News Round-Up: May 17, 2019

Ryan Worley (photo: Vinnie Cassidy)

Some news items you might have missed:

• InstaHunk and Chippendale Ryan Worley (above) shares this with the caption, "When you didn't know someone was taking your photo..." I'm thinking Mr. Worley should get used to folks taking his pic a lot.

• In an interview with Fox News, Democratic White House hopeful (and openly gay) Mayor Pete Buttigieg references the current president saying, "I’m old enough to remember when Republicans talked a lot about character in the Oval Office."

• Nevada has become the fourth state to ban the use of so-called gay and trans panic defenses, following California, Rhode Island and Illinois.

• Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) grilled Daniel O’Day, the CEO of Gilead Sciences, over the high costs of the pharmaceutical company’s pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medication Truvada.

As she correctly points out, Gilead is making billions a year from Truvada, but the core research for PrEP was paid for and done by the U.S. government. Watch AOC push for a decent answer:

.@AOC to Gilead CEO: The list price [for Truvada for PrEP] is almost $2,000 in the US. Why is it $8 in Australia? pic.twitter.com/kPnMQSZE0G

— Public Citizen (@Public_Citizen) May 16, 2019

• Following Alabama lawmakers, the Missouri House of Representatives has passed an anti-abortion bill that bans abortions after eight weeks into a pregnancy, and does not have an exception for victims of rape or incest.

• E! Online reports that Queer Eye co-stars Karamo Brown and Antoni Porowski had "an extreme amount of conflict" during the shooting of Season One of the Bravo series.

• Check out the first look trailer for the upcoming new super-hero series, Batwoman, on the CW this fall on Sundays. Australian actress Ruby Rose stars as the openly lesbian crime fighter.

Almost two millions views on YouTube in a day. But the like/dislike ratio is something to see - 87k thumbs down (homophobes) versus 36k thumbs up.

News Round-Up: February 26, 2019

(image via Instagram)

Some news items you might have missed:

• InstaHunks Rick and the Griffopotamus remind,"The day is full of possibilities, just pick a direction and go for it!! Where’s your day gonna lead you???"

• Two people were stabbed at Fort Lauderdale Pride this past weekend.

• The new season of NBC's World of Dance premieres tonight, and for the first time there will be a same-gender salsa duo competing.

• The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) say "compelling evidence that President Trump may have personally committed up to eight criminal campaign finance and related offenses while running for president and during his first year in office."

• Newly-crowned "Best Actor" Oscar winner Rami Malek called Freddie Mercury, the man he portrayed in Bohemian Rhapsody, a 'gay' man and folks aren't happy about it.

• A bipartisan group of 58 former senior national security officials issued a statement Monday saying that “there is no factual basis” for President Trump’s proclamation of a national emergency to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

• A state lawmaker is in hot water after saying gun control advocates should be "kicked to the curb and stomped on and run over a few times."

• One more thing about Sunday night's Oscars - that moment when Chris Evans proved he really is 'Captain America' and graciously helped Regina King up the stairs to accept her Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Lovely moment :)

Chris Evans knows what to do in the presence of a Queen. #ReginaKing #Oscars pic.twitter.com/UBVxiERfmQ

— Radheyan Simonpillai (@JustSayRad) February 25, 2019

News Round-Up: December 8, 2018

Hubby Michael (C) turns 50! Whoohoo!

Some news items you might have missed:

• My apologies, dear readers, for the light posting of late. Currently in Mexico celebrating my hubby's 50th birthday :)

• A new study shows young black men are 16 times more likely to contract HIV than their young white gay peers.

• Woofy luger Chris Mazdzer's 'ice underwear tease' is totally worth the clicking over to kenneth-in-the-212 for.

Olympic luger Chris Mazdzer

• Choreographer Justin Peck worked with A-list actors like Julia Roberts to create a series of short dance films that turn everyday experience into moments of musical magic.

• Chief of staff John Kelly is expected to step down in the coming days, according to two administration officials says Politico.

• First trailer for Avengers: Endgame is here. "Part of the journey is the end."

