THEGAYUK

Category: News

  • Roxane Gay pulls her forthcoming book from same publisher as Milo Yiannopoulos

    Roxane Gay pulls her forthcoming book from same publisher as Milo Yiannopoulos

    Author Roxane Gay has decided not to have her book published by the same publisher as Milo Yiannopoulos.

    By SLOWKING (Own work) [GFDL 1.2 (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html)], via Wikimedia Commons
    The Bad Feminist writer, Roxanne Gay has decided to ditch Simon & Schuster as her forthcoming book’s publisher over a decision by another of their imprints to publish Milo Yiannopoulos’s forthcoming book, Dangerous, which is due out in March 2017.

    How To Be Heard was due to be published by TED Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster in March 2018. Speaking to Buzzfeed News, Roxane said that she asked her agent, Maria Massie to “pull the project” last week saying that she couldn’t in “good conscience” let them publish the book, whilst they also had the rights to Milo’s book.

    She said she was putting her “money where her mouth is”.

    “I kept thinking about how egregious it is to give someone like Milo a platform for his blunt, inelegant hate and provocation. I just couldn’t bring myself to turn the book in. My editor emailed me last week and I kept staring at that email in my inbox and finally over the weekend I asked my agent to pull the book.”

    Simon & Schuster’s CEO claimed that Milo’s book would not contain hate speech.

    The book has not found another publisher yet.

     

  • Two men jailed for homophobic attack in Brighton

    Two men jailed for homophobic attack in Brighton

    Two men have been jailed for a homophobic attack that took place in Brighton last year.

    CREDIT: Brighton Police

    Gage Vye-Parminter, 18, of Breydon Walk, and Matthew Howes, 19, of Weald Drive, have both been jailed for five years for the homophobic attack on two men in Brighton. They admitted GHB and assault on two men in the city’s centre. They were ordered to pay a £170 victim surcharge.

    The youngest of the two victims suffered fractured eye sockets, nose and cheekbones. Pictures of the victims shocked the community last year after news of the attack made its way onto social media.

    The court heard that officers in a patrolling police car were flagged down by a passing taxi driver who told them two men had just been attacked in Kings Road, on the south pavement opposite the Queens Hotel.

    Vye-Parminter and Howes were arrested at the scene and taken into custody for questioning. The victims said the pair were walking behind them along the seafront shouting homophobic comments at them. The 22-year-old, who now lives in Camberley, Surrey, said he then remembered being knocked to the floor and attacked before losing consciousness.

    The attack was just one of the anti-gay attacks that rocked Brighton’s gay scene in 2016.

    Detective constable Sarah Townsend said:

    “This was a violent and unprovoked homophobic attack on two men who were singled out for their sexual orientation.

    “This sentence sends out a clear signal that we will take a robust approach to those who target individuals based on their race, disability, gender identity, religion or sexual orientation.

    “I hope this case will encourage other victims of hate crime to report such behaviour and violence to the police.”

     

  • Peter Tatchell will not be retiring!

    Peter Tatchell will not be retiring!

    Despite turning 65 (we can’t actually believe that) tomorrow, Peter Tatchell has vowed not to retire and to keep fighting the fight.

    CREDIT: Monty McKinnen

    In a statement the legendary gay and human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said,

    “I turn 65 on 25 January. This year I celebrate 50 years of human rights activism. Retirement hasn’t entered my head. There is still so much to do. The brain and eye damage from bashings by Mugabe’s thugs and Moscow neo-Nazis is minor and doesn’t stop me. I carry on. My plan is to keep going for another 30 years”.

    It seems as though he’s got the fighting spirit and revealed that his grandfather died aged 97 and was active right up until his early 90s. Peter quipped, “I’ve got his fighting spirit and hopefully his genes. So, with a bit of luck, I’ll match or surpass his longevity.”

    Peter, who says he’s been violently assaulted over 300 times in his fight for equality has had three arson attacks on his home, over 50 bottles and bricks thrown through his windows and even had a bullet posted through his letterbox.

    Talking about his involvement in protest Peter revealed,

    “Despite engaging in over 3,000 direct action and civil disobedience protests, and being arrested 200 times, I have only one standing conviction: for the Canterbury Cathedral protest in 1998, which was against the then Archbishop of Canterbury’s support for homophobic discrimination in law. I was convicted under the Ecclesiastical Courts Jurisdiction Act 1860, formerly part of the Brawling Act 1551.”

