A scene in Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever featuring a queer kiss was apparently cut from the film. Ahead of the film’s release last November, fans were thrilled to learn that Michaela Coel had been cast as canonically out comic book character Aneka, a warrior in the franchise’s all-female fighting force, the Dora Milaje. In the comic book series written by both Ta-Nehisi Coates and Roxane Gay, the character falls in love with fellow warrior Ayo, played in Wakanda Forever by Florence Kasumba. Coel told Vogue recently that she took the role specifically because she was excited to play a … Continue reading Marvel’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” originally included a queer kiss

New charges have been filed against Anderson Lee Aldrich, the alleged Club Q shooter who has been accused of killing five people at the Colorado Springs, Colorado LGBTQ bar on November 19. On Monday, prosecutors filed a motion for 12 new charges against Aldrich as the investigation into what happened that night has unearthed more details. Court documents show that the new charges include attempted assault, attempted murder, serious bodily injury with a deadly weapon, and bias-motivated crime. In December, Aldrich was formally charged with 305 counts, including hate crimes and murder, after they opened fire in Club Q, killing … Continue reading Alleged Club Q shooter faces 12 new charges in addition to the original 305 charges

If there was any doubt that Hollywood would show up and play along at the 80th annual Golden Globe Awards last night—not least of all due to historic rain and flooding in Southern California—those doubts were largely laid to rest. The ceremony returned to NBC after the network declined to air the show last year in the wake of an explosive Los Angeles Times exposé, which revealed that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association—an already famously dubious organization—had zero Black members and engaged in ethically questionable conduct. Since then, however, the HFPA has reportedly instituted major reforms and its voting pool … Continue reading Diversity was on display at the 80th annual Golden Globes

January tends to be a time of year when many of us reconsider how much alcohol we drink, whether due to holiday season excess, New Year’s resolutions, or because we’re participating in the popular “Dry January” challenge. But two infamous anti-LGBTQ+ preachers want their male followers to give up booze —and beer specifically — for an entirely different reason. Recently, both Steven Anderson, founder of the New Independent Fundamentalist Baptist movement and pastor at the Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona, and Jonathan Shelley of the Stedfast Baptist Church in Watauga, Texas, posted unhinged rants about the risk of … Continue reading Hate pastors are now speaking out against beer because they say it makes men feminine

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has appointed far-right anti-LGBTQ+ activist Christopher Rufo to the board of trustees of the New College of Florida – a school with a reputation for being progressive and queer-friendly. In addition to virulently targeting the LGBTQ+ community, Rufo has spent years helping to build a movement against the teaching of so-called critical race theory – an academic term conservatives have manipulated to essentially mean teaching children anything about the history of racism in the U.S. My goal this year is for 10+ state legislatures to pass curriculum transparency bills, requiring public schools to make all … Continue reading Ron DeSantis appoints anti-LGBTQ+ activist to college board to “reconquer” schools

Texas Republicans have introduced two bills that would ban instruction of sexual orientation and gender identity in the state’s public schools. Among the 35 anti-LGBTQ+ bills filed so far by Texas Republicans for the 2023 legislative session are two that closely mirror Florida’s “Parental Rights in Education” law, popularly known as “Don’t Say Gay.” H.B. 631, authored by state Rep. Steve Toth (R) would ban schools from teaching about sexual orientation or gender identity from kindergarten through fifth grade, while Rep. Jared Patterson’s (R) H.B. 1155 extends the ban through eighth grade. Both bills ban instruction on sexuality and gender … Continue reading Texas Republicans are trying to pass “Don’t Say Gay” copycat bills

A judge on the Brooklyn Surrogate’s Court who said that “being gay is an abomination to mankind” has agreed to resign from the bench. Judge Harriet Thompson was suspended from her position in 2021 because of “serious allegations of bias and discrimination,” which included racist and homophobic remarks. “I hate these gay white men,” Thompson, who is Black, is quoted as saying. She allegedly also said that “gay racist fa***ts” were “trying to ruin me and get me… Being gay is an abomination to mankind. The Holy Ghost [is] going to get them.” She also allegedly expressed bias toward litigants … Continue reading Judge who allegedly used gay slurs retires from the bench

A new DC Comics book features Batman’s greatest supervillain, the Joker, but with a twist: the clown prince of crime becomes pregnant after a magician curses him. Of course, some conservative media figures are upset because they think DC Comics have made the Joker a transgender man. But if they bothered to actually read the comic, they’d realize that isn’t the case. “Readers may be tempted to think this is part of DC’s attempt to do some woke, LGBTQ-inclusive storytelling with The Joker being a transgender man undergoing a typical pregnancy,” Fox News wrote, adding, “though it’s not quite that … Continue reading Conservatives are outraged that Joker gets pregnant in latest Batman comic

