The accusation, made by what police later described as a “mentally unstable woman,” has since been deemed unfounded, and officials are now investigating whether criminal charges should be brought for filing a false report, as reported by The Washington Post.

The woman claimed Buttigieg had confessed to committing “unspeakable violent crimes” years earlier and that his children were in danger.

However, investigators made little effort to verify her allegations before visiting Buttigieg’s home. His attorney later reviewed travel records showing Buttigieg had never even been in the Alabama city where the alleged abuse was said to have occurred.

When contacted by Washington Post reporters, the woman was unable to provide evidence supporting her claims and instead accused journalists of participating in a cover-up.

Child welfare experts sharply criticised the investigation, arguing authorities failed to carry out even basic fact-checking before disrupting the family.

University of Michigan law professor Vivek Sankaran told The Washington Post that the handling of the case was “incredibly poor investigative work” and said separating children from their parents based on such an unverified allegation was “reckless,” warning that “it should scare all of us.”

Buttigieg had described the ordeal as the “darkest hours” of his life in a 26 June Substack post.

Michigan’s attorney general has since opened an investigation into both the false allegation and how it was handled, saying “common sense would have shown that this targeted report plainly lacked credibility on its face” and questioning why authorities failed to exercise greater due diligence before separating the family.

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News of one of the gyms, one of which has opened in Oklahoma, circulated online after plans for it were shared in a Baptist News Global opinion piece published on 22 July.

“The Christian manosphere believes men need to be in top physical and spiritual shape. So one way they’re proposing to accomplish that is through ‘lust-free’ gyms,” the article reads.

Jeff Hambrecht, the founder of Proverbs 27:17 Fitness in Oklahoma City, said: “In a nutshell, one of the number one places that affairs and infidelity occur, cheating, is the gym. Byproduct is someone who had an affair in my previous marriage. Doesn’t work out well for you fellas.”

The gym’s name refers to the bible verse that reads: “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”

Proverbs 27:17 Fitness’ website states that the gym is “for men tired of lukewarm faith, […] men who know they were made for more, […] and men ready to train hard, pray harder, and walk boldly”.

The website also shares that “there was a season of [Hambrecht’s] life marked by homelessness, addiction and spiritual emptiness”. In another video, he shares that he “had a pornography addiction for almost 20 years”.

A second men-only Christian gym, Youth Group for Men and Remnant Men, is set to open in Denver later this year. Its founder, Mitch Parsons, had a similar experience to Hambrecht.

“I quit four gyms before I built one,” he says on the gym’s website. “I realised the problem wasn’t the gym. It was that no one had built what I actually needed, or what I wanted.”

He goes on to describe the gym as “a place where a man can train his body without having nakedness shoved in his face”, and “a place where he doesn’t have to decide between honouring the Lord, honouring his wife, and guarding his eyes and submitting to cultural norms”.

However, the Baptist News article points out flaws in Parsons’ vision. “It’s notable he doesn’t mention honouring the women at the gym,” author Rick Pidcock writes. “In his mindset, God and his wife deserve to be honoured. But women working the kettlebells don’t seem to cross his mind as worthy of honour.”

Pidcock continues: “Despite how often Parsons mentions having nakedness shoved in his face at the gyms in Denver, it’s unclear what he means by that. Gym policies across Denver require their members to wear shirts at all times. And Denver public indecency laws prohibit exposing one’s genitals in public.”

The article gained traction on X, with many users mocking the concept in the replies.

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The creator, who goes by aSpicyCow online and is known as Amber, shared a video to his X account on 10 July claiming he received a letter from the Texas DMV informing him that someone had filed a complaint about the vanity plate.

According to the notice shown in the video, officials reviewed the complaint and concluded the plate violated the state’s standards, giving him 30 days before it would be cancelled. “Texas is stripping us of our rights!” Amber joked as he showed off both the letter and his customised Toyota Supra.

However, Amber didn’t let the decision slow him down. In the same video, he joked that whoever reported the plate should know: “I always come back and I come back stronger,” before revealing a new hot pink vanity plate reading “BOY <3 KISR”.

At the time of publication, the authenticity of the DMV letter had not been independently verified, and Them’s requests for comment from both Amber and the Texas DMV were still pending.

Amber also claimed in additional comments on 11 July under the video that he would be appealing the Texas DMV and remarking “what’s crazy is the plate has to be manually approved, then someone has to go through a long process to file a complaint about my specific plate, then make it undergo a second review, and then they deem if you lose it or not”.

It seems some good news came from the situation though, as Amber posted on their X page on 27 July stating they had gotten the beloved “I [heart] YAOI” license plate back.

