Back to bake off!The Great British Bake Off the beloved U.K. reality competition series about baking that has introduced audiences to several queer fan-favorites over the years is returning for season 16 with a brand-new lineup of amateur bakers.Cohosts Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond are back, as are judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith. This feel-good series always sparks joy for its loyal audience of fans, and we all need a little bit of that during tough times.With as many as four out queer contestants Aaron, Jessika, Leighton, and Tom the cast of GBBO 2025 sounds pretty fabulous!Scroll through to meet the full cast and the queer contestants of The Great British Bake Off season 16, which premieres September 2 on Channel 4.AaronAge: 38Location: LondonJob: Senior systems architect"Aaron is a passionate baker who fuses French patisserie with Caribbean flair, and is always experimenting with his bakes. He is currently embracing Asian flavors like miso and yuzu in his mono-portion bakes. But when he isn't baking, Aaron can be found cycling around the city, teaching himself French, lifting weights at the gym of studying for a Master's."JessikaAge: 32Location: LondonJob: Service designer"Gifting baked goods is Jessika's love language and she'll spend months gathering information about her friends tastes before surprising them with the perfect birthday entremet. Jessika's signature bakes fuse daring flavors like salted mango caramel with a dark chocolate mousse. But when she isn't baking, Jessica's either on skates, cycling or as her drag king persona."LeightonAge: 59Location: SurreyJob: Software delivery manager"Leighton likes to play with traditional Welsh, British, and American flavors when it comes to baking, with his favorites like Welsh cakes with peanut butter and Victoria Sponge with key lime pie filling. 'Never in a million years did I think I'd actually get into the Bake Off tent,' Leighton said. 'I know everyone says that, but it's true! I absolutely love baking all kinds, all styles and I'm very much a weekend baker for friends, family and my work colleagues. It's always been a passion, but I never imagined it would lead me to the tent.'"TomAge: 31Location: LondonJob: Creative entrepreneur"Tom learned how to bake scones and flapjacks alongside his mum and grandmother. After stepping back from the advertising agency he set up, he recently reconnected with baking and brings a creative flair to his beautifully presented bakes."HassanAge: 30Location: South YorkshireJob: Analytical research & development scientist"As a scientist, Hassan takes an analytical approach to baking, researching processes thoroughly before getting started on a new recipe. Inspired by his Pakistani heritage, Hassan is especially fond of praline and nut-based flavors that echo traditional Asian sweets. When he isn't baking, Hassan is a dedicated gamer, gym-goer and meets regularly with his friends for a quiz."IainAge: 29Location: BelfastJob: Software engineer"Iain mixes his love of live music with sourdough, immortalizing album cover art on the crusts on his loaves. When baking, Iain blends classic flavors with a creative twist, often using fermented fruits and vegetables. In the tent, Iain is on a mission to rewrite the Bake Off legacy of 'Iain from Belfast' once and for all."JasmineAge: 23Location: LondonJob: Medical student"Alongside her medical career, Jasmine uses baking as her creative outlet, and enjoys nothing better than using fresh, seasonal ingredients to create classic flavor combinations. Jasmine learnt the basics of bread and cakes through her mum and aunts, and has fond memories of batch baking for big family holidays."LesleyAge: 59Location: KentJob: Hairdresser"Lesley has been a hairdresser for 45 years and those who go to her salon can always expect a lovely slice of cake along with their trim. She has been baking since she was 10 and was inspired by her grandmother and aunt, who taught her the basics and sparked a lifelong passion."NadiaAge: 41Location: LiverpoolJob: Hairdresser"Inspired by her Italian chef dad, Nadia brings rustic charm and soulful flavors into everything she bakes. 'Never in a million years did I think I would get on The Great British Bake Off,' Nadia said. 'So when I found out that I had actually got on the show I was actually working in my salon and then I had to act normal for the rest of the appointment I had to hold my scream in!'"NataliiaAge: 32Location: East YorkshireJob: Office assistant"Nataliia was taught how to bake by her grandmother, following traditional recipes that have been handed down through the generations. She uses those very recipes to this day and infuses classic British bakes with flavors inspired by her roots such as honey, poppy seeds, and spices like nutmeg and cinnamon."Pui ManAge: 51Location: EssexJob: Bridal designer"Pui Man brings attention to detail when it comes to designing a wedding dress, and especially when it comes to her bakes. She rediscovered baking during lockdown and hasn't looked back since, with her bakes being as beautiful as they are bold. When she tears herself away from baking, Pui Man can be found knitting with a pint."TobyAge: 29Location: WarwickshireJob: Business development executive"Toby takes a stripped back and healthy approach to baking and leans towards classic recipes and flavors as he believes they are classics for a reason. But Bread Week should come in handy for Toby, with bread making his real passion, and he bakes something different every day."

You mentioned in a recent article that you have struggled with a lack of sex drive when you love someone (and mentioned avoidant attachment styles).My partner and I are going through an identical thing, where he lost his libido after we settled into a committed relationship. We love each other so much and have talked about it a bunch, plus hes had therapy regarding finding ways to bring sex back into our relationship. We are open, which also helps scratch the itch, but he is the man I love, and I need to believe we will get through this and find each other again. I am doing everything in my power to give him space when he needs it and put zero pressure on him, but the truth is, when we are together, I am on fire for him, and its hard to continually feel rejected. Could you offer any advice on how you have navigated this and what worked? Thank you so much! Hey there, I dont know if its as easy as that if there are things that work, strategies for bringing back the heat, especially with people like me. If you love each other deeply, is there no possibility of transitioning to a loving relationship that doesnt involve much sex perhaps a setup where others meet your sexual needs? My longest and best relationship was like that. He was my platonic life partner, and the relationship was so good that I will measure all future boyfriends against him. He and I still had intimacy we cuddled, watched TV, cooked together, and did everything else but sexually, we had similar struggles. We had a hard time keeping the heat in committed relationships. Lucky for us, we were the same. We met our sexual needs with others, then came home and cuddled after. Whatever way forward you choose, I think there is very little you can do. This is his responsibility his trauma, his work, his stuff. The responsibility falls on him to understand how he works, communicates, and makes the extra effort. He probably wont ever fix his struggles with sex Im not sure I think thats possible for adults. But he can acknowledge, as I have, that this is his burden, his responsibility, his thing to manage within the relationship, not yours. Thats a big realization. For a long time, I thought everyone else was just clingy and too attached I thought I was the only sane, reasonable person in the dating game. Wrong: I had real, severe sex and intimacy issues. In therapy, I realized its not other peoples job to adapt to my ways its my job to adapt to theirs. My sex issues are my business, and I have to work on them; sometimes that work simply means recognizing when Im shutting down sexually because someone is getting too close because the feelings are getting a little strong and doing my best (not always successfully) to keep the heat going, because I love them. The fact is, I cant change how I am and your man cant either. But awareness helps guys like us communicate effectively through the problem, ask for space and patience, and convey how we feel. After that, I just have to hope my partners will be kind and understanding. Thats the best I can do. Thats the best he can do too. He wont suddenly turn on his sex drive if hes lost it and if hes like me, he likely feels deeply frustrated and ashamed about that. He probably feels broken, like hes letting down someone he loves. (And, just to be blunt: He is.) He probably wishes he could be on fire for you too. He may not be able to convey that wish to you he may never be able to but if hes avoidant, he wishes it, and that has to be enough for you, or you should leave him. I mean that. If it gets too much if the sting of being continually rejected gets too painful, as it surely must be you will need to make a difficult choice: You should either let go of him sexually and keep him as a loving, platonic life partner while seeking a fiery sexual relationship (or several) elsewhere, or you should leave him. Because your needs matter too. I know thats a brutal choice. Its not fair. But, my dear, hes in therapy. Hes doing the work. Do you know how few men are in therapy for their intimacy issues? Theres just not much more you can ask of him. If hes still not turning on the sex if hes not initiating its because he cant, and thats his problem. Its not because of anything youve done wrong. This is probably just what happens when he knows someone as deeply and intimately as he knows you. Hes probably beating himself up over this, but that doesnt take away the fact that your needs are not being met. Since he cant meet them, you should satisfy them with someone else. I admit: I have reservations about attachment theory. I believe it can serve as a valuable starting point for self-reflection, but I struggle with its fundamental premise. I bristle against any theory that categorizes people so neatly, and I scratch my head a bit at the claim that how were handled as babies shapes our entire adult romantic lives. A plethora of other factors must surely come into play. Would I be so avoidant if I werent a gay man born to conservative, homophobic parents? Ive read Attached by Drs. Amir Levine and Rachel Heller the book was such a hit that its all but standardized how people speak about this subject and it makes little mention of the role that social factors like homophobia and religion play in a persons development. Attachment theory focuses heavily on babies and postnatal care. But my avoidance, if anything, is a defense I learned in high school, when two people I trusted became, overnight, the parents who still break my heart today. Im avoidant because my first life lesson was how to shut down around the unsafe people I loved. Knowing this after years of therapy I can tell partners when I need space. And, knowing I am likely to shut down sexually, I can make extra effort to turn someone on and initiate sex even fake it in order to show them love and care. Thats what I have to do sometimes. Your partner may not quite be there yet, and thats OK. Decide what you can bear and how long you can bear it. Youre allowed to put your needs first. If theres been no progress after a set time, Id say its best to turn off the sex drive with him and fire it up with someone else or let him go entirely. I know it hurts. On behalf of him and all avoidant types, Im sorry. In case this story helps:Mmy book editor knows me better than anyone, and he once advised a man who was trying to win my affection. He said, Alex is like a butterfly. If you try to catch him in a net, youll kill him. Its very frustrating, but you have to stand very still and wait for the butterfly to land on your shoulder. It might not happen often, and not as soon as you like, but when it does, its wonderful. And then the butterfly flies off again.He told me this years later, and as much as I bristled at being so summarily understood, he was right. With avoidant types, its a waiting game. Dont wait forever. Hey there! Im Alexander Cheves. Im a sex writer and former sex workerI worked in the business for over 12 years. You can read my sex-and-culture column Last Call in Out and my book My Love Is a Beast: Confessions, from Unbound Edition Press. But be warned: Kirkus Reviews says the book is "not for squeamish readers.In the past, I directed (ahem) adult videos and sold adult products. I have spoken about subjects like cruising, sexual health, and HIV at the International AIDS Conference, SXSW, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and elsewhere, and appeared on dozens of podcasts.Here, Im offering sex and relationship advice to Outs readers. Send your question to askbeastly@gmail.com it may get answered in a future post.

A federal judge in Manhattan has ordered the immediate release of a gay asylum seeker from Jamaica, finding that ICE violated his right to due process. U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres ordered the agency to release Rickardo Anthony Kelly, 40, more than two weeks after he was detained while waiting for his asylum hearing at a courthouse accompanied by his attorney. Agents reportedly offered him $1,000 to self-deport, and apprehended him when he refused."In light of the undisputed facts, there is no doubt that [ICE's] ongoing detention of [Kelly] with no process at all, much less prior notice, no showing of changed circumstances, or an opportunity to respond, violates his due process rights," Torres wrote in her ruling, issued Friday. Kelly said in his initial writ of habeas corpus petition that he came to the U.S. on a tourist visa in 2021 shortly after he was the victim of a violent attack motivated by his sexual orientation, during which he was shot ten times. He warned that deporting him to Jamaica would put him at risk, and that keeping him in custody could cause him to experience severe and quite possibly fatal medical complications as a diabetic.Kelly described the conditions of the ICE facility he was detained at as unconscionable, inhumane, and horrific. He claimed he was kept in a room with nearly 100 other detainees that had only three toilets, no doors, and no showers, and that he was not provided with clean clothes, toiletries, or any other way to maintain basic hygiene.Kelly said he was forced to sleep on the floor without a blanket, and was only provided with food twice per day freeze-dried rice and beans, often cold. He also claimed that he was denied access to his diabetes medication, and instead given a substitute that had previously caused him adverse effects.Kelly currently works as a security guard in New York City. He was arrested under the Laken Riley Act, which mandates detention without bond for non-citizens charged with or convicted of theft, assault, or other violent crimes. Kelly has a pending third-degree assault charge that he said stems from a domestic dispute which prosecutors have not moved forward with. The case is expected to expire this month under the Speedy Trial Act.The suggestion that government agents may sweep up any person they wish and hold that person in the conditions in which Kelly was held without consideration of dangerousness or flight risk so long as the person will, at some unknown point in time, be allowed to ask some other official for his or her release offends the ordered system of liberty that is the pillar of the Fifth Amendment, Torres concluded.

Model and internet It Girl Julia Fox is opening up about her sexuality more than ever before.Fox, gracing the cover of Allure Next's latest issue, says that she identifies as pansexual but still isn't interested in dating men."I don't have to entertain men anymore," Fox says in the interview, adding that she doesn't miss being with men "at all.""The way my life is, I can't see why a man would be beneficial. I'm laser-focused on being a good mom, on being a good provider, on making my dreams come true," Fox says. "There's just so much more you can do with your time than waiting around to see if a guy's going to text you back or not." Julia Fox for Allure NextMichael Maras/Allure"I'm pansexual; I could be attracted to anyone and anything," Fox says, labelling her sexuality. "If it were just down to physical, I'm more attracted to the female body. Men don't do it for me at all [physically], but I can be attracted to a man's mind. I'm a vibes person." However, she doesn't mention how trans and nonbinary bodies fit into that.Fox also said she's "definitely had crushes and did some stuff, but it's never gotten to full relationship status" with a woman. Julia Fox on the cover of Allure Next, August 2025Michael Maras/AllureFox says that women often have a harder time figuring out their sexuality because society programs them to perform for men. She remembers having several "psycho codependent besties" with whom her friendships were more than platonic."Looking back, I'm like, 'Oh my God, we were in a relationship.' But there was no way I was going to admit that to myself, and I couldn't, because so much of my survival was hinged upon men taking care of me.In 2024, Fox shared a TikTok where a comedian joked, "I love when I see a lesbian with their boyfriend. It's like, 'Aww, you hate that man. You literally hate him.'"Fox replied by stitching that video with a new one of herself, saying: "Hey, that was me. I was that lesbian. So sorry, boys. Won't happen again."A profile on her later that year in The Times said she "thinks she's a lesbian." "I'd definitely be up for a relationship with a woman. You cannot equate that to a relationship with a man," she said. "With a woman, you're with your bestie, whereas ultimately, men are always going to prioritize other men over you. Men love other men and masculine shit, and watching homoerotic things such as wrestling and football. In this toxic culture, I dont think theres room for them to love me." See on Instagram

The adult entertainment industry isn't for everyone, but Carnal Media models are working harder than ever.Milo Miles has just hit three years since his debut in the erotic business and he has no signs of slowing down. The model has evolved as a performer and loves all of the steamy videos he gets to star in."They say, do what you love! I love sex. They also say if you're good at something, monetize it! That's why I'm doing it. Experience will triumph! I'm definitely living the dream. I'll be in it until people stop watching," Miles tells PRIDE. See on Instagram Hailing from Barcelona, Apolo Adrii is another Carnal Media model who's worked with many production companies around the world, but he feels right at home with his Carnal costars."I can't complain! After being in the industry for four years, I've had the honor and pleasure of working with a ton of studios. I'm happy to bring my experience to Carnal Media," Adrii says.The sexy actor also has a longterm plan when it comes to working in the business. He hopes to use all of the money he's earned as an investment in an eventual and very relaxing retirement."I plan on staying in it for at least eight to ten years. I'm going along for the ride right now. I want to make a living out of it so I can get some financial independence. I want to save money and reinvest that money to make a living and have a good lifestyle," Adrii concludes.Fans can keep up with Milo Miles and Apolo Adrii on Instagram. To see the full interview, check out the video at the top of the page.

At the risk of sounding crass, lets just say the quiet part out loud: Donald Trump loves to have his ass kissed more than any other human on earth. Its so pathetic. Nauseating. He feeds off it. He thrives on it. He needs it like oxygen, or in his case Diet Cokes. From the moment he strutted across television screens on The Apprentice, we saw the hints of a man whose ego was as bloated as his legs. The show was less about business than about a series based on sycophancy. The contestants who learned fastest that success meant showering the boss with compliments usually survived another week.Trump has never changed that formula. In fact, as our ruling dictator, he demands it, and is as addicted to flattery as hes ever been.Weve seen it in his Cabinet meetings, those absolutely absurd spectacles where grown men and women froth at the mouth at their Dear Leader. Cabinet members used to be the stewards of American democracy, but in their era of Trump, their only responsibility is to line up to praise him. The flattery is so over the top that its impossible to keep a straight face. Trump used to own beauty pageants, or something like that, so hes now, as president, presiding over a loyalty pageant. And Trump adores every second of it.Fast forward to last Friday and Monday, and the same grotesque performance is being performed on the world stage.Take Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. On an earlier visit to the White House, Zelenskyy was castigated for not groveling enough. Trump, egged on by loyalists like his little lapdog, JD Vance, accused Zelenskyy of being ungrateful. Trump all but threw him out of the building. But this time around, Zelenskyy knew better. He arrived with exaggerated humility that seemed to pop-up into every sentence, thanking Trump repeatedly, expressing gratitude not only for military aid but for Trumps leadership, and even Melanias letter to Putin. Trump was smiling broadly for the cameras, just soaking it up, visibly pleased, as though Zelenskyy had finally passed the test of the best way to laud Trump. Flattery is now Zelenskyys new strategy to save his citizens from Russia's continued attacks following Russia's invasion of Ukraine several years ago.European leaders have figured this out, too. After the debacle in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin, where Trump once again looked like the willing mark in Putins game of adulation, Europes top leaders realized they couldnt risk leaving Trump alone. In the middle of their traditional August break, they hastily flew to Washington, as if to build a protective ring around Trump, keeping him from wandering off into the arms of the Russian autocrat. The calculation was simple: better to butter up Trump together than risk watching him give away the store to Putin.And butter him up, they did. Frances Emanuel Macron, Britains Keir Starmer, and Italy's Giorgia Meloni all paid their due homage to the hoarder of homage. Even those who privately roll their eyes and laugh at his buffoonery found the words to stroke his ego in public, knowing that survival depends not on strength or principle, but on how well you flatter Trump.Trump has become the worlds most fragile strongman, needing constant reassurance, constant validation, constant praise. My God, what have we come to fawning over this pitiable old man?Is it disgusting? Absolutely. Is it beneath the dignity of global leadership? Without question. Watching heads of state trip over themselves to inflate Trumps balloon-sized ego feels like a dissing of diplomacy. But heres the ugly truth, and thats if kissing Trumps ass is the price of keeping Ukrainians alive, keeping Putin boxed in, and keeping Europe secure, then maybe thats the cost of peace. But its a dangerous approach.History offers a haunting and gruesome parallel. The appeasement of Hitler in the 1930s taught Europe what happens when you misread a tyrants ambitions and think appeasing is the answer. There is no question that Putin is cut from that same cloth. Hes ruthless, deceivingly patient, and hungry for more. He cant be trusted. And European leaders know it. So they choose to appease the lesser of two evils. They swallow their pride. They flatter Trump, and they hope that by keeping him content, he wont hand Ukraine over on a platter to the hungry Putin or look the other way as Putin eyes Finland, for example, as he seeks to grow his empire.Its so pitiful, yes, but it may also be the only way forward. Leaders have tried confronting Trump, reasoning with him, even shaming him, and they keep failing or at least maintaining the status quo. But, they need to keep this in mind, and that is that Trump is the ultimate loser. The Art of the Deal was a hoax. Russia for that matter, wasnt.Trump has never won at anything, he screwed up everything he touches, so if European leaders are putting their trust in Trump to fix Russias invasion of Ukraine (it's not a war, its a one-sided assault), the world will lose in a way that might be unimaginable.The man responds to only one thing praise. So they pile it on. Hes told hes a dealmaker, a peacemaker, a visionary. Hes told hes strong, wise, and essential to the future of the West. None of it is true. It just needs to keep him from siding with Putin and betraying Ukraine.This is where we are, global leaders reduced to crawling up the derrire of a 79-year-old man because the alternative, emboldening Putin, is far worse. They dont have to like it. But until Trump leaves the stage, this is the grotesque game of survival.The only problem is that peace at the price of dignity rarely lasts. When you build foreign policy on flattery, youre building a house of cards. Trump may be momentarily satisfied, but his appetite for adoration is endless. Sooner or later, someone will slip, fail to praise loudly enough than Putin, or dare to suggest reality, and the house of cards will wobble, and because theyre in Trumps hands, the cards will fall.So yes, kiss Trumps ass if it keeps him from kissing Putins ring. Just dont confuse it for a strategy. Its a survival tactic, and survival tactics only last until the next crisis that Trump will undoubtedly create.Voices is dedicated to featuring a wide range of inspiring personal stories and impactful opinions from the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. Visit Advocate.com/submit to learn more about submission guidelines. Views expressed in Voices stories are those of the guest writers, columnists, and editors, and do not directly represent the views of The Advocate or our parent company, equalpride.

Hillary Clinton believes the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn marriage equality, and she's urging LGBTQ+ couples to get married while they still can.The former Secretary of State and presidential candidate predicted that the court would reverse Obergefell v. Hodges in an interview with Jessica Tarlov of Fox News' The Five, warning that "there are going to be real world consequences.""American voters, and to some extent the American media, don't understand how many years the Republicans have been working in order to get us to this point," Clinton said. "It took 50 years to overturn Roe v. Wade. The Supreme Court will hear a case about gay marriage. My prediction is they will do to gay marriage what they did to abortion. They will send it back to the states."@thetnhollerWATCH: @HillaryClinton predicts to @JessicaTarlov that SCOTUS will overturn marriage equality and send it back to the states (like abortion) leading to a ban in much of On Trump & Republicans stealing seats: they dont want a fair fight Full: https://youtu.be/L4h9wllCtLo?si=QSnQgAPUvel8b9HIIf the Supreme Court reverses Obergefell , marriages between same-sex couples will still be recognized federally under the Respect for Marriage Act. Signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022, the act mandates that the federal government recognizes same-sex and interracial marriages, and that all states recognize those performed in other states. The act does not require states to allow marriages between same-sex couples. As state bans on these unions were struck down in Obergefell, such bans could be enacted again if Obergefell is overturned. If that were to happen, the fallout would likely be similar to that after Roe v. Wade's reversal, in which red states immediately enacted bans.Related: Will marriage equality be overturned? Here's how it could happen While the Supreme Court has made no official move to reconsider marriage equality, nine states have recently introduced resolutions asking the court to hear the case again. None have yet passed, and even if they were to, the resolutions are nonbinding meaning they carry no legal weight, and the court is not obligated to hear them.However, some justices have voiced opposition to Obergefell even after the ruling. When the conservative majority created by Donald Trump overturned Roe v. Wade, Clarence Thomas wrote in his concurring opinion at the time that the court should also revisit and overrule decisions that prevent state restrictions on contraception, marriage equality, sodomy, and other private consensual sex acts, calling the rulings "demonstrably erroneous.""Anybody in a committed relationship out there in the LGBTQ community, you ought to consider getting married," Clinton continued. "'Cause I don't think they'll undo existing marriages, but I fear that they will undo the national right."

