starobserver.com.au - 1 323 Showbiz News and Updates

Award-winning out gay Australian country music singer Michael Waugh has revealed that he hid his sexuality for years after being subjected to homophobia as a young person. Waugh, won the Golden Guitar award presented by the Country Music Association of Australia in April, for his latest album The Cast, which was released last year. Waugh told the Daily Telegraph that he was bullied and bashed in school for the way he looked and walked. “For me, it was the way that I walked and the way that I talked and that I could not hide who I was,” Waugh said, adding, “I hated my body for betraying me because it literally put me in positions of danger; there were places in the school that I couldn’t go to without fear of being beaten up.

Neil Patrick Harris will star in the Netflix series Uncoupled, an upcoming eight-episode series from co-creators Darren Star (Sex and the City, Emily in Paris) and Jeffrey Richman (Modern Family). In the show, Harris plays Michael Lawson, a successful New York City real estate agent who needs to learn how to navigate the single life after his partner of 17 years (played by Tuc Watkins) decides to move out and abruptly dumps him. The series will also star Brooks Ashmanskas, Tisha Campbell, Emerson Brooks and Marcia Gay Harden. The synopsis reads: “Michael Lawson (Neil Patrick Harris) seems to have it all figured out.

From growing up with his ‘foot in two camps’ – queer and Indigenous, to being the voice of the LGBTQI community in Victoria, Victorian Commissioner for LGBTIQ+ Communities Todd Fernando tells Star Observer it’s been an exciting journey. Todd Fernando, Victorian Commissioner for LGBTIQ+ Communities, is the first out queer, Indigenous person to be appointed a commissioner in Australia. For this descendant of Kalarie people from the Wiradjuri nation, growing up with his “foot in two camps” was not an easy task. “Being a young Wiradjuri person, we were fighting for the recognition of our culture. I had to put my queerness on the back burner and, and really not allow it to overshadow what we were trying to do within the Wiradjuri space,” Fernando told Star Observer. You can read more here: https://t.co/q70htML9Kv— Victorian LGBTIQ+ Commissioner (@VicLGBTIQ) June 14, 2022It was not until his early 20s that Fernando found a way to reconcile his two identities.

Actor Dan Benson now has an OnlyFans.Benson, 34,  is best known for his roles as Zeke on Disney’s Wizards of Waverly Place and voicing Ethan on Rick and Morty.As his bio says, “Now I’m all grown up.”On his OnlyFans Benson writes, “If you wanted to see me naked – your wish has been granted.”Benson thanks Gay for gaining him the newfound attention and promises to use it for good. In a tweet he wrote, “I’ll be using this newfound resurgence to fight for and support the LGBTQ+ communities that deserve so much better from this country. Drop a link to your favorite organizations below.”I’ll be using this new found resurgence to fight for and support the LGBTQ communities that deserve so much better from this country.

NSW Health has confirmed 11 cases of monkeypox in the state and urged the community, especially men who have sex with men, to look out for symptoms. Of the 11 cases, nine persons are likely to have acquired the infection overseas and while two were infected in Australia. NSW Health said that this could point to local transmission. US Gay Man Shares His Monkeypox Diagnosis In Viral TikTok Video“People need to be aware of the symptoms of monkeypox, which can include fever, headache, body aches and a rash or lesions on the genital area,” Dr McAnulty said in a statement.‘So far, in the cases we have seen in NSW, monkeypox is not presenting the way some people expect, such as an extensive rash or lesions all over the body.

Former AFL coach Dani Laidley has revealed that she battled years of “fear, shame and embarassment”, but now was “absolutely at peace” after coming out and being a role model for the transgender community. Laidely opened up about her struggles with gender dysphoria for most of her life during her chat on radio in the Triple M commentary box last month. “You live in fear and shame and embarrassment for years and then to come out like it did, it’s been really tough on my family, but now, to a person, it’s been great. They accept me for who I am, the person I am now, and hopefully there’s a lot of life to live,” said Laidley. The former North Melbourne player and coach explained her diagnosis to listeners.