Over 42 million views in a day.

• Meanwhile, back at Mantamar Beach Club in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and my hubby's 50th celebration - it's a virtual gay soup.

View this post on Instagram

Life is good - hubby’s bday @mantamarbc @mikecaprio

A post shared by Randy Slovacek (@randyslovacek) on Dec 6, 2018 at 2:18pm PST

News Round-Up: November 28, 2018

Dave Marshall and Ronnie

Some news items you might have missed:

• Hottie Dave Marshall is an openly gay pro-wrestler in Australia who uses his OnlyFans account to raise money for suicide prevention after his dad took his own life last year.

• Openly gay super-producer Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story, Pose, GLEE, Assassination of Gianna Versace) is getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

• This far-right pundit says women become lesbians because they're too ugly to love. By that logic, he must be a screaming queen.

• Cher showed up at her own Broadway show - The Cher Show - last night, and the crowd lost its mind.

• Judy Sheindlin, more famous as TV's Judge Judy, made an astounding $147 million last year before taxes making Sheindlin the world’s highest-paid television host. The lion share of that was for selling the rights to her 5,200-episode library, as well as future episodes of the show, to CBS for an estimated $100 million.

• A man was brutally beaten, robbed & humiliated during an Instagram hook-up.

• A gay Virginia firefighter got married in 2014 and suddenly became the ridicule of not only fellow firefighters but his superiors. He was eventually filed for early retirement after being told he would be fired if he didn't resign. He's now suing for lost wages and benefits.

• Check out Upsahl's new music video, "The Other Team," about unrequited feelings and crushing on people that don't like you back.

The lyrics focus on those folks who are swinging for somebody else's ‘other team,’ so there's lots of missed connections between characters throughout the video. Definitely has some ‘Breakfast Club’ vibes, so it really takes you back to high school and the whirlwind of emotions that go with it

News Round-Up: October 24, 2018

Some news items you might have missed:

• The above pic was sent to me over the weekend. I just enjoy the view... #woof

• The New York Times reports it's very possible China may be listening in on the Donald's personal calls as his iPhone is not a 'secure' method of communication.

• The Justice Department today told the U.S. Supreme Court that businesses can discriminate against transgender workers based on their gender identity without violating federal law.

• Republican nominee for Georgia governor, and current Secretary of State, Brian Kemp was caught telling supporters at a paid campaign event that his Democratic opponent Stacey Abrams’ voter turnout operation “continues to concern us, especially if everybody uses and exercises their right to vote,” according to audio obtained by Rolling Stone.

• At a candidate forum in Kentucky this week, anti-LGBT County Clerk Kim Davis told voters (with a straight face) that she "did not treat anyone unfairly" when she chose to deny same-sex couples marriage licenses after the Supreme Court made marriage equality the law of the land. #liar

• 20-year-old Swedish singer and songwriter Zara Larsson drops her first new single, "Ruin My Life," since her 2017 debut album, So Good.

The award-winning multi-platinum pop artist holds the distinction of being “the second most-streamed debut on Spotify by a female artist ever,” eclipsing 5 billion streams.

I've previously written about Zara and her gorgeous 2017 collaboration with Clean Bandit, "Symphony." Check the new single out below.

News Round-Up: July 23, 2018

Derek Chadwick (image via Instagram)

 Some news items you might have missed:

• Instagram celeb/model Derek Chadwick (above) comes out as gay.

• Liza Minnelli is auctioning thousands of personal belongings July 30 - August 1, including personal items, correspondence, awards, and photos from her mother Judy Garland, as well as pristine bespoke outfits from designers such as Halston, Chanel, Givenchy, and more. For more info, click on this link.

• The New York Daily News has gutted its newsroom by firing half its staff in an effort to refocus the newspaper's efforts on breaking news. The below tweet is from the now-former editor-in-chief.

If you hate democracy and think local governments should operate unchecked and in the dark, then today is a good day for you.