Conservatives are once again triggered by something completely normal that has existed for years. This week's target: male cheerleaders.Their response reveals how misogyny is what drives their concern about women's sports.Right-wing social media is obsessed with Blaize Shiek and Louie Conn, two male cheerleaders for the NFL's Minnesota Vikings. Enraged football fans, including Hercules actor Kevin Sorbo, have somehow just now discovered that several NFL teams have male cheerleaders. Theyre not happy. Sorbo took to X (formerly Twitter) to share his feelings, posting a video of a male cheerleader with the caption, "Gross. Why." He posted another saying, "I've been a Vikings fan all my life sigh. I need a new team now."Many others online agreed with Sorbo. They claimed that having male cheerleaders is ruining the NFL for them. They don't want to see men dancing alongside women like this. They contended that no straight man would.In classic conservative fashion, this freak-out reveals a deeper issue within people who think this way.These conservatives aren't just being homophobic; they're revealing that they dont see cheerleaders as athletes, or even entertainers. They see cheerleaders as sex objects.The line between homophobia and misogyny is thin.Cheerleading requires athletic feats that most people cant accomplish. It requires training and coordination. It requires strength and stamina. What it doesnt require is being sexy.In the early decades of the sport, women weren't involved at all in cheerleading. It originated as a solely male activity at Ivy League schools in the late 1800s. Several U.S. presidents, including George W. Bush and conservative hero Ronald Reagan, were cheerleaders in college.By the 1920s, cheerleading had become a formal extracurricular activity for boys in high schools, colleges, and communities across the country, related to but distinct from other spirit programs such as marching bands, drum corps, and drill teams," according to Britannica.It wasnt until World War II, when women took on many roles that men had traditionally filled while they were away at war, that women became leaders in the sport.And it wasn't until the Dallas Cowboys introduced its squad of Daisy Duke-clad dancers in the 1970s that cheerleaders became the sex symbol they are today. Thankfully, cheerleaders have made great strides in being seen as talented dancers and athletes in their own right. But that's not how conservatives see them.Many of the critics complaining about the Vikings acknowledge the existence of male cheerleaders. What sets them off is how these male cheerleaders dance. They don't like that these men "dance like women," because to them, women are meant to be objectified."I think people feel discomfited by this, not because it's male cheerleaders, those are as old as cheerleading," Fox News columnist David Marcus stated on X. "But they had a male role to play, like the man in pairs skating. This comes off as a man doing the woman's part."To Marcus, "the woman's part" is there to titillate men."The reason this is 'new' is because male cheerleaders have always played a role of strength and SUPPORT of women, which aligns with gender norms," X user Jason Howerton says. "Having men gyrating & dancing like women is clearly cultural subversion."For Howerton, gender norms dictate that men should be strong and that women should be gyrating."Cheerleaders are supposed to be attractive women because football is a man's sport," podcaster Eric Matheny wrote on X. "This isn't going to go over well with a predominantly straight male audience."In this world view, cheerleaders are there for straight men, and no one else. And it's not enough for cheerleaders to be women; they also have to turn men on. These men like cheerleading because it allows them to objectify women in public and with a crowd backing them. When they say like a woman, what they mean is "like a sex object."For these people, there's a natural order when it comes to men and women. Each gender has its roles, and "sex object" is a woman's role. They see football games as a bastion of traditional gender roles where men can show off their strength and women can show off their bodies.This regressive attitude comes at a time when the NFL is just starting to reckon with its mistreatment of cheerleaders. For decades, there have been horror stories about sexual harassment, coercion, low pay, and strict rules controlling cheerleaders' lives off the field. Only recently have cheerleaders been able to fight back.In 2008, Washington cheerleaders were filming the making-of video for their cheerleader swimsuit calendar when employees secretly filmed the women while topless. This footage was made into a video referred to as "the good bits" by the team's then-senior vice president, Larry Michael. That video was given to the team's owner, Dan Snyder.Five years later, the Washington team was again in hot water when several cheerleaders said they were pressured to pose topless and serve as escorts for team sponsors during a trip to Costa Rica.In 2022, the Dallas Cowboys paid $2.4 million to several cheerleaders who had accused the team's former senior vice president for public relations and communications of filming them while they were in their dressing room during the 2015 season.A 2022 report from the House Oversight Committee said that the NFL "has failed to take key steps to protect employees or prevent workplace misconduct from occurring across the League."It adds that there is an "urgent need for workplace reforms to prevent and address toxic work environments, strengthen protections for women in the workplace, and restrict the use of non-disclosure agreements that prevent the disclosure of unlawful employment practices, including sexual harassment."But just when NFL cheerleaders were starting to make progress against toxic and abusive workplaces, conservatives want to push them back into the past. Cheerleaders shouldn't exist for people's sexual gratification. They are professional gymnasts, athletes, and dancers. Their job should be to get the crowd excited for a sports team, not to get them aroused.That's not how the people whining see it. They miss when drunk fans could grope cheerleaders without repercussions. They want to bring back the good ol' days when cheerleaders had no purpose other than to turn men on.The people who complain about male cheerleaders "dancing like a woman" are some of the same people complaining about trans children playing sports under the guise of "protecting girls and women's sports." This latest outrage is another piece of evidence showing that it's just a cover for their real agenda: enforcing strict control over people's lives.They don't care about the safety or happiness of women. It was never about that.If conservatives wanted to protect women's sports, they'd call out every person who objectifies cheerleaders. They'd advocate for cheerleading to be respected as a sport and cheerleaders to be respected as athletes and human beings.Instead, they're trying to force women back into the role of sexual servants for men. They don't want to protect women; they want to put them in their place.Mey Rude is a staff writer for Out.Voices is dedicated to featuring a wide range of inspiring personal stories and impactful opinions from the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. Visit out.com/submit to learn more about submission guidelines. We welcome your thoughts and feedback on any of our stories. Email us at voices@equalpride.com. Views expressed in Voices stories are those of the guest writers, columnists, and editors, and do not directly represent the views of Out or our parent company, equalpride.

August 20 marks Southern HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (SHAAD)a pivotal moment to spotlight the ongoing HIV crisis in the Southern United States and recommit to equity, visibility, and community-driven solutions. A Region in Crisis: Disproportionate HIV Burden The U.S. South, and especially the Deep South of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, [...]The post Southern HIV/AIDS Awareness Day: Centering Equity and Action in the South first appeared on GLAAD.

Jim Newman (Curtains, Sunset Boulevard) is no stranger to Broadway, and this year he's making his comeback in one of the most exciting revivals: Mamma Mia! Everyone's favorite Abba-inspired musical-turned-movie is being revived at the famous Winter Garden Theatre (where it first premiered back in 2001) for a limited engagement through February 1, 2026. Newman is taking the stage in the revival as the happy-go-lucky potential father, Bill Austin, alongside Christine Sherrill as Donna, Amy Weaver as Sophie, Carly Sakolove as Rosie, Jalynn Steele as Tanya, Rob Marnell as Harry Bright, Victor Wallace as Sam Carmichael, and Grant Reynolds as Sky.Newman who previously toured with the Village People for 10 years as the Cowboy and also starred in the award-winning series Daddyhunt: The Serial sat down with photographer Ron Amato for a photo shoot that Out is exclusively premiering. Ahead, he talks about taking the stage as a queer man (and not playing the queer role), being a part of this beloved show, and what he plans to do next.Out: What drew you to acting on stage?Newman: I was the youngest of four with divorced working parents, so I was a little starved for attention. When I didnt make the basketball team in seventh grade, they put me in choir, and the director heard my voice and asked me to try out for the high school musical Annie Get Your Gun because I was tiny and they needed someone to play Annies little brother, Jake. I got the part and the attention and the sense of play and family I was missing.What does it mean to be queer on Broadway in a moment when LGBTQ+ rights are under attack?Well luckily, Broadway has always been a queer safe space. We took care of each other before, during, and after the AIDS crisis, and its a lot easier to come out in that world and fearlessly advocate for each other with allies everywhere. Going back in the closet is nonnegotiable!You were in the touring company of Mamma Mia! before it got transferred to Broadway. What was yours and the cast's reaction when you got the news about Broadway? Many in the cast are making their debut.A lot of crying and hugging. As the veteran, I had been downplaying the Broadway rumors because in my experience, tours dont come back to Broadway, and if theres a revival, its recast with a whole new creative team. This is an anomaly in our business, but those 25 Broadway debuts are the reason this is my favorite Broadway opening of my career! Because weve been together for almost two years, its like almost all your family getting their dream in one fell swoop!You were great in Mamma Mia! As an avid fan, I have to ask the question a lot of people are going to ask: Why isnt Bill Australian like he is in the movies?I actually dont know the answer. He was written as being from America in the script I received on the first day of rehearsal.You play Bill a lot goofier than he is in the movie. Why did you feel that was right for this character on stage?Film is a different medium, so subtleties that work in film dont always read in a 2500-seat theater. But really, I took my lead from the script. Bill is a wild man he screams, yeehaw! when he meets Donna! and they wanted me to be a bad dancer, so I took that and then I always decide how I, Jim Newman, would react in that situation because it will feel the most honest and Im a little goofy. [laughs]Not to get all actor-y, but I see him as a good-time guy whos afraid of commitment because he doesnt want to get hurt. Something I can relate to. I remember going to frat parties, and the guys that were the most fun were the ones who would get drunk and dance wrong and strong with a smile on their face as if they were killing it. Bill says he gets faint at the thought of a wedding, so I used that when he finds out hes a father. Its really all in the text, and I was grateful to the creative team for allowing all of us to create our own versions of these characters without being bound by other actors portrayals. I think thats what makes it fun for the audience. Otherwise they could just rent the movie, right?Who do you think Sophie's dad is? Do you think it matters if the audience knows?I think Bill is clearly the father. Hes an adventurer with commitment issues. Sophie calls off the wedding to travel the world. Proud Papa.You toured with the Village People for 10 years as the Cowboy. What was that like, and what brought you to the end of your time with them?It showed me how insular Broadway is and how huge pop culture is. Rarely when I told people I did Broadway did someones face light up like it did when I said I was the Cowboy in the Village People. Its just such an iconic band with iconic songs and people were always excited to hear about it. It was pure joy, seeing the world and being treated well and playing with huge artists in festivals whose CDs I had played. It was also the first time I had job security, so that was nice and unexpected at that time in my life. Also, playing for as many as 500,000 people and watching them all do the YMCA armsI cant even describe what that feels like. But then there was a long lawsuit by an ex-member and we lost, and they took away the Village People name and we tried to rebrand and then COVID hit and we couldnt recover so it was back to theatre. But for me, it was an amazing gift that fell in pocket, and Im just grateful. Obviously since this new Village People performs at Trump rallies, the whole story is a lot juicier, but I have to wait for a couple of folks to kick it before I can write the tell all-book.You've acted on Broadway, television, and movies, what's next for you?I will continue to work as long as I can because I need to stay creative, but my life got bigger than my career so the next chapter is much more balanced with all the amazing things and people that are in my life. The final dream is driving down a country road in my used pickup with my rescue dog in the passenger seat, country music blaring, one elbow resting out the drivers side window.Jim Newman (@jimnewmankeepmovin) photographed by Ron Amato (@ron_amato ronamato.com) for Theater Folk at the iconic Jalopy Theatre & School of Music in Brooklyn, New York (@jalopybrooklyn jalopytheatre.org). Photo assistant David Donofrio @ddonofrio01This visual collection was curated by equalpride's digital photo editor, Nikki Aye.Find tickets for Mamma Mia!, which runs through February 1 at NYC's Winter Garden Theatre, at mammamiabway.com.

I scroll my social feeds on a lazy Saturday afternoon and stumble across a video of a Chicano mailman (his words, not mine) walking through a neighborhood in the scorching summer sun. His dcolletage, framed by the baby blue USPS button-up, glistens with sweat. Its hot. So I tap on his profile, which leads me to a link in bio, which leads me to well, you know. In less than a minute, Ive leapt from the innocence of blue-collar TikTok to the OnlyFans home page of an honest mailman trying to support his wife and two kids, where hell show me the package Ive really been waiting for if I cough up $14 and subscribe.Between 25 percent and 40 percent of Americans (and over half of millennials and Gen Z) have a side hustle, depending on which surveys you reference. And for some, that extra income comes from turning a camera on and taking clothes off. Adult creatorship is certainly one of the riskier side hustle options; diamonds are forever, and so is the internet, so the decision to dip into adult content creation feels like a point of no return, with very real professional implications. Theres also that part where, in an effort to monetize our interests, we sometimes end up ruining them instead.With so much of gay digital culture adjacent to sex, its hard to navigate queer life without encountering references to platforms like JustFor.Fans, OnlyFans, and cam sites. One cant help but wonder: Whats it like for people who do this? Did the wave already crest during pandemic-era quarantines, or can someone start today and still make a viable income? And should they?Curious, I asked several current and past adult content creators what its like. Thomas Long chose to leave the field of medicine for a career in adult entertainment.Alex BlytheFROM PHYSICIAN IN TRAINING TO PORN STARIn 2020, Thomas Long (@thomaslongxxl) was finishing up medical school. And yes, I can confirm (through, uh, online research) that the schlong is indeed long. But doing clinicals in 2020 understandably sucked, Long says no one [in hospitals] wanted to work with students at the time and the arrival of COVID-19 opened his eyes to how his chosen career path could lead to a life of long hours and internal bureaucracy.I made the decision when I finished school that I wasnt going to practice medicine, he says. When a friend suggested he look into OnlyFans, Long notes that the financial timing was a big factor. Payments on his student loan debt were paused, a suspension that lasted nearly three and a half years, and he had savings from previous work, so he didnt have to make a full-time income right away. He says he had enough runway to give it a try.It was difficult. I didnt really know what I was doing, says Long.The inexperience didnt matter because quarantines limited our in-person activities, which led many of us to be chronically online, the perfect petri dish for rapid online audience growth. Long says he only made a couple of hundred dollars in his first few months, but his subscriptions steadily grew, and eventually he saw potential to go full-time. Collabs helped; one video he did with a top studio creator led to 900 new subscriptions, the equivalent of several thousand dollars a month in additional income. However, he also says online fame can take an emotional toll.Being so vulnerable and open on the internet, I 100 percent feel like some of my life isnt my life anymore, he told me. OnlyFans has definitely given me more confidence in some aspects, but its also changed my internal dialogue. I grew up in the humble Midwest; Im trying to guard myself and prevent any of this from changing who I am at the core.Long says hell milk his platforms and content for as long as he can, but subscriptions arent what they used to be since the November election, and hes planning his soft exit. He also says the online landscape is much tougher now.The Twitter takeover and changing of the algorithm messed things up, he says. A friend of mine in real estate asked me about OnlyFans the other day. He said he wanted to start one. I thought to myself, You shouldnt. Guy Ruben's OnlyFans foot fetish account serves as a second source of income.Courtesy DJGuyRubenMAN IN FINANCE (WITH A SIDE OF FOOT FETISH)For Guy Ruben (@djguyruben), OnlyFans is squarely a secondary source of income. Hed been making foot fetish videos with hookups for his private enjoyment for years, but never shared anything publicly, instead using his social media handles to promote DJ gigs. Then COVID-19 rolled in.When the pandemic happened, I was like, Well, the worlds gonna end. Why not just put my videos on OnlyFans and see if anybody is interested? he says. As he posted sneak peeks of his foot fetish content on Twitter, his following picked up rapidly. He says he had about 2,000 followers at the time, compared to just over 54,000 followers today, but agreed its harder now to get preview posts seen. Rather than lead with subscriptions, he keeps his OnlyFans account free, then sells individual videos in a pay-per-video format.Ruben notes that hes had a full-time corporate job in finance this whole time, and that although some months have been good, hes never made more money in a month doing OnlyFans than he has at his day job. He also monitors his online presence regularly. If you Google my real name, none of this comes up, he says. I check it all the time. I even checked it the other day. I thought about the fear of being discovered, how it lingers in the background, and how that feeling might be anxious in some moments and thrilling in others. If it were to ever come up [at work], I dont know how I would navigate it, he says. I guess theyd just fire me, and Id have to figure it out. Overall, though, his experience seemed positive. I genuinely love it, he says. Dylan CotterCourtesy Dylan CotterAN ONLINE VANISHING ACTDylan Cotter says the way he arrived in the adult business directly reflects his lived experience as a gay trans man. After transitioning in 2016, he says his network changed dramatically, and it became harder to find work as a marketing consultant, a challenge that compounded during the pandemic.I lost a lot of people in my life. It was very disappointing, he says. When the pandemic hit, I thought to myself, Wow, how am I ever going to survive this? Cotter says he signed up for OnlyFans, JustFor.Fans, and others to do solo content creator work. He declined to share numbers but says what he was making on platforms was enough to cover his living expenses and that he could do so without having scene partners.Fem performers gave me a lot of great advice about boundaries and just standing firm on what you believe and to not feel bad about them, he says. A lot of the time, people just think of you as a sex object that exists on their phone. After a few years, he exited the industry and used his reputation management skills to remove videos and cover his digital tracks. He now focuses his energy on non-adult work and trans activism, including writing a memoir that came out this year. Dylan CotterCourtesy Dylan CotterSOMETHING IM NOT READY FOROthers who like to show off their sexiness on platforms like Instagram and X have no interest in taking the adult content monetization route. HornHulk, a Seattle-based arts professional and adjunct professor, explains that part of his job involves mentoring young adults, and that even if he were to create something paywalled that wasnt overtly sexual, the stigma of having an account on an adult platform would do more harm than good.I dont want that to be findable to my students, he says. Doing full-on porn for other people to watch is something Im not ready for yet and maybe wont ever be.At the time of this writing, OnlyFans is up for sale, with a price tag of up to $8 billion. And while technocracy is a mood right now, one could argue adult creator platforms have enabled a higher degree of safety and control for those who choose to pursue this line of work. The nuance comes in the creators motivation: Some arrive through curiosity, whereas for others it can feel like an act of survival.Thats kind of the vibe our entire economy is giving these days. Wealth gaps are widening, billionaires are vacuuming up all the profits, and it sometimes feels like our bodies and minds are the only assets we get to own anymore (although the right to bodily autonomy is being questioned now too).Ill never knock someone down for hustling up a few bucks as long as theyre not causing harm to others. And we should continue to be critical and educate ourselves on how capitalism has led us to this landscape. In the meantime, if someone wants to monetize their body or mind to improve their financial situation, who are we to judge?This article is part of Out's Sept-Oct issue, which hits newsstands August 26. Support queer media and subscribe or download the issue through Apple News, Zinio, Nook, or PressReader starting August 14.

For 11 seasons, Jesse Tyler Ferguson played Mitchell Pritchett on Modern Family and he's spoken at length about the pressure he felt about being one of the first gay characters played by an out gay actor in network primetime. In a new episode of his podcast, Dinner's On Me, he talked about how playing such an important queer character was "tricky" because he received criticisms from the queer community who felt that the character did not live up to their expectations.Sign up for the Out Newsletter to keep up with what's new in LGBTQ+ culture and entertainment delivered three times a week straight (well) to your inbox!"I was in the trenches fighting for marriage equality, and I felt so lucky to be part of a pop culture touchstone that was also part of that same issue," Ferguson said during his conversation with Oscar-winner Riz Ahmed. "It was tricky for me because I had to tune out that noise of a community wanting me to do it correctly and preciously and, you know, my desire to do it with nuance and levels and layers and also poignancy." Adding, "I just felt like there was no way to please both camps.Ferguson said that many people wanted his character to be a model representation for the community, not being flawed and just generally more polished. I felt a responsibility from the community when I was given a role like the one I had on Modern Family to get it right and to do it with care and precision," he said. "Im in a place where Im, as an actor, being given a role where Im attracted to the messiness of that character. Im attracted to their flaws. Like, thats what makes it interesting and honestly, thats what makes the audience interested in watching me."Ferguson argued that it would be a disservice to have his character be perfect. "No one wants to see perfect people. No one wants a sitcom or a movie where its like everything just happens neatly," Ferguson said. "And yet, I felt like, you know, at least in the first few seasons of Modern Family, being put on a pedestal in a way as far as like, OK, this is the gay couple thats a network television on a huge show. They better get this right.The actor brought up one instance where he heard remarks from the community after one storyline aired where Mitch didn't want to kiss his husband, Cam (Eric Stonestreet) in public and said "the gays were furious." They were quick to be upset, he said, but didn't consider the reasons as to why Mitch wouldn't be comfortable with PDA and the trauma that might have informed that reaction. "It was more powerful to show the story of like, why is this character worried about showing public displays of affection with his partner? he said. "Its because of his past. Its because of his history. Its because of the trauma he had as a kid growing up and being gay and being teased by his sister. Its like all these things that made the story interesting and made it last for 11 years are the things that I was also being criticized for.

No cowboy manspreads quite like Orville Peck. To the delight of many fans, the Stampede musician and Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club actor is back at it again.Sign up for the Out Newsletter to keep up with what's new in LGBTQ+ culture and entertainment delivered three times a week straight (well) to your inbox!It's no surprise that cowboys are frequently, secretly fond of each other. With such a long list of LGBTQ+ country artists like Peck, Brandi Carlile, T.J. Osborne, Maren Morris as well as Beyonc's Grammy Award-winning album Cowboy Carter the gays are feeling more cowboy-coded than ever.The country singer shared a new manspreading photo in an Instagram carousel that sent his fans into a frenzy yet again."G'day mates," Peck wrote in the caption, adding a kangaroo emoji, a boxing glove emoji, and a nail polish emoji. (@) But that's not all. A few weeks ago, Peck had already shared another thirst trap of himself sitting comfortably legs spread wide apart."Old River tumblin' down," Peck wrote.See on InstagramPeck's yee-hawt manspreading photos have become a trend since March 2025. At the time, the singer was still on Broadway playing the Emcee in Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club and posted an Instagram carousel with behind-the-scenes images."Broadway dump," Peck wrote in the caption under that post.See on InstagramPeck's latest studio album, Stampede, was released in August 2024. He followed that up with a headline-making Broadway debut in Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club. And, before he was even done with the musical, Peck was cast in an upcoming Street Fighter live-action film.This manspreading trend from Peck is the gift that keeps on giving. How far will he take it? We'll have to stay tuned.Orville Peck's third studio album, Stampede, is available on all music streaming platforms.

