News Round-Up: February 2, 2018

Jim Newman (photo via Instagram - Isauro Cairo)

Some news items you might have:

• I loved actor/singer Jim Newman in "Daddyhunt The Serial" - and now I just discovered his Instagram! I had no idea he performs with the Village People as "The Cowboy." #SaveAHorse

• Out transgender actress Candis Cayne will star in "ground-breaking" trans storyline on Grey's Anatomy.

• Tickets went on sale for Elton John's final world tour and sold out in minutes. #NoSurprise

North America will be the first stop on my final world tour, with tickets on sale tomorrow from the bio link. #EltonFarewellTour #USA #Canada #FarewellYellowBrickRoad

A post shared by Elton John (@eltonjohn) on Feb 1, 2018 at 10:56am PST

• Pride.com shares 13 questions straight people have about gay sex (but are afraid to ask...)

• For her 60th birthday, Ellen DeGeneres gave her studio audience $1 million to split.

• A hater trolled the Pittsburgh Penguins on the announcement of taking part in diversity/inclusion program "Hockey Is For Everyone." And the Penquins clapped back:

In support of the NHL's commitment to diversity and inclusion in hockey, @mattmurray_30 has elected to be the #Pens ambassador for Hockey Is For Everyone.

Full list of ambassadors: https://t.co/wGI8C3BgnY pic.twitter.com/raOPxregO7

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 1, 2018

Unfollow

— Mr. Stew (@bigstewo7) February 1, 2018

Go ahead. If you don't support inclusion in hockey, there is not much reason to follow us anyway.

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 1, 2018

UK Commercial Draws Fire For Including 2 Gay Dads In Ad Spot

A commercial spot for UK based McCain frozen potatoes has conservatives up in arms for including a momentary shot of two dads with their real-life 19-month-old son.

Seriously.

From the ad text:

"Or maybe it's dad who tucks you up? Dad? Daddy? Two daddies?... Families come in all shapes and sizes, but it's meal times that make a family."

Sounds warm and fuzzy, no?

But angry comments were directed at the gay dads from the spot, Lee and Mat Samuels-Camozzi. The men were called pedophiles and accused of denying their child a mother.

Sharing that they've received dozens of hateful comments, Lee says, “We are shocked this kind of attitude exists in the 21st century. We’re proud of our little family and we have nothing to be ashamed of.”

Lee and Mat aren't the only ones being attacked, though. There are apparently equal opportunity haters on the job here. The spot drew additional ire for including mixed-race families.

Watch the lovely and very inclusive ad below.

(tipped by TRR reader Chad)

Icelandair Features Gay Couple In New Ad Spot

While Southwest Airlines has a few snags to work out in the way they deal with LGBTs, Icelandair's new commercial makes it clear how important inclusive values are to the carrier.

The airline's latest spot features a gay couple enjoying the culture and nature of the Nordic nation.

From the Iceland Monitor:

“Icelandair’s customers are as diverse as they are many. We think it’s only natural to reflect that in our marketing material and therefore aim for a marketing approach that reaches certain groups and is suitable for certain media,” explains Jón Skafti Kristjánsson, brand manager at Icelandair.

He says this ad is not aimed specifically at queer people. “We just think it’s natural and normal for advertisement to portray diversity. LGBTI+ people enjoy travelling just as much as others, of course. In fact, they might have a slightly higher frequency in traveling than other groups.”

Watch the ad below.

Commercials: Hershey's Kisses Celebrates Gay Family's Christmas Traditions

A new holiday spot for Hershey’s Kisses features a gay couple celebrating their holiday traditions in New York City with their mom for the first time in New York City.

“She and my father spent all of their lives making my brother Jason and me feel loved and accepted and supported. Now it’s our chance to do that for her.”

Chobani Yogurt Features Attractive Lesbian Couple In New Ad

Chobani Yogurt has a new commercial out featuring a very attractive lesbian couple in bed.

