CoverGirl’s First Male Spokesmodel Slammed For Anti-Africa Comment On Twitter

"OMG what if we get ebola?"

From: NewNowNext

 In October, James Charles made news when he became the first male spokesperson for CoverGirl cosmetics. The 17-year-old teen caught the makeup company’s eye when his flawless yearbook photos went viral earlier in the year.

But now the out social media star is garnering attention for all the wrong reasons: In a tweet Thursday, Charles wrote he was scared to be traveling to Africa because he was afraid he’d get Ebola.

The tweet has since been deleted, but we all know nothing on the Internet ever disappears forever.

I will no longer support your company as long as he's on the campaign. This was stereotypical & degrading to Africa. @COVERGIRL @COVERGIRL pic.twitter.com/RpgMp1lqfg

— IG/SC: ParisHeelton (@ImTheBombDotCom) February 16, 2017

While Charles’ initial comment could be chalked up to youthful ignorance, when other Twitter users tried to point out there’s a hell of a lot more to Africa than Ebola, he became antagonistic.



As Affinity magazine points out, the World Health Organization declared the continent of Africa Ebola-free as of January 2016.

“It is 2017, and many white people still see Africa as a wide grassland filled with animals and naked people. What many people don’t realize is Africa is more than just ebola or animals or naked people,” writes Evelyn Atieno. “…He should have kept his ignorant tweet to himself. As a spokesperson for Covergirl, he has a MORAL obligation to uphold. By tweeting that, he is continuing to spread the ignorance people have about Africa.”

In fact, CoverGirl called Charles a role model when it announced his contract.

“All of our CoverGirls are role models and boundary breakers, fearlessly expressing themselves, standing up for what they believe, and redefining what it means to be beautiful. James Charles is no exception.”

Shortly after the Affinity article posted, Charles issued a blanket apology.

I am extremely sorry. Regardless of my intentions, words have consequences. I take full responsibility and will learn and do better.

— James Charles (@jamescharles) February 16, 2017

Conor Kennedy Pleads Guilty in Aspen Bar Fight

From: Just Jared Jr.

Conor Kennedy has struck a plea deal.

The 22-year-old grandson of Robert F. Kennedy (and ex-boyfriend of Taylor Swift) was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct in December after getting involved in a fight outside of Bootsy Bellows nightclub in Aspen, Colo.

Conor told the police he was defending a friend after someone used a homophobic slur toward him.

According to TMZ, Conor struck a plea deal with the judge, who gave him a 6 month deferred sentence, which means this won’t go on his record as long as he doesn’t get in trouble for the next six months.

Congressman Rips Trump in ‘Stranger Things’ Floor Speech: ‘We Are Now Stuck in the Upside Down’

From: Towleroad

Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) used metaphors from the hit Netflix series Stranger Things to make a point about the dire things Trump is doing to the United States. Representatives were given one minute to speak, so, to make a harder-hitting point, Cicilline even brought along visuals: a graphic resembling the show’s logo.

“Mr. Speaker, like the main characters in Stranger Things, we are now stuck in the Upside Down. Right is wrong, up is down, black is white,” said Cicilline.

He then launched into a list of all the things that are not as they should be.

“The White House deceives the American public for weeks about their contacts with Russia but an Attorney General who follows her conscience is fired. Executive orders are signed to ban Muslims to keep us safe while national security conversations are held out in the open. President Trump showers praise on a thug like Vladimir Putin while threatening and bullying our longstanding allies. President Trump signs an executive order to spend 20 billion dollars on a border wall while Flint, Michigan still goes without clean drinking water.”

And he issued a warning that we must be vigilant and get out of this mess.

“Mr. Speaker, mornings might be for coffee and contemplation, but Chief Jim Hopper is not coming to rescue us. This is not a TV show. This is real life. And we have a President unlike and we have ever known. And like Mike, Lucas, Dustin, and Eleven, we must remain focused on the task at hand and hold this administration accountable so we can escape from our own version of the Upside Down.”

