LGBTQ

Kitty Scott-Claus in Celebrity Masterchef. (BBC) Drag Race UK sensation turned Celebrity MasterChef hopeful Kitty Scott-Claus thinks bigots attacking drag shows need to “have a day off”. Since finishing as a runner-up on season three, Kitty Scott-Claus has been booked and busy. She’s led her first-ever West End show – the ‘Dragatha Christie’ sensation Death Drop, and is now returning to screens as a contestant on Celebrity MasterChef. “When we got the call, I was like: ‘Oh, God, I didn’t see this for myself but we’re gonna give it a good old go,'” Kitty...

Jacob Elordi attends the 2022 Met Gala. (Getty/ Jamie McCarthy) Euphoria star Jacob Elordi has opened up about the homophobic bullying he endured when he began acting at the age of 12. Australian actor Elordi, who stars as Nate Jacobs in the hit HBO series Euphoria, said in an interview with GQ that at the time he began acting in plays, he was also on his school’s rugby team. He said: “From the moment I did a play I was called gay at school. But I had this abundance of...

Olivia Newton John and John Travolta in a scene from the film 'Grease', 1978. (Paramount/Getty Images) Tributes have poured in after the death of the incomparable Olivia Newton-John, aged 73. The iconic singer and actor passed away from cancer on Monday (8 August), her husband John Easterlig announced. Newton-John was diagnosed with cancer for a third time in 2019. She was first diagnosed in 1992, with the cancer returning in 2013, and she spent much of her later life advocating for medical cannabis. Easterling wrote: “Olivia has been a symbol...

Senator Lindsey Graham says 'states should decide the issue of marriage' (Kevin Dietsch/Getty) US Republican senator Lindsey Graham has said states should decide if same-sex marriage is legal. Amid discussions over legislation that would implement legal protections for same-sex married couples, Graham said he had been consistent in his view that “states should decide the issue of marriage” and not “nine people on the court” during CNN‘s State of the Union, according to The Epoch Times. The Respect for Marriage Act – which aims to repeal certain Clinton-era declarations that...

Queer Muslim exhibition at Queer Britain. (Emma Sheply/Queer Britain) A collection of queer Muslim artefacts at the UK’s first LGBTQ+ museum hopes to change the narrative. In July, Queer Britain opened in London with its inaugural show, We Are Queer Britain. It’s a powerful, expansive collection of art, activist and history from across the community, including artefacts from the world’s longest-running LGBTQ+ Muslim organisation, Imaan. The exhibition showcases three items: a rainbow khimar hijab, a south Asian camouflage shalwar khameez and a Palestinian keffiyeh. All three items were worn by members Imaan at London...

The Wickes float at Brighton Pride. (Twitter/ FlouncyMcGee) Hardware store Wickes has been praised by the queer community for its powerful float at Brighton Pride. A Wickes float joined the Brighton Pride parade on Saturday (6 August), featuring two huge signs – one which read, “No LGB without the T, we stand by our trans siblings now and forever”, and another which demanded: “Ban conversion therapy for all!” The straightforward message of trans inclusion was a far cry from the half-hearted rainbow washing seen from many companies during Pride season....

Christina Aguilera's headline set at Brighton Pride took aim at 'Don't Say Gay'. (Twitter) Christina Aguilera hit out at Florida’s hateful ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law during her headline Brighton Pride performance. Aguilera headlined Brighton Pride on Saturday (6 August), blessing fans with her greatest hits from the stage in Preston Park, including “Dirty”, “Genie in a Bottle”, “Express”, and the queer anthem “Beautiful”. While performing “Glam”, Aguilera was joined on stage by Drag Race UK star Bimini Bon Boulash. What an amazing few days. From going backstage at @theo2 to...

Christian fundamentalist Ken Ham, in front of his "life-size" ark. (Luke Sharrett /For The Washington Post via Getty) Fundamentalist Ken Ham is suing his insurance company after his life-size Noah’s Ark museum was hit by too much rain. Ham owns the Ark Encounter, a Noah’s Ark–themed creationist amusement park with a “life-size” ark, as well as the Creation Museum, which teaches visitors of all ages that humans and dinosaurs co-existed, that humans did not cause climate change, and that our planet is just 6,000 years old. Both attractions are located in Kentucky....

Top Ghanaian doctors are spreading anti-LGBTQ+ health information. (Hannah McKay - Pool/Getty Images) Doctors in Ghana promoted conversion therapy and dubbed homosexuality an “abnormality and a mental disorder” at a training workshop. openDemocracy found high ranking doctors spread dangerous misinformation about LGBTQ+ people in Ghana at a two-day training workshop, held in the city Accra. The workshop, purportedly on providing “treatment, care and support” for LGBTQ+ people, was aimed at nurses, psychologists, counsellors and midwives. It was organised by the National Coalition for Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values (known as...

Drag Race Down Under season two contestant Faúx Fúr says it was "tough" being eliminated in the first episode over an outfit design fault. (WOW/Stan) Drag Race Down Under queen Faúx Fúr “broke down” after being eliminated in the first episode of the Aussie spin-off’s second season.  RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under season two spoilers below. The self-professed loud queen from Sydney was the first queen to sashay away from the show after a brief, if not memorable, stint on the second season. But it was a single fault in her outfit...

Theo Germaine as Jordan in the slasher film They/Them. (Blumhouse/Peacock) The Politician’s Theo Germaine has said shooting They/Them was “challenging” because of their own experience with “conversion tactics”.  They/Them, the new slasher flick from Blumhouse, follows a group of LGBTQ+ teenagers as they arrive at an isolated conversion camp run by an eerily charming Owen Whistler (Kevin Bacon). At the centre of the story is Jordan (Germaine), a trans and non-binary camp-goer who immediately runs into trouble with gender-segregated dormitories. For Germaine, the script felt like a challenge – something they’re...

Monkeypox cases have spiralled in the US. (Mario Tama/Getty Images) The US federal government has declared monkeypox a public health emergency as the outbreak becomes the largest in the world. Health and human resources secretary Xavier Becerra issued the declaration Thursday (4 August) at a time when the US grapples with more than 6,600 cases. It comes as officials across the globe rush to raise the alarm over monkeypox. The World Health Organisation has already declared the breakout, which started in May, a global health emergency. “In light of all...

Marisela Castro's friend said the trans woman was "always so happy" and mourned her tragic death. (Human Rights Campaign) Marisela Castro, a trans woman who had a “bright and sunny” demeanour, was shot and killed just weeks shy of her birthday celebrations.  Castro was killed early Friday (29 July) when a man got out of a car she was in and shot her in the back as she walked down a street in the Northshore neighbourhood of east Houston, Texas, the Houston Chronicle reported.  The man, who has not yet been identified...

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson once told "influential" Hollywood figures to "f**k off" after they said playing a gay character would "ruin" his career. (Araya Doheny/WireImage) Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson had an absolutely iconic response when some “few influential folks” told him that playing a gay character would “ruin” his acting career.  The revelation came after former Out editor Jeffrey R Epstein spoke about his favourite cover stories in honour of the magazine’s 30th anniversary. This included an interview he did with Johnson in 2005 when the actor was promoting his crime-comedy film Be...