News Round-Up: March 4, 2019

(image via Instagram)

Some news items you might have missed:

• InstaHunk Jared Techau has the right idea for cold, rainy nights in Los Angeles. #metime #mood #candles

• A man convicted of the murder of a gay man in Alabama in 1999 has been stabbed to death in prison.

• Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) has expressed support for the federal legalization of marijuana as he considers a potential presidential bid in 2020.

• A man and his friend were kicked out of an Uber in Sydney, Australia after his friend kissed him on the forehead during the car ride.

• Journalist Michael Musto spoke with an Academy Award voter who has an idea how Glenn Close lost her Oscar this year.

• The Fab Five are back! Netflix just dropped the trailer for Season 3 of Queer Eye which includes the show’s first duo and first lesbian makeovers.

The new season will also tackle issues like alcoholism, identity crises and more.

Season 3 drops on March 15. Watch the trailer below.

Did An Uber Driver Request Sex In Exchange For A Free Ride?

Matthew Marston says an Uber driver offered him a free ride for sex

I know you should tip your driver, but this might be a bit much.

Orlando resident Matthew Marston was just trying to get to work on Monday when he fired up Uber on his phone and ordered a ride.

What he wasn’t prepared for though was the text message he received from the driver once his fare was accepted.

According to local NBC affiliate WESH, the Uber driver reportedly sent Marston a message which read, “Hey, I’ll give you a free ride if you let me (commit a sexual act).”

Clearly, Marston was stunned, telling WESH, “I was shocked. It felt uncomfortable.”

Uncomfortable? Umm, yeah…you could say that.

Even though it was 3AM in the morning, Marston cancelled the ride. But Uber slapped him with a $5 cancellation fine.

He admits he had to think twice before ordering a new Uber, but he had to get to work, so he tuned up the app once again. This time with no complications.

Marston says he tried to get in touch with Uber but hasn’t been able to get anyone from the freelance transit company to respond.

Bob Hazen of WESH called the phone number for the driver but the call went straight to voicemail.

Hazen spoke with an Uber spokesman who said they were aware of the incident and investigating. They also relayed that Marston’s $5 had been refunded.

Uber told Hazen that the company was looking into whether another person could have accessed the account and sent the offending text.


(h/t WESH)

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

Uber Plans To Launch A Fleet Of Flying Taxis By 2023

Uber has announced plans to launch a fleet of flying taxis by 2023.

The plan is to begin in Dallas and Los Angeles with testing to start in 2020.

Instead of picking you up, the plan would be to build "sky ports" where folks can board and disembark in a ride-sharing program.

Each sky port will be able to handle 200 takeoffs and landings an hour.

The air-cars will be flown by a pilot and hold up to four people.

NASA will be involved in creating a system of industry standards and regulations.

Check out the video report below. Who's up for  an air-taxi?

(h/t JoeMyGod)

News Round-Up: January 3, 2018

Some news items you might have missed:

• Actor and fitness model Lony Pizarro (above) proves not every shirtless pic happens at the beach or in a bathroom :)

• Looks like actress Ellen Page and gf Emm Portner heard some wedding bells recently. #Congrats

• Kenneth-in-the-212's "Wrestle Wednesdays" are plenty reason to get through the week ;)

• The ISIS executioner who beheaded gay men has been captured in Iraq

• Eric Trump, attempting to retake the mantle of "Dumbest Trump," accused out talk show host Ellen DeGeneres of being a part of the "Deep State" conspiracy. You know, that "Deep State" thing about elected government officials - which Ellen is not...?

• A gay couple in Houston was kicked out of their Uber at 4AM by their driver after exchanging a sweet kiss.

• It's no wonder the guys over at NewNowNext are suddenly rugby fans. Who knew sports could be so much fun?

Uber CEO Quits Trump Advisory Council Over Immigration Ban

I'm guessing enough accounts were deleted to get the attention of Uber's CEO, Travis Kalanick.

Via The Daily Beast:

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick left President Trump's business advisory council on Thursday over the administration's ban on refugees and visitors from Muslim countries, according to a memo obtained by Recode.

