Pennsylvania Governor bans conversion therapy using state funds

Inua Ellams’ update of Sophocles’ Greek tragedy Antigone has been about five years in the making; it has finally debuted at the Open Air Theatre in Regents Park. Set in modern Britain, we are introduced to the titular Antigone (Zainab Hasan), a British Pakistani woman who has been working in a youth centre which has been forced to close due to cuts. Her uncle Creon (Tony Jayawardena) is the Home Secretary, although we are introduced to him while he is out campaigning, clearly set on becoming the next Prime Minister.

It was a big night for HBO’s runway hit The White Lotus at the 2022 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning nearly all the major categories it was nominated in. Sydney-born out gay Australian actor Murray Bartlett took home Emmy for best supporting actor in a limited series, while co-star and gay icon Jennifer Coolidge won the best supporting actress in a limited series. In his acceptance speech, Bartlett thanked White for “giving me one of the best experiences of my life” and gave a shout out to his mom. “I just want to thank my mom all the way home in Australia for giving me the most wonderful foundation of unconditional love. And inspiring me to believe that we can all do that for each other.

(CNN) -- What do a pub in London, a 113-year-old apartment building in New York City, a former mental hospital in Atlanta, a luxury resort in Hawaii, a sprawling office complex in New Jersey, and a mausoleum in one of the South's largest cemeteries have in common?On some of this year’s top Emmy-nominated shows, these places play roles as important as any character. And off-screen, they all have their own dramatic stories.Here’s a glimpse at the real-life locations behind some of TV’s most popular places, and what we learned talking with some of the people who know them best. A luxury resort that found new life during a pandemic lockdownThe hit Hulu series Only Murders In The Building stars (from left) Martin Short, Steve Martin, and Selena Gomez.The resort in The White Lotus features numerous beachfront amenities, jaw-dropping views of Hawaii's natural beauty, and brightly colored rooms that reflect the personalities of the characters staying in them.

William Earl During Monday’s Emmy Awards, the Governors Award was presented to the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media “in recognition of their efforts to promote gender balance and foster inclusion throughout the entertainment industry.” Davis, the founder and chair, accepted the award on behalf of the organization and spoke about the continued need for gender equality in the entertainment industry in her brief speech. She was presented the award by Sarah Paulson and Shonda Rhimes, who highlighted not only her acting but her charitable work in their introduction. Madeline Di Nonno, the president and CEO of the Geena Davis Institute, also came onstage to accept the honor. “Thank you so much,” Davis said. “We want to thank the academy and TV board of governors for this incredible honor. This recognition of our mission and our achievements means so much to Madeline and I and our team, who are here in numbers tonight. Tonight is about honoring the best of television, and as you know, as Lizzo knows, television can often directly impact how people see themselves and judge their value in the world. And in the time since I launched the institute, we’ve made a great deal of progress but still there’s more work to do, of course. Many of the content creators that we’ve partnered with are many of you. So thank you all for your support. And if there’s anybody else that thinks we might be able to help you, just call us. Thank you very much.”

LGBTQ Nation’s 2022 Political Hero are Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Rachel Levine, who became the first out transgender four-star admiral and spoke out for trans health care access; Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who scored a major win for LGBTQ protections in her state and stood up to Don’t Say Gay; California state Rep. Scott Wiener, who helped martial several pieces of pro-LGBTQ legislation through the legislature; Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, who went full gay dad and stood up for the rights of the kids of LGBTQ people to speak about their families in schools; and Urbandale, Iowa School Board member Daniel Gutmann, who stood up to a candidate backed by the anti-LGBTQ organization Moms for Liberty and won.These five LGBTQ people were elected or appointed to serve, and did so with distinction.

Erin Doherty is opening up about the pressures of being an LGBTQ+ star in the spotlight.

Erin Doherty is opening up about the pressures of being an LGBTQ+ star in the spotlight.

