The Pride Issue 34, Vol 2

01.26 – 02.01.2018ISSUE NUMBER 34, VOLUME 2

| JAN. 26 – FEB. 01 ‘18

LOS ANGELES

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SPECIAL EDITION: More Mature on the Westside • Fore more, see pages 10-13

OPTING OUT

L.A. LGBT Center Receives 25K in Funding from Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation

Photo: Thinkstock.

After announcing plans to build their new Senior campus by 2019, the L.A. LGBT Center received another grant to expand their transgender wellness services.

HEALTHCARE WORKERS CAN NOW REFUSE CARE TO LGBTQ+ PATIENTS MORE ON PAGE 2

The donation, in partnership with Macy’s, will go toward providing new services for Transgender patients.

MORE ON PAGE 2

⚫ NEWS

POLITICS

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LGBTQ+ RIGHTS

⚫ BY HENRY GIARDINA

In Trump’s America, the Hippocratic Oath Comes Under Threat

As the Trump Administration commits to giving healthcare workers a legal way to opt out of performing services for women and LGBTQ+ patients, the line between conscience and prejudice gets blurred.

On Thursday, January 18, two days after a new “Religious Freedom Day” was declared by the government, the Trump administration announced that religious rights protections would be increased for healthcare workers who decline to practice procedures that they are religiously opposed to, such as abortions and gender confirmation surgeries. Sensing the inherent conflict between this promise and the basis of the Hippocratic oath that all healthcare professionals are made to take to ensure a non-biased approach medicine, writers, activists, and medical professionals took to Twitter to protest the decision. “.@realDonaldTrump's proclamation for Religious Freedom Day specifically says that no American should have to obey the law if it conflicts with their religion. Ahistorical and dangerous,” wrote the American Atheists account.

A nurse based in Fishers, Indiana tweeted: “I didn’t become a nurse to pick and choose who I will provide care for. If you have a true servants heart it shouldn’t matter if the patient is black, white, gay, straight, Muslim, Atheist, transgendered and so on. #treatallpatients.”

Meanwhile, Republicans like Virginia Senator

Richard Black and Texas Congressman Michael McCaul referenced Jefferson’s 1786 Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom as a historical, and thus legitimate, precedent for Trump’s decision.

Like the infamous Masterpiece Cake Shop decision before it, in which a religious business owner refused to make a gay couple a wedding cake on religious grounds, the controversial choice to pit religious integrity against occupational neutrality creates a confusing, extremely divisive counter to the idea that human rights and religious rights are separate, unequal entities. By placing them together on the same plane, the Trump administration has begun to treat religious doctors, nurses, and healthcare professionals as a protected class.

Healthcare workers and medical establishments in general are also, under the new decision, being treated more like private businesses, which are by law entitled to bias, rather than public service institutions.

But does the choice to tie church, state, and hospital together go against the very basis of the medical profession?

The first statute of the original Hippocratic oath is: “To place the good of the patient at the center of my professional practice and, when the gravity of the situation demands, above my own self interest.” The problem is that a term like ‘good’, or even the phrase “self interest,” becomes increasingly subjective and vulnerable to re-definition. If the idea of bias belongs to everyone, it’s possible that everyone can claim themselves to be part of a protected class. But how can you be protected against the promise you yourself made to protect and serve without bias?

The Hippocratic oath wasn’t always seen as a mandatory part of the job for healthcare workers.

However, in recent years, it’s become more common, and more crucial, for students to enter the

Trump’s latest decision privileges religious rights by undermining the hippocratic oath.

profession by guaranteeing non-biased treatment to patients from all walks of life. According to an article in Georgetown University’s Journal of Health Sciences, in 2012, “100 percent of medical school graduates in the United States swear to some variation of the Hippocratic Oath (as opposed to just 24 percent in 1928.)”

The attitude toward religious freedom protection for healthcare workers has yo-yoed back and forth since 1973’s Roe v Wade victory, with Republican-led governments usually favoring religious protections and Democrat-led administrations scaling back those same protections.

The “Church Amendments” were introduced in the 1970s, at the start of Roe v. Wade, to allow medical practitioners to ‘opt out’ of performing abortions if it conflicted with their religious be-

Photo: Thinkstock.

liefs. Since that time, gender confirmation surgeries have been added to the list of procedures that healthcare workers can choose not to perform due to religious conflict. In 1996, a new act, titled Public Health Service Act 245, underwrote these protections by stipulating that the federal government would not fund hospitals or practices that “discriminated” against workers who refused to perform abortions.

The use of the word ‘discrimination’ as it applies to, in this case, the original discriminating party, is interesting in light of Trump’s recent decisions regarding transgender individuals in the military and healthcare in general.As the question of what makes a protected class grows murkier, Americans find themselves having to choose between personal morality and collective democracy.

⚫ BY HENRY GIARDINA

Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation donates $25k to L.A. LGBT Center The donation, in partnership with Macy’s, will go toward providing new services for Transgender patients.

Late last year, the Los Angeles LGBT Center announced plans to build a new low-in-

come campus for seniors, funded in part by the Anita May Rosenstein Foundation. This year, thanks to a new grant of $25,000 from the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, transgender patients will now be able to enjoy a host of new, free services at the Trans*Lounge, the Center’s dedicated space for transgender wellness, protection, and services.

Since 1991, ETAF has been committed to providing affordable services to individuals living with HIV/AIDS. In recent years, the

foundation has diversified its message to include other at-risk individuals within the LGBTQ+ community. With the Trump administration’s new decision to expand protections for healthcare workers who are religiously opposed to performing procedures like abortions and gender confirmation surgeries, this new grant is more necessary than ever for transgender members of L.A.’s LGBTQ+ community hoping to receive services and support in a non-judg-

mental, non-biased facility.

For many members of L.A.’s queer community, a trip to the doctor for even just a routine check-up can be cause for trepidation. With the LGBT center’s latest commitment to providing a trans-centric space for transgender and gender non-conforming individuals to receive service and treatment, L.A. continues to establish itself as a sanctuary for LGBTQ+ individuals living in Trump’s America.

01.26 – 02.01.2018

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TAKE THE LEAD

Take an active role in your health.

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8/29/17 10:53 AM

⚫ NEWS

CRIME

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REPORTING ON ALL COMMUNITIES

⚫ BY CONNOR DUFFEY

GLAAD Calls on Media to Report Transgender Murders After the violent death of Christa Leigh Steele-Knudslien, GLAAD is holding the media to a higher standard when it comes to reporting trans violence.

GLAAD, the media monitoring organization that advocates for proper treatment and representation for LGBTQ+ people in media, is now calling upon the media for increased and more accurate coverage of violence against transgender people, especially women of color.