Uber faced an enormous backlash from users after Kalanick initially said that he would continue to engage with Trump after the president's recent executive order.

In a memo to his employees, obtained by The New York Times, Kalanick wrote: “Earlier today I spoke briefly with the president about the immigration executive order and its issues for our community. I also let him know that I would not be able to participate on his economic council. Joining the group was not meant to be an endorsement of the president or his agenda but unfortunately it has been misinterpreted to be exactly that.”

See, folks? Taking action can result in change.

News Round-Up: January 29, 2017

Some news items you may have missed:

• Ignacio Pérez Rey (above) says this is what a hangover looks like. Looks good to me #morewine #grrrr

• Sir Elton John and Paul Rudnick are working on a stage musical adaptation of The Devil Wears Prada.

• North Carolina state Senate Leader says anti-LGBT "bathroom bill" HB2 isn't going anywhere any time soon.

• Congressional Republicans will reintroduce the anti-LGBT legislation the First Amendment Defense Act. The bill, which President Trump has promised to sign into law, would allow anyone with "deeply held religious beliefs" to legally discriminate against LGBTs.

• In light of Uber's CEO willingness to work with President Trump, and ridesharing rival Lyft's announcement to donate $1 million to the ACLU, folks are dumping and deleting their Uber accounts in massive numbers.

• In case you haven't been paying attention, folks in the "pro-life" movement not only want to outlaw safe abortions, they think "the pill" and IUDs should be illegal as well.

That moment when the face that @JoyAnnReid makes says 1,000 words! That side eye! #AMJoy #ProChoice pic.twitter.com/2fn7iHLrKD

— Khary Penebaker (@kharyp) January 28, 2017

Gay Couple Kicked Out Of Uber Car For Kissing

Corey Watts (L) and Jordan Sloan (R)

An Uber driver in London ejected a gay couple, Corey Watts and Jordan Sloan, for kissing and cuddling during a ride

When they asked why they were being ordered out, the driver apparently said: “I take gays but they don’t normally do this.”

One of the couple, Corey Watts, took to Twitter to share his surprise and outrage:

Just got asked to get out of an @Uber cab for kissing my boyfriend. Flipped my shit.
— Corey (@CoreyBlimey) January 1, 2015

Jordan also had this to add:

I’ve never had any homophobic stuff happen to me so I was caught off guard. You don’t expect it to happen in one of the world’s biggest cities. I wanted to understand what he was thinking so I asked the driver: “Would you do the same thing if it was a guy or a girl?”

Uber released this statement saying they had addressed the situation:

Uber does not tolerate any form of discrimination either by our partner drivers or towards our partner drivers. We opened an investigation from the moment we learned of this unacceptable incident and have been in contact with the rider to extended our sincere apologies and get further information. The driver concerned has been suspended from the Uber platform.

Taxi drivers across Europe organize "gridlock" protest of Uber

London, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, Milan and Rome all saw traffic ground to a stop yesterday as taxi drivers organized a protest against the smartphone taxi app Uber.

The taxi drivers say Uber drivers are unregulated and threaten their livelihood.

In London, Trafalgar Square and Whitehall were jammed from the start of the planned "go slow" at 2pm, as thousands of black cabs gathered honking their horns, bringing total gridlock to the centre of the capital, while supporters waved banners and started occasionally chanting: "Boris, out!"

A spokeswoman for Uber, the US start-up which links minicab drivers to passengers via a GPS-based smartphone app, said the protests had boosted new users in London by 850%, as people tried to cope with the gridlock.

The response from Uber? Apparently it only helped the taxi app. Uber's UK and Ireland general manager Jo Bertram said, “Today we're seeing an 850 per cent increase in sign-ups compared to last Wednesday. The results are clear: London wants Uber in a big way.”

I've actually never used Uber. Husband Michael has used the app in San Francisco, Miami and NYC, and loves it. Instead of looking for a cab up and down the block, you hit the app - a driver connects with you - and he's there in a couple of minutes.

I saw a Huffington Post article a few weeks ago showing that Uber drivers, at least in major cities like San Francisco and NYC, make more than their taxi driving counterparts.