(CNN) — A Los Angeles County resident's death has been attributed to monkeypox, the county Department of Public Health said Monday, the first known death from the virus in the US.The department and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the link and said the person had a severely weakened immune system and had been hospitalized. No further information will be made public, the department said in a news release."Persons severely immunocompromised who suspect they have monkeypox are encouraged to seek medical care and treatment early and remain under the care of a provider during their illness," the news release says.Deaths from monkeypox are extremely rare and often affect babies, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems, such as from HIV.

The cast of RuPaul’s Drag Race is stepping out for the 2022 Emmy Awards.

The Florida Keys is one of the most queer friendly destinations in the United States. Key West was one of the first cities in the U.S. to elect an out, gay mayor.

In Love, Victor, Mason Gooding’s bullying jock character “Andrew” eventually shows himself to be a decent guy. But in real life he’s all aces.The 25-year-old actor — and son of Cuba Gooding, Jr.

Beauty And The Beast, only to be given a blink-and-you’ll-miss it scene where LeFou (Josh Gad) dances with another man, right?So perhaps we were wrong to get our hopes up when the studio announced it’d be making a spin-off series about LeFou and his barrel-chested pal Gaston (Luke Evans). It almost felt like they might use it as an opportunity to right the wrongs of the film, to explore LeFou’s queerness in a more direct and thoughtful way.Not to mention, it’d provide Evans with a solid leading role.

Did you miss out on Capital Pride this year or want another chance to gather with the LGBTQ community and allies? Several area Pride celebrations are taking place in towns and cities in the area over the next few weeks.

Reversing an earlier ruling of hers, an Albany, N.Y.-based federal judge decided a Christian-affiliated adoption agency can remain open even though it refuses to place children with same-sex couples or unmarried adults.New Hope Family Services of Syracuse, N.Y., refused to change its placement policy after New York State passed a nondiscrimination law in 2014. New Hope officials claimed they didn’t deny same-sex couples and unmarried prospective parents the chance to adopt because they would refer them to other agencies that allowed such parents, reports Syracuse.com.Eventually, the state’s Office of Children and Family Services found New Hope’s policy incompatible with the state’s laws — officials demanded New Hope modernize its rules or shut down.

A Tennessee sheriff's department is investigating an incident involving one of its school resource officers who was caught on tape berating a student with misogynistic and vulgar language.In an audio clip that went viral online, a Smyrna High School student can be heard being verbally harassed, allegedly by a school resource officer.

Carl Nassib played his first game of the new NFL season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last night, with the team handedly beating the Dallas Cowboys 19-3.It was the out football player's first NFL game since last season when he played for the Las Vegas Raiders. Last week, Nassib made the final cut to make the 53-man roster of the Buccaneers and they moved him from defensive lineman to outside linebacker.The Buccaneers, one of the early favorites to advance to the Super Bowl this year, defeated the Kansas Chiefs in Super Bowl LV in 2021 which was Tom Brady’s first year with the team.Nassib was part of NFL history last night when Brady became the oldest NFL quarterback to start a regular season game.

Heartstopper star Kit Connor has been sexuality-speculated right off of Twitter.The actor is part of a growing contingent of men in Hollywood who don’t care to publicly label their sexuality. Some take this as a progressive step towards general sexual fluidity and liberation, while others take it as non-queer people attempting to pander to (and profit from) the queer community.The latter group took aim at Connor this week after he was seen out and about holding hands with his A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow costar, Maia Reficco.Many came to the star’s defense, pointing out that the moment neither defined the pair’s relationship nor his personal sexuality.

GEMMA Collins has quashed relationship split rumours after posing for a loved-up picture with fiancé Rami Hawash. The GC, 41, sparked concern among her fans that her romance was in trouble after saying she 'doesn't need a man to live' on Instagram.

MOODA post shared by DENNIS. RODMAN. (@dennisrodman) on While promoting his new documentary “Rodman: For Better or Worse,” retired NBA superstar Dennis Rodman took a moment to talk about the changing attitudes towards LGBTQ athletes in professional sports and his relationship with gay men over the course of his career, among other things.“I don’t know why people haven’t came out before,” Rodman tells Business Insider.