After the death of Christa Leigh Steele-Knudslien, the first transgender casualty of 2018 and a victim of domestic abuse, GLAAD released a statement on their website elucidating both their mission and expectations for the media’s coverage of transgender murders: “[GLAAD is calling on the media to] report on the brutal violence perpetrated against transgender people, particularly transgender women of color. With violence against transgender people at an all-time high and rising, national media coverage is severely lacking.”

The statement continues: “The media must do a better job of reporting these

“[GLAAD is calling on the media to] report on the brutal violence perpetrated against transgender people, particularly transgender women of color. With violence against transgender people at an all-time high and rising, national media coverage is severely lacking.” murders and bringing needed attention to a community under vicious and violent attack.

In order for people to be aware of the horrific violence affecting the community, the public needs to know it is happening.

The media has a responsibility to communicate about the deadly realities faced by transgender people.”

In addition to the necessity of increased reporting of violence against transgender people, GLAAD is also making clear that media outlets must respect the victims by using proper pronouns and names: “Respect and use the lived identity, name, and pronoun of the victim. Report on each victim with dignity and respect, portraying them as a person, not just a statistic.

Disregarding the victim’s gender identity and misgendering them in news reports adds further insult to injury, compounding the tragedy by invalidating who the victims were.”

For guidelines on properly and respectfully reporting on transgender people, GLAAD offers their guides entitled “GLAAD’s Doubly Victimized: Reporting on Transgender Victims of Crime” as well as “GLAAD’s Media Reference Guide.” GLAAD also directs readers to contact them if they see a news story “which misgenders a transgender victim and/or publishes details about their personal life irrelevant to their murder,” at the email address transgender@glaad.org.

GLAAD reported that in 2017, 26 transgender people were killed in the United States and nearly all of the victims were transgender women of color. The organization cites that this due in part to transgender women living “at the dangerous intersections of transphobia, racism, sexism, and criminalization which often lead to high rates of poverty, unemployment, and homelessness.”

So far, GLAAD has posted the names of two known transgender women who have been murdered in 2018; Christa Leigh Steele-Knudslien, 42, who was killed on January 5 in North Adams, Massachusetts and Viccky Gutierrez, who was killed on January 10 in Los Angeles, California.

To learn more about individual transgender victims of violence, more information can be found at https://mic.com/unerased.

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Chelsea Manning Prepares for Potential Senate Run

After spending seven years in prison for releasing classified information to WikiLeaks about the U.S. Army during her experience as an intelligence analyst, Chelsea Manning is running for Senate. Manning’s announcement via Twitter last week that she will run for U.S. Senate in this year’s Maryland Democratic Primary was met with cheer and enthusiasm from many progressives.

Her run for office will continue the recent success of seeing more trans people on ballots.

Even though she is viewed by some as a whistleblower, to others, most of whom are conservative and transphobic, she is seen as a traitor. In light of her recent run for office, Manning is receiving a slew of hate after her announcement on her campaign for U.S. Senate in regards to her gender identity and past involvement with WikiLeaks.

In 2013, the same year Manning came out as a transgender, she was sentenced to 35 years in prison for espionage, which according to the New York Times was the longest sentence in U.S. history for someone with a leak conviction. President Barack Obama commuted Manning January of last year after her multiple attempts at suicide facing the dangers of life in a men’s military jail as a transwoman. President Obama, whose administration who had cracked down on government

leaks, stated in a press conference that he found the sentence to be “very disproportionate relative to what other leakers had received.”

Conservatives have also brought up Manning’s inexperience in politics despite her years of service in the Army, which is a lot more experience than the current president holds. Manning opposers have also continued to misgender her in their hate speech and attacks on her campaign.

One of the people against Manning’s run for office is James Wood, a conservative actor who recently campaigned against the film “Call Me by Your Name” because he believed the film was ruining America. Wood tried to make an argument against Manning’s past sentence for espionage while misgendering her as a transphobic attack.

According to journalist and longtime Chelsea Manning supporter, Glenn Greenwald, the footage and documents Manning released to capture the gunning down of innocents by U.S. troops, exposed war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan and much more in aid of ending corruption and war.

Manning expressed in her campaign video that “We need to stop expecting that out systems will somehow fix themselves.” Manning continued that as a leader she is “willing to fight” against the “trying times, times of fear, of suppression, hate.”

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⚫ NEWS

NATIONAL

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OUT OF CHURCH, OUT OF LUCK?

⚫ BY ANNETTE SEMERDJIAN

Conservative State Rep. Pushes for Non-Church Weddings to Be Downgraded to Domestic Unions

State Rep. T.J. Berry (R-Kearney) of Missouri wants to delegitimize the marriages of couples wed outside of a church, re-labeling them “domestic unions.”

If passed, the bill will redefine marriage by replacing marriage licenses with domestic union contracts and protect churches and businesses from the penalties of denying same-sex couples, according to Missourinet.

Although the bill would affect all individuals who did not perform a wedding ceremony in a church, it will hit LGBTQ+ couples in the area the hardest, since clergymen would be able to deny them the right to marriage without consequences.

The bill, therefore, will counter the recent federal law of marriage equality and create a loophole to reinstate former oppressive laws against the marriage of gay and lesbian couples. Ultimately, if the law passes, power

NEWS LAW

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will be put into religious organizations and churches to freely discriminate and delegitimize the marriage and coupling of LGBTQ+ people.

The bill has failed twice thus far, but Rep. Berry is persistent. To dismiss his persistence would be a mistake, according to Human Rights Campaign Legal Director Sarah Warbelow. “Bills that in prior years saw no movement or people were dismissive of them need to be taken even more seriously under an administration that’s made clear they don’t support the view that LGBTQ people are covered under current federal laws,” Warbelow told INTO. The current political climate has proven that what people and experts have dismissed, did not make them come to fruition. Last year, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam signed a law that "be given their natural and

ordinary meaning, without forced or subtle construction that would limit or extend the meaning of the language." The law was dubbed the “LGBT erasure” bill, according to WGN News. It requires words like “mother” and “father” to be only designated to “biological distinctions between men and women.”

It is important that LGBTQ+ groups in the state continue to fight against discriminatory legislation as they have in the past, defeating nine bills targeting LGBTQ people, according to INTO. Missouri, though not a deep red state, tends to swing conservative on many issues. However, with the Democratic MO Senator Tracy McCreery pushing to outlaw gay conversation therapy in the state, Missouri may gain a more liberal, queer-friendly reputation in coming months.