    Peter is keen to point out that he hasn’t done it all himself and paid tribute to a number of people who have been instrumental in helping him on his crusade.

    “Whatever contribution I have made, has never been by me alone. It has always been working with others and thanks to their help. I pay tribute, and express my sincere appreciation, to everyone who has campaigned with me since 1967, when I first began.

    “I remember with great admiration and affection the trail-blazing activism for peace, freedom and equality by Pat Arrowsmith, Bruce Kent, Pragna Patel, Allan Horsfall, April Ashley, Simon Nkoli, Anthony Grey, Jackie Forster, Griff Vaughan Williams and Carmel Budiardjo, to name just a few.

    Happy Birthday Peter. And Thank you on behalf of us all!

     

  • Man subjected to homophobic attack in Oldham, Police say

    Man subjected to homophobic attack in Oldham, Police say

    Police are looking for two men they want to speak to after a man was subjected to a homophobic attack in Oldham, Manchester.

    Homophobic attack manchester
    Manchester Police

    Police say a 21-year-old victim was subjected to a homophobic verbal and physical attack in Greater Manchester. Police are looking to speak to two men in connection with the incident which happened in Oldham in November 2016.

    Officers in Oldham, Greater Manchester, have now released images of two men they wish to speak to in connection with the attack.

    At around 6.35pm on Saturday 5 November 2016, police were called to reports of a hate crime that occurred at around 3.20am that morning, outside a club on Yorkshire Street, Oldham Town Centre.

    A 21-year-old man was in a club with his partner when an altercation ensued between himself and three other people.
    Following this, two men were ejected from the club.

    Yorkshire Street homophobic attack
    CREDIT: Google Maps

    The victim then went outside with his partner for a cigarette, where the altercation that began in the club continued before he was repeatedly punched in the face and had homophobic abuse hurled at him.

    A short time later, the victim was walking along Yorkshire Street when a further confrontation ensued.
    He was taken to hospital with facial injuries.

    One of the men is described as white, aged between 20 and 25-years-old and was wearing a blue t-shirt.
    The other man is described as Asian, between 5ft 8in and 5ft 9in and also aged between 20 and 25-years-old. He is of a chubby build and was wearing a shirt.

    Police Constable Laura Cheetham of GMP’s Oldham Borough, said,

    “We have been carrying out our enquiries for more than two months now but need the public’s help to make further progress.

    “I’d encourage anyone who recognises the men in the CCTV images or the description of the men who were in the area at that time, to get in touch with us.

    “We take reports of hate crimes extremely seriously and I’d like to stress that it will not be tolerated on the streets of Greater Manchester.”

    Anyone with information should contact police on 0161 856 8922 101 quoting reference number 1940 of 05/11/16 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

     

  • The UK’s “last anti-gay law” looks like it’s going to be scrapped

    The UK’s “last anti-gay law” looks like it’s going to be scrapped

    A little known anti-gay law looks like it’s going to get scrapped and it’s known as the last anti-gay law.

    Oi Oi Sailor!

    The UK’s last anti-gay law is looking like it’ll get scrapped. The law actually allows shipping firms to sack a “seafarer on a merchant navy vessel” for an act of “homosexuality” and it was introduced in 1994 by the Conservative government of the day, led by Prime Minister John Major. It is known as the “last anti-gay law” because it was actually the last anti-gay law to be passed in the UK.

    Equality laws, such as the Equality Act 2010, that have been introduced since 1994 have actually made the law defunct, but it remains on the statute books.

    A group of MPs want to make it officially defunct.

    Conservative MP John Glen said he wanted the law to be scrapped because being gay has no impact on a person’s ability to doing their job and told MPs that there was no place in society for employment discrimination based on sexual orientation.

    He said,

    “When it comes to employment, in the merchant navy or anywhere else, what matters is a person’s ability to do the job—not their gender, age, ethnicity, religion or sexuality.

    “Many will be surprised—astonished, even—to learn that this anomaly still remains on the statute book. There is no place in our society today for employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.”

    There is no provision in the law that exists for heterosexual acts.

  • ‘Allo ‘Allo! star Gorden Kaye dies aged 75

    ‘Allo ‘Allo! star Gorden Kaye dies aged 75

    Bata-Nominated actor Gorden Kaye has passed away at the age of 75. The star was best known for playing René Artois in the TV comedy ‘Allo ‘Allo!