Conversion practices survivors and Amnetsy International have called on the governments of Western Australia and South Australia to ban harmful and unscientific conversion practices. They have pointed to Victoria’s “ground-breaking legislation” as an example of how states can “address conversion ideology and practices in a fair and equitable way.” “10% of LGBTQA+ Australians are at risk of conversion practices. For decades, conversion practices have been responsible for causing irreparable harm to LGBTQA+ people,” said Amnesty International on its campaign page. Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan had last year promised the LGBTQI community that if reelected his government would enact a law to ban conversion practices. Amnesty International Australia, SOGICE Survivors and Ending Conversion Practices WA said they have requested a meeting with the WA Premier, Health Minister, and Attorney General, to discuss the issue. The WA government proposed to ban so-called conversion therapy by introducing legislation for a national code of conduct for unregulated health workers last year.

A judge in Puerto Rico has issued superstar Ricky Martin with a restraining order.Valencia said that under the order, Martin is prohibited from contacting the person that filed it. A judge will then decide whether the order should be lifted.According to Puerto Rico newspaper El Vocero, the order states that Martin and the filer dated for seven months and broke up two months ago. Yet Martin has not accepted the breakup and has been seen near the filer’s house on multiple occasions. In a tweet on July 4, Martin denied the allegations.He wrote, “The protection order entered against me is based on completely false allegations, so I will respond through the judicial process with the facts and the dignity that characterize me.“Because it is an ongoing legal matter, I cannot make detailed statements at this time.

Since PrEP, the miracle pre-exposure prophylaxis, became readily available in Australia, initially as part of a medical trail in NSW called EPIC-NSW and then on the PBS, gays everywhere have rejoiced at the reacquaintance of being able to feel the kind of intimate skin-on-skin closeness that humans are supposed to be able to enjoy, you know, without that thin membrane of rubber, a barrier that has been cursed for the intimacy it robs!These historically low rates persisted after PrEP moved to the PBS in 2018 and with an estimated 50,000 people initiating PrEP, it’s made a real dent in Australia’s HIV diagnoses up to 2022, with a 37% reduction in new HIV notifications since 2016, though the impact of COVID-19 and the fact that people were getting less HIV testing has also contributed to that decline.But besides all of the technical details, the coming of PrEP just takes some anxiety out of being a sexually active gay man and the awkward mumbling and fumbling condoms induced. The amount of times I’ve screamed out “thank you PrEP!” mid-gravy stroke, far outnumber the times I’ve screamed out a man’s name so that’s a pretty good indication of just how great PrEP is!For informational purposes only.

The Voice Australia winner Alfie Arcuri has revealed he was left with shattered spinal discs and has had a months-long injury battle that saw him undergo multiple surgeries. The Australian singer won the fifth season of The Voice in 2016 and travelled to Europe to perform in Sochi’s ‘New Wave’ festival in Russia last year. Upon realising he was unable to return back to Sydney during the height of the pandemic, with the second wave of Covid coming down back home, he moved into a loft in Italy. Arcuri fell down a flight of stairs and shattered his spinal discs while he was in Italy and spent three months with severe sciatica before being able to return to Australia to undergo surgery. “I fell for two metres and landed on my feet.

In Qatar, homosexuality is illegal and carries punishments of up to three years in prison and a fine and the possibility of the death penalty for Muslims under sharia law (though there are no known instances of the death penalty being enforced in the past).Cavallo states that this issue “does concern me.” He muses on the possibility of representing Australia at the World Cup and though it would be an honour, “at the same time, the laws clash,” and could put him at risk.“I want to do something really good in my career. I’ve always dreamed of playing for my country at the World Cup, but do I want my life to be in danger?”After his announcement in October, the midfielder received 700,000 messages within the first 30 minutes, including some from football icons.“When I was younger, I woke up to watch them play early in the morning, so it’s nice to see these straight athletes reaching out and saying, ‘Hey Josh, it’s OK’,” Cavallo said.Cavallo has spoken about Qatar’s anti-LGBTQ+ stance and its penalties in the past.

