“It ain’t my business, that’s between you, who you love, and god.”
Saints and Sinners actor, Christian Keyes has called on gay and bisexual men to stop with aubergine emojis and intimate DMs on Instagram. The 43-year-old actor recorded a special message just before new year, asking men to cool it with what he called “sexual comments” and “eggplant emojis” and called on people to “respect people’s truths”.
He started the video to his 347,000 followers, saying that what he had to say might get him into trouble, but that he had nothing but love for the community, saying “It ain’t my business, that’s between you, who you love, and god.”
Speaking in the post he contiued, “Gentlemen, let’s not be in the comments section with the eggplant emojis and, you know, the sexual comments. I’m not a fan of that.”
“I appreciate you supporting my work but let’s not be in the DM [telling me]: ‘Hey sexy, what’s up? What’s good?’
“Nothing, absolutely nothing. So, again, if I respect your truth, respect mine. Respect people’s truths.
“No-one need to be harassing nobody and doing all of that, man. It’s too much. It’s too aggressive.
“I say let’s not do that and let’s just respect who people are, genuinely. I think that’s a fair request.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/Br9tD4UgBMR/
Notably Christian turned off the comments section on the post, but it has been played over 40,000 times.
Gay holiday makers don’t have to fret if the UK crashes out of EU in March with no deal as this holiday company promises to not raise the cost of holidays.
The Lotus Tree, the longest-running gay guesthouse in the south of France, which is British run, is promising its UK guests that the price of their summer holidays will be unaffected even if we crash out of the EU without a deal.
A gay guesthouse in the South of France has declared that it has a deal – even if the UK doesn’t. The offer, only open to those with a UK bank account, promises not raise the cost of holidays – and they’ll even cover the cost of a visa if it becomes a requirement.
“It’s the first Brexit promise you can actually believe,” according to owner James Proctor.
“Some people might worry that if Britain crashes out of the EU and the pound plummets then the price of their holiday will skyrocket,” says James. “So we’re saying you can book now at today’s prices and we’ll guarantee no increases at all.
“Here at The Lotus Tree we’ve always thought Brexit was a bad idea. But we get loads of British guests every year and we don’t see why they should suffer no matter what happens.
“Even in the worse case scenario, if UK citizens have to pay for a visa waiver, we’ll cover the cost of that too. We believe in totally stress-free holidays so we’re saying you can come and relax in the sunshine of the south of France and forget all about what’s going on back home.”
Guests can pay for their holidays in pounds with the price guaranteed at the time of booking. The ‘Brexit-Buster Deal’ is available to anybody with a UK bank account.
The Lotus Tree has been hugely popular with gay travellers from the UK since it opened in 2001. With English-speaking staff and a full range of British TV channels available in all the rooms and studios, it claims to be a real ‘home from home’.
A study of 2,000 adults shows the majority of us won’t start functioning properly until almost a full working week has passed.
Re-adjusting to early mornings, the mountain of work which has piled up over the festive break and having to deal with challenging clients all take their toll in early January.
Others find it hard to get in the mood for exercise, knowing when they do go to the gym it will be packed with people on a New Year fitness kick.
The study, commissioned by working animal charity SPANA, found for one in six Brits, the feeling of having nothing to look forward to also means they struggle to get back into their normal routine.
Geoffrey Dennis, chief executive of SPANA, which provides free veterinary treatment to working animals in developing countries around the world, said: “Going back to work after time off can be a shock to the system – especially after a sustained period of parties, lie-ins and relaxation.
“However, most of us are fortunate to be returning to jobs that we feel comfortable in, with decent colleagues and reasonable working conditions.
”As the holiday hangovers kick in, it’s important to keep some perspective and remember that our working lives could be unimaginably worse.”
The study found 44 per cent of adults reckon they suffer from the January blues, and 52 per cent said that during the early part of the month, they’ll only be be at work in body, but not ‘in mind’.
Three in 10 workers said they’re fully expecting work to be awful in January because they know they can’t have any time off for a while, while a fifth said they’re likely to return to a big work load.