    Kaye, born in 1968, appeared in all episodes of the TV comedy ‘Allo ‘Allo! as well as hundreds of stage performances of the same name. In his 1989 autobiography, he talks about his acting experiences as an overweight, shy and gay man.

    Other roles included appearances in Coronation Street, It Ain’t Half Hot Mum, Till Death Do Us Part and camp classic Are You Being Served?

    Of course, he was best known for his role as Rene in the hit sitcom, ‘Allo ‘Allo! which followed the fictional exploits of a cafe owner and his staff (and wife) in German-occupied France during World War Two. The show ran for 84 episodes and a stage version of the show.

    The star’s former agency confirmed to the BBC that he died at his care home on Monday morning. He was 75.

     

  • Campaigners plan protest outside Joiners Arms two years after it closed

    A protest will take place outside the Joiners Arms on Saturday afternoon over owners’ and developers “greed”, two years after the legendary gay venue closed.

    CREDIT: Friends of Joiners Arms / Facebook

    The Joiners Arms was shuttered two years ago and now campaigners are planning to hold a demonstration outside the Joiners Arms, Hackney Road, on Saturday 21st January.

    The demo is organised by the Friends of the Joiners Arms, a community group founded in 2014 to save and evolve the Joiners Arms pub. The group hopes to bring the pub into community ownership, so it becomes London’s first cooperatively owned, LGBT+ community centre, with the pub a central part of its operation.

    In 2015 the pub was closed after owners working with property developers – planned to bulldoze the venue to make way for new homes. The pub has remained empty since its closure. One of the Friends of the Joiners Arms co-chairs called the motive to close the iconic venue as “greed and nothing else”.

    Jon Ward, co-chair of the Friends of the Joiners Arms, said,

    “The Joiners was one the few late night LGBTQIA venues in the east end, and its closure has left a massive hole in queer night scene and in our hearts. The venue closed because of greed and nothing else – why should such an important queer space be left to rot when it could be such an asset to the community?”

    Amy Roberts, co-chair of Friends of the Arms, says:

    “We invite everyone to join us at 1.30pm on Saturday to show the strength of feeling that remains – the Joiners Arms is our space, and the community wants it back!”

  • Michelle Visage points out the HUGE difference between Obama’s Big day and Trumps

    As inaugurations go, President Trump’s wasn’t the smallest in history, but as Michelle Visage has pointed out it certainly was no match for President Obama’s in 2009.

    CREDIT: Whitehouse Photographer

    Hundreds of millions tuned in to watch the inauguration of Donald Trump, however, the turn out to watch the event live in Washington DC was well below that of Obama’s 2009 swearing in.  Michelle Visage was quick to share a shocking image showing the poor turn out, where huge areas of land outside the Capitol Building in Washington DC stand empty.

    In 2009 Obama’s inauguration set a new record for attendees, although there is no official count. It was considered that over 1.8 million people turned up to watch the event. Donald Trump was unable to match the 44th President’s numbers or approval rating at the time of their respective inaugurations. Obama’s was 68 per cent. Trump’s is 37 per cent.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BPgZuFfgtf2/?taken-by=michellevisage&hl=en

    According to Washington DC’s own transport system passenger numbers were well down.

    They tweeted that as of 11 AM on Trump’s inauguration 193,000 trips had been made compared with 513,000 on Obama’s inauguration in 2009. Even Obama’s second term swearing in had over 317,000 trips made.

    Within hours of Trump becoming the 45th President, there was panic amongst some in the American LGBT community as the Whitehouse’s official website scrubbed it’s LGBT page, leaving users with just an empty white screen.

     

  • White House website removes LGBT page

    White House website removes LGBT page

    Concerns have been raised after the White House’s official website removed the LGBT page after President Trump’s inauguration.

    Donald Trump
    CREDIT: By Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America (Donald Trump) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
    As the world was watching Donald Trump becoming president, tech teams at the Whitehouse.gov were removing some key pages on the website including the LGBT page that President Obama’s adminstation posted to assure the community on their committment to LGBT rights and equality.

    Vistors to www.whitehouse.gov/lgbt are now greated with a clear white page with no writing.

    Former Star Trek actor George Takei was one of the first stars to draw attention to the deletion.

    https://twitter.com/GTremblayVoice/status/822533037271511041

    One commentor on Twitter pointed out that the site’s adminstrators hadn’t removed the meta tags from the bio.

