Although Justin Gatson did not make it very far on Nashville Star, he certainly seems to be doing well in the world of modeling. I have heard him sing, not bad, but I think it will be his continuing to remove his pants that will provide the best chance of financial stability.
Justin Michael Gaston (born August 12, 1988) is an American singer-songwriter, model, and actor who was also a contestant on Nashville Star on season 6. He finished 10th overall out of 12 contestants. He portrayed the role of Ben Rogers on Days of Our Lives for less than four months in 2014.
He appeared on the magazine cover of Tetu in 2013.
In 2005, Justin Gaston left his hometown of Pineville, Louisiana, to pursue a career in acting. Gaston first worked as an underwear model for Christian Audigier, Adidas, International Jock, and Hugo Boss.
Gaston appeared as Taylor Swift's love interest on her 2008 music video for "Love Story", and also appeared on the pilot episode of the television series Glee, which premiered on the Fox network on May 19, 2009.
In February 2010, Gaston began appearing on Simon Fuller's interactive reality show, the If I Can Dream webseries, which aired on Hulu. The show provided round-the-clock coverage of the daily lives of five aspiring stars who had moved into a house in Hollywood, California. Gaston's costars were Ben Elliott, Giglianne Braga, Kara Killmer, and Amanda Phillips.
On April 14, 2010, Gaston performed a duet on Simon Fuller's American Idol with Brooke White, the fifth place finalist on season 7. Gaston's song choice was the Elvis Presley ballad, "If I Can Dream".
In June 2010 Gaston posed nude in a photo shoot for PETA's "Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" ad campaign along with Ben Elliott and Giglianne Braga.
During the summer of 2010, Gaston was a temporary opening act for American Idol winner Kris Allen.
On February 6, 2014, it was announced that Gaston joined the cast of the soap opera Days of Our Lives. He plays the role of Jordan Ridgeway's brother, Ben Ridgeway. He made his first appearance on February 27, 2014. Gaston was let go from the series at the end of the first 13-weeks of his contract cycle; he was replaced by former All My Children actor Robert Scott Wilson.
Two active-duty Marines are being investigated after threatening to attack gay bars in a social media post.
In a picture posted online, an unnamed corporal appears in uniform holding a rifle with his finger on the trigger and a caption reading “Coming to a gay bar near you!”
The photo, posted after the horrific mass shooting in Orlando, appeared on Camp MENdleton resale a Facebook group for male Marines at Camp Pendleton that has more than 25,000 members.
The poster it also wrote “Too soon?”
Michael Moss, the founder of the Camp MENdleton resale Facebook group, said on Facebook that the post was deleted as soon as it was reported, and the person was immediately banned.
“We do not tolerate hate speech,” he added.
The man in the photo and the person who posted it have been identified and are being investigated by Marine command, according to a spokesperson.
“We cannot discuss details of an ongoing investigation, but I can tell you the command is taking this incident seriously,” said First Lt. Thomas Gray.
In a statement, officials said the Marine Corps does not tolerate discrimination or threats based on sexual orientation, race, gender or religion,.
“This type of behavior and mindset will not be allowed, and it is not consistent with the core values of honor, courage and commitment that are demonstrated by the vast majority of Marines on a daily basis.”
A former Marine was instrumental in saving dozens of lives at Pulse nightclub on Saturday night: Imran Yousuf, who worked as a bouncer at the club, guided club goers through a back hallway that had an exit.
Donald Trump is continuing to insist that the LGBT community supports him in the wake of the Orlando massacre this week, but Hillary Clinton is saying that’s far from the case.
“LGBT is starting to like Donald Trump very much lately, I will tell you,” Trump awkwardly stated at a rally in Texas on Thursday, before declaring that Clinton has accepted donations from countries where anti-gay violence takes place.
“As far as gays are concerned, think of it,” said the Republican presidential hopeful. “They throw gays off buildings. They kill them. Countries that contribute to her foundation. And she should give all that money back to all these countries. It’s tens of millions of dollars.”