MAKING PROGRESS

⚫ BY SAMUEL BRASLOW

Missouri Legislator Wants to Ban Conversion Therapy

A Democrat in the Missouri House of Representatives wants their state to outlaw conversion therapy of LGBTQ youth. Also known as “reparative therapy”, it is the pseudoscientific and often traumatizing practice of attempting to change the gender identity or sexual orientation of an individual. This will mark the first time such a bill has been debated in the state.

House Rep. Tracy McCreery introduced House Bill 2141, which would ban mental health professional from administering conversion therapy to minors. Any infraction would expose the health care provider to legal damages and the potential loss of their license.

In an interview with Into, McCreery, who served as public policy director for the local LGBTQ advocacy group PROMO prior to her work as a politician, described the stakes as “life or death.”

“It’s our responsibility to make sure we are protecting our children from things that could be harmful, and conversion therapy is harmful to youth,” she said. “There’s not one medical organization out there which considers this healthy or successful.”

The truth is, even including the word “therapy” mischaracterizes the practice. Professional organizations such as the American Psychological Association (APA) and American Medical Association (AMA) condemn any attempt at altering gender identity or sexual orientation, labeling the practice both harmful and ineffective.

The APA released a position statement against reparative therapy in 2000, writing, “The potential risks of reparative therapy are great, including depression, anxiety and self-destructive behavior, since therapist alignment with societal prejudices against homosexuality may reinforce self hatred already

experienced by the patient.”

“Therefore, the American Psychiatric Association opposes any psychiatric treatment, such as reparative or conversion therapy,” the statement concluded.

Children who are rejected by their families for their sexuality—like those sent to conversion therapists—are at a significantly higher risk for depression and suicide. A 2009 study from the Family Acceptance Project at San Francisco State University found them 5.9 times likelier to report high levels of depression and 8.4 times likelier to attempt suicide.

As it stands now, conversion therapy is illegal in nine states and the District of Columbia.

Even as the bill winds its way through the legislative process, its sponsor is “under no illusion” about its odds. Missouri is a staunchly Republican state, with the GOP maintaining a supermajority in both houses of the General Assembly.

Photo: Thinkstock.

Missouri House Rep.Tracy McCreery seeks to outlaw gay conversion therapy in the state.

“Sometimes just by filing legislation, it can start really important conversations,” says McCreery. “What I’m looking forward to – as a middle-aged, straight ally in this movement – is having meaningful conversations with people I work with to educate them on this issue.”

01.26 – 02.01.2018

LOS ANGELES

SPECIAL ISSUE: More Mature on the Westside p. 10-13

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01.26 – 02.01.2018

LOS ANGELES

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ACTIVISM HISTORY

⚫ BY HENRY GIARDINA

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GAY L.A.

What Can We Learn from Our Gay Elders?

How much do we owe to our queer seniors? Pretty much everything.

Photo: Wikipedia.

Stonewall Inn was only one of many gay bars raided by Vice Squads across the country before the 1980s.

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Across the country, from Stonewall to the Black Cat to Compton’s Cafeteria, the queer youth of the 1950s, 60s and 70s worked hard to fight against oppression and intolerance. Today, one full year into the Trump Administration, we’re looking back at how the protests and cultural movements of the past have shaped L.A.’s current queer culture.

Lesson One: Persist They raid one place, we find another. In the early days of gay bars in L.A., raids were a not-infrequent problem for patrons who just wanted Photo: Wikipedia. to grab a drink and flirt at will. Lesbian bars like L.A. newsletter “The Lesbian Tide” helped queer women ‘50s favorite The Party Pad on Vermont Ave. be- organize during the 1970s. came targets for L.A.’s Vice Squad. One cop, after seeing the girl-on-girl vibe inside the bar, labeled it ‘injurious to public morals’ and arranged a raid. and passivity were not options.

Lesson Three: Become Ubiquitous Other lesbian bars like Anna’s in Silverlake, where, We are legion. From the earliest days of Holaccording to a patron, “all of us young people, nobody over 23 or 24, [danced] together,” met lywood, when the film industry was just a group the same fate. The Vice Squad kept coming after of people with clunky box cameras and a couple gay bars on the flimsiest pretenses, often claiming of horses, queer actors, directors, producers, and that lesbian patrons were prostitutes in order to DPs have been churning out cinematic masterbook them en masse. In gay male bars, the Vice pieces. From the 1910s to the 1920s, Hollywood Squad felt free to get physically violent. However, was full of gay leading men who created a new, L.A.’s queer culture persisted. We may have lost edgier brand of romantic masculinity in the mova ton of great gay bars along the way (RIP, “The ies. Starting with J. Warren Kerrigan, who lived Waldorf”) but more importantly, we’ve put down with his mother (and his boyfriend) leading up to roots here and re-designed the city in our own William Haines, queer men were huge box office image, from Silver Lake to West Hollywood and draws who allowed female (and male) viewers to indulge in a fantasy of liberated sexual desire. beyond.

Early Hollywood was also full of queer directors, Lesson Two: Organize Bodies on the street. Thanks to the early ef- like William Desmond Taylor and Dorothy Arzner, forts of Christopher Street West in the 1970s, who made films that actively fought against the male gaze to portray powerful L.A. developed a proud protest actors like Katherine Hepburn (in culture. From the Cooper’s DoArzner’s 1933 film “Christopher nuts riot in 1959, where a young Strong”) in a feminist light. Later John Rechy witnessed trans, gay, on, directors like George Cukor and lesbian patrons being haand screenwriters like Gore Vidal rassed for no reason, to the Black would continue to create comCat protests against police bruplex, fascinating queer stories tality in 1967, we’ve had plenty onscreen and selling them to the of examples of how to fight the public at large. powers that be and protect our Lesson Four: Don’t Forindividual liberties. In 1942, with get to Have Fun WWII underway and women Dance, dance, dance, hontaking over the workforce in ey. From raids to revolts to large numbers, L.A.’s then-mayor Photo: Wikipedia. straight-out violent arrests, L.A.’s Fletcher Bowron tried to create a LGBTQ+ elders waded through regulation to prevent female City Early Hollywood star J. Warren a ton of trauma to help us get Hall workers from wearing pants Kerrigan was one of L.A.’s first to where we are today. But they due to his distaste for “masculine queer leading men. didn’t do it without taking a bit of women.” During this time, women could even be arrested for looking too mascu- time off to enjoy the culture they were creating. line, under the charge of “impersonating” a man. Descriptions of 50s-70s era gay bars in L.A. are Much later on, when the AIDS crisis broke out, snippets of paradise lost, when queers from all L.A.’s LGBTQ+ population took to the streets to over would convene to dine, dance, and enjoy the let the laissez-faire government know that silence safety and love of each others’ company.