— Jim Rich (@therealjimrich) July 23, 2018

• Controversial soccer player Jaelene Hinkle has been cut from U.S. Women’s National Team. In 2017, she refused a call-up to the women’s national team on the basis that she didn’t want to wear a rainbow number for the team’s Pride Month initiative based on her religion.

• My Instinct colleague Samuel reviews Kathy Griffin's new Laugh Your Head Off comedy tour.

• Read this: The story of a woman who took care of hundreds of abandoned gay men dying of AIDS.

•  Delaware has become the 15th state to ban so-called "conversion therapy." #happyDance

News Round-Up: June 23, 2018

(image via Instagram)

Some news items you might have missed:

• InstaHunks Justin & Nick say "Celebrate Pride!" with a kiss. #sweet

• For the first time, the Vatican has used the term 'LGBT' in an official document and has invited an LGBT-friendly priest to speak at a major conference. #SmallStepsForward

• The Czech government has agreed to support same-sex marriage with the draft of a first of its kind bill in the former communist bloc country. While the Czech Republic has allowed domestic partnerships since 2006, Germany is the only formerly communist country to legalize same-sex marriage.

• Conservative family groups in Canada are hoping to force Canadian schools to be required to alert parents when their children join LGBTQ groups on school campuses. LGBTQ advocates say that would amount to outing students.

• New York state gubernatorial candidate and actress Cynthia Nixon shared that her oldest child is transgender in a celebratory graduation post on social media.

• The Hungarian National Opera in Budapest was forced to cancel 15 performances of the musical Billy Elliot following a story on a conservative site that accused the musical of turning boys gay.

• Watch LGBTQ seniors read letters to their younger selves.

“I’m very pleased to tell you that you are happy, married to a wonderful man, have two dogs, a cat, and a mortgage.”

“It will come full circle. The word ‘queer’ will be an empowering, pride-filled word.”

Check out the three minute from vlogger Davey Wavey below:

News Round-Up: June 12, 2018

Brandon Haagenson and David Merten in Afterglow (photo: Mati Gelman)

Some news items you might have missed:

• Congrats to long-running play Afterglow (above) celebrating it's one year anniversary running off-Broadway tonight.

The one act play follows Josh and Alex, a married couple in an open relationship, who invite Darius to share their bed one night. What follows is an exploration of individual definitions of love, loyalty, and trust as futures are questioned, relationships are shaken, and commitments are challenged.

• And speaking of New York City, an Uber driver kicked a lesbian couple out of his car for sharing a quick peck/smooch.

• Alec Baldwin gleefully told Howard Stern he'd win if he ran for the White House, but he's busy hosting the reboot of the TV gameshow "Match Game." You know he's just f*cking with the Trumpster...

• Maine has become the third state to approve a third gender for state-issued drivers licenses and IDs.

• A drug used to treat alcoholism appears to improve viral suppression in folks with HIV.

• This tweet of a grandmother ironing her granddaughter's Pride flag has gone super-viral:

I got up this morning to get ready for #DCPride. My grandma walked into my room, looked at my bi flag, and said, “Oh, this needs to be pressed out!” Such a simple gesture, but it holds so much love and meaning for me. pic.twitter.com/stiD3vg5vs

— Lexie 💖💜💙 (@lexie_galaxie) June 9, 2018

News Round-Up: February 26, 2018

Tyson Beckford

Some news items you might have missed:

• Supermodel Tyson Beckford does "slow Monday" a whole lot better than I do.

• Australia's new Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack once warned "sordid homosexuals" could wipe out humanity. He says he's grown since those statements, but has he?

• Openly bisexual high school senior at Majory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, Emma González, who has become one of the most prominent voices calling for gun control legislation, has amassed over a million Twitter followers since the gun massacre. It's worth noting the NRA only has 588K Twitter followers.

• The U.S. Supreme Court let stand a decision by the Arizona Supreme Court that recognized a woman as the legal parent of a child she and her same-sex spouse conceived through assisted reproduction.

• Donald Trump wants his longtime personal pilot John Dunkin to run the multi-billion dollar Federal Aviation Administration.

