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Laith Ashley was banned from TikTok Live for supposed “sexual activity”—but that’s not the full story
RuPaul’s Drag Race Pit Crew member Laith Ashley called out the app after he was unfairly suspended from using its TikTok LIVE feature, and has given voice to a growing concern over queer censorship.Subscribe to our newsletter for a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.Over the weekend, Ashley went live with a stream he titled “That trans guy you might know.” According to the actor, he was talking about the SAG strike last year, which lead to a discussion about how difficult it is for LGBTQ+ content creators right now because our very identities are being deemed political.A post shared by Laith Ashley (@laith_ashley)“I was talking about how a lot of [LGBTQ+] content creators are unable to make a living creating content because brands are no longer hiring us for brand deals,” Ashley clarified in a later post to his Instagram story. “Our identities have now been politicized… well, now, my transness is political, so me being trans and posting about who I am is political.”“So I’m not going to get the reach because the app is going to limit the reach that I would have gotten otherwise, even with my following,” he continues.