01.26 – 02.01.2018 ART

COMMUNITY

` ⚫ BY HENRY GIARDINA

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LOS ANGELES

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A HEartY PRESENCE

ALAC Arrives in Santa Monica for Ninth Year

If you happen to recall Bette Porter’s passionate defense of L.A.’s place in the art world on “The L Word,” you’re probably already of the opinion that Los Angeles, as far as fine art is concerned, tends to get a bad rap. Despite the staggering number of small galleries and respected museums around town, the outdated, bizarre sense of L.A.-as-vapid-strip-mall still persists in the minds of outsiders and inhabitants alike. But why? Has no one been to the L.A. County Museum? Seen an experimental film at The Hammer?

Taken the shuttle ride from the Getty parking lot to the palatial Getty Museum?

If not, this weekend is your chance to start

re-thinking L.A.’s place in the art world as Art Los Angeles Contemporary, currently in its 9th year, rolls into town, by way of the Barker Hanger in Santa Monica.

The art fair is a chance for collectors to catch one-of-a-kind pieces early in the year, as well as for curators and all art-conscious individuals to get a sense of what kind of new work is circulating around. Think of it as the Sundance-style, beginning of the year reset button for the art world.

“As the international art community looks towards Los Angeles as a new global epicenter, it is essential to have an event that draws upon a comprehensive notion of the city,” said Tim

Fleming, founder and director of Art Los Angeles Contemporary, in a press release. “ALAC is a product of Los Angeles’ unique cultural community composed of an incredibly diverse array of artists, galleries, curators, institutions, collectors and enthusiasts.”

This year, with contributions from L.A.’s Ghebaly Gallery, David Kordansky Gallery, and Club

Pro, the fair is poised to bring a great home game.

If you’re planning on just wandering around, start with L.A.’s own Anat Egbi Gallery, featuring works by local artists. If you’re interested in attending an event, check out Jesse Fleming’s “Jane the Baptist,” which uses footage of L.A. car washes to create a “sci-fi-techno ecstatic voyage” before your eyes.

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⚫ 12

COMMUNITY OBITUARY

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01.26 – 02.01.2018

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IN MEMORIAM

Remembering Dolores O’Riordan, the Woman Who Gave Us So Many Queer Anthems

The Cranberries singer passed away this January, leaving behind an undying legacy.

The tragic and too-soon death of 46-year-old The Cranberries frontwoman Dolores O’Riordan has caused a barrage of the usual thinkpieces, homages and ‘best-of’ lists among the world of music journalism. But what so few outlets have felt inclined to address is O’Riordan’s lone presence in the early ‘90s as a woman with a “queer” aesthetic. Unlike the more overt lesbian aesthetic of fellow Irish singer Sinead O’Connor (“shock me, shock me, shock me with that deviant behavior,”) the subtlety of O’Riordan’s, “alt-rock” look offered the ambiguity that many queer listeners needed to see in the public eye as a mirror of themselves that was missing in the mainstream.

Often praised for the non-specificity of gender name-checking in her lyrics, O’Riordan wrote

most of the sad romances depicted in the songs of The Cranberries in the second person: For a “you” as opposed to the usual “he” or “she.”

What’s more, O’Riordan attracted a solid lesbian following of fans from the outset of the band’s career:Their shows with gay boy-attracting Suede in San Francisco being one such example. It was at a show in the early days of their touring– at The Underworld in London – that O’Riordan first noticed this sect of her fanbase. As she commented to music magazine Hot Press in 1994, “...a lesbian group came in to see us play after some meeting they’d had.And they just stood there bawling their eyes out, calling my name, saying, ‘Please touch me!’ as if I was some kind of savior! And I couldn’t handle it all! I was saying to the band, ‘What’s wrong with them?’ But then I realized it was the way I look or, more so, the nature of the songs, which deal with intimacy and anger and emotions that, to me, are about men, but for them could just as much be about women. It’s much the same thing, isn’t it?”

And just like that, O’Riordan became one of

the first early advocates of the same-sex/love is love mentality that reigns today. Long before there were female icons in the public eye willing to come forward and announce their sexual identity, there was O’Riordan, vehement about her aesthetic in the face of those tongue-wagging O’Connor comparisons, and compassionate rather than maligning toward this group of worshippers.

In a 2007 interview with Chicago Pride in support of her first solo album, “Are You Listening?,” O’Riordan stated, “People should be able to be able to do whatever they want with their lives. A person’s sexual preference is their own business.

I love the gay community. I mean, some of the greatest geniuses — people like Freddie Mercury, for example — have been gay. It annoys me that anyone would be judgmental of someone because of their sexual preference.”

That the theme of invisibility and not being seen or heard punctuates most of both The Cranberries’ and O’Riordan’s solo work is also a factor when taking into account her devoted queer following. As the LGBTQ+ community has

Photo: Wikipedia.

Dolores O’Riordan passed away on January 15, at the age of 46.

long suffered the ostracization and subsequent trauma of not having their voice accounted for, so too, did O’Riordan, a survivor of sexual abuse and molestation, as well as a longtime sufferer of mental illness in the form of bipolar disorder.

Her spirit, nonetheless, triumphed in the melancholy opuses that her reverent fans will especially cherish now more than ever. Rest in peace, sweet, enigmatic Irish songbird and unofficial talisman of the queer community.

01.26 – 02.01.2018 COMMUNITY 2018

` ⚫ BY GUY CAMILLERI

>

LOS ANGELES

THE YEAR AHEAD

ACTING: Never Too Old to Start

Are you feeling a need to take an acting class because you want to express yourself? Do you imagine that participating in an acting class may increase your confidence level in your personal and professional relationships?

Are you procrastinating because younger, and sometimes even older people tell you that you are in fact too old to try something new like acting? Well, guess what, you are not alone in feeling that way, but here's the rub; acting is the very thing we have been doing since the day we were born!

If you are one of the lucky ones to be basking in the 55+ age group and are flirting with something new to explore, then the art of acting, writing, and directing may be perfect for you. I say this with confidence as an acting teacher whose classes are packed with actors, writers, and directors in all age groups and from all walks of life.

And, if “acting is reacting to a given set of circumstances,” then you are way ahead of the game because you have an abundance of experiences to draw upon, react from and relate to at this stage in your life.

As Declan Donnellan states in his book, “The Actor and the Target:” “The first theatrical performance a baby enjoys is when its mother acts out appearing and disappearing behind a pillow. ‘Now you see me; now you don’t!”

I love this quote because it captures the essence of what acting, writing and directing are all about; play. That’s why they are called “plays” and screen-“plays”! And the older we get, hopefully, the wiser we become, and the more sensible we become, the fewer games we are willing to engage in unless they are in the spirit of play.

