queer: Last News

JoJo Siwa is opening up about her personal life.

Ezra Williams has discussed the use of their single ‘My Own Person’ in an episode of the smash-hit Netflix drama,Heartstopper.The 2020 track soundtracked a scene where Nick Nelson (played by Kit Connor) questioned his identity, scrolling through online quizzes offering to determine his sexuality.Thanks to its inclusion in the show, ‘My Own Person’ received a major streams uplift – currently standing at over 9 million plays on Spotify alone. You can find a guide to every single song played in the eight-part series here.Speaking to NME about the sync in a new interview, Williams said: “When I was writing that song, I was watching [Norwegian drama] Skam and there’s a scene where one of the main characters is looking up ‘Am I gay?’ quizzes on his laptop.

Naman Ramachandran Emmy, SAG and Golden Globe nominee Evan Rachel Wood (“Westworld”) has joined the cast of D.W. Waterson’s feature directorial debut “Backspot.” Executive produced by Elliot Page and starring Devery Jacobs and Kudakwashe Rutendo in lead roles as queer young athletes, the film has wrapped principal production after weeks of filming in the Toronto area. Wood stars as professional cheer coach Eileen McNamara, head coach of the high-performance Thunderhawks squad who pulls Riley (Jacobs) and Amanda (Rutendo) from their mid-level cheer team to be a part of her group of intensely competitive athletes. Matthew Jordan Smith, J.C.Davidson and Katisha Shaw serve as executive producers alongside page. The film is produced by Alona Metzer, Waterson, Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs and Martin Katz.

Angelique Jackson Tony, Emmy and Grammy-winner and Oscar-nominee Cynthia Erivo has joined the producing team of “Fat Ham” as the Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy heads to Broadway. “Fat Ham” will begin performances on Tues., March 21, and officially open on Wed., April 12, at the American Airlines Theatre on Broadway for a strictly limited 14-week engagement through Sun., June 25. “Almost 10 years ago, I was introduced to the Broadway community in a musical that shook my world and changed my life irrevocably,” Erivo said in a statement to Variety. “I have been waiting for the right opportunity to return to the theater community and am thrilled to be back, this time as a first-time producer with ‘Fat Ham.’”

In her new book, “Drastic Dykes and Accidental Activists: Queer Women in the Urban South,” LaShonda Mims explores the history of queer women in Atlanta and Charlotte following World War II. Uniting Southern women’s history with urban history, the book serves as an imaginatively constructed archive of feminist newsletters, queer bar guides, oral histories, and political rhetoric to explore the complex history of lesbian life in the South.

Even for the non-religious, Easter weekend is a big deal in LGBTQ Atlanta. Queer Atlantans don their Sunday best for drinks, drag, and dancing. Take a first look at what Easter weekend has in store this year!

Giving her full support! Lukas Gage’s mom knows about her son’s famous sex scene on season 1 of The White Lotus — and she couldn’t be more proud.  

Katcy Stephan SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers for Episode 7 of “Daisy Jones and the Six,” now streaming on Prime Video. Simone Jackson doesn’t fade into the background. While readers of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s “Daisy Jones & the Six” just got a taste of the character, Prime Video’s series adaptation gives the disco diva, played by singer-songwriter Nabiyah Be, a much more significant arc outside of her relationship with Daisy (Riley Keough). In Episode 7, titled “She’s Gone,” Simone’s story is front-and-center, as viewers follow her meteoric rise as a disco pioneer in the New York underground scene. She does so alongside Bernie (Ayesha Harris), who becomes both her musical partner and romantic interest.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Lukas Gage’s life has taken a complete 180 ever since he became a viral hit after releasing the now-infamous video of director Tristram Shapeero disparaging his apartment following a Zoom audition. Since then, he’s appeared in “The White Lotus,” “Euphoria” and “You.” He’ll next star in “How to Blow Up a Pipeline” and was recently at SXSW to premiere “Down Low,” a raunchy queer comedy he not only co-wrote with Phoebe Fisher but also stars in with Zachary Quinto. Gage is also becoming a go-to celeb for brand endorsements. His new deal is with Tequila Don Julio Rosado, helping promote the pink-hued spirit and the “P(arty) Time Off!” campaign. “Tequila on the rocks is my go-to,” Gage tells Variety. “I used to be a beer guy. But then it made me a little too bloated sometimes. So I think I just keep it to some good quality tequila, drink it on the rocks and call it a day.”

EXCLUSIVE: Jesús I. Valles’ play Bathhouse.pptx has been awarded the prestigious 2023 Yale Drama Series Prize, with the honor’s judge Jeremy O. Harris calling the new work an exploration of “a queer history that is quickly being erased.”

EXCLUSIVE: CAA has signed Hacks actor Johnny Sibilly for representation.

Every Thursday, we here at Official Charts round up the biggest New Releases coming your way across music and home entertainment. 

