The hate mongers at Westboro Baptist Church have decided on their next picket: Cher.
This could get messy folks after the almost parody of its own self church, Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) released information on its next anti-gay protest.
In a press release (comedy one-sheet as we like to refer to it around these parts) WBC says, it plans to picket ‘that bundle of confusion going by the name of Cher’ at the singer’s Kansas City concert on 31 May.
The press release gets personal by dismissing Cher as a bad mother saying, ‘It’s no wonder that Chastity did a slow motion meltdown before the eyes of the world with such rage in her heart that she decided to show Cher who was boss and started chopping body parts off and calling herself a man.’
A teenager who attacked a gay man in Hertford has been jailed for 21 months.
Daniel Keem, 18, attacked a gay man after hurling anti-gay slurs in Hertford.
Giving evidence at the St. Alban’s crown court, the victim said, ‘He shouted [abuse] I just ignored it and walked into the shop. I don’t normally respond to it. It encourages homophobia.’
The unnamed victim was shopping at the Co-Op in Flemming Crescent and said that he had recognised Keem as he had made comments in the past.
After leaving the store the victim made his way down Windsor Drive, he said,
‘I was confronted by Daniel.
‘He said: ‘Don’t take the piss out of me.
‘He punched me and tried to headbutt me.
‘Someone grabbed my arm and pushed me around.’
Keem, admitted causing actual bodily harm in October last year, after punching and trying to headbutt his victim, although he denied making homophobic remarks.
Members of the LGBT community are more than twice as likely to have experienced domestic abuse in the past year compared to those in heterosexual relationships, and almost half of victims say that they didn’t know where to turn for support.
Domestic violence and abuse in the LGBT+ community is an issue rarely highlighted, with many victims too afraid to speak out. When questioned, 45 per cent of LGBT respondents from the 2013 ROAR study on domestic violence and abuse said that they didn’t seek help for fear that they wouldn’t be taken seriously.
To raise awareness of this growing issue and to let people know that help is available, the UK’s only LGBT domestic violence charity, Broken Rainbow, has launched its first ever awareness campaign.
The campaign, running this month, celebrates 10 years since the LGBT charity first brought the issue of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans + (LGBT+) domestic violence and abuse out into the open.
Last year, over 4,000 calls were made to Broken Rainbow’s helpline; a figure that the charity’s Managing Director (Interim), Jo Harvey Barringer, says is increasing: “Over the past 10 years Broken Rainbow has received more than 25,000 calls from members of the LGBT community in distress, with the number of calls continuing to have an upward trend.”
Lord Brian Paddick, former Met police Deputy Assistant Commissioner, knows first hand how devastating domestic abuse can be in a relationship.
‘I didn’t go to the police because I didn’t want to be open about my sexuality and the type of relationship I was in. I was too embarrassed. We need to be more open about this so that people in abusive relationships realise they are not alone.’
Lord Paddick says services such as Broken Rainbow’s helpline are vital for those in the LGBT community who often face coercive control, emotional or physical abuse at the hand of their partners.
‘Unacceptable behaviour in a domestic abuse setting can and tragically does escalate to violence. Despite the research, the experience and the good work by some police forces, there is little the police can do to combat emotional abuse. Broken Rainbow’s helpline offers a place where those who feel they have no where to turn can confide and find support.’
Jaci Quennell, Broken Rainbow UK Trustee, echoes Lord Paddick’s comments about the difficulties of combating emotional abuse, ‘It took years for me to realise how emotionally and psychologically abusive my partner was – it was so insidious that I couldn’t see it. She ridiculed me and sabotaged my studies, my job applications and my friendships. It only really sank in how effective she had been when old friends that I hadn’t seen for years were upset at what they saw as the complete dismantling of my sense of self-worth’.
Twenty-three year old Hugo Sugg experienced domestic abuse in his first-ever relationship, and says that the support of a service like Broken Rainbow would have been invaluable.