The flagship RuPaul's Drag Race series nominated for 10 Emmy Awards this year is coming back for season 18. Untucked is also returning as a companion series for the actual show.Sign up for the Out Newsletter to keep up with what's new in LGBTQ+ culture and entertainment delivered three times a week straight (well) to your inbox!MTV, Paramount+, and World of Wonder confirmed that All Stars 11 is happening as well, and it'll remain on Paramount+."We want to express our gratitude to Paramount for their unwavering support of the RuPaul's Drag Race franchise as we celebrate more seasons of spreading joy and laughter," World of Wonder co-founders and executive producers, Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, wrote in a statement.The official release reads:"RuPaul's Drag Race will return to MTV for its 18th season following a standout year, with season 17 delivering the highest-rated premiere in seven years. Onya Nurve made herstory as well, becoming the first queen from Cleveland to snatch the crown as America's Next Drag Superstar. Also returning is the Emmy Award-winning after-show, RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked.Additionally, Paramount+ has renewed RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars for season 11, following the first-ever Tournament of All Stars season, where Ginger Minj earned a coveted spot in the "Drag Race Hall of Fame." The season was stacked with extra-special guest stars, including Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, and Chappell Roan. RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars: Untucked will also return."We can't wait to see another lap of this race. Condragulations!Watch the official video announcement below.

Jennifer Lopez and Tonatiuh star in the highly-anticipated movie musical, Kiss of the Spider Woman, which just released the first official trailer today. Audiences got a first look at the movie musical based on the 1976 novel originally written by Manuel Puig that was later turned into a Tony-winning stage production scored by John Kander and Fred Ebb, with a book by Terrence McNally. The film's two stars recently appeared as the cover stars for Out's September/October issue, talking about the filming process and what it meant to tell this storymore than 30 years after the show made it's debut on Broadway.To tease the official trailer drop, Tonatiuh shared pictures from the photoshoot with a message on his Instagram story saying, "We have a little surprise for you tomorrow morning." See on Instagram The film follows Molina, a queer window dresser who is jailed for public indecency with a man and uses his favorite singer as a way to mentally escape the Argentinian prison he is being held in alongside Valentin, played by Diego Luna. Viewers were offered a view into the lush, brightly colored world that the film's director, Bill Condon (who also directed Dreamgirls), created with his artistic vision."It was really a dream come true," Lopez told Out about starring in the movie. "I've dreamt of doing a musical for so many years. For it to be one that is [a] movie about love and acceptance and community, especially in this time, to me it couldn't have been a better thing to happen."Kiss of the Spider Woman is in theaters October 10. And don't miss Out's cover story with Lopez and Tonatiuh.

Trans creators on Bluesky are raising the alarm after multiple users were suspended for posts expressing negative sentiments about J.K. Rowlingincluding ones that didnt mention violence or threats.The controversy began when trans writer and YouTuber Jessie Earl (aka Jessie Gender) was suspended for 24 hours after simply posting: I also wish ill on JK Rowling.When they returned, they admitted they were disappointed with the way BlueSky handled the situation.Im back! I saw your messages on here & elsewherethank you all Jessie Gender (@jessiegender.bsky.social) August 16, 2025 at 3:57 PMThey also clarified they "wish on JK Rowling everything that she wishes upon trans people."And let me be clear -- I wish on JK Rowling everything that she wishes upon trans people. Jessie Gender (@jessiegender.bsky.social) August 16, 2025 at 3:58 PMThe post that originally got Earl banned was a quote of another trans writer, Gretchen Felker-Martin, whose own account had been suspended after she wrote, I hope someone splits her skull. Felker-Martin responded to the ongoing controversy by telling the BlueSky mods to "pull your heads out of your asses."Mods can you pull your heads out of your asses and unban Jessie Gender?[image or embed] Gretchen Felker-Martin (@scumbelievable.bsky.social) August 16, 2025 at 7:43 AMEarls quote made no mention of Felker-Martins phrasing, but Bluesky moderators lumped their post into a violation involving threats of violence and incitement of self-harm, according to an investigative report by Assigned Media. The report quoted Earl saying the phrasing was mildespecially compared to Rowlings own rhetoric about trans people.Other trans users who posted similar variations, including author Dani Finn, were also briefly suspended. However, the report also noted that BlueSky largely left smaller accounts alone.Finns post was later reinstated, and Bluesky admitted it had been wrongly removed. Earl and Felker-Martinss posts have not been restored.In a muddled statement, Bluesky said only Felker-Martins post violated the platforms terms. But users say the patternsuspending trans voices criticizing Rowling, while ignoring worse rhetoric elsewheresuggests something more worrying.Although some queer celebrities like WNBA star Breanna Stewart argue there should be a platform where people can love Harry Potter while also speaking out against Rowling, users note that simply wishing ill on someone isnt the same as abuse, especially considering the harmful language Rowling uses against the community. If their definition of harm includes wishing ill, words have lost all meaning, Finn said. They can censor any criticism they dont like.

KATSEYE, the gnarly girl group currently taking over the world, just appeared in a gorgeous new jeans ad from Gap.Sign up for the Out Newsletter to keep up with what's new in LGBTQ+ culture and entertainment delivered three times a week straight (well) to your inbox!The six girls, Daniela, Lara, Manon, Megan, Sophia, and Yoonchae, all appear in the new ad decked out in denim, and they dance to "Milkshake" by Kelis. The choreography is certainly an homage to Gap's incredible choreographed ads over the years, while also including references to KATSEYE's own iconic dances like "Gnarly" and "Debut." Each girl gets a moment to shine in their adorable denim outfits. "Better in Denim," the ad concludes."This is denim as you define it," reads the social media caption. "Your individuality. Your self-expression. Your style. Powerful on your own. Even better together."KATSEYE also shared what the ad meant to them. "We each come from different parts of the world, with unique cultures, languages, and stories," they said in a statement. "Its the heart of what makes our sound, style, and presence stand out."Each of the six girls hails from a distinct ethnicity. Daniela, Lara, and Megan are all American, while Sophia is from the Phillipines, Manon is from Switzerland, and Yoonchae is from South Korea. KATSEYE is certainly on a roll, as the major advertisement comes just a couple of weeks after their instantly iconic performance at Lollapalooza in Chicago, where they drew one of the biggest daytime crowds ever. The moment is also freshly off the heels of Sydney Sweeney's controversial denim advertisement for American Eagle, which was recently slammed for its play on words with "jeans" and "genes" that some called a eugenics dog whistle."Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color," Sweeney said in the now viral ad that she appeared in by herself. "My jeans are blue."Following the political hailstorm that ad caused, Gap's inclusive, uplifting, and fun take on denim is certainly refreshing and KATSEYE, which even includes LGBTQ+ members, is the perfect group to embody that energy.

The race is far from over. MTV and Paramount+ have officially renewed RuPauls Drag Race for Season 18, alongside fresh seasons of Untucked, RuPauls Drag Race All Stars, and All Stars Untucked. The news comes on the heels of a landmark year for the franchise. Season 17 of Drag Race delivered the shows biggest [...]The post BRING BACK MY GIRLS! RuPauls Drag Race Announces New Season Renewals Across Franchises first appeared on GLAAD.

Miss Piggy, gay icon, is finally set to make her Broadway debut and one show is Kermit-green with envy.Playbill announced Wednesday that the Muppets will be making their premiere on the Great White Way alongside magician Rob Lake. While it's a long-awaited move for the beloved foam puppets, whose stage presence had previously been limited to Disney theme parks, Oh, Mary! took to social media to bemoan the booking.Some background: When Oh, Mary!'s creator, Cole Escola, appeared on Amy Poehler's podcast, Good Hang, in July, Poehler asked the nonbinary creative who would play the role of the titular character, Mary Todd Lincoln, in a theoretical movie adaptation. (Escola won a Tony this year for portraying Mary, who in their madcap interpretation is an alcoholic more concerned with a cabaret career than the Civil War.) - YouTube www.youtube.com Escola threw around some options. "Cherry Jones could do it. She can do anything. She could play Lincoln, too; that would be really chilling," Escola said before landing on a Muppet. "Miss Piggy as Mary Todd Lincoln, and then everyone else is human.""Actually, cut this, I'm gonna be talking to Disney tomorrow," they joked. (@) After it was announced that Miss Piggy would no longer be available, the official Oh, Mary! X account shared their disappointment about the news in a statement released in a Wednesday post. "To our OH, MARY! family we saw the news about Miss Piggy going into another Broadway show," the Notes app statement read. "Thank you for the support at this time." (@) The X account also uploaded a photo of a screenshot with the Muppets Broadway announcement and wrote in the caption, "Miss Piggy we just want to talk."It's unconfirmed whether or not Miss Piggy will actually be among the Muppets taking the stage; the official press release for the show said that Kermit the Frog and his friends will be joining Lake for his magic show at the Broadhurst Theatre starting this fall as a limited engagement until January 26.If not, this leaves the door open for Miss Piggy to grace the stage at the buzziest show on Broadway right now. (She'd have to contend with Jinkx Monsoon however, who is currently in the lead role. Betty Gilpin and Tituss Burgess have also played Mary in the past.)In a statement, Lake certainly expressed enthusiasm at making magic with the Muppets. "I've been performing magic my entire life, and it has always been my greatest dream to perform my show on Broadway," Lake said. "Like so many people around the world, I grew up with the Muppets. To work with them and create new illusions for them to appear in my show has been the most rewarding and surprisingly familiar moment. Its like I have known them my entire life."

Show me how good its gonna get today, God. Dear universe, you have permission to amaze me, Joseph Reaves said at the top of his program. Something amazing is gonna happen to me today. Reaves Hella Black, Hella Queer, Hella Christian, is a fully Black, fully Queer, fully Human, fully Divine iHeartRadio podcast that touches [...]The post GLAADs Darian Aaron Talks Faith, Race and Family in iHeartRadio Interview first appeared on GLAAD.

A pair of gay influencers named Beau Ciolino and Matt Armato broke up after 12 years together 10 of which also involved creating content under the joint social media page known as @ProbablyThis. Together, Ciolino and Armato accumulated 657,000 followers and 14.4 million likes on TikTok, not to mention an impressive 258,000 followers on Instagram.Given how public their relationship was for a full decade, Ciolino and Armato revealed their breakup in a video posted on social media. More often than not, fans do respond with judgment on a relationship they were never in but feel parasocially attached to no matter how well the announcement is delivered, or what medium is chosen for the news to be broken.Ciolino and Armato announced their breakup on August 15, in a video that was meant for their dedicated followers. Over the weekend, however, the video absolutely burst the bubble of their own reach, leading to thousands of posts, likes, and re-posts calling the video as "awkward," alleging that one or the other had made a mistake, and highlighting the now-infamous fist bump at the end of the since-deleted video.In 2014, Gwyneth Paltrow wrote a post for the Goop blog announcing her divorce from Coldplay singer Chris Martin and framing it as a "conscious uncoupling." So what happens when, 10 years later, one of the earliest out gay couples to gain notoriety and sustain it on the internet break up with a video ending in a fist bump? Well Probably This.Below, Out chats with Ciolino and Armato about the timeline of events in their relationship, how they've been navigating the public response to the breakup, and what plans each of them has for the future.Out: It's been five days almost a week since you guys shared the breakup video. How's it going?Matt Armato: Oh my gosh. Has it been that long? It's been wild. The reaction was really surprising to both of us. It's been really, just mentally, exhausting. Also, I'm very thankful for a lot of people who've reached out supportively But even that has been exhausting. Just the number of messages. I know Beau has been getting a lot too.Beau Ciolino: Yeah, it was pretty rough. I mean, it was really overwhelming, more than anything, and a little confusing. But I feel like I'm in good spirits today. It's the best I've been in, at least, since it happened.Some people read into the situation pointing out that you were 'laughing,' or that you offered a fist bump assuming that you were fine with it and even ready to move on. Can you walk us through what was going on in your mind?BC: I was definitely super nervous going into it, and I didn't realize how smiley I looked. But it was certainly my attempt to push through, I think, more than anything. Matt and I have both acknowledged publicly how cringe the video was going to be, regardless. I thought, if anything, injecting a little levity might make it less painful to watch and less painful for me to do. But then side by side with Matt's genuine, authentic reaction, I think I looked It didn't look how I thought it did.How did the discussion between you two go in terms of announcing the breakup in a video? Was there any back-and-forth between you, and how long did that play out between breaking up and posting the video?MA: We've been separated since the middle of March. But, in that time, we've been working through it. We ultimately reached our final decision to go forward with the split at the end of July, so it had been a couple weeks. So we've worked through all of this, and I feel like I've done my grieving over it. We didn't put that video out there as a way to work through it, or anything. It wasn't any kind of rash decision.BC: And in March, when we made that decision to split Matt and I process things very differently. I remember, in March and April, I was down the fuck out. I was kaput. And Matt really helped me through that. Over the summer, we both kind of came around to it. By the time we did the video, I feel like I was at as much peace as I could be, five or so months into that.There's a never-ending discourse about attention spans shortening, but I find it interesting that an already short video it's like, what, a minute? still got so many reactions from people who seemingly only watched the first 15 seconds, and the last 10 seconds, of the video. There's so much, in between, where you both acknowledge that this is awkward but feels like the right choice. So many people seem to be responding to Matt saying, 'We broke up,' and Beau laughing in response. And it's as if the video then immediately cuts to the fist bump. Is that anywhere close to how you guys felt?[They both laugh.]BC: Your point about the middle of the video seemingly being missed is so good, because we had talked to several friends and one of the biggest things that were said was, "Oh, it starts out kind of sad, but in the middle, Matt's making a joke, like, 'I'm single now,' and 'You're going to pay me.' Our friends were like, 'That brings the balance here.' I was like, 'Yeah, I feel like it feels kind of balanced.'" But you don't get to control how people perceive anything.MA: I think that people picked up on those sorts of highlights, like you were saying. But then I also think that it's interesting that the reactions and the interpretations are all over the place. I feel like everybody's saying everything from like, "Oh, I'm so tired of hearing about this" to "I need to know all the details," to "These queens need a PR team," versus "These queens have great PR." [laughs]I don't know how everybody's getting all of these reactions. But like you said, it's a minute-and-a-half video and it was what we wanted to share. We watched it a few times. Like Beau said, we sent it to our friends. Everybody seemed to agree that it did what it needed to do. And it was never intended for anybody but people who were already following us just as an update, because they were talking already.See on InstagramSomething that's kind of meta and funny for the times we're living in: A couple breaking up, and splitting their assets, and those assets now include who stays with the Instagram and who stays with the TikTok. What was that conversation like?BC: I know! And I guess I knew it was weird, but we've done this for a decade, and we have these communities, and this audience, and we both enjoy it. The conversation came down to, "What do we both want to do next?" I've done our photography and videography. I like things looking cinematic, I like things being "too perfect," which is ironic considering how badly I fucked this up. [laughs] And Matt has an incredible personality and is very camera-ready, and he enjoys that kind of content more. So TikTok made more sense for him; Instagram made more sense for me. And I really didn't think much of it after we decided on it.To be clear, these are assets! You have huge followings on these accounts. Just like a house, or a car, or anything else, these pages are of value. It was just interesting to see it being acknowledged. I hadn't seen a splitting of joint accounts on social media between a couple that's dissolving their relationship. But these social media pages are assets, indeed.MA: Absolutely, yes, they are assets. And I wonder how we could've phrased it better, because we really just wanted to get across that, "This is where you can find us. I'm not going to be showing up on this Instagram anymore." We posted it to both platforms, so it really was more for the audience thats been following us, not all of the people who are commenting. I've never heard of these people before. But the audience that this was intended for, we just wanted to let them know where we'd be.BC: And for our audience that does know us, and follow us already, we'd kind of already done that. Matt hadn't really been on the Instagram; I hadn't been on TikTok. We'd been living separately while we figured this out. So it was more like, "Here's the explanation of what we're already doing." We had been getting messages like, "Are y'all okay? Why is one of you at this house and the other's there?" So it felt as much a declaration as an explanation for what we already were doing.@probablythisHow did I do? Be honestWhat's it been like navigating these criticisms directed at one person, or the other, even if you've already broken up?MA: It was pretty awful to see. I had seen some major criticisms of me. Most of what we saw was painting Beau as this absolute villain. People telling him to drive his car into a tree. I didn't get any of that. I saw some people saying that I was a professional victim, which "Are you saying I'm a good actor? Thank you!" [laughs]. I mean, it was tough. It really broke my heart to see some of the things that people were saying about Beau. And that's why I got in the muck. I got in those comments, and I was like, "What you're saying about him is not true!" I couldn't stand to see that. People are just making up these stories and then attacking him off of fiction, which just isn't fair.BC: I really appreciated Matt doing that. I think people didn't believe me in the video, so I'll just say it again: We are legitimately best friends. We talk every day. We have been through this, calling each other every day. We give each other updates, really, throughout our day. We have so much love for each other still. This was all really hard. Neither one of us wanted to see the other have any kind of a "takedown." And that's also what pissed me off: I was kind of shocked and a little scared for how people were perceiving me, but I was pissed at what people were saying about Matt. I was like, "You don't fucking get who he is." It was very frustrating. And, ultimately, I think it was just a lot of projection. We did something weird, arguably, and then the internet did something weirder.At this point, are there any reactions that you're able to now laugh at? Are we not there yet?BC: Oh, I've started to find it funny. Today, or yesterday, I kind of started being like, "This is just hysterical, and I don't know what to do with that, but la-di-da." [laughs]MA: Yeah, I'm definitely laughing along with everything. At a certain point, it's the only thing you can do. And I do think it's funny I think it's hilarious that it became this huge thing. And it's wild that we've been doing social media as a career for 10 years, and the biggest thing that we've ever done is stop doing it together. [Everyone laughs out loud.]See on InstagramLet's talk about the fist bump. As someone who works for Out, we had the 'holding space' finger-holding last year. I wonder if your fist bump will become 2025's version of that. Beau, you initiated the fist bump. Are you someone who usually does fist bumps? Are you a fist bump guy?BC: [laughs] I would certainly say I'm more of a fist bumper than I've seen Matt being. But the way I've talked about it is Matt and I have done our renovation content as the majority of our work. At the end of all of those videos, we'll often do a high five or a fist bump. It doesn't always make it to the final cut, but I was in that mindset of "We're done. We finished the project." And the project happened to be announcing our breakup. I know the fist bump just looked nuts, but I also think it's very funny.MA: Now that I've watched the clip like 100,000 times, what made it really awkward is just sort of where Beau put his fist. It was in an awkward physical space for me to bump. So if you really look into it, I make my other hand into a fist too. It's like I'm confused, physically, about how to approach this, which just goes to show I am really not a fist bump guy.What's next for you guys? Are you moving somewhere? What's next in your careers?MA: I will be moving back to New Orleans. We had moved from New Orleans about three years ago to Tennessee, where I am now, but I'll be moving back to New Orleans. I've always had a passion for more creative things, so I'll be moving out of the "influencer" space and hoping to focus on my writing and acting career. And that's what I'm going to be up to.BC: My plan is to renovate the house we have in Tennessee. And I think I'm going to just do that as my next project and do it online, as I've been doing for many years. I might make it a guest experience like we've done in the past, but it's something I'm really excited about, and I think I'd love to keep creating for my audience online. That's the work I do, and it could be really fun.You can follow Beau Ciolino on the no-longer-joint page @ProbablyThis, or his individual profile @beauciolino, on Instagram and/or via TikTok at @beaufelixciolino. You can follow Matt Armato on the joint TikTok page @ProbablyThis, or his personal Instagram profile @mattarmato.

During New York Fashion Week next month, the lab coat a symbol of medical authority will be reimagined as a work of couture.On Sept. 13 at the Nexus Club New York, HIV Unwrapped presented by +Life, will make its U.S. debut, bringing together emerging designers from Parsons School of Design and leading HIV scientists in a collaboration that fuses fashion, science and storytelling. The initiative asks these emerging designers to create a custom garment inspired by their partnered scientist, transforming a clinical garment into a canvas for resilience, gratitude and activism.The runway show will be staged as an immersive, choreographed experience, drawing on the lived experiences of people impacted by HIV and those working to end the epidemic. Original garments, inspired by molecular science and the communities most affected by the virus, will share the spotlight with the personal narratives behind them.Im thrilled to bring HIV Unwrapped to life during New York Fashion Week, because lets be honest, HIV deserves better PR, and what better way to do that than with fabulous fashion? said Karl Schmid, Plus alum of The Switch and HIV Unwrapped executive producer. This isnt just a runway show; its a bold statement to smash stigma, spark conversation, and remind the world that HIV is only part of our story. Im proud to be part of a team turning science into style and compassion into couture and you wont want to miss a single stitch.The event will be filmed as a +Life original broadcast special premiering in conjunction with World AIDS Day on Dec. 1. Viewers will see exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, from sketching and fittings to interviews with designers and groundbreaking scientists. The special will also revisit HIV Unwrappeds earlier editions in Australia, Rwanda and the United Kingdom.Following its international iterations, the U.S. edition is sponsored by Gilead Sciences and presented in partnership with equalpride, GLAAD, and ASHM, with additional support from the Council of Fashion Designers of America and design mentorship from New York label Tanner Fletcher.GLAAD is proud to support HIV Unwrapped at New York Fashion Week, said Anthony Ramos, GLAAD vice president of communications and talent. By merging fashion, storytelling, and science, this initiative opens new doors for HIV awareness and visibility, especially for younger generations who may not realize the ongoing impact of this epidemic. Its a powerful reminder that ending HIV stigma requires creativity, collaboration, and unapologetic visibility.+Life, the multimedia platform behind the project, produces social and streaming content, including its flagship roundtable talk show +Talk, focusing on love, relationships, health and stigma reduction.For the emerging designers, designing a lab coat or garment is more than an assignment its a way to honor the professionals who help them navigate life with HIV. For the doctors, its a reminder that science and humanity are always intertwined.More information, including red carpet details, broadcast dates, featured participants and a guest list, will be announced in the weeks ahead.

