LGBTQ

Jussie Smollett was found guilty by a jury of staging a hate crime against himself. (Getty/ Scott Olson) Jussie Smollett, convicted last year of staging a hate crime against himself, is requesting a new trial. The former Empire actor said he was the victim of a hate crime in 2019, claiming that two men shouted homophobic, racist slurs, beat him and looped a makeshift noose around his neck. While police initially investigated Smollett’s story as genuine, evidence surfaced  that Smollett had paid brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, brothers who had worked...

Wolfson College, University of Cambridge. (Facebook/ Wolfson College) A group of four students were victims of a suspected homophobic attack in Cambridge, which left one hospitalised. The four young people, students at the University of Cambridge’s Wolfson College, were attacked in the early hours of Wednesday (23 February), according to university newspaper Varsity. The attack took place in Market Square, Cambridge, after the group had attended the city’s only LGBT+ club night Glitterbomb. According to the students, the incident began when a group of five men and one woman began...

A close up of a Wetherspoons pub sign. (Getty/ Nathan Stirk) A Wetherspoons chef accused his co-workers of homophobic bullying, but an employment tribunal judge has ruled against him. The chef was employed at the Wetherspoons Dairyman pub in Brentwood, Essex, and in August 2019 he complained that he was being bullied by co-workers for being gay, according to EssexLive. Jamie Connolly said he was the victim of homophobic taunts and jokes, and on one occasion a co-worker waved a penis-shaped straw in his face. He also said that more than...

The South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue service shut down ignorant homophobes on TikTok. (TikTok/ southyorkshirefire) The South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue service has responded to ignorant homophobia with a viral TikTok: “Fires don’t discriminate, neither do we.” Earlier this month, the service posted social media content to celebrate LGBT+ History Month, but a short time later the bigoted comments began rolling in. The response, firefighters made a second TikTok, reading out examples of the homophobia, completely deadpan, while dressed in rainbow outfits, waving flags, and popping party poppers. (TikTok/ southyorkshirefire) “Let’s...

Naomie Skinner. (Human Rights Campaign) A Black trans woman who was shot and left for dead has become the latest victim in 2022’s “epidemic of violence” in the US. Naomie Skinner, a 25-year-old woman who lived near Detroit, Michigan, was found dead in a hallway at an apartment complex in Highland Park. Police were called to the area in the early morning hours of 12 February, The Detroit News reported. Law enforcement officers discovered Skinner in a fourth-floor hallway dead from a gunshot wound to her neck. Wayne County prosecutors...

Manizha Dalerovna Sangin 'Manizha' of Russia during the 65th Eurovision Song Contest grand final. (Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty) Eurovision organisers have backtracked on their decision to allow Russia to compete in the contest this year following the country’s invasion of Ukraine. There was widespread backlash on Thursday (24 February) when Eurovision bosses said Russia would still be allowed to send an entry to the hugely popular competition. The announcement came just hours after Russia launched a “full-scale invasion” in Ukraine, prompting international outcry. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which produces the Eurovision Song...

People carry the Rainbow Flag as they participate in the Miami Beach Pride Parade along Ocean Drive on 19 September 2021 in Miami Beach, Florida. (Getty/Joe Raedle) Florida Republicans have advanced the reviled “Don’t Say Gay” bill, bringing the controversial legislation a step closer to passing into law.  The state’s Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed House Bill 1557, also known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, in a vote 69-47 on Thursday (24 February).  The proposed legislation would prohibit schools from encouraging classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity...

Participants hold rainbow flags during the second annual Queer Liberation March in New York City. (Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty) A retired teacher has pleaded guilty to mailing threats of horrific violence against LGBT+ groups that would have made the “Pulse nightclub shooting look like a cakewalk”. Robert Fehring, 74, of Bayport on Long Island, pleaded guilty in federal court on Wednesday (23 February) to mailing more than 20 letters threatening to shoot, assault and bomb LGBT+ groups as well as affiliated businesses and individuals.  He could face up to five...

Ubisoft moves Rainbow Six tournament from the United Arab Emirates after fans protest over the country's track record on LGBT+ rights. (YouTube/Ubisoft North America) Ubisoft has scrapped plans for a Rainbow Six Siege tournament in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after fan outcry over LGBT+ rights. The official Rainbow Six e-sports Twitter account shared a post on Tuesday (22 February) confirming that it had decided to move the Six Major tournament in August from Abu Dhabi to another region. The new location has yet to be disclosed. Ubisoft said there...

Representative Joe Harding, sponsor of Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' bill. An amendment to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which would have forced teachers to out LGBT+ students at risk of abuse, has been withdrawn. HB 1557, dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, aims to ban teachers in Florida schools “from encouraging classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grade levels”, or at any level if the discussion is “not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students”. Under the bill, schools would not be able to “discourage or prohibit”...

A trans teen died by suicide while waiting to access mental health care and a first appointment at a gender identity clinic, with a coroner warning that future deaths are possible unless action is taken. Daniel France, a 17-year-old teenager from Cambridgeshire, killed himself during the first coronavirus lockdown in April 2020 while taking medication to treat depression. He was trans, and had been referred to an NHS gender clinic – but, like thousands of others, faced several years of waiting before he would be called for his first appointment....

Demonstrators in favour of LGBT+ rights rally outside the US Supreme Court in Washington DC, 8 October 2019. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty) The US Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether a Christian woman who designs websites can refuse to work with same-sex couples despite a Colorado anti-discrimination law. The court will hear a claim by business owner Lorie Smith, who is appealing a lower court ruling that rejected her bid for an exemption from a state civil rights law requiring businesses to be open to all customers regardless of...

General view of atmosphere during the Miami Beach Pride Parade at Ocean Drive on 19 September 2021 in Miami Beach, Florida. (Getty/Jason Koerner) An amendment to Florida House Bill 1557, dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, would force school officials to out LGBT+ students to their parents. HB 1557, which passed through the House Judiciary Committee last week, would effectively ban school districts from encouraging “classroom instruction” on sexual orientation or gender identity. The proposed legislation would impact students in “kindergarten through grade 3” or in discussion on LGBT+ issues...

Milo Kinnock, 22, came out as trans and said he's 'ready to fight' for his community. (Instagram/MiloKinnock) Former Labour leader Lord Neil Kinnock’s grandson has come out as non-binary, and been welcomed by his family. “It just felt just right to me… and it has really given me a lot of freedom,” Milo Kinnock, 22, told Danish TV channel DR1. “I am so lucky to have a lot of friends, a partner and my family who support me and have always backed me up on everything.” In an Instagram post,...