Clinton responded to Trump’s remarks with a short video reminding us of all the reasons why Trump is hardly an ally to the community, including his opposition to gay marriage and his plan to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges.
Donald Trump says he's "the real friend" of the LGBT community.
Monday night, Tituss Burgess was among the speakers at a vigil at New York’s Stonewall Inn for the victims of the mass shooting in Orlando.
“At times like this, I find myself at a loss for what to do, [so] I’m going to give you the one thing that I always had readily available,” said the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt star before breaking into a rendition of “Somewhere” from West Side Story.
West Side Story, of course, is the Tony-winning musical that deals with senseless violence and the hope for a better world.
Burgess is also donating proceeds from his upcoming Taste of Tituss Pride event to GLAAD and Equality Florida, which are both on the ground in Orlando.
The three-day event, taking place June 17, 18, and 20 at New York’s Out hotel, includes dinner, brunch and barbecue with Burgess, as well as a live performance. Burgess will also be sharing tastes of his new wines, Pinot Pride and Rosé Pride, inspired by his Kimmy Schmidt character’s song “Peeno Noir.”
"I think by putting our guards down, we are taking it lightly," said one Hell's Kitchen resident.
From: NewNowNext
As we’ve learned all too well, even places LGBT people consider safe spaces can be invaded by hate and violence.
Just hours after 49 people were murdered in Orlando, residents in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood discovered threatening, hate-filled notes on their car windshields.
The handwritten message—slipped onto windshields between Eighth and Ninth Avenue—was long and rambling, but indicated the writer’s goal was to “kill homosexuals.”
Notes were placed in various locations, including near Vodka Soda, a gay watering hole in Hell’s Kitchen.
The NYPD has interviewed a person of interest but, according to NBC 4, he suffers from schizophrenia and authorities don’t believe he is a real danger and no charges were filed.
But Michael Guerriera, owner of City Sandwich on Ninth Avenue, is still worried: “I think by putting our guards down, we are taking it lightly,” he said. “I think the only way to do this is fight back.”
New York University also received a “broad threat of violence against American colleges and universities” on Wednesday, from an online web submission, according to NYU spokesman John Beckman.
NYPD Commissioner William Bratton said on Wednesday there have been a number of incidents this week, but none proved to be credible threats.
Bratton said where there are currently no credible threats against New York’s LGBT community, the police is taking every instance seriously.
There will be a heightened police presence at the New York LGBT Pride march on June 26, expected to be the largest in the event’s history.
News of the massacre at Pulse nightclub in Orlando was devastating—but, sadly, it was hardly the first time our community has been attacked in what is usually considered a safe haven.
As President Obama said “the place where they were attacked is more than a nightclub— it is a place of solidarity and empowerment where people have come together to raise awareness, to speak their minds, and to advocate for their civil rights.”
Sadly, our enemies know that all too well.
Below, we look back on several previous attacks on gay bars and nightclubs. Some, thankfully, ended with no loss of life. In other cases, the victims were not so lucky.
The Upstairs Lounge
New Orleans
1973
Just four years after Stonewall, New Orleans’ gay community was celebrating Pride weekend at the Upstairs Lounge, a popular second-floor bar on Chartres Street. At around 8pm, a fire broke out on the steps leading up to the bar and quickly engulfed the entire venue.
Some 64 patrons were trapped in the bar, including members of the Metropolitan Community Church who had stopped by after services. Some patrons tried to leap out the window to escape, but bars on the windows blocked their exit. Rev. Bill Larson got stuck in the window frame, where his charred corpse remained until the following day. (Assistant pastor George Mitchell managed to escape, but went back in to rescue his boyfriend. Their bodies were found clinging to each other.
In all 32 people lost their lives, but what followed was almost more horrific.
