LGBTQ

Lawrence Robb as Mackenzie Boyd in Emmerdale. (ITV) Emmerdale star Lawrence Robb has admitted the writers haven’t decided what his character’s sexuality is just yet as fans accuse the soap of queerbaiting. Robb plays Mackenzie Boyd on the long-running ITV soap opera. Recently, Mackenzie has been flirting with Aaron, leading fans to wonder if they’re going to hit it off. However, Robb put fan speculation to bed in an interview with Inside Soap, revealing that a firm decision has not yet been made on his character’s future. “It’s interesting, as Sam...

Taylor Swift. (Roy Rochlin/FilmMagic) Taylor Swift has paid tribute to the “courageous activists, advocates and allies” who have fought tirelessly for LGBT+ rights in a touching Pride Month message. The “Willow” singer shared her empowering message on Tuesday (1 June), the first day of Pride Month. Writing on Twitter, Taylor Swift said: “I want to take a moment to thank the courageous activists, advocates and allies for their dedication to fighting against discrimination and hatred. “And as always, today I’m sending my respect and love to those bravely living out...

Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed the anti-trans sports bill into law. (Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty) Florida has officially banned trans girls from playing competitive sports on the correct team in a devastating blow to the state’s LGBT+ community. Republican governor Ron DeSantis signed SB1028 – dubbed “The Fairness in Women’s Sports Act” – into law on Tuesday (1 June), the first day of Pride Month. “I can tell you this, in Florida, girls are going to play girls’ sports and boys are going to play boys’ sports,” DeSantis said...

Billy Porter opened up about his HIV diagnosis. (YouTube) Billy Porter has declared he’s a “free man” after he told the world he’s been living with HIV for 14 years. The Pose star was first diagnosed with HIV in June 2007 but he chose to keep his status a secret from the public and from his mother due to pervasive stigma. During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Friday (28 May), Billy Porter opened up about the incredible moment he “released that shame” and told the world that he is...

Owen Bondono spoke out against a trans athlete ban making its way through the Michigan Senate. (Twitter) Trailblazing transgender teacher Owen Bondono has expertly explained why degrading trans sports bans are harmful. A bill is currently making its way through the Michigan legislature that would require high school athletes to play on teams that match the sex they were assigned at birth. Similar bills are making their way through state legislatures across the US despite staunch opposition from the American Psychological Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Bondono, who...

Jeffrey Sanker poses at Jeffrey Sanker's White Party on 25 April 2015 in Palm Springs, California. (Photo by Chelsea Lauren/WireImage) Jeffrey Sanker, the founder of White Party Entertainment Inc, died on Friday (28 May) after a long battle with liver cancer. The Los Angeles Blade reported Sanker, 65, passed away at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, California. The news outlet reported that members of Sanker’s family were in attendance. Sanker organised some of the largest gay circuit parties in the US as part of his work with White Party Entertainment....

Shakina Nayfack arrives for the HBO's Official Golden Globes After Party on 5 January 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images) Difficult People star Shakina Nayfack has announced that she has ‘claimed’ non-binary as part of her identity in a moving post on social media. Nayfack wrote on social media that her pronouns “are still she/her” before adding “they works too if that’s what the discourse requires”. The actor, who played Lola on the Hulu series Difficult People, wrote said she “always felt” like non-binary was...

Rina Sawayama attends The BRIT Awards 2021 at The O2 Arena on 11 May 2021 in London, England. (Photo by JMEnternational/JMEnternational for BRIT Awards/Getty Images) Pansexual pop icon Rina Sawayama is going to star alongside Keanu Reeves in the upcoming instalment to his action-packed John Wick franchise. Deadline reported Sawayama has been cast in John Wick: Chapter 4, but her role in the movie is being kept secret. The film is being directed by Chad Stahelski, who also directed the first John Wick movie. Stahelski said in a statement to Deadline...

Kay Tobin Lahusen, a pioneering LGBT+ rights activist and photojournalist, has died after a brief illness at the age of 91. (Photo provided by Mark Segal/YouTube/Harbinger Media) Kay Tobin Lahusen, a pioneering LGBT+ rights activist and photojournalist, has died after a brief illness at the age of 91. Lahusen, who was the first openly gay American woman photojournalist, died Wednesday (26 May) in hospice care at Chester County Hospital outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Lahusen had contracted an infection when she sadly passed away. Lahusen was born in Cincinnati, Ohio...

Patrisse Cullors. (Rich Fury/Getty Images for Teen Vogue) Patrisse Cullors, the co-founder of Black Lives Matter, one of the largest social and political movements in the history of the US, is to step down from the foundation. Cullors, a high-decibel LGBT+ rights activist, said Friday (28 May) would be her last day at the helm of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation after six years. “I’ve created the infrastructure and the support, and the necessary bones and foundation, so that I can leave,” Cullors told the Associated Press news agency....

Members of Biarritz Olympique sporting Grindr-sponsored uniforms. (Biarritz Olympique/Grindr/Twitter) Grindr has hooked up with a top rugby team to design a versatile jersey set – all the while making sports more inclusive. The queer dating app announced on its Twitter page Wednesday (26 May) as the new sponsor for French professional rugby club Biarritz Olympique. In the app’s iconic black and yellow colour scheme, alongside a red and white colourway, the jerseys will be worn by the French Pro Division Two team in the 2021/22 season. And, of course, the app’s logo...

Seth Rogen. (Amy Sussman/FilmMagic) Seth Rogen has hit out against comedians who whine about so-called “cancel culture” to accept that some jokes just age terribly. Or, you know, were never exactly funny in the first place. The 39-year-old actor and filmmaker told talk show Good Morning Britain on Tuesday (25 May) that he has long since accepted that not all jokes will stand the test of time. Some stand-up comedians, he said, seem almost relentless in refusing to accept that times have changed – and cry cancel culture when faced with...

A zoo in Guangzhou, China, has been accused of homophobia after two women were barred from buying a “couples ticket”. In an incident that captures the longstanding discrimination LGBT+ face in the republic, Chimelong Safari Park reportedly refused to recognise a lesbian couple’s relationship. Leslie Song, 29, explained on Weibo, one of China’s most popular social media websites, that she and her girlfriend visited the safari park on Friday (21 May). The pair had booked tickets in advance on Ctrip, a Chinese travel agency. But on arrival, staff allegedly refused...

Lauren Boebert has been elected to Congress. (EMILY KASK/AFP via Getty) A Republican lawmaker is being skewered online for a bizarre and abrupt broadside against people sharing their pronouns. Colorado representative Lauren Boebert, a deeply hard-right gun activist, is part of a small but high-decibel bloc of GOP firebrands that tout pro-Donald Trump QAnon conspiracies – notching upsets on both sides. So it came as no surprise when Boebert, whose Twitter header is a photograph of a gun holster, decided on Tuesday night (25 May) to tweet, for whatever reason: “My pronoun...