LGBTQ Advocates Call on Dodgers to Reinvite Drag Queen Group or Cancel Pride Night

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 7 winner Violet Chachki will honored with the Cultural Icon Award at Tom of Finland Foundation’s 30th annual Tom’s Bar fundraiser. The drag artist, burlesque performer, model and singer will be presented with the award by Dita Von Teese. “Mean Girls” movie musical and “Looking” star Daniel Franzese emcees. The all-day festivities take place June 18 at The Avalon & Bardot Hollywood in Los Angeles. The theme for this year’s bash is “All roads lead to Tom.” “Tom’s Bar is a place where all corners of the LGBTQ+ community and its allies converge for a big party under one roof,” ToFF creative director Richard Villani said in a statement. “Leathermen, pups, kinksters and fetishists of all stripes are welcome to dance and party all day long.”

Today, Outfest announced the Opening and Closing Night gala film selections for the 41st edition of the Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ+ Film Festival, taking place from July 13 – 23 in Los Angeles, presented by Warner Bros. Discovery and Genesis Motor America. The festival will open with Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, directed by Aitch Alberto, and the 11-day event will close with Chasing Chasing Amy, directed by Sav Rodgers. The Opening Night Gala will screen at the Orpheum Theatre, with the Closing Night Gala screening at The Montalbán Theatre.

The 2023 WeHo Pride Parade was the place to be this weekend in the Los Angeles area!

Pride is family time! Idina Menzel had a special cheering section during her headlining performance at WeHo Pride.

It was Pride and Drag Queen picket day in Los Angeles, where around 300 people hit up Warner Bros. Discovery to highlight their issues as the strike marches into its second month.

James Corden appears to be the latest star to meet up with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The comedian, who recently ended his late night talk show "The Late Late Show with James Corden" and relocated back to the U.K., visited the United States and apparently stopped in to say hi to the Sussexes.  Corden’s vehicle appeared to be heading toward Harry and Markle's Montecito home, a source told Fox News Digital.  "They [Corden and his family] went to Harry's for about an hour and then went to dinner at Lucky's [Steakhouse]," the insider said.

Thania Garcia It’s official: Tyler, the Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival will be returning to Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium on November 11 and 12. A limited number of advance sale passes will be available starting June 2 at 12 p.m. PT while supplies last at http://www.campfloggnaw.com. The lineup for the 2023 event will be announced at a later date. NOVEMBER 11th and 12th: https://t.co/E8a5h3ROLJ pic.twitter.com/TCPVxgabRC The festival has been on hiatus since 2019, a decision that came as a result of the pandemic — and the increase of festivals post-pandemic — along with the rapper’s hectic touring schedule. The event included performances from Solange, YG, FKA twigs, Juice WRLD, Brockhampton, H.E.R., Daniel Caesar, and surprise guest Drake — who was booed offstage by a crowd that was expecting Frank Ocean.

McKinley Franklin editor Musician Wrabel remembers being in Nashville at a queer event not long after Tennesse Gov. Bill Lee introduced anti-LGBTQ legislation, including unprecedented bans on drag performances. “There [were] 15-20 drag queens singing ‘I’m Every Woman,’ just full sobbing,” Wrabel told Variety. “It struck me there…that even in the midst of this legislation being passed, [the] event was filled with joy, smiling, laughing, crying, dancing and singing.” For Wrabel, seeing that the community could “still dance, fight, sing and feel that connection” in the midst of such dark times stood as a reminder of the strength encompassed by LGBTQ people.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is one of the few Star Wars Disney+ series which pays direct homage to the original George Lucas film canon, versus series such as The Mandalorian which heavily incorporate the animated lore created by Dave Filoni.

George Michael and Clayton Kershaw agree on one thing: “Ya gotta have faith.”

Naman Ramachandran Shant Joshi’s Los Angeles and Toronto-based company Fae Pictures (2023 Cannes title “In Flames”) has boarded Cape Town-based company Giant Films’ “Runs in the Family.” Fae will executive produce and handle the festival launch of the LGBTQ+ road trip family drama, a clip for which has been unveiled. The film is by real-life father-son duo Ian Gabriel (“Ludik”) and Gabe Gabriel (“No Hiding Here”). Ian directed and Gabe wrote and stars in “Runs in the Family.” The film marks Gabe’s first professional role since he came out as trans in 2019. The film follows a reformed con artist, Varun (Ace Bhatti), and his transmasculine son, River (Gabe Gabriel), on a road trip across South Africa to break River’s estranged mother (Diaan Lawrenson) out of rehab. When injury befalls Ollie (Cleo Wesley), River’s drag partner and best friend, his mother propels father and son to partner up for a drag competition that could win River his gender-affirming surgery.