As an actor, acting coach, and poet, I assure you that your life experience will help expedite the process to ‘experience the intimacy of an authentic moment’ whether it be expressed through acting, writing, directing, improvisation, or game playing rooted in purpose.

But then again, you may find that the daily dose of acting you get as a parent, grandparent, relative, husband, wife, lover, a friend, employer, employee, or merely having to interact with people on a regular basis is all the 'acting and game playing' you

Photos: Courtesy Guy Camilleri.

Ahead of the game drawing on an abundance of life experience, Bill Jackson works on material in Guy’s acting class.

need.

However, if your inner voice is getting louder along with family and friends who continue to encourage you to take an acting class, or you just want to try something new, than by all means, go for it.

And whether you take my class or go elsewhere, please know that your point of view is significant. In my classes at the Electric Lodge in Venice, I work closely with each person to ensure their unique voice will be heard!

Guy Camilleri is a Venice-based actor, acting coach, and poet. He teaches regular classes on Monday and Wednesday evenings at the Electric Lodge, in Venice. His private coaching specializes in audition preparation, self-taped auditions, original reels, and career consultation. To audit, enroll in a class, or book a coaching session, go to www.guycamilleri.com.

Follow Guy on Instagram @guycamilleri and Facebook.

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01.26 – 02.01.2018

LOS ANGELES

14

CULTURE EVENTS

` ⚫ BY HENRY GIARDINA

>

A LIVING LEGACY

James Baldwin Comes to Life On Stage and Screen The legendary author is the subject of a talk at the Skirball Center.

Photo: Wikipedia.

Author James Baldwin’s impact grows greater with each year.

Before his death in 1987, James Baldwin committed his life to crushing stale, harmful notions about race, queerness, and the American Dream. After his death in 1987, he continues to do this by extension, as writers, singers, poets and documentarians continue to find ways to use his works to new purpose. Just a few weeks ago, to mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day, PBS aired last year’s talked-about documentary “I Am Not Your Negro,” based on an unfinished text of Baldwin’s that was begun as a letter to Dr. King. Late last year, Baldwin’s photo-essay book “Nothing Personal,” which he wrote in collabora-

tion with photographer Richard Avedon, was re-released by Taschen with a new preface by Hilton Als. A few weeks from now, “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett will appear at the Skirball Center in Beverly Glen to discuss Baldwin’s impact with L.A. poet laureate Robin Coste Lewis and activist Alfre Woodard in “Celebrating James Baldwin: Here and Now.” It’s no surprise that in today’s climate, when discussions about police violence against people of color and political attacks on LGBTQ+ rights are at the forefront of the American civil rights battle, Baldwin’s work offers a lot of hope and succor to activists wearily trying to break down the same stubborn barriers as Baldwin was years before.

When Baldwin and Avedon first released “Nothing Personal” in 1964, it was intended to open the eyes of Americans who were unable or unwilling to come to grips with the

actual nature of their country as it stood, in stark opposition to its own ideals.

“Avedon’s subjects range from civil rights icons, to intellectuals, politicians, pop singers, patients in a mental institution, and ordinary Americans, all carefully juxtaposed, cropped, and tightly sequenced,” a press release for the book’s reissue states. “Here, the American Nazi Party contends with poet Allen Ginsberg, and a weary General Eisenhower gives way to the sway of Malcolm X.” It’s no surprise that this clash of personalities sounds an awful lot like our own, hyper-divided nation in the wake of the Trump presidency. And it’s no wonder that Americans continue, and will continue, to look to Baldwin for relief, and possible answers, when facing the question of how to fix an impossibly cracked, barely existent American cultural identity.

` ⚫ BY JENNIFER EDEN

Affordable Massage Spa Welcome Addition to the City Nestled in bustling Koreatown is an urban oasis of tranquility that offers extensive spa services at surprisingly affordable prices.

Euro Massage opened six months ago and has since attracted a steady stream of satisfied clientele, all escaping the hustle and bustle of modern day life for an hour, or maybe two.

Stepping inside Euro Massage you are immediately taken to a world away from the everyday, with gentle music, calming aromatherapy oils, and a comfy welcome lounge setting the scene for what’s to come.

Owner Bo Lorentzen created the new center both out of necessity and demand.

“We found it very hard to find consistent quality massage experiences around this area,” Lorentzen explained. “There are a lot of questionable massage operations…we are basically focusing strictly on a quality massage at a reasonable price point, without the extra fluff of adding spa experiences etc.” Quite simply, you get a $150 spa service for $60, and it’s well worth it.

“Come on in for a great massage without spending too much!” he added.

Lorentzen’s affordable options such as a 60 minute Deep Tissue, Swedish or Thai massage for $60, doesn’t mean that you have to forgo luxury. Each personalized private room is beautifully appointed, and has calming lighting and relaxing music to ensure total relaxation.

The Hot Stone Massage is a star on the Euro Massage menu, and is a simple $20 addition to the 60-minute services; essential oils can also be added. They have shower facilities too, should you need them.

Targeting stressed-out female executives and moms, the recent inclusion of the Lunar Cycle massage, which includes a soothing herbal tea as you arrive, and flaxseed pillows that are infused with lavender to promote deep relaxation, has been drawing regular attendance by much-calmer-now female clients on a mission to ease their pace of life.

Euro Massage’s experienced and professional team ensures that every experience is well worth the visit, and they cater to everyone.

“We are located down the street from Larchmont Boulevard, so easy to get to from almost anywhere in the area,” Lorentzen said.

Many customers make a stop at Euro Massage on their way home from work – it sure beats sitting in traffic!

“We offer everything from sports massage, relaxing and proper techniques like Deep Tissue to Maternity massage knows as ‘prenatal massage’,” Lorentzen said, so whether you live next door, or are passing through, you’ll be sure to receive a great treatment.

In fact, massage therapy is listed by many leading health organizations as both preventative and treatment-based in its approach.

According to a recent article, researchers at the University of Auckland have found that those who suffered from debilitating headaches reported fewer migraines and more restful sleep after receiving massage therapy for several weeks.

Scientific evidence also indicates that massage therapy helps reduce inflammation, and that a massage can banish mood swings, bloat-

ing, headaches, weight gain, and other PMS symptoms, according to a study by the Touch Research Institute and University of Miami Medical School.

So what are you waiting for! Give Euro Massage a try at: 4619 Beverly Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA, 90004 Ph: 323.426.5730 10 a.m. – 6 p.m M-Th., 10 a.m. – 8 p.m Friday and 10 a.m – 8 p.m Weekends.

Euromassage.com

Photos: Euro Massage.

TOP – All rooms are well-appointed to enable full relaxation.

ABOVE – Added touches transform your massage into a complete experience.