The president of Sri Lanka on Sunday said his government will not oppose a bill that would decriminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations in the country.

Credit: TBWA\Chiat\Day LACredit: TBWA\Chiat\Day LAAnother summer of Pride, another slew of brands tipping their rainbow hats in support of the LGBTQ+ community. Messages and brand acts that were once exceptional have since become expected; initiatives that used to feel meaningful have in many cases come to feel like just another marketing calendar box to check. That’s why we created this Pride Guide, a go-to resource for how brands can be authentic and impactful with their words and actions supporting the LGBTQ+ community.

The president-elect of Kenya last week told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that LGBTQ and intersex rights are “not a big issue” in his country.

Games Done Quick (GDQ) fundraiser is opting to go virtual this year and avoid contributing to the Florida economy.Related: Florida’s biggest school district decides recognizing LGBTQ history is illegal now“While we would love to return in-person, we’ve determined that to provide a safe and welcoming event to all it was best that we move away from our originally planned location in Florida,” the organization wrote on its website, adding “we do not believe it is a safe place for our community at this time.”Past GDQ events have prominently featured LGBTQ gamers.The law was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in March, and went into effect July 1.

After receiving a series of phone and online message threats, Cool Beans in Denton called off what it called a Disney-themed drag brunch. Management filed a police report.

Grindr.Yes, I was on Grindr, so it doesn’t take a brain box to work out that I was after a sitch between the sheets and not on the streets. ‘Oh, wait, you know who I am? This sounds like trouble,’ I answered, wondering what trap I was walking into. With palpable sass, he said, ‘Indeed, but clearly you have absolutely no idea who I am, eh?’ I confess, I did not!A year earlier, I’d been on the hunt for something a touch more serious than a casual tumble – only on Tinder, not the gay meatmarket that is Grindr. I’m into quirky facial features over classic good looks, and because the latter is apparently more common, my collection of matches was depressingly paltry. However, among my reciprocated right-swipes on Tinder was a cute French PhD student, and he actually bothered to strike up a conversation – a rarity on any dating app these days. We exchanged a few brief DMs on the platform’s chat function before quickly graduating to WhatsApp for convenience. After a couple of weeks, I regretted dishing out my digits when it became clear his banter didn’t cut the Dijon.  His lack of curiosity was the biggest issue – when you’re the one asking all the questions, a convo quickly begins to feel like a job interview. And so I committed the ultimate dating sin: ghosting. Horrid, I know.

Long Live Montero Tour kicked off last week in Detroit and will call in at over a dozen North American venues before moving on to Europe.A lighthearted tweet from the chart-topping, rapper has gone viral. It appears to be encouraging his audience to have sex.It comes off the back of an earlier tweet in which the gay performer said, “not going to be proud of myself until furries show up at my concert.”A couple of furries (people who cosplay in furry animal costumes) duly turned up at one of his shows.This prompted a second tweet in which Lil Nas X, having achieved his furries goal, set the bar a little higher.“Not gonna be proud of myself until there is a big orgy in the audience at one of my concerts.”He retweeted screenshots of both tweets, along with the caption, “Now we wait.”now we wait pic.twitter.com/qsNfILVaZp— NASARATI (@LilNasX) September 11, 2022OK then!That tweet has received over 190k likes at the time of writing.Knowing Lil Nas X’s loyal fans, we would not put it past some of them to rise to this challenge.Related: Lil Nas X reveals why he’s not taking his tour to TexasReviews of the tour have been favorable, even if Lil Nas X’s back catalog means it’s a tight, 65-minute show.

Global pop star Ricky Martin is facing a new sexual assault complaint filed against him in Puerto Rico.The identity of the individual who filed the complaint was not released by officials, following the standard procedure for such cases. However, the Associated Press reports that a person “unauthorized to speak about the case” revealed the accuser to be Martin’s nephew, Dennis Yadiel Sánchez Martin.The individual also clarified that Martin will not automatically be placed under arrest, as the alleged incident was not recent enough.

