Homosexuality Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

The Star.The offending kiss, between The 1975 vocalist Matt Healy and fellow band member Ross MacDonald, sparked controversy in the conservative, majority-Muslim nation. Healy, who identifies as straight but has reportedly engaged in similar actions during other performances, kissed MacDonald following a rant against Malaysia’s anti-LGBTQ laws.As a result, the remainder of the Good Vibes music festival in Kuala Lumpur, where the band was playing, was canceled.The festival organizer, Future Sound Asia, blamed Healy for the loss of money stemming from the cancellation and demanded that the band pay $2.6 million in damages.Future Sound Asia also claims the incident has damaged the public’s opinion of the Good Vibes festival, potentially affecting future ticket sales if more conservative concert-goers refuse to spend money.The 1975 has also been banned from performing in Malaysia as a result of the incident.Teo noted that police officers are conducting background checks on foreign artists before allowing them to perform in the country.

declared an “extremist organization” by the Russian Supreme Court.As reported by The Telegraph, security officers entered the party, held at Typography, a club in Tula, 100 miles south of Moscow. They then dragged “feminine-looking” men out into the snow before beating them, based on information from the Russian human rights organization OVD-Info.

diversion or treatment programs designed to decrease the risk of recidivism.According to the Italian newspaper La Stampa, the now-17-year-old’s father read his son’s diary in 2020, when the youth was 14, and discovered the boy was attracted to other males. The father then imposed various punishments on his son, forcing him to do military-style training runs at night, refrain from shaving, expose his genitals, and read pages from his diary out loud.He also accessed his son’s online social media accounts, monitoring sites he visited and restricting who he could communicate with.When those punishments didn’t work, the father sought help from a psychologist in the hope that the psychologist would affirm the parents’ conservative worldview.

Fellow Travelers star Jonathan Bailey says he was threatened with violence during a recent trip to Washington, D.C.Speaking with the Evening Standard as part of a profile for the newspaper, the British-born actor recounted attending the Human Rights Campaign’s National Dinner, an annual gala held in Washington, D.C., back in October.During the gala, he introduced actor and Fellow Travelers co-star Matt Bomer, who was receiving HRC’s Impact Award, which recognizes members of the LGBTQ community dedicated to advocating for queer issues.He also recalled meeting President Joe Biden and television producer Shonda Rhimes, who received HRC’s National Equality Award. The night was so exciting and so special that Bailey recalls not being able to get much sleep.“I woke up the next morning, it was like a montage.

gay Pride flags during performances as a show of solidarity with the LGBTQ community.The band was scheduled to play before a crowd of 70,000 at Gelora Bung Karno stadium in the capital city of Jakarta on Wednesday, November 15, as part of its “Music of the Spheres World Tour,” which sold out within hours of tickets going on sale, reports Agence France-Presse.Outside the concert, at least 300 conservative Muslim demonstrators calling themselves the “anti-LGBT movement” chanted and held banners accusing Coldplay of spreading “LGBT propaganda” and damaging the country’s “faith and morals.”They also booed and heckled concertgoers, accusing them of being LGBTQ supporters, demanding the show’s cancellation, and denouncing the band. The same protest group also staged demonstrations at several locations in Jakarta in the run-up to the concert.The same protest group also staged demonstrations last week at several locations in Jakarta, including outside the British Embassy, reports NBC News.When some of the protesters began pushing and shoving, police attempted to step in and restore order.

Reuters that the agency raided a party on Saturday that was being attended by “homosexuals and pimps.”Fifty-nine men were arrested, including 21 who confessed to being homosexual, and 17 women.The Gombe NSCDC also claimed that the organizer of the birthday party had planned to wed another man, who remains at large, before police raided the event.Under Nigerian law, sex acts between people of the same-sex are illegal and carry a maximum penalty of 14 years in jail. Those who attempt to enter same-sex unions can also be sentenced to 14 years in jail, while others who “witness, abet, and aid the solemnization of a same-sex marriage or union” may serve up to 10 years in jail.