    The site is just in transition as Trump’s own team looks to update information and bring forth their own policies. As with each new adminstration the official White House website, Twitter and other social media accounts are all archived for history.

    So far the current adminstration have uploaded policies on energy, jobs and growth, making the military strong, standing up for law enforcement and trade deals.

     

  • Gay and Lesbian Critics announce their film award nominations

    Gay and Lesbian Critics announce their film award nominations

    Moonlight leads the list of nominations for the Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association (GALECA) Dorian Awards.

    Director Barry Jenkins story of growing up gay in Miami was nominated in both Film and LGBTQ Film of the year categories. It was also nominated for its screenplay and directing for Jenkins, as well as Mahershala Ali and Trevante Rhodes as Film Performance of the Year – Male, and it was also nominated for Visually Striking Film of the Year.

    Moonlight will compete in the best film category along with Jackie, La La Land, Manchester by the Sea, and 20th Century Women. Jackie also received nominations for Film Performance of the Year – Female for Natalie Portman, Director of the Year (Pablo Larrain) and Visually Striking Film of the Year. La La Land, which recently won 7 Golden Globe Awards, besides Film of the Year is also nominated for Director and Screenplay of the Year (for Damien Chazelle), Film Performance of the Year – Male – Ryan Gosling and Female – Emma Stone, as well as Visually Striking Film of the Year. Gay film director and fashion designer Tom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals was all but ignored by the Gay and Lesbian critics, yet they found a spot for it in the Campy Film of the Year category.

    In addition to film and television awards, the group also nominates individuals for their overall achievements. The Timeless Star Award will be automatically presented to John Waters. The Wilde Wit of the Year, honouring a performer, writer or commentator whose observations both challenge and amuse, includes the late Carrie Fisher amongst its nominees.

    The Dorian winners will be announced Jan. 26. The group’s annual Winners Toast, honouring a select group of the 2016-17 winners, will be held Feb. 18, 2017 in Los Angeles.

    Here is a complete list of the nominees:

    Film of the Year
    Jackie (Fox Searchlight)
    La La Land (Summit/Lionsgate)
    Manchester by the Sea (Roadside/Amazon Studios)
    Moonlight (A24)
    20th Century Women (A24)

    Director of the Year
    (Film or Television)
    Barry Jenkins, Moonlight (A24)
    Pablo Larraín, Jackie (Fox Searchlight)
    Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester By the Sea (Roadside/Amazon Studios)
    Park Chan-wook, The Handmaiden (Amazon Studios)
    Damien Chazelle, La La Land (Summit/Lionsgate)

    Film Performance of the Year — Actress
    Annette Bening, 20th Century Women (A24)
    Viola Davis, Fences (Paramount)
    Isabelle Huppert, Elle (Sony Classics)
    Emma Stone, La La Land (Summit/Lionsgate)
    Natalie Portman, Jackie (Fox Searchlight)

    Film Performance of the Year — Actor
    Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea (Roadside/Amazon Studios)
    Mahershala Ali, Moonlight (A24)
    Ryan Gosling, La La Land (Summit/Lionsgate)
    Trevante Rhodes, Moonlight (A24)
    Denzel Washington, Fences (Paramount)

    LGBTQ Film of the Year
    Being 17 (Strand)
    Closet Monster (Strand)
    Moonlight (A24)
    Other People (Vertical)
    The Handmaiden (Amazon Studios)

    Foreign Language Film of the Year
    Elle (Sony Classics)
    Neruda (The Orchard)
    The Handmaiden (Amazon Studios)
    Things to Come (Sundance Selects)
    Toni Erdmann (Sony Pictures Classics)

    Screenplay of the Year
    Barry Jenkins, Moonlight (A24)
    Efthymis Filippou, Yorgos Lanthimos, The Lobster (A24)
    Damien Chazelle, La La Land (Summit/Lionsgate)
    Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea (Roadside/Amazon Studios)
    Mike Mills, 20th Century Women (A24)

    Documentary of the Year
    (theatrical release, TV airing or DVD release)
    I Am Not Your Negro (Magnolia)
    O.J. Made in America (ESPN Films)
    13th (Netflix)
    Tickled (Magnolia)
    Weiner (Netflix)