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Dubbed the “Life and Marriage Tour”, the effort she announced last week comes ahead of this year’s midterm elections, when Virginians will vote on measures designed to safeguard both rights in the state constitution. Virginia’s state constitution still contains language from 2006 that defines marriage as being between one man and one woman.

Earle-Sears made opposition to LGBTQ+ rights a central theme of her unsuccessful 2025 gubernatorial campaign, repeatedly attacking Democratic opponent Abigail Spanberger over transgender rights.

During a 2025 televised debate, Earle-Sears also argued during a debate with Spanberger that refusing to hire someone because they are gay is not discrimination, although when asked about these comments later, she claimed she had misspoken and said she meant to say she herself had not personally discriminated against gay people in that regard.

She ultimately lost the race to Spanberger on 4 September 2025 by 13 percentage points.

The former lieutenant governor has also previously made her opposition to marriage equality explicit. In 2024, when she was constitutionally required to sign legislation codifying same-sex marriage into Virginia law, Earle-Sears attached a note stating that while she respected her constitutional obligation, she remained “morally opposed” to the bill. The legislation was intended to remove Virginia’s now-defunct same-sex marriage ban from state law in case the US Supreme Court overturns its landmark 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling.

Justice Clarence Thomas publicly suggested in 2022 that the Court should reconsider precedents including Obergefell, prompting concerns that marriage equality could one day face renewed legal challenges. If approved by voters, Virginia’s constitutional amendment would add another layer of protection for same-sex couples regardless of future federal court decisions.

In an email to her supporters announcing the tour, Earle-Sears said her goal is to encourage Virginians to “carefully consider these proposals and vote NO on both amendments,” The Washington Blade reports.

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During Smith’s appearance on The Sara Cox Breakfast Show on 27 July, they spoke about their new single, ‘Oh Mother’, which they said is an homage to their mother, Kate Cassidy.

“All mums want a song written about them,” Cox said, to which Smith agreed.

“Especially queer kids, gay kids and their mums have – well at least I have a very strong, beautiful relationship with my mother,” they added.

Cox then said: “I’m proudly one of them by the way, with a queer daughter,” to which Smith replied: “Beautiful!”

The presenter is the parent of daughter Lola, who is 22, with her ex-partner Jon Carter. She also has a son, 18-year-old Isaac, and another daughter, 16-year-old Renee with her husband, Ben Cyzer. However, she did not specify which daughter is queer.

“In this song I was just trying to access my mum’s fury and protection that comes to save the day when a child gets hurt or heartbroken,” Smith continued.

The pair then bonded over a discussion about parenthood in general.

“As I’m getting older, I feel like I’m becoming more maternal and more definitely hungry one day to have children myself and things like that,” Smith mused. “So it definitely felt like a maturing theme to step into for me, which was really great.”

Cox replied: “I mean, she’s there for you through the tough times and even as you say as a kid, but even as a grown up, your mum’s always going to be there for you.”

“Oh my gosh, yeah, I mean, my dad and my mum, my sisters, my whole family have been a rock for me through everything I’ve gone through,” Smith said.

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Released on 26 July, the reggae song was reportedly made with the help of AI and begins: “You say genocide / I say war / When you’re attacked / That’s what the army is for / Does it get ugly? / You bet it does / When I know you want to kill / Every last one of us…”

On June 23, a United Nations independent commission declared that Israel is committing “genocide” and “atrocity crimes by deliberately targeting Palestinian children.”

“The evidence shows that Palestinian children have been deliberately targeted and killed by the Israeli security forces,” said Srinivasan Muralidhar, the chair of the commission.

“Even after the October 2025 ceasefire, children continue to be killed and seriously injured, with continued disregard by Israel for the ceasefire and for the protection owed to Palestinian children under international law.”

In the chorus of ‘We Will Dance Again’, Boy George sings: “If you’re ever confused / I stand with the Jews / I don’t need to be brave / I just need to behave / Like a human.”

The song follows comments the singer, who is Irish Catholic, recently made about supporting his Jewish friends.

Speaking to the Jewish Chronicle in June, George said: “Over the years it’s been a really personal thing. It doesn’t mean that I don’t have compassion for Palestinians, it doesn’t mean that I agree with what’s going on in Israel, but I am always going to defend the people that I love.”

He continued: “I have a lot of Jewish friends and there would never be a situation where I’d turn my back on them.”

The song received some praise from pro-Israel supporters online, but has also garnered much criticism from other social media users.

The post Boy George criticised for pro-Israel song: ‘You say genocide, I say war’ appeared first on PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news.

The image appeared among several photos in a collaborative Instagram post from a Green Party event, but Polanski removed it after it was brought to his attention. The words on the T-shirt could refer to a 1979 XTC song of the same name, as reported by the BBC.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage accused Polanski of sharing inflammatory content, writing on X on 27 July that if he had posted something similarly “inciteful”, he would expect to be arrested. Reform’s home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf went further, describing the image to the BBC as “a photo of a man calling for the beheading of Nigel Farage”, alleging it amounted to “incitement to murder”.

