New York’s FuerzaFest To Honor Pulse Victims

The 12-day event celebrates LGBT Latino culture
From: NewNextNow

FuerzaFest, a 12-day celebration of LGBT Latino culture in New York, launches May 10 at the Julia de Burgos Performance and Arts Center, with a wide selection of films, one-act plays, workshops, panels, art exhibits, networking events, and more.

The theme for the fest’s sophomore outing, “Breaking Down Walls,” addresses intersectional issues including undocumented immigrants, religion, LGBT youth and the challenges facing Latinos in the current political climate.

One of the featured films, Viva, chronicles a young gay man’s desire to perform at his local drag club.

Fuerzafest will also honor the 49 victims of last year’s Pulse Nightclub shooting, many of whom were Latino and LGBT, with a memorial installation spotlighting each victim’s story, and musical and performance tributes. Ricardo Negrón, a Pulse survivor and director of the Project Somos Orlando, will appear on an opening-day panel.

“The last year has seen an alarming rise in homophobia and xenophobia as a direct result of the hateful narrative in our national political debate,” festival director Mario Colón said in a statement. “Now more than ever we need to revisit how our communities respond to and resist these threats.”

All FuerzaFest film screenings are free and open to the public. For additional information and the complete schedule of events, go to the festival website.

Logo Documentary “Out Of Iraq” Wins Daytime Emmy

The World of Wonder-produced doc chronicled the relationship between an interpreter and a solider
From: NewNowNext

 The Daytime Emmy Awards were this weekend, and Logo’s documentary Out of Iraq won Outstanding Special Class Special.

 The film, produced by World of Wonder and co-directed by Chris McKim and Eva Orner, recounts the true story of Nayyef Hrebid and Btoo Allami, two enlisted men who fell in love but were forced to flee when Btoo became the target of an honor killing. Nayyef, a translator, obtained a U.S. visa and had to leave Btoo behind, but the couple was determined to reunite one day.

Ellen DeGeneres had Nayyef and Btoo on her show earlier this year when she named them “everyday heroes” and surprised them with a check for $25,000.

CBS’s The Talk, including out co-host Sarah Gilbert, took home Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Hosts, and once again The Ellen DeGeneres Show took home Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show. The honor had added significance as Sunday marked the 20th anniversary of Ellen’s coming out on her sitcom, Ellen.

MTV’s Transformation, a documentary about the lives of transgender and gender non-conforming young people, was also nominated for Outstanding Special Class Special, and SNL’s Kate McKinnon for her voice work on the animated series, Nature Cat.

Get the full list of 2017 Daytime Emmy Awards winners here.

7 Reasons We Wish We Were Christine Baranski

The talent, the tenacity—the statement jewelry!
From: NewNowNext

 Today is Christine Baranski’s birthday—the Good Fight star turns 65, if you can believe that. We just love everything about her—her style, her talent, her tenacity.

Check out 7 reasons we wish we were more like Christine Baranski (but, y’know, not in a stalker-y way or anything).

1

She’s tough as nails

  

Actors bring a lot of themselves into their roles, and The Good Fight’s Diane Lockhart owns any room she enters. This straight-talking champion of women’s rights offers a mesmerizing mix of grit, brilliance, power and refined beauty.

Plus, we totally envy her assortment of statement necklaces.

“Death to gays” pastor gets life in prison for child molestation

From: Queerty

In news no one will find particularly shocking, yet another virulently anti gay religious figure has come tumbling out of the proverbial closet.

Earlier this month, a jury took just one hour to find Georgia Pastor Kenneth Adkins guilty on eight charges of child molestation of a young boy and girl who belonged to his church.

Savannah Now reports he was convicted of grooming the two youths, under the guise of mentorship, “to have sexual intercourse first in front of him so he could judge if they were doing it properly to eventually joining in on the acts himself.”

Jacksonville reports:

Peering out into a crowded courtroom, Adkins got what is likely one last look at his detractors and law enforcement officers after being sentenced to life behind bars on child molestation charges. However, the judge ruled that after the first 35 years, Adkins can serve the balance of his sentence on probation.

The outspoken antigay pastor regularly referred to homosexuals as the “devil,” as you can see in the below tweets:

Some of Adkins' recent tweets. @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/y2WjzKRTa8

— Russell Colburn (@RussellANjax) August 26, 2016

The jury was shown nude photos of Adkins that he’d sent to the male accuser, as well as a series of messages sent between the female and Adkins.

Of the eight charges, five pertained to the female who has denied any of the crimes took place. SN notes that she lived with Adkins and his wife as recently as a month after he was arrested.

Related: Men” Director Bryan Singer Accused Of Drug-Fueled Sexual Abuse Of Teenage Boy

“She’s in his clutches,” said Assistant District Attorney Katie Gropper. “What he has done to that girl is not only criminal, it is deplorable.”

According to SN:

The male told the jury last week that Adkins watched them have sex so many times that he lost track. He said the sex — in the presence of Adkins occurred in the church office, at the beach and in Adkins’ car. The male, according to testimony presented during the trial, initially told an Army investigator that his girlfriend was 16 and he was 15 when the activity first began. On the witness stand, the young man said his then-girlfriend was 15. Sixteen is the age of consent in Georgia.

Adkins made headlines following the Orlando massacre last June, when he took to Twitter to blame the victims for their fates:

Dear Gays: go sit down somewhere. I know y’all want some special attention; y’all are Sinners who need Jesus. This was an attack on America.

[I’ve] been through so much with these Jacksonville homosexuals that I don’t see none of them as victims. I see them as getting what they deserve!!

Adkins is 57, so it’s entirely likely he’ll be living out the rest of his days behind bars.