The U.S. State Department has issued an advisory warning Americans about traveling to Uganda following the passage of a sweeping anti-LGBTQ law. The State Department is advising Americans to reconsider traveling to the East African country due to crime, terrorism threats, and the country’s recently passed Anti-Homosexuality Act. “The May 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Act raises the risk that LGBTQI+ persons, and those perceived to be LGBTQI+, could be prosecuted and subjected to life imprisonment or death based on provisions in the law, and may be subject to mandatory reporting to the police if they are suspected of committing or intending to commit acts in violation of the law, and could face harassment or attacks by vigilantes,” the advisory reads.“Supporters of the dignity and human rights of LGBTQI+ persons (including those of youth under the age of 18) could be prosecuted and imprisoned for multi-year sentences,” the advisory warns.

me,” Sam says.One Million Moms has accused Indeed of attempting to “normalize sin” by “desensitizing” viewers to depictions of homosexuality, and has launched a petition calling on the company to pull the commercial from the airwaves. So far, 13,808 people have signed the petition.“A recent commercial for Indeed’s job search website specifically focuses on people who are not just looking for a job but a particular work ‘culture’ as well,” the organization wrote on its petition.

 PinkNews, at least 150 LGBTQ people have been arrested, beaten, and abused by police officers posing as potential dates, sexual partners, or romantic partners using dating apps and platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram.Police are also reportedly hacking into legitimate user profiles on the app in order to entrap potential victims. In response, Grindr released a country-wide announcement condemning the police crackdown and warning users to be careful before arranging to meet others in person. “Our hearts are with our community in Egypt,” a spokesperson for Grindr told PinkNews. “Grindr is working with groups on the ground to make sure our users have up-to-date information on how to stay safe, and we are pushing international organizations and governments to demand justice and safety for the Egyptian LGBTQ community.”Other reports from Egypt suggest that police have hired civilian informers to help them “seduce” and entrap LGBTQ people through apps that have not traditionally been considered “gay” apps, like Tinder and Bumble.One Egyptian, using the pseudonym “Darius,” told PinkNews that they’ve stopped walking in the streets or going out in public alone over fears of being targeted.

cracking down on homosexuality, essentially making it illegal to identify publicly as LGBTQ — or even express support for the LGBTQ community.The bill builds upon the country’s existing colonial-era laws criminalizing consensual same-sex activity, which is punishable by life imprisonment, targeting a host of free speech-related activities in order to discourage LGBTQ visibility in any form.Under the bill, individuals or institutions that support or fund LGBTQ-related groups or organizations, or publish or distribute pro-gay media or literature, can be prosecuted and imprisoned.Media groups, journalists, and publishers who similarly broadcast or distribute LGBTQ-related content that “promotes homosexuality” also face imprisonment, reports CNN. Property owners can potentially be jailed if they allow their properties to be used as a “brothel,” which is so broadly defined that it can include any gathering space where people are planning or advocating on behalf of the LGBTQ community, or where same-sex sexual activity can potentially take place — regardless of whether such acts actually occur.Cisgender allies of the LGBTQ community can be prosecuted and imprisoned for advocating or expressing support for LGBTQ rights.Friends, family members, and neighbors can also be penalized for failing to inform on individuals they know are engaged in same-sex relationships or LGBTQ advocacy — effectively creating a de facto police state where individual beliefs or free speech rights are under surveillance.The law also imposes the death penalty for those found guilty of “aggravated homosexuality,” a term referring to people who engage in homosexual conduct with another person who cannot or does not consent, or commits such acts under

ABC News. “One year later, after we had posted on our website and made a stance, [in] December of 2022 we raised $14,809.”As a result, UCA has announced it will close its doors in May, at the end of the current school year.The school shared several letters from churches and individual donors taking issue with the statement of support for the LGBTQ community with ABC News.In one, a church that withdrew its support of UCA called the LGBTQ community “a diverse collection of behaviors,” adding, “Our greatest concern about the Accepting and Affirming stance is that it denies the Biblical definitions of sin and identity and thereby renders the grace of God meaningless.”Other letters were harsher.“Do not call yourself a Christian school if you are affirming sin,” one donor wrote.

LGBTQ Nation.Addressing “all the citizens of Russia,” he said, “Do we want to have, here, in our country, in Russia, parent number one, number two, number three instead of mom and dad? Have they gone mad out there? Do we really want perversions that lead to degradation and extinction to be imposed on children in our schools from the primary grades? To be drummed into them that there are various supposed genders besides women and men, and to be offered a sex change operation? Do we want all this for our country and our children?”Putin’s remarks were a well-timed attempt to blunt criticism from the West of elections, held in Russian-sympathetic territories in eastern Ukraine, in which voters allegedly chose to secede from Ukraine and join Russia.