‘In hindsight, I didn’t realise how much control my partner had over me at the time, he controlled who I saw at college and would become insanely jealous.’
Hugo finally ended the relationship when he was woken by his partner screaming at him, angered by text messages he’d found on Hugo’s phone.
‘It was then I decided enough was enough, he begged me to stay but I decided it was time to leave and went to stay with a friend.’
Hugo’s story is just one of the many previously untold about abuse in LGBT relationships. The aim of Broken Rainbow’s campaign is to encourage others to speak out and highlight the help that is available to those who need support.
Twenty-eight year old Hollyoaks actor Kieron Richardson has thrown his support behind Broken Rainbow’s cause. Having played Ste Hay in Hollyoaks, he says there is a popular misconception that needs to be overcome in LGBT relationships.
‘After playing a character in Hollyoaks who suffered abuse in a gay relationship, I was astounded at the amount of people saying: ‘it’s two guys they can just hit each other back.’
This statement is categorically wrong and by highlighting this issue and by helping people understand and educating them, we can change this perception.
‘It’s extremely important to recognise charities, such as Broken Rainbow UK, that highlight domestic abuse in an LGBT relationship. Much has been mentioned in the news and popular culture on domestic abuse but it needs to be clearer that it occurs in ALL relationships no matter what gender.’
Award winning screenwriter and LGBT activist feared for his life after a landing gear failure on his flight to San Francisco.
Dustin Lance Black, 39, who is currently dating Olympic diver Tom Daley has written how tears hit his script as the Captain announced on his United Airlines flight to San Francisco that the land gear had malfunctioned.
‘Quiet #tears hit my script when the captain announced the landing gear broke on my #UnitedAirlines flight to SF. Aborted landing. Circles. Rough touch down. #ALIVE!’ DLB wrote via his Instagram.
Earlier in the month, DLB spoke opening about the leaked sex pictures of himself and a former boyfriend saying, ‘If you invade my privacy, this is what you will find,” he wrote. ‘I have sex. It brings me joy, fosters intimacy and helps love grow…I am the victim of this “scandal”, not the perpetrator.
‘People have been so incredibly supportive.
‘It was about time [I addressed the picture leak]. I always just sort of think it’ll disappear, but it came up again.
‘Cleve Jones, who’s in Milk, is like a mentor to me, and he said, ‘Girl, you need just to say it and let people know what’s up’, so I went ahead and did that. It was good to finally get it done.’
‘Putin You’re A Prick…’ Is the last tweet that Adam had posted before I picked up the phone to the “I Breathe Again” singer and former Coronation Street actor. Something tells me that he’s back and ready for a fight…
CREDIT: ITV / The Big Reunion
So… That tweet! Tell us your thoughts…
I’m quite into current affairs and politics, and I think the whole thing is a complete joke. He’s like some big Panto baddie, some horrible nasty from a Disney film. He’s there trying to show his own strength to his own people and there’s no justification for it whatsoever. The guy’s a twat. For someone to come out so blatantly homophobic, but at the same time posing for the gayest photo shoot, riding on a horse, is absurd. I think it’s bad form, I really do.
Is sexuality a big deal?
I genuinely find it incomprehensible that in this day and age someone’s sexuality is still a definition about the person they are. You don’t say, ‘so and so is a nice person but they are black…’ It’s always amazed me, because I was raised by my Mum to be like ‘if somebody’s black and a lovely person – they’re just lovely – if somebody is black and they’re an arse – they’re an arsehole!’
If somebody’s gay and they’re a lovely person… it was never about the colour, the creed, the sexuality or anything like that…
So it amazed me when I was doing pop first time round, everyone was asking ‘is he gay, is he gay? Well I’m not, but I’m not going to make a big deal about it. It should be an issue.
Did you get a lot of sexuality questioning?