Police refused to call it arson, even though traces of lighter fluid were discovered on the scene. (The leading suspect, Rogder Dale Nunez, committed suicide in 1974.) Several families even refused to identify declined to claim bodies—and and every church in town refused to hold a funeral or memorial service. (Three victims were buried in a potter’s field.) The rector of St. George’s Episcopal Church agreed to a small prayer service and received a flood of hate male. (He was also chastised by his bishop.)
It was the worst fire in New Orleans history, but city officials never made a statement about the blaze and news organizations barely covered it. One talk-radio host joked they should bury the victims in “fruit jars.”
Prior to the shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, it was the worst attack on LGBT people in history.
The Ramrod
New York City
1980
On November 19, 1980, former transit officer Ronald K. Crumpley lifted his Uzi and opened fire at a group of men standing in line outside the Ramrod, a seedy leather bar in Greenwich Village.
“Blood spattered against the wall and door as bullets ripped into one man’s shoulder and another man’s arm,” historian Edward M. Alwood wrote of the attack. “In barely the time it takes to light a cigarette, 40 rounds tore into the crowd.”
One man died instantly, and another died at St. Vincent’s Hospital after doctors struggled to save his life. Four others were wounded.
“I’ll kill them all — the gays — they ruin everything,” Crumpley reportedly said to police the next day. He was ultimately found not guilty “by reason of mental disease or defect” and spent the remainder of his life in a psychiatric hospital.
Other Side Lounge
Atlanta
1997
On February 21, 1997, a nail bomb went off at the Other Side Lounge, a lesbian nightclub in Atlanta. More than 150 people were inside, though thankfully only five patrons were wounded. Eric Rudolph confessed to the attack, as well as the bombing of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and abortion clinics in Atlanta and Birmingham. “Homosexuality is an aberrant sexual behavior,” he claimed. “Like other humans suffering from various disabilities, homosexuals should not attempt to infect the rest of society with their particular illness.”
The attack embodied how LGBT people are often re-victimized in the wake of tragedy: Memrie Wells-Cresswell, who critically injured, was not out to her employers. After when Mayor Bill Campbell mentioned her by name at a press conference, she was outed and soon fired.
The Admiral Duncan Pub
London
1999
Another nail bomb went off two years later at this popular watering hole in London’s gay neighborhood of Soho. Two people were killed and more than 80 more were wounded. Neo-Nazi David Copeland was eventually arrested for the crime.
The Backstreet
Roanoke, Virginia
2000
On September 22, 2000, Ronald Gay opened fire on the Backstreet, killing Danny Overstreet, 43, and injuring six others. Gay told police he was tired of people making fun of his name and said it was his duty to make all gays move to San Francisco, which believed would end AIDS.
7FreeDays
Moscow
2012
In October 2012, dozens of right-wing hooligans attacked 7FreeDays during a party held for International Coming Out Day. The attackers overturned tables, threw bottles and punched patrons. Four people were hospitalized.
One year later, Moscow’s biggest club, Central Station, was hit with toxic gas—forcing hundreds of club goers to seek medical attention.
Neighbours
Seattle
2013
On New Year’s Eve, Musab Masmari poured gasoline in a stairway at the Capital Hill nightclub, where some 750 people were celebrating. A quick-thinking busboy was able to put out the blaze before anyone was hurt. Masamari, who reportedly started the fire because “what these people are doing is wrong,” was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Orlando police have identified the 49 mostly LGBT people whose lives were tragically lost Saturday night when a gunman opened fire at Pulse nightclub, committing the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.
National news outlets did their best to tell the individual stories of each of the victims, turning attention away from the killer, who took his own life during the assault.
On Twitter, Anderson Cooper has been sharing the names of the deceased as they are released. He tweeted that he’d be reporting from Orlando and “won’t be showing the killer’s picture or using his name.”
On CNN’s website, a wonderful list that details the most of what we know so far about each of the victims is being updated constantly. Please go check it out and remember these people as individuals.