Watch:

CNN’s Jake Tapper sheds new light on that time he “pinned down” Kellyanne Conway on live TV

From: Queerty

 A few weeks ago we didn’t know who Jake Tapper was (we don’t watch a lot of CNN unless we’re waiting on a delayed flight), but after a particularly testy interview with Trump’s propaganda minister Kellyanne Conway, he is suddenly everywhere.

And everyone wants to know how it felt to finally put a few dents in Kellyanne’s polished veneer of otherworldly truth-dodging.

Appearing on Conan earlier this week, Tapper said, “It was an interesting interview, and to my boss’ credit, he just said, ‘keep going, blow out the commercials, let’s just keep going.'”

“It was a day where President Trump had said that the murder rate was the highest it had been in 47 years, and that’s just not true,” he continued. “It’s just false.” Tapper also pointed to Trump’s statements that the “media doesn’t cover terrorism anymore” as the context that led him to press Conway as hard as he did.

“There were empirical lies that the president was telling, and I was challenging her on them. She wasn’t really disputing it…And she says, ‘Okay, but do those things he says that aren’t true, are they more important than the things he says that are true?'”

Letting the sheer absurdity of that sink in a moment, Tapper made a face (above) we’ve been getting very used to seeing lately:

“That was a moment I really did feel like we’d gone through a time warp,” Conan responded, “where she was conceding, ‘Yes, he does lie, he says things that aren’t true, but also you’re not paying enough attention to the things he does say that are true.’ And you felt like that was a massive admission, that we’d crossed some kind of weird line that we had never crossed before.”

And now we know how Alice felt.

Chris Salvatore’s Neighbor Norma Has Died

From: Towleroad

chrissalvatore

It's with a heavy heart that I share the news that earlier this morning 

the world lost a truly inspiring, beautiful woman. 

Norma is now resting peacefully in the eternal 

and while she may no longer physically be with us,

 her spirit will continue to fill the hearts of so many people. 

Perhaps Norma's lasting legacy is that her story helped the world to see the true meaning of love. 

Norma reminded me that we all are created to love and all desire to be loved. 

This year Norma has reminded us what Valentine's Day is all about. 

To love another is not about living struggle free or never experiencing hurt or loss,

 but to fully and deeply open our hearts to one another without fear. 

Each of us is lovable even with all of our differences. 

Love has no boundaries. May you rest in peace my sweet sweet lady, Norma. ❤️

Chris Salvatore, the L.A. actor whose relationship and care for his ailing neighbor Norma made national news several weeks ago, announced on social media that Norma has died

Wrote Salvatore:

It’s with a heavy heart that I share the news that earlier this morning the world lost a truly inspiring, beautiful woman. Norma is now resting peacefully in the eternal and while she may no longer physically be with us, her spirit will continue to fill the hearts of so many people. Perhaps Norma’s lasting legacy is that her story helped the world to see the true meaning of love. Norma reminded me that we all are created to love and all desire to be loved. This year Norma has helped the world see the true meaning of Valentine’s Day. To love another is not about living struggle free or never experiencing hurt or loss, but to fully and deeply open our hearts to one another without fear. Each of us is lovable even with all of our differences. Love has no boundaries. May you rest in peace my sweet sweet lady, Norma. ❤️

Norma’s health had been in decline but it worsened in recent days.

chrissalvatore❤

chrissalvatore❤ is the answer

Salvatore befriended his neighbor and began featuring Norma in his web videos and their relationship grew. He became a part of her life, and as she began ailing from leukemia and pneumonia, he took the 89-year-old in to his home to care for her.

Several weeks ago, the mainstream media took notice of Salvatore’s loving gesture, and their uncommon bond.

A GoFundMe page set up to cover Norma’s medical costs  raised more than $76,000.

Watch the NBC News’ report on Chris and Norma:

Our thoughts go out to Salvatore at this very difficult time.

Calling Donald Trump Mentally Ill Is An Insult To The Mentally Ill, Psychiatrist Says

From: Queerty

A group of 33 psychiatrists recently wrote a letter to the New York Times saying Donald Trump demonstrates “grave emotional instability” that “makes him incapable of serving safely as president.”