Yusuf confirmed the party had reported the matter to the Metropolitan Police and also intended to file a complaint with the Greater London Assembly’s monitoring officer, where Polanski serves as an elected member.

The Green Party said Polanski had accepted the collaboration request without realising one of the 20 images contained the controversial T-shirt.

“Once this image was brought to his attention he immediately unshared the post,” a spokesperson told the BBC. “He unequivocally does not support this type of dangerous message.” The party added that Polanski condemns the image and described it as being in poor taste, particularly given heightened concerns about the safety of elected officials.

Polanski has previously spoken publicly about receiving threats himself and has called for increased security for politicians following the 9 July killing of Reform member Ann Widdecombe.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed it had received a third-party complaint and said officers are making inquiries. The BBC reported that police have not contacted Polanski.

Meanwhile, the freelance photographer who originally posted the image publicly accepted responsibility in a series of posts on X, apologised to Polanski and said the T-shirt was intended as satire rather than a genuine threat. The photographer added that they had reported themselves to police, saying the image “wasn’t intended to offend anyone” and criticising what they described as “performative outrage”.

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Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro has signed Senate Bill 45, removing HIV from the state’s criminal code and ending HIV-specific sentencing enhancements that could increase charges for people living with HIV.

Shapiro signed the bill on 20 July as part of a wider package of legislation.

Before SB45, people charged with prostitution-related offences could face harsher penalties if they were HIV-positive. While such cases were typically misdemeanours, the enhancement meant someone living with HIV could be charged with a felony punishable by up to a seven-year prison sentence.

Advocates have long argued that HIV-specific criminal penalties do not improve public safety and instead deepen stigma, including by discouraging testing and treatment. Ronda Goldfein told the Pennsylvania Capital-Star: “Criminal penalties for living with HIV have never served an effective law enforcement purpose,” adding: “No credible research has ever linked penalties with reduction in HIV transmission.”

Dr Jay Kostman also linked HIV criminalisation to stigma and poorer health outcomes, saying: “That stigma discouraged people from getting tested and treated, fuelling the epidemic, particularly among marginalised populations,” adding: “We know today that when people living with HIV are taking medications and have an undetectable level of virus in their blood, they can’t transmit the virus to other people. Therefore, there’s no scientific basis for criminalising HIV.”

How HIV criminalisation spread

HIV-specific criminal laws and sentencing enhancements spread across many US states in the 1990s, after Congress passed the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act, linking HIV/AIDS funding to laws criminalising knowingly exposing others to HIV through sexual activity.

Congress removed those funding requirements in 2000, but 26 states still have laws criminalising HIV transmission or perceived exposure and/or mandating HIV-specific sentencing enhancements. In four states, such laws may require sex offender registration, as per the Movement Advancement Project.

Advocates praise the repeal

Josh Shapiro is the Democratic governor of Pennsylvania, elected in 2022 after serving as the state’s attorney general. He has been publicly supportive of LGBTQ+ rights in Pennsylvania politics, including backing non-discrimination protections and opposing anti-LGBTQ measures.

In a 26 July statement, Tito Valdes, Director of LGBTQ+ Affairs with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, called Shapiro’s signing of SB45 “an important step toward ending outdated policies rooted in fear and stigma rather than science”. Valdes added: “No one should face harsher treatment under the law because they are living with HIV,” and said: “We applaud Governor Shapiro and the advocates who worked for years to make this change possible, and remain committed to advancing policies that promote dignity, equity, and public health for all Philadelphians.”

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Armed officers will be deployed across Brighton during Brighton & Hove Pride, Sussex Police has said, following the fatal attack at Berlin Pride.

A Sussex Police spokesperson said, as per Sky News: “As we look ahead to Brighton and Hove Pride, I want to reassure those attending, as well as residents, businesses and visitors across the city, that their safety remains our top priority.”

The spokesperson added: “Uniformed policing, plain-clothed officers and specialist teams including armed officers will be deployed across the city, which all form part of our comprehensive plans for policing this event.”

Brighton & Hove Pride attracts an estimated 500,000 people. Police also urged attendees to stay alert and look out for each other, adding: “If something doesn’t feel right, speak to one of our officers or a member of security. In an emergency, always dial 999.”

Security in focus

The policing plans come a week before the festival, after an attack at Berlin Pride that reportedly left one person dead and at least 29 injured.

The suspect, Abdul Ballout, was shot dead by police on Sunday after an almost 24-hour manhunt and was reportedly linked to the so-called Islamic State group. The incident has heightened concerns around safety at large Pride events.