Ahead, fashion stylist and vintage collector Steve Karas reveals how to rock a suit, as modeled by Jonzu Jones and Keenan Javon in this shoot photographed by Julia Comita.models Jonzu Jones @jonzu & Keenan Javon @keenanjavonphotographer Julia Comita @juliacomitacurator and stylist Steve Karas @lordwarg with House W. NYC @housewnychair stylist Takashi Ashizawa @tashinycmakeup artist lora Obrecht @eloraobrechtprophoto assistants Brandon Abreu @__bandobrando & Eric Azaren @eric_azarenhair assistant Kate Cohen @katecohenmakeup KEENAN (left) in VIVIENNE WESTWOOD Suit, JONZU in JEAN PAUL GAULTIER SuitJulia ComitaWhat was the inspiration behind the styling/creative direction of this shoot?Steve Karas: The inspiration behind this editorial was to showcase the classic lines of suits and let their structure speak for itself. We purposefully styled the looks without accessories or shirts simplicity is key when it comes to bold suits. This shoot was about creating a feeling using only the different shapes that blazers and pants can give us.Tell us about how you selected these designers.I selected suits from Jean Paul Gaultier, Vivienne Westwood, and Comme des Garons three brands that have approached formalwear in a modern way since their very first collections. Westwood, for example, was known for her iconic bondage pants paired with sharply cut double-breasted blazers a truly punk take on tailoring. JONZU and KEENAN in JEAN PAUL GAULTIER SuitsJulia ComitaWhat do these fall collections tell us about how the suit has evolved for 2025?In the past, each decade had a signature suit shape that men followed to stay in style. Today, suits are more adaptable they can match your personality. These designers show us that in 2025, there are infinite ways to wear a suit. Its less about conforming and more about self-expression.What trends are you seeing this season?This season, I see bold printed suits becoming a key trend. I think this generation has seen enough plain or pinstripe fabrics on their parents. They want something that feels more like them something unique and expressive. KEENAN in WALTER VAN BEIRENDONCK Full LookJulia ComitaHave dress shirts officially become optional?Of course, in some settings, button-down shirts will still be expected. But for a modern look and to really show off the suit going shirtless is the way to go. Its a great way to reveal a bit of skin without being too provocative, and its much more comfortable than layering multiple fabrics. Plus, its a chance to express individuality through chest tattoos, jewelry, or makeup.This years Met Gala theme was Black dandyism. What was the cultural and sartorial impact of that event?I think the Met Gala theme will have a cultural impact, especially as menswear continues to gain visibility. Were seeing more space dedicated to it in stores and on social media. This kind of exhibition reminds us that men have always dressed up. The desire to dress for the occasion is still very much alive, but we go to the club more than hunting, and we dress our loved ones more than our subjects. I hope the exhibit also highlights how essential Black style and expression have been to modern fashion. So many trends today, from uniforms to baggy silhouettes, are derived from Black cultural history. JONZU in THIERRY MUGLER Full LookJulia ComitaWhat are a few key guidelines for selecting, wearing, and accessorizing a suit?When picking the perfect suit, I focus on three main things:1. Fit It should feel like a second skin. Dont hesitate to have it tailored before wearing it out.2. Fabric Avoid anything too delicate or fragile. A suit should be lived in you shouldnt be worrying about tears or wrinkles.3. Styling A suit with a white shirt can feel invisible. Add personal touches: a pin on the collar, a unique silk handkerchief, or my favorite chunky shoes and heavy jewelry. You can also play with neckwear or swap shirt buttons for colorful ones that match the suit.For which occasions is a suit appropriate?Suits can be worn for nearly every occasion. The level of styling defines the setting. You might go subtle for a wedding guest look or go full Christmas tree for your birthday. A shirtless look might suit a night out, while shoes also transform the outfit. Wearing stilettos, loafers, or sneakers with the same suit can completely change the vibe. KEENAN in JEAN PAUL GAULTIER Full LookJulia ComitaWhat advice would you give to those who are interested in but may be intimidated by a bolder suit pattern?I think patterned suits are a great entry point for stepping outside your comfort zone. The classic structure will always balance the boldness of a print. If it feels too wild, start with a plain shirt and matching shoes to make the look feel more purposeful and controlled. Or just wear the patterned blazer with plain pants as a first step.Final thoughts?Suits have been worn since the early 19th century, and while theyve evolved, the basic idea pants and a matching blazer remains the same. I believe suits will always be in fashion. The silhouette may change depending on the wearer, but a suit will always be recognized as a way to dress up. Even the most extravagant suit still conveys elegance and intention because it brings the whole body together as one look.This article is part of Out's Sept-Oct issue, which hits newsstands August 26. Support queer media and subscribe or download the issue through Apple News, Zinio, Nook, or PressReader starting August 14. JONZU and KEENAN in VIVIENNE WESTWOOD SuitsJulia Comita

Duolingo, a language learning app, issued an apology to J.K. Rowling after one of the German lessons on the app used her as an example and called her "cruel."During one of the training sessions on the app, a question asked users, Magst du die Bcher mit Harry Potter als Figur? This translates to: "Do you like books with Harry Potter as a character?" The correct answer was supposed to be "Ja, aber meiner Meinung nach ist die Autorin gemein," which translates to, "Yes, but in my opinion the author is cruel/mean." (@) According to The Independent, a spokesperson confirmed this to be true and issued Rowling an apology. "We apologize for any offense caused and will remove this content." As of this writing, Rowling has yet to make a public statement in response which she is known to do.This incident on Duolingo follows CEO Luis Von Ahn laying off 10 percent of its contracted workforce, which included contractors and writers, after the company announced its plan to become an "AI-first" platform. Ahn recently discussed the company's relationship with AI in an interview with The New York Times, claiming that the move to lay off contract workers to replace them with AI was "not controversial" inside the company. "Externally, as a publicly traded company, some people assume that it's just for profit," he added. "Or that were trying to lay off humans. And that was not the intent at all."Meanwhile, filming for the new Harry Potter series at HBO has commenced with an all-new cast of actors. The original main cast in the film franchise Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint have all expressed publicly that they do not share the same views as Rowling and have distanced themselves from her.

Josh SorbeAt 28, Josh Sorbe is already making change as the press secretary for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats. Hes young, out, and a former Division I long-distance swimmer from the red state of South Dakota. Hes also helping steer the messaging behind some of the most high-stakes policy fights on Capitol Hill, including the relentless attacks on LGBTQ+ people, particularly transgender Americans.I dont take the role lightly, Sorbe says. I feel like every day that I show up to work and own my identity, its a piece of the resistance.In a climate where anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and rhetoric are dominating right-wing politics, Sorbe is helping Democrats find their voice and fight back.Republicans are very good at empowering influencers and surrogates and a lot of people to just fill the space, he says. Democrats want to be perfect. But I think the best thing you can do is empower a ton of people to go out and talk 90 percent correctly about something, rather than hyper-polish one person.Sorbe explains that hes using both his position on the Hill and his own privilege to work for the rights of fellow LGBTQ+ people.Our committee will hear issues of LGBTQ+ rights all the time, and especially as a cisgender white gay man, I feel like I have a burden to use this space to help people who society is pretty willing to turn on, he saysHis journey to the Hill wasnt direct. Sorbe won a Truman Scholarship, a prestigious national award granted to students with exceptional leadership potential and a commitment to public service by the Truman Foundation. He was set to enter a masters in education program at Johns Hopkins University when the pandemic hit. I had my application ready, I had my deposit ready, and COVID hit and I got cold feet, Sorbe explains. The disruption led him to question whether being in the classroom was the only way to make an impact in education and public service. I realized that you can care about the classroom without working in it, he says. That realization led him to D.C., where he worked at the Truman Foundation, then joined Democratic New Hampshire U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassans reelection campaign as digital manager.In his current role, he manages both traditional press and digital strategy. He serves as a visible out man in a space where LGBTQ+ staffers are still underrepresented and decisions about LGBTQ+ lives are debated daily.Republicans flood the zone, he says. [Democrats] need people. We need queer messengers. And we need to be real.To younger LGBTQ+ people wondering if theres a place for them in government, he says, Tell your story. Thats your power. We take for granted just how potent our stories are when it comes to feelings of not belonging, triumph, and trial. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Josh Sorbe (@joshsorbe)This article is part of The Advocate's July/Aug 2025 issue, on newsstands now. Support queer media and subscribe or download the issue through Apple News, Zinio, Nook, or PressReader.

At the Las Culturistas Culture Awards this year, there were many surprises but one of the best was Ben Platt's orchestral cover of Addison Rae's "Diet Pepsi." She recently appeared on Zane Lowe's show on Apple Music and he asked the question everyone had been wondering: Has she seen Platt's cover, and what are her thoughts? @zanelowe Addison approves #addisonrae #dietpepsi #benplatt #lasculturistas #zaneloweinterview @Addison @Addison Rae HQ @Ben Platt "'Diet Pepsi' and Ben Platt, we gotta ask what you think because it was such an amazing dramatic emotional take on this brilliant modern pop song," he asked the ascending pop star. She said that she's seen it and thought it was amazing. "It was a very full circle moment because some of the people who worked on that song, I had worked with on my EP, so that was funny and full circle."Lowe asked her how much she knew of what was planned for the cover, to which she responded, "I knew a little bit, I didn't know exactly how it was gonna go down but I was very pleasantly surprised. Ben is amazing and has an incredible voice so I was very honored to see his rendition of the song."In the comments, Platt responded and wrote, "Jadore you Addison." The cover immediately became a fan favorite on social media and gained so much traction that he ended up releasing the live version of the song on Spotify not too soon after. In a recent interview with Billboard, Platt talked about social media's embrace of the song. "Ive certainly had a lot of ups and downs and wonderful moments in terms of my career," he told the publication. "But in terms of virality and having this moment that lives so specifically online, this is very much uncharted territory for me. And I certainly didnt expect it to be this.He said that this moment was a lesson for him in understand the internet a bit more, saying "I feel like it was such a lesson in the idea that the moment that you arent necessarily trying for something like this to happen, it randomly catches fire."

Diego Montoya's work as a fashion designer has not only been heavily featured on the RuPaul's Drag Race runway over the years, but he's also won two Emmy Awards as a costume designer in all four seasons of HBO's We're Here. After creating so many extraordinary outfits for drag artists that looked like pieces of art, Montoya flips the script bringing his queer and Latine sensibilities and honoring drag artistry in an exhibition at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields."This is the first time my costume work has been presented in a major museum setting," Montoya tells Out. "I've had individual installation-based pieces in museums before, but costume design has been my primary focus for over a decade now, so having a collection of my work exhibited in this grand context feels really special."This museum exhibition named Resplendent Dreams: Reawakening the Rococo opened on June 6, 2025 and will continue through March 29, 2026. Featuring pieces created for queens like Sasha Velour, Blair St. Clair, Kandy Muse, Jimbo, and Miz Cracker, this is not only a huge milestone for Montoya as a designer, but also an achievement for drag artistry overall to literally be seen at an art museum."It's surreal! I've always dreamed of having my work shown in a museum, but to have it be featured in a way centered around the queerness and drag has exceeded anything I could have hoped for," Montoya says. "Our work often thrives in spaces overlooked by traditional institutions, so to see it treated with such care, and presented with the full resources of the museum, meant the world to me. It gives me hope to see museums beginning to make space for this kind of work and for the communities it represents."While Drag Race fans can quickly recognize Montoya's looks (and which queens wore them) displayed at the museum, the designer highlights a new piece that he created for this exhibit."There are too many things I could say about all of these pieces; they all hold so many memories and fun anecdotes, and I'm weirdly sentimental about each of them," he says. "We made one new piece, 'Rocaille,' specifically for this exhibition, which is Newfields's first-ever fashion commission. Knowing that she will be preserved and have a life beyond me is so cool."The new piece in question, "Rocaille," was created with Indiana drag artist and actor Blair St. Clair in mind. The outfit's official description reads:"Referencing the shell motif that is a mainstay of Rococo dcor, the new ensemble is designed in an exaggerated mermaid shape. It includes elaborate hip panels and a framing collar reminiscent of eighteenth-century European royal fashion, and is topped with a feathered headdress that recalls such pieces worn by Las Vegas showgirls and cabaret performers. With its opulent reimagining of drag costume and its liberating possibilities for gender expression, Diego's work is both a technical leap forward in fashion design and a radical statement on the potential of clothing to transform our sense of self."Unsurprisingly, Montoya went above and beyond to ensure that these drag looks were properly presented to the public. "It was important to me and my team that the costumes weren't presented like regular gowns on mannequins," he explains. "But, rather, that they really felt like the embodiment of a drag queen. Mandie Holden and her team did such a beautiful job of customizing all of the mannequins and their poses to reflect the dramatic drag silhouettes."Montoya adds, "Each one is covered in pearl-finish with a slight shimmer and has long pearl nails to match. We also made all the mannequins custom masks with pearl embellishments and hand-cut and curled pearlized lashes to represent the 'drag face.' Makeup is so important in drag, and this was our way of honoring that transformative element.""Hopefully when people see these cinched, padded, shimmery bodies with long nails, outstretched arms and long lashes they'll appreciate how much work goes into a drag artist's actual transformation," he muses.Born in Lima, Peru, Montoya was only 10 when he and his family moved to Miami. As one queer Latino immigrant to another, I ask Montoya how he's been navigating the current political climate in the U.S."It's been painful to witness how this administration has framed immigrants as some kind of threat, reducing real human lives to political talking points," he says. "Unfortunately, this is nothing new, and just like artists in the past and as will the ones who will come after me hopefully understand it's important to stay visible, create with honesty, and use your art to remind people of our shared humanity."Montoya continues, "We have lost too much queer art and history. I am grateful to those who have preserved our stories until it was safe to share, and I hope we won't have to pass it along in secret ever again. As an immigrant, I carry deep pride in having made, even in a small way, a contribution through my work, and in being able to represent my community."For an exhibition to include so many queer artists, feature a Latino creative like Montoya, and display drag artistry so prominently, one should absolutely recognize the big swing that the museum and its team have taken. Thank goodness.Montoya credits Michael Vetter, Associate Curator of Contemporary Art at the IMA, for putting together this exhibition named Resplendent Dreams: Reawakening the Rococo, which showcases the influence of the Rococo period through contemporary art by three artists: Montoya, Robert Horvath, and Anthony Sonnenberg."It's been exciting to see how our individual approaches, while very different, come together around this shared influence," Montoya remarks. "It's also very interesting to see our work in conversation with the Rococo pieces from the museum's permanent collection, which are also included in this exhibition."When asked for comment, Vetter tells Out that "the response to the exhibition so far has been tremendous guests have been blown away by the intricacy and beauty of these works and the labor involved in creating them."Vetter adds, "Visitors have been particularly excited to see Diego's pieces in conversation with works in other media (ceramics, painting, and video) that are more typical of the kinds of things you'd see in an art museum."So, what's next for Montoya?"I'm really interested in expanding into more long-form storytelling in areas like theatre and film, where the work can shape a more complete narrative," he replies. "Much of what we've been creating in the studio recently are singular pieces for specific moments, but I'm eager to explore world-building through costume."Montoya concludes, "I feel very lucky that we get asked to do all kinds of things, and that we're flexible enough to often mold to the needs of a particular project. As long as I get to keep creating, I'm open to wherever life may take me. I've also always wanted to do jewelry Who knows!"For more information about the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields and its Resplendent Dreams: Reawakening the Rococo exhibition, visit DiscoverNewfields.org. Photography courtesy of Eric Lubrick and Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields.See on Instagram

Josh SorbeAt 28, Josh Sorbe is already making change as the press secretary for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats. Hes young, out, and a former Division I long-distance swimmer from the red state of South Dakota. Hes also helping steer the messaging behind some of the most high-stakes policy fights on Capitol Hill, including the relentless attacks on LGBTQ+ people, particularly transgender Americans.I dont take the role lightly, Sorbe says. I feel like every day that I show up to work and own my identity, its a piece of the resistance.In a climate where anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and rhetoric are dominating right-wing politics, Sorbe is helping Democrats find their voice and fight back.Republicans are very good at empowering influencers and surrogates and a lot of people to just fill the space, he says. Democrats want to be perfect. But I think the best thing you can do is empower a ton of people to go out and talk 90 percent correctly about something, rather than hyper-polish one person.Sorbe explains that hes using both his position on the Hill and his own privilege to work for the rights of fellow LGBTQ+ people.Our committee will hear issues of LGBTQ+ rights all the time, and especially as a cisgender white gay man, I feel like I have a burden to use this space to help people who society is pretty willing to turn on, he saysHis journey to the Hill wasnt direct. Sorbe won a Truman Scholarship, a prestigious national award granted to students with exceptional leadership potential and a commitment to public service by the Truman Foundation. He was set to enter a masters in education program at Johns Hopkins University when the pandemic hit. I had my application ready, I had my deposit ready, and COVID hit and I got cold feet, Sorbe explains. The disruption led him to question whether being in the classroom was the only way to make an impact in education and public service. I realized that you can care about the classroom without working in it, he says. That realization led him to D.C., where he worked at the Truman Foundation, then joined Democratic New Hampshire U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassans reelection campaign as digital manager.In his current role, he manages both traditional press and digital strategy. He serves as a visible out man in a space where LGBTQ+ staffers are still underrepresented and decisions about LGBTQ+ lives are debated daily.Republicans flood the zone, he says. [Democrats] need people. We need queer messengers. And we need to be real.To younger LGBTQ+ people wondering if theres a place for them in government, he says, Tell your story. Thats your power. We take for granted just how potent our stories are when it comes to feelings of not belonging, triumph, and trial. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Josh Sorbe (@joshsorbe)This article is part of The Advocate's July/Aug 2025 issue, on newsstands now. Support queer media and subscribe or download the issue through Apple News, Zinio, Nook, or PressReader.

Former Biggest Loser trainer Jillian Michaels is blasting "so many lies" in Netflix's new documentary on the weight loss reality competition show.Micaels has unleashed a series of social posts showing "receipts" she has that she says refute claims of mistreatment from her former cohost Bob Harper and others on the show.According to the new docuseries Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser, Michaels allegedly worked with producers to restrict contestants' caloric intakes to dangerous levels, gave contestants caffeine pills, and prevented contestants from getting proper medical care.Michaels spoke to TMZ founder Harvey Levin on Tuesday, saying that the docuseries is "filled with so many lies, and, of course, I have the emails and text messages to back all this up."She added that she was debating whether to "pursue this legally, [or] do I just do a data dump and give you all the emails and all the receipts?"Now, in a series of posts on Instagram, she's released those receipts.See on InstagramMichaels's first post claims to show that allegations that she was caught one season giving her team banned caffeine pills are false.She says the emails show, "Dr. Huizenga did approve caffeine pills on many seasons of Biggest Loser," "Bob Harper not only knew about the caffeine pills, 'the 'stackers fat burner' were actually his suggestion," and "caffeine was NEVER banned on The Biggest Loser."She also posted what she said was her "second to last text ever to Bob Harper.""I really think it's shitty of you to not even respond to my texts," the image reads. "It's this kind of thing that always makes me so disappointed my [sic] our relationship."See on InstagramIn another post, Michaels addressed the allegation that she restricted contestants' calories to an unhealthy level. She shows an email instructing a contestant to consume "1,600 calories per day" while home for the holidays."Additionally, the two other emails posted here are standard communications with the show's producers and medical staff, emphasizing the ongoing priority of ensuring contestants were adequately nourished and the need to provide a steady supply of fresh food in the BL house to guarantee ready access to calories."See on InstagramMichaels also addressed one of the documentary's biggest controversies that surrounding season 15 winner Rachel Frederickson, who began the show weighing 260 lbs and ended it weighing just 105 lbs."Not only did I never once get the opportunity to personally work with Rachel Frederickson in any capacity - I raised serious concerns both publicly and to NBC directly about contestant health and the condition of Rachel in particular at BL's Season 15 finale. In response, I received a direct email from Paul Telegdy, then-Chairman of NBC Entertainment. In that email, he made clear that if I did not publicly condone the appearance of contestant Rachel Frederickson at the shows finale, NBC would pursue legal action against me. I resigned from The Biggest Loser shortly thereafter."In a recent interview, Harper said he was "really proud" of his time on the show and has "learned not to take things personally" when criticized about it.He added that he tries "not to have too many regrets," but admitted that it was a mistake to tell a contestant it was "good" that she threw up because it would help her lose weight.Still, he argues that "everyone that came on Loser, we were all adults" and says, "I knew what the show represented to me. I have nothing but a good experience and really good memories."Since leaving the show, Michaels, who is a lesbian, has become a conservative commentator and writer.In June, she wrote a Daily Mail opinion piece saying she wasn't proud to be part of the LGBTQ+ community because of the "leather daddies, drag shows, and corporate stunts" at Pride.This August, Michaels was on CNN when she complained that "every single thing" in the Smithsonian "is like, 'white people bad,' and that's just not the truth."She argued that "less than 2 percent of white Americans owned slaves" and that Americans were "the first race to try to end slavery."Michaels also criticized the Smithsonian's installation about sports, saying that gender testing is "basic science XX chromosome, XY chromosome."

Tennessee's largest Pride celebration is at risk of shutting down after losing almost half of its corporate sponsors.Nashville Pride announced Wednesday that it needs to raise $250,000 by October 11, National Coming Out Day, in order to continue the annual LGBT Pride Festival and Parade. It said that the organization is in a "state of emergency" after facing "unprecedented anti-LGBTQ+ attacks.""At a moment of unrelenting attacks on LGBTQ+ people, we are fighting to keep our citys largest celebration of queer joy, visibility, and resistance alive," the group wrote on its website. "Corporations have never defined Pride, but their dollars have helped cover the costs. With many sponsors abruptly backing out, including those who supported us for years, a massive hole has been left in our budget, putting the future of Pride in jeopardy."See on InstagramNashville Pride said that corporate sponsorships have dropped by $270,000 (40 percent) since last year, with some pulling out just 30 days before the festival. Then, the medical support hired for the event canceled last-minute, leaving an additional $30,000 bill. The organization also said that security costs for the events have more than doubled due to escalating threats against the LGBTQ+ community.Nashville Pride, established in 1988, attracted over 150,000 attendees last year, according to Nashville Lifestyle. The group said that attendance this year was cut by more than 15,000 people due to severe weather. When major corporations made the decision to get rid of their diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, many also axed their commitments to Pride Month and Juneteenth celebrations. Dozens of companies pulled out of Pride events this year, impacting festivals across the country. "If we dont meet this goal, we risk losing not just a weekend of celebration but a safe space for tens of thousands of LGBTQ+ people and allies all year long," the group continued. "The future of Nashville Pride is at stake."Donations to Nashville Pride can be made here.

Rebecca More had the time of her life destroying c*cks and honestly, who can blame her?Following her retirement from studio work in 2023, the adult performer is now focusing on her own OnlyFans content and hosting sex-positive reality shows for OUTtv."I started in the industry when I was 25. It's so changed now, but I like seeing how things evolved," More tells PRIDE. "It's great to be staying up with the times! I'm all sexed out over the years. I need a little break on ice. One day, you go, 'I'm going to hang up the g-string.'" See on Instagram More recently hosted the second season of Slag Wars alongside Matthew Camp and Fantasia Royale Gaga and she hopes more young stars can continue to thrive in their individual careers."Slag Wars is perfect to find new slags and cock destroyers! Take the baton. I'm tired! The talent that we have with the slags... they are incredible!"C*ck Destroyers served as some of the first adult performers to also find notoriety as influencers, so More is grateful that many aspiring entertainers can dabble into erotic work and content creation in this modern era of social media."It's humanizing sex workers. There is more to us that meets the eye. Sex workers, whether you're pro or against... they are some of the most interesting people you'll meet."Slag Wars is streaming now on OUTtv. To see the full interview with Rebecca More, check out the video at the top of the page.