Euronews that organizers had also collected 150,000 signatures on a petition calling for a ban on what they call LGBTQ “propaganda” — which, outside of the United States, typically refers to any depiction or portrayal of LGBTQ individuals or same-sex couples in a positive light or from a neutral viewpoint — in social media, sports, arts and Netflix.An advertisement for the demonstration was shown on state-run television after being approved by the country’s broadcasting council, which deemed it as being in the “public interest.”The demonstration was criticized by human rights organizations.“We are calling on all political parties to condemn the march, and on Turkish authorities to ensure full protection for the LGBTI+ community,” the LGBTQ rights organization ILGA Europe tweeted. “The Turkish state needs to uphold its constitutional obligation to protect all its citizens against hate and violence.”Turkey’s Amnesty International office said the public service announcement advertising the march violated the country’s nondiscrimination principles.LGBTQ rights supporters criticized the demonstration on social media, using the hashtag “#NefretYürüyüşüneHayır,” or “#NotoHateMarch.”“This shameless gathering against LGBTQI+ was supported by Radio and Television Supreme Council of Turkey,” tweeted one user.

Heerak Christian Kim, who sought the Republican Party nomination for Virginia’s 8th Congressional District, made the outlandish claim in a video posted to Twitter on August 29. “Many Christians believe that COVID-19 is punishment by God against #America because of legal protection of homosexuality which the Holy Bible requires that nations illegalize (sic) by national, state, local laws,” Kim wrote on Twitter.In the attached video — filmed from the Las Vegas Strip —  Kim talked about enjoying Las Vegas before abruptly pivoting to discuss how COVID-19 continues to hospitalize and kill people.“COVID hasn’t gone away,” he said. “I assure you, there are people dying from COVID every day, right now, even people who are fully COVID vaccinated, even for people who are double boosted.

UPI.Guidelines set forth by the ministry declare that education needs to be strengthened so that medical providers have the correct information about “lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people,” and that LGBTQ people should be treated equally in medical settings. The guidelines reiterate that LGBTQ identity cannot be treated as a disease, instructing health workers not to “interfere nor force treatment” on LGBTQ patients, and recommending that mental health services for LGBTQ people should be provided by people “who have the knowledge of sexual identity.”The announcement is seen as a “huge paradigm shift” in a nation where same-sex unions were banned until 2013 and where transgender identity was criminalized until 2015, and where the government-run media had, two decades ago, declared homosexuality to be a “social evil” comparable to prostitution, gambling, and drug use. Already, some LGBTQ advocates are hoping the declaration will make it easier to lobby for marriage rights or legal recognition for same-sex couples.“We cannot overstate how big a fix this announcement is,” Kyle Knight, an LGBTQ researcher at Human Rights Watch, told the English newspaper The Guardian.

WJLA about current policies — adopted by school districts in more liberal jurisdictions in the commonwealth — that prevent teachers from informing parents about their children’s LGBTQ identities without the student’s express permission, Youngkin said that parents “should be informed on all aspects of their children’s lives.”Youngkin largely regurgitated sound bytes and talking points from his 2021 run for governor, when he rode a wave of discontent, stemming partially from prolonged school closures and extended virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, over curriculum content, especially regarding racial or LGBTQ issues, and the perceived lack of engagement with parents on issues affecting their children.“With regards to informing parents with most important decisions about their children, I think everybody knows where I stand, parents matter,” Youngkin said. “Parents should be at the forefront of all of these discussions.

On Sunday, July 31, six men were arrested in Nigeria’s central state of Nasarawa after being caught extorting thousands of dollars from closeted gay men as part of an elaborate blackmail scheme.Police are asking any Nigerians who have been swindled by the scammers to come forward to help provide evidence of their alleged crimes. The scam targeted eight men through a fake gay dating app, authorities explained. The six suspects are being accused of luring men on “dates,” arranging in-person meetings where they them beat their victims and steal from them.

Gay City News. “I am concerned about my position within the diocese and school. The tones of the speakers were strident at times and I cannot tell if I would be accepted. I am homosexual and plan on marrying my boyfriend eventually, and after being told all day that I have to live church doctrine I feel wounded and unwanted,” Butler wrote.

The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait has received backlash from the government of Kuwait for a tweet supporting LGBTQ Pride Month. On June 1, the United States Embassy in Kuwait posted a tweet supporting Pride Month.