Bella Sankey, leader of Brighton & Hove City Council, wrote in a post on the council’s Facebook page: “We are deeply saddened by the attacks at Berlin Pride and our thoughts with all those affected.”

She added: “We stand in solidarity with the LGBTQI+ community and, as we look forward to Brighton & Hove Pride this weekend, we want to reassure all those attending that we are working closely with Brighton & Hove Pride, Sussex Police and our other partners to keep everyone safe.”

Reassurance without losing joy

Brighton & Hove Pride is widely regarded as one of the UK’s largest Pride celebrations, typically centred on a city-wide parade and a ticketed festival in Preston Park, this year headlined by Raye and Diana Ross. Brighton is often described as the UK’s ‘gay capital’, with a large LGBTQ+ population and a prominent queer nightlife and cultural scene.

Wes Streeting described the Berlin attack as “absolutely horrific” and suggested it showed why Pride events were still necessary. He also said Pride events in the UK were already “always well policed” and struck the right balance between public safety and allowing people to celebrate.

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The actor, who plays mythological figure Sinon in Christopher Nolan’s adaptation, spoke to former Awkward star Desi Lydic on The Daily Show on 23 July.

Page has reunited with Nolan on the project, after previously working together on Inception. But it wasn’t their shared history that made The Odyssey shoot a little bit easier.

Lydic said: “I hear that the filming of this was no easy feat; that it was incredibly hard and gruelling at times. You were hiking in water, in mud. All of the actors have been talking about this whole process. What was the hardest day on set for you? Or was it easy, and Matt Damon is just acting like a big baby?”

Laughing, Page replied: “I worked early on in the shoot, and then I was back later in the shoot. To be honest, I couldn’t understand how they were all still standing. I definitely had an easier job than other people.

“The challenging things were just the weather and temperature, but I’m lucky in that I grew up working in Canada as a kid, so I’m used to working in some pretty brutal temperatures.”

Sinon’s appearance in The Odyssey

During the interview, Elliot Page acknowledged that his character Sinon does not appear in Homer’s original, Odyssey.

He said: “The character that I play in this is not originally in The Odyssey, so for me the focus was really on being able to capture him in these few scenes and hopefully make Chris [Nolan] happy.”

Page added: “Getting to work with someone like Chris who obviously has such impeccable vision and execution…. those were the initial conversations I had with Chris about this character and Sinon being this consciousness, facing Odysseus, the impacts of war, the brutality of war, the violence.

“I think I was terrified in wanting to make sure I did an OK job and pulled it off in the movie. It was the good kind of nerves.”

‘Irrelevant’ backlash to Elliot Page

Christopher Nolan said earlier in July that the right-wing backlash to The Odyssey is “irrelevant”.

Before the movie’s release, a number of right-wing pundits, including Riley Gaines and Rob Finnerty, had a lot to say about Page’s casting.

It was originally believed that Page, who is trans, would be playing Achilles, another mythological figure in Greek history, famed for his weak heel.

Finnerty took issue with the fact that a trans man would be playing “the most famous warrior in all of history”, seemingly thinking Achilles was an actual, real person.

Nolan told Variety: “These conversations that happen before people see the film – they’re always irrelevant, because no one having them knows what the film actually is yet.”

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On Saturday (25 July), Berlin’s Christopher Street Day (CSD) parade, which is a pride event, was cancelled after a car drove into a crowd of people, leaving one dead and others with seriously injured. Police in Germany named Abdul Ballout as the suspect, and he was later shot dead after charging at officers with a bladed weapon. He was a German citizen with Lebanese background, who had reportedly tried to join the Islamic State group previously.

Police spokesperson Florian Nath said of Ballout: “The suspect is known to police. He is known to us as a member of Islamic circles here in Berlin, and our search for this person is proceeding at full speed.”

Now, ILGA-Europe has released a statement to condemn the violence, while warning the attack should not be used to further divide.

Executive director Chaber said: “We condemn the violence and stand with Berlin’s LGBTI community and everyone who came together to celebrate Pride and to exercise their right to be visible, to assemble and to stand up for equality.”

They continued: “This tragedy must not be used to fuel hatred against migrants, foreigners or Muslim communities. We reject any attempt by anti-democratic actors to exploit what happened to divide communities, scapegoat minorities or turn one group against another.

“LGBTI people must not be instrumentalised to spread hatred against others, nor should the existence of racism, Islamaphobia or anti-migrant hatred be used to minimise the threats faced by LGBTI people. The rights, safety and dignity of all people must be defended.”

‘We must refuse this politics of fear’

Chaber said that the normalisation of hatred of minorities “contributes to a wider climate of division and dehumanisation”. They added: “We must refuse this politics of fear.