It’s hard to believe the year is more than half over, but it’s true. But the swift passage of time brings one pleasure with it—the Warwick Rowers have started shooting their 2017 calendar.
A video posted by The Warwick Rowers (@warwick_rowers) on
As always, the calendar will not only help fund the team, but allow them to continue their outreach program, Sports Allies, which supports young people challenged by bullying, homophobia or low self-esteem.
"No Eiffel Towers are being lit up for our Mexican LGBTI brothers and sisters shot to death in a mass shooting, no flowers are being laid outside Mexican embassies, no candlelight vigils anywhere.”
There has been wall-to-wall coverage of the massacre in Orlando since Sunday Monring, but an attack on a gay club in Mexico just a few weeks before has gotten little coverage.
On May 22, three gunmen walked in La Madame, a gay bar in Xalapa, and opened fire. At least five people were killed, though some reports put the death toll closer to 15.
“They opened the doors violently and drew their guns. There were shouts,” Luis Manuel Rivera Aguilar, who was at the bar with his nephew, told local media. “They had no mercy. Bullets ricocheted everywhere. The white tiles were stained red. Those who wanted to escape slipped in puddles of blood. It was a slaughterhouse.”
Aguilar’s nephew, Luis Donaldo Rivera Calderon, was among those killed.
But despite the savagery of the attack and the loss of life, even LGBT media was mostly silent about it. Part of it is the language barrier, but reports are the Mexican government and mainstream media downplayed the Xalapa shooting as a gang-related incident.
One of the first English-language outlets to report on the massacre was GayNZ.com, an LGBT blog out of New Zealand.
A photo posted by Juan Carlos Lobato (@_jclobato) on
“It disturbs me greatly that this story is not being picked up by the English-language media around the world, and the gay media especially,” says GayNZ co-publisher Jay Bennie. “Gay lives matter, regardless of where they are and however powerful the country or well-known the city in which they are gunned down or otherwise killed is.”
“No Eiffel Towers are being lit up for our Mexican LGBTI brothers and sisters shot to death in a mass shooting, no flowers are being laid outside Mexican embassies, no candlelight vigils anywhere,” he added. “The Western media and gay communities’ silence is disgraceful.”
The Groovy List is a weekly Top 10 of recommended videos featuring pop culture, politics and gorgeous guys:
1)
Groovy Guys: Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper
This week both men responded to the tragic shooting in Orlando - Andy participated in a NYC vigil for the 49 victims, while an emotional Anderson read their names on CNN. And on June 30, they will stage a one-night-only benefit of their show, AC2, at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando with all proceeds going to the OneOrlando Fund. Tickets go on sale this Tuesday and may be purchased online at drphillipscenter.org or by phone at 844-513-2014.
2)
Groovy Music: Tom Goss
The singer performs a cover of Namoli Brennet's "Bleecker St." in memory of the victims of the Orlando shooting.
3)
Groovy Couple: Justin Moore and Nick Grant
The popular Instagram couple (@justinick_pgh) want to "Make America Gay Again" in a video for American Apparel, which has launched a limited-edition Gay Pride collection featuring its own version of Donald Trump's campaign slogan.
4)
Groovy Movie Star: Diane Keaton
The Academy Award-winning actress is a guest on Ellen to promote her and Ellen's new animated film, Finding Dory, which opened Friday.
5)
Groovy Birthday Gal #1: Cyndi Lauper
To celebrate Cyndi's 63rd birthday on June 22, below you can watch her perform and chat on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on March 1, 1984, September 21, 1984 and October 16, 1986.
6)
Groovy Birthday Gal #2: Olympia Dukakis
To celebrate Olympia's 85th birthday on June 20, below you can watch her promote Steel Magnolias on Late Night with David Letterman on February 28, 1990.