“Mr. Trump’s speech and actions demonstrate an inability to tolerate views different from his own, leading to rage reactions,” the letter stated. “His words and behavior suggest a profound inability to empathize. Individuals with these traits distort reality to suit their psychological state, attacking facts and those who convey them (journalists, scientists).”

Now, another leading psychiatrist is pushing back. But he’s not defending Easy D or criticizing the doctors for breaking the American Psychiatric Association’s 1973 Goldwater Rule, which states that it is unethical for mental health professionals to give an opinion about public figures they have not examined in person and obtained consent from to discuss their mental health.

He’s standing up for the mentally ill.

Dr. Allen Frances is a professor emeritus of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University Medical College and used to serve chairman of the task force that wrote the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV.

“Most amateur diagnosticians have mislabeled President Trump with the diagnosis of narcissistic personality disorder,” he writes in a letter to the editors at the New York Times. “I wrote the criteria that define this disorder, and Mr. Trump doesn’t meet them. He may be a world-class narcissist, but this doesn’t make him mentally ill, because he does not suffer from the distress and impairment required to diagnose mental disorder.”

He continues: “Mr. Trump causes severe distress rather than experiencing it and has been richly rewarded, rather than punished, for his grandiosity, self-absorption and lack of empathy. It is a stigmatizing insult to the mentally ill (who are mostly well behaved and well meaning) to be lumped with Mr. Trump (who is neither).”

Allen adds that mere bad behavior and/or rudeness/crassness/assholery “is rarely a sign of mental illness.” In fact, he says, “the mentally ill behave badly only rarely.”

He concludes his letter by asking people to stop referring to Tiny Hands as mentally-ill or using psychiatric name-calling as a “way of countering Mr. Trump’s attack on democracy.”

“He can, and should, be appropriately denounced for his ignorance, incompetence, impulsivity and pursuit of dictatorial powers,” Allen says. “His psychological motivations are too obvious to be interesting, and analyzing them will not halt his headlong power grab.”

“The antidote to a dystopic Trumpean dark age is political, not psychological.”

You got that, folks? Stop calling Donald Trump “crazy” and instead stick to calling him an ignorant, incompetent, impulsive, wannabe dictator.

Burkini, 2017

From: V E N F I E L D 8

BosGuy Brain Teaser,

From: BosGuy

 Name three consecutive days in a row without using the words, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday (saying these words in another language doesn’t count).

Book Preview: Emotion by Photographer David Vance

From: Adam Male

Wonderful gay publishing house Bruno Gmünder has teamed up with photographer David Vance on a new 128 page photography book Emotion. The collection is an homage to the male physique in all its beauty and sensitivity. Vance's goal is to show how motion can evoke emotion. As you will see from the preview images, he does a great job of it.

 Here's how Vance describes the project:

 Emotion. The question is what does it make you feel when you experience the phenomenon of motion? At this point in my life I can actually get emotional watching beautiful movement. Dancers, athletes, acrobats, gymnasts … their grace, the fluidity, the strength and sense of total freedom can give me goosebumps and make my eyes water. That’s probably why I enjoy photographing these performance artists.

The book is called Emotion because motion and emotion are two of my favorite things to capture. The act of directing a particular action and seeing come to life is always thrilling. 

 Of course because we live in a relative world, every image you see here will not necessarily contain overt movement. Some images are seemingly still. In order to examine and appreciate motion it’s necessary to also show the contrast of non-motion. That being said, the truth is nothing is really completely motionless. To me even an image that appears perfectly still can be brimming with the inevitability of imminent movement. Everything is in constant flux, moving, albeit slowly, even imperceptibly. 

 I’ve tried to capture images that show many kinds of motion from totally frozen in space and time to images that indicate movement with blur and the streaking of the light. Sometimes there is no apparent motion, but even in repose there is a sense of motion conveyed by the composition and visual dynamics of the image causing your eye to move around and through it. It’s almost as if you expect the eyes to blink or the head to turn. They may be still photos in the literal sense, but motion and emotions are products of your individual perception. We can step into the image and imagine what has just occurred or what is about to happen. 

