LGBTQ news and entertainment
Some news items you might have missed: • The Advocate: When Will Ferrell’s best friend of 30 years came out as transgender, the actor said he had “zero knowledge” of the community. Now, the two have made a documentary together – Will & Harper – to showcase their journey to understanding. Continue reading “Will Ferrell’s Docu-Film About His Best Friend’s Transition + More News”
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| Out Olympian Gus Kenworthy & Beemo |
Some news items you might have missed:
• Bonus National Puppy Day pic – Gus Kenworthy’s South Korean pup, Beemo, has her own Instagram page and already has 70K followers. Deservedly so, I should add.
• A new study shows 92% of young gay men want to get married.
• Robbie Rogers and director Greg Berlanti bought out two movie theaters so young LGBTQs could see Berlanti’s new movie, Love, Simon.
• The anti-gay hate group Liberty Counsel has pulled its support for the anti-LGBT bill The First Amendment Defense Act because it’s not anti-gay enough.
• Craigslist has shut down its personal ad section after the U.S. Senate passed Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA). Some say shuttering these ads is dangerous for the sex workers it purportedly protects as sex workers advertising online are not soliciting work on the streets, where they are more likely to encounter dangerous situations.
• Comedian Jim Carrey has been sharing his artwork of late relating to the Trump regime, if you will.
The latest shows Donald Trump in flagrante delicto as allegations of sexual relationships with porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal dominate the headlines.
Fifty Shades of Decay pic.twitter.com/aurfm22ru6— Jim Carrey (@JimCarrey) March 23, 2018
In this week’s podcast:
• Political history was made in elections across the country this week by LGBT candidates
• A new poll in the UK shows gay men have an issue with masculinity
• Australia looks poised to legalize same-sex marriage, but there could be a snag
• A Las Vegas father shoots and kills his 14-year-old son for being gay. Click here to contribute to a GoFundMe campaign aimed at helping pay funeral expenses.
• Pro soccer player Robbie Rogers, the first openly gay athlete in one of the “big four” professional sports, announced his retirement
• Star Trek star and LGBT icon George Takei accused of sexual misconduct
All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report.
LA Galaxy defender Robbie Rogers announced his retirement from professional soccer this week which means there are currently no openly gay athletes in the “big four” professional sports in the U.S.
Rogers broke down that historic closet door in 2013 when he came out and simultaneously retired.
But the 30-year-old athlete came out of retirement only three months later with the support of fans and players, playing for the LA Galaxy since 2013.
With a career spanning over 11 years in Major League Soccer, he has won two MLS Cups and represented the U.S. Olympic Team in Beijing in 2008.
From Robbie’s Instagram:
As a young boy I dreamed of becoming a professional soccer player and representing my country in front of the world. But as a teenager I grew more and more consumed by fear and shame. And sadly, at some point the scared kid inside me decided that pursuing my dream meant sacrificing a part of myself and hiding my sexuality from the world instead of embracing it.
My happiest years as a player are the ones where I could walk through the stadium at the end of games down the tunnel to my partner and son waiting for me at the other end. And my only regret in my eleven year career are the years I spent in the closet. I wish I could have found the courage that so many young individuals have shared with me in the past five years to live honestly and openly as a gay person. These are the young people that inspired me to overcome my fears and return to playing. They’re still the kids that send me letters every week. To those kids, I say thank you. My proudest accomplishment in my career is helping to create a more open sport for you.
None of this would have been possible without my teammates and brothers on and off the field, without the LA Galaxy and Bruce Arena who saw me as another player and not a distraction, or without the fans who judged me for my work ethic and my play and not my sexuality. And finally, it couldn’t have been possible without my family, who loved me through all of my ups and downs and always supported my dreams and still do.
Lastly to all of the women and men who are still frightened to share their truth with the world, I’d encourage you to come out. By sharing who you are you will not only be improving your own life but inspiring and literally saving the lives of young people across the world. You deserve to take that same walk, down the players tunnel and have your own partner or loved ones waiting for you.
Again thank you to everyone who watched or help me follow these dreams. I could never have imagined the happiness I’ll take with me into retirement and into my next chapter.
Since coming out as gay, Robbie has been inducted into the National Gay and Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame.
Robbie lives in Los Angeles with fiancé Greg Berlanti and their son, Caleb.
Thank you, Robbie, for being first. For your courage. For your persistence.
We are grateful forever for your audacity, daring and fearlessness to step through that door.
#Forward
Some news items you may have missed:
• Woofy Steve Raider (above) wants to know “Who’s your daddy wolf?”
• 40% of America’s homeless youth are LGBT. And to help, AT&T recently launched its Live Proud Holidays campaign to support Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors Fund in their work to end LGBT youth homelessness. Click here to find out how you can support and participate.
• After two appearances on Will & Grace during the show’s initial run, might Cher willingly grace the NBC series one more time?