01.26 – 02.01.2018 CULTURE BOOKS

` ⚫ BY GENNA RIVIECCIO

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LOS ANGELES

⚫ 15

A MEMOIR TO REMEMBER

Rose McGowan’s Memoir Will Take On Misogyny, Rape Culture

The actor and activist behind #RoseArmy has been calling out misogyny and homophobia in the entertainment community for years.

No longer protective of the puppeteers that have literally and figuratively directed her from the time she was born – from the Italian cult she grew up in to auteur and former boyfriend Robert Rodriguez – Rose McGowan is at last unleashing all the rage, sadness and oppression that’s been building up within her for her entire life into “Brave”, a 272-page memoir designed to give her readers hope and empowerment for shattering the too long-held authority of the patriarchy, in the movie industry and every other facet of America. As someone who drank from the Hollywood Kool-Aid for such a significant amount of time, McGowan felt she had no other choice but to sip on it or vomit.And now, she has no qualms about being more candid than ever in this searing account of her journey from, as she puts it,“one cult to another.”

Though many know McGowan for her roles in

“Scream” as Tatum Riley, “Jawbreaker” as Courtney Shayne and, of course, “Charmed” as Paige Matthews, the public has been getting to know a very different side of her non-consensual “pinup bad girl” persona in the wake of the #MeToo movement. Considering that her childhood and adolescence were punctuated by examples that didn’t exactly help to promote feminism (e.g. helping to lure new followers into the Children of God cult her parents were apart of with various flirtatious entrapments,) it’s understandable that it took McGowan a very long time to pummel through the walls of the prison she felt compelled to endure.

With a father that proved to be the first male figure in her life that would turn out to be psychologically abusive, McGowan was also a lamb led to the slaughter as a result of her mother’s constant need to attach to malignant men. It was thus that she became a runaway by the age of thirteen, eventually finding herself in Los Angeles at fifteen, where the first of many predatory males with money would aid in offering to brighten her star. This pattern of becoming the girlfriend of someone in power would persist for the majority of her career, one of the peak examples being her relationship with Robert Rodriguez, who she says she got close enough with to feel comfortable confessing the tale of her rape in 1997 by Harvey Weinstein, a frequent collab-

orator on projects with Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino. It was when Rodriguez wrote her story off and ultimately used it for manipulative purposes that McGowan’s eyes really started to open. But by then, she had already starred in the Grindhouse double feature “Planet Terror” and “Death Proof.” And as Vanity Fair put it, “In what McGowan interpreted as the ultimate act of cruelty, Rodriguez ‘sold our film to my monster.’ ” That is: Harvey Weinstein.

Again and again, McGowan was made to feel crazy, hysterical – just an “actress.” She was sexualized, typecast to play the “villain” and/or the vampy sex kitten, McGowan’s magazine rap sheet reads like a series from one of those scandalous

pulp novels of yore. Covers declaring “Death by Sexy!” (Maxim,April 2007) “We had a threesome with Rose McGowan. And it was good,” (JANE, December 2001), “Wild Rose: Hollywood’s #1 Bad Girl” (Maxim, March 1999), “Very Bad Girls, Welcome to ‘Grindhouse’: The Most Violent Chick Flick Ever” (Rolling Stone, April 2007) all serve to accent McGowan’s cut-to-the-quick point:“My life, as you will read, has taken me from one cult to another.“BRAVE” is the story of how I fought my way out of these cults and reclaimed my life. I want to help you do the same."

The book is set to be released on January 30

by HarperCollins – in spite of Weinstein’s best attempts to thwart the project.

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01.26 – 02.01.2018

LOS ANGELES

16

CULTURE THEATRE

⚫ BY BEVERLY COHN

>

CENTER STAGE

Adam Jacobs as Aladdin gets his wish and is now dressed as a prince.

Photos: Deen van Meer.

Photo: Deen van Meer.

“Arabian Nights” - the dazzling opening production number choreographed by director Casey Nicholaw.

“Aladdin” – Sublime Theatrical Magic at the Pantages Theatre EDITOR

Henry Giardina

CREATIVE DIRECTOR AMY PATTON

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THE PRIDE L.A., The Newspaper Serving Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender L.A., is published by MIRROR MEDIA GROUP. Send all inquiries to: THE PRIDE L.A., 2116 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, CA. Phone: 310.310.2637 Written permission of the publisher must be obtained before any of the contents of this paper, in part or whole, can be reproduced or redistributed. All contents (c) 2017 The Pride L.A. THE PRIDE L.A. is a registered trademark of MIRROR MEDIA GROUP. T.J. MONTEMER, CEO 310.310.2637 x7

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It is not a traditional way to begin a review, but one cohesive beautiful theatrical knot is Casey adjectives to describe opening night of “Aladdin,” Nicholaw’s brilliant direction and exciting choin its L.A. premiere at the iconic Pantages The- reography under the guidance of dance captain atre, kept flashing in my mind as I sat through the Michael Callahan. With his highly professional, thoroughly amazing opening night performance. talented cast, the imaginative director gathered Words that came to mind include: Dazzling. De- together all the elements creating one amazing lightful. Exciting. Magnificent. Glittering. Radiant. giant iridescent bow.

Luminous. Astonishing. Wonderful. Spectacular.

Now to the story: The play opens Awesome. Eye-Popping. Stunning. Wonwith the Genie, played wonderfully drous. Mind-Boggling. Breathtakby Michael James Scott, ing. Glorious. Brilliant. Colorful. who originated the role in Glowing. Vibrant. Sparkling. This the Australian production. might give you an idea of what Breaking the fourth wall, unfolded before the audience he engaged the audience whose enthusiasm and apin his story telling with proval matched the on-stage the evening kicking off extravaganza. with “Arabian Nights,” the The other non-tradifirst of 20* eye-popping tional way to begin a reensemble and solo pieces view is with a “thank you” with distinctly recognizand once more I shall able Arabian movements. ignore tradition and first We get to meet Aladdin, give shout-outs to the a waif of a boy played by award-winning production a most talented Adam Jateam beginning with memocobs who created the role rable Music by Alan Menken, on Broadway. Aladdin is a Lyrics by Howard Ashman,Tim ne’er-do-well orphan who Rice and Chad Beguelin, Book steals food for sustenance.

by Chad Beguelin, the rainbow Backed up by the gifted colored glittering Costumes by ensemble, he sings about Gregg Barnes, Lighting Design his “criminal” activities in

by Natasha Katz, who saturated “One Jump Ahead.” He’s the stage with an artist’s palalso a sensitive, loveable ette of glittering lights, and Bob kind of a guy and desperCrowley’s awesome Arabian ately wants his deceased Photo: Deen van Meer.