7)
Groovy Birthday Gal #3: Nicole Kidman
To celebrate Nicole's 49th birthday on June 20, below you can watch her on Australia's Young Talent Time promoting her 1983 film, BMX Bandits, and in a 2015 Vogue video (in which she answers 73 questions).
8)
Groovy Off-Broadway Guy: Joe Morton
The Emmy Award-winning Scandal actor - who is currently playing comedian/activist Dick Gregory in Turn Me Loose at NYC's Westside Theatre - is interviewed on The Broadway Channel's One on One.
9)
Groovy Gorgeous Guy: Aaron Tveit
The actor promotes his new CBS series, Brain Dead, on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
10)
Groovy Underwear
In a Father's Day episode of Boxers or Briefs?, DanielXMiller, the Style Reporter for The Underwear Expert, interviews two shirtless Dads.
Stacy White says the flag, raised after the Orlando tragedy, is a divisive symbol [that] might create an uncomfortable workplace.
From: NewNowNext
After the tragedy in Orlando, county commissioners decided to raise the rainbow flag outside the Hillsborough County Center in Tampa.
But just one day after it went up, Commissioner Stacy White complained the flag could be offending Christian employees and suggested it should be taken down.
White, a Republican, said he received one anonymous complaint from a county employee, who said the flag was “nearly unbearable” for her to pass on her way to work and that it created a “hostile work environment.”
Commissioner White called the rainbow flag a “divisive, politically-charged symbol,” and asked human relations director Peggy Rowe if it could open the county up to a HR problem. If so, he suggested, perhaps the commission should remove it.
“It is still – in my view – unconscionable that the county administrator didn’t express to the board that this divisive symbol might create an uncomfortable workplace environment for many of his employees,” White wrote.
At this point, we’d like to mention that the commission only removed the Confederate flag from outside the Hillsborough County Center last year. And a Confederate memorial still sits outside the Hillsborough County Courthouse.
Back then, White said moving the flag would set “a dangerous precedent to try to erase or rewrite history.”
Meanwhile, in Alabama, Baldwin County Commissioner Tucker Dorsey said he would ignore President Obama’s order that flags be lowered to half-staff, because the mass murder of 49 people was not a “valid circumstance” for lowering the flag.
The trans singer recently called out "American Idol," claiming that the show was trying to exploit transgender people.
From: NewNowNext
Trans musician Ryan Cassata has just released a new music video for his indie track, “Alcatraz.”
The black-and-white video touches on mental illness, and ends with the statistic that “50% of people diagnosed with schizophrenia have received no treatment” and “33-50% of all homeless adults have schizophrenia.”
Cassata is known to many for accusing American Idol of exploiting transgender people last year, after he says they only tried to get him on the show because he was trans.
The young singer said he was asked to audition for the show, but was quickly cut for not being “contemporary enough.” He then says they called him to return to the show a few months later, after Caitlyn Jenner revealed her transition to the world.
“The first thing they said to me is, ’We want a transgender person on this show,’” Cassata told Billboard. “They don’t want a singer and transgender; they want someone that’s transgender and a singer, and that’s not the right reason to go on the show. So now I’m ’contemporary enough’ because being trans is such a hot-button issue in the media right now.”
Cassata also appeared in a video with Davey Wavey that featured trans men taking off their shirts in an attempt to fight stigma.
The president emphasizes the importance of tolerance and equality in the wake of the Orlando massacre.
From: NewNowNext
President Obama dedicated his weekly address to the victims of the Orlando massacre and the LGBT community as a whole this weekend, and included a Father’s Day message on the importance of teaching children about love and equality.
The president first discussed his visit to Orlando earlier this week, sharing his experience of talking to the families of the victims.
“One thing I told them is that they’re not alone,” he said. “The American people, and people all over the world, are standing with them – and we always will.”
He also took the opportunity to stress the importance of gun control in the wake of the horrific attack at Pulse last weekend.
