LGBTQ

Rapper T.I. (Roy Rochlin/FilmMagic) T.I. has said that the LGBT+ community is “bullying” rappers such as DaBaby after he delivered a homophobic rant during a Miami, Florida, concert. In a roiling speech that has cost him key brand deals, DaBaby told the Rolling Loud festival: “If you didn’t show up today with HIV, AIDS, any of them deadly sexually transmitted diseases that’ll make you die in two or three weeks, put your cellphone light up.” He then called for men who “ain’t sucking d**k in the parking lot” to raise...

Tom Daley, Amandine Buchard and Carl Hester are among the several out LGBT+ athletes to have won medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games. (Getty/Clive Rose/Franck FIFE/AFP/Julian Finney) If LGBT+ Olympic athletes were a country, they would be tied with Brazil and Switzerland on the leaderboard for the 2020 Tokyo games. There are at least 168 openly gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, queer and non-binary athletes participating at the Olympics this year, according to Outsports. This is a major step forward for LGBT+ representation at the worldwide games, and it’s three...

Troy Bailey has been sentenced to 25 to 50 years in prison for killing Michelle “Tamika” Washington – a trans woman and passionate LGBT+ advocate. (YouTube/CBS Philly) A Philadelphia man has been sentences to up to 50 years in prison for the murder of a transgender woman and passionate LGBT+ advocate in 2019. According to local news outlet 6 ABC, Bailey was found guilty of third-degree murder and related weapon offences in the murder of Michelle “Tamika” Washington. He was sentenced to 25 to 50 years in prison. NBC Philadelphia...

Olympic gold medalist Tom Daley told reporters that he hoped his win will inspire LGBT+ youth to realise "you can achieve anything". (YouTube/BBC Sport) An author has expertly explained why Tom Daley saying he’s proud to be gay at the Olympics is necessary, actually. Following Tom Daley’s groundbreaking victory in the men’s synchronised 10m platform dive during the Tokyo Olympics, the Team GB athlete said: “I am proud to say I am a gay man and an Olympic champion.” While many celebrated Daley’s win and his pride in being a...

A bouncer at the Nordic Bar allegedly threw two women to the ground for sharing a kiss. (Facebook) A nightclub owner in Malta has said he is investigating claims that bouncers brutally threw to the ground two women for sharing a kiss. Activists first raised concerns after a woman recalled her “horrendous experience” at the Nordic Bar in St Julian’s, Malta, on Facebook Monday (26 July). The victim, Celine Balzan Gera, described how she swung by the bar with a friend. Sitting down due to COVID-19 restrictions, “we shared a kiss and...

(L-R) Dylan Welch, Jesse Pawlowski and Billy Phillips. (Cherokee County Sheriff's Office A teenager, his boyfriend, his mother and her girlfriend were slain when a Grindr hook-up slipped into chaos when three men tried to steal a gun from him in Texas, police claimed. Jesse Pawlowski, 20, Billy Phillips, 37, and Dylan Welch, 21, have been charged with capital murder in the killings last week in New Summerfield, a small town of some 1,00 people southeast of Dallas, Cherokee County. But fear ripped through the small community when the bodies...

All abord 'Bussy Galore'. (MP Travel/Twitter/@MPT_Gaz) A British bus operator has put “Boaty McBoatface” to shame after it unveiled a new coach that we must learn to co-exist with – its name, reader, is “Bussy Galore”. Yes, really. No, we did not make this up. No, there is no way to escape the reality we are trapped in. And yes, there have been other bussy vehicles in the past. This is not an isolated incident. Made by MP Travel, which runs a fleet of vehicles across the northwest of England,...

Tom Daley has taken home his first-ever gold medal in men's synchronised diving 10m during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. (Instagram/@tomdaley) Tom Daley has won his first-ever Olympic gold medal alongside his men’s synchronised diving partner Matty Lee. Team Great Britain’s Daley and Lee won the gold with a score of 471.81 in the men’s synchronised 10 metres platform on Monday (26 July). Tokyo 2020 is Daley’s fourth time competing in the Olympics after first stepping into the Olympic arena in 2008. The Evening Standard reported the British pair were closely...

Psyche / PleasantlyTwstd. Slowly but surely, Twitch is becoming more diverse but it’s still heavily dominated by cis white men. Where exactly does that leave female streamers? It’s fair to say that Twitch – along with social media in general – can be toxic for women. Between body-shaming, stalking, unfair bans, alleged sexualisation, being demonetised and even cosmetics brands lacking diversity, the amount of harassment faced by women online is appalling. A recent survey found that 59 per cent of women hide their gender when playing games online to avoid...

Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. (Sega) To celebrate the Tokyo Olympics 2020, we’re taking a look at LGBT+ representation in sports video games. It’s a topic that’s difficult, largely because there is so little queer representation in the genre. Sports are too often the domain of straight white men and sadly sports video games follow suit. Heck, only recently did EA add female teams to their FIFA games and even then it’s only as country teams and not club teams. That does mean you can still play as the iconic Megan...

Le Gateau Chocolat performs at the GQ 30th anniversary party at SUSHISAMBA Covent Garden on 29 October 2018 in London, England. (Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images) Drag and theatre icon Le Gateau Chocolat shares the challenges and “magic” of the last year. Bearded, bewigged and standing at six-and-half feet, Le Gateau Chocolat is instantly recognisable. Although he’s based in Brighton, his real home is on the stage, be it the Royal Albert Hall, the Edinburgh Fringe or the Sydney Opera House, all venues that have witnessed his thrilling,...

A Drag Queen Story Time event. (Facebook/Drag Queen Storytime) The Alaska Department of Law has removed the state’s assistant attorney general over allegations he ran a secret social media account filled with anti-LGBT+, racist and antisemitic hate. According to an investigation by The Guardian newspaper, Matthias Cicotte allegedly mounted a Twitter account in a fake name to launch a volley of attacks against LGBT+ people, Black Lives Matter and left-wing movements. Since-deleted tweets posted by “J Reuben Clark” said that Black Lives Matter demonstrators should “all be in prison or worse” and that...

Author Philip Pullman. (Getty/ MJ Kim) His Dark Materials author Philip Pullman has made it very clear that  he is “anti-transphobia“, while also condemning online abuse of JK Rowling. This week, Rowling shared a death threat she had received on Twitter, before describing the “hundreds” more she has received. The discussion led to a pile-on by “gender critical feminists”, declaring that trans people and trans rights activists are collectively to blame for the anonymous comment. Although there was no proof that the horrific threat came from a so-called “trans activist”, the...

Celia Quansah, Tom Bosworth, Demi Stokes, Tom Daley. (Getty) We’re spoilt for choice at this year’s Olympics as the number of out LGBT+ athletes has more than doubled since the 2016 Summer games. The US is leading the way with 47 out athletes, including the phenomenal Megan Rapinoe, Sue Bird, Erica Sullivan and Kayla Miracle. They’re followed by Canada with a total of 33, while the Netherlands is third with 30. Team GB still has a strong showing though, with 13 out and proud British LGBT+ athletes travelling to Tokyo...