The Beckham genes are top tier!It's no secret that David Beckham is one of the most gorgeous men on the planet and his handsome sons certainly don't fall far from the tree!Beckham's youngest son, Cruz, mainly focuses his time on his music career, but he's gone viral for some stunning photos over the years.Now, the 20-year-old star has the internet drooling over steamy new photos of him in a Speedo on a yacht in Italy. Fans were quick to share the pictures like wildfire and share their very hilarious and feral reactions online, so check out some of the highlights below. (@) (@) (@) (@) (@) (@) (@) (@) (@) (@)

Broadway's Maybe Happy Ending is working through a tumultuous casting dilemma following the announcement that the show's original star, Darren Criss, would be leaving the show and replaced by Andrew Barth Feldman. However, after significant backlash from the AAPI Broadway community, the show decided to redirect course and shared earlier today that Criss is actually not leaving, but rather taking a leave of absence.Maybe Happy Ending directed by out creative Michael Arden, who won a Tony Award earlier this year for Best Direction of a Musical follows a journey of discovery and love between two helper robots, Oliver and Claire, after they are deemed obsolete in a futuristic version of Seoul, South Korea. The show is performed by a predominantly Asian cast. Since Feldman's casting was announced, the show was lambasted for its decision to replace an Asian actor with a white actor. Criss's decision to come back to the show comes shortly after 2,400 people signed an open letter from BD Wong that asked Maybe Happy Ending's creators to reconsider their casting choice in light of what many considered to be an act of "erasure."There's a lot of drama going on with this show, but let us break it down for you.Darren Criss made history at the 2025 Tony Awards See on Instagram In June, Criss took home the Tony for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, making him the first Asian-American actor to do so. (As a co-producer, he also shared a win for Best Musical.) This was a big step in representation for the Asian community on Broadway. But shortly after his win, Criss announced that he would be leaving Maybe Happy Ending on August 31, taking his final bow as Oliver.Andrew Barth Feldman is announced as Criss's replacement See on Instagram On July 24, the show's official Instagram page uploaded a video that announced Feldman as Criss's replacement, sharing that he would be starting as the show's lead two days after the Glee alumnus's departure. The comments section was inundated with replies from people who were upset with the choice to cast a white man in the predominantly Asian show regardless of whether he is dating Helen J. Shen, the female lead, in the real world. Many saw the act as taking an opportunity away from another Asian actor."My heart and so many hearts of AAPI performers, especially us Koreans, were SO FULL seeing a story of our motherland with our language on a bway stage," one comment reads. "Seeing our sisters and brothers making history and bringing a beautiful story to life. And this choice has broken those same hearts. There are 3 AAPI actors already trained and versed in the role of Oliver, who have been bypassed... So much disappointment in the team at this show.""Honestly shocked to see yall choosing someone that is non-Asian for this show. No matter the talent that ABF has, this casting is off for this show," another comment reads.The backlash finds its way to other platforms and prompts a response from the show's creators See on Instagram The show's creators, Will Aronson and Hue Park, released a lengthy statement July 30 on social media, addressing the discourse surrounding their decision to cast Feldman."We wrote a show about robots so we could engage more intimately with the most basic human questions of love and loss, creating the roles of Oliver and Claire to be avatars of these universal questions," the two write in their joint statement."They were meant to be products created by a global company, and so never bore Korean names, even in the Korean version of the show. At the same time, we understand that for many in the AAPI community, the makeup of our opening night cast became a meaningful and rare point of visibility," it reads. "We've heard how strongly people connected to that representation, even if it wasn't our original intent, and how this casting decision has reopened old wounds."They go on to say that they are saddened that the show "could ever become a source of confusion, anger or pain." They round out the statement by saying, "We hope this gives a small window into our own thought process in the creation of Maybe Happy Ending."Helen J. Shen responds with a statement of her own See on Instagram That same day, Shen shared her thoughts on Instagram regarding the complicated situation, writing, "This has been an immensely challenging moment within my home with Andrew, and in this building filled with A/PI folks to say the least." She continued, "I don't know what's forward, but to have this opportunity to play opposite my favorite actor in the world for nine weeks, who happens to be PERFECT for the role is a huge moment of joy for me."The actress understands that "every perspective on this situation contains truth" and that "this conversation must be had," and that she would continue to amplify voices in the conversation around AAPI representation in the Broadway community.Silence from FeldmanEver since Feldman found himself at the center of the controversy, he has yet to release a public statement on the matter. The last statement he's released was attached to the official announcement in a press release."I am so in love with this show and with Helen J Shen. Ive been a plus-one on this Broadway journey from the beginning, and this brilliant team and beautiful company have already become such a big part of my life," he wrote. "That they trust me with this role, and are giving me the ridiculous gift of sharing it with Helen, is an honor beyond words.BD Wong's Open Letter to the casting directors of 'Maybe Happy Ending' See on Instagram BD Wong authored an open letter that he shared to his social media on August 10, asking the casting directors to reconsider their decision to have Feldman take the helm of this show. "It goes way beyond the back and forth about this particular casting decision and the 'ownership' that much of the Asian Community seems to feel over this particular character in this particular musical," he wrote in the letter, pointing to a time when a white actor replaced a Vietnamese actor in the 2016 revival of Miss Saigon. "Advocating for one's own representation is stultifyingly self-debasing," he added. "No, we don't want to 'get somebody fired.' We must express, though, how painful it is to be passed over, yet how used to it we've become. How incomprehensibly rare 'Asian Shows' are."The open letter gained over 2,400 signatures with new celebrities wishing to add their names in the comments.Criss announced to not be leaving after all See on Instagram After a matinee performance on Wednesday, Criss addressed the crowd and announced that his final bow won't actually be his last. After August 31, Ill be hitting the road for just nine weeks before coming back in November to play Oliver full time, and in that period of time, I will be lending my charger to the marvelous Andrew Barth Feldman, he said onstage after the show. "If you enjoyed your time here today, hopefully youll be able to come back and maybe get a chance to witness the brilliance and brilliant light that I know he will illuminate this wonderful, beautiful piece with in my absence." He finished his announcement by saying, "Maybe Happy Ending is easily the most remarkable, accessible, hopeful and joyous piece of art that I have ever had the privilege of being part of" and hopes that the show has a long run on Broadway.The show shared the news on their Instagram and the comments section felt that their were trying to salvage what they could of the casting mess that was made, but many critics were not convinced. "Great, but unfortunately the precedent of AAPI erasure has already been set," one commenter said. Another wrote, "This doesnt eradicate the mistake of casting Andrew. If you knew Darren was only taking a 9-week break from the show, why not have any of the swing/understudies take over for a short stint?" The comment continued, "Not only will it retain the Asian representation in the role of Oliver, it also provides an opportunity for lesser known Asian actors to lead a Broadway show (a luxury not often afforded by Asian actors). This distraction tactic is not it. You cant just let controversies wash away with time."

Even in the heat of summer, Palm Springs is the place to be!The popular southern California city is home to thousands of queer people in fact, nearly half of the population is made up of out and proud members of the LGBTQ+ community.Although there's plenty of rich LGBTQ+ culture to experience year-round in Palm Springs, Splash House is the prime music festival to attend as a healthy mix of queer people and allies come together to dance under the desert sun for a thrilling weekend.With headliners that have included Diplo, Disclosure, John Summit, SG Lewis, and many more over the years, the special event serves as a love letter to Palm Springs and its inclusive community. See on Instagram There's truly no other music festival quite like Splash House, as tourists and locals have the perfect opportunity to appreciate everything Palm Springs has to offer. During the day, attendees get to explore three fun properties that throw epic pool parties: Renaissance Palm Springs Hotel, Riviera Resort & Spa Palm Springs, and The Saguaro Palm Springs. Plus, Splash house typically takes place over two weekends in August, so there's double the opportunity to make memories at this festival.Once the sun goes down, ravers put on their favorite outfits and head to the Palm Springs Air Museum for some late night fun. Personally, I've seen some of the best DJ sets of my life at this iconic after party. Everyone is experiencing true euphoria as they dance the night away, clack their fans, and make new friends each night of the festival.However, if you're not the type of person who likes to party all day and night, Palm Springs serves as an incredible backdrop to enjoy some relaxation despite the jam-packed festival schedule. See on Instagram The Dunes Hotel is just one of the ideal properties to book so you can easily escape all of the infectious noise blasting throughout the festivities. Located right next to all of the adorable restaurants and gay bars downtown, its literally walking distance to any of the hotspots that travelers can check out in Palm Springs once they need a break from dancing and partying.Plus, it's important to not sleep on all of the tasty food options at your disposal. While it may be easy to hit up a fast-food chain during a festival weekend, local eateries like Farm, Koffi Coffee, and Broken Yolk Cafe have diverse menus that'll satisfy any cravings.It's never too late to experience queer joy at a memorable and special festival like Splash House in Palm Springs. Also, don't be afraid to check out safe spaces like these alone. Yes, it's common to see many people travel in groups, but don't ever rob yourself the opportunity to join a rave family as a solo traveler. There's a community out there waiting for you!This fabulous trip was provided by Splash House and Visit Greater Palm Springs.

I was born in Galveston County, Texas, the very place where, on June 19, 1865, enslaved Black people were finally told they were free more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation had declared slavery illegal across the Confederacy. I grew up thinking about those who remained enslaved while the rest of the nation celebrated liberation. And how, once the excitement settled after finally having their freedom returned to them, the feeling of being left behind must have overtaken them. Thinking the nation advanced forward, all while my town in Galveston was somehow planted in the past, and the people of it, my people, had years taken from them they could never get back. Even generations later, this thought stings sharply, aching in my bones and whispering to me that progress must pull us all forward to take place fully.The significance of the soil I stood on throughout my childhood was never lost on me. It was land built on the backs of my ancestors, land marked by delay, struggle, and resilience. And now, 160 years later, as I carve out a path of my own, I stand on this land again, not just to remember, but to build something new. To ensure that my community is never forgotten or left behind again. I am a Black gay man who was part of the Purpose 2 trials, and I am proud to have learned that on the day before Juneteenth of this year, that very clinical trial has made lenacapavir the first long-acting injectable drug for HIV prevention approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Ian L. Haddock, founder and executive director of The Normal AnomalyThe Normal AnomalyIn a country still wrestling with the ghosts of medical injustice and systemic neglect, we cannot separate this achievement from history. The approval of lenacapavir by the FDA is more than a scientific milestone. It is a profoundly personal reckoning with our past and a hopeful stride toward a future we deserve. We are not far removed from the Tuskegee experiments, in which Black men were knowingly denied treatment for syphilis under the guise of research. That legacy left a scar. And deepening it, medical racism continues to persist, even in daily interactions with the health care system. Growing up, I heard stories of medical mistreatment from the men and women of my family because of the color of their skin. Their experiences seemed more like science-fiction horror than reality. And as someone who leads a health care navigation program for Black queer people in Texas, I still see the impact of that betrayal today, in the mistrust, in the fear, in the hesitation to engage with a system that has failed us.That mistrust is not unfounded. An analysis of 32,000 participants in U.S. clinical trials for new drugs in 2020 found that only 8 percent were Black, even though Black people make up about 14 percent of the population. Women also remain underrepresented in research, even in studies for conditions that disproportionately affect them. Experts say this underrepresentation has worsened in recent years. And as someone working every day with those most impacted by HIV, I carry the weight of multiple identities that have long been labeled as vulnerable: Black, queer, Southern. I dont just advocate for the community; I am the community. Ive seen firsthand how systems overlook us, how progress often moves forward without ever turning back to pick us up. So when the medical world began making bold strides in HIV prevention research, I knew it was critical that we not be left behind. That I not be left behind. Ian L. Haddock, founder and executive director of The Normal AnomalyThe Normal AnomalySo when I said yes to participating in the Purpose 2 trials, it wasnt just for myself. It was for all of us living at the intersection of race, gender, sexuality, geography, who have too often been left out of research for the very illnesses that affect us most. I see it as an act of resistance, of representation, and of reclamation for people who look, live, and love like me. I knew then, as I know now: If we want to rewrite our story, we have to be in it. If we wish for health care that reflects us, we must demand to be seen. And if we genuinely want liberation from this virus, then we must all be part of the solution.And the future this injectable offered was one with more freedoms. Just two doses a year, removing the daily burden of remembering a pill or showing up monthly for an injection. For many, especially in marginalized communities, this kind of ease and privacy can be the difference between prevention and risk. It gives you back power in your health care navigation and makes it more accessible, more possible, more human. But approval is only the beginning. We must ensure that access, education, and trust follow. At the Normal Anomaly Initiative, based here in Texas, I have turned my participation in this trial into a promise to make sure this tool reaches the people who need it most. As always, I remember the delay of freedom in my state of Texas, how the nations future reached my hometown two years too late. But this year, I stand proudly on that same soil with the news of the history I helped make. I am not just remembering the past, but celebrating a future that is inching closer to true liberation.Ian L. Haddock was a participant in the Purpose 2 trials, which led to the FDA approval of lenacapavir, a biannual injectable medication that reduces the risk of contracting HIV by 96 percent. Haddock is the founder of the Normal Anomaly Initiative, a leading advocacy group for Black LGBTQ+ communities in the South. Learn more at normalanomaly.org.