And a quarter are not looking forward to the likelihood that everyone else will be miserable about the return to work.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, more than a fifth of adults have considered calling in sick for the first few days back to work, while more than half are expecting to feel sad the evening before their first day.
Not so social after all those parties
Free-Photos / Pixabay
Researchers also found almost half of those polled have no intentions of making any social arrangements in January.
When asked why, 12 per cent said they would be too grumpy, while a third say they’ll have no money.
A lack of cash also means Brits are unlikely to go shopping in the January sales, and won’t do anything of any interest until the first pay day of 2019.
The fact there are still months left of winter to go, feeling tired and sluggish and having to endure rubbish television are other major reasons adults find January a chore.
Brits also don’t like the fact social media is full of weight loss plans they can’t relate to, and everyone is doing dry January.
Dennis added: “It’s a very different story for working animals overseas.
”These animals have no holiday or retirement.
”Day-in, day-out, they work in punishing environments, carrying backbreaking loads, often without the rest, water and vital veterinary care they need.
“Working horses, donkeys, camels and other animals in developing countries often endure short, painful lives, in brutal conditions.
”This global workforce of 200 million animals must work every day to help their owners earn a small income and put food on the table.
”Without these hardworking animals, many of the world’s poorest communities would have nothing.
“These animals are unsung heroes, but they desperately need our help.
“That’s why SPANA’s work is important – ensuring that the welfare of working animals is improved and that they receive the veterinary treatment they urgently require when they are sick or injured.”
TOP 30 REASONS BRITS STRUGGLE TO GET BACK IN THE SADDLE
1. The weather is horrible
2. The days are still short and dark
3. There are still months left of winter to go
4. You feel tired and sluggish
5. January feels like the longest month of the year
6. The excitement of Christmas has passed
7. Re-adjusting to the boring routine of everyday life / the daily grind
8. Feels like ages before you will have any time off work again
9. You feel like there’s nothing to look forward to
10. You find it hard to motivate yourself to do any exercise
11. You have eaten so much over Christmas you find it hard to stop
12. The TV is rubbish
13. You can’t do anything of interest until January pay day
14. You’ve picked up an illness after Christmas
15. You can no longer blame ‘the holidays’ for eating/drinking too much
16. All the work you said you’ll get back to after Christmas is too much
17. You can’t be bothered to take the tree/decorations down
18. January sales means you want to spend more money – but then you realise Christmas has left you broke, so you’re depressed again
19. You feel like you’ve socialised enough over the Christmas period to last a lifetime – hence seeing any more people is just effort
20. Clients and customers are a challenge to work with
21. The gym is packed with people on a new year fitness kick
22. Kids are also struggling to get back into routine
23. Everyone else seems to be back on it, but you aren’t quite ready
24. Social media is full of weight loss plans and New Year’s resolutions that you can’t relate to
25. No point in going out – as everyone is doing dry January
26. Your house is full of Christmas presents – many of which are unwanted
27. You start to experience chocolate withdrawal symptoms
28. Kids are a nightmare because they’ve been spoiled over Christmas
29. Kids have got used to late nights and late mornings which means getting them ready for school is even harder
30. Having to face all the people you behaved badly in front of at the Christmas party
Comedian and writer, Jimmy Fowlie has revealed what he’s doing for cash in 2019
We’re lining up to help him.
With a dollar hanging out of his undies, The Comeback star Jimmy Fowlie has joked that 2019 is all about the $$$. In fact, he’s made $2 in his brand new get rich scheme.
However, some fans were concerned that he had only managed to raise just $2. One commented, “what an amazing pic. I don’t understand why you only have 2 dollars… those should both be hundred dollar bills”. Another quipped “I have a nickle with your name on it”.
The Go-Go Boy Interrupted producer appeared in the picture, taken by renowned photographer Daveland wearing nothing but a pair of undies with a dollar bill poking out the top. He completed the look with a gold chain around his neck.
The BBC are ramping up efforts to get a more diverse cast into EastEnders and it has been revealed that there’s a vision for a gay bar to open on the UK’s most famous Square.
Kate Oates who serves as a senior executive producer on the BBC flagship soap has revealed that there are plans to make Eastenders more diverse and reflective of the London diverse population and revealed that she’s excited to add more LGBT+ characters to the show.
