Netflix announces 2 more seasons of ‘Queer Eye’

Netflix’s show “Queer Eye” is bringing fabulousness to the masses for two more seasons.

The streaming service announced Tuesday, June 18, that the fourth season will debut July 19. The eight episodes were shot in the Kansas City area, where last season the stars revamped a prison guard, a children’s camp program director and two sisters who own a barbecue joint.

Netflix also said production will begin soon in Philadelphia for the fifth season, which will be released next year.

The show features resident fashion expert, Tan France, along with food guru Antoni Porowski, hairstylist Jonathan Van Ness, culture expert Karamo Brown and home designer Bobby Berk. The Emmy-winning show is a reboot of the 2003 series “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy”. HM/NVG

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Taylor Swift makes surprise performance at gay bar Stonewall

Taylor Swift made a surprise performance at an iconic gay bar a day after releasing a song supporting the LGBTQ+ community.

Swift celebrated Pride Month by appearing at New York City’s Stonewall Inn on Friday night, June 14.

She released her new tune Thursday, June 13, called “You Need to Calm Down”, where she calls out those who attack the LGBTQ+ community.

The song is the second single from Swift’s seventh album “Lover” which will be released on Aug. 23.

Swift sang her hit song “Shake It Off” at the New York City bar with “Modern Family” actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who hosted the event.

Ferguson is working on a documentary about Stonewall Inn, where patrons resisted a police raid in 1969 and helped spark the gay rights movement. The bar is marking 50 years since the riots. HM/JB

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Panic at US pride parade sends people running

WASHINGTON — A panic caused by a mistaken belief that a gun had been fired during a pride parade in Washington, D.C., sent people running through the streets of the nation’s capital on Saturday evening, city officials said. Police said some of the people who ran sustained minor injuries and seven were taken to hospitals.

“As the officers were going to the scene, there was a crowd of people going away from it and some of the individuals in the crowd said there was a man with a gun and that someone had fired a shot,” said Guillermo Rivera, a commander with the Metropolitan Police Department.

The man was taken into custody and is facing a gun possession charge, Rivera said.

City officials said no shots were fired.

“There is NO Active Shooter at Dupont Circle. There are injuries from people running from what they thought were gunshots. But there is NO ACTIVE SHOOTER at Dupont Circle,” Kevin Donahue, the deputy mayor for public safety, said in a tweet posted shortly after the incident.

Mayor Muriel Bowser tweeted that she had been briefed by police and there were “no shots fired.” She said fire department personnel were “on the scene to treat minor injuries / due to reports of a shooting.”


Elizabeth Hernandez, 19, was among the thousands celebrating LGBTQ pride in the city when she said she heard “pop, pop” and suddenly barricades were being tossed over and a crowd of people starting running frantically from the area.

“Everything fell and everyone said: ‘Run!,’” said Hernandez of Falls Church, Virginia. She ran down the block and was pushed into a restaurant, where she went into a bathroom with a group of fellow revelers.

Ashley Smith, the president of Capital Pride Alliance, which puts on the event, said he saw people running toward him from Dupont Circle.

“We cannot allow this incident, until we know all the facts of it, we cannot allow this incident to ruin the pride celebration going on this weekend,” Smith said. “We’re very focused on wanting to make sure we continue to have a great event for the rest of the weekend.”

He said the group spent extensive time planning security procedures.

Rivera said police felt they had an “adequate amount of resources on the ground, which is why we were able to respond so quickly.”

/atm

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

Indian star Abhishek Bachchan on a victory for gay rights

TORONTO (AP) — Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan is cheering India’s decision to strike down a ban on consensual gay sex, calling it “a wonderful step in the right direction.”

India’s Supreme Court last week reversed a colonial-era law that made gay sex punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a landmark victory for gay rights that one judge said would “pave the way for a better future.”


Bachchan, at the Toronto Film Festival, agreed: “It shows the kind of progression that is happening in India, especially from the mindset of the youth,” he said Tuesday.

While Bachchan said some Indian films have dealt with the issue of homosexuality, Indian cinema is generally not political.

“Indian cinema, by and large, is very escapist by nature. You go in to a film, you want a laugh and a cry. You want to fall in love. You want to hate. You want to see some action,” he said. “I think the function of Indian cinema is to come in forget your worries for three hours.”