 Motion and Emotion. They are both constants in that they are always there. They are similar because neither is ever really still. They are constantly changing. Emotional images have the power to stir our empathy. They move us, so to speak. Who doesn’t have an emotional response to the beauty of motion, watching a dancer leap through the air as if suspended or an acrobat balancing on one hand in mid air? The force of movement is an emotional thing. Aggressive movement can make us feel fear or anger. More graceful or aesthetic movement can bring us to tears and clumsiness can cause us to laugh out loud. 

 Emotion is what I feel when I make these images. It’s what I hope you experience looking at them.

Emotion is due out March 1st, In North America, you can order it at Amazon.

Bill Maher Defends Milo Yiannopoulos Booking After Journalist Jeremy Scahill Pulls Out

From: Towleroad

Bill Maher booked homocon white supremacist, and alt-right troll Milo Yiannopoulos as a guest on his show tonight, causing his frequent guest, journalist Jeremy Scahill, to cancel his appearance.

Maher defended the booking, and tried to explain it in a statement:

My comments on Islam have never veered into vitriol,” Maher replied in a statement obtained by EW. “Liberals will continue to lose elections as long as they follow the example of people like Mr. Scahill whose views veer into fantasy and away from bedrock liberal principles like equality of women, respect for minorities, separation of religion and state, and free speech. If Mr. Yiannopoulos is indeed the monster Scahill claims — and he might be — nothing could serve the liberal cause better than having him exposed on Friday night.”

Scahill released a statement on Twitter late yesterday when he pulled out of the show.

It read:

Today I saw the news that Milo Yiannopoulos is scheduled to be the lead guest on Friday’s episode of Real Time with Bill Maher. I was already scheduled to be a panelist on the program that same evening, along with Larry Wilmore and Jack Kingston. I have decided that I will not be appearing on the show. Before I explain my reasons for this, I want to say that I have had the pleasure of working as a correspondent for Real Time and over the years have been a guest or panelist many times. I have total admiration and respect for the producers, writers, and others who work on the show.

Over the past decade, the people at Real Time have become like family to me. I passionately disagree with—and find offensive— some of Bill’s views, particularly when his comments on Islam and Muslims veer into vitriol. At the same time, I have deep respect for Bill and his voice on many other issues and I believe he and his staff have created a vital platform for debate and discussion that at times I love and other times loathe. I know I fall into the latter category for some of the show’s viewers because I hear from them every time I appear. Whatever one might say about Bill, he always allows guests to challenge him or disagree with him.

But Milo Yiannopoulos is many bridges too far. He has ample venues to spew his hateful diatribes. There is no value in “debating” him. Appearing on Real Time will provide Yiannopoulos with a large, important platform to openly advocate his racist, anti-immigrant campaign. It will be exploited by Yiannopoulos in an attempt to legitimize his hateful agenda. Yiannopoulos’s appearance could also be used to incite violence against immigrants, transgender people, and others at a time when the Trump Administration is already seeking to formalize a war against some of the most vulnerable people in our society. Yiannopoulos has shown he will use his appearances to publicly attack and shame specific ordinary people by name, a practice which could lead to violence or even death. Real Time, of course, has the right to book whomever it wants on its show, including Yiannopoulos. But I cannot participate in an event that will give a platform to such a person. For these reasons, I have informed the producers of Real Time that I will not appear on the show.

—Jeremy Scahill, journalist.

Why I will not appear this week on Real Time with Bill Maher. pic.twitter.com/SOoE3udrDr

— jeremy scahill (@jeremyscahill) February 15, 2017

Beyoncé, LGBT Icon and Houston Native, Remains Silent as Texas Pursues Anti-Transgender Bathroom Bill

From: kenneth in the (212)

Laverne Cox meets her queen at the Grammys

Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Sting, Cyndi Lauper, Miley Cyrus, Whoopi Goldberg Amy Schumer and Laverne Cox are among the bold-faced names who have signed onto a letter urging Texas legislators to abandon their anti-transgender bathroom bill. Yet as was the case during Houston's much-needed Proposition 1 -- the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO), which guaranteed equality based on sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing and services, something neither U.S. nor Texas state law protect -- Houston native and LGBT icon Beyoncé has said nothing. We could really use the help of someone of her stature -- and a native Texas-- to fight this fear mongering. What's up with that? 