• Check out director Jake Wilson's "boy version" of Hayley Kiyoko's latest single, "Curious." Featuring dancer/model Donald Romain and blond bear actor Tyler Kimball, the video flips the lesbian script of the original video and gives us serious gay party flirtation.

I'm bouncing to the track, and the two men are woofilicous :)

News Round-Up: January 29, 2018

(via Instagram)

Some news items you might have missed:

• One last shot from the Atlantis Cruise I was on last week. This from Preston Brock previewing his costume for the "Call of the Wild" dance party. #BullsArePrettyWild

• A transgender soldier will be the guest of Congressman Joe Kennedy (D-MA) at Donald Trump's State of the Union address.

• Josh Weed, a gay Mormon who in 2012 told the world he was happily married to a woman, has announced his opposite-sex marriage has ended in divorce saying that a platonic marriage is no substitute for true intimacy and romantic love. The couple also issued an apology to the LGBT community:

We’re sorry to any gay Mormon who even had a moment’s pause as they tried to make the breathtakingly difficult decision that I am now making—to love myself fully for exactly what God made me—because of our post. We’re sorry for any degree that our existence, and the publicity of our supposedly successful marriage made you feel “less than” as you made your own terribly difficult choices. And we’re sorry if our story made it easier for people in your life to reject you and your difficult path as being wrong. If this is you, we want you to know: you were right. You did the correct, brave thing. You are ahead of me in the sense that you have progressed through things I have yet to progress through. You listened to your gut and to God and did a brave, brave thing. Now I’m following your example.

• House Republicans have voted to release a Republican penned "memo" meant to discredit the ongoing investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller even though the Justice Department recommending examing the document first.

• NBC News reports that Donald Trump angrily called now-fired Deputy Director of the FBI Andrew McCabe when he saw dismissed FBI Director James Comey taking a federal plane home to Washington from Los Angeles after being sacked. During the call, Trump allegedly asked McCabe how his wife felt being a "loser" after falling short in her for state office in Virginia. #WhatEverHappenedToClass?

• Check out this moving coming-out story by BBC correspondent and grassroots footballer from the UK, Richie Anderson, to his teammates:

'It's time to tell my team-mates I'm gay'. We're really proud of our presenter @richie_anderson who appeared on the One Show last night. Watch the full film about homophobia in grass roots football here https://t.co/JXex5cDdCc pic.twitter.com/H3itc5rMj7

— BBC WM 95.6 (@bbcwm) January 23, 2018

News Round-Up: January 18, 2018

(Image via photographer Robin MacDonald)

Some news items you might have missed:

• It's always such a quandry getting dressed for the gym (above) - sneakers or no sneakers? How about just mimosas!

• Log Cabin Republicans have shared a congratulatory letter from Donald Trump on their 40th anniversary just a day after Trump proclaimed Tuesday "Religious Freedom Day." It comes as no surprise the proclamation was full of anti-LGBT dog-whistles.

• Insurance giant Aetna will pay $17 million to settle a lawsuit after mailing out envelopes that accidentally revealed thousands of patients' HIV status.

• The young 22-year-old writer of the Aziz Ansari "Revenge Porn" article has responded to criticisms of the piece by flipping out on Twitter.

• Imagine opening a package expecting to see your gorgeous printed wedding invitations only to find a pamphlet entitled, “Understanding Temptation: Fight the good fight of the faith.” That's what happened to this gay couple.

• Donald Trump will soon announce new guidelines that would allow healthcare providers to deny LGBT, and especially, transgender patients and others critical care in the name of religion.

• I know, I know - no one wants to see hunky UK gymnasts literally flipping into their clothes... (But if you did, watch below).

How Gymnasts get dressed 😱 Stepped it up a level! @ashwatson92 @lukestoney94 🙊 Who thinks they can challenge?🤸🏼‍♂️ Tag a friend 📲

A post shared by Nile Wilson (@nilemw) on Jan 12, 2018 at 8:28am PST

(h/t JoeMyGod)

News Round-Up: January 12, 2018

(photo by @pascalpprl)

Some news items you might have missed:

• Can we just skip ahead to summer, please? (above)

• Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) will soon be available for free to gay and bisexual men in Florida in the state’s attempt to reduce HIV-infections.