When I first started I didn’t. I was seen as a bit of a Lothario because they kept getting pictures of me with girls all the time. I kind of found all that attention a bit freaky. So I became a bit of a hermit. Because the press didn’t have anything to print about me, because I never went out, they just started making stuff up – let’s be honest, I did look like a prepubescent girl and I am slightly camp. So it wasn’t the hardest thing in the world for them to start making that up. It never bothered me. I was so lucky for the support I got from the gay community in my career, the last thing I was going to do was do a bit of a Jason Donavan and insult them by making out it was a big issue.
So are you still Torying around?
I’m not a career politician. They’re lots of them out there who went to university and studied politics and then did an internship with an MP and then became an MP themselves, I’ve got no desire to be a front bencher, my thing in life is that I’ve had such an amazing family and so many opportunities and I’ve always felt that if you get dealt a good hand in life, you owe it to pay it forward. I don’t have the skills to be a doctor, I don’t have the temperament to be a policeman, and so one way I thought I might be able to help would be to get involved in politics – arguing for a local community. It would have to be the right kind of community. I’m a bit of a country bumpkin, so there’d be no point in me standing for Toxteth or something. It’s meant to be a partnership – you being their voice in Westminster.
So we won’t be seeing Adam Rickitt for PM?
Probably not, no. Politics nowadays is not so much about having a view; it’s trying to offend the least amount of people. Nobody says anything anymore, they just all try and appeal to the masses. My point of view is that politics should be – ‘You stand up there, and say this is how I think it should be and this is how I think you should solve it. If you don’t agree with me vote for the other guy.’ I kind of always get in trouble because I always mouth off and say what I think, which doesn’t always go down very well, because you’re not meant to do that anymore in politics. I think that’s a shame. People get frustrated with politics and lose interest – because nobody ever says anything.
Do you think that UKIP is a viable threat to UK politics?
Here’s my theory about them: Everybody thinks they’re a bit of a joke – and they are a bit of a joke. But at least they stand for something. That’s what attracts people more than anything else. It’s basically because of the Europe situation. They are standing there and they are saying, ‘we’ve got a view on this matter – agree with us or don’t agree with us’ and that’s what’s drawing people to them. At least they’re standing for something. The problem with them is that they are literally just a one-issue party, and when you go beneath that one issue there’s a slightly uncomfortable veneer to the rest of it. They’re such a new party and if you scratch the surface of a lot of them, I’m not sure they are the best option.
What did you make of David Silvester’s gay flood controversy?
That’s exactly my problem. It’s such a new party that you’ve got people like that who have snuck in. The saving grace about Labour or the Conservatives is that anyone who is quite such a prat would get found out well before that.
So you’re quite a political animal…
I don’t know about animal… It does interest me. When I first got involved, back in the day, I was doing some ghost writing for The Spectator when Boris Johnson was editor and it was a piece about ‘Why are the youth today so apathetic about politics?’ It was after the election where the statistics showed that more young people voted in Big Brother than they did in the election and you just kind of think – that’s just really f**ked up. But it is up to the younger generation to step up to the plate, if you want to have a voice.
So how does that fit in with The Big Reunion – cause they’re kind of worlds apart – or are they?
Laughter – I’ve always been a bit of a freak in that way. The Big reunion for me is about having fun. It’s pure and simple about having fun. I didn’t enjoy it when I was a younger kid and I always regretted it that I didn’t enjoy it – and there’s no one to blame but myself – I was always insecure, and I wasn’t in the right place in my mind and I kinda went through it by numbers and got road rushed into it all. It’s not rocket science let’s be honest – it’s just really good fun. The advantage this time round is being in a band. When you’re a solo artist it is pretty lonely. Back in the day it was me going from Travelodge to Travelodge and it was just really boring.
Are you still really self-conscience?
