to come down to street level.”
Folks in the Twitterverse were NOT having the hideous behavior.
Racist on the Upper East Side. Find out who this racist person is and let us hold them accountable. This and any other act of racism will NOT be tolerated.
As City Council Member of #District45, I will be holding these racists accountable.https://t.co/41nCXEP0Fq pic.twitter.com/ariaOSFGF4
— Anthony Beckford (City Council Candidate)🌹 (@Vote4Beckford) July 19, 2020
As a gay we don’t claim him
— Absolute trash mammal ✊🏾BLM (@Fox2Fox5) July 19, 2020
Remind NYC gays that all of the rights they take for granted are thanks to black Lgbtq civil rights leaders of stonewall, and the gay community’s modern rights are because of the civil rights work of blacks in the 50’s and 60’s. This guy should have more respect.
— Todd Bailey (@toddzillaboy67) July 20, 2020
It’s horrifying. This person grows up somewhere else, as a racist, and at some point decides that they want to go live (uninvited) in NYC. Then comes to NYC so he can shout N$%^*R at black New Yorkers whom were probably born there.#GoHome #BlackLivesMatter #GoHomeRacist
— jerry quickley (@jerryquickley) July 20, 2020
Another Trumpster who knows the party is OVER as he loses in Nov.
— Darryl D (DEEP STATE Warrior) (@OregonDarryl) July 19, 2020
Another Karen is on the loose and this one is one of the worst! He was angry because HE WAS CAUGHT out on his racist bs thus he tries to destroy the evidence. Pathetic!
— Chris Wolfe (@Grinning_Coyote) July 20, 2020
Another crazy racist acts out with full knowledge of a camera recording his foolishness and ends up issuing an empty ‘apology.’
According to USA Today, Jordan Chan and her family were celebrating her aunt’s birthday Saturday when one patron, Michael Lofthouse, CEO of Solid8, LLC, a San Francisco cloud computing services company, began harassing the family from a nearby table.
Chan began recording Lofthouse as he continued harassing her family at Bernardus restaurant in Carmel Valley, California.
The video starts with Lofthouse flipping off Chan after she asked him to repeat what he’d said previously. People at the table can be heard saying “you need to leave.”
After getting up, Lofthouse then says, “You f—— need to leave! You f—— Asian piece of s—!”
A server, in frame, then immediately yells at him, “No, you do not talk to our guests like that. Get out of here.”
When confronted on social media after the incident, Lofthouse doubled down on his ugly behavior.
And then, once busted by the news media, Lofthouse ‘apologized’ in a statement to ABC7:
My behavior in the video is appalling. This was clearly a moment where I lost control and made incredibly hurtful and divisive comments. I would like to deeply apologize to the Chan family. I can only imagine the stress and pain they feel. I was taught to respect people of all races, and I will take the time to reflect on my actions and work to better understand the inequality that so many of those around me face every day.
You have to wonder: Is Lofthouse mentally ill that he would have such enormous emotional mood swings? Or is this a case of the obvious – he got caught and wrote a hollow apology that ‘sounds like’ what he should say in order to save his butt?