Spice Girls superstar Melanie C reveals the tabloids were obsessed with her sexuality due to her Sporty Spice persona.

Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden highlights one particular TV appearance that angered staffers in the midst of the 2012 re-election campaign.There was tension between Obama and Biden aides during the campaign's kickoff in May of 2012, according to New York Magazine correspondent Gabe Benedetti's book, The Long Alliance.During an appearance on Meet the Press, Biden made comments about gay marriage that were not in lockstep with the administration's position—including one unprovoked and unrehearsed statement that made Obama staffers irate."I think Will and Grace probably did more to educate the American public than almost anything anybody's ever done so far," Biden told former host David Gregory after being pressed multiple times about his views on same-sex marriage.Not only did Biden invoke a TV show that had been off the air for six years, his off-the-cuff response to a question about federal policy reportedly caused a rift between Obama and Biden aides that lasted months. Many, reportedly including Obama, felt Biden took the lead as part of a joint campaign issue."In private, in his innermost inner circle, [Biden] was still proud, no matter how uncomfortable he'd made Obama," the book says.

Pictures of Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey filming their upcoming miniseries hit social media recently, and absolutely no one was prepared.The hunky duo are set to play beaus in Showtime’s historical drama Fellow Travelers, based on Thomas Mallon’s best-selling novel of the same name.The story follows the romance between Hawkins Fuller (Bomer) and Timothy Laughlin (Bailey) through the ’50s Lavender Scare era through to the AIDS crisis of the ’80s.Related: That time ‘Bridgerton’s’ Jonathan Bailey took his modesty thong out for a public spinThat synopsis aside, these BTS shots are serving anything but drama. Instead, the pair are just frolicking on a beach, kissing in the seafoam and letting their hands roam.Folks are renewing their Showtime subscriptions as we speak:This is an emergency pic.twitter.com/g3K6dJLnXV— Erik Anderson @ TIFF (@awards_watch) September 9, 2022The amount I want to be Matt Bomer’s left hand https://t.co/C2jHVuWY2L— rob (@thealmightywob) September 10, 2022These photos of Jonathan Bailey and Matt Bomer on set….

Donald Trump quietly made a surprise visit to Washington D.C. yesterday, prompting all sorts of online chatter about what the ex-president, who never goes anywhere without a great deal of pomp and circumstance, was doing there.Related: Rosie O’Donnell hilariously claps back at TikTok user who accuses her of being mean to Donald TrumpVideo of Trump dressed in plain clothes and white golf shoes and quickly transferring from a private jet into a black SUV waiting for him on the tarmac hit the internet Sunday evening.'It's gotta be the shoes'.

Rosie O’Donnell recently sat down with The New Yorker for a fascinating, fearless, and wide-ranging new interview.Speaking to Rachel Syme, the 60-year-old American Gigolo actor talks about everything from getting her start on Star Search, to her iconic ’90s talk show, to her stint on The View, Amazon’s new A League of the Their Own series, and so much more, plus she dishes on celebrities like Bette Midler, Tom Cruise, and, of course, Donald Trump.It’s an incredible, insightful, and deeply candid interview that’s definitely worth a full read. Here are just a few of the gayest highlights…Rosie on the evolution of queer representation in media over the last 30 years:Listen, the early nineties was a different time. … I remember my show was on for a year or something, and they said, “There’s a new show.

The popularity of video games has really exploded over the last couple of decades, so much so that now we have an official Video Games Day on September 12! What has also improved quite substantially is the representation of LGBTQ+ characters who are starting to populate lots of video games. So to celebrate this day, […]

A school chaplain claims he was unfairly dismissed from his post at Trent College in Derbyshire last year on the grounds of religious discrimination. Rev Bernard Randall is suing Trent College at an employment tribunal in Nottingham because he believes that a disagreement with senior staff at the college on implementing an inclusion programme designed […]

The inclusion of a same-sex family in an episode of the popular children’s animated series Peppa Pig is simply too much to bear for some people.