• Kenosha School District in Wisconsin has agreed to withdraw its challenge to a ruling from the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of Ash Whitaker, a transgender high school student seeking to use the restroom consistent with his gender identity. In doing so, the 7th Circuit Court's ruling remains the precedent. Plus, the school district has agreed to pay Ash $800,000 for the harm caused to him and for his legal fees.

• Remember how Donald Trump claimed massive voter fraud to the tune of 3 million fake votes cost him the popular vote? His commission found zero fake votes, so they disbanded the voter fraud commission. #Fail

• A man found guilty of killing a gay couple decides it would be prudent to flip-off the families of his victims after being found guilty. Umm, the death penalty is on the table, asshole.

• Remember TLC's Trading Spaces? The reboot is coming soon. There's no official launch date yet, but check out the new promo video below.

News Round-Up: December 27, 2017

(via Instagram)

Some news items you might have missed:

• It's Hump Day - Do I really need to explain why actor/model Trevor LaPaglia (above) is here? #woof

• Who could possibly be a big enough star to headline the Sydney Gay & Lesbian 40th Mardi Gras celebration the year that marriage equality becomes a reality? Word is it's the one and only Cher.

• Donald Trump's lawyers are telling the Trumpster the Robert Mueller investigation will soon come to an end, but those in the know say that's "fanciful" thinking as Yahoo News reports Mueller has just collected "a mountain of new evidence."

• Kansas City weatherman Gary Lezak came out to the world and introduced his longtime partner in a moving Facebook post last week.

• An Orlando police officer who saved lives the night of the Pulse Nightclub shooting is being fired just months before his pension would kick in.

• Apple is facing at least 8 lawsuits over iPhone software updates that slowed down phones without informing customers.

• And here's the always fun round-up of Best News Bloopers of 2017, just to show you folks on TV are human like all of us:

News Round-Up: November 20, 2017

(via Instagram)

Some news items you might have missed:

• Alex Abramov (above) seems to be handling the cold weather in NYC quite well :)

• According to a professor at Cornell University, young men are becoming comfortable identifying as "mostly straight" (as opposed to bisexual) which might be linked to relaxed millennial attitudes toward sexuality.

• Out singer Colum Scott of Britain's Got Talent fame has a new song - "You Are The Reason." He says the song is a "thank you to those special people who make our lives better, simply because they’re in it.” Watch below.

• True Blood star Rutina Wesley has come out and announced her engagement.

• A Tennessee town has banned drag shows as being "sexually oriented business."

• The mother of one of Kevin Spacey's accusers says 8 more men have shared allegations with her.

• And, as today is Transgender Day of Remembrance, let's take a listen to these trans young people about their feelings on how they are perceived and how they'd like to be seen:

News Round-Up: October 11, 2017

(via Instagram)

Some news items you might have missed:

• It's Hump Day! Is everyone getting stuff done? Make sure you take time for yourself whether that's a workout (like woofy director/actor Konstantin Kamynin above) or some chill "me-time." #ChardonnayIsCallingMe

• Four-times married adultress and disgraced Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis, who went to jail for failing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the Supreme Court decision made marriage equality the law of the land, is taking her act to Romania where she hopes to encourage the government there to ban same-sex marriage. #WhyChooseHate?

• Uber-gay Andy Cohen (Bravo's Watch What Happens Live) has been tapped to co-host CNN's New Year's Eve celebration with gay buddy Anderson Cooper. This announcement comes after Kathy Griffin was dropped from the annual bash after posing with a bloody, decapitated head of Donald Trump.

The news is out! I'm co-hosting New Year's Eve on CNN with @andersoncooper and I could not be more excited!