Christian Walker, the gay son of failed GOP Senate candidate and retired NFL player Herschel Walker, has called on influential Republican Matt Schlapp to resign as the lead organizer for the far-right Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) after Schlapp’s alleged sexual misconduct with a male staffer who worked for Herschel Walker’s campaign. In a video rant posted to Twitter, Christian Walker said, “Matt Schlapp — head of CPAC, big ‘family values’ conservative guy, married to a woman, they have five children together — Took one of my dad’s campaign staffers out for drinks … and when the staffer was dropping … Continue reading Christian Walker calls out influential Republican for allegedly groping his dad’s male staffer

Students at a high school in Florida are pointing to the state’s Parental Rights in Education law, aka Don’t Say Gay, as the reason for the sudden cancellation of a long-scheduled drama department production. The canceled play, Indecent by Paula Vogel, depicts the true story of another stage play called God of Vengeance, which was shut down in New York in 1923 on charges on indecency; the Broadway production of the Yiddish play depicted the first-ever onstage kiss between a lesbian couple in American theater. The production at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in Jacksonville was scheduled last May and … Continue reading Students say Florida school play shut down over Don’t Say Gay

In a spectacle that was at once comical and horrifying, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) managed to sufficiently debase himself to win election as Speaker of the House after a mere 15 ballots late last Friday night. McCarthy’s victory, such as it was, came after he cut yet another deal with a group of holdouts and believed he had the votes, only to be publicly humiliated by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL). There was shouting and nearly a physical altercation, and then finally, Gaetz, who had vowed never to vote for McCarthy, voted present, and McCarthy was elected Speaker. So many things … Continue reading The Speakership drama is just the beginning of two years of GOP meltdown

A new trend seems to be all the rage for anti-LGBTQ+ parents, who have been increasingly touting the need to “deprogram” their progressive children and turn them conservative. A recent report from the New York Post features a group of mothers who say their children refuse to talk to them after being “indoctrinated” with “gender and race ideology” by progressive high schools and colleges. The article likens progressive values to being in a cult and details the mothers’ desire to find a “deprogrammer” to jolt their children back to reality. The mothers were inspired by another story from the New York Post, that of Annabella … Continue reading Anti-LGBTQ+ parents now want ‘deprogrammers’ to turn their estranged kids conservative

Arizona state GOP lawmakers have introduced a series of bills that would regulate and limit drag shows in the state. Family-friendly drag performances like drag brunches and drag queen story hours have become a lightning rod for Republicans over the past year, with local far-right and anti-LGBTQ+ groups disrupting events all over the country. But one of the Arizona bills targets even performances aimed at adults. Arizona state Sen. Anthony Kern (R) has introduced S.B. 1030, which calls for regulation and business licenses for drag shows. Under the law, drag performances would not be allowed between 1 a.m. and 8 … Continue reading GOP lawmakers now want to ban drag brunches on Sundays

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) had some choice words for fellow extremist and anti-LGBTQ+ Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), calling her”unhinged” and pointing to her past statements about space lasers owned by prominent Jewish people starting wildfires in California. “I have been asked to explain MTG’s beliefs on Jewish space lasers, on why she showed up to a white supremacist conference…. I’m just not going to go there,” Boebert told the AP. “She wants to say all these things and seem unhinged on Twitter, so be it.” Boebert and Greene may seem like two peas in a pod from a distance: … Continue reading Lauren Boebert calls Marjorie Taylor Greene “unhinged” as divide deepens

For RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Nina West, it was a December to remember – and one she’d surely like to forget. Following the Club Q shooting in Colorado Springs in November and a Proud Boys assault on a drag queen story hour in her hometown of Columbus, Ohio, West – also known as actor and drag performer Andrew Levitt – was moved to write an open letter to the community to share her fears, and a warning. “A far-right wing faction has been successfully targeting and harassing drag queens and labeling us as ‘groomers,’ which I fear will lead to … Continue reading Nina West was forced into hiding after homophobic attacks. She’s still standing up to haters.

The New York Times recently announced its hiring of anti-LGBTQ+ attorney David French as an opinion columnist. But while the Times praised French’s “spirit of generosity toward others and humility,” calling him an “expert on the law, faith, and politics,” it didn’t mention his longtime work with the rabidly anti-LGBTQ+ legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). GLAAD said French’s hiring showed the publication’s “willful disregard of LGBTQ community voices and the concerns so many have shared about their inaccurate, exclusionary, often ridiculous pieces.” He served as an ADF attorney French served as a senior counsel for ADF, a legal … Continue reading The New York Times’ newest columnist has an ugly past demonizing LGBTQ+ people

Twitter users are mocking a former professional athlete after a botched attempt at a transphobic message about men wearing tampons. Dane Swan, a 38-year-old former pro-rugby player in the Australian Football League (AFL), wrote in a January 3 tweet, “It’s been some day folks cause today is the day i learnt that men can buy tampons. I’ve now officially seen it all.” In his tweet, he tagged Ralph Horowitz, the co-host of his nearly podcast Swanny and Friends. But while Swan mentioned tampons, the picture he included with his tweet showed a supermarket shelf with packages of absorbent underwear and … Continue reading Twitter users mock sports star over his failed attempt at a transphobic tweet