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent MALAGA, Spain —  “My Parents’ Great Bazar,” from “Ane is Missing” co-scribe Marina Parés, bio “Costus,” on the iconic Madrid Movida artists, and “Villa Futuro,” a queer old age drama from “Locked Up” star Alberto Velasco, all feature among eight winners of Tell Us the Stories That Nobody Tells, a diversity drive contest for movies and TV shows backed by Netflix and Dama, the Spanish audiovisual authors’ rights collection body. Announced Wednesday at an awards ceremony hosted by the Malaga Film Festival, the winners of the competition, which forms part of the partners’ Cambio de Plano initiative, will receive €6,000 ($6,348) a piece. 

Little Richard‘s upcoming documentary film I Am Everything has been released.Released on Wednesday (March 15), the trailer for I Am Everything offers fans a look at the retrospective film that chronicles the late icon’s life and contributions to music, the queer community and more.The film will feature archival footage from the legend’s career and personal life, as well as never-before-seen interviews with the man himself as well as new interview with musicians, his family and friends and Black and queer scholars – all of whom discuss his cultural impact.Watch the trailer for I Am Everything below.An official description for the film reads: “Little Richard: I Am Everything tells the story of the Black queer origins of rock n’ roll, exploding the whitewashed canon of American pop music to reveal the innovator – the originator – Richard Penniman. Through a wealth of archive and performance that brings us into Richard’s complicated inner world, the film unspools the icon’s life story with all its switchbacks and contradictions.”“In interviews with family, musicians, and cutting-edge Black and queer scholars, the film reveals how Richard created an art form for ultimate self-expression, yet what he gave to the world he was never able to give to himself.

Magnolia Pictures has released the official trailer for “Little Richard: I Am Everything,” Lisa Cortés’ latest documentary, which focuses on the iconic rock n’ roll musician Richard “Little Richard” Penniman. The film explores how Little Richard and the Black queer origins of rock n’ roll founded the whitewashed canon of American pop music. The documentary follows how Richard contributed and created a self-expressive art form for musicians that ultimately would shape the music industry throughout the following decades. “Little Richard: I Am Everything,” interview subjects include the musician’s family, Black and queer scholars and celebrity subjects including Billy Porter, Mick Jagger, Sir Lady Java, John Waters, Nile Rodgers and many more.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Rising Dutch helmer Anton van der Linden, whose show “Marvin?” just world premiered at SXSW, is set to direct “Everygay Life,” a high-concept queer comedy series. Amsterdam-based production banner Explorers of the Unfound is developing the show. The series will revolve around two queer married couples, David and Miles, and Kate and Emma, who are raising children and juggling work responsibilities while navigating society’s preconceptions — often leading to tragicomic situations. “Growing up as gay in a tiny town in the north of the Netherlands you had two choices, you either become invisible or you become invincible,” said van der Linden.

Heartbreaking news for the fashion world. Model Jeff Thomas, who had a massive online following, has sadly passed away at just 35 years old. According to law enforcement sources w

Ben Croll Cartoon Movie, the European animation sector’s flagship co-production and pitch forum, closed out its 25th edition besting pre-pandemic attendance numbers, welcoming just below 900 industry participant and noting a 40% increase in buyers. Overall, 58 feature projects were presented (and 16 countries encompassed), and — in a testament to France’s robust animation ecosystem — Gallic outfits had a hand in nearly half of them. The forum also reflected the enduring strength of the family market, with 59% of all projects aimed at that demographic. Here are four takeaways from this year’s session, which ran from March 7 – 9 in Bordeaux.

Prime Video has renewed A League Of Their Own for a second and final season. Following months of talks with Sony TV, the series will end with a four-episode Season 2, sources have confirmed.

The huge Manchester Pride Parade will return over the August Bank Holiday weekend in 2023 - and the theme for this year's event has now been announced. The parade is one of the most anticipated parts of the annual Manchester Pride festival, which celebrates the LGBTQ+ community and culture.

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic If they ever make a sequel to “The Celluloid Closet” — the landmark doc about the history of LGBT representation on screen — Lukas Gage should warrant at least two mentions. First, there’s the scene from the first season of “White Lotus” where Jake Lacy barges into the resort manager’s office, only to find Gage getting his salad tossed (a history-making moment for gay TV fans). And now there’s “Down Low,” an over-the-top, bottom-trawling comedy that wants to be for the gay community what “The Hangover” was to the mainstream — which is to say, wildly irreverent and incredibly wrong. Starring openly gay “Heroes” villain Zachary Quinto as Gary, a recently divorced, richie-rich zaddy hoping for a happy ending, “Down Low” doesn’t quite understand its own title — code within the Black and Latino community for men who consider themselves straight while having sex with other men — but that’s OK. “Down Low” is still light-years ahead of mainstream movies (including last year’s “Bros”) as debuting feature director Rightor Doyle delivers what an entire contingent of queer audiences have been asking for all their lives: namely, a comedy that’s as raunchy and inappropriate as the jokes they make between themselves. While nowhere near as extreme (or enjoyable) as 2009’s “I Love You Phillip Morris,” it’s still a rare enough occurrence to earn a dedicated following.