“The answer to an attack on people exercising their freedom cannot be less freedom. The answer to hatred cannot be more hatred. And the answer to violence cannot be to turn minorities against one another.”

ILGA-Europe added in a statement: “Protecting Pride means protecting the freedom to come together, to be visible and to stand up for equality. Protecting democracy means defending those freedoms for everyone.

“We stand with the people of Berlin and with the LGBTI community. We will continue to defend a Europe where everyone can live, love and stand up for their rights without fear.”

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According to a new report by the New York Times, Epstein helped Dr Shuliak, from Belarus, get her US citizenship after she overstayed her student visa. She had come to the US to learn English, before pursuing studies in dentistry which she had started in her home country.

Emails released by the Department of Justice show Epstein suggesting that an unnamed recipient, which the Times claims is Dr Shuliak, should find “an American girlfriend”, adding: “Same sex marriage will be the fastes way to green card. By far. [sic]”

In another email, from September 2013, Epstein’s assistant – who has been described as one of his victims by her lawyer – was instructed to go to the marriage license bureau one morning and “wait for Karyna”.

Same-sex marriage had been made legal in New York in 2011 and it’s reported that the two women were instructed to get married as it would avoid raising red flags that the union was just for Shuliak to get US citizenship.

The other woman was one of Epstein’s assistants. Her lawyer Brad Edwards told the Times that “nobody was permitted or dared ever to disobey Jeffrey Epstein”.

The women were married three weeks after meeting, and soon an immigration lawyer working for Epstein started the process of getting Shuliak her citizenship, which brought an end to her pending deportation proceedings.

Shuliak got her green card months later, and in May 2018 became a US citizen. The women got divorced a year later.

This year, in a report by Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Shuliak’s ex-wife claimed she was forced into the marriage and did not know it had been scheduled for just a few days before Shuliak’s deportation hearing.

It added that the marriage may have been performed to give Shuliak the “legal basis to continue residing in the United States”. Though there were no recommendations to challenge her citizenship.

It’s reported that, as of spring 2026, Shuliak was living in an Upper East Side condo building part owned by Epstein’s brother, Mark.

She declined to comment when approached by the NY Times, while Mark Epstein said: “I only wish that woman the best.”

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The billboards, which read, “No child has two dads. No child has two moms” appeared in several communities and quickly went viral after Northwest Ohio resident Megan Tucker-Manly shared a photo to her Facebook on 17 July.

Tucker-Manly told The Buckeye Flame in a 23 July interview that the messaging doesn’t just target same-sex parents, but also dismisses the experiences of children from foster families, blended families, divorced households and other non-traditional homes. Despite living with stage IV cancer, she said she felt compelled to speak out. “I’m not sitting down, even though I should be the one to sit down because I have stage IV cancer and should be focused on other things,” she said. “Instead, this has just lit a fire [in me].”

LGBTQ+ nonprofit Have a Gay Day purchased billboard space of its own to share an affirming message. A fundraiser they started to keep the supportive billboards up has raised more than $18,000, according to their 23 July Facebook announcement.

The nonprofit also shared on 26 July: “A peaceful rally will be held in front of the City Building in Lima at 50 Town Square Road at 6pm July 27th. Instructions are to bring positive signs of love and support for ALL families,” alongside a mock-up image of their intended billboard design which read “Many children have two dads. Many children have two moms”.

Lima Pride Alliance and Equality Ohio have also condemned Them Before Us’ campaign, with Equality Ohio releasing a statement on Tuesday (21 July) saying the billboards “don’t just attack LGBTQ+ families, they erase every Ohio kid whose home doesn’t fit a narrow, manufactured mould”.

A spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign described the billboards as “disgusting” and “desperate,” in a statement to The Buckeye Flame, pointing to polling showing that a majority of Ohioans support marriage equality.

Them Before Us has long opposed marriage equality, IVF and no-fault divorce, and says its campaign is intended to promote what it considers the ideal family structure.

Them Before Us is also one of dozens of organisations behind the “Greater Than” campaign, launched earlier this year with the goal of urging the US Supreme Court to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the landmark 2015 ruling that legalised same-sex marriage nationwide.

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While congratulating Collins on an award for her coverage of the administration, Trump criticised the journalist before comparing her to Mulvaney and reviving the backlash surrounding Mulvaney’s 2023 Bud Light partnership.

He later doubled down by sharing an edited image to Truth Social on Sunday (26 July) that placed Collins’ face onto Mulvaney’s Bud Light campaign photo.

In a nearly four-minute video posted on Sunday (26 July), Mulvaney began by congratulating Collins on her award, saying she was “incredibly honoured” to be compared to the journalist. She then reflected on the fact that Trump had mentioned her multiple times despite her largely staying out of the political spotlight in recent years. “I am still his topic of conversation all these years later,” she said. “It seems to me that I might be like the one that got away for these men. Like, I am permanently burned into their retinas. I am microchipped into their minds.”