Beloved by the queer community,  Kim Cattrall has joined the inclusive cast of Peacock’s Queer as Folk reboot, playing a “martini-soaked, high-society Southern debutante “who has roots in a poverty-stricken trailer park. The Sex and the City actress plays the adoptive mother of queer characters Brodie (Devin Way) and Julian (Ryan O’Connell) in Queer as Folk. The character was written specifically with Cattrall in mind. Canadian writer and director Stephen Dunn said that he wanted Cattrall to play Brenda before he knew what And Just Like That… (sequel to Sex and the City) was, praising her for her acting skills and immediate engagement in taking this role on. One of Cattrall’s on-screen sons, O’Connell added that viewers should get ready because the “last four episodes of the show are insane” where her storyline takes a “really fun turn.” Cattrall took part in her first non-binary love scene in the Queer as Folk reboot and used an intimacy coach to help during the filming of these scenes. Dunn applauded her ability to be open throughout the dialogue on LGBT+ issues and relationships, stating that she was “so dialled into the character’s learning curve around queerness”. “She’s been such an ally, she really understands the queer community in this way, and she understood how her character strangely fit into this queer family.

Guess what’s giving NSW MLC Mark Latham sleepless nights? Latham, known for his anti-LGBTQI stances, has claimed that parents have complained to him about an all female-production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet at Campbelltown Performing Arts High, which featured a kissing scene between the two lead female actors. Dire Theatre Company’s Romeo and Juliet under its SHEkspeare project, was reportedly performed at the Sydney school to students in years 8, 9 and 10.  The play, with an all female cast, had a same-sex kiss between the two protagonists.

The Tasmanian Catholic Church’s attempts to pit medical and health care professionals against a report about harmful conversion practices has been dubbed a “misinformation campaign”. The Tasmanian Law Reform Institute (TLRI) has called out the “incorrect” statements made about its report in the Catholic Standard, the official print publication of the Catholic Church in Tasmania. Earlier this month, a TLRI report had recommended law reforms to deal with unscientific and harmful conversion practices to change a person’s sexual orientation and gender identity.

Britain’s Got Talent star Calum Scott, whose debut album Only Human hit number 4 on the UK Album Chart in 2018, has spoken out about how his friends “abandoned him,” after he came out to them. Their reaction to his revelation left the singer struggling for years to accept his sexuality.

Elliot Page came out as transgender in December 2020 and his real-life transition was mirrored on the latest season of Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy.Note: Plot Spoilers Ahead.In Season 3, viewers were introduced to his character Viktor Hargreeves in season 3. Page came out as trans weeks before production for season 3 was set to commence. The series show runner recruited trans writer Thomas Page McBee to aid in curating a storyline that felt authentic and sensitive to the trans journey of Page and his character, Viktor. Page praised the showrunner Steve Blackman and writer Thomas Page McBee for handling Viktor’s transition and the character’s storyline with care, stating that he believed the arc “ultimately, and in retrospect, has been really clear in so many ways.” “Viktor’s discomfort and the walls that he puts up, I think without realising, he’s just so folded in on himself and meeting Sissy and getting to feel more embodied and self-assured, and it was really, really quite special to actually reflect on that.” The actor added that he thought the conversations with McBee ensured that they were “really able to feel what that honest progression is.”Transition Is Life Saving, Elliot Page tells Oprah WinfreyPage referenced Viktor’s siblings’ reactions as ones that echoed his own lived experience.

Australian RuPaul’s Drag Race star, TV personality, and singer Courtney Act has filmed a new TV pilot for Network 10 called Courtney’s Closet.The show is a fusion of interview and drag makeover show. The first episode features actor Luke McGregor (Rosehaven).“Courtney’s Closet is the place where well-known Australians arrive as themselves and depart as their ultimate drag fantasy.”Act went on to write, “I’ll draw out cracking yarns, good conversation & the true essence of each guest before revealing their new look. “This isn’t about laughing at a bloke trying to walk in heels, it’s about using the power of transformation to access a new side to some of our favourite people.”I’ll draw out cracking yarns, good conversation & the true essence of each guest before revealing their new look.

