News Round-Up: December 21, 2017

(via Instagram)

Some news items you might have missed:

• Today's Sexy Santa is Simon Dunn, rugby player and the first openly gay bobsleigh athlete to represent Australia, where they celebrate Christmas with "lots of seafood, beer and spend the day at the beach with family."

• Some TV viewers have complained that drag queens were invited to join singer Jessie J in a performance of "Bang Bang" on the finale of NBC's The Voice. In related news, drag queen RuPaul has won 2 Emmy Awards as "Best Host of Reality TV." #GetWithItPeople

• It looks like openly gay New York City Councilman Corey Johnson will be the next City Council speaker. Johnson has also been open about his HIV+ status since 2013. When I lived in NYC he represented my neighborhood. Congrats Corey!

Congratulations to the next speaker of the @NYCCouncil, Corey Johnson. He’s been a force for the people of his district and I know he will bring that same commitment, passion, and energy to the speakership. I look forward to working with him on a progressive agenda for NYC. pic.twitter.com/2ddin8m5aV

— Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) December 21, 2017

• According to Lambda Legal, nearly one-third of Donald Trump’s judicial nominees are overtly hostile towards LGBT rights. #QuelSurprise

• OUT.com has made a list of the 25 Queerest Cities in America. Do you live in one? Check the list here.

• Attorney General Jeff Sessions has opened an inquiry into the 2010 Uranium One deal that Republicans have railed about regarding Hillary Clinton's involvement. The State Department was one of nine agencies that agreed to approve the deal at the time after finding no threat to U.S. national security.

• New pop music from platinum-selling BØRNS - "I Want You Back" from his upcoming sophomore album, Blue Madonna, due out January 12, 2018.

The Associated Press called his 2015 debut album, Dopamine, “some of the most heartfelt electronic-based music in recent memory,” while Spin noted that BØRNS “writes brilliant pop songs that worm their way into your heart in an instant.”

Listen to the chill, EDM groove below.

Out Athlete Simon Dunn: LGBT Community Is "Selfish" To Want Athletes To Come Out

Simon Dunn (via Instagram)

Speaking to the London Evening Standard, retired out Olympic bobsledder Simon Dunn says it's "selfish" for the LGBT community to want LGBT athletes to come out.

“Everybody’s coming out is personal and in their own time. It is selfish for our community to expect someone to do it because of their public profile. Given the sporting culture, coming out could seriously affect their career.

I myself was already out when I joined the Australian [bobsleigh] team, but from my own experiences I can understand why someone wouldn’t come out, let alone someone earning and risking millions of pounds.”

I wasn’t exactly welcome within my team growing up. It's not the easiest road to take.

And also growing up I’d learnt to believe gay men have no place in the sporting world and it took me a very long time to dispel those beliefs.”

The 29-year-old Australian was the first out athlete to represent his country at the Olympics.

Since retiring from bobsleigh, he has moved to London where he plays amateur rugby with the LGBT-inclusive team, the King’s Cross Steelers.

Despite Dunn's concerns, several athletes including UK Olympic diver Tom Daley, Olympic freeskier Gus Kenworthy and rugby league player Keegan Hirst have all come out in recent years and seen no discernible impact on their careers.

Simon Dunn Heats Up Winter For DNA Magazine

(photo: Christian Scott/DNA)

Photographed by Christian Scott, former rugby player Simon Dunn brings the heat to winter in his new DNA Magazine spread titled, “Winter Isn’t Coming”.

In 2014, the hunky Dunn tried out and made the Australian bobsleigh team, becoming the first out gay man to ever represent the "down under" nation in the sport.

In November 2016, he announced his retirement from the bobsleigh team saying, “I’ve felt a proudness in my own sexuality that I hadn’t felt in the 27 years prior. I’m finally comfortable in my own skin as a proud gay man.”

He added: “Moving forward, I’ll be going back to playing rugby, continuing my advocacy, and I look forward to whatever adventures my future may hold.”

More pics from Dunn's photo shoot for DNA at The OutFront.

Simon Dunn Covers DNA Magazine

Simon Dunn covers DNA Magazine

Everyone Wants To Be A Cowboy Sometime

#tbt to that time I thought I was a cowboy!

A photo posted by 🇦🇺 Simon Dunn (@bobsleighsimon) on Jan 7, 2016 at 1:41pm PST

Tweet Of The Day: Simon Dunn

When you've taken too many selfies.. So you film a video instead! pic.twitter.com/zBaoXRy0nB

— Simon Dunn (@bobsleighsimon) January 18, 2016

All Shirtless, Hunky Simon Dunn Wants For Christmas Is You

Hunky, cubby Olympic hopeful Simon Dunn brings Christmas a little early this year as he does his best Mariah lip-dub in a shirtless romp through the snow.

You know I like me some Simon Dunn.