Mulvaney said she no longer viewed the attacks in the same way she might have just weeks ago, explaining that a recent personal experience had shifted her perspective. “Maybe I shouldn’t want to be professionally supported by an administration that doesn’t personally support me or so many others in this country,” she said. “Maybe being publicly mocked and criticised by this administration is actually like the greatest compliment of all, because it puts me in the company of some of like the most brilliant, empathetic people in our world today.”

She also questioned why members of the administration seemed so invested in preventing her success, concluding that what sets her apart is her freedom to live authentically. “My freedom is fully dependent on the moment that I acknowledged my real authentic self,” she said, arguing that visibility gives young transgender people hope that they can also find happiness and success. Mulvaney also warned that efforts to silence trans people are ultimately about preventing others, especially young people, from seeing that possibility.

Mulvaney ended her message by encouraging viewers to continue supporting transgender and non-binary people before addressing Trump directly. “To the president,” she said, “thank you for reminding me that I am more powerful than I even knew.”

Meanwhile, Collins also appeared to brush off Trump’s remarks, sharing photos to her Instagram on Saturday (25 July) from the dinner alongside a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt: “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”

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Speaking on a Hall H panel at San Diego Comic Con on 25 July, Euphoria actress Schafer shared her experience of shooting the miniseries, which is set to premiere on Amazon Prime Video on 25 November.

“I got to try action on some of my other sets, but it was nothing compared to this,” she began, as reported by Vulture.

“But it’s my favourite, I love action. Also to be able to do it with one of the literal best was nothing short of an honour,” she continued, gesturing to Yeoh, who was sitting beside her. “It was also just really useful too, to learn a lot from you.”

Yeoh is well known for her work in martial arts films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Yes, Madam!, Wing Chun and, more recently, Everything Everywhere All At Once.

The actress won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the latter in 2023, making her the first Asian woman to do so in the category.

“I’ve never seen a more fearless action hero,” Yeoh was quick to add about Schafer. “I mean, she really literally dove in. She would do the tumbles, the falls, like, ‘Hunter, where are your pads?’”

“She got me a baby helmet,” Schafer added to laughs from the audience.

“What? You got a concussion! I had to protect my baby, okay?” Yeoh responded. “I was like, ‘Here, wear this,’ so I bought her a baby helmet.”

Blade Runner 2099 takes place in Los Angeles, 50 years after the events of Blade Runner 2049 following a Replicant uprising.

Olwen (Yeoh), a Replicant Blade Runner, is in her final days of life and teams up with her partner Cora (Schafer), a human masquerading as a Replicant, to attempt to hunt down a gang of rogue Replicants.

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Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer Carlos Gu has shown off a dramatic drag-style transformation for Asian Pride UK, complete with a towering beehive wig and full-on glam.

The images were shared on Instagram by make-up artist Jessie O’Leary, who captioned the post: “Guess Who @gkx_carlos for @asianprideuk. Makeup @jessieefromtheblock.”

Gu, 33, was styled in a black beehive wig and a plunging black dress. The look was finished with a smoky eye, sharply defined black winged eyeliner and full lashes.

Fans quickly filled the comments with praise. One wrote: “Wow his make-up is stunning x.” Another added: “That is insane, he looks so good,” while others told him: “You look incredible,” and “Looking fa-bu-loussss.”

Gu’s Strictly co-stars also got involved, with Lauren Oakley writing: “Actually stunning.” Amy Dowden added: “Incredible. Proud of you always my Gu.”

Strictly success and camp glamour

Gu is a Chinese dancer and choreographer who became a professional on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing in the mid-2020s.

He is known for high-energy choreography and a playful on-screen persona, and the show has long been embraced for its camp spectacle and costume drama.

The makeover follows a huge year for Gu on the show. He lifted the Glitterball trophy alongside Karen Carney after winning the public vote last year. Gu said at the time: “I can’t believe it, thank you so much.”

He is set to return as a pro again this year. The celebrity line-up is slowly being confirmed, with names including Jaime Winstone and Will Best announced so far.

Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.

The post Strictly favourite Carlos Gu wows with dramatic drag makeover for Asian Pride UK appeared first on PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news.

Rosie O’Donnell has said her decades-long feud with Donald Trump has felt like “post-traumatic stress disorder”, adding that stepping away from constant coverage of him has helped her “reclaim” who she was before it began.

In a People interview, the comedian and actor described the toll of being repeatedly singled out by the US president. “It’s like a post-traumatic stress disorder for me, considering it’s been 20 years of him using me as a punchline,” she said.