Scenic and Sound Design. Tying Princess Jasmine (Isabelle McCalla) parents to be proud of all the elements together into falls in love with Aladdin (Adam Jacobs) him as he sings “Proud of who she thinks is a wealthy prince.

Your Boy.” Aladdin hangs around with three partners in crime excellently played by Philippe Arroyo (Omar), Zachary Bencal (Babkak), and Mike Longo (Kassim). Now, where would a good story be without a couple of villains so enter the wicked Jafar, played wickedly by Jonathan Weir and his evil cohort, the very funny Reggie De Leon as Iago. Jafar is plotting the overthrow of the Sultan, well acted and sung by JC Montgomery.

Moving the story along, enter the beautiful, rebellious princess Jasmine played by Isabelle McCalla. She’s under pressure from her father, the Sultan, to find a husband to take care of her.

Jasmine will have none of that and asks why she can’t take care of herself and run the castle after her father dies. (Big audience response to that idea!) Along with her three attendants (Mary Antonini, Olivia Donalson and Annie Wallace) she sings “These Palace Walls” and before you know it, she runs away into the streets and mingles with the people for the first time. Aladdin, not knowing that she’s the princess, becomes immediately smitten, as does she. They sing a lovely ballad “A Million Miles Away.” But alas, the Sultan’s henchmen track her down and drag her back to the palace. Meanwhile, the wicked Jafar is plotting how to find the magic lantern so he can make his wish to be the Sultan come true and coerces Aladdin to go into the forbidden cave to search for this magic lantern. Aladdin reluctantly enters the cave and in one of the most dazzling moments, what we saw made the audience gasp, and then break out in thunderous applause as the set design looks like solid gold walls, with sparkling jewelry and trinkets dripping from every crevice. Aladdin finds the magic lantern, accidentally rubs

01.26 – 02.01.2018

COMMUNITY EVENTS

⚫ BY STAFF WRITER

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LOS ANGELES

⚫ 17

MEANWHILE, IN LA...

Out in Tech Throws New Year Bash

On January 13, tech-savvy LGBTQ+ professionals from all over the city commingled at The Chapel at The Abbey to formally ring in the New Year. Over 200 professionals showed up to network and celebrate, while queer streaming service Revry provided entertainment. The free event also raised donations for Project Angel Food, the L.A.based charity that delivers food to people in need all over the city. The charity, which has had support from celebrities such as Barbra Streisand and George Michael, has maintained a commitment in recent years to serving L.A. community members dealing with advanced HIV/AIDS.

Photos: Out in Tech.

“Hey There, 2018” gave queer professionals a chance to mix and mingle at The Abbey in West Hollywood.

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⚫ BY STAFF WRITER

®

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FROM THE PRODUCERS OF

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“A FANTASTIC MOVIE. DANIELA VEGA IS FANTASTIC IN IT.” -A.O. Scott, THE NEW YORK TIMES

“THE MOVIE IS A KNOCKOUT. EXTRAORDINARY. DANIELA VEGA IS REMARKABLE.”

Photos: Twitter.

On Januar y 20, over 500,000 marchers came through Downtown L.A. to protest the Trump administration’s views on women’s rights.

L.A. Women’s March Brings Celebrity Speakers, Huge Turnout According to L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, over 500,000 bodies flooded the streets of downtown L.A. on Saturday, January 20, to protest the Trump administration and its attitude toward women’s rights. Although the first women’s march last year proved a historic occasion in its own right, bringing together protesters from all across the states together to express their disapproval of the Trump presidency, this year’s L.A. march was even more politically and emotionally charged due to the recent news of

sexism, coercion, and abuse of power on the part of men in the entertainment industry. A number of high-profile celebrities were in attendance, including many who have pledged their support for the #TimesUp campaign to help women attain legal funds to fight sexism in the workplace. Esteemed actor Viola Davis gave a speech about the importance of intersectionality in feminism, while Scarlett Johansson took male actors like James Franco to task during her time at the podium.

-David Rooney, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

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⚫ 18

01.26 – 02.01.2018

LOS ANGELES

WHAT’S HAPPENING?

The best goings-on around and about L.A., period.

Batman ‘66 Retrospective WHEN: January 26, 10 A.M.- 5 P.M. WHERE:The Hollywood Museum WHAT:A survey of original props, costumes, and memorabilia from the classic 1966 TV show.

WHY: Enter the bat cave!

DTLA PROUD Block Party Night WHEN: January 27, 3 P.M.- 12 A.M. WHERE: 4th and Broadway, DTLA WHAT:A huge block party full of drag and dancing.

WHY: Pride is only 5 months away after all…

Dodgers FanFest WHEN: January 27, 10 A.M.- 4 P.M. WHERE: Dodger Stadium WHAT: A chance for Dodger fans to hang out and nerd out.

WHY: Celebrate the (almost) start of the season and root for your home team!

Dodgers FanFest WHEN: January 27, 10 A.M.- 4 P.M. WHERE: Dodger Stadium WHAT: A chance for Dodger fans to hang out and nerd out.

WHY: Celebrate the (almost) start of the season and root for your home team!

Museum Free-for-All Day WHEN: January 28, 11 A.M.- 6 P.M. WHERE: Craft Art and Folk Museum WHAT: Bring friends, kids, and whoever else you know to this free-for-all day of hands-on arts and crafts.

WHY: Get your craft on!

The Museum of Failure WHEN: February 2, 2 P.M.- 8 P.M. WHERE:A+D Museum WHAT:A flagrant display of failed inventions through the years.

WHY: Come for the Colgate brand lasagna, stay for “Trump:The Game.”

Career Women On Screen: Working Girl WHEN: February 2, 7:30 P.M. WHERE: UCLA Film and Television Archive WHAT: Part of a film series dedicated to showing working gals in cinema, shoulder pads and all.

WHY: Peep a young Melanie Griffith in a sassy workplace comedy.

80s Prom Party WHEN: February 3, 8 P.M.- 1 A.M. WHERE:The Music Box, Hollywood WHAT:A full-blown ‘80s celebration for you and your “Breakfast Club”-loving friends.

WHY: Party the night away,“Romy and Michelle” style.

Good: A Wellness Festival WHEN: February 3, 10 A.M.- 6 P.M. WHERE: 1200 S. Hope St. WHAT:An all-day, immersive wellness celebration with vendors, yoga, speakers, and female-centric support systems.

WHY: Renew your commitment to your New Year’s resolution in a healthy, supportive environment.

01.26 – 02.01.2018

ENTERTAINMENT TELEVISION

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LOS ANGELES

⚫ 19

GIVE IT A WATCH...

⚫ BY HENRY GIARDINA

“The Assassination of Gianni Versace” is a Baroque Morality Tale Ryan Murphy’s long-awaited second season of “American Crime Story” is far more subjective than its first.