Not really – only as much as the next person. My major paranoia first time around was that people thought I was an arrogant prick. I was so fearful that people would think that I was an arrogant prick, just because I was on TV or because I was doing a pop song, I went so far the other way. I became this really servant like, this pathetic thing. The record company would be asking ‘what do you think about this?’ I would say, ‘whatever you want, whatever you want I’ll do!’ You don’t enjoy it when you do that, because there’s so little of yourself in it. All you end up doing is living a caricature of something you think somebody else wants.
Do you regret any of pop stuff?
I don’t regret it, because if it hadn’t happened I wouldn’t be where I am now. I wouldn’t be in the frame of mind I am now, I wouldn’t be where I am in my life now, so I don’t regret it. I was lucky enough that from the age of 18 to 32 the longest I had off between jobs was 2 weeks. I literally worked for 14 years. I had amazing opportunities, I’m not saying I enjoyed them all, but they were amazing life experiences.
Has it been depressing or hopeful revisiting the pop world?
It depends on your mentality. If you’re going in there to become the next Beatles I think you’re setting yourself up for a life of terrible disappointment. We haven’t done that as a group. We’ve basically said lets just enjoy it. We’re grown men getting to do something really silly and luckily we get on so well we’re having fun. Do we think we’ll be winning Ivor Novellos- probably not! The music industry has changed. First time round I found it so monotonous, Smash Hits interview after Smash Hits interview where they were asking you – ‘What’s your favourite cheese…’ It doesn’t really stimulate the brain cells. But this time around we can go off and do other things.
When did you all meet?
Well they approached us all individually, and we all kind of said yes, but on the proviso that we all get on together. For example I didn’t sign my contract until I met all the boys for myself. The nice thing was, if we had all met 15 years ago there would have been egos in the room, there would have been a pissing contest between all of us – whereas because we’ve all been through the mix a few times and we’ve experienced the highs and lows of it you realise what’s important, and what’s important is to enjoy it.
Do you think that makes you better pop stars?
I think it does because it makes you more confident. Your relationship to the audience is so much stronger. When you’re doing it first time round you’re so paranoid about where you’re going to come in the charts or whether people are going to buy your single that you’re almost begging them to. But now you don’t make money on album sales you make it in performing, so you might as well go out there and have a good time with your audience. If you enjoy it – they see it.
Your first album deserved to do better than it did. Why do you think it didn’t?
It was weird. Abroad it did really well. South East Asia went mental for it. Here It didn’t do so great, it did shit – let’s be fair. I think first of all I wasn’t very happy doing it and I think you can see that. You start looking like a Panto character. I also got famous for being an actor and I think a lot of people think of you as just an actor or a pop star – and because I had that slight crossover it was weird. The record company spent millions of pounds doing research in the market place – I always came up as really popular but that didn’t always translate into sales. I was seen more as an entertainer than a pop star. I’d get bookings for ridiculous amounts of money, but then it didn’t translate into album sales.
It was a five-album deal I signed, but I knew after the first one, or even before the first single came out that I wasn’t enjoying it. I sat down with the record label and said, I know it’s a five album deal, but I can’t do five it will kill me. They were like ‘we’ve spent all this money on you can you do the first album and let us cover our costs and make a little bit of money and we’ll let you go.’
So, the Corrie gay kiss…
You know what – that was the thing that really disillusioned me. One of the characters was gay and the other wasn’t. The one that wasn’t was asleep – it wasn’t a tongue marathon it was a tiny peck on the lips. The fact that made the front page of The Sun or the fact it was promoted as such a shock horror thing, I was like Really? In this day and age, really? Is it such a big issue? I found it so disappointing.
The body. Are you still as ripped?
Yes I am for my sins. I do it all at home. I have a really bad back so from the age of 17 I had to exercise everyday otherwise my back gets really knackered. I always felt a bit of phoney, because everyone was like ‘oh my god look at his body’ and I was like, well if I don’t I’m f**ked. I still do all the sit-ups and I’ve still got my six-pack.
