LGBTQ

LA has confirmed its first death of a resident due to monkeypox. (Getty) The US has reported its first confirmed monkeypox death. The Department of Public Health (DPH) along with the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed on 12 September that an LA resident’s death was due to monkeypox. It comes after Texas shared news of a person who had been diagnosed with monkeypox dying in August – however it’s not been confirmed if the virus caused the death. The LA resident, who has not been named, was...

Vera Drew as the protagonist of The People's Joker. (Vera Drew) An unofficial Joker parody with a trans twist has been removed from the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The People’s Joker, a crowdfunded indie film, was reportedly removed from the TIFF lineup due to “rights issues” – likely to stem from DC Comics and its parent media company Warner Bros. A spokesperson for the festival said: “The filmmaker has withdrawn this film due to rights issues. We apologise for any inconvenience.” The film, which calls itself the “illegal comic...

Protesters outside the first LGB Alliance conference. (In Pictures via Getty/ Mark Kerrison) LGB Alliance co-founder Bev Jackson has said the “consequence” of the work of Stonewall and Mermaids will be to “get rid of gay people”. Two LGB Alliance co-founders – Jackson and Kate Harris – gave evidence on the fourth day of the tribunal challenging their group’s charity status on Wednesday (14 September). The appeal against the Charity Commission’s decision to register LGB Alliance as a charity in April 2021 is being spearheaded by trans children’s charity Mermaids,...

Police secure serbian LGBT Info centre during the 'Litiya for salvation of Serbia' in Belgrade. (Getty) Politicians from across Europe have condemned the Serbian government over the effective ban of this year’s EuroPride. Serbian police announced a ban on the route of the march on Tuesday (13 September) after weeks of hostile back-and-forth between EuroPride organisers and the Serbian government. The decision to host EuroPride parade in Belgrade has been met with protests by anti-LGBTQ+ groups, including clergy from the Serbian Orthodox Church, and calls for violence against the queer...

EuroPride flags flutter during the opening ceremony of the EuroPride 2022 in Belgrade, on September 12, 2022. (Photo by OLIVER BUNIC / AFP) (Photo by OLIVER BUNIC/AFP via Getty Images) The EuroPride march route has been officially banned by Serbian police following mass anti-LGBTQ+ protests. The event, which takes place in a different European city each year, was due to take place in Belgrade on Saturday (17 September) as part of Serbia’s bid for membership to the European Union. But the event found itself under increasing scrutiny by religious and...

MP John Nicolson. (Getty) SNP MP John Nicolson slammed anti-trans lobby group LGB Alliance’s “obsession with genitals” as “deeply unhealthy” while giving evidence against its charity status. An appeal to overturn the Charity Commission’s April 2021 decision to register LGB Alliance as a charity is currently being considered by a tribunal. The legal fight is being spearheaded by trans children’s charity Mermaids, and is supported by LGBT+ Consortium, Gendered Intelligence, LGBT Foundation, TransActual and Good Law Project. On the third day of the tribunal, Nicolson – a gay man, MP...

Protesters outside the first LGB Alliance conference. (In Pictures via Getty/ Mark Kerrison) A lawyer representing anti-trans lobby group LGB Alliance has compared healthcare for trans people to a “transition or death” policy in Iran. The remarks were made on the second day of a tribunal challenging the group’s charitable status, spearheaded by trans youth charity Mermaids. The legal fight to overturn the Charity Commission’s April 2021 decision to register LGB Alliance as a charity is also supported by LGBT+ Consortium, Gendered Intelligence, LGBT Foundation, TransActual and Good Law Project....

President of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe. (Photo by Pradeep Dambarage/NurPhoto via Getty Images) The president of Sri Lanka has said his government won’t oppose a bill to decriminalise homosexuality – but added the bill must gain support before any laws change. On Sunday (11 September) president Ranil Wickremesinghe, who has held his role since July this year, said the government will not oppose a private member’s bill presented to parliament by MP Premnath C Dolawatte to decriminalise homosexuality. Same-sex relationships are currently illegal in Sri Lanka, and there are other...

A protester holds the trans flag and snaps in solidarity with other speakers, during a trans rights demonstration. (Stephen Zenner/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty) Trans people in Montana have been permanently banned from changing their birth certificates in yet another devastating blow to LGBTQ+ rights. Health officials in the state adopted a proposed rule change on Friday (9 September) which effectively blocks trans people from changing the gender marker on their birth certificate in any circumstance. The rule, which came into effect on Saturday (10 Saturday), overrides an earlier law signed...

People walk by the campus of Yeshiva University in New York City on August 30, 2022. (Spencer Platt/Getty) A religious university has been granted permission by the Supreme Court to temporarily ban an LGBTQ+ student group. Manhattan’s Yeshiva University was ordered by a state court in June to recognise an LGBTQ+ student group in a move that was celebrated by LGBTQ+ activists. Staff at the Jewish Orthodox university were less happy with the ruling – they immediately vowed to appeal and applied for an emergency stay. That was granted by...

Dr Demetre Daskalakis at a monkeypox briefing (L) and posing shirtless (R). (Getty/Instagram) Right-wing trolls are mocking a gay monkeypox doctor because he’s hot and has dared to wear a harness. Dr Demetre Daskalakis, one of the White House’s most senior figures appointed to respond to the monkeypox outbreak, has faced smears from right-wing media outlets and Twitter trolls because he wears harnesses and has posted shirtless pictures of himself on Instagram. Daskalakis has even been labelled a satanist – yes, really. In one article published by the Daily Caller, a...

Rob Anderson. (YouTube/Rob Anderson) Rob Anderson blew up on TikTok with his Gay Science series – now, he’s ready to dominate. So to speak. You might have come across Rob on TikTok, where he’s racked up more than two million followers with his “Gay Science” videos, his Oscars coverage, and – more recently – his comedy pop songs. As he prepares to hit the road, PinkNews caught up with Rob to talk sexual submission, blowing up on TikTok, and why queer people need comedy to get through hard times. You got your...

A Texas federal judge has ruled to allow the removal of PrEP from the healthcare plans of two companies. Judge Reed O’Connor ruled that the inclusion of the HIV treatment was in violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act on Wednesday (7 September) after companies Braidwood Management and Kelley Orthodontics brought the case to the US District Court. Represented by notorious anti-abortion lawyer Johnathan Mitchell, the companies filed the lawsuit claiming that PrEP’s coverage in the Affordable Healthcare Act (ACA) forced anti-LGBTQ+ religious companies to finance “homosexual behaviour.” They argued...

Ginger Gonzaga attends the world premiere of Marvel Studios' upcoming new series "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law" at El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. (Jesse Grant/Getty) A She-Hulk character has been confirmed as queer by actress Ginger Gonzaga and we’re absolutely here for it. Warning: spoilers ahead The Marvel star and comedian confirmed that paralegal and She-Hulk’s BFF Nikki Ramos, whom she plays, is queer in an interview with TVLine on Thursday (8 September). Rumours began circulating that the character might be queer after some pretty obvious evidence in episode four of...