Mother Ru returns to rule over her UK queendom.The UK's Next Drag Superstar is within this brand-new cast of queens vying for the crown while competing on RuPaul's Drag Race UK season 7. With 12 queens in the competition and 10 weeks to go, it's anyone's guess who'll make it to the very top.RuPaul and the panel of regular judges of Drag Race UK Michelle Visage, Alan Carr, and Graham Norton are back for another lap of this beloved U.K. competition series featuring special celebrity guest judges each and every week.So, without further ado, it's time to meet the sickening queens who'll be vying for the crown (and our love) during season 7 of Drag Race UK.Keep scrolling to meet the queens of RuPaul's Drag Race UK season 7, which is coming soon to WOW Presents Plus.All photos and information included below are Courtesy of World of Wonder/BBC.BonesInstagram: @itsjustbonesAge: 25City: LondonIntroduce yourself.Greetings people of the United Kingdom! I'm Bones, I'm 25, and I'm the witchy boho queen of Soho, London!What can we expect to see from a Bones show?With a Bones show you get the full fantasy. It's not just the costume, it's not just the song it's the whole thing. You are brought into the full heavenly fantasy and you just live within. That's why people come to the shows, because you're not going to get it anywhere else!Tell us about your drag journey?I've been doing drag for seven years now. I started by accident. I was a club kid and then I met the high priestess drag queen, Jodie Harsh and she whisked me away and turned me into a gorgeous drag queen. Now, I produce some of the best Soho nights out, and yes I'm known as the queen of Soho.Where did your drag name come from?Honestly, my name just came to me in the shower and I was like, 'Bones works!'. It's not masculine, it's not feminine. It's strong, it's kind of witchy, it's got some type of dark element to it, and there's always a pun in there somewhere!Are there any other challenges you're excited to take on, and anything you're nervous about?I can turn my hand to anything. I'm really excited for a Rusical or any challenge where I can perform. I have a very creative background, I have a Fine Art degree, and I've always been interested in painting, drawing and creating. Being able to produce my designs and everything that goes on in my head is a huge part of my drag. I wouldn't say that comedy comes naturally to me I don't know if anyone else finds me funny, but I think I'm hilarious!How competitive are you?I am very competitive. I like to be on top, it's where I belong! I don't need to shout about how good I am, but that doesn't mean that I don't want this. I'm a bit of a slow burn, but the kind of fire I bring to my drag is an inferno!Why do you deserve to be crowned the UK's Next Drag Race Superstar?I think I deserve to be the UK's Next Drag Race Superstar because I'm a true original and it's about time that everybody sees it.Bonnie Ann ClydeInstagram: @bonnieannclyde_Age: 30City: DublinIntroduce yourself.Hi, my name is Bonnie Ann Clyde, I am 30 years old, from Dublin. You could say I'm Ireland's finest export.What can we expect to see from a Bonnie Ann Clyde show?At a Bonnie Ann Clyde show you get the full package! We might have a little comedy, a spoken word lip-sync number before we move onto something fierce and dance-y in a body suit, and then we'll do a ballad, and mostly you will be enamored by my presence and my glamorousness!Tell us about your drag journey?You could say that I've been around the block a few times, but I prefer to say that I'm an international queen! Bonnie Ann Clyde was created in Dublin, the mid 2010's when drag was starting to get popular again. I performed in Dublin for six years, then I did a Summer in San Francisco, and after that I moved to Gran Canaria, where I performed for two and a half years. For the past year I've been settled in Manchester, and that's where I was when I got the Drag Race call!Where did your drag name come from?Bonnie Ann Clyde you'd think is a pun on the gangsters Bonnie and Clyde. It's actually not. I'm named after my two dead cats, and they were named after the gangsters. And so, my dead cats live on in me!How competitive are you?I've not competed in a drag competition in years, mainly because I've never won a single one I know, shock horror! I'm here obviously to win badges and snatch the crown and all that, but also, I'm here to show myself off and have a good time!What skill set are you bringing to the competition?I feel like I've got a lot of skills for Drag Race. I've got my hosting experience, I can do a bit of comedy, I can obviously lip-sync and perform, I can pick up a nice little dance, I can hold a tune but if you ask me to put something through a sewing machine, that's when everything kind of falls apart, but that's my only weakness.Why do you deserve to be crowned the UK's Next Drag Race Superstar?[Impersonating iconic The X Factor contestant Holly Jervis] This is my moment. I've worked for years doing jobs I didn't want to do and I've worked so hard. I deserve this crown, I deserve that scepter, I deserve that 25k, and you know what? I'm going to get it because I'm fabulous, I'm fantastic, I'm Bonnie Ann Clyde and I'm going to win!Catrin FeelingsInstagram: @catrinfeelingsAge: 26City: Rhondda ValleyIntroduce yourself.My name is Catrin Feelings, I'm 26, and I am the blonde bilingual bombshell from the Rhondda Valley all the way from South Wales.How long have you been doing drag?So, I have been doing drag for about four years now. It started off in my bedroom, but I love the attention, and then after lockdown I just thought life's too short. I thought, 'Chuck yourself out there Cat, what's the worst that can happen? Probably end up on Drag Race'. Look at me now!What can we expect to see from a Catrin Feelings show?You're going to get all the camp classics, and you're going to get a bit of nana humor. Expect a lot of sparkles. There's one thing you all need to know about Catrin Feelings, she's not going nowhere near a stage without a feather or a sparkly gown.Where did your drag name come from?I wanted a pun and something Welsh. It came to me after listening to a Little Mix song. It was 'Motivate,' and the lyrics go, 'O na, na, I'm catching feelings', I was just like, 'Oh it sounds like they're singing Catrin Feelings, and so that's why I'm called Catrin Feelings!Tell us more about Wales?I absolutely love Wales. I think it's about time to have a bit more Welsh campness in the show! I am from the Rhondda Valley. Growing up in the Rhondda, it was a bit black and white, there was no grey area. If you were different, people would make sure to know that you were different. Mind you, can you imagine me trotting down the street dressed like this?Which challenges are you most excited for?Do you mean which challenges am I going to win?! One hundred percent it's Snatch Game. Girls, she is coming for it! Best believe you should all be scared because Catty Feels is going to win that badge. I think comedy is where my strongest skills lie. Maybe my looks too, but, you know, I got to let the other girls win a badge for something, haven't I?Why do you deserve to be crowned the UK's Next Drag Race Superstar?It feels right, girls! I want to show how far hard work can get you. I left my job to become a full-time drag queen, that's how serious I am. Drag is just everything to me. I absolutely love every single bit of this.Chai T GrandeInstagram: @chai.t.grandeAge: 32City: LondonIntroduce yourself.Sawasdee kha! My name is Chai T Grande, I'm 32 and I am your sweet, spicy, steaming hot beverage all the way from exotic London.What can we expect to see from a Chai T Grande show?From a Chai T Grande show, you're going to get beauty, choreo and I'm going to take you to a different world because my favorite thing about drag is losing yourself. It's also important for me to represent my Thai heritage in my drag. Growing up in London as a mixed-race English and Thai person, I didn't really feel that connected to my 'Asian-ness'. Now, I'm more confident and I have a stronger sense of my identity, so I can bring forward those elements into my performances, looks and references. I am completely unapologetic about who I am, because being mixed race is fantastic.How long have you been doing drag?I have been doing drag for just over four years. I am a drag child of lockdown. I bought some makeup palettes, watched a few tutorials, and began to think that I love dancing, I love talking to people, I love performing, so why not bring all of these pieces of the puzzle together. And so Chai T Grande was born. I've never looked back. Prior to that, I worked in the creative industries as a writer, stylist, PR manager you name it, I've done it all!Where did your drag name come from?My name comes from my two great loves: I love a chai latte (I used to drink it every day until I figured out how calorific they are) and of course, the second part of my name is in reverence for Ariana Grande. The 'T' in the middle can mean whatever you want talented, tantalizing, Thai, tragic, titillating, tea...?What challenges are you most looking forward to, and are there any others that you're nervous about?My dream challenge is girl groups. I'm fantastic lyricist, I'm good with my delivery, I love dance, I love choreography, I love a coordinated outfit. To me, it is everything I love about drag put into one gorgeous challenge and I can't wait to get stuck in.Even though I have prepared to the Nth degree, I will admit that sewing is not my strong suit. I have a high fashion sensibility, but when it comes to actually creating the garments myself, there's still some work to be done!How competitive are you?I'm quietly very competitive and it's always the quiet ones you've got to keep your eyes on!Why do you deserve to be the UK's Next Drag Race Superstar?I'm a very humble queen, so I'm not going to walk in and be like, 'I can do everything.' But yes, I can perform. Yes, I can act. Yes, I can (kind of) sing. But you know what? Being a drag queen is so much more than that. It's about welcoming people into your world. So that is my superpower, and that is why I'm going to be the next winner of Drag Race UK.Elle VosqueInstagram: @ellevosqueAge: 22City: BelfastIntroduce yourself.Hey everyone, my name is Elle Vosque, I'm 22, and I'm the belle of Belfast City!What can we expect to see from an Elle Vosque show?When you come to an Elle Vosque show the looks will be turned. I will be singing live, I will be doing a bit of dancing, and mostly you're going to have fun.The most important part of my drag is to have fun. I'm sick and tired of drag queens who think it's all about looking like a supermodel. That's boring, just go out and have fun.How long have you been doing drag?I've been doing drag for four years. The initial Elle experience, you will never see any footage, but it's wild, but since then I have practiced my makeup every day and perfected my craft. I like to say that my four-year drag career is the equivalent of someone else's 10-year career. I have worked so hard, and I have done everything I could have done to prepare me for this moment.How is it doing drag whilst still being a student at university?I'm still in Uni studying Textiles and fashion, and you know what? I'm probably the worst student ever, but I'm the best Drag Race student. I focus all my energy into drag and it's got me here.How does it feel to be representing Northern Ireland on this season?Northern Ireland does have a great track record on Drag Race, and it makes sense because we're really good. There's been Blu Hydrangea, the first Queen of the Mother Tucking World, there's also finalist, Jonbers Blonde, and Charra Tea, who won Miss Congeniality. And now me I'm from West Belfast, and I'm the best of the West.What challenges are you most excited for?I know my looks are going to be gorgeous, but the challenges that I'm really excited for are things like the Rusical because I love to sing.How competitive are you?I would say I'm very competitive. I've only ever competed in one competition before, but I don't talk about it because I didn't win! I think it's a big advantage to walk into Drag Race as a baby queen.This is my plan; I'm going to go in under the radar, and then I'm just going to attack all the challenges, and the queens won't know what hit them!NyongbellaInstagram: @nyongbella_Age: 25City: LondonIntroduce yourself.Hi everyone, I'm Nyongbella, I'm 25 years old from London, and I'm a life-sized brat doll and fashion editorial come alive!How long have you been doing drag?I've done drag for about two years. I kind of just fell into it. I used to love creating my own fashion editorials at home and taking photos of myself. After a while I thought, I'm practically doing drag I might as well get it on stage. And so, I got into London's ballroom scene, because I love looking good and I love fashion. The categories that I normally walk are fashion, killer face, and every now and then I do realness, obviously!What can we expect to see from a Nyongbella show?First of all, if you come to a show of mine, you'll get a great music selection, a gorgeous outfit, and a really great performance. You're going to have a fab time, and I'll socialize afterwards! I like to make sure the people are thoroughly entertained.You're a Cameroonian London queen, tell us more?I'm a very proud Cameroonian and being able to combine my heritage and culture with my aesthetic and weave it into my drag is just fab. I know for myself that I rarely saw anyone like me a second-generation person from an African household. I think it's important to see people from similar circumstances as you: to know that they can exist, they can thrive, they can be great and that they can be absolutely gorgeous.Where did your drag name come from?Well, I don't know how it happened, but I ended up in hospital and it was a whole moment. I had blacked out, and as I was coming to, the nurses were saying 'Nigh-yong-bella' over and over. It sounded so dreamy and gorgeous, and I was like, 'Oh, I might just take this for my drag name'. Spoiler alert: It's my actual name! I was born with it, but they were mispronouncing it.What challenges are you most looking forward to, and are there any others that you're nervous about?I'm really excited for a roast, and the makeover challenge. I would love to transform someone and make them feel the fantasy just as I do. I can sew, too, so bring on that design challenge. I am a new girl, so maybe I don't have as much drag experience as everyone else, but I'm not particularly worried about anything.Why do you think you should be crowned the UK's Next Drag Race Superstar?I don't think, I know I should be the UK's Next Drag Race Superstar, because I will implement my brains and natural beauty on every single challenge. I can envision the fantasy now RuPaul has announced my name and she's in tears, the mascara is running, Raven is furious. Michelle is tearing up. The other queens are jealous and vexed, but they can eat it! Fireworks, confetti, and I'm there in a gorgeous crown looking beautiful I know you can see it too!Paige ThreeInstagram: @paigethreeAge: 28City: London/SurreyIntroduce yourself.Hello, I'm Paige Three. I'm 28, I'm from Surrey, and I'm an utterly silly cow! I am ready to do what I do best, which is look absolutely stunning and take your husband!What are the biggest achievements of your career?I've performed for the Queen at her 90th birthday, but I wasn't in drag. I was performing with Beverly Knight as a soldier, but I just had to drop it in there, because who's performed for the Queen? Me!I've done all sorts of random stuff in my drag career. You might have seen me at brunches all around London, sometimes I run a bingo, I have performed with Kimberly Wyatt from The Pussycat Dolls. I've worked really hard to get to where I am, but I feel that I've reached a wall, and I want to break through it and see what else I can do.How did your journey with drag begin?I'm from a musical theatre background. I started dancing when I was about 12 years old, and I've performed in West End shows such as Cats, Kinky Boots, Chicago, and We Will Rock You. I first did drag in Kinky Boots, and when the show finished, I discovered something in me that I was not willing to let go of.So, I started doing drag in my bedroom and then tried a gig. I felt like it was ALL the things that I love so much in my life combined with all the things that I trained so hard to do, and this time I was in control.Drag has become the most special outpouring of artistry and love for me, and I feel incredibly lucky to be a drag queen.Where did your drag name come from?Paige Three, if you don't know, is a play on words referencing the glamourous women who posed on page three of a tabloid newspaper. My take on that is to exude glamour, body and serve up a performance that everybody's talking about.What challenges are you most looking forward to?We are about to enter the Olympics of drag, and I'm very excited to show the world what I do best. So, let's get into the girl groups and let's lip sync the house down. I'm not going to fade into the background. I've become well-known as a high-octane performance glamour queen, so pushing myself out of those boundaries is a little bit worrying, but I am up for the challenge.Why do you deserve to be crowned the UK's Next Drag Race Superstar?I've waited a long time to be here. I have honed my craft, and I'm ready to do it even better! You've been turning those pages and now it's time to stop turning because you're on Paige Three, baby, and I'm ready to take this crown.PastyInstagram: @pasty_kweenAge: 30City: CornwallIntroduce yourself.Hello, my lovelies. My name is PASTY as in the savory treat not Patsy, and not Paste-y. I'm 30 years old, I was originally baked in Cornwall, but now I'm selling myself all over the streets of East London darling!How did your journey with drag begin?I really wanted to do drag because I grew up watching Mrs. Doubtfire and Hocus Pocus. I'd say that my drag personality was ready to burst out from a very young age. I loved Hocus Pocus' lead witch, Winifred Sanderson, so much that when I was a little kid, I used to put clothes pegs on my fingers to act out my very own Winifred fantasy. So, I think that's my drag origin story!What can we expect to see from a Pasty show?If you come to a Pasty show, you're gonna have fun. I love to do themed shows. I once did a Tracy Beaker one with my friends and we took that on tour. I also did another tour called 'Chicken Hun'!Where did your drag name come from?Well, I'm from Cornwall, so obviously the name Pasty felt apt. I used to perform as 'Pasty Palmer' after the iconic Patsy Palmer, who plays Bianca in EastEnders, but then everyone called me Patsy, and expected me to shout 'Ricky!' so now, I'm just Pasty, and being named after a well-known savory snack has served me well!A few years ago, I did a little burlesque number dressed as a sausage roll. It went viral and Kylie Minogue even saw it and "liked" it! I think it probably amassed over a million views. So, I'm now known as the 'Sausage Roll Queen'.What challenges are you most looking forward to, and what are you nervous about?I love character comedy, it's very much my vibe, so I'm really excited for Snatch Game. One challenge that I'm not looking forward to is the design challenge. I dress up as a sausage roll for a living so that tells you everything about my design aesthetic!How competitive are you?I'm not really a competitive person. I obviously want to do well, but my main priority is to enjoy myself and meet RuPaul. It's going to be wild. I can't wait!Why do you deserve to be crowned the UK's Next Drag Race Superstar?It's the silly sausage roll season baby, and I'm ready to bring it home for Cornwall. Imagine a crown on top of a pasty, that's literally amazing as long as you don't take a bite because it might crack your tooth.Sally TMInstagram: @sally.trademarkAge: 27City: South ShieldsIntroduce yourself.Hiya! It's me Sally TM. I'm 27 and I'm from South Shields by way of Newcastle. Haway the lad.How long have you been doing drag?I've been doing drag for 10 years. It all started when I watched a funny YouTube girly taking the mick out of videos and then she said that she wasn't a woman, and I was like, 'what?!'. I went down this internet rabbit hole, and discovered the world of Drag Race and I was like 'oh, this is fun!'. I entered a few online drag competitions, and then I began to think that maybe I could take this outside, and now, here I am!Where did your drag name come from?I love video games and Sally's a non-playable character in the SimsTM game. She was burning the town up, and I was just like, 'This diva!' At the time, I was an animator, and I loved designing weird outfits for her. It felt like a natural step to turn her (and myself) into a real life drag queen. As the game has a famous trademark, I thought that it would be quite camp to have the capital letters 'TM' as my surname and so now I'm an original character. Do not steal.How would you describe your drag?I embody the art, fun and graphic nature of video games. I represent the underbelly of classic drag the alternative. I'm here to represent all of those Geordie queens who are ingenuities, creative, a bit clown-y, and a bit kooky. I want to showcase that anyone who has an alternative bone in their body can make it on to Drag Race.I really enjoy looking different to everyone else. As entertainers, we really need to have a unique perspective and I think that if your drag matches someone else's drag, you're not serving the art form.What can we expect to see from a Sally TM show?I love unpredictability in a show. You could see me with a paper bag on my head doing an interpretive dance or you might see me sing the cult classic song 'Just Eat' by Katy Perry on karaoke, because who doesn't love a karaoke queen?What challenges are you most looking forward to, and are there any others that you're nervous about?I think that the scariest thing for me is probably a challenge where I might need to move my body! My best move is a bowel movement, so we'll see how I get on. I love to make my own stuff, I feel like that is my best skill and for me it's like therapy. So, bring on, the design challenge!Why do you deserve to be crowned the UK's Next Drag Race Superstar?Because no-one does it like Sally TM. I'm a true original. It's like I've been carved from the stars and sent down to Earth. I'm here to prove that the weird and creative girls can get it done. Let's go!Silllexa DictionInstagram: @silllexaAge: 26City: LeedsIntroduce yourself.Hello! My name is Silllexa Diction. I'm a silly, sexy, Yorkshire girl. I'm 26 years old and I'm from Leeds born and bred.Tell us about your drag?I've been doing drag for about seven years. I started when I was 18, learning to sew, design and make my looks. That's when I really fell in love with everything about drag. Now, I have my own club night in Leeds, three nights a week, where I get queens from all around the UK together. It's for anyone in Leeds, who wants to have a camp old time.How would you describe your drag?I'm here to make everything as big and crazy as possible! I love to exaggerate the female silhouette to the extreme. My breasts range from double F to double Z. I have about 12 pairs of giant breast plates. They take up a lot of space, so I store them in my parents' garage!What can people expect from you?I am 7'3 in drag, and a lot of people tend to be intimidated by me at first sight, but once they get to know me, they realize I'm a goofy, stupid cow and I don't take myself too seriously. We're doing drag. I want to have fun. I want to laugh. I want to be stupid. So, come on, just let me do it!What challenges are you most looking forward to, and what are you nervous about?I have quite a lot of experience with making clothes and designing. I'm fully self-taught, so bring me a design challenge, bring me a makeover, bring me anything that's creative. Will I help the other girls? Probably not. I'm a bit nervous about anything that's choreography based. I am not really known to be a dancer but I never give up and I will always give everything one hundred per cent.What is your most annoying habit?People would probably say my most annoying habit is breathing, because I'm that bloody annoying. I'm the loud one in my friendship group. So if you're around me, you're going to hear me for miles!Why do you deserve to be crowned the UK's Next Drag Race Superstar?Honestly, it has been a crazy fever dream getting here. I am the first Leeds girl on Drag Race, and it just feels correct. There's no girl like me in Leeds, let alone the world. You don't really get many gorgeous, stunning, beautiful, conceptual queens that are also funny. I think that's why Ru chose me to be here. I've graced the Earth with my presence. I've floated down from above, and I'm here to make you chuckle and laugh.Tayris MongardiInstagram: @tayrismongardiAge: 27City: BrightonIntroduce yourself.Hello my honeys! My name is Tayris Mongardi, I am 27, and I am the Titan of Brighton! I've got all the glamour of an uptown girl, and all the charm of a downtown girl. Take it or leave it (but preferably take it, cos I want the gig).How would you describe your drag?My drag in its truest form is a celebration of Black female pop culture. I love Janet Jackson, Beyonce, Megan Thee Stallion, Doechii, Nicki Minaj, Janelle Mone, Grace Jones. They are powerful female icons who celebrate their Blackness, their identity, and their heritage. And all their influence funnels its way down to me in a little corset, a gorgeous wig, and a big old smile. For me, drag is all about Black queer joy.What inspired you to get into drag?I really came from nothing. There were times when I'd walk home from school and wonder if I'd have any food that day, or any electric, but that experience has taught me to live my life exactly how I want it. I really feel like I've taken all the coal of my life and turned it into diamonds and there will be diamonds on the crown of which I'll be the proud recipient of!How do you feel ahead of the competition?Girl, being sat here on Drag Race UK feels so correct. In the eight years I've been doing drag I've conquered every part of the industry: I've done adverts, television, radio, podcasts, pageants, ballroom, but this is the place I'm meant to be. My whole life has been leading up to this moment. So, put a crown on it girl, you know what I mean?!What are your biggest strengths in drag?There's truly nothing that I cannot do. I can host, I can rap, I'll come out and give you splits, dips, kicks, the whole lot, and then I'll switch to a nice classical ballad. I can literally do anything. I think the reason my drag is celebrated in Brighton is because it really does everything: I have the comedic skill and performance gifts to charm and captivate an audience, and I've got so much heart and authenticity that you can't help but fall in love with me!What is your biggest weakness?Listen, I don't do cardio, but I can run my mouth! I've most certainly got the gift of the gab.Are you worried about the Brighton curse?Well thus far, according to Drag Race, the drag scene in Brighton is shit because the Brighton queens always seem to go home early! But listen carefully. I'm here to break the Brighton curse!ViolaInstagram: @playedbyviolaAge: 22City: CoventryIntroduce yourself.Hello divas, it's Viola! I'm 22 years old, I'm from Coventry, and I'm here to pluck it up.What can we expect to see from a Viola show?Coming to a Viola show, you're going to laugh, but most of all, you're going to be wowed and you're going to be shocked, because, darling, there is nobody on the scene who does what I do.I am known as the UK's only violin playing and singing drag queen, so you'll hear my gorgeous vocals and tremendous fiddling, and you will also laugh maybe more at me, but I will certainly make you laugh! I am a very sophisticated queen in the sense that I play a lot of classical music at my gigs. My favorite stuff to play is Bach, Beethoven and Mozart.Where did your drag name come from?My drag name comes from the fact that I play the violin. Viola is another instrument very similar to a violin and it's a name!How long have you been doing drag?I've been doing drag for four years. It started with my love of musical theatre, when I was cast as a woman in my school musical. I've been getting in skirts and putting on makeup ever since.What challenges are you most looking forward to, and are there any others that you're nervous about?Things that I've got in the handbag are singing, dancing, sewing, and personality. And so I'm excited for the Rusical, the girl groups, and the design challenge. I've been practicing my lip syncing, warming up my violin and one thing that people don't know about me is that I'm a sewer, and I've made many of my own looks.I'm scared of anything related to comedy: Reading, roasting, Snatch Game, making people laugh on command. All my friends say that I make them laugh when I'm not trying, but that's not helpful. I don't know how I am funny.Why do you deserve to be crowned the UK's Next Drag Race Superstar?I want to be the UK's Next Drag Race Superstar because I'm fresh, I'm unique, and I'm super sophisticated. I cannot wait to show the whole world what kind of drag queen I am. This has been a long time coming, babes, and I can't wait to get stuck in. I look ready, I feel ready, I am ready.Watch: Meet the Queens of RuPaul's Drag Race UK season 7

On Thursday, TMZ released a video it had obtained of Grammy-winning pop star Lil Nas X, real name Montero Hill, walking down a Los Angeles street in the early morning wearing nothing but cowboy boots and underwear.The report said that Lil Nas X, who recently dropped out of WeHo Pride due to an "ongoing medical issue," was filmed "floating aimlessly down Ventura Blvd at 4 AM," where he rambled incoherently and danced while confronting the man taping him. It added that he was subdued by police and transported to a hospital for "a possible overdose."Now, some people online have taken the opportunity to criticize Lil Nas X, claiming this is just his latest publicity stunt."Lil Nas X and his antics are exactly the reason why his career is stagnant now," X user @ichosevioIence wrote."Lil Nas X is chronically online & desperately wants to be pop culture. Guess hes channeling Britneys manic era now," said @lotta_azzzz."The thing about Lil Nas X is that hes memed so much, I genuinely cannot tell when something is on brand or if this is actually a cry for help," wrote @chrislaawrence. (@) Details are still emerging about this situation, including reports of a possible drug overdose. We still don't know what is going on with Lil Nas X, his health, his frame of mind right now, and whether he struggles with substance abuse. In fact, we may never know for certain.However, mental health is not a joke. The mental health of Black gay men needs to be taken seriously, especially by people who claim to be fans of said person.Lil Nas X isn't just a random celebrity who was doing a wild stunt after a night partying; he is a member of our community who appears to be in a perilous situation.For Black men, a mental health crisis can be deadly. In 2022, suicide was the third leading cause of death for Black Americans ages 10 to 24, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Black men are also four times more likely to die from suicide than Black women."Black people are more likely to have police involvement in their admissions to hospital and more likely to be detained and to receive secure care. They are more likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia and more likely to be given higher doses of medication. They are less likely to receive psychotherapy," wrote Dr. Nuwan Dissanayaka in a post for the Centre for Mental Health, a U.K.-based nonprofit.As a Black gay man, he's even more at risk."Gay men experience adverse mental health outcomes, including mood disorders, substance use, and suicide, more frequently than heterosexual men," states a 2018 report by the American Psychiatric Association.Much of the discourse around Lil Nas's hospitalization revolves around his reputation for often incendiary publicity stunts. In 2021, Lil Nas released a limited-edition sneaker that featured pentagrams, red soles, and "one drop of human blood" that were dubbed the "Satan Shoe." The shoe was part of his promotion for his single, "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)" where Lil Nas goes to hell and lap dances for Satan before replacing him on the throne in hell.In 2023, when female musicians like Kelsea Ballerini and Bebe Rexha were being hit in the face by objects thrown at them at concerts, Lil Nas seemingly staged a stunt where an audience member threw a sex toy at him while he was singing.In 2024, he released the single and music video, "J Christ," and later issued a public apology to Christians for offending them. (@) In the new footage, Lil Nas X is strutting and dancing on the streets of Los Angeles at 4 a.m., wearing underwear and white cowboy boots. As he walks, he sings, talks about a "party tonight," and is confrontational with the person filming him, saying, "Give me that phone so I can throw it. I want to throw it far away so you never see it again. I don't like phones."What is especially troubling about the reports is the way Lil Nas X was hospitalized after being thrown to the ground and handcuffed by police.The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed to Rolling Stone that they found a naked man walking down Ventura Boulevard at 5:50 a.m. Rolling Stone reported that "the man charged at officers after they attempted to approach him. He was then placed in handcuffs and transported to seek medical care for a possible overdose."The reporting added that Lil Nas X "threw punches at officers, leading to a use of force by the officers, who forced him to the ground." He is expected to be booked on suspicion of misdemeanor battery on a police officer. It is unknown if Lil Nas X was injured during the arrest.There are countless cases of unarmed Black men being tased, shot, and murdered by police for "charging" at them. Lil Nas X is lucky he wasn't the next name to join the likes of Elroy Clarke, Oliver Jarrod Gregoire, Richard Davis, and Dyonta Quarles Jr.When Black people have mental health emergencies, it's not treated as a health issue; it's criminalized."[Mental illness] wasn't seen as a health condition; it was seen as a criminal disposition of Black people," Dr. Shawn Utsey, a professor and psychologist, told the Virginia Mercury.One recent example is Irvo Otieno, a 28-year-old Virginian who was taken into emergency custody at a state psychiatric hospital in March of 2023. Three days later, he was dragged into a hospital admissions room in handcuffs and leg irons, and hospital workers and sheriff's deputies kneeled on his chest until he died.Lil Nas X went from a mental health emergency to police custody to forced hospitalization. He's still in danger. The real victim in The Boy Who Cried Wolf isn't the townspeople; it's the boy who ends up being eaten by the wolf.Here, the victim won't be the people who have worried about Lil Nas X in the past, only to realize he was promoting a new single; it will be Lil Nas X.Mey Rude is a staff writer for Out.Voices is dedicated to featuring a wide range of inspiring personal stories and impactful opinions from the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. Visit out.com/submit to learn more about submission guidelines. We welcome your thoughts and feedback on any of our stories. Email us at voices@equalpride.com. Views expressed in Voices stories are those of the guest writers, columnists, and editors, and do not directly represent the views of Out or our parent company, equalpride.

Happy Friday, Out readers and Drag Race fans!RuPaul's Drag Race is coming back for an 18th season this year, and Drag Race All Stars will be back for an 11th year.If that's not enough Drag Race for you, RuPaul's Drag Race UK is coming back with season 7!The cast of sickening British queens who will be vying for the crown has been announced, and we couldn't be more excited! The cast includes London-based queens like Bones, Chai T Grande, Nyongbella, Paige Three, and Pasty, Dublin-based Bonnie Ann Clyde, Catrin Feelings from Wales, Belfast's Elle Vosque, South Shields-based Sally TM, Leeds-based Sillexa Diction, Coventry's Viola, and Brighton's Tayris Mongardi.For a behind-the-scenes look at the drag world, Out.com also has a great feature on fashion designer Diego Montoya. Montoya has designed outfits for queens like Sasha Velour, Blair St. Clair, Kandy Muse, Jimbo, and Miz Cracker, and is being celebrated with a new exhibit at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields.The exhibit, Resplendent Dreams: Reawakening the Rococo, opened on June 6 and continues through March 29, 2026. It celebrates the two-time Emmy-winning costume designer from HBO's We're Here and gives drag its rightful place in art museums.Keep reading to find out the Gayest Song of the Week and all the best news!- Mey RudeForget the 'stunts'what happened to Lil Nas X is terrifyingWhy injectable PrEP will be a gamechanger for Black LGBTQ+ AmericansMeet the fierce queens competing on 'RuPaul's Drag Race UK' season 7Splash House is the secret Pride festival where gays can truly let loose'Maybe Happy Ending' to bring back Darren Criss? The Broadway controversy, explainedDavid Beckham's son, Cruz, goes viral for sexy bulge pics that have the gays droolingAdult star Rebecca More says she's 'sexed out' following two decades of studio workNashville Pride needs $250k to survive after losing corporate sponsorsJillian Michaels: 'Many lies' in 'Biggest Loser' doc may lead her to sueGet Out / The Advocate in your physical mailbox, too!Get print issues of Out Magazine / The Advocate in the mail for just $9.95 a year!Gayest Song of the WeekQueer singers Ludmilla and Victoria Mont have teamed up for the sexy Gayest Song of the Week, "CAM GIRL." Check it out!