Fire Island star Joel Kim Booster has recently discovered some nude pics of himself had been leaked online, but the actor and writer behind the hit film isn’t bothered at all. In fact, he’s actually surprisingly happy because of where the pictures ultimately appeared.“Yeah, I can see some of you reaching for your phone right now.

Margaret Cho described feeling invisible as a bisexual woman because of the lack of representation and absence of leading figures in the media to whom she could relate as an Asian American and a  queer woman. Cho guest narrates the first episode of The Book of Queer, a five-part series that reflects on queer figures of the past, and their impact today and is a rousing celebration of queer joy. When asked what Pride Month meant to her, Cho asserted that it wasn’t about a singular parade or a short time taken out of the year to celebrate queerness. “I think that more than ever we have to celebrate ourselves and look to protecting our rights- whether that’s protecting trans kids, trans legislation or increasing our own visibility throughout the media,” she said. She declared it was vital for queer people to continue to be made visible and that through avenues like media and representation, LGBTQI -identifying individuals would be able to “maintain and advance our own rights and abilities to continue to exist and to thrive.” “My parents owned a gay bookstore in San Francisco, and I grew up in gay culture but the Korean society that we’re from doesn’t acknowledge queer culture. In fact, they still have gay pride parades in Korea but people are often not allowed to take photographs because they don’t want to have a witness to being there.

The Queer Eye cast touched down in New Orleans earlier this week and have started filming season 7 of the popular lifestyle and fashion makeover show. The “Fab Five” team consists of Antoni Porowski, Karamo, Jonathan Van Ness, Tan France and Bobby Berk. Each member has a specialty in a particular field, including fashion, culture, lifestyle and interior design and are hoping to engage in conversations with men and women and offer advice to help them restore their lives. A sneak peek of what the show was shared on social media on Wednesday.“The Fab 5 just arrived in The Big Easy and are already dripping in Mardi Gras beads.

The jury in the trial of an out gay Queensland man, accused of raping his female friend, has been disbanded after it failed to arrive at a majority verdict. Trigger Warning: This story discusses a sexual assault, which might be distressing to some readers. For 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For Australia-wide LGBTQI peer support call QLife on 1800 184 527 or webchat.Judge Catherine Muir of the Brisbane District Court discharged the jury and scheduled the matter for July 14, 2022, when the court will decide on a retrial in the case. The jury, comprised of seven men and five women, and deliberated for around 10 hours on whether 28-year-old Dominic Hansson was guilty of raping his female friend in her inner city Brisbane apartment on December 7, 2019 .

Victorian father of four, Shaun Williams, 53, kept his sexuality a secret for almost 25 years.  “I had to decide between coming out, losing my family and my amazing wife or ending it all to get away from the pain I knew I was going to cause everyone.” In an interview with Daily Mail, Williams said, “I suppressed it, I decided it would be something I would die with. I grew up in the 80s when there was a lot of gay-bashing, and the grim reaper with the AIDS ads made it, so I was too frightened to come out.”Eventually, not being himself started to affect his mental health. “I was struggling with depression and anxiety, I wasn’t being honest with myself,” he said.“My oldest daughter came out at 16, and two of my other children have come out as queer since.

Keiynan Lonsdale is an Australian actor, dancer, and singer-songwriter. Best known for his roles in Love, Simon and The Flash, his newest film, My Fake Boyfriend, is a romantic comedy about Andrew (Lonsdale), who with the help of his friends, creates a made-up online boyfriend as a way to get space from his toxic ex.When asked if he has ever created a fake boyfriend in real life, Lonsdale laughs as he says, “Probably in my dreams, but no, I haven’t gone and used my skills to craft a fake boyfriend.” He then punctuates the sentence with a mischievous, “yet.”Prior to the role of Andrew in My Fake Boyfriend, Lonsdale found his stride playing Bram in the groundbreaking, coming-of-age LGBTQ romantic comedy, Love, Simon.This new queer role, however, is different from his role in Love, Simon.“[My Fake Boyfriend] isn’t a coming out movie. It is still, in ways, about finding yourself but it’s more about being honest with yourself to a larger degree.