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Severance is a series of eight short stories, each with her poignant perspective and warped sense of humor: A woman in LA lives with her husband, children, and 100 ex-boyfriends. A portal in a college professor’s closet leads to another world. A yeti and a human make love.

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As ensuring adequate supply and distribution of the monkeypox virus vaccine becomes “less of an issue,” efforts have shifted toward maintaining demand, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, White House national monkeypox response deputy coordinator, said on Sept. 7. 

LGBT Ireland has joined forces with the Irish Hospice Foundation, the All-Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care & Shapes of Grief programme founder Liz Gleeson to host an LGBTQ+ Death Café as part of Palliative Care Week 2022. On Friday, September 16, at the Pearse Street Library, attendees will gather over coffee and cake […]

Jennie Punter Tucked in a corner of the Catskills, Casa Susanna was a modest private resort where cross-dressing heterosexual men and transgender women gathered on summer weekends through the 1950s and ‘60s to live as their true selves, dressed in the ladies’ fashion of the day and engaging in bourgeois social activities such as taking snapshots.   Over the past 15 years, a handful of articles, academic research, and photography exhibitions (and let’s not forget the 2014 Tony-nominated play by Harvey Fierstein) have gradually opened the door to this secret subculture of Cold War America. Now “Casa Susanna,” a new documentary by French filmmaker Sébastien Lifshitz (“Wild Side,” “Little Girl”), flings it open.

After years of teasing, today it’s finally official: Dragulais expanding the franchise. Dragula: Titans are on the way and coming to Shudder sooner than you might have hoped.As everyone knows, October is the spookiest month of the year making it the perfect time to crown a new Dragula star.

ABOVE: Peter Scolari should be turning 67 today.

(CNN) — Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor agreed Friday night to temporarily block a lower court order that required Yeshiva University to recognize a "Pride Alliance" LGBTQ student club.The order from Sotomayor -- who has jurisdiction over the lower court in the case -- suggested that the full Supreme Court is still considering the issue and will issue a more permanent order at a later time.For now, the university is temporarily shielded from having to recognize the group.The case is complicated by threshold issues -- such as the fact that New York State appeals courts have yet to rule on the merits of the dispute -- which could be slowing down the court's considerations.Former and current students of the university brought the original challenge arguing that the school's position violated a New York public accommodation law that bars discrimination based on sexual orientation.The case is the latest religious liberty controversy to come before the Supreme Court.Last term, the court's conservative majority ruled in favor of religious conservatives in two separate disputes and in 2021, the court sided with a Catholic foster care agency that refused to consider same-sex couples as potential foster parents.Justice Samuel Alito has repeatedly called for greater protections for the free exercise of religion including during a July speech in Rome. "Religious liberty is under attack in many places," Alito said.Yeshiva lost at the lower court level when a trial judge focused on whether the University qualified as a religious corporation within the meaning of the New York City Human Rights Law, a public accommodation regulation that bars discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Kelly Clarkson dropped a brand new, reworked version of the former’s classic song, ‘9 To 5’ on Friday.Parton wrote the original as the theme tune for the 1980 movie of the same name. She’s recorded a new version with Clarkson to accompany a documentary to discuss the film’s legacy.

The season nine finale of Drag Race was arguably the series’ most iconic. It was the year that Sasha Velour changed the game forever with the rose petal reveal heard around the world.

With fans chanting “thank you, Sue!” out professional basketball great Sue Bird was visibly emotional as she played her last WNBA game last week. Bird played 19 seasons in the WNBA, all with the Storm, and she retires as the most accomplished point guard in league history. Bird also made history off the court, officially coming out in 2017 and acknowledging her relationship with soccer star Megan Rapinoe.Bird returned for one final season after contemplating retirement last year.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has signed an executive order aimed at discouraging conversion therapy in the state.“Conversion therapy is a traumatic practice based on junk science that actively harms the people it supposedly seeks to treat,” Wolf, a Democrat, said in a press release Tuesday.