— Andy Cohen (@Andy) October 11, 2017

• Two LGBT legal organizations - Lambda Legal and the Mississippi Center for Justice - have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block a new Mississippi state law that allows broad discrimination against LGBT people. #Grrrr

• A trans teen who was asked to leave his high school after coming out as transgender was crowned homecoming king this year at his new school. #Winning

• The Boy Scouts of America has announced plans to allow girls to take part in some programs beginning in 2019. The new changes will allow girls to attain the rank of Eagle Scout. Right-wing conservatives took to Twitter to rant and rave about the new, inclusive program.

Boy Scouts 50 yrs ago: We go camping & do boy things

Boy Scouts in 2017: We learn how to use tampons & what it means to be a male feminist pic.twitter.com/I67V8Rx0jH

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 11, 2017

Unbelievable: so now admitting girls to a **boys** organization is part of the Boy Scouts' "core values": BSA announces new, genderless #Scouts: https://t.co/AIFYVjkR3q

— Peter LaBarbera (@PeterLaBarbera) October 11, 2017

TGIF Round-Up

Jonathan Guijarro via Facebook

A post shared by Nick Sandell (@nick_sandell) on Sep 30, 2017 at 3:41pm PDT

A post shared by Steve Peña (@therealstevepena) on Oct 4, 2017 at 12:39pm PDT

When your jam hits in the house and the inner stripper gets loose 😂😂😂😂🇨🇦🐺

A post shared by Steve Raider (@steve_raider) on Oct 6, 2017 at 12:37pm PDT

Instagram Round-Up: Labor Day Weekend

A round-up of what my much-cooler-than-I friends are up to on Instagram this weekend:

Pop/rock star Richard Marx closed out his successful 3 week residency at the Flamingo Las Vegas:

Sincere thanks to all who attended the last three weeks of my Vegas residency. #grateful

A post shared by Richard Marx (@therichardmarx) on Sep 3, 2017 at 1:30pm PDT

Tony Award winner Betty Buckley performed at 54 Below in NYC with Michael Feinstein:

Michael Feinstein's guest this week for seven shows at Feinstein's 54 Below! Opening tonight. Hope we see you there. ☺️👍

A post shared by Betty Lynn Buckley (@blbuckley) on Aug 29, 2017 at 10:50am PDT

Out singer/songwriters Matt Zarley and Jeb Havens announced a multi-week run in Puerto Vallarta titled, "Works of Heart:"

Planning on making Mexico your winter getaway? Come see @jebhavens and me in @puertovallartamexico when we perform our 2-man show, WORKS OF HEART this January! #redroompv #act2pv #p!nk #fuckinperfect

A post shared by Matt Zarley (@mattzarley) on Sep 3, 2017 at 1:27pm PDT

Tyson Beckford prepares for his final (for now) performances with the world-famous Chippendales in Las Vegas:

Tonight's your absolute last chance to see @tysoncbeckford celebrity guest hosting @Chippendales this summer! 2 shows: 8:30pm and 10:30pm — Tickets: Chippendales.com // @riovegas #LasVegas #Vegas

A post shared by Chippendales® // #Chippendales (@chippendales) on Sep 3, 2017 at 1:58pm PDT

Nashville super-gays Joe Wooley and Jim Schmidt have been sharing awesome pics of Amsterdam:

#iamsterdam selfie! We are Amsterdam this weekend! Awesome place!!!

A post shared by Joe Woolley (@woolleyjoe) on Sep 3, 2017 at 1:05pm PDT

Ruby Lewis, star of Las Vegas' "Baz" takes an extra bow as she looks to her day off:

Taking multiple bows in tonight's finale cause it's been a lonnng week & I think I've earned this day off tomorrow! 👯👯👯 Vote for us as Best Production Show in Vegas! Link in bio. . . . @abelarmasphotography @bazpalazzo @ftrlive @palazzo #mirrormirror #greatgatsby #flapper #pose #20sstyle #blonde #dance #smile #twoforone #bazpalazzo #bazvegas #vegas #bestshow #dancer #singer #entertain #legs #great #daisy #work

A post shared by Ruby Lewis (@rubylewla) on Sep 3, 2017 at 12:05pm PDT