I know, I know - cue Franklin Graham and his boycott contingency. Not only homo - but homo in bed!

Graham's list of companies to avoid is getting long, long, long...

Interestingly, Gawker hated the ad for other reasons; primarily, the product itself. Here's the rather pointed review:

Bad yogurt company Chobani, whose product is to “Greek yogurt” what fermented urine is to champagne, has stooped to an outrageous, sexy new low in trying to distract the public from the taste of its pasty goo.

It is plain as day to see that Chobani, desperate to align itself with any image other than “maker of America’s worst cow-related product,” has plunged directly to the bottom of the barrel, enlisting hot naked lesbians lounging around in their birthday suits in a last-gasp effort to make you, the easily seduced consumer, believe that bad yogurt is “sexy.”

(h/t JMG)

Commercial: Dove Men+Care Includes Gay Dads In New "First Fatherhood Moments" Campaign

I guess you add another name for the haters to attempt to boycott.

Dove Men+Care has announced a new Father's Day campaign - "First Fatherhood Moments" - that utilizes video clips of the first moment real dads' (including a gay couple) realize they will soon be fathers.

Via press release:

Becoming a dad is a transformative experience – we found that 82% of men globally believe that having a child changes the way they think about what it means to be a man – and our new film celebrates the emotional strength 13 real men openly express upon learning they’re going to be a dad for the first time.

Ian and Darryl Colvin: the gay new dads embrace one another as they set eyes on the newborn baby boy they never thought they’d have, for the first time.

Viral Video: Love Has No Labels

1.5 million views in a day.

From the new campaign for diversity and inclusion at Love Has No Labels:

While the vast majority of Americans consider themselves unprejudiced, many of us unintentionally make snap judgments about people based on what we see—whether it’s race, age, gender, religion, sexuality, or disability.

This may be a significant reason many people in the U.S. report they feel discriminated against. Subconscious prejudice — called “implicit bias” — has profound implications for how we view and interact with others who are different from us. It can hinder a person’s ability to find a job, secure a loan, rent an apartment, or get a fair trial, perpetuating disparities in American society.

The Love Has No Labels campaign challenges us to open our eyes to our bias and prejudice and work to stop it in ourselves, our friends, our families, and our colleagues. Rethink your bias at lovehasnolabels.com.

The campaign works in cooperation with 8 nonprofits that celebrate diversity.  Among them:

• The Southern Poverty Law Center specializes in civil rights litigation for a range of marginalized groups. 

• The Anti-Defamation League combats hate crimes and anti-Semitism.

• The Human Rights Campaign, the country’s largest LGBT civil rights advocacy group.

Honey Maid Features Gay Dads In New "This Is Wholesome" Commercial

You may recall that last year, Honey Maid ran it's first LGBT inclusive commercial featuring two gay dads raising their infant.

Of course all the haters threw their rants and rage. And life went on beyond the barricades.

At the time Gary Osifchin, senior marketing director at Mondelez which owns Honey Maid had this to say:

"We recognize change is happening every day, from the way in which a family looks today to how a family interacts to the way it is portrayed in media. We at Honey Maid continue to evolve and expand our varieties to provide delicious, wholesome products so they can be a part of everyday moments of connection in a world with changing, evolving family dynamics."

Well, clearly Honey Maid enjoyed the response they saw from the 2014 round of "This is wholesome," and so they bring us this new ad introducing "GoBites."

From Honey Maid: "In our 2015 anthem spot we recognize wholesome modern day families of all types. Because no matter how things change, what makes us wholesome never will."

CVS Health features bear couple in new campaign

CVS drugstores have rebranded as CVS Health, and in doing so have launched a new campaign underlining many of the changes they've made to position the company as leaders in healthy living.

Some of those changes include not selling cigarettes anymore, designing programs to help folks stop smoking, and expanded "Minute Clinics" for minor illness exams.

Included in the ad, that is clearly meant to demonstrate the diversity of the CVS customer base, is a shot of a handsome bear couple (near the :26 mark).