Answering fans’ questions about the show, Oates said, “We are looking at opening a gay bar on the square which will be a super-cool precinct where gay and straight characters can all just hang out, and loads of stories can cross and should just be something really exciting, really fun, really visual and feel really true to multicultural London.
There has long been a widely-held belief that around 10 percent of the UK’s population is gay, lesbian or bisexual or who identify as non-heterosexual. This is probably the most accurate of all the figures – as more and more people feel comfortable to come out about their sexuality.
The most up-to-date statistics from healthcare company Euroclinix show that six percent of people identify as homosexual while seven percent of people identify as bisexual. This equates to 13 per cent of the population identifying as either gay, lesbian or bisexual. EuroClinix surveyed 2,000 people around the UK to find out more about the sex lives of Brits.
The current population in the UK is estimated to be 66.02 million people, which means that there are over 8.58 million gay, lesbian or bisexual people in the UK if you take that 13 percent statistic.
How gay is Eastenders?
In 2015 we compiled the gayest moments of Eastenders. Read it here.
There must be something in the water in Celebland as Ricky Martin and his husband, Jwan have just announced they are daddies again.
CREDIT: kobby dagan/ bigstock
Ricky Martin has become a father with his husband, Jwan. Taking to Instagram the singer revealed that the pair were “beyond happy” and had become fathers to a beautiful baby girl.
That takes the Martin-Yosef brood up to three children, although Ricky’s first two children were born before Jwan and he tied the knot.
Ricky revealed on Instagram that they had become parents to a “beautiful and healthy baby girl”, who they named Lucia Martin-Yosef. The singer said, “It has been a special time for us and we cant wait to see where this stellar baby will take us. Both her beautiful brothers and me and Jwan have fallen in love with Lucia”
The former Nsync singer turned presenter Lance Bass has announced that he and his husband, artist Michael Turchin are planning on being dads in 2019. But he revealed that the process has taken a very long, long time.
Speaking to Page Six, Lance said, “The most surprising part about the surrogacy process was how long this takes” and admitted that he and his husband are on their sixth donor already.
Speaking on his own process Lance revealed, “We had several friends going through this and it took a little while but I think we’ve broken the record for how many donors we’ve gone through. We’re on donor number six right now and we don’t even know if that one’s gonna work. So, it has been a lot longer than I thought. But, hey, here’s to a 2019 baby!”
The former singer and artist have even found it hard to find a donor. Lance explained that he’s even considering tweeting to his large fan base to find one. He said, “You would think I would get so many offers for eggs but not many people have come to me with their eggs! I think I’m going to have to tweet it out right now!”
If you’re looking for a dating app for gay, bi or curious men on Android, then here’s the best, according to Android users.
Where do you start when looking for a dating app. There are so many options, especially at the Google Play store. The best way to find the best app is to see what the app’s users are actually saying about it, but it’s a faff to search out the top 10, so we’ve dug around to find out what people about gay dating apps.
Don’t always assume that the biggest brands in gay hook ups are the best. Probably the most famous, Grindr, isn’t rated highly by its users – in fact, it ends well below the top 10 list. It does, however, have over a quarter of a million ratings, it dwarfs all the other apps.
We’ve compiled this rank list of the best-rated apps on the Google store for the Android operating system.
App description: Do you want to meet new gay people? It’s super simple with DISCO – the brand new chat and dating app for guys like you. We have over 20 million members and more than 100,000 join our dating network every day. With DISCO, it’s easy to spot a hot guy! We celebrate diversity and welcome all gay, bi, and transgender people (LGBTQ) to join the party. DISCOver your Love! Join the Party!
App description: Tired of hunting GUYS? We are very proud to present to you, Grizzly Gay Men App, the hottest gay dating app ever made! Express your feelings through your finger tip! Get ready to find your Leonard & Larry or your Rick and Drew in your own Bear City! Get a chance to meet new friends, groups, and partners, in the LGBT community!
App description: Get connected to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer people worldwide on Moovz – The only Social Network of the LGBTQ Community. Millions of LGBT people connect, interact and share content daily. Find out what you’re missing!
#5 Guyz
Number of ratings: 41,445
Average star rating: 4.4
App description: Used by over 1,000,000 users all around the world – GUYZ is the best, hottest and fastest growing gay dating app out there.
App description: Blued is a free & private gay social app with more than 30 million users globally. Blued allows you to meet cute guys from around the world or right next door. Go get a chance to meet new friends, join groups, or find life partners in this loving gay community.
App description: Join the world’s most exciting gay social network. With more free options than any other gay dating app, ROMEO is the best way to meet new people and have meaningful or more casual encounters. Get the free ROMEO App now and chat with lots of gay guys, nearby and worldwide. Create your profile and start chatting and video calling within minutes!
App description: What’s a Bear? A Bear is a masculine gay man who belongs to a very inclusive part of the gay community. Some are have hairy, some are muscular, and some are heavy-set. …And some are none of those things. Being a bear is about being yourself, and being accepted for it, and we are all amazing no matter how we are labeled.
App description: Hornet makes it fun and easy for gay, bi, and curious guys to connect with each other. Find great guys to keep in touch with, in this FREE gay app that is beyond dating!
App description: Jack’d is the most diverse and authentic app for gay, bi and curious guys to connect, chat, share, and meet. We all have different body types, opinions and preferences, and on Jack’d – our differences make us stronger because you’re more than a headless torso!
Want to see what THEGAYUK.com thinks are some of the best gay dating apps? Columnist Scott Sammons downloaded 10 to find out which was the best. Here’s what he thought.
One of the last remaining cast members of Paris Is Burning, Hector Xtravaganza has died at the age of 60.
Hector Xtravaganza has sadly passed away at the age of 60. His death was announced on the House of Xtravaganza’s facebook page last night.
In a message on the page he was described as a “corner stone” of the family house.
“It is with profound sadness the House of Xtravaganza family announce the passing of our beloved Grandfather Hector.
“He was a friend to everyone he met, a source of inspiration for all who knew him, and a cornerstone of our House family. Arrangements for a celebration of Hector’s life will be shared in the coming days.’
Hector who was a dancer and AIDS activist, was a founding member of the House of Xtravaganza since its formation in 1982. It became the first Latino house in the New York ballroom scene. He served the house twice as its father.
Her body was discovered under a bed at the Duchess Hotel in New York according to her House mother Angie Xtravaganza. She had been strangled. Her body was discovered four days after her death. Her killer has never been found and her death remains an open, unsolved crime. According to the New York Post, New York has about 9000 unsolved murders since 1985.
Cor! I’m taking you back fifteen years to the New Year’s Eve of 2003. A time when I’d just turned 20 and I’d been dumped by the, then, love of my life. I thought we were going to be together forever. Oh, the naivety of youth.
I was still customer service manager for Budgens Supermarket back in those days. Good old Budgens. You rarely see them around on the high street these days.
A few weeks before my boyfriend had dumped me, I’d bought him a brand new mobile phone worth £150! Now, that was a lot of money back in those days. God, I’m starting to sound like me Nan. God rest her soul.
I can remember the moment of my realization as vividly as if it were yesterday. He still had his bloody mitts on the £150 phone. I was having none of it. There was no way he was keeping it. So I marched down to the hairdressers where he worked. It was two doors down from Budgens.
As I barged my way through the doors, I was greeted by a salon full of ladies having their blow drys, all getting ready to look glamorous to celebrate the New Year. But I didn’t care. I was still heartbroken and acting irrationally. Only five minutes before, I’d been in tears down the fruit and veg aisle as ‘All I want for Christmas’ played over the tannoy.
I bellowed to make myself heard over the hair dryers and as I did, I saw the salon manager making her way towards me.
“I WANT THE PHONE BACK!” I barked as I held my hand out. You could see the client’s eyes all lighting up as the hairdresser’s scorned ex made a scene. It was giving them all a juicy bit of gossip that they could share over a glass of champagne that evening.
“Mark! This is not the time or the place!”
“Just hand over the phone and I’ll leave!”
Back in the safety of my office, I had itchy fingers as I clutched the phone. I was battling with my conscience. Should I read his messages or not? The devil on my shoulder won the battle.
As I clicked open on the inbox, my eyebrows raised. Yes, I can promise you they did. It was the days before I started having botox. And my jaw dropped to the desk.
I witnessed many explicit messages between my ex and another man. All dating back to when we were still together! Part of me wished I’d never looked and the other part of me was glad I had. Although they do say ignorance is bliss.
I slammed the phone down on the desk as steam erupted from my ears. I looked up at the clock. 6pm. The salon would be closing. I decided I had to have it out with my ex. How dare he be sexting and seeing another man when we were still together. Bastard. I was so angry, I could have crushed a grape.
I peeped my head out of Budgens’ front door and I could see the salon was already in darkness. I knew he’d be waiting at the bus stop. I simply had to have it out with him. There was no way I was going into 2004 without dealing with this.
“JANE!” I screamed as I saw her filling up the shelves with Hovis loaves. She jumped to attention. Jane, bless her, and for her sins, was one of my best friends from my Budgens’ days. There was an incident once where she threw some Hovis loaves at me during an argument we were having. But I’ll save that story for another day.
“Please drive me to the bus stop!” I pleaded with her. She grabbed her car keys and we made a swift exit out of the supermarket doors. She screeched to a halt at the bus stop and I saw my ex gulp as I slammed the door shut and walk towards him.
In the meantime, Jane could sense I was about to start a cat-fight so she jumped out of the car as quickly as she could. But in her haste, her foot got caught in her seat belt and she went face first into the gutter.
As she scrambled back onto her feet, I had my hand raised ready to make my first move on my cheating ex. I slapped his face, a la Pat Butcher and Peggy Mitchell style. I took a deep breath and I started to make my way back towards the car. In my mind, a slap had bought the matter to a close.
But clearly my ex had different ideas, and before I knew it, I felt a foot up my backside and I went down to the pavement like a sack of shit. Onto my knees I fell as he kicked me up the derriere.
Too many years of watching Dynasty had prepared me for my next move in the inevitable cat-fight that was about to ensue.
I leapt from my knees like a pouncing tiger and jumped onto his back. We both hit the pavement like a sack of spuds and started to roll around, limp wrists clawing at each other, with no decorum whatsoever.
As we took it in turns to be on top (a first time for everything as he was always very selfish when it came to that normally), I saw out the corner of my eye that quite a crowd was beginning to gather around us.
“Look at Krystle and Alexis!” I heard a bystander call out. Being such a Dynasty fan, I oozed with pride. And hoped I was Alexis. Well, I prayed actually.
When Jane could see that there was going to be no outright winner of the cat-fight, she dragged us apart screaming.
“ENOUGH!” For anyone who doesn’t know Jane, let me tell you, she’s rather scary. She would be very good in the cast of Wentworth Prison. So me and the ex jumped to attention and got back onto our feet rather quickly.
Doing her best headmistress impression, Jane had a good grip on my arm. I assume it was to make sure I didn’t make a break for it and dish out another slap. She opened the car door and practically threw me into the passenger seat.
I couldn’t bear not to have the last word so as Jane started the engine, I wound down my window and stuck my head out into the cold winter air.
“HAPPY NEW YEAR!” I bellowed towards my ex. Jane sped off quicker than her usual speed.
Due to certain EU regulations, some US websites have decided against showing pages to EU residents – and LGBT news site NewNowNext appears to be one of them.
In 2018 the European Union enacted a raft of rules for its “data subjects” to protect their online privacy – basically anyone who accesses the web in the EU is protected by these laws – and companies, particularly news outlets were left stratching their heads about how to deal with the new laws and how to stay legal.
It left many websites and their owners completely unsure on what or how to operate in the EU. Some US companies decided to pull out of the EU altogether and just push EU visitors to a holding page.
It appears that the LOGO TV website, NewNowNext.com is one of those websites.
They redirect anyone in the EU who visit their URL to their Twitter page. In May they told one reader, who asked why they were unable to access the site “We are working on getting our sites GDPR compliant”.
Other websites who do not allow people living in the EU to access their sites include titles from Tribune Publishing, whose newsbrands include The Chicago Tribune and the New York Daily News.