I know how much dad appreciates a nice hot bath after a long hard day at work so I make sure to have it ready for him when he comes home. What he doesn’t know is that I strategically fill the tub only so much and “forget” to leave out the bubble just so I can take advantage of the view of his perfect naked body

Andrew Keenan-Bolger Has Big News For Everybody

The Broadway cutie is headed to the big screen with “Newsies.”
From: NewNowNext

 Extra, extra! Read all about Broadway’s Andrew Keenan-Bolger, who limped his way into our hearts as Crutchie in Newsies, the Tony-winning Disney musical about scrappy New York City newsboys in 1899. After briefly crashing the North American tour last year, he’s appearing in the filmed version of that staging, showing in select movie theaters this month.

Embed from Getty Images

Even when he’s not queening out over Drag Race, Keenan-Bolger seizes the day to be visibly gay.

You left Newsies on Broadway in March 2013. Why did you want to play Crutchie again for the film?

I always leave a show feeling that there’s unfinished business. You never feel like you’ve arrived at the perfect performance, but I particularly felt that way with Newsies because it was my big taking-off point as an adult actor in New York. Plus, I got to reunite with three of my Broadway cast mates, Jeremy Jordan, Kara Lindsay, and Ben Fankhauser.

Was getting back on that old crutch just like riding a bike?

Oh, man. Some things came right back, but other things I really had to drill—especially some of the music. I think I’d learned some harmony lines wrong and had been singing them wrong for years!

You also got to sing a new solo, “Letter From the Refuge.”

One of the reasons I was excited to do the film was to get a crack at this beautiful song that Alan Menken and Jack Feldman wrote for the tour. The show’s so explosive with energy, so there aren’t a lot of intimate, tender moments. This sad, simple song gives the story a new level of complexity.

What was the best part about doing Newsies on Broadway?

It looked like we were having fun because we really were. It’s unusual to have a cast with 18 young guys, especially dancers. Pretty much all of us had been the only boy in our dance classes, and suddenly we were doing this exciting new musical with other boys who had similar identities. The bond was real. I didn’t have brothers growing up, and then I had a lot of them. They’re still my best friends. I’m on group texts with half of them.

Your youthful look allows you to still play teenagers. Now that you’re in your 30s, are you itching for more mature roles?

Sure. I’m looking toward film and television, because there are just so many more characters with more complicated identities than you might get in the 30 Broadway shows running at any given time.

Seeing sweet little Andrew Keenan-Bolger have gay sex in an episode of Looking was a clutch-the-pearls moment.

[Laughs] It was definitely a decision, being a product of Disney, to turn that on its head and, you know, do another thing that I enjoy doing.

Aside from Newsies, you’ve done family-friendly Broadway musicals like Tuck Everlasting and Mary Poppins. You’ve also co-written a series of books about musical theater nerds geared toward middle schoolers. What kind of responsibility comes with having so many young fans?

It’s a lot of responsibility, especially as an out gay man in the entertainment industry, but it’s been really rewarding. My new book, Jack & Louisa: Act 3, actually deals with queer and questioning youth. I know there are a lot of queer or questioning kids who follow me on social media, and I want to put it out there that you can be out, happy, comfortable with yourself, and still succeed in a career that you love.

keenanblogger

Curious George and the Man in the Yellow Hat #halloween2016#halloween

Some fans seem very invested in your relationship with your boyfriend, Scott Bixby.

It’s sort of hilarious. I was at BroadwayCon recently, and people were coming up and asking for selfies with Scott. As a journalist, he wasn’t prepared for that.

You got interviewed at BroadwayCon by Ginger Minj.