It's a quick shot, but inclusion like this is important for those small steps that make it clear the LGBT community is in many ways just like everyone else.

Thanks CVS Health.

NYC: St. Patrick's Day Parade

The New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade has announced one gay organization - OUT (at) NBCUniversal - to march under it's own banner in the March 17, 2015 event:

The private New York City Saint Patrick's Day Parade Committee, in a statement made available to The Associated Press, said Wednesday that OUT(at)NBCUniversal, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender resource group at the company that broadcasts the parade, would be marching up Manhattan's Fifth Avenue on March 17 under an identifying banner.

OUT(at)NBCUniversal is described on its website as "the affinity group for LGBT & Straight Ally employees at NBCUniversal." Parade directors voted unanimously to include the group, the statement said.

In past parades, gays and lesbians were allowed to march as individuals as part of contingents, but not as specifically "LGBT" identifying groups.

Catholic League's Bill Donohue issued this statement:

"Never in the history of New York’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade have homosexuals been barred from marching, anymore than pro-life Catholics have, but in both cases they were not permitted to have their own unit. I have been assured that the rules have been formally changed to allow both of these groups, as well as others, to march under their own banner. That being the case, there should be no controversy. One would hope that all the new entries will conduct themselves in a manner that honors St. Patrick, lest another round of controversy emerges."

From GLAAD president Sarah Kate Ellis:

"It’s about time. Discrimination has no place on America’s streets, least of all on Fifth Avenue. As an Irish-Catholic American, I look forward to a fully inclusive St. Patrick’s Day Parade that I can share with my wife and children, just as my own parents shared with me. Until then, parade organizers must be held accountable to ending this ban once and for all."

Las Vegas doubles down on the LGBT tourist

Itay Hod at The Daily Beast has a big feature today on the progress Las Vegas has made in attracting LGBT tourist dollars by bringing in entertainment and attractions that have slowly made Sin City the fourth most popular travel destination for the gays (behind New York City, Chicago and San Francisco) in the US.

In addition to world-class entertainers like Bette, Cher, Celine, Elton, Shania and now Olivia Newton-John and Britney, Las Vegas provides top-notch restaurants, shopping and nightlife that makes for a big draw for the LGBT traveler.

For example, Scott Martin, a gay tech exec from Spokane, plans to celebrate his 40th birthday in Vegas with 20 of his closest friends. On the agenda are concerts by Olivia Newton-John and Britney, plus pool parties and five-star dining. Martin says his group will probably spend over $20K in one weekend.

Even the Chippendales, known for their “Ultimate Girls Night Out!” slogan, are embracing their gay side. Buy a ticket to their show and you might be surprised to see more than a few gay men in the audience cheering and hollering. Back in the ’80s the Chippendales were known as much for their Velcro pants as for their refusal to let men attend their show. “It really revamped itself,” says Jaymes Vaughan, Chippendales’ first and only openly gay stripper. “Vegas is definitely gay, and it’s only getting gayer. I mean, have you seen the sign to the city? It reads, ‘Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas.’ I think that pretty much sums it up.” Vaughan has yet to pull a gay man up to the stage for a private lap dance, but he knows it’s only a matter of time. “Gay money spends just like straight money.”

“I think it’s great isn’t it? It’s wonderful!!!” says Olivia Newton John. “Cities are opening up to the reality of it and they’re embracing the whole idea.” Newton-John estimates at least a third of her audience is made up of gay men who have followed her career ever since she donned that pink jacket in Grease. “People are coming to see me from all over the world. That’s love, and I’m grateful for that.”

Check out Las Vegas' first-ever gay television ad, as part of its “What Happens Here Stays Here” campaign, currently running on Bravo, E! and Logo TV.

Tourism ad: What happens in Vegas...

Cute ad from Visit Las Vegas. 

Some folks interpret this as guys on the down low.  I took it as "hey, why not?"  And it was subtle enough that it doesn't hit you over the head. 