    Visually Striking Film of the Year
    Arrival (Paramount)
    Jackie (Fox Searchlight)
    La La Land (Lionsgate)
    Moonlight (A24)
    The Handmaiden (Amazon Studios)

    Unsung Film of the Year
    American Honey (A24)
    Captain Fantastic (Bleecker Street)
    Christine (The Orchard)
    Other People (Vertical)
    Sing Street (The Weinstein Company)

    Campy Film of the Year
    Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie (Fox Searchlight)
    King Cobra (IFC Midnight)
    Nocturnal Animals (Focus Features)
    The Dressmaker (Broadgreen/Amazon Studios)
    The Neon Demon (Broadgreen/Amazon Studios)

    TV Drama of the Year
    Black Mirror (Netflix)
    Game of Thrones (HBO)
    Stranger Things (Netflix)
    The Crown (Netflix)
    The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story (FX)
    Westworld (HBO)

    TV Comedy of the Year
    Atlanta (FX)
    Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (CW)
    Insecure (HBO)
    Transparent (Amazon)
    Veep (FX)

    TV Performance of the Year — Actor
    Riz Ahmed, The Night Of (HBO)
    Sterling K. Brown, The People v. O.J. Simpson (FX)
    Donald Glover, Atlanta (FX)
    Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent (Amazon)
    Courtney B. Vance, The People v. O.J. Simpson (FX)

    TV Performance of the Year — Actress
    Claire Foy, The Crown (Netflix)
    Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep (HBO)
    Thandie Newton, Westworld (HBO)
    Sarah Paulson, American Crime Story: The People V. O.J. Simpson (FX)
    Winona Ryder, Stranger Things (Netflix)

    TV Current Affairs Show of the Year
    Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN)
    Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (TBS)
    Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
    The Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC)
    Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)

    TV Musical Performance of the Year
    Beyonce, “Lemonade,” MTV Video Music Awards (MTV)
    Kelly Clarkson, “Piece by Piece,” American Idol (Fox)
    Lady Gaga – “Til It Happens to You,” The 88th Academy Awards (ABC)
    Jennifer Hudson, “I Know Where I’ve Been,” Hairspray Live! (NBC)
    Kate McKinnon “Hallelujah,” Saturday Night Live (NBC)

    LGBTQ TV Show of the Year
    Looking: The Movie (HBO)
    Orange Is the New Black (Netflix)
    RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars (Logo)
    The Real O’Neals (ABC)
    Transparent (Amazon)

    Unsung TV Show of the Year
    Fleabag (Amazon)
    Lady Dynamite (Netflix)
    London Spy (BBC America)
    Please Like Me (Pivot)
    The Real O’Neals (ABC)

    Campy TV Show of the Year
    Finding Prince Charming (Logo)
    Fuller House (Netflix)
    Hairspray Live! (NBC)
    RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars (Logo)
    Scream Queens (Fox)
    The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Fox)

    We’re Wilde About You! Rising Star of the Year
    Millie Bobby Brown
    Lucas Hedges
    Connor Jessup
    Ruth Negga
    Trevante Rhodes

    Wilde Wit of the Year
    (honouring a performer, writer or commentator whose observations both challenge and amuse)
    Samantha Bee
    Carrie Fisher
    Bill Maher
    Kate McKinnon
    John Oliver

    Wilde Artist of the Year
    (honouring a truly groundbreaking force in the fields of film, theatre and/or television)
    Beyonce
    Viola Davis
    Barry Jenkins
    Kate McKinnon
    Lin-Manuel Miranda

    Timeless Star
    (to an actor or performer whose exemplary career is marked by character, wisdom and wit)
    John Waters

  • Loose Women will not be investigated over “gay best friend” discussion

    Loose Women will not be investigated over “gay best friend” discussion

    Ofcom has said it will not investigate Loose Women complaints about a Facebook post and on-air discussion on whether every woman should have a gay best friend.

    loose women
    ITV

    Last year the TV programme Loose Women on ITV came under intense criticism from some in the LGBT community, after a segment it called “every woman should have a gay best friend.”  Many of the critics slammed the line of questioning as “casual homophobia”.

    Pinknews reports that Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator, has rejected two complaints made about the show. The complaints were made on the grounds of “sexual orientation discrimination/offence”.

    The show which is broadcast on ITV every weekday morning and has been running since 1999 with 26 series being made. It celebrated its 2500 episode in April 2016.