With the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) World Cup coming up, FIFA is facing scrutiny for endorsing hotels that discriminate based on sexuality.As ticket sales skyrocket for this year’s FIFA World Cup, organizers are attempting to crack down on endorsed hotels that violate their contracts by discriminating against guests. FIFA has required all official list accommodations to welcome guests – including LGBTQ people – in a “non-discriminatory manner” or face being removed from their official list.The World Cup will be held in Qatar from November 21 to December 18.FIFA’s Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy said that no discrimination would be occurring at the soccer competition.

skeive, or queer, community, and other representatives of the LGBTQ movement, Støre and Annette Trettebergstuen, a lesbian who serves as the country’s minister of culture and equality, apologized for the treatment of LGBTQ people, both those convicted under the law and those who suffered discrimination or harassment outside of the judicial system until recent decades, when the LGBTQ community began to become more accepted, reports Reuters.Since the law’s repeal, Norway has generally been at the forefront of expanding LGBTQ rights, becoming only the second country, after Denmark, to permit civil partnerships for same-sex couples in 1993, and legalizing marriage equality in 2009.The Norwegian Police have already apologized for the arrests and prosecution of gay men under the law in 2019, as well as for how officers used to harass suspected homosexuals, leaving them in fear of being prosecuted, even during the years when the law was rarely enforced, until its repeal.Noting that the law had “destroyed many lives,” Trettebergstuen highlighted the significance of the apology and what it means for the government’s commitment to ensuring equality in the future. The government’s goal, she said, “is to improve skeives‘ standard of living and mental health.

Reuters.

Politico.Cruz, meanwhile had argued that the United States needed to take a tougher stance on the pipeline, fearing that the arrangement will strengthen Russia’s financial standing and make Germany beholden to Russia, which has recently been threatening to interfere in Eastern Europe, including sending troops to the Ukrainian border for what some analysts fear will be a military invasion.On Saturday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced a deal in which the Senate would vote on

press release from the U.S. Department of Justice claims.According to The Washington Post, police who responded to the scene found McGee covered in the victim’s blood, with the wooden club and black wig.

revoked legal recognition of transgender individuals.

Thomson Reuters Foundation, referring to the existing laws in 68 different countries that criminalize homosexuality.

sponsored by State Rep. Laura Hall (D-Huntsville), a former high school science teacher, updates materials on sex education and sexually transmitted diseases to be scientifically accurate and use correct medical terminology.

guest column for several Kentucky newspapers recounting his negative experience with conversion therapy in order to express support for a bill to ban conversion therapy. The Youth Mental Health Protection Act, introduced by Kentucky Sen.

Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) donated part of her senate salary to an organization that opposes same-sex marriage and calls homosexuality “offensive to God.”Loeffler is the richest U.S. senator with a combined net worth, with her husband Jeff Sprecher, estimated at $800 million.

Human Rights Watch.A lawyer involved in the case told Human Rights Watch that police reports described decorations, flowers, and sweets indicative of a wedding celebration, as well as the two principal men’s supposedly “gay” appearance, as evidence of the students’ guilt.In Algeria, same-sex activity is punishable by up to three years in prison, and same-sex marriages are outlawed.

In what its deemed its “biggest update ever” Dictionary.com has added or modified over 15,000 words in its data base, many of which with the goal of having better LGBTQ and racial visibility.

2 min read For those living in the small South Pacific nation of the Cook Islands, it is still illegal to be gay…. a new push is hoping to try and change that.

Richard Grenell, and held up as an example of Trump’s supposed pro-LGBTQ stance by gay conservatives, the campaign purported to use the United States’ global influence to push countries to remove any laws that criminalized same-sex sexual relations.But multiple LGBTQ organizations and human rights activists have told The Daily Beast that the campaign is “smoke and mirrors” with zero visible accomplishments.The campaign was launched with much fanfare by Grenell in February last year, who told NBC

2 min read An appeal by two men in Tunisia who were sent to jail for homosexuality has been upheld by an appeals court in the north African country.

aidsmap reports.In countries with laws harshly penalizing homosexuality, MSM are 4.6 times more likely to be living with HIV than those in countries where same-sex sexual activity is legal, researchers found.For countries where criminalization exists, but punishments are less severe, MSM are more than twice as likely to be living with HIV.Researchers analyzed 8,113 MSM in 10 sub-Saharan countries with varying degrees of criminalization: Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, and Rwanda,

Newsweek.“For Bergoglio and his entourage sodomy is not a sin that cries out for vengeance in the presence of God, as the Catechism teaches,” said Viganò.