Ariana Madix is spilling even more Scandoval tea. On the latest episode of the podcast, the star gave fans more insight into her ex Tom Sandoval's months-long affair with Raquel Leviss.Among the biggest bombshells from the episode was Madix's claim that, while she was at the home she owns with her ex, Sandoval and Leviss hooked up in the other room.«They had sex in my guest room while I was sleeping in my own bed that he and I went into bed in together and then he left the bed and went to the guest room and f**ked her,» Madix said.As for the rumor that Madix and Sandoval were in an open relationship at the time of his affair, the former reality star denied that and suggested that her ex was the one to push that narrative.«Honestly, I think [that rumor] came from him,» Madix said, recalling how, in January, she came out to deny tabloid reports that they were in an open relationship.According to Madix, there was no indication that they weren't exclusive, as they were living together, sleeping in the same bed, and shared a romantic date night as recently as Valentine's Day.Madix additionally addressed Sandoval's claim that he tried to end the relationship several times and that she had an extreme reaction to that prospect.

pic.twitter.com/626cPP4IthOn Wednesday, the Dodgers announced it had caved to a consortium of mostly out-of-state right wing critics, and disinvited the Sisters from Pride Night. The team said it did so because their inclusion “has been the source of some controversy.” Notably, the group was slated to be named among several LGBTQ+ organizations honored that night for their work on behalf of that community.

The Dodgers are walking back their ban on the drag group Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and have invited them again to be part of LGBTQ+ Pride Night.

Ethan Shanfeld The Los Angeles Dodgers have re-invited The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to the team’s Pride Night following a public outcry after the Dodgers rescinded the activist organization’s initial invitation to the event. “After much thoughtful feedback from our diverse communities, honest conversations with the Los Angeles Dodgers organization and generous discussions with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, the Los Angeles Dodgers would like to offer our sincerest apologies to the [Sisters], members of the LGBTQ+ community and their friends and families,” the team said in a statement, adding that the group has “agreed to receive the gratitude of our collective of our collective communities for the lifesaving work that they have done tirelessly for decades.”

William Earl Variety will present its inaugural “A Night With Artisans” event on Thursday, June 1 with senior artisans editor Jazz Tangcay serving as the night’s emcee and moderator. The evening, which follows the format of Variety’s tentpole “A Night in the Writers’ Room,” will feature three panels with leading Emmy-contending artisans from across various disciplines. The night will spotlight these behind-the-scenes artists from shows such as “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story,” “The Last of Us”, “Daisy Jones & the Six”, “What We Do in the Shadows”, “Mrs. Davis” and many more, discussing how their craft has shaped the most exciting shows of television this Emmys season.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Peppermint wants back on “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” She famously was runner-up in Season 9 when Sasha Velour took the crown after her iconic rose petal-filled finale lip sync. “I would love to go on ‘All Stars,’” Peppermint tells me on this week’s episode of the “Just for Variety” podcast. She was asked to compete in 2018 but was already booked for the Go-Go’s Broadway musical, “Head Over Heels.” “I will happily go onto the show if they invite me,” Peppermint says. “It is quite expensive and quite an investment, but I do think it could be worth it.” Peppermint will next be seen in “A Transparent Musical,” opening May 20 at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. She plays Davina, a role originated on the “Transparent” television series by Alexandra Billings. Peppermint recalls having “two-person watch parties” with her music producer when the series first premiered on Amazon in 2014.

Naman Ramachandran Breaking Glass Pictures has acquired worldwide rights to Jay Arnold’s award-winning LGBTQ+ romantic drama feature “Shoulder Dance” and will launch sales at the Cannes film market. The film stars Matt Dallas (“Kyle XY”), Rick Cosnett (“The Flash”), Taylor Frey (“It Chapter Two”), Samuel Larsen (“Glee”) and Maggie Geha (“Gotham”). Arnold (“What Happens Next”) directed from his original screenplay. The deal was negotiated between Breaking Glass Pictures CEO Rich Wolff, Amanda Rae Simon, Esq., COO Susan Helfrich, Arnold, and Ethan Bearman, Esq., The Bearman Firm.

This year’s Peabody Awards ceremony has been canceled “due to the ongoing uncertainty and meaningful challenges that exist industrywide,” according to a statement from the Peabody Awards organization. The June 11 awards would have been the organization’s first in-person ceremony since 2019, as well as the first time ever in its history that the Awards would take place in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw‘s mom, Marianne Tombaugh, passed away one day before Mother’s Day.