SEPTEMBER 19, 2019 |
NEWS | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | 9
ISSUE 304 | Qsaltlake.com
major mid-20th century works and had an apartment on the Upper West Side for more than 20 years. Baldwin spoke candidly about being a gay African-American man and made membership in both communities the cornerstone of his activism and writing.
to Delevingne, “One of the first things Harvey Weinstein ever said to me was, ‘You will never make it in this industry as a gay woman — get a beard.” Then he turned to quiz her as with whom she had slept. She alleges he tried to touch her in a way she calls “inappropriate.” and asked her to make out with another actress in front of him.
What to make of SNL
‘Time’ for Lil Nas X Lil Nas X, the just self-outed gay country rapper, has made the cover of Time magazine’s August 26 issue. He joins LGBTQ notables who have been click- and newsstand-bait for the failing magazine, including Pete and Chasten Buttigieg and Laverne Cox. Lil Nas X said he feared fans wouldn’t respond well to a Black queer artist. He said “the universe” pushed him out, coincidentally during Pride Month. “Seeing Pride flags everywhere and seeing couples holding hands — little stuff like that,” was his motivation to make a successful marketing move.
Could you hate him any more? Yes Harvey Weinstein has done enough to earn the general hatred coming his way but there’s one on good reason. Queer actress Cara Delevingne, currently with Orlando Bloom in a new Amazon series, was a model before acting in several films. Her looks, talent, and work led to meetings with Weinstein in 2016. According
The same day Saturday Night Live announced it hired a gay and Asian man named Bowen Yang as a cast member, it also announced hiring Shane Gillis, who has ridiculed minorities, including gay men and transgender people, on his podcasts. Gillis tried to scrub his podcast, Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast, from the internet, but clips surfaced and an outraged mob has been howling ever since. In a 2018 episode, Gillis imitated Asian people, used anti-Asian slurs, called white women the least funny group of people (gay men are the second least funny) and called transgender people “ladyboys.” SNL has yet to respond.
NYC moves to repeal conversion therapy ban In a bit of legal jujitsu, the New York City Council has started to repeal the city’s ban on conversion therapy. A federal lawsuit by the Alliance Defending Freedom could have greater implications for LGBTQ people if the ban isn’t lifted, according to city officials. Council Speaker Corey Johnson introduced the repeal in what he called “a painful decision.” The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a therapist in Brooklyn, saying it violated free speech between a therapist and client. The Alliance said it wasn’t “for” the therapy but thought the city’s law as too stringent as it related to therapeutic speech.
Something gay about ‘Downton Abbey’ movie
US ambassador to Germany to replace Bolton?
The new Downton Abbey movie has something for everyone and gay men are included. In the TV series, valet-turnedhead-butler, Burrows has a few episodes revealing his homosexuality and then trying to “cure” himself. The movie gives him the chance for a little romance and some polite groping. The feature film, which takes place in 1927 and revolves around a Royal Visit to the Abbey (How “gayer” does it have to get?) and Burrows gets a little vignette to explore some of his nature. According to Rob James-Collier, the actor playing Burrows, “You see Thomas discover a whole new world which also hammers home what it was like to be a gay man in those times.”
The US Ambassador to Germany, called the “highest-ranking gay person” in the current presidential administration, Richard Grenell, is being considered to replace, “You’re fired…you can’t fire me, I quit” former National Security Adviser John Bolton. Grenell and his partner have represented the US in Germany for about a year. Before that he was at the United Nations, served on the National Security Council in a previous administration, and was the national security adviser for several presidential campaigns. It was announced he would lead United States efforts to “decriminalize” homosexuality worldwide. Q
Transgender former Utah resident attacked in Oregon Lauren Jackson, a 29-year-old transgender woman, who recently left Utah to try her hand at life in Oregon, a state she hadn’t been to before, was brutally beaten after using a woman’s bathroom at an Oregon coast park near Newport. Jackson suffered several injuries to the face and skull, and was taken to Oregon Health and Science University in Portland for treatment. She said doctors there told her she will need reconstructive surgery, the Newport News Times reported. The assailant, Fred Joseph Costanza, 37, of Blackfoot, Idaho, struck 10 blows which shattered her jaw in multiple places and fractured her skull, according to police reports. “He kept saying, ‘Oh, you think you’re some kind of lady?’” Lauren said. “Suddenly, he punched my face. He grabbed my hair.” The police arrested Costan-
za two days after the attack, Aug. 26, and he’s been charged with second-degree assault, second-degree disorderly conduct, menacing, and harassment. The police said he has a criminal record and was drunk at the time of the attack. Jackson told The Oregonian she has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support she’s received since the attack. Members of Oregon’s LGBTQ community have reached out and welcomed her arrival. And friends of Jackson have set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for her medical expenses. While Costanza remains in the Lincoln County jail on $250,000 bail, Jackson is now staying at a short-term rental outside of Portland and looking for a permanent home, and said she will continue building the life she sees for herself around the the things she’s been given. Q