(Eight!!!) A shout from in the background as Katy, Adam’s Fiancé corrects Adam!
Eight-pack – Katy’s is shouting. My wife in about 10 months!
It’s not about size, it’s about health.
There is not a country in the world that doesn’t know the names of Boy George and Culture Club.
Grammy Award winners Culture Club sold in excess of 100 million singles and over 50 million albums, and were one of the biggest pop bands of the 1980s. They achieved seven straight Top 10 hits in the UK, nine Top 10 singles in the USA and nine Top 20 singles in Australia. They had number 1 singles in over a dozen countries and multi platinum album sales across the world, and were first group since The Beatles to have three Top Ten hits in America from a debut album. They were also the first group in music history to have an album certified diamond in Canada. The band consisted of Mikey Craig (bass guitar), Roy Hay (guitar and keyboards), Jon Moss (drums and percussion) and flamboyant front man Boy George (lead vocals.)
And now the original line-up have confirmed they are to play live dates across the UK in 2014 for the first time in over 15 years. Prior to these live dates Culture Club will be going into the studio to record new material, with producer Youth (Paul McCartney, The Verve, Embrace) for an album to be released early in 2015.
Joining Culture Club on this tour will be very special guest Alison Moyet, well renowned musical icon, who has amassed sales of more than 20 million records both as a solo artist and half of influential duo Yazoo. In 2013 Alison returned to her electro roots with her album ‘the minutes’ which was co-written and produced by Guy Sigsworth. ‘the minutes’ was a Top 5 hit in the UK and Alison toured throughout the last quarter of the year visiting UK, Europe, USA and South Africa topping it off with a triumphant show at the Royal Albert Hall in April 2014.
Monday 1st December Glasgow The SSE Hydro
Tuesday 2nd December Newcastle Metro Radio Arena
Thursday 4th December Leeds First Direct Arena
Friday 5th December Manchester Phones 4U Arena
Saturday 6th December Nottingham Capital FM Arena
Monday 8th December Liverpool Echo Arena
Tuesday 9th December London London The O2 *
Thursday 11th December Brighton Brighton Centre
Friday 12th December Birmingham National Indoor Arena
Sunday 14th December Cardiff Motorpoint Arena
Monday 15th December Bournemouth Bournemouth International Centre
All venue tickets: £38.50 & £48.50
* Except London The O2: £37.50, £42.50 & £55.00
Tickets available from:
Livenation.co.uk and Ticketmaster.co.uk
A 19 year old man from Chester has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for what a judge has said was a homophobic attack.
Chester Crown Court heard that Floyd Evans stabbed office cleaner Francisco Nascimento at a spot on Chester city walls which is known to be a meeting place for the gay community.
It was only the swift action of the emergency services and staff at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital that saved his life.
At Chester Crown Court today (Tuesday 20 May), Recorder of Chester HHJ Elgan Edwards, said he was satisfied that Floyd Evans did what he did on 21 October last year because he thought Mr Nascimento was gay.
He said Evans knew that area of the Chester city walls was a well-known meeting point for gay men.
He was satisfied that this crime was a homophobic assault and increased the sentence given to Evans because of this.
On 21 October 2013, Mr Nascimento, who’s originally from Brazil but has lived in Chester for several years, finished his work as a cleaner and went to the Northgate Arena for a swim.
He then went on to a nearby shop to buy some food, before setting off for home via the City Walls.
Mr Nascimento, who was 35 at the time of the attack, met a friend, Gareth Davies, on the walls and they were chatting when they noticed Evans coming towards them.
Evans started talking to Mr Davies but then suddenly lunged forward and stabbed Mr Nascimento. He then simply walked away.
The emergency services were called and a police officer, PC Campbell, kept pressure on the wound until the paramedics arrived.
The judge in the case has given PC Campbell a Crown Court commendation for his actions on the night.
Mr Nascimento was then taken to a specialist trauma centre at Royal Liverpool University Hospital where he was operated on immediately.