O’Donnell also reflected on the surreal nature of the dynamic. “If you had written this as a movie, a stand-up comic makes fun of a reality show host who is a bloviating idiot, and he ends up being the president, and then he doesn’t shut up about her for 20 years, it would be unbelievable. And the fact that it’s my life is very trippy.”

She said distance from the relentless news cycle has changed her day-to-day life. “I am softer I think as a result of being there, of the welcome that we got, and as a result of me not being constantly bombarded by news about the current president,” she said, adding that it “has allowed me to reclaim myself, who I was before all that went down, even though it’s very strange to have supposedly the most powerful man in the word be your arch nemesis”.

O’Donnell and Trump’s feud

The public clash dates back to 2006. O’Donnell criticised Trump’s “moral compass”, after which he called her a “woman out of control”.

Since, he has spoken regularly about her and even claimed he was “giving serious thought” to revoking her US citizenship – even though the 14th amendment of the US constitution would not allow him to.

O’Donnell came out publicly in 2002 and has long been a prominent LGBTQ+ figure in US entertainment, and has been outspoken on progressive politics and LGBTQ+ rights, including marriage equality and anti-bullying advocacy.

She has described returning to the US from Ireland as “scary” after having moved to Ireland in January 2025 at the start of Trump’s second term.

Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.

The post Rosie O’Donnell says Donald Trump feud is like ‘post-traumatic stress disorder’ appeared first on PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news.

The Correspondents’ Dinner took place in Washington DC on 24 July, and was intended to recognise achievements in journalism and award scholarships.

The first LGBTQ+ journalist to be hit by Trump’s speech was gay reporter Anderson Cooper. “I like Anderson actually because he’s covered me well for many years, and he went bad as soon as I went for politics,” he said.

Cooper served as a correspondent on CBS News program 60 Minutes for almost two decades before he stepped down in February. However, he continued as the anchor for his CNN show Anderson Cooper 360°, which he has hosted since 2003.

“But for years he loved the interview. I did so many interviews with him, and he was great, but he’s got a little different persuasion than me in many ways actually,” Trump continued, seemingly referencing the fact that Cooper is gay.

The second LGBTQ+ figure slighted by Trump was CNN anchor and independent journalist Don Lemon. Lemon made headlines himself earlier this year after he live-streamed a report where protesters interrupted a Sunday church service in Minnesota over the presence of ICE agents in the state, and more recently said he was thinking about running for president, adding that he’d do a better job than Trump.

Right-wing musician Nicki Minaj called Lemon a homophobic slur following his coverage, and Lemon fired back, calling her a “homophobic bigot”.

“We had a contest for who had the lowest ratings and the lowest IQ on television, and that was actually Don Lemon, I think,” Trump said in his speech.

“When I said that he’s the dumbest man on television, I said, when you say some things, you never make a comeback. It’s not like, ‘Oh, gee, hey Don, let’s have dinner some night.’”

Trump then made comments about trans influencer and actress Dylan Mulvaney. He honed in on Mulvaney while addressing CNN journalist Kaitlan Collins, who he called a “young, attractive woman” who “never smiles”.

“I thought Kaitlan had really made it big with a major new sponsorship, but then I informed her that it wasn’t her on the Bud Light can, it was Dylan Mulvaney,” he said.

“Dylan Mulvaney cost Bud Light $35billion in market cap. I wouldn’t want to hire Dylan anytime soon. Think of it, they hired Dylan Mulvaney and their market cap has gone down by $35 billion”.

He called the ad “the worst commercial ever made”.

Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.

The post Trump targets Dylan Mulvaney and more LGBTQ+ figures in White House speech appeared first on PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news.

The march began near the BBC’s headquarters in central London. It ended in Trafalgar Square, where crowds gathered to hear speeches celebrating the trans community and urging political leaders to take action.

As reported by ITVNews, Lewis G Burton, a founding member of London Trans+ Pride, said at the event that the record turnout sent a clear message: “Every single person who marched today is proof that we are not going anywhere, that our joy is louder than their hate, and that London Trans+ Pride will keep fighting, keep loving and keep growing until every trans person is safe, seen, and free.”

Protesters also criticised the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s updated guidance on single-sex spaces, which followed the UK Supreme Court’s 2025 ruling that the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act refer to biological sex.

Among those addressing the crowd was Caroline Litman, whose daughter, Alice, died by suicide in 2022 after waiting more than 1,000 days for gender-affirming healthcare. Litman spoke to the Press Association, warning that “more children are going to die” unless Prime Minister Andy Burnham works to reverse what she described as anti-trans policies,

“Things have got so much worse, and it’s just so disappointing because my family chose to go public with (Alice’s) inquest in an effort to raise awareness of the terrible wait lists and to really bring about change, and it’s just got worse and worse and worse since that happened, and it’s just so disappointing,” Litman said.