I liked.

From the clip description:

Las Vegas means: no assumptions, no judgment, come as you are, be who you want and do what you like. When you visit Las Vegas, we encourage you to embrace who you are at your very core. A Las Vegas vacation will push your comfort zone and create unforgettable moments.

Catholic League President Bill Donohue invited to march in NYC Gay Pride Parade

Recently, Catholic League mouthpiece Bill Donohue had applied to march in NYC's LGBT Pride parade carrying a "Straight is Great" banner in a challenge to its inclusiveness following controversy over gay exclusion from the St. Patrick's Day parade.

Now, NYC Pride has happily invited Mr. Donohue to march in the :

In response to email communications from Bill Donohue, President of the Catholic League, NYC Pride representatives provided instructions for the March’s online registration system.

“Mr. Donohue and his group are free to participate in the 2014 March. His group’s presence affirms the need for this year’s Pride theme, ‘We Have Won When We’re One.’ Straight is great – as long as there’s no hate,” said David Studinski, March Director of NYC Pride.

Chris Frederick, Managing Director of NYC Pride, added, “Straight allies are great. We have thousands of straight people participating in the Pride March, including Catholic groups, who support LGBT youth, families and married couples.”

On February 27, 2014, Donohue gave a video interview with World Over with Raymond Arroyo in which he stated, "If I wanted to get into their gay pride parade with my own float with big banners saying 'straight is great,' they would have a right to feel put-upon and I wouldn't do that to them."

You can watch Donohue talk about the idea of his marching in the LGBT Parade here.

You'll note he immediately assumes we would want to bar him from being in our parade. And thus the difference between Donohue and his ilk. Once again the LGBT community shows our inclusiveness in happily allowing people to join us in our celebration.

It's a shame that Donohue can't learn the same lesson of inclusion himself.

Mr. Donohue has been an outspoken opponent of legal recognition of LGBT people, loving LGBT families, the science of sexual orientation and HIV/AIDS education.

He continually refers to marriage equality as "crazy" and "one of the most bizarre ideas in human history," and he has equated the marriage equality movement with the "minority of people in South Africa who took away the rights of Black people."  On multiple occasions, Mr. Donohue has referred to AIDS as "self-inflicted" and due to going against “natural order.”

And yet, in spite of all that, aren't we gays great?  WE want to include everyone, even our haters.

Yay us!

See you at the parade Bill!

Commercial: XXL "Airport Love"

Norwegian sports and outdoor clothing retailer XXL has released an ad timed for release during the Sochi Games that sends a message in support of the LGBT community: sport is for everyone - "whatever team you play for."

(via Towleroad)

Chevrolet includes LGBT families in new commercials/campaign "#TheNew"

Chevrolet is set to launch a new campaign of eight commercials defined by the them "#TheNew."  Two of the spots feature LGBT families as part of the diversity in today's American life.

This Chevrolet commercial, set to air during the opening ceremonies of the Sochi Olympics, features a same-sex wedding in Cape Cod:

"The New Us" commercial from Chevrolet features several shots of same-sex families:

Ad: Kindle Paperwhite

Love the "twist" at the end....

Yay Amazon!

Boy Scouts of America close to ending ban on gay members

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MSNBC is reporting that the Boy Scouts of America are close to ending their ban on gay members and leaders. This would be a big shift in policy for BSA.

The policy change is now before the organization's national board of directors.

The decision would be left to each individual chapter whether or not to accept gay scouts and leaders.

MSNBC reports that this changes comes from communications from the grass roots level of the Boy Scouts. Local chapters have apparently urged the national organization to reconsider the discriminatory policy.

Zach Wahls, Eagle Scout and founder of Scouts for Equality, had this to say: "This would be an incredible step forward in the right direction. We look forward to working with BSA Councils and chartering organizations across the country to end the exclusion of our gay brothers in Scouting, as well as the gay and lesbian leaders who serve the organizations so well."