LGBTQ

Dot Cotton, played by June Brown. (Getty) June Brown, who played Dot Cotton on EastEnders, has died age 95. The beloved actor passed away “very peacefully” at home on Sunday (3 April), her family confirmed. June Brown was best-known her her role as Dot Cotton, who she began playing in 1985, shortly after EastEnders began. An EastEnders spokesperson said: “There are not enough words to describe how much June was loved and adored by everyone at EastEnders, her loving warmth, wit and great humour will never be forgotten. “June created...

Judge Allen Winsor will decide the fate of 'Don't Say Gay'. (Facebook/ Florida Bar) The judge who will decide the fate of Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ legislation, appointed by Donald Trump, previously tried to keep same-sex marriage illegal in the state. Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, which bans the discussion of LGBT+ topics in classrooms from kindergarten to third grade, was signed into law by the state governor Ron DeSantis on Monday, 28 March. For children from fourth grade onwards, the bill bans these topics if they are not “age appropriate”...

Lil Nas X did a fake pregnancy photoshoot. (Twitter) Lil Nas X continues to do his part for the LGBT+ community, raising $500,000 (£380,000) for HIV/AIDS organisations. For those who don’t remember, the rapper had an elaborate pregnancy rollout for the birth/release of his debut album, Montero. Now it’s been confirmed that the “baby registry” for the project has seen his fans donate almost half a million dollars which will be distributed among 16 organisations Nearly all of the organisations are members of the Gilead COMPASS Initiative, a campaign from...

Kitty Scott-Claus. (BBC) Her season of Drag Race UK only ended four months ago, but it feels like we’ve known Kitty Scott-Claus forever.  The season three runner-up joins our Zoom call with a heavily powdered face. She’s getting ready for her new play – the acclaimed murder mystery played by a cast of drag queens and kings, Death Drop, which just welcomed Kitty and her Drag Race sister Jujubee as its new headliners. Where Kitty is full Essex and high energy onstage, Louis Westwood, the person behind the queen, is...

Bridgerton star Luke Thompson has teased that the popular Netflix period drama might explore the sexuality of his character, Benedict Bridgerton, in future seasons. The regency drama was accused of queerbaiting viewers after highlighting gay sex in its trailer but avoiding queer storylines in the first season. Indeed, middle brother Benedict was seen befriending queer, bohemian artist Henry Granville (Julian Ovenden), and then subsequently catching him having an affair with a man. However, the pair’s friendship did not appear in the second season of the Bridgerton, which featured delivered even...

A protester holds a placard that says "Hatred is a choice, being trans is not" during a trans rights demonstration. (Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty) The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has warned that states seeking to restrict the rights of trans people may be violating federal law.  The DOJ issued new guidance concerning the growing number of anti-trans bills in a searing letter sent to all of the nation’s attorneys general on Thursday (31 March), Transgender Day of Visibility. The letter – signed by assistant attorney general Kristen Clarke for the...

Carolyn Mercer is a trans woman and a survivor of conversion therapy. (Provided/Getty) It has been more than 40 years since Carolyn Mercer was subjected to attempted conversion therapy. She’s still dealing with the fallout today.  In 1964, Carolyn was 17 years old and she had no idea that there were other people out there like her. She decided she wanted to be “cured”, which led to her undergoing electric shock treatment at the hands of NHS doctors. “What happened to me when I was 17, 18, almost drove me...

Boris Johnson. (Pool/ AFP/ Jack Hill) Boris Johnson has been slammed by LGBT+ and human rights campaigners for his “despicable betrayal” of the LGBT+ community after he scrapped plans to ban conversion therapy. On Thursday, 31 March, an official briefing leaked by ITV News showed that the government was U-turning on all of its promised to ban conversion therapy, which it has been making since Theresa May first promised to outlaw the practice in 2018. Confirming that the leak was accurate, Number 10 told PinkNews: “Having explored this sensitive issue...

Lizzo is launching a size-inclusive shapewear brand named Yitty. (Fabletics) Lizzo is launching a “revolutionary new shapewear brand” named Yitty that’s designed for every body. The label, created by the pop star, is in partnership with Fabletics and is described as “no-shame, smile-inducing and size-inclusive”. The new brand will launch on 12 April at yitty.com and fabletics.com and fans can sign up for updates on the first drop. This article contains affiliate links, PinkNews may earn revenue if you click through and purchase products through the links. It’s been named...

The case against Sri Lanka was brought by LGBT+ rights activist Rosanna Flamer-Caldera. (Facebook/ Rosanna Flamer-Caldera) The UN has become the first international law body to declare that criminalising lesbian sex is a violation of human rights. On Wednesday, 23 March, a UN committee, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), ruled against Sri Lanka’s ban on lesbian sex, meaning that for the first time, such bans are against international law. In Sri Lanka, the colonial-era section 365 of the penal code bans “carnal...

Jamie Wallis won praise after they came out publicly as trans. (Facebook) Jamie Wallis MP has been met with a wave of love messages from the trans community, LGBT+ groups and MPs after coming out as trans. In a statement shared on social media in the early hours of Wednesday morning (30 March), Tory MP Jamie Wallis came out as trans, and opened up about being outed to his father and becoming the victim of an extortion plot. Wallis, who has confirmed that he will continue to use he/him pronouns,...

Robert Foster ran a failed gubernatorial campaign in 2019. (Facebook/ Robert Foster) A Republican politician and former member of the Mississippi House of Representatives has called for trans people to be executed by firing squad. Robert Foster served in the state’s House of Representatives from 2016 to 2020, and in 2019 embarked on a failed campaign to become governor of Mississippi. During his time as a representative, Foster authored Mississippi’s death penalty legislation, which allows for executions by gas chamber, electrocution and firing squad. On Thursday, 24 March, Foster tweeted:...

Harry Styles has announced the lead single from his upcoming album, Harry's House. (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for Sony Music) Harry Styles has announced the first single from his upcoming album, Harry’s House. After unveiling the title and cover of his third solo album, he’s now confirmed the first single from the LP. The single, entitled “As It Was” will arrive on 1 April, with Styles tweeting the release date alongside a series of photos. As It Was. April 1. pic.twitter.com/CzCFK7f3pA — Harry Styles. (@Harry_Styles) March 28, 2022 They show the singer...

Marjorie Taylor Greene during Joe Biden's his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on 1 March, 2022. (Getty/ J. Scott Applewhite-Pool) Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has suggested Pete and Chasten Buttigieg want to use girls’ bathrooms in a truly bizarre rant at a Donald Trump rally. On Saturday, March 26, Trump, who has been touring the country, held his latest “Save America” rally in Commerce, Georgia. Greene joined a horrifying line-up of warm-up acts, kicked off by Todd Starnes, a “gun-totin’, Bible-clingin’ son of...