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The 25 July march took place in Oradea, a city in western Romania with a population of around 180,000 people.

Ark Oradea, the event’s organisers, reportedly submitted more than 100 potential routes for the march to take, but the city’s municipality rejected all of them and declined to grant permission for the fourth year in a row.

On Saturday, the gendarmes, Oradea’s military police, issued fines before the march even set off. According to Digi 24, many of the marchers began chanting: “I don’t care, I love it,” in response.

Nicu Ştefănuţă, the Vice President of the European Parliament, criticised the gendarmes for their response to the matter.

“It is shameful for the Romanian state of the European unfreedoms what is happening now in Oradea. People from all over Europe and at least eight European embassies are marching. This shame won’t wash away easily,” he wrote on 25 July.

“Romania has started to ban, fine, threaten people who protest peacefully. It seems that from the lesson of Hungary the Romanian state learned exactly the opposite: that he has to tighten the knot so that today’s bankrupt parties can keep power.”

He went on to say that “it’s not just the mayor of the town” of Oradea to blame. “The whole political class in Parliament and Government is to blame, which passively witnesses something that puts a black stain on the map of Europe.”

Ştefănuţă concluded: “These young people are not ‘some LGBT’, they are not ‘a minority’, they are exactly your children, the future of this state.”

Ahead of the march, Ark Oradeo president and co-founder Iulian Dițiu told the Guardian: “Every year the local authorities have managed to find legal or technical excuses to ban Oradea Pride events.”

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Berlin police shot dead Abdul Ballout, the main suspect in a van-ramming attack during Berlin’s Christopher Street Day (CSD) Pride celebrations that killed one person and injured 29, after police said he charged officers with a bladed weapon.

Police said Ballout was located in Spandau at around 6 p.m. local time (1600 GMT/UTC) following a search lasting nearly 24 hours. “Around 6 p.m. (1600 GMT), the suspect involved in yesterday’s attack in Tiergarten was located at an allotment garden complex in Spandau,” Berlin police wrote on social media.

“According to initial findings, he ran towards officers while armed with a bladed weapon; police … subsequently opened fire. Despite immediate resuscitation efforts by the Berlin Fire Department, he died at the scene.”

Officials also said all indications pointed to an “Islamic terror attack”. A Berlin prosecutor’s office statement has been published as the investigation continues.

What happened at Berlin CSD

The attack happened on Saturday evening, shortly after 10 p.m., when a van drove into a crowd in the Tiergarten area during the closing event of CSD Pride celebrations near the Brandenburg Gate.

After the attack, hundreds of people gathered at the Brandenburg Gate to pay respects, holding a minute of silence and laying flowers, according to updates on the manhunt and political reaction.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier condemned the incident, saying: “This act is an attack on our open society, on our way of life and on our ability to live together,” adding he was “shaken and outraged.”

Federal prosecutors to take over

Justice minister Stefanie Hubig said Germany’s federal public prosecutor’s office will take over the investigation. “The Interior Minister has already announced that this is an Islamist attack. The Federal Public Prosecutor General will take over the investigation,” she said. “Naturally, we will pursue those responsible with the utmost severity and then bring them to trial.”

Ballout was a German citizen with Lebanese roots, police said. Judicial authorities said he had made multiple failed attempts to leave Germany and join the so-called Islamic State (IS) group, and that he returned to Germany in November 2025.

Vice chancellor Lars Klingbeil said: “Christopher Street Day stands for the right of every person to live freely,” adding: “We will defend that.”

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German authorities have issued a wanted notice for a 21-year-old suspect after a van rammed people near Berlin’s Christopher Street Day (CSD) Pride celebrations, killing one woman and injuring at least 16 others. The notice warns the public to avoid “direct contact” with the suspect because he may be armed and dangerous.

Police and prosecutors identified the suspect as Abdul B. Police said he is believed to have injured several people with a moving vehicle late on Saturday evening, and that “one or more people are believed to have subsequently fled the vehicle,” in a police statement. The same statement added: “Furthermore, several people are reported to have been injured with stabbing weapons.”

Police spokesperson Florian Nath said: “The suspect is known to police. He is known to us as a member of Islamic circles here in Berlin, and our search for this person is proceeding at full speed,” adding that investigators had no information on “his specific motives.”

The Pride event next to the Brandenburg Gate was called off around 10:15 p.m., and a band’s performance on stage was interrupted.

What police say happened

Police said a white van drove into the Tiergarten park around 10 p.m., hit several people, then collided with a tree. Berlin’s fire service said three people sustained life-threatening injuries, eight were seriously injured and five had slight injuries. Other reports have claimed that one person died in the attack.

The closing party for CSD was taking place nearby after a parade earlier in the day featuