THEGAYUK

Category: News

  • “Mean Girls” Star Comes Out As Gay

    Mean Girls, possibly one of the campest movies ever made, responsible for countless quotes has another claim to gay fame to make it fabulous, one of its stars has come out as gay!

    Daniel Franzese who starred as uber camp Damian in the 2004 comedy ‘Mean Girls’ has come out as gay in an open letter, first published in indiewire to his character. The 35-year-old actor wrote:

    “Dear Damian: It’s been a long time since our last encounter. Ten years to be exact,” Franzese writes. “I was twenty-six; you were sixteen. You were proud of who you were; I was an insecure actor. You became an iconic character that people looked up to; I wished I’d had you as a role model when I was younger. I might’ve been easier to be gay growing up. You WERE beautiful in every single way and words couldn’t bring you down.

    “What you may not know…When I was cast in the role of Damian in Mean Girls, I was TERRIFIED to play this part. But this was a natural and true representation of a gay teenager–a character we laughed with instead of at. (You can thank Tina Fey and Mark Waters for that. I can only take partial credit.).

    “When we first made this movie, I’m not sure any of us knew how loved and quoted this movie would become. You certainly hope when you pour your heart into something, that people will respond–but to paraphrase Gretchen Wieners, ‘We can’t help it that we’re so popular.”

    Franzese finished up his letter with:

    “P.S. I hate it when people say I’m ‘too gay to function.’ I know you do, too. Those people are part of the problem. They should refrain from using that phrase. It really is ONLY okay when Janis says it.”

    Brooklyn born Franzese, says that he hit a ‘gay glass ceiling’ after the role and was repeatedly turned down by Hollywood casting directors who were looking for more masculine actors.

    He has gone on to star in numerous other shows and films, including The Comeback with Lisa Kudrow.

  • X MEN’S CALEB LANDRY JONES In Talks For Stonewall Film Role

    Stonewall the movie, looks to be shaping up nicely after Caleb Landry Jones is apparently in talks to join the cast for Roland Emmerich’s gay history epic.

    Caleb Landry Jones has apparently entered talks to join Jeremy Irvine in the gay historical drama Stonewall, which is to be directed by Independence Day director Roland Emmerich.

    Caleb, who is most notable for his role in X-Men: First Class, will be playing, according to Deadline, an eccentric gay street hustler named Ophan Annie.

    The Stonewall film will focus on a teenager, to be played by War Horse actor Jeremy Irvine, who moves to New York, and becomes politically awakened after the Stonewall riots, which happened as a bad lash against a police raid on the New York gay bar The Stonewall Inn, in June 1969.

    The Stonewall riots became known as a series of spontaneous protests, by the gay community, which often ended in violence. They are widely considered to be the beginning of the modern gay right’s movement.

  • Artist Recreates Tom Daley Portrait Out Of Homophobic Tweets

    An artist has recreated a portrait of Tom Daley out of homophobic tweets the diver received after he came out in December last year.

    Last December Tom Daley came out via a YouTube video which went viral within minutes of him posting it online, and although the diver mainly received support and praise from the online community, a number of Twitter Trolls did take to the social network to tweet homophobic comments.

    These comments have now been made into a portrait of the Olympic diver, by Conor Collins who has created this stunning picture of Tom.

    Taking to Twitter, the artist has said:

    ‘Still utterly overwhelmed by the reaction to my painting of Tom Daley. Thank you all who thought it good enough to share it!

    ‘Been told there are articles saying ive sold my Tom Daley piece! I’ve not!! Its not my intention to make money from this piece!’

    Even Stephen Fry is a fan, tweeting about the painting.

    Meanwhile Tom Daley’s new show for ITV2 Tom Daley Goes Global is doing good trade for the channel. The next episode is on the 24th and see Tom and Sophie jetting off to New Zealand.

  • KFC Reponds To Lesbian Couple Thrown Out Of Bath Restaurant

    Two women were asked to leave one of the fast food chain’s locations yesterday, after a customer complained.

    We reported yesterday that a father had taken to Twitter to complain to KFC that his daughter and girlfriend had been thrown out of the KFC restaurant in Bath after a customer made a complaint about the couple.

    TheGayUK did reach out to the PR Team of KFC but have yet to hear anything back, however speaking to the Independent a spokesperson for the company said:

    ‘Very sorry for any offence caused’.

    The spokesperson continued: ‘While we acknowledge that staff may have been over-zealous in asking the couple to leave, we do not believe that the decision had anything to do with their sexuality.

    ‘Staff acted in response to complaints from customers about inappropriate behaviour, however they have since apologised, in person, to the couple, and offered them vouchers as a form of apology, so we hope to welcome them into the store again soon.’

    Stephen Pope who originally made the complaint said that the police were now involved.

  • GRANDPA Writes Incredible Letter For His Gay Grandson

    After a mother kicked out her son because he was gay, her father put pen to paper to write this inspiring letter of support for his Grandson.

    In the letter he calls his daughter an ‘abomination’, after she threw her son, Chad, out of her home after he told her that he was gay. The father went on to say:

    ‘The only intelligent thing I heard you saying in all this was that you “didn’t raise your son to be gay” . Of course you didn’t. He was born this way and didn’t choose it any more than being left handed.’

  • NEWS: New Gay Club Opens Tonight In Southampton

    Good news for Southampton’s Gay Community as a new club is about to open its doors. (more…)

  • Father claims that KFC kicked out daughter and girlfriend because they were gay

    A father from Bath, UK, has taken to Twitter to complain to KFC, that his daughter and her girlfriend where kicked out from the fast food restaurant for being gay

    Stephen Pope took to Twitter today (17th April) to ask if it was KFC policy to kick out gay couples.

    In his tweet Mr Pope said:

    ‘Dear @kfc the manager at your Bath,UK store just kicked my daughter and her g/f out for being #gay. Is this one of your policies ?’

    The tweet has already received over 284 retweets.

    According to his Twitter timeline, Mr Pope alleges that a complaint was made by a customer to the store’s manager who then threw the women out of the store.

    Pope also stated that he was currently with the police and he has made an official complaint.

    The KFC Twitter team have yet to response to Pope’s Tweet.

    TheGayUK has reached out to KFC for comment on the matter and is awaiting a response.

  • Director Bryan Singer Sex Accusations ‘Absurd’

    The Hollywood director Bryan Singer, best known for directing X-Men has been accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old male.

    According to The Wrap, court documents obtained by the outlet, show that the X-Men Director Bryan Singer, 48, is being accused of drugging, raping and ‘using his power to exploit a teenage boy’ dating back to 1999.

    According to a press release, plantif Michael Egan said that:

    ‘Defendant, BRYAN JAY SINGER, manipulated his power, wealth, and position in the entertainment industry to sexually abuse and exploit the underage Plaintiff through the use of drugs, alcohol, threats, and inducements which resulted in Plaintiff suffering catastrophic psychological and emotional injuries. Defendant Singer did so as part of a group of adult males similarly positioned in the entertainment industry that maintained and exploited boys in a sordid sex ring. A Hollywood mogul must not use his position to sexually exploit underage actors.’

    Marty Singer, Lawyer for (Bryan) Singer said that the lawsuit was, ‘completely without merit.’

    ‘We are very confident that Bryan will be vindicated in this absurd and defamatory lawsuit,” said Martin Singer. “It is obvious that this case was filed in an attempt to get publicity at the time when Bryan’ s new movie is about to open in a few weeks.’

    Michael Egan was an aspiring actor and model at the time of the alleged assault and claims that he flew to Hawaii to meet Singer for sex on a few occasions.

    Singer’s most notable works are: X-Men, The Usual Suspects, Superman Returns and Valkyrie.

  • Quakers to hold ‘Spirituality And Sexual Ethics’ Conference

    It is just over 50 years ago that a major milestone in the fight for equal rights was reached when a booklet called “Towards a Quaker View of Sex” was published and launched the debate about gay rights in many religious and secular circles as it presented alternative approaches to sex as a natural and normal part of human sexuality.

    Gill Coffin , remembers very vividly what a breath of fresh air that booklet was when she read it as an undergraduate. Today, it seems dated and she was struck by how many taboos have vanished or significantly weakened. Most people accept – even if they do not approve of – sex outside marriage, co-habitation, single parenthood, divorce and gay and lesbian identities and relationships.

    One of the events that led up to the writing of “Towards a Quaker View of Sex” was the suicide, at Cambridge, of a young gay man. A lot has changed, but is everything all right for young people today, or are there new pressures and dilemmas? What are the issues for those of us who are older?

    Some of today’s challenges are the same, others are different and perhaps more powerful. Young people experience pressure to have sex at an early age; amongst groups of all ages, there is an easy acceptance of infidelity, casual sex, and sex with friends. Less noticed, but available are multiple sexual relationships (polyamory, polysexuality) and sadomasochism. We read in the media about swinging and dogging; we find pornography and explicit descriptions of sexual acts readily available online – as well as online dating and online sex.

    There are still double standards for men and women – women are likely to be labelled as sluts or slags if they have casual sex, men are called womanisers. Social media are used to persecute and humiliate those who step out of line or who are just “different”. Gay and lesbian young people are still bullied in schools – often with no support from school-staff. The word “gay” is used as an insult, and young gay and lesbians are still at a significantly greater risk of suicide than their peers. Transgender men and women face immense barriers to acceptance.

    What have Quakers got to say about this new world? What guidance can be offered? QLGF (the Quaker Lesbian and Gay Fellowship), now over 40 years old and recipient last year of the Stonewall prize for community group of the year, is organizing a conference on “Spirituality and Sexual Ethics for Today”. It is open to Quakers and non-Quakers, of all sexualities and genders. The conference brings together a panel of speakers presenting a range of perspectives as well as skilled facilitation of workshops.

    The conference will be held on Saturday 17 May 2014 at Mount Street Quaker Meeting House in Manchester. More information is available at www.qlgf.org.uk.

  • FASHION: Men’s Underwear – Andrew Christian

    Over the past few years men’s underwear brands have branched out and delivered us some amazing styles, colours, cuts and hot models to gawk at. One in particular stands out from the crowd. Andrew Christian, just take a look at any of his promo videos and you’ll understand what I mean. I guess he finally found out what Victoria’s secret actually is. (more…)

  • Gay Church of England priest marries his partner

    A gay Church of England Priest has become the first clergyman to marry his boyfriend.

    Canon Jeremy Pemberton has defied the Church of England’s ban on same-sex marriage to become the first priest to marry his long-term, same-sex partner Laurence Cunnington. The couple wed on Saturday afternoon, the Telegraph has reported.

    The law in the UK that allows same-sex marriage came into force on the 29th March. However some religious organisations are forced by law to not be able to conduct same-sex marriages, the Church of England was one of them.

    The couple did not marry within a C of E Church.

    The Church, earlier this year, decided to ban gay clergy from marrying. The decision means that Priests who marry their same-sex partners could face disciplinary actions.

    Speaking in his blog over at The Telegraph Damian Thompson suggested that the punishment for Mr Pemberton’s marriage could be:

    ‘the withdrawal of his licence to officiate at services (he doesn’t have a parish). Technically he could be defrocked, but that would involve a messy legal process…’