• 8 House of Cards employees accuse Kevin Spacey of sexual harassment/assault.
• CNN is now looking at putting up a subscription paywall like several major newspapers have done. The New York Times and Washington Post allow ten free articles to be read before being blocked. Wall Street Journal gives you nothing free. Thoughts? Post below.
• Out professional athletes Robbie Rogers (MLS) and Jason Collins (former NBA) share their coming out stories as part of the “One Stride, Many Journeys” series by Barefoot Wine + Out. Watch below.
Out professional soccer player Robbie Rogers is featured in a new commercial for Target’s new clothing line from Goodfellow & Co.
According to Outsports, the spot featuring Rogers has been airing during NFL Sunday football games.
Rogers, who came out in 2013, has a son with his fiancé, TV producer Greg Berlanti (Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Everwood).
Over the weekend, out pro soccer player Robbie Rogers (currently with the LA Galaxy) announced his engagement to longtime boyfriend Greg Herlanti, writer/producer/director of Dawson’s Creek, Brothers & Sisters, Green Lantern, Everwood, Political Animals, Arrow, The Flash.
Thank you to everyone before us that made this moment possible… I feel extremely lucky and blessed to end 2016 engaged to the love of my life. ❤ Happy New Year!
And Berlanti made his own announcement as well:
2016 was memorable for many reasons, for me it as the year my heart doubled in size. First, when my son Caleb was born. And second, a few days ago, when I got engaged to my soulmate ❤️ though I dreamed of both those things happening, i’m not sure I truly believed they were possible. Thanks to the friends and family who helped me find my way to this moment in my blessed life. a happy and healthy 2017 to all.
The couple has been together since 2013.
A reminder that we live in a world that still has a way to go when it comes to LGBT acceptance.
Out soccer player Robbie Rogers wrote on his Facebook page last night about an opposing player – for the first time since he became the first openly gay professional athlete in the U.S. – calling him “queer,” and the impact it had on him.
From Robbie’s Facebook page:
“Shit Off My Chest: 4 years later.”
After being out injured for two months with an Achilles surgery I finally made my return last night.
In the heat of the last fifteen minutes of the game a player from the opposing team called me a “queer” repeatedly. To be honest my initial reaction was one of shock. This is my fourth season back in the MLS and I’ve yet to hear another player use that or any other gay slur during a game. I quickly became enraged, I spent the drive home wishing I had channeled my inner Zidane and punched or head-butted this player even though I knew punching this person wouldn’t have helped either of us, my team, or the greater cause of advancing equality in sports. I went to bed upset last night. Angry at this player and and his ignorance. Angry at myself for not doing more in the moment. Sad the we still live in a time where this kind of intolerance still exists in my sport and elsewhere. And if I’m being honest, I was even a bit ashamed that a single word could make me feel, even just for a moment, all the awful feelings I felt for so many years: small, less than, wrong, and unworthy of love and respect by my family or god forbid by my teammates.
But it was just for a moment.
Minutes later my head was back in the game. And this morning even most of the anger has faded and the predominant emotions left are just love and gratitude. I’m happy that I practiced restraint worthy of my sport. I’m thankful for the many players on my team and even the opposing one who apologized to me for one man’s actions. Today, I woke up grateful to work in organization filled with so many players and coaches who have worked hard to practice tolerance of everyone and to help change a culture.
But mostly I’m proud of myself. I am proud more than ever that I had the courage to come out as a queer man. I feel so fortunate to have gotten to share my story with others and to have gotten to play this sport I love so much as an openly gay person. I am, more than ever, thankful to have teammates and a family that love and support me for the son, brother, partner, father and queer player that I am.
I’m encouraging, as I did when I came out four years ago, all athletes to find the courage within themselves to come out. Listen, only you know when and how it’s best for you to live your truth and share your story, but each one of you that chooses to make this courageous step is not just vastly improving your own life but literally saving others.
xRR
Robbie continues to inspire.
I completely get Robbie’s thought that he was “ashamed that a single word” could affect him so strongly. I think most gay men still have that knee-jerk reaction when we hear the words that taunted us in the past in today’s social landscape.
I have to say thanks to Robbie for sharing the incident and how it processed through his heart and mind.
#Winner
GQ Magazine takes a ride with L.A. Galaxy player Robbie Rogers on his way to the 2014 Men of the Year party.
Rocking Robbie opens up about what it was like to come out as one of the first openly gay professional athletes, and what it was like to have more than one “first time:”
“First time with a girl was in high school. I think it was my junior year of high school. Still friends. It was actually alright, you know I’m a gay guy. I don’t know how she enjoyed it or if she enjoyed it as much as me.
“First time with a guy was actually not until I was 25, after I came out. Super awkward. I mean, can you imagine dating and hooking up with a guy after your coming out, after 25 years? I’m sure he was like, ‘What is going on?’ I think I’ve gotten a little better at doing all that stuff so hopefully those embarrassing moments are over”