Those tuning into Ryan Murphy’s latest prestige series looking for camp and circumstance may find themselves, at first, disappointed. From the dream-like beginnings of the show’s first episode – which opens on Gianni Versace sprawled in a gilt-colored bed staring at a ceiling that could rival the Sistine Chapel for detail – we get a sense that season two will be a lot closer to the ideal Murphy aesthetic than the first, which presented the O.J. Simpson case in the cold, stark light of realism. However, as we’re led into the nightmarish unfolding of events of “The Assasination of Gianni Versace,” it becomes clear that we’re not here to lounge around in Versace splendor for an entire season. We’re here to see the Versace splendour splattered with blood.

Fashion icon Gianni Versace’s murder in 1997 was sudden, random, and grim. His killer, Andrew Cunanan, shot him outside of his palatial Miami Beach home, claiming the fashion icon as his fifth victim. While the relationship between the two men – the transparently gay Versace and the much younger, closeted Cunanan – remains a point of speculation, Murphy has chosen to believe that a relationship between the two, however scant, did exist in order to tell the story the way he wants to tell it. And the way he wants to tell it is, in typical Murphy fashion, a little bit overblown, bloody, fantastical, and oddly moralistic.

From the opening scene alone, where we follow Versace as he winds through his gigantic estate, built to resemble an Italian villa, in between shots of a desperate Cunanan trekking around Miami Beach with a dirty backpack, throwing up violently in public toilets, Murphy is clearly trying to say something about the relationship between the two. Whether it’s the more obvious comment about American excess – the land where the haves have everything and the have-nots have absolutely nothing – or whether he’s building up to something a bit more subtle is unclear thus far. What is clear is that subtlety is not and has never

Annaleigh Ashford as Elizabeth Cote, listens to her friend (Darren Criss as Andrew Cunanan) describe his fateful meeting with Gianni Versace.

been one of Murphy’s strong suits, which is why his work is so hilariously great. Exhibit A: Penelope Cruz’s lisping performance as Donatella Versace, who from the moment she leaves the tarmac of her private jet is all business when it comes to her brother’s death. And of course, the much-anticipated performance of Ricky Martin as Versace’s long term partner, a man who was robbed of his rightful inheritance by the Versace estate. At the center of everything is the very unsubtle, and very seductive, interpretation of the killer Cunanan by Darren Criss, in whose hands the character is shown as ambitious, lost, vulnerable, psychotic, and romantic all in one take.

As with “American Crime Story” Season 1, “Versace” is playing the long game. Murphy uses the serialized format of television to ramp up the drama of a story that most of the world already knows. In Season 1, however, the O.J. Simpson trials were tied to something more personal for most viewers. It will be interesting to see whether or not “Versace,” with its unsympathetic characters and seemingly straightforward plot, will be able to achieve this same kind of nuance in the re-telling.

Penelope Cruz plays fashion icon Donatella Versace.

Photos: “American Crime Story.”

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01.26 – 02.01.2018

LOS ANGELES

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In adults with HIV on ART who have diarrhea not caused by an infection IMPORTANT PATIENT INFORMATION This is only a summary. See complete Prescribing Information at Mytesi.com or by calling 1-844-722-8256. This does not take the place of talking with your doctor about your medical condition or treatment.

What Is Mytesi?

Mytesi is a prescription medicine used to improve symptoms of noninfectious diarrhea (diarrhea not caused by a bacterial, viral, or parasitic infection) in adults living with HIV/AIDS on ART. Do Not Take Mytesi if you have diarrhea caused by an infection. Before you start Mytesi, your doctor and you should make sure your diarrhea is not caused by an infection (such as bacteria, virus, or parasite).

Possible Side Effects of Mytesi Include:

Tired of planning your life around diarrhea?

Enough is Enough Get relief. Pure and simple. Ask your doctor about Mytesi.

Mytesi (crofelemer): • Is the only medicine FDA-approved to relieve diarrhea in people with HIV • Treats diarrhea differently by normalizing the flow of water in the GI tract • Has the same or fewer side effects as placebo in clinical studies • Comes from a tree sustainably harvested in the Amazon Rainforest What is Mytesi?

Mytesi is a prescription medicine that helps relieve symptoms of diarrhea not caused by an infection (noninfectious) in adults living with HIV/AIDS on antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Important Safety Information Mytesi is not approved to treat infectious diarrhea (diarrhea caused by bacteria, a virus, or a parasite). Before starting you on Mytesi, your healthcare provider will first be sure that you do not have infectious diarrhea. Otherwise, there is a risk you would not receive the right medicine and your infection could get worse. In clinical studies, the most common side effects that occurred more often than with placebo were upper respiratory tract (sinus, nose, and throat) infection (5.7%), bronchitis (3.9%), cough (3.5%), flatulence (3.1%), and increased bilirubin (3.1%).

For Copay Savings Card and Patient Assistance, see Mytesi.com

Should I Take Mytesi If I Am: Pregnant or Planning to Become Pregnant?

• Studies in animals show that Mytesi could harm an unborn baby or affect the ability to become pregnant • There are no studies in pregnant women taking Mytesi • This drug should only be used during pregnancy if clearly needed A Nursing Mother?

• It is not known whether Mytesi is passed through human breast milk • If you are nursing, you should tell your doctor before starting Mytesi • Your doctor will help you to decide whether to stop nursing or to stop taking Mytesi Under 18 or Over 65 Years of Age? • Mytesi has not been studied in children under 18 years of age • Mytesi studies did not include many people over the age of 65. So it is not clear if this age group will respond differently. Talk to your doctor to find out if Mytesi is right for you

What Should I Know About Taking Mytesi With Other Medicines?

If you are taking any prescription or over-the-counter medicine, herbal supplements, or vitamins, tell your doctor before starting Mytesi.

What If I Have More Questions About Mytesi?

For more information, please see the full Prescribing Information at Mytesi.com or speak to your doctor or pharmacist.

To report side effects or make a product complaint or for additional information, call 1-844-722-8256.

Rx Only Manufactured by Patheon, Inc. for Napo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. San Francisco, CA 94105 Copyright © Napo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Mytesi comes from the Croton lechleri tree harvested in South America.

Please see complete Prescribing Information at Mytesi.com.

NP-390-21

• Upper respiratory tract infection (sinus, nose, and throat infection) • Bronchitis (swelling in the tubes that carry air to and from your lungs) • Cough • Flatulence (gas) • Increased bilirubin (a waste product when red blood cells break down) For a full list of side effects, please talk to your doctor. Tell your doctor if you have any side effect that bothers you or does not go away.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

RELIEF, PURE AND SIMPLE