Created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is a scripted Netflix series depicting the lives, crimes, and traumas of the Menndez brothers, as well as the people who were impacted by their actions.In case you didn't know, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is a part of the overall Monster anthology franchise created by Murphy on Netflix. Thus, it is the second installment that succeeds 2022's Dahmer Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story starring Evan Peters as the titular character.The Menndez brothers at the center of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story are portrayed by Nicholas Alexander Chavez (Lyle Menndez) and out gay actor Cooper Koch (Erik Menndez). The cast also includes Javier Bardem as their father, Jos Enrique Menndez; Chlo Sevigny as their mother, Mary Louise "Kitty" Menndez; Ari Graynor as their lead defense attorney, Leslie Abramson; and Nathan Lane as the high-profile journalist Dominick Dunne.While the plot of this Netflix show is contained within nine episodes, many people involved in this case are still alive such as the Menndez brothers themselves. And as a result of this being a hit series with a global reach, audiences have a renewed interest and curiosity about the real-life people portrayed in it.Keep scrolling to read the full timeline and latest updates on the Menndez brothers and the other real-life individuals who were fictionalized on Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, which is streaming on Netflix.Editor's note: This article was updated on August 22, 2025 to include new reporting and updated information. The original story was published on October 4, 2024.The case around the Menndez brothers: what did they do?Lyle and Erik Menndez murdered their parents, Kitty and Jos Menndez, on the evening of August 20, 1989.The brothers reportedly "loaded and reloaded their 12-gauge Mossberg shotguns 14 times in the TV room of the family mansion" in Beverly Hills (via The Wrap). Jos and Kitty Menndez were watching The Spy Who Loved Me the 10th film (starring Roger Moore playing the 007 agent) in the James Bond series of movies.Per CBS News, the Menndez brothers reportedly called 911 and claimed that they arrived home to find that their parents had already been murdered. It wasn't until March 8, 1990 that Lyle and Erik Menndez were arrested for the murders.Are the Menndez brothers still in prison?Yes, Lyle and Erik Menndez are still in prison. They've been incarcerated since March 1990, which was about six months after their parents were murdered.Are Erik and Lyle Menndez together in jail right now?Yes, Lyle Menndez and Erik Menndez are together at the same prison in California: the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility (RJD), which is located near San Diego. However, they weren't always allowed to live under the same prison unit.Given that they were considered partners in crime, the Menndez brothers were "deliberately kept apart" at different facilities, as reported by BBC News. They had one last chance to see each other in 1996, but were subsequently kept in completely different prison facilities for the 22 years that followed.The Menndez brothers only reunited at the same prison in 2018, when they "reportedly 'burst into tears' upon their first meeting" each other at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility, which was reported by ABC News at the time.What's the new evidence in the Menndez brothers case?On October 3, 2024, former Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascn said that he and his team were "reviewing new evidence and will make a decision on whether it warrants a resentencing" (via CNN).Gascn referenced "new evidence that the brothers were molested, a move that could lead to their resentencing," as reported by the Los Angeles Times. While evidence of the Menndez brothers being molested was presented during their first trial in 1993, the district attorney (DA) questioned if those findings were taken into consideration by the jury.Gascn also noted that evidence of the Menndez brothers being molested was "largely withheld during their second trial" in 1995."We're not ready to believe or not believe that information," the then-DA reportedly said. "But we're here to tell you that we have a moral and ethical obligation to review what is being presented to us and make a determination."AP News reported on another layer related to the Menndez brothers' case:"Gascn, who is seeking reelection, noted that more than 300 people have been resentenced during his term, and only four have gone on to commit a crime again."When was the Menndez brothers' new hearing scheduled date?A new hearing for Lyle Menndez and Erik Menndez was initially scheduled for November 29, 2024 (via AP News). The new hearing was subsequently set for December 11, 2024, as reported by the Associated Press.Nonetheless, that delayed new hearing did not happen, either, due to other external factors. Besides the impact of Netflix's Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story on the real sentencing (and potential resentencing) of the Menndez brothers, the case was also affected by the ongoing election between incumbent Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascn and former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman.How did the L.A. District Attorney election affect the Menndez brothers' case?George Gascn who publicly supported a new hearing for the Menndez brothers' case was defeated by Nathan Hochman. ABC7 reported that Hochman "campaigned for district attorney espousing a 'hard middle approach' to battling crime and scored a resounding victory over progressive incumbent George Gascn."On December 3, 2024, the official Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office website announced that Hochman had been sworn in as the new DA and was focused on "eliminating former DA Gascn's special directives that prohibited or strictly limited the filing of certain charges and sentencing enhancements."As a result, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic postponed the new hearing from December 11, 2024 to January 30, 2025 noting that he "rescheduled the hearing to give the new district attorney [Hochman] time to review the case," CNN reported.How did the Los Angeles fires impact Lyle and Erik Menndez's new hearing date?Lyle and Erik Menndez's new hearing date, set for January 30, was also not fulfilled. This time, the hearing was delayed due to the Los Angeles fires that ravaged through the city during most of January.As reported by BBC News, a new date for the Menndez brothers' hearing was scheduled for March 20.What did the Menndez brothers DA Nathan Hochman say?On February 21, 2025, a Menndez brothers press conference was held by District Attorney Nathan Hochman to declare that he opposed the petition filed by Lyle and Erik Menndez seeking a new trial, as reported by NBC News.Specifically, Hochman argued that the "critical piece of evidence" added to the petition by the Menndez brothers' lawyer "did not appear credible." For context, this new piece of evidence was a letter in which Erik seemingly confirmed he was sexually molested by his father in the months leading up to the murder of the Menndez parents.As outlined by CBS News, Hochman formally "asked a judge to deny the Menndez brothers' court petition requesting a vacating of their convictions and a new trial one of three possible tracks to early release."Did Erik Menndez get parole?No Erik Menndez was denied parole on Thursday, August 21, 2025, as reported by ABC News. Erik, who's now 54 years old, has been in prison for 36 years since he and his brother, Lyle Menndez, killed their parents.Why was Erik Menndez denied parole?Erik Menndez was denied parole after two commissioners determined that he had "violated prison rules" and still "questioned him about why he committed the crime" of murdering his parents, The Guardian reports."Two things can be true: They can love and forgive you, and you can still be found unsuitable for parole," Robert Barton, one of two commissioners, explained. Barton added that Erik's "behavior in prison" was the main reason why he was not freed from prison.When can Erik Menndez apply for parole again?Erik Menndez can reapply for parole in three years which, in this case, means 2028. According to KTLA, this "three-year denial [is] considered a minimal term under parole standards."Can Lyle and Erik Menndez be freed from prison soon despite being denied parole?Yes, the Menndez brothers have two other legal paths to being freed. For one, there is a "clemency petition put before Gov. Gavin Newsom of California," The New York Times reports.Otherwise, the publication outlines: "Lawyers for the brothers have filed what is known as a habeas petition, a vehicle for challenging unlawful detentions. Under the habeas petition, the brothers are arguing that two pieces of evidence discovered in recent years would have changed the outcome of the trials that led to their conviction."How old is Lyle Menndez right now?Lyle Menndez is currently 57 years old.Born on January 10, 1968 in New York City, Lyle is three years older than his brother, Erik Menndez.How old is Erik Menndez right now?Erik Menndez is currently 54 years old.Born on November 27, 1970 in Blackwood, New Jersey, Erik is three years younger than his brother, Lyle Menndez.Is Leslie Abramson still in contact with the Menndez brothers?Leslie Abramson, the criminal defense attorney who represented Lyle and Erik Menndez on trial, is turning 81 years old as of October 6, 2024.Abramson became a high-profile lawyer following her time defending the Menndez brothers. She actually even wrote a book, The Defense Is Ready: Life in the Trenches of Criminal Law, released in 1997 under the Simon & Schuster publishing company.People reports that Abramson "defended more than 50 people accused of murder" over the course of her career. And, according to the State Bar of California website, she held an active legal license in the state until 2023.Abramson, at age 81, no longer lives the life of a public person. Therefore, it's hard to determine if she did or did not keep in touch with the Menndez brothers in recent years.What happened to journalist Dominick Dunne?Dominick Dunne passed away on August 26, 2009 at 83 years of age. Over the course of his life, however, Dunne remained a very popular and successful writer, as noted in his obituary published in The New York Times.Besides covering various high-profile criminal cases involving people such as O. J. Simpson, William Kennedy Smith, and Michael Skakel, Dunne was known for producing the 1970 gay film The Boys in the Band which received a new version in 2020 by Ryan Murphy and was released on Netflix and the 1971 award-winning movie The Panic in Needle Park.Dunne also became a frequent contributor to Vanity Fair and made several TV appearances to discuss criminal cases that he had covered. A documentary film titled Dominick Dunne: After the Party was released in 2008 and is available for streaming on Prime Video as of this writing.How old was Jos Enrique Menndez when he was murdered?Jos Enrique Menndez was 45 years of age when he was murdered. He was three years younger than his wife, Mary Louise "Kitty" Menndez, who was also killed in their Beverly Hills home's family room in 1989.According to The Today Show, Jos Enrique Menndez was born in Havana, Cuba in 1944. He subsequently moved to the United States as a teenager to live with relatives in Pennsylvania. Jos Enrique went to Southern Illinois University on a swimming scholarship, and met his eventual wife, Mary Louise a.k.a. "Kitty," while in college.The parents of the Menndez brothers got married on July 8, 1963. However, they didn't have their first child, Joseph Lyle Menndez, until 1968.How old was Mary Louise "Kitty" Menndez when she was murdered?Mary Louise "Kitty" Menndez was reportedly 47 years old at the time when she was killed. Though she definitely kept a lower profile than her husband, it's been widely reported over the years that she was born in 1941.When were the Menndez brothers arrested?Lyle Menndez and Erik Menndez were arrested in March 1990 six months after their parents' murders.As outlined by CBS News, the Menndez arrests happened after the Beverly Hills Police Department was tipped off by a very "unlikely source": Judalon Smith, described as "the girlfriend of a psychologist who Lyle and Erik Menndez had been talking to."Lyle Menndez, who was in Los Angeles living in the Menndez family's Beverly Hills home, was promptly arrested on March 8, 1990.In turn, Erik Menndez had been at a tennis tournament in Israel at the time, so his arrest only took place on March 10, 1990 (two days after Lyle). As noted by ABC7 Los Angeles, Erik was surrendered at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) as soon as he landed back in L.A.When was the first trial in the Lyle and Erik Menndez case?The Menndez brothers' first trial occurred between July 20, 1993 and January 28, 1994.What happened during the Menndez brothers' first trial?Lyle Menndez was the first brother to testify in the trial, claiming that he was "sexually abused by his mother and father."According to CBS News, Lyle explained that "his father began sexually abusing him when he was only 6 years old" and only "stopped sexually abusing him when he was 8."When Erik Menndez testified, he claimed that their father's sexual abuse "never ended for him." Once he turned 18, Erik finally opened up to Lyle about their father's lifelong abuse.It's worth noting that the Menndez brothers "were tried together but had separate juries to determine their sentences," as written on Forbes.At the end of that first trial, however, "the judge declared a mistrial" given that "the jurors couldn't agree on whether the brothers should be convicted of manslaughter because of the alleged abuse, or [convicted of] first-degree murder."When was the second trial in the Menndez brothers case?The second trial for Lyle Menndez and Erik Menndez started on October 11, 1995.What happened during Lyle and Erik Menndez's second trial?The Menndez brothers' second trial took place over the course of five months and was presided over by Judge Stanley Weisberg. Furthermore, as reported by Time magazine, Weisberg took a very different approach to this trial.Firstly, the judge "brought in only one jury to decide the brothers' fate." Secondly, he didn't allow the trial to be televised. Thirdly, Weisberg limited the number of testimonies related to claims that the Menndez brothers had been victims of sexual abuse. Last but not least, the judge reportedly "prohibited the jury from voting on manslaughter charges instead of murder charges."When were the Menndez brothers sentenced?Lyle Menndez and Erik Menndez were convicted of murdering their parents on March 21, 1996, which was reported by The New York Times.A subsequent NYT report from July 3, 1996 explained that the Menndez brothers were "sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole." In his sentencing, Judge Weisberg expressed that he "believed" that Lyle and Erik "carefully decided to kill both parents."What happened to Judge Stanley Weisberg, who issued life sentences to the Menndez brothers?Many reports on Judge Stanley Weisberg described his rulings as "controversial, as outsiders continued to criticize his legal decisions" (via Us Weekly), underscoring that he also presided over the polarizing case of Rodney King's beating by police officers in 1991.According to In Touch Weekly, Weisberg retired in 2008 after "more than 20 years of service" and started living a life away from any media attention.

A queer soccer star from the Czech Republic named Jakub Jankto shared that he won't return to the field after suffering a "very serious injury." The out gay athlete shared the update to his Instagram stories, explaining that he could no longer "continue in [his] football [in the U.S., soccer] career."The Cagliari Calcio player shared this update via Instagram stories on Thursday after receiving several messages from fans asking him if he was going to play again. "I suffered a very serious injury; I completely damaged the ligaments in my ankle," he wrote. "I was trying to overcome it, to get through the whole year."But, he shared that this is the end of his football career, and he made the decision to move back to Prague to be closer to his son David, who lives there with his ex-wife, Markta Ottomansk. "I wanted to change this situation because we have just one family and I wanted to be close to my son in Prague, that's why I decided to move," he wrote.Jankto came out as gay in February 2023, making him the first-ever active, male, international footballer to come out. At the time, he talked openly about his sexuality in an emotional video that was shared on social media. "I no longer want to hide," he said in the video. "I have a job, which I have been doing as best as I can, for years, with seriousness, professionalism, and passion. Like everybody else, I also want to live my life in freedom without fears, without prejudice, without violence, but with love." @openlynews Czech footballer Jakub Jankto, who plays for Sparta Prague on loan from LaLiga side Getafe, has come out as gay, stating that he wants to live his life in freedom. Jankto is now the highest-profile male footballer to come out. Same-sex marriage is not legal in his home country. #lgbtsports #lgbtnews #football #jakubjankto A rep for the team that Jankto was playing for at that time shared a statement with Attitude that read, "Jakub spoke openly about his sexual orientation with the club some time ago. Everything else concerns his personal life. No further comments. No more questions. You have our support. Live your life, Jakub. Nothing else matters.

Black heels on a tile floor, and a seamed stocking leading up to a pencil skirt and a simple white blouse. In a Classical Hollywood noir film, that look would belong to the femme fatale, the transgressive woman whose function is to lead the traditional, red-blooded American hero astray. In this case, though, the look belongs to Honey ODonahue, a femme for sure, but in Tricia Cooke and Ethan Coens dark comedy Honey Dont, shes not sent to steer men wrong. A private detective and the hero of her story as she solves a murder case, Honey, as embodied by The Substance star Margaret Qualley, is Bogart and Bacall in one. And Aubrey Plazas uniformed cop, MG Falcone, can't help but notice.Honey, right? Love those click-clacking heels, MG tells Honey as the detective sidles away with a knowing grin. Their chemistry is palpable, and soon these sapphics engage in a public sex act that is a test, an affirmation of their mutual desire, and a bit of movie-making magic. Honey Dont is a rare queer genre flick courtesy of Cooke and Coen, the married duo behind Drive-Away Dolls, which starred Qualley as a lesbian tomboy on a road trip with her best friend.They're super different. They both like girls. That is important, Qualley tells Out about playing queer characters Honey and Jamie in Drive-Away Dolls. They both are used to being in the power seat. I think they both are leaders and pretty fearless. So much freedom in both in different ways.Jamie, specifically, I played that character right after I played Sue in The Substance, she adds of the Oscar-nominated film in which she played a maniacal, physically perfect version of Demi Moores character. It was such a relief, honestly, to cut my hair off and put on jeans pretty much polar opposites in physicality. Margaret Qualley as Honey O'Donahue in Honey Don'tCourtesy Focus Features True to fashion in Coens films with his brother Joel (Blood Simple, Fargo, No Country For Old Men), Honey Dont delivers comical gore, bumbling criminals, and a dipshit deviant pastor in the form of Chris Evans.The film is the second after Drive-Away Dolls in a trilogy of sapphic stories from queer writer Cooke and Coen. Honey Dont, with its neon signs and low camera angles, takes the tropes of classic noir like The Big Sleep and Double Indemnity and flips them by gender-swapping the hero and centering queer sex between Honey and MG.Theres a scene at a bar where Honey and the more traditionally butch-leaning MG trade information and sexual innuendo until MG slides her hand between Honeys skirt to test the waters, as it were. The steamy finished scene is likely to become a talker, especially with Qualley and Plazas mutual sapphic appeal. Qualley shares insight into how the MG/Plazas hand emerges glistening from the folds of Honeys skirt. Honey Don't filmmakers Tricia Cooke and Ethan Coen with star Margaret Qualley (center)It was fun. There's someone from the props department on their knees holding a jar of coconut oil. Aubrey's got to lift her finger up and have it be wet, Qualley shares. It was just playing with different levels of how far you get in that setting and trying to work out the physicality there to make sure that I was saying what we were trying to say, but it was really funny and really fun.As for working with Plaza, who is bisexual and made a splash in the queer Agatha All Along last year, Qualley says, I don't know anyone that doesn't just love her, and I've loved her from afar for such a long time. Getting to work with her was such a dream. Margaret Qualley as Honey O'Donahue in Honey Don't Courtesy Focus Features A classically trained dancer and an integral part of projects including Fosse/Verdon, the queer-leaning Novitiate, and Yorgos Lanthimoss Poor Things and Kinds of Kindness, Qualley prepped for Honey Dont by watching Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall flicks, including the Bogart vehicle The Maltese Falcon, and Robert Altmans 1973 neo-noir, The Long Goodbye. By the time she stepped into Honeys heels to face off with Evanss corrupt pastor, who dabbles in kink-fueled three-ways, drugs, and murder, Qualley had studied the role of the femme in those films to make the character her own.Honey, I feel like she's really doing it for herself [not for anyones gaze]. I think the way that honey dresses, for example, I feel like it's reflective of her. I know this sounds strange, but her dedication to her craft in a sense, Qualley says. There's something so sexy about being good at what you do, no matter what it is. Her relationship to being a detective means that she wants to feel sharp in the way that she's dressed and the way her hair looks and her red lipstick. I think it's like a mastery of the art of being a detective in a sense.Honey marks Qualleys second lesbian role for Cooke and Coen in a film thats by and large, very queer, and just a load of fun. The value in playing a queer role in a comedy is not lost on Qualley.I'm so grateful to be a part of this movie and to be able to play a character like this. I love Honey. I love that I got to play her. It's just fucking cool, Qualley says. But I also love the opportunity to do something so unserious, and I think there's a certain amount of serious movies that need to happen about a subject before you can make something unserious.Honey Don't is in theaters now.

Two superfans running separate Agatha All Along fanpages one for Kathryn Hahn, the other for Aubrey Plaza met through their shared love of the hit Disney+ and MCU series. As these two queer women went down, down the witches' road, their bond blossomed into an actual romantic relationship And this adorable story keeps going viral!Sign up for the Out Newsletter to keep up with what's new in LGBTQ+ culture and entertainment delivered three times a week straight (well) to your inbox!@HahnUpdates, a 23-year-old lesbian, and @ThePlazaUpdates, a 28-year-old bisexual woman, met on X (formerly Twitter) by complete accident."I posted that I was going to organize a 'fanbook' for Kathryn's birthday. Kathryn and Aubrey's birthdays are close to each other," @HahnUpdates tells Out. For context, Hahn's birthday is on June 26, while Plaza's birthday is on July 23. "Soon after, she [@ThePlazaUpdates] messaged me saying she'd had the same idea for Aubrey's birthday and didn't want to appear like she was copying me. We became very close after that (very close indeed, as you can see! Hahaha)."Over time, people started to notice that something cute was going on between the two Agatha All Along fans. (@) "forget tumblr and ao3 dating, i just found out aubrey plaza updates and kathryn hahn updates are dating?? this is the best news ever," @themoderntimes_ wrote in an X post with 15,000 likes and almost 1 million views."I'm still not over the fact that Aubrey Plaza Updates and Kathryn Hahn Updates are dating what in the AO3," @maeve_odah wrote in an X post with 9,200 likes and 244,000 views. (@) @HahnUpdates tells Out that people started catching onto their relationship after she posted on X, "Heard that it's officially been a year since the first trailer of agatha all along was released (we're still missing them daily)."In a blink-and-you-miss-it response, @ThePlazaUpdates wrote: "And thank god they did the show cause now you're my agatha in real life [green heart emoji]." (@) @HahnUpdates tells Out that "this was our subtle way to disclose that we were dating." Both @HahnUpdates and @ThePlazaUpdates are Brazilian, but often share posts in very fluent English.Even though that initial exchange didn't immediately get a lot of attention and they didn't go on to discuss their relationship at length, either viral X posts like the ones seen above show that thousands of X/Twitter stans clocked what was happening with this adorable couple that came out of Hahn's role as Agatha Harkness and Plaza's performance as Rio Vidal on Agatha All Along.@HahnUpdates wrote in reaction to the first viral X post about them, "What can I say I wanted to work with aubrey plaza updates." As of this writing, this X post has gotten 22,000 likes, over 700 re-posts, and 616,000 views overall. (@) The reference @HahnUpdates makes in the X post is from an interview Plaza did, saying that she joined Agatha All Along because she really wanted to work with Hahn."Kathryn Hahn, she's a friend of mine; I've known her for years," Plaza told the In the Envelope podcast in October 2024. "We shared a couple moments onscreen in Parks and Recreation 10 years ago, but I've never gotten to work with her, reallyTo be able to get onscreen with her and go toe-to-toe with her is what's driving me. I think it's cool that it's Marvel and all that, but I'm really just interested to work with Kathryn Hahn."@HahnUpdates tells Out that Plaza's quote "became a joke in the Agathario fandom, in that 'I want to work with' means wanting to kiss the person."But what drew the two of them to Hahn and Plaza in the first place? "That's too hard of a question! [crying emojis]," @HahnUpdates briefly protests, laughing. She adds, "What we love most about Kathryn and Aubrey is the way they communicate through art. How they always inspire other women in various aspects of our lives and make it clear that they are inspired by women, too. How they are true to their own identity even in an industry that demands so much from women.""It comes from an immense level of admiration for both Kathryn and Aubrey," @HahnUpdates says. "It's really beautiful when you get to admire someone so much that following that person's work becomes something lighthearted and fun."She explains how "that feeling makes you want to share your admiration and love with likeminded people who already understand what this is about, and who feel similarly about the same artist Or even people who are introduced to them from my page, or from @ThePlazaUpdates."An adorable tale online stan culture ending in a queer happy ending? Sign us up!Agatha All Along is streaming on Disney+.