I’m a huge Drag Race fan, so I spotted her from across the convention hall and starting running up to everyone, asking, “What’s Ginger Minj doing at BroadwayCon?!” I was surrounded by fancy Broadway people, but of course I fangirled hardest over someone from Drag Race.

Are you looking forward to the upcoming season of Drag Race?

Yes! One of my old college classmates Alexis Michelle is on it. She’s an amazing queen—and I can’t wait to see her bring a little musical theater to the competition.

Disney’s Newsies: The Broadway Musical is playing in select theaters February 18, and 22.

Alrighty Then: ‘Words Fail’ Stephen Colbert to Describe Trump’s Press Conference

From: Towleroad

“Evidently he didn’t even bring his meds with him.”

Stephen Colbert began his Late Show monologue last night with the thing that has distracted everyone from talking about the real news – Trump’s Russia scandal – with the Trump side show.

“It was beefy. So beefy you could eat it with a fork, okay? But you’re going to want to use a spoon to get every drop of the crazy….Its still steaming. You could warm your hands over this pile.”

“It’s kind of hard to characterize the press conference — words fail me,” Colbert added.

But Stephen did do some fact checking.

To Trump’s claim “I inherited a mess,” Colbert replied, “No. You inherited a fortune. We elected a mess.”

Colbert had to agree with Trump’s claim that “I don’t think there’s ever been a president elected who in this short period of time has done what we’ve done.”

Watch the sadly hilarious segment:

Alfonso And The Wet T-Shirt

From: DNA

 Meet Alfonso Ballestas, the Maracaibo born model who has lived and traveled around the world including the USA where he told DNA that he:

 “could openly express my sexuality and go to the first gay club (Pulse nightclub).”

 The sports enthusiast moved to Sydney in 2015 and since then:

 “The ocean has become my home and I have met amazing people from all around the world.”

 Show some love, follow the photographer and the model from this shoot on their social media.

Photographer: Andrew Stubbersfield Photography | Instagram

Model: Alfonso Ballestas | Instagram.

After an afternoon of drinking, dad seemed real comfortable takin a piss in front of me. He was normally much more shy

Actor Chris Salvatore, who took in his suffering neighbor, mourns her passing

From: Queerty

chrissalvatore

Somebody's thriving 🥂 #myneighbornorma

We told you about Chris Salvatore, the openly gay actor who had taken in his 89-year-old neighbor Norma Cook (and her cat Hermes.)

Suffering from leukemia and pneumonia, Norma moved into her friend’s home in late 2016.

 The 31-year-old Eating Out star managed to raise $50,000 towards her ongoing care.

According to a statement Salvatore posted Thursday morning, Norma passed away today at the age of 89:

It’s with a heavy heart that I share the news that earlier this morning the world lost a truly inspiring, beautiful woman.

Norma is now resting peacefully in the eternal and while she may no longer physically be with us, her spirit will continue to fill the hearts of so many people.

Perhaps Norma’s lasting legacy is that her story helped the world to see the true meaning of love.

Norma reminded me that we all are created to love and all desire to be loved.

This year Norma has helped the world see the true meaning of Valentine’s Day.

To love another is not about living struggle-free or never experiencing hurt or loss, but to fully and deeply open our hearts to one another without fear.

Each of us is lovable even with all of our differences. Love has no boundaries. May you rest in peace my sweet sweet lady, Norma. ??

 They had been friends for many years, and Norma even occasionally helped him cruise Grindr, as any good neighbor would.

New Recruit Colton Pounds Young Nick Gunner

From: Rough Straight Men

 Colton is a brand new recruit at Active Duty and he’s here for the second time to “fight” a little with the handsome straight Gunner.

 Nick has a no-nonsense approach and didn’t waste much time but just gets down to business. He begins to blow Colton’s dick. Meanwhile Colton enjoys the blowjob (it was his very first gay blowjob as he later admitted).

 Then Colton begins to fuck Nick Gunner in the ass and it’s a very hot scene with several positions. There is also some dirty talk between these two studs.

 Nick cums on his belly while Colton shoves his cock into Nick’s ass. Practically Colton fucked the cum out of Nick!

 Finally Nick sucks Colton until he cums!