Parents of gay, bi men in Chechnya told: Kill your children or we will

From: LGBTQ Nation

A survivor of the Chechnya prison camp describes his experiences.
Screenshot, France

More survivors of the secret prisons, where LGBTQ people are tortured, humiliated, interrogated, and killed, are speaking out about the horrors going on inside Chechnya.

While Chechen officials continue to deny the reports, it is clear from accounts such as those you will see in the video below that life as an LGBTQ person in the Russian controlled region is highly dangerous. While this has long been the case, the situation has gotten worse, with an unprecedented roundup of gay and bisexual men taking place.

According to the British government, Chechnya’s president, Ramzan Kadyrov, plans to eliminate the LGBTQ community by the start of Ramadan, less than a month away.

As we previously reported, survivors have outlined abuses including electrocution and beatings, and shared that when and if they are brought back home, their families are told they should murder them in an honor killing.

Now we have a man who made it out alive sharing that sometimes families are invited to the prison sites and told to kill their relative, or else the authorities will do it themselves.

“They tell the parents to kill their child,” said the man, whose identity has been protected over fears for his safety. “They say, ‘Either you do it or we will.’ They call it, ‘Cleaning your honor with blood.'”

“They tortured a man for two weeks,” he continued. “They summoned his parents and his brothers who all came. They said to them, ‘Your son is a homosexual. Sort it out or we’ll do it ourselves.’ They replied, ‘It’s our family, we’ll do it.’ The family took him and killed him in the forest. They buried him there. They didn’t even give him a funeral.”

The man said that if he were to go home, he believes his family would do likewise, leaving him to suffer the same fate.

“We’ve always been persecuted, but never like this,” the man said. “Now they arrest everyone. They kill people. They do whatever they want. They know that nobody will come after them. Because the order has come from above to ‘cleanse the nation’ of people like us.”

French presidential hopeful Emmanuel Macron appears topless on cover of gay magazine

From: Queerty

In case you haven’t heard, France is in the throes of an intense presidential campaign between two polar opposites: Emmanuel Macron, a young, pro-LGBTQ liberal, and Marine Le Pen, the anti gay daughter of a Nazi sympathizer. The candidates are currently running neck and neck.

This week, Garçon, a bi-monthly magazine that caters to gay men, featured a topless Macron as the cover boy. Underneath him is the headline: “Coming out: a necessary fight.”

Reporter Tristan Barreiros, who writes for Garçon, tells Mashable that the picture was photo shopped and that the decision to run the cover story on “coming out” was meant to be ironic.

39-year-old Macron is straight but he is a longtime supporter of same-sex marriage, which is something his opponents have tried using against him. Throughout the campaign, they have accused him of being closeted, spread rumors that he was having a gay affair, and suggested he is backed by “a very wealthy gay lobby.”

Macron, who’s been happily married to a woman for ten years, has repeatedly denied the allegations and said he loves his wife “very much.”

Garçon‘s editor-in-chief Christophe Soret says in a statement that the decision to feature Macron was made in an effort to address “the controversy about the possible homosexuality of the candidate” head on.

“[Macron] clearly explained himself by indicating that he loved his wife and had no connection with a man,” Soret says. “We do not revive this false story; we fight it!”

In the statement, Soret also urged voters, particularly LGBTQ voters, to reject candidate Marine Le Pen and the far right-wing Front National, who want to repeal same-sex marriage and roll back protections for LGBTQ people.

He also hopes it reminds the future president, whomever it may be, that the LGBTQ community in France “will continue to fight to defend our right to sexual difference which is not a choice but a fact.”

France will vote for its new president on Sunday.

Top Ten Sexiest Drag Race Stars Out Of Drag

From: Fleshbot

 5

Adore Delano

Season Six

Adore's looks have changed over time, but during her original season, all I could notice was that adorable head of hair, those DSL for days, and those super purdy eyes. Let's all say it together..... Party.

Cosmo Centrefold Hall of Fame

From: Cosmo UK

Mikey Dalton

Big Brother 7 Contestant

Mikey Dalton (born 16 April 1983) is a half-Iranian, half-English model and music producer from Liverpool. Mikey attended St Margaret's Church of England High School and then went on to the University of Salford where he graduated with a degree in Multimedia & Internet Technology.

On Day 79, Mikey became the 11th housemate to be evicted with 48.5% of the public vote. On Day 83, he was then voted back into the House Next Door with 7.3% of the public's vote, along with Grace, Lea and Nikki. He was evicted for a second and final time on Day 86. Mikey and Grace have had an ongoing relationship since leaving the House Next Door. In October 2006, it was announced that he had proposed to Grace and that she had accepted and the pair were married on 17 October 2009.

He has been a DJ and continued to be a music producer post Big Brother.

365 Groovy Books Worth Reading

From: Deep Dish

45

My Lucky Stars: A Hollywood Memoir

by

Shirley MacLaine

1995

The Academy Award-winning actress (Terms of Endearment) reminisces about her forty years in show business, including her affairs with Robert Mitchum, Danny Kaye and Yves Montand.

Cosmo Centrefolds 2010

From: Cosmo UK

Jack Whitehall

Funny Man Jack Scrubs Up Well

Jack Peter Benedict Whitehall (born 7 July 1988) is an English comedian, television presenter and actor.

He is best known for his stand up comedy and for starring as JP in the TV series Fresh Meat, and as Alfie Wickers in the TV series Bad Education which he also co-wrote.

Since 2012, he has been a regular panelist on the game show A League of Their Own. He also hosts Backchat with his father, Michael.

Hot Heeb of the Day for May 2, 2016

From:  Hot Heebs

Banana Beach, Tel Aviv