gaynation.co - 351 Showbiz News and Updates

2 min read CEO of BMW in Russia has hit back at a wave of outrage over the company’s support of Pride Month across the world where they placed a rainbow flag behind the logo on the brand’s global website and social media accounts.

2 min read A gay man in the US state of Tennessee is believed to be the first person to invoke last month’s historic US Supreme Court ruling on workplace discrimination following an incident where he was “humiliated” and called a “faggot” by his bosses.

2 min read With many youth searching for alternative methods of income in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of OnlyFans content creators has skyrocketed by 42% in the United Kingdom.

2 min read Amongst a number of law reforms that have been passed by the Sovereign Council of Sudan this week, there has been a repeal of the penal code that imposed the death penalty upon anyone found guilty of engaging in consensual same-sex sexual relations.

< 1 min read The Norwegian Government has changed its guidelines to allow LGBTQ+ refugees to be prioritised in the country’s refugee intake. The Norwegian Department of Integration has decided to give priority to LGBTQ+ refugees when transferring from third countries.

2 min read Another one of those, ‘we already knew that’ moments has occurred and sent the internet into a spin with the official announcement that lead character in the Scooby-Doo franchise Velma is a lesbian.

2 min read A study released by Rutgers University in the US has revealed that on average, young gay men have their first intercourse a year earlier than straight people. The study published in the Journal of Sexuality Research highlights the disparities between straight guys and gay men when it comes to their first time.

2 min read A United Nations (UN) expert has called for a global ban on conversion therapy while telling the Human Rights Council that the practice inflicts severe pain and suffering on LGBT people often resulting in long-lasting psychological and physical damage.

2 min read It looks like the ‘Glee Curse’ continues with news that Naya Rivera, famous for playing lesbian Santana Lopez on Glee, went missing while swimming with her 4-year-old son and is now presumed dead. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office has announced the search for Rivera on Lake Piru, California has now turned into a recovery mission.

2 min read The North American Scrabble Players Association will soon decide whether insulting and discriminatory words are still allowed in the famous game. The North American Scrabble Players Association (NASPA) has recently been in the midst of a debate over the use of homophobic, transphobic and racist terms in its games.

2 min read Turkey’s President has launched a blistering attack on members of the LGBTQ community in a public speech where he defended homophobic comments by the leader of the Turkish version of the Red Cross.

2 min read Musician Spencer Brown has come out as gay through the music magazine Billboard. The 26-year-old techno DJ from San Francisco started playing with Avicii, and now is the headliner of many musical events, such as the world’s largest electronic music festival Electric Daisy Carnival.

2 min read Bringing up the rear of major companies jumping on the Pride Month bandwagon is sports brand Nike which this week has released a new socially conscious ad in celebration of Pride Month that speaks to the ongoing fight for equality and recognizes a few of the athletes that are breaking down barriers across the globe.

2 min read For the first time, the New Zealand (NZ) Census will collect information about the rainbow community in the next edition due in 2023.

2 min read Following the raid of an LGBTIQ homeless shelter in Uganda in April resulting in 19 gay men and trans women being jailed for 49 days, damages have been awarded for police violating their rights.

2 min read Gabon has become one of the first countries in sub-Saharan Africa to decriminalize homosexuality … well, almost. On Wednesday the Gabonese National Assembly (lower house of parliament) voted down a law that prohibited the sexual relations of couples of the same sex, which had been adopted only last July.

< 1 min read NZ’s Internal Affairs Minister Tracey Martin has confirmed that the Births, Deaths, Marriages and Relationships Registration Bill will not be reintroduced before this year’s election.

2 min read As police in the United Kingdom treat the weekend stabbing spree in the town of Reading as a terror act, it is now reported that all three victims were gay men. David Wails, 49, Joe Ritchie-Bennett, 39, and James Furlong, 36, all lost their lives in the attack.

2 min read A Facebook post that promises a $10 phone credit is causing havoc for the New Zealand AIDS Foundation (NZAF).

3 min read Thomas Beattie has come out as gay, the second Englishman to come out from the major soccer leagues and yet still no playing footballer from the Premier League has ever taken the step.

2 min read Just a few weeks after celebrating his 31st birthday, Spanish singing superstar Pablo Alborán has shared a video in which he announced his coming out as gay to his fans.

< 1 min read Poland’s President Andrzej Duda has made a pledge to his constituents that he will ban LGBT+ education in schools and block any legalisation for same-sex marriage and adoption. President Duda’s comments were made on Wednesday the 17th of July as he heads into his re-election campaign which has been put on ice due to COVID-19.

< 1 min read Nintendo’s flagship video game is preparing a special island and a whole host of festivities as part of Pride Month with the launch of Global Pride Crossing.

< 1 min read An AIDS Research Centre in Barcelona has reported on the first case of a patient with HIV that is resistant to all current antiretroviral drugs.

2 min read Tributes are flowing for a 30-year-old Egyptian refugee who committed suicide on the weekend in Canada after being threatened and imprisoned in Egypt for taking out a rainbow flag at a concert. Sarah Hegazie, a young lesbian woman, originally from Egypt, had gone into exile in Canada during 2018.

2 min read LGBT+ rights groups have raised concerns around recently appointed White House liaison, Merritt Corrigan who has a long history of homophobic statements.

2 min read Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe has used The Trevor Project to support the trans community following JK Rowling’s recent transphobic comments. Rowling lashed out at an article headline which referred to “people who menstruate.” The headline was intended to be inclusive by acknowledging the reality that transgender men and nonbinary individuals may also menstruate.

2 min read A reality TV star has been outraged by a homophobic shopkeeper who has allegedly refused to serve him because he was gay. In an incident filmed and posted on twitter, South Africa reality show contestant and influencer Innocent Matijane was shown arguing with the shop owner following the refusal.

2 min read In February EU parliamentarians Abir Al-Sahlani and Fredrick Federley (Renew Europe, Center Party) led a group who sent questions to the European Commission on the so-called “LGBTQ-free” zones in Poland.

2 min read According to a new study, middle-aged and older adults who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual have higher rates of using and abusing drugs.

< 1 min read The Trump White House is urging the United States Supreme Court to rule in favour of allowing adoption agencies to discriminate against same-sex couples looking to adopt.  In a 35-page briefing to the Supreme Court from the Department of Justice, the Trump administration is asking the court to rule in favour of the Catholic Social […]

3 min read New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has led her country to the point where Coronavirus has been effectively eradicated and will see all local lockdown restrictions lifted as early as next week, but with an election scheduled in only three months, a number of LGBTIQ issues are set to be thorns in her side.

< 1 min read Gay Dating App Grindr has finally agreed to remove its “ethnicity feature” available for its premium users that enabled individuals to filter out certain ethnicities.   The feature which has been widely criticised for years with many accusing the dating app of racism has been situated alongside other ‘filters’ such as “tribe” or by one’s weight […]

2 min read The two gay men arrested and sentenced for 15 years on anti-LGBTQ sodomy charges that culminated in the expulsion of a US Ambassador have been pardoned by the Zambian President.

2 min read A former mayor who became the world’s first openly transgender MP has been recognised in the New Zealand 2020 Queen’s Birthday Honours for her services to the LGBTQ+ community. Georgina Beyer is a politician and performer whose career politically and in the broader media has broken unprecedented ground for transgender people nationally and abroad.

4 min read After two years of declining numbers of HIV cases in New Zealand, there was a slight increase in 2019, but many of these cases were first diagnosed overseas.