“It’s unconscionable that we allow easy access to weapons of war in these places – and then, even after we see parents grieve for their children, the fact that we as a country do nothing to prevent the next heartbreak makes no sense,” said the president.
“I’ve also thought a lot about dads and moms around the country who’ve had to explain to their children what happened in Orlando,” he continued. “Time and again, we’ve observed moments of silence for victims of terror and gun violence. Too often, those moments have been followed by months of silence. By inaction that is simply inexcusable.”
President Obama then turned his focus towards the importance of teaching our children to love and accept one another.
“We need our kids to hear from us why tolerance and equality matter – about the times their absence has scarred our history and how greater understanding will better the future they will inherit,” he urged. “We need our kids to hear our words – and also see us live our own lives with love.”
The president then closed out his Father’s Day address with a reminder to celebrate our differences and spread unconditional love.
“As parents,” he said, “we should remember there’s one responsibility that’s always in our power to fulfill: our obligation to give our children unconditional love and support; to show them the difference between right and wrong; to teach them to love, not to hate; and to appreciate our differences not as something to fear, but as a great gift to cherish.”
Makeup artist Jeffree Star has put in many hours as an activist for the LGBT community, and is now giving back in the form of a very generous monetary donation as well.
The cosmetics creator shared a Snapchat photo of the $20,000 donation he made to the Pulse Victims Go Fund Me page, created to help the victims of last weekend’s horrific massacre in Orlando.
So far, Equality Florida, the state’s LGBT civil rights organization, has managed to raise over 5 million dollars for those affected by the mass shooting.
The page says the money will be used to “support every single victim of the horrific shooting at Orlando’s Pulse Nightclub. This includes victims’ families, survivors and those in the club who may not have suffered physical injury but in need of support.”
We may not all be able to give $20,000, but click here to support the victims in whatever way you can.
Hint: You could buy hundreds of cheesecakes with the amount of cash the actor dropped.
From: NewNowNext
Deadpool was a passion project for Ryan Reynolds, which meant the actor was willing to spend 10 years and thousands of dollars of his own money to make it happen — and that includes dropping $10,000 to get Bea Arthur into the film.
Reynolds’ character, Wade Wilson, has a deep love for the late Golden Girls star, so the actor felt it was worth spending that much cash to use her image in the film.
The Deadpool star also reached out to one of Arthur’s two sons, Daniel Saks, to obtain permission to use her likeness in the film.
“I was on Dharma & Greg on Stage 21 at Fox when Ryan was on Stage 20 doing Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place,” Saks said. “He was always a nice guy, and the fact that it was him gave it more weight with me and my brother, Matthew. We thought, ‘Why not?’”
And so, Arthur’s image appears in the film on one of Wade’s tank tops, the money to secure her likeness went to an undisclosed charity and the world was made a little bit better by adding more Bea into it.
It’s been an emotional week following last Sunday’s horrific massacre in Orlando, and one in which the LGBT community has been looking for joy wherever it can be found.
London drag queen Vanity von Glow was looking to spread that joy recently, when she sat down at a piano at King’s Cross St. Pancras station and began to sing Sam Smith’s “I’m Not the Only One.”
“I just felt like passing the time at St. Pancras with a little tinkle on the piano,” said Vanity. “With everything we’ve seen in the media this week, I thought we could all use a little music to brighten the day.”
It seemed to work, as commuters stopped to listen and film the performance as they passed through the busy station.
And the teen just signed with one of the biggest modeling agencies in the business.
From: NewNowNext
As the world continues to mourn the loss of iconic heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, it looks like another member of his family is stepping into the spotlight.
Ali’s 17-year-old grandson, Biaggio Ali Walsh, just signed a contract with Wilhelmina modeling agency.
Judging by the budding model’s Instagram photos, it’s easy to see why he’s heading into the modeling world.
Biaggo certainly got his grandfather’s good looks, and you can check out some of his photos below.