This really is "the most wonderful time of the year." :)

Video: "Ask Bobsleigh Simon - Bedroom Edition 2.0"

My favorite Olympic bobsledder, Simon Dunn, answers fans questions from the comfort of his own bed.

The hunky Dunn answers questions ranging from "Did you ever have a girlfriend?" to "What was your experience on PeP like?"

“Pretty much I had been seeing someone who one day I found out had been seeing someone else who was HIV positive. So, going to the hospital, the doctor’s best advice was to go on PeP.

"Although statistically speaking for me, the statistics of me having actually caught anything were extremely low but it’s better to be safe than sorry.

"So I want on PeP and basically for an entire month I was nauseous, I was vomiting. I’m happy to say that I hadn’t caught anything. I wasn’t HIV positive.

"Beyond that, I spoke to friend about pep and a lot of them at that age weren’t even aware of it. And for me that is a horrible situation in the gay community, that we have this tool to prevent HIV but most of us don’t know about it.

"So for me, in this video in answering this question I would like everybody to do some research about PeP and realize that we have this tool in our arsenal to prevent another generation of people from being HIV positive.”

Daily Dunn

That time I ran around Montana naked #tbt

A photo posted by 🇦🇺 Simon Dunn (@bobsleighsimon) on Nov 26, 2015 at 8:55pm PST

Daily Dunn

Olympic bobsledding hopeful Simon Dunn is becoming a "thing" here on The Randy Report, and why not?

Happy Hump Day!

Tweet Of The Day: Simon Dunn

Checking into Montana with a cowboy hat and long johns! pic.twitter.com/esfFct3Ovc

— Simon Dunn (@bobsleighsimon) November 21, 2015

Aussie Bobsledder Simon Dunn Covers Pitbull & Ke&ha "Timber"

Aussie bobsledder Simon Dunn is a busy man: training for the Olympics, plays rugby for the Sydney Convicts, and now giving us backwoods remakes of music videos.

Check out the hunky athlete resplendent in his Calvins, cowboy boots and hat as he parodies Ke$ha and Pitbull's "Timber."

Clearly the man know how to handle wood.

Hunky Out Bobsledder Simon Dunn Is No "Virgin" At Lip-Dub

Getting ready for the @Madonna concert #masc4madonna pic.twitter.com/Kpuw0YHP7U

— Simon Dunn (@bobsleighsimon) October 13, 2015

Hunky out Australian bobsledder, Simon Dunn, found his "rebel heart" as he readied himself to attend Madonna's concert in Canada. He shared the above pic on Twitter

One thing clearly led to another as he posted this cute lip-dub of one of Madge's biggest hits wearing only his skivvies.

I get the sense that Dunn's not a "virgin" to some underwear lip-sync. More wine!

News Round-Up: September 25, 2015

Out bobsledder Simon Dunn

Some news stories you may have missed:

• Out bobsledder hunk Simon Dunn pens an essay about the time the 6'1' 216 pound athlete was gay-bashed to the point of being hospitalized. Bu you know the saying - the best revenge is good living :)

• In the wake of Gov. Scott Walker dropping out of the GOP race for prez, guess who picked up the lion's share of his support (not that there was a whole lot to begin with)?

• A young gay man, blamed by his mother for "spreading gayness" to his younger brother, steps up to adopt his bro rather than see him live in a home of hate.

• Conservative pundit Steve Deace calls Sen. Lindsey Graham "transgendered."

• Did you hear the one where Donald Trump criticized Sen. Marco Rubio and got booed for it? It was a new experience for The Donald.

Out Australian Bobsledder Simon Dunn Named Attitude's "Hottest Man In The World"

Openly gay Australian bobsledder, Simon Dunn - currently training for the 2016 Olympics in Calgary - has been named "Hottest Man In The World" for 2015 by Attitude Magazine.

The openly gay athlete is a brand new entry this year, usurping two-time champ Tom Daley at the top of poll – which is decided by your lovely selves and this year had the most votes ever. Check out the full top ten here.

Simon made headlines around the world last year after joining the Australian bobsleigh team – making him the world’s first openly gay man to do so. Speaking to Attitude recently, the former Sydney Convicts rugby union player rugby admitted he was ready to find a man, settle down and start a family, but that he’ll only be getting married when it’s legal to do so in his home country of Australia.

Reacting to his victory, Simon said: “It’s flattering enough to have been voted on to the HOT 100 at all but to think I have been voted number one and beat guys like Tom Daley and Liam Payne is beyond me! I’m absolutely convinced my mother had all her friends vote for me – thanks mum!"

Dunn appeared in Attitude Magazine's Naked Issue earlier this year.

Here's Attitude's full top 10 list for 2015:

1. Simon Dunn
2. Channing Tatum
3. Liam Payne
4. Tom Daley
5. Chris Evans
6. Chris Pratt
7. Zac Efron
8. David Beckham
9. Stuart Reardon
10. Joe Lycett