Evans was caught on CCTV before and after the attack and forensic experts helped identify him as the man responsible.
Richard Riley, Senior Crown Prosecutor with Mersey-Cheshire Crown Prosecution Service, said,
“We have always believed that Floyd Evans stabbed My Nascimento because he thought he was gay and that Evans went to that part of the city walls that night for that very reason.
“Evans is clearly a violent man, quite possibly harbouring sinister feelings towards certain sections of our community.
“This was what we describe as a hate crime and the Crown Prosecution Service is determined to bring those responsible to justice.
“Mr Nascimento had done nothing wrong on the night he was attacked and it is only because of the swift actions of his friend, a passing police officer, the paramedics and the staff at the Royal Liverpool Hospital that he is still alive today.
“We welcome the sentence handed out to Floyd Evans today. He now has several years in prison ahead of him to reflect on the violence and recklessness of his actions on that night.”
Rebekah Shelton, who starred in the 10th series of Big Brother as Rodrigo Lopes is responding well to treatment.
Rebekah Shelton who took part in the tenth series of Big Brother as Rodrigo Lopes is still in hospital after doctors found a brain tumour her family have said, however they took to the star’s twitter to write, ‘Thank you for the messages and prayers. Its a very difficult time for us but she is responding well to the treatment. Lets keep our prayers.’
The Brazillian student, started living life as woman in 2012 two years after starring in the reality show, as has used Twitter to show her transition.
After the breakdown of her friendship with Munroe, Lady Lloyd puts the row behind her and sets out to boost the profile of her drag girl group the Buffalo Girls by looking for a new manager and writing what she hopes will be a hit single for the band.
Meanwhile Rosie Beaver takes radical action to get her love life back on track, heading on the pull in drag with best friend Nick, aka Violet Sparks.
And American drag queen Bourgeoisie’s confidence is shaken as she comes in the bottom two in the Tranny Shack Academy drag competition, but she doesn’t take it lying down as she confronts club promoters Dusty O and Walt.
Key Quotes from episode 5:
Bourgeoisie and Dusty:
5.53 – “I’m still here….like, hello!” – Bougie about his commitment to Trannyshack academy
6.40 – “Arty can be interpreted in many ways, can’t it?” – Dusty to Bougie on his ‘arty’ look
8.18 – “I’m a f**king art Queen. You can’t take that from me” – Bougie on her look and style
12.08 – “I’m like shamu the mother f**king whale” – Bougie about his performance that showers the audience with champagne
27.17 – “You were saved…. and I saved you” – Dusty O talks about Bougie ending up in the bottom two but being saved
30.51 – “And I’m sorry if she sh*t herself” – Dusty O about Bougie’s performance
With Northern Ireland’s LGBT fight for marriage equality still hanging in the balance an interesting culprit is being eyed up.
Last month the same-sex marriage motion was defeated 51-43 in Northern Ireland, but there maybe more than just religious traditions and conservativism that is stopping the UK from becoming entirely same-sex marriage equal. Sewage and Bad Smells.
According to a new report, a team of psychologists and political scientists headed by: Thomas G. Adams, John C. Blanchar and Patrick A Stewart, from the University of Arkansas have found that people are less likely to support gay marriage if they’re in a smelly enviroment.
According to the results which were published in the PLOS ONE journal, ‘Disgust is increasingly seen as playing an important role in the formation and maintenance of political and social attitudes’.
‘Self-reported socio-political attitudes were compared between participants in two experimental conditions: 1) an odorless control condition, and 2) a disgusting odor condition. In keeping with previous research, the present study showed that exposure to a disgusting odor increased endorsement of socially conservative attitudes related to sexuality. In particular, there was a strong and consistent link between induced disgust and less support for gay marriage.’
779 people took part in the experiment, the majority of participants were Caucasian/white self-described Christian and heterosexual.