Bachchan’s latest film, “Manmarziyaan”, or “Husband Material”, is a quirky love triangle also starring Taapsee Pannu and Vicky Kaushal. It’s directed by Anurag Kashyap.

“I think it’s a wonderful bridge between quintessential Indian cinema with its usual tropes, and a cinema that is also coming out of India, which is more accessible and understandable,” he said. “I liked the fact that it’s a marriage of two worlds — Anurag’s more contemporary world with a very Indian backbone to the story.”

Bachchan is happy that Indian cinema continues to grow outside the country and has made Indian characters more accessible. But sometimes the characters become negative stereotypes. One example, is Apu, the convenience store owner on Fox television series, “The Simpsons”. The character has come under fire as racist and stereotypical.

Bachchan, who attended college in America and who has long watched “The Simpsons”, thinks the backlash may be going too far.

“I don’t make too much of a deal of it. I think somewhere we’re getting a bit too highly sensitive about everything,” he said. “Let’s not do something outwardly to offend a particular community. But look — it’s ‘The Simpsons’, OK? It’s not life changing. You have to learn to laugh at yourself a bit.”

Bachchan, the son of Indian actors who is married to actress Aishwarya Rai, has been called the Brad Pitt of India, something he finds “embarrassing.”


“He’s a wonderful actor, somebody, you know, we’ve all grown up admiring,” Bachchan said before laughing. “Sorry, Mr. Pitt”.

“Manmarziyaan” opens Sept. 14 in theaters in the U.S., India, and Australia. CC

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

US transgender woman wins Democratic nod for governor in Vermont

Washington, United States — Christine Hallquist won the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in the US state of Vermont on Tuesday, moving a step closer to becoming the nation’s first transgender governor, US media reported.

But she still faces an uphill battle in the general election, when she is projected to face Republican incumbent Phil Scott, who has been in office since 2016.

“HISTORY MADE! @christineforvt just became the first trans/non-binary gubernatorial candidate from a major political party in American history!” tweeted the Victory Fund, an organization that supports LGBTQ candidates.


Hallquist transitioned while heading the Vermont Electricity Coop, several years before launching her gubernatorial bid.

In 2015, “Christine made the decision, after years of holding it inside, to come out as her true self, a transgender woman, becoming the first business leader in the country to transition while in office,” according to her campaign’s website.

“Working to ensure that Vermont remains the special, inclusive and progressive place that it has always been… is what motivates Christine to seek the honor and opportunity to serve the people of Vermont as its next governor,” it says.

Hallquist beat out James Ehlers, a Navy veteran and environmentalist, and Brenda Siegel, the executive director of a dance festival, to win the Democratic nomination.

Also among the primary candidates was 14-year-old schoolboy Ethan Sonneborn, who took advantage of a quirk in the constitution of the bucolic northeastern state that imposes no age limit on running for governor.

His website proclaims him a champion for middle- and working-class families, with “the right ideas” on healthcare reform, economic development and education — never mind that he’s still years from graduating high school.

But despite praise for Sonneborn’s “maturity” and political awareness, his campaign attracted calls for Vermont lawmakers to close the loophole.

“I think we should probably take a look at that to be perfectly honest,” Governor Scott told reporters when asked if he thought 14-year-olds should be eligible to run.


“I think you should at least be able to get your driver’s license at the time that you become governor.” /kga

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

This Sportswear Brand Released a Sneaker Line for LGBTQ Pride Month

To celebrate Pride Month, Nike released three sneakers under the Be True collection as they continue to support the LGBTQ community—and of course, it features the colors of the rainbow.

The first of the three is their new colorway for the Air Max Zero which comes in all white, but with a subtle rainbow design on the heel. The tongue features a pink label and you’ll also see “Be True” on the insoles to complete the look.

Next up is the running staple LunarTempo2 that comes in contrasting black and white finished off with rainbow done in graphic prints along with a pink sole. Now this looks more like a party.

Finally we have the basketball performance model Hyperrev 2016 also done in contrasting black and white with the upper that features a gradient rainbow.

Hurry now and swipe these pairs as they will be available on the Nike SNKRS app today.

[Hypebeast and SneakerNews]


Photos courtesy of Nike

source: preen.inquirer.net