According to an OutSFL article that cited the Nebraska Examiner, Nebraska state senator John Fredrickson and his husband Jeff Formanek endowed the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). New UNL students who support LGBTQ rights and causes may receive ongoing financial aid from the endowment. Fredrickson stated in a video, “We feel so fortunate that this new endowment may actually have an impact on paving the way for Nebraska and Nebraskans.”
According to The Washington Blade, authorities sectioned off a well-known venue in Takoma Park, Maryland, following a bomb threat that shut down businesses, including Tara Hoot’s holiday performance. Mike Rothman, the general manager of MotorKat, claimed that around lunchtime, Takoma Park authorities informed them of a bomb threat to their operations. (Hoot was giving a performance at MotorKat when the evacuation order was received.) Later that evening, businesses resumed operations.
According to a press release, the Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists is accepting website votes for its 2024 Excellence in Journalism Awards. People can apply for the Excellence in Journalism Awards, including non-members and editors who do not identify as LGBTQ+. The submission deadline is noon ET on Monday, April 1. Visit website nlgja.org/excellence-in-journalism-awards/ for more information.
According to the AP, Harvard University President Claudine Gay resigned in the face of accusations of plagiarism and criticism over testimony at a legislative hearing, where she was unable to categorically state that calling for the murder of Jews on campus would go against the school’s policies. Following the parliamentary testimony, Liz Magill, the current president of the University of Pennsylvania, resigned on December 9. Gay is the next Ivy League leader to step down in the past month.
The Juneau Empire noted that the first-ever Miss Gay Alaska had just been crowned in the state capital. Following a two-night competition among five challengers at the Juneau Arts and Cultural Center, Anchorage native Lamia Monroe was crowned. However, Miss Guise, the winner and second runner-up, are both moving forward to compete in the national pageant on January 16 and 19, deviating from the usual rules for pageants. Soon after being crowned, Monroe remarked, “It feels a little surreal.” It is Alaska’s first national system, according to reports. Therefore, it feels a little bigger than just me.
One of the oldest gay bars in Scottsdale, BS West, announced its intention to close on January 7 after 35 years, according to AZCentral.com. “We want to express our sincere gratitude and best wishes to those who made our journey worthwhile as we approach the end of an era,” read a Facebook post. “Thank you to the staff, show casts, partners, and devoted customers who over the years helped us establish a welcoming environment.” Since its founding in 1988, BS West has been known as a safe haven for the LGBTQ+ community. It occupied two floors on Fifth Avenue and held drag shows, trans nights, and go-go dancers.
The infamous sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s associates were identified in court documents that were made public. Prince Andrew of Great Britain, former U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, Michael Jackson, and David Copperfield are among the high-profile names mentioned in the court documents, according to The Guardian. The names of these associates were listed in court documents submitted as part of Epstein complainant Virginia Giuffre’s lawsuit against British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, who was found guilty in December 2021 of sex trafficking and other related offenses for obtaining young girls for shamed financier Epstein.
Chip Wilson, the founder of Lululemon, criticized the company’s ongoing efforts to promote equality and diversity, Newsweek noted. Wilson, who left the company in 2015, expressed his displeasure with Lululemon’s “whole diversity and inclusion thing” and the way the people in its advertisements appeared, saying they appeared “unhealthy,” “ill,” and “not inspirational.” “Chip Wilson does not speak for Lululemon, and his opinions do not reflect our company views or values,” a company representative wrote to Newsweek via email.
“All of Us Strangers,” directed by queer English director Andrew Haigh, may be loosely based on Taichi Yamada’s Chinese novel “Strangers,” but Out claims that the Paul Mescal/Andrew Scott-led movie has a much more intimate feel. According to Haigh, all of the characters in the movie yearn to be known and understood. The coming-out scenes are about how crucial it is to be well-known. Moving through life is extremely difficult if you feel you are not understood. And you feel lonely if you’re never understood. Haigh contacted the existing residents of his childhood home after deciding to make the movie, and they agreed to let him film in it.
Researchers in a contentious study published in Science Advances examined 450,000 people in the United Kingdom and concluded that the genes underlying bisexual behavior are different from those driving unique same-sex behavior and may be intertwined with risk-taking. The authors hypothesize that this link to risk-taking may also help to explain why men who have a history of bisexual behavior also have relatively high procreation rates, despite having fewer offspring than heterosexual men. The association between bisexual behavior and risk-taking, according to research co-author Jianzhi Zhang, a geneticist at the University of Michigan, “is an observational observation.” They believe that taking risks has advantages and disadvantages (depending on the circumstances), just like almost any other characteristic.
According to a press release, French transgender and genderqueer singer Christine and the Queens have released an adaptation of the Bee Gees song “Staying Alive!” A studio version of “Staying Alive! (Chris’ Version)” as well as a Venice-filmed video that the musician themself directed is now available. A time that saw the artist perform at London’s Meltdown Festival, appear at Coachella, BBC 6 Music Festival, Glastonbury Festival, and Wilderness Festival; and tour the world came to an end with the release of the song. You can watch the video at YouTube.
According to Deadline, American singer Dua Lipa decided a music video was too “insensitive” to release amidst the ongoing conflict in Gaza, despite spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on production. To help the release of her fourth album the following year, the “Be the One” singer shot the video, which features images of fighting audiences. The video was shot prior to the Hamas war on October 7.
Lauren Chan, a model for Canadian Sports Illustrated Swimsuit who came out last year as an LGBTQ+ community member, shared an Instagram video that captured candid and private moments from her relationship with Hayley Kosan, Yahoo! reported. Fans flooded the comments with congratulations and praise for Chan’s openness, some expressing their “thrill” at the role model for falling in love. On December 21, Chan publicly announced her marriage with Kosan. She posted a makeup-free, topless photo of the two of them sharing hugs with the caption “Hard launch.”
According to Deadline, British actor Jamie Dornan admitted to having an unsettling encounter with a stalker. He revealed to The Independent that, prior to the crisis, a fan of Fifty Shades of Grey showed up at his front door. In order to play serial criminal Paul Spector in The Fall, Dornan, who is starring in the upcoming season of the BBC drama The Tourist, previously tried to understand a stalker’s mindset.
After more than 50 years in power, Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II (Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid) plans to abdicate in January, according to E! News. According to numerous media reports, the 83-year-old said in her monthly New Year’s Eve speech, “On 14 January 2024, 52 years after I succeeded my dearest father, I will step down as queen of Denmark.” “I hand over the crown to Crown Prince Frederik, my brother.” The queen cited a knee operation she had this past February as influencing her decision to resign.
The 2024 BAFTA Film Awards will be presented by former Doctor Who actor David Tennant on February 18 at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in London, according to Deadline. Tennant takes over for Saltburn actor Richard E. Grant, who presided over the first edition, which was held at Royal Festival Hall, last year.
At a 2013 press conference, Dominic West revealed to Times Radio that Prince Harry had stopped speaking with him after The Crown actor had told stories of the prince’s “two-day bender,” during which he drank alcohol from prosthetic legs. According to the Daily Mail, West told the press at the time, “Two of the Aussie men stripped naked and ran around the mast, but most of us, Harry included, really went on a two-day bender with the Icelandic truck drivers who had brought some devastating homebrew with them.” Harry was, however, also described by West as a “really great guy” and “very much a part of the team.” On The Crown, West portrays Harry’s father, King Charles III.