Around 24 cases and six deaths have been reported in Florida, in what the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has described as the “worst outbreaks of meningococcal disease among gay and bisexual men in U.S. history”. The CDC and the Florida Department of Health are investigating the outbreak –  half of the cases are among hispanic men.

The NSW Government will provide $2.3 million to support trans and gender-diverse communities as part of the 2022-23 NSW Budget.According to the NSW Health Ministry, the $2.3 million includes $1.3 million for ACON’s new Trans Mental Health and Wellbeing service, which will provide trans women, trans men and non-binary people with up to 12 counselling sessions, free of charge. $725,400 will go to expand youth counselling service, Twenty10’s counselling and support programs for trans and gender-diverse youth and their carers, and $300,000 will go to Equality Australia in order to develop leadership in trans and gender-diverse communities.“This funding boost will enable ACON, Equality Australia and Twenty10 to respond to the needs of the trans and gender diverse community and ensure access to safe, inclusive and responsive services.”Independent Member for Sydney Alex Greenwich welcomed the initiative saying, “The NSW LGBTIQ+ Health Strategy identified significant poor health and mental health across all LGBTIQ+ communities as a result of stigma, discrimination and social isolation.“Outcomes for trans and gender diverse people were found to be the worst with shocking rates of attempted self-harm and suicide, with the strategy identifying this cohort for priority action.“I strongly welcome the NSW Government’s support for our state’s trans and gender diverse communities through the funding of key and targeted services to support and promote their health and well-being.”ACON CEO Nicolas Parkhill noted that the funding “would help ACON establish a tailored service that will deliver safe, inclusive, and affirming counselling and mental health peer support services to trans people (binary and non-binary).”In addition to health

The UK’s top public health agency has said that vaccines against monkeypox will be offered more widely and has recommended jabs to some gay and bisexual men at higher risk of exposure.  The UK recorded around 793 laboratory-confirmed cases of monkeypox as of June 20, 2002 – the biggest outbreak of the disease outside Africa. “Although anyone can contract monkeypox, data from the latest outbreak shows higher levels of transmission within – but not exclusive to – the sexual networks of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men,” said the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). It is important that gay and bi men get the vaccine when offered to protect themselves and others.

Actor, model and socialite Christian Wilkins, son of entertainment guru Richard Wilkins and his ex-partner Michelle Burke, stunned the red carpet wearing a backless gown at the Logies red carpet on Sunday. The annual Logie Awards is Australian television’s biggest night celebrating locally-produced programs, television, actors, and show-runners that the public know and love. Wilkins was a fan favourite at the entrance as he posed on the the red carpet in a sheer backless dress, beach blonde hair down and showing off a long pearl look at the collarbone. Wilkins finished the look with chunky black boots, turning heads as he walked down the carpet. A stylist and model who has previously worked at Channel Nine HQ, Wilkins has hosted a podcast called Radical Fashionism with friend Andrew Kelly, which was nominated for Best Original Podcast at the Australian Commercial Radio Awards in 2019.The social media influencer shared a TikTok in a quick before and after video which showed the transition of his outfit from pre-Logies to Logie-ready. Wilkins came out in a March 2018 issue of Cosmopolitan.

We finally have a premiere date for the second season of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under. Stan on Tuesday announced that the sophomore edition of the series with drag queens from Australia and New Zealand will premiere on Saturday July 30, 2022. While details of the production are a tightly guarded secret, here’s what we know about Season 2 of the Down Under edition of the Emmy award winning international franchise.In March 2022, after wrapping up the shooting of the second season in New Zealand, RuPaul had described the queens from Down Under as “ratchet”. The first season was criticised for its low production values and RuPaul in an interview on The Graham Norton Show revealed, things hadn’t been upsized for season two.  Fellow guest and actor Benedict Cumberbatch asked RuPaul how different were the Down Under queens.

A 27-year-old out gay man in Queensland has been accused of raping his female friend. The accused, identified as Dominic Edmund Hansson, has pleaded not guilty and is facing trial before a District Court in Brisbane, reported The Courier Mail. Trigger Warning: This story has details of a sexual assault, which might be distressing to some readers. For 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For Australia-wide LGBTQI peer support call QLife on 1800 184 527 or webchat.According to the police, Hansson has been charged with allegedly sexually assaulting his female friend, after turning up at her inner city Brisbane apartment in 2019.

Out Australian Idol star and singer Casey Donovan has responded to allegations that she and a friend had kidnapped a dog from a Brisbane apartment over the weekend. Social media was lit after the allegations first surfaced on Monday when owner of the puppy Donatella, accused Casey’s friend Drew of taking his dog. Casey is currently starring as Judy in Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5 The Musical at the Lyric Theatre, Queensland Performing Arts Centre in Brisbane. Casey and her friend Drew had been visiting the apartment of the latter’s friend late on Sunday night. The friend later shared CCTV footage, which shows Casey and Drew in the hallway of the apartment.

In a setback to Japan’s LGBTQI community, a court in Osaka ruled that the country’s ban on same sex marriages was not “unconstitutional”. Japan is the only G7 country to deny same-sex couples the right to marry. The court dismissed the case filed by two gay couples and one lesbian couple and rejected their demand for 1 million yen in damages for each couple for “unjust discrimination”, reported Reuters.Last year, another court in Sapporo had ruled that the country’s failure to recognise same-sex marriages was unconstitutional.

RuPaul has called out attempts by Republican lawmakers to bring in laws to ban drag queens around children as a “diversion tactic”. The host of RuPaul’s Drag Race made the comments while speaking with host James Corden on The Late Late Show. RuPaul was asked about Republican Bryan Slaton proposing a law to ban drag shows in the presence of minors in Texas. “This is a diversion tactic to take the narrative away from the gun debate into something, to scare people into thinking about something else, and they’ve been successful,” said RuPaul.

Pride & Prejudice, the basis for the hit new movie Fire Island, I was able to view the film with a virgin eye. While I’m sure Austen aficionados would say that nothing comes close to the original iterations on page or screen, Fire Island brings all the feels.Fire Island is an American romantic comedy film directed, written by, and starring Joel Kim Booster, as Noah, and supported in the storyline by his ex-boyfriend, best buddy Howie, played by Australian-born, Canadian-raised and now American-based, Bowen Yang.

In Dating Amber, we see two closeted teenagers in 90s Ireland decide to fake-date in order to stop speculation about their sexualities. Eddie and Amber respond to persistent homophobia by attempting to convince those around them that they are in a relationship.

My Policeman, in which the singer plays a married police officer involved in a secret gay love affair in 1950s Britain, was released June 15, stirring up even more public interest in the Queer love story.In a recent appearance on The Howard Stern Show, Styles spoke about the challenges he faced while performing the film’s sex scenes.“It does feel vulnerable. I’d never kissed anyone on camera before and it felt like giving a part of myself away in some ways,” Styles said.“I was naked in My Policeman.

“Asking for help is the most important thing you can do.” Micah Scott is the Chief Executive Officer of Minus18, an organisation that supports LGBTQ young people in Australia through preventative mental health support, education, advocacy and leadership development. Scott grew up near Victoria’s Dandenong Mountains and moved to Melbourne when he was 20 years old. He found life in Dandenong rather isolating: “I was the only gay kid that I knew… I’m not aware of anyone in my social circles from back then who is queer themself,” he said. These days, when not working, Scott enjoys spending time with his friends, his partner, his chosen family.