Austin Butler set the internet ablaze with his steamy hot Mens Health cover shoot, and videos of him working out shirtless, but now hes making waves after telling a story about another male celeb.During the press tour for the upcoming film Caught Stealing, where Butler plays a retired baseball player which called for him to up his workout game, the 34-year-old Dune: Part Two star told Today FM that he once went dancing with fellow actor Paul Mescal.In an interview with fellow Caught Stealing star Zo Kravitz, the pair was asked if they would rather bring Irish actor Paul Mescal, Barry Keoghan, Saoirse Ronan to Pauls Pub. (@) After saying that Barry would be a great time but that he wouldnt subject him to that, Butler admitted that hes already partied with Mescal before. "We once went to a bar and they shut it down and then they played show tunes. And Paul and I danced and had a great time." Kravitz responded, You and Paul dancing at a bar to show tunes? Oh my god, my dream come true. Ours too. Ours too.See on InstagramFans may be endlessly talking about the chemistry between Butler and Kravitz, but were dying to see this new combo together.Add Butler and Mescal dancing to show tunes together and some sexual tension, and thats a movie wed pay to see!

The Texas Legislatures latest Republican bathroom bill hearing in Austin revealed as much about the politics of fear as it did about the actual proposal on the table.For two hours on Friday, the Texas House Committee on State Affairs heard testimony on House Bill 52, the companion to Senate Bill 8, which the state senate passed earlier this week. The Texas Womens Privacy Act would require that people in government buildings, including schools, courthouses, and universities, use multi-user bathrooms, locker rooms, and shelters according to the sex on their original birth certificate. Local governments or agencies that do not comply could face civil penalties of $5,000 for a first violation and $25,000 for each subsequent one.Related: Trans man says he was detained after using women's restroom in South CarolinaBut inside the hearing room, the measures defenders often struggled to explain how such a law could possibly work.A lawmans realityConstable Stacy Suits, who has overseen Travis County Precinct 3 for nearly a decade, offered the committee his daily reality. His office sits directly across from the courthouse restrooms.In those nine years, we have not had an incident like [what] has been described as whats been happening, Suits said. Were not interested in being the potty police.Related: Lesbian teen cornered by server in bathroom and forced to prove gender files chargesSuits then revealed a more personal stake. During the pandemic, my child, who identified as they, moved to Portland, Oregon. They are now transitioning and identify as a he. So I worry about their safety and the effects of this, he said.Veteran Democrat Rep. Senfronia Thompson seized on Suits testimony to underline the bills shaky premise. And you have not encountered any incident? she asked.Not in the last nine years, Suits replied.And Travis County is in Texas? United States of America? Thompson pressed, to laughter in the room.Yes, maam, Suits said.Her final question cut to the core of the hearing: Have you been able to determine a trans person going into the restroom?I really dont want to go there because we dont want to be the potty police, Suits answered. We have enough trouble right now distinguishing in law enforcement between hemp and marijuana.Ive been trying to pick up what are the characteristics of a trans person so that I can be able to identify one, Thompson responded. I have not picked that up.Bill sponsor struggles with enforcementIf Suits and Thompson grounded the debate in real-world law enforcement, the bills sponsor, Rep. Angelia Orr, was left straining to defend its abstractions.Related: Cis woman confronted by police officers in Arizona Walmart restroom for looking too masculine speaks out (exclusive)Under the bill, if it becomes law, who would actually be in charge of confirming someones gender or biological sex? Whose job is that? asked Rep. Chris Turner, a Democrat.Orr admitted there were no criminal penalties. Instead, she said, complaints would be filed by the person who believes they have shared a bathroom with someone who isnt allowed to be there in writing with the government entity in charge of the building a mayor, a city manager who would then have three days to cure the violation.Turner pressed: So then the chief executive receives the written complaint, and then what would happen?They would have three days to cure it by making sure that their signage is appropriate and that if they are notified that someone of the opposite sex is using the wrong facility, that they address that and let the person know that they have received their complaint, Orr said.Hernandez raised the glaring omission of intersex people. How would someone know whether an individual is a male or a female? Just by the way they look?Yes, in this case, Orr responded.So there are all these enforcements and penalties, and were going to go by someones opinion of how someone looks, Hernandez said.Fear versus factsPublic testimony reflected the culture-war split. Anna Nguyen of PFLAG Austin accused lawmakers of scapegoating a vulnerable minority. Why else would they go after the trans demographic that is 0.4 percent of the population? Nguyen, who is trans, asked. Because this is a culture war issue and it helps them cling to power.Supporters offered a very different picture. Dan Chandler, appearing with a Confederate and U.S. flag affixed to his walker, warned of divine punishment. We got lines in the sky, we got blood moons, weve got tsunamis, weve got all kinds of signs, he said. If God will send a flood because you tore down the Confederate plaque, what do you think hes going to do about these kids?Related: Texas law targets transgender people with $500 fines, $10k civil suits for using the bathroomTheresa Thomas of Moms for America said she had no prepared remarks but wanted to share her experiences. She described her time in graduate school at Texas Tech, where she said men repeatedly entered womens dorm showers. I was in a shower when a man came into our girls dorm and had sexual play with the RA. I had to stay in a shower for 40 minutes until they got done, she said. This was repeated and repeated over the time I was there. She added that when her children visited her dorm, she worried about when a heterosexual male was coming in and they were not safe.Thomas then argued that traffickers could exploit bathrooms. She suggested that handlers could present themselves as female to shield their victims, leaving women and children vulnerable. She asked lawmakers how many times such an incident has to occur before it is considered too many.Police speak outBut law enforcement voices kept returning to the same point: the bill is unworkable, and it endangers people who already wear the badge.Sgt. Michael Wilmore Crumrine, president of the Lesbian and Gay Peace Officers Association, testified against SB 8 on behalf of the group and himself. Ive had the privilege of being a law enforcement officer and protecting the citizens of Texas for well over 38 years, he said. There are over 200 law enforcement officers in the state of Texas that are transgender, not to mention hundreds of EMS and fire department personnel and other emergency management personnel who are also transgender.He warned that similar laws elsewhere have already led to more than 45 instances where transgender police officers were confronted while using restrooms. Passage of SB 8 would only increase these instances of violence and make officers less safe even within their own agencies, Crumrine said.As a body that has consistently fought to protect and support law enforcement and public safety personnel, this bill directly negates your previous positions, he told the committee. I strongly encourage this body to vote no on SB 8.At the conclusion of his testimony, Thompson asked, Did I hear you say that you had transgender officers?Crumrine responded, We absolutely do.

CVS Health has denied coverage for a new HIV prevention drug despite it being nearly 100 percent effective, citing in part the medication's high cost. The nation's largest pharmacy benefit manager will not cover Gilead's Yeztugo, generic name lenacapavir (LEN), neither through its commercial plans nor the Affordable Care Act. CVS spokesperson David Whitrap told Reuters that the decision was based on "clinical, financial, and regulatory factors."Gilead is still negotiating the price with CVS, other sources told the outlet, which currently sits at over $28,000 annually. Gilead said that it has not had issues with other pharmacy benefit managers, and that it is still on track to reach 75 percent U.S. insurer coverage by the end of the year and 90 percent coverage by June next year.CVS Healths decision is a clear violation of the ACAs requirement to cover USPSTF-recommended preventive services, including PrEP," Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute, said in a statement. "The entire world is excited by this drug and its potential contribution to preventing and eventually ending HIV. However, a drug will only work if people can access it and right now CVS Health, which owns the largest pharmacy benefit manager in the country, is shamefully blocking people from taking it, unlike other payers."Yeztugo was approved for prevention by the Food and Drug Administration in June after highly successful trials last September found that it nearly eliminated the spread of the virus among patients, showing a 96 percent relative risk reduction versus bHIV. The drug, given as an injection at clinics every six months, had already been approved for treatment of multidrug-resistant HIV.Lenacapavir's trials, known as Purpose 1 and Purpose 2, examined the frequency at which patients contracted HIV without the use of PrEP. Purpose 1 took place in June and measured the effectiveness of lenacapavir among cisgender women in sub-Saharan Africa.Purpose 2 included cisgender and transgender men, trans women, and nonbinary individuals who engage in sexual relations with partners assigned male at birth in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, South Africa, Thailand, and the U.S. To compare effectiveness, 2,180 participants used lenacapavir and 1,087 participants used Truvada, another drug from Gilead approved for prevention. There were only two reported incidents of HIV in the lenacapavir test group versus nine in the Truvada group."We urge CVS, which has been committed to ending HIV in the past, to reconsider their decision immediately," Schmid continued. "Additionally, we call on federal and state regulators to ensure that plans are in compliance with the federal governments PrEP coverage guidance and the many state laws that require coverage of all PrEP drugs.

Hold onto your wigs Chappell Roan has revealed her inspiration for "The Subway." And it's been a long time coming. Fans had been anxiously awaiting the debut of the mass transit-themed song after she debuted it at the Governor's Ball last year. After "The Subway" was released on July 31, the song jumped to the top of the charts. (@) The song quickly became an hit for Roan, sitting at over 89 million streams on Spotify. And its music video has garnered over 10 million views in less than a month on YouTube. Fans were quick to wonder who she wrote "The Subway" about in the lyrics, the lesbian performer sang she "nearly had a breakdown" over a mistaken sighting of the song's subject, who it can be inferred is a former lover. Roan talked a bit more about the inspiration in a recent interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music. "I actually wrote it about L.A., but the subway is just so much more romantic," she explained. "It was actually about me hiding in Los Angeles from someone I was deeply in love with. But we werent on bad terms. It was us just trying to avoid each other in coffee shops and that we went to and like parties."Roan goes on to say that it came from not knowing "how to exist in this city" where her former flame seemed to be appearing at all of her favorite spots. This new song might be the only new material fans get from the singer for awhile as the lesbian singer continues to do stops at festivals and shows across the world. In an interview with Vogue that was published on August 4, she said fans can expect her sophomore album to take a few years."It took me five years to write the first one, and its probably going to take at least five to write the next," she said during the interview. "Im not that type of writer that can pump it out."Though fans might not be getting a new project from Roan soon, the world did get a hint at new singles in the lyric video for her song, "The Giver." The video featured a DVD menu with the song title and it had the names of what appeared to be other songs called "To Be Yours" and "Read & Make Out.Only time (and Roan) will tell! In the meantime, revisit "The Subway" with fresh eyes below.

Colton Underwood is ready to tango with his next reality show!The former athlete and star of The Bachelor spoke with US Weekly Friday about his reality TV career and he hopes that his next steps will involve fancy footwork. When asked what reality show he'd be "terrified" to go on, Colton pointed to Dancing With the Stars, ABC's long-running dance competition."I would be so terrified. I would want to do it because I love pushing myself outside of my comfort zone," he said. "But I have tight hips. My mobility is not the best, but what I lack in my flexibility, I make up for in strength."He also has a brilliant idea for whom he wants to partner with. "I want to dance with [DWTS pro] Mark [Ballas] because I know him from Traitors," he said.Underwood is starring on the upcoming fourth season of The Traitors, which he says is "by far, one of the most exciting shows" he's ever been a part of. He stars alongside Ballas, Johnny Weir, Kristen Kish, Mont X Change, Caroline Stanbury, Donna Kelce, and Lisa Rinna, among others.If he and Ballas foxtrotted on DWTS, they wouldn't be the first same-sex pairing. In 2021, JoJo Siwa competed on the show with dance partner Jenna Johnson, making the first same-sex couple on the American version of the show. The following year, drag queen Shangela was cast opposite dancer Gleb Savchenko. Several other same sex couples have danced on international versions of the show. To US Weekly, Underwood who was famously billed as the first "virgin Bachelor" in 2019 prior to coming out also discussed his current gig currently cohosting the all-virgin dating show Are You My First? with Kaitlyn Bristowe. He says the "goal of the show was never to get [contestants] laid.""The goal is to connect with somebody, to experience these things. And people experienced their firsts on Are You My First? in different ways," he says. "On a deeper level, I think some of the cast experienced the first self-love and self-acceptance, like, having that deeper understanding of their virginity was the goal of this. And I would like to think after a lot of them have lost their virginity, they might have had those tools to do that from the experience."

This New Music Friday is stacked!The last week has been incredible for music, especially with new releases from some of our favorite LGBTQ+ (and adjacent) musicians! After coming out earlier this year, Khalid's latest pop track feels freer than we've heard from him before. Meanwhile, Doja Cat is dipping her toes back into 80s pop sounds, Ashnikko toys with hyper-pop on "Trinkets," Betty Who basks in the glamour of it all, and Victoria Mont teams up with LUDMILLA on their sensual track "CAM GIRL." Carly Rae Jepsen's 2015 album EMOTION has seen a sharp spike in Spotify streams on its anniversary, and the pop star just dropped an unreleased track to celebrate. We also have new albums from Conan Gray, UMI, Maggie Lindemann, ADLA, Teyanna Taylor, and Jae Stephens. What a bountiful harvest!Scroll through to listen to this week's best new bops, and follow this writer's New Music Friday playlist on Spotify."MEXE" - Pabllo Vittar, NMIXXK-pop gains some drag queen energy on the electric new collaboration from NMIXX and Brazilian drag star Pabllo Vittar. "in plain sight" - KhalidKhalid is ready to party on his latest pop track "in plain sight." "Trinkets" - AshnikkoAshnikko continues to bring the chaos and quirk to pop, and her new song "Trinkets" is a flirty explosion of fun winks. "Jealous Type" - Doja CatDoja Cat has resurrected the pop sounds she rose to fame with on "Jealous Type.""Caramel" - Conan GrayConan Gray is diving headfirst into love on his new album Wishbone. "RIGHT/WRONG" - UMISensual R&B star UMI's new album people stories has arrived."spine" - Maggie LindemannMaggie Lindemann is letting herself feel everything on her new album, and latest single "spine.""Fabulous" - Betty WhoBetty Who is basking in the glamour on her glittery new pop song "Fabulous." "CAM GIRL" - LUDMILLA, Victoria MontGrammy Award-winner and bi-con Victoria Mont teams up with Latin star LUDMILLA for their bilingual new track "CAM GIRL.""Afterbody" - Jae StephensReady to dance? Jae Stephens is bringing the party to her "Afterbody." "TTW (Dance With Me)" - Rochelle JordanRochelle Jordan's upcoming album is sensual disco that we're all invited to. "SexOnTheBeat" - ADLAADLA is the pop star of the moment, and her new EP The Provocateur proves just how bad she wants it. "Open Invite" - Teyana Taylor, KaytranadaR&B superstar Teyana Taylor's new album Escape Room is stacked with grown and sexy features and sleek songs, including this one with Kaytranada. "Let Me Love You" - Amber MarkGet into Amber Mark! This hitmaker's sleek and nostalgic dance tracks should be on everyone's summer rotation. "More" - Carly Rae JepsenCarly Rae Jepsen is celebrating the 10th anniversary of her instant (gay) classic album Emotion with a new edition that includes unreleased songs!Here's the playlist!Taylor Henderson is a music contributor to Out magazine. Be sure to follow 'the alphabet mafia' playlist on Spotify!

President Trump is coming for the museums of Washington, D.C..The White House released a list of what it would characterize as evidence Thursday that the Smithsonian and its umbrella of museums in the nation's capital are "woke" and in need of reform.Prior to the list's release, Trump ranted on August 19 on Truth Social that "the museums throughout Washington" are "the last remaining segment of 'WOKE'" and claimed that the Smithsonian Institution, which constitutes dozens of museums, libraries, and cultural and research centers, is "OUT OF CONTROL.""Everything discussed is how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been," he bemoaned.In response to these perceived offenses, the president says he has instructed his attorneys to "go through the museums, and start the exact same process that has been done with colleges and universities."The White House also released a new WhiteHouse.gov article titled, "President Trump Is Right About the Smithsonian." The post bullet-points 22 objectionable exhibits, displays, pieces of art, programs, acts, and articles from the Smithsonian, including many focused on topics of race, immigration, slavery, sexuality, and history.LGBTQ-specific exhibits were also targeted. Examples include a complaint that the American History Museum "prominently displays the 'Intersex-Inclusive Progress Pride flag' at its entrance"; that the National Museum of the American Latino highlights "animated Latinos and Latinas with disabilities," including content from "a disabled plus-size actress" who "educates on their identity being Latinx, LGBTQ+, and disabled"; and a former interim director of the future Smithsonian American Women's History Museum saying the museum will be inclusive of trans women.The statement also criticizes the AHM's LGBTQ+ history exhibit, which seeks to "understand evolving and overlapping identities such as lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, queer, transsexual, transvestite, mahu, homosexual, fluid, invert, urning, third sex, two sex, gender-bender, sapphist, hijra, friend of Dorothy, drag queen/king, and many other experiences." Here and throughout the list, the White House quotes language from museum websites, presumably as evidence of a woke lexicon. In this vein, it also points to articles on "LGBTQ+ inclusion and skateboarding" and "the rise of drag ball culture in the 1920s."Additionally, the post targets an exhibit marking the 50th anniversary of Title IX, which "includes biological men competing in women's sports and argues in favor of 'transgender' athletes competing in sports against the opposite biological sex," and a "painting depicting a transgender Statue of Liberty" that was never actually displayed in the National Portrait Gallery.The White House also points to many exhibits that examine the racial history and present of the United States, including displays that address white privilege, slavery, and immigration. It criticizes exhibits that: teach that the Texas Revolution was pro-slavery; comment on pregnant women being thrown overboard during the Middle Passage of the Atlantic Slave Trade; and observe that "voter integrity measures" are meant to take away political power from oppressed groups. The White House also criticizes an exhibit that says U.S. history is rooted in colonization and suggests that the country is comprised of stolen land.Meanwhile, according to a different checklist from Keene State College, the characteristics of fascism include "political power derived from questioning reality, endorsing myth and rage, and promoting lies," opposition to "any initiatives or institutions that are racially, ethically, or religiously harmonious," and "disdain for intellectuals and the arts not aligned with the fascist narrative.However, even prior to the White House's critiques, the Smithsonian has found itself a target of criticism among progressives. Amy Sherald, the portrait artist who gained acclaim for her painting of former First Lady Michelle Obama, canceled her show at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery due to the museum's "internal concerns" over the aforementioned painting, Trans Forming Liberty. Earlier this year, other critics accused the gallery of obfuscating the queer history of Felix Gonzlez-Torres's "Untitled" (Portrait of Ross in L.A.), which was inspired by the artist's lover who died of an AIDS-related illness.

This week, Brazilian superstar Ludmilla and R&B icon Victoria Mont dropped their sexy, hip-moving single "CAM GIRL," a bilingual song celebrating self-expression. Out chatted with bisexual performer Ludmilla ahead of the release, discussing music, romance, and her aspirations.Out: For those who may not know or follow you, tell our readers a bit more about yourself.Ludmilla: Ill try to keep it short (laughs). Im Ludmilla, a singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur from Duque de Caxias, in Rio de Janeiro. I started out singing funk when I was still a teenager, but quickly expanded my career into other genres like pop and pagode, where Ive made a significant impact. That genre has always been dominated by men and had its peak in the 90s, but it has lost momentum in recent decades. With my project Numanice, I brought it back to the mainstream with a modern, pop-driven approach that resonates with younger generations. The Numanice 3 tour, which I wrapped up last month, was recognized as one of the biggest shows in Brazilian entertainment, and that fills me with pride and gratitude. I was also the first Afro-Latina artist to perform on Coachellas main stage, a historic win. Today, Im the most listened-to Black artist in Latin America, with over 15 billion streams.Congrats on reaching more than 15 billion streams! What were your thoughts when you heard the news?Thank you! I was thrilled when I found out. It was my team who told me; theyre always keeping track of everything on the platforms. That number is way beyond anything I couldve imagined when I first started dreaming of making a living through music. But more than just a number, it means my art is reaching a lot of people. It means people from all kinds of places are connecting with my music and feeling represented. That honestly moves me. It gives me even more strength to keep doing what I do with love and full dedication.How does it feel to be the most listened to Black female artist in Latin America? Being a Black, bisexual woman from the outskirts and getting to this place means a lot. We still live in a very unequal world, and the music industry is no exception. I had to break a lot of barriers, hear a lot of nos, and push through to get here. On one hand, its shocking to realize that, despite the presence of many talented Black women in the Latin music scene, very few receive the attention and recognition they deserve. Being in this position is also about paving the way for those coming after me. I want a young Black girl hearing my story to know that its possible to win and that her place is wherever she wants it to be.Youve been open about your marriage to your wife, Brunna Gonalves, and what that visibility means in the public eye. Why was it essential for you to share your love publicly, and what do you hope that representation offers to others, especially in Brazils queer community?At first, many people advised me to keep the relationship a secret. They said it could hurt my career, that people wouldnt accept it. But I never wanted to live in hiding. Loving Brunna transforms me every day. Its a love thats light, strong, and beautiful, and it deserves to be lived without fear or shame. When we come out, we inspire. We show that its possible to be happy, to love, to build a family while being true to who we are. Today, our love has grown with the arrival of our daughter, Zuri. Shes living proof that love is what truly matters.How are you hoping to make a cultural impact both in Brazil and beyond? Honestly, that impact has already begun. I receive messages daily from fans who say my music has changed their lives. They feel seen, respected, stronger, freer, and more represented after watching me on stage or listening to my songs. That means everything to me. Thats why moments like Coachella, where I was the first Afro-Latina to perform on the main stage, are so symbolic. I also feel this cultural power in festivals Im joining in August, like Afrofuture, alongside prominent names in Black music, and Mutha, which celebrates the LGBTQ+ community.Do you have any upcoming projects youre excited about? Absolutely! Im finishing up my new R&B album, a very special project where Im looking to reinvent the genre through my own identity, blending it with Brazilian rhythms. Ive been flirting with R&B since my very first album. OnVil I, I had a track called "Sintomas de Prazer" that was embraced by the public. And the positive reception of "Paraso," the first single from this new project, has only motivated me more. R&B still doesnt have the space it deserves in Brazil, and I want to change that to create room for it in the Brazilian mainstream, just like I did with pagode. My next single ("CAM GIRL") is on the way, and its a collaboration with an incredible artist, a Grammy-winning, highly respected name in R&B (Victoria Mont). The track blends R&B with funk and trap. Its sensual, powerful, and full of attitude. Im super excited to show the world what Ive been working on!Whats the one message youd like to give queer listeners to your music? That you have the right to exist entirely. To love, to feel, to take up space, to shine. I know how hard it is to affirm yourself in a world that often tries to erase our existence. But I also know the strength we gain when we see ourselves in others. If my music hugs you, empowers you, or simply lets you dance fearlessly for a few minutes, then Im already fulfilling a big part of my purpose. Theres still a long road ahead, but we must keep walking it together, with courage, with voice, and with pride.