THEGAYUK

Author: News Desk

  • Nearly Half Of America Disapproved Of The Michael Sam Kiss

    According to polls and surveys America has never been readier for gay marriage, gay sportsmen – just plain gayness, that is until they kiss.

    Huffington Post has revealed stats that show 47% of Americans thought that EPSN broadcasting the now famous kiss between Michael Sam and his boyfriend Vito Cammisano was inappropriate, even though players kissing their girlfriends and wives is commonplace.

    Up to 20% of people polled would disapprove of their sports team hiring an openly gay player.

    Michael Sam made history last week when he became the first openly gay footballer to be drafted into the NFL.

    The article at Huffington Post goes onto explain:

    “Americans under age 30 had no problem with coverage of the kiss, by a 55 percent to 29 percent margin. Those between ages 30 and 44 were evenly divided: 40 percent said it was appropriate; 39 percent said it was inappropriate. And a majority of older Americans said it was inappropriate, including 52 percent of those between ages 45 and 64, and 69 percent of those 65 and older”.

  • Former Big Brother Star In Coma

    A former contestant of Big Brother in 2009, Rebekah Shelton is currently in a coma, following the discovery of a brain tumour.

    Rebekah Shelton who took part in the tenth series of Big Brother as Rodrigo Lopes is in hospital after doctors found a brain tumour her family have said.

    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.

    Taking to Shelton’s official Twitter her family tweeted, ‘The doctors found a head tumour and she is in come [sic]. We cannot speak anymore. Please just pray for our Rebekah’

    In 2012, speaking to Heat Magazine she said, ‘I’ve always felt like I had a woman inside of me, always, but I used to hide it. I’ve always liked make-up, treatments and other womanly things, and I was 18 when I first started experimenting. But early this year I told my best friend Andrea how I was really feeling.

    ‘She encouraged me. When I came back to the UK I started wearing my friends’ clothes first, then I began shopping for them. People in the shops were surprisingly normal about it. Now I go out with a transvestite I made friends with. She’s very glam. We go to straight clubs and get a lot of attention.’

  • Stonewall To No Longer Use Dorchester Hotel

    Stonewall acting Chief Executive has announced that the charity will no longer use the hotel owned by the Sultan of Brunei.

    The UK’s largest LGB charity, Stonewall, was criticised heavily last week after its acting CEO Ruth Hunt said it would not back the boycott on The Dorchester Collection group of hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah.

    The Sultan of Brunei, has confirmed that he will continue his adoption of a Sharia criminal code in his country.

    This law carries harsh penalties for adultery and sodomy – which could includes death by stoning for homosexuals.

    SHARIA WHAT DOES IT MEAN:
    Islam’s legal system, derived from the Koran
    Informs every aspect of Muslims’ lives
    Islamic jurists issue formal guidance through fatwas, or religious edicts
    Sharia law includes provisions for capital and corporal punishment but modern scholars say getting to that stage can be difficult
    Marriage is treated as a contract in Islam
    From The BBC

    Writing for Pinknews, Hunt said,

    ‘I can confirm that we will not be using the Dorchester for our future events. We simply do not need this distraction from the vital work of promoting respect for the human rights of LGBT people the world over,” she writes.

    Ms. Hunt also apologised on behalf Stonewall, writing:

    ‘We’re sorry that we didn’t anticipate the strength of feeling in the LGBT community, and beyond, and take longer to talk to you about our position and ask what you think. That was a mistake on our part.’

    The boycott on the group, is backed by several high profile people including Ellen DeGeneres, Jay Leno and Richard Branson. The collection includes locations such as London’s The Dorchester and Los Angeles’ The Beverly Hill’s

  • Gay Country Singer Steve Grand Delays On Album

    US Singer Steve Grand, has delayed his debut album launch.

    The singer who hit fame after releasing single All American Boy has announced that his debut album, funded by a Kickstarter programme, will be delayed for a couple of months.

    Grand managed to raise $326,593 to independently record his album – he initially asked for just $81,000.

    Taking to Facebook the singer said to his fans,

    ‘From day one, I have promised to only give you my best, most honest work, and I intend to uphold that promise even if it means delaying the release of the record to make sure I get it just right,’

  • TODAY IN GAY | Massachusetts becomes the first state in the US to legalise gay marriage

    TODAY IN GAY | Massachusetts becomes the first state in the US to legalise gay marriage

    Today in Gay History 17th May 2014

    Massachusetts becomes the first state in the US to legalise gay marriage in 2004, meaning that the state is currently celebrating 10 years of same-sex marriage.

    There are 17 states in the US which currently allow same-sex marriage which include:
    New Mexico, Delaware, Hawaii and Iowa.

  • No Russian Parade for Conchita

    An application for a parade to celebrate Eurovision winner Conchita has been declined by Moscow’s Mayoral Office.

    Officials in Moscow have vetoed an application for a parade to honour the Eurovision 2014 winner Conchita Wurst.

    Wurst won the 2014 competition with her song Rise Like A Phoenix with 290 points.

    Speaking to Russian news agency interfax Alexei Mayorov, from the Moscow mayor’s office said, ‘We informed them that the event could not take place,’

    The application was denied to, ‘respect morality in the education of the younger generation’.

    Before the show aired last week, top Russian politician branded the show a ‘Sodom Show’.

    The parade had been planned for May 27th, the 21st anniversary of legalising homosexuality in Russia.

    The activists behind the application have said it will appeal the decision and have vowed to stage a gay pride on 31st May 2014, despite a 100 year ban of Gay Prides.

    Many men in Russia have started to shave their beards off in protest of Conchita’s win, but Rise Like A Phoenix continues to chart high in the Russian iTunes chart.

  • TODAY IN GAY | Liberace Was Born

    TODAY IN GAY | Liberace Was Born

    One of the campest performers ever, Władziu Valentino Liberace was born on this day in 1919. He died in Feb 1987 from cytomegalovirus (CMV) pneumonia as a result of AIDS.

    His life became the subject of an HBO biopic starring Michael Douglas and Matt Damon, called Behind The Candelabra in 2013.

    Although Liberace never publicly came out, in fact, he sued the Daily Mirror for suggesting that he was, his former chauffeur and live-in lover, Scott Thorson wrote a book about the pair’s relationship called: Behind the Candelabra: My Life with Liberace

  • Stonewall Refuses To Back Dorchester Boycott

    A statement from the acting Chief Exec of Stonewall, explains why Stonewall won’t be backing the Dorchester Collection boycott.

    Britain’s biggest LGB charity has announced that it won’t back a boycott of a hotel group owned by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, the Sultan of Brunei, who has confirmed that he will continue his adoption of a Sharia criminal code in his country.

    This law carries harsh penalties for adultery and sodomy – which includes death by stoning.

    The Dorchester Collection has a number of hotels across the world including The Dorchester in the UK’s capital and The Beverly Hotel in California.

    The Sultan’s actions have caused calls from the around the globe to boycott the chain – backed by many Hollywood names and celebrities, including Ellen DeGeneres and Jay Leno

    However Ruth Hunt, the acting Chief Executive of Stonewall stated,

    ‘At Stonewall we share the anger and fury of those calling for a boycott but we won’t be joining them’.

    ‘The recent boycott of The Dorchester Collection has undoubtedly raised awareness in the West of the issues in Brunei but the crucial questions for Stonewall are whether there is a mandate for the boycott and would such a boycott work? We believe the answer is no, on both counts. I do not believe the somewhat beleaguered Christopher Cowdray, Chief Executive of the Collection, can somehow influence the implementation of Sharia criminal code in Brunei. He can’t. I do, however, fear that the boycott could do very real harm to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people of Brunei. By turning the issue into a battle between gay people and the Sultan – which it isn’t, it affects everyone in Brunei, not just gay people – we limit the opportunity for dialogue and put the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people of Brunei at far greater risk. A group of people, I hasten to add, who’ve yet to publically call for a boycott.’

    ‘Stonewall’s plan is to instead work with groups, like the Dorchester, rather than against them. Companies have enormous power to change and challenge cultures and we help them utilise that influence.’

    Read the full statement on the Stonewall website

    A former Tory Chairman, said that Stonewall’s refusal to boycott the Dorchester Collection ‘doesn’t make sense’

    Lord Dehen criticised Stonewall’s decision not to back a boycott. Speaking to Pinknews about the British Society of Magazine Editors (BSME) decision not to hold an event at The Dorchester, Lord Deben said, ‘Well done Magazine editors. I think no decent organisation should use a hotel owned by someone who stones women accused of adultery and gay people purely because of their sexuality. I think that everyone should boycott The Dorchester Collection.’

    Have your say, What do you think Stonewall should do?

  • Bryan Singer: I’m Quite Bisexual

    In an interview Byran Singer has opened up about his bisexuality and settling down with a guy.

    In the latest issue of Out, US director and producer Bryan Singer has opened up about his relationships, which have included women, in an interview which was taken before the enbattled producer went to court over alleged sexual assault.

    The X Men director said: ‘I’m quite bisexual, in the last five years, I’ve had two girlfriends – one for two years, one for eight months… (but) in the end, it’s probably going to be a guy (I settle down with). I emotionally lean towards male relationships, so I’m happy to say I’m gay, too.’

    When he came out to his parents, Singer said, ‘My sexuality is not what is tearing me up inside. I’m in love and he doesn’t love me back and it’s killing me. I need relationship advice!’

  • Andrew Christian Taking Underwear Ads To A New Level (NSFW)

    Underwear genius Andrew Christian has released a new video… and it’s not safe for work, unless work is a sauna… (or TheGayUK office)

    Designer Andrew Christian, 2013 Model Contest Winner Jake Houser, Topher DiMaggio, Murray Swanby, Cory Zwierzynski, Pablo Hernandez, star in the new ad for Andrew Christian’s Black/White campaign.

    A statement on their website reads:

    ‘We wanted to show off our artistic range and produce a video to demonstrate our interpretation of classical Greek sculpture; after all we love the ancient Greeks because they did not conceive of sexual orientation as a social identifier as modern Western societies have done. Greek society did not distinguish sexual desire or behavior by the gender but rather by the role that each participant played in the sex act, that of active penetrator or passive penetrated. This active/passive polarization corresponded with dominant and submissive social roles: the active (penetrative) role was associated with masculinity, higher social status, and adulthood, while the passive role was associated with femininity, lower social status, and youth.’

    Enter the contest & win:http://www.andrewchristian.com/contest

     

  • TODAY IN GAY: Mäedchen In Uniform

    TODAY IN GAY: Mäedchen In Uniform

    The first feature film with an openly pro-lesbian storyline debuts at The Capitol Cinema in Berlin.

    According to Wikipedia:
    The film had some impact in the Berlin lesbian clubs, but was largely eclipsed by the ongoing cult success of Der blaue Engel (1930). The film did however generate large amounts of fan-mail to the stars from all over Germany and was considered a success throughout much of Europe. The goodnight kiss Thiele received from Wieck was especially popular: one distributor even asked for more footage of other kisses like it to splice into prints of the film.

    From its premiere at the Capitol cinema in Berlin until 1934 the film is said to have grossed some RM6,000,000. Despite the collective nature of the filming for which cast and crew received only a quarter of the normal wage, none saw a share of the 6,000,000 marks and Thiele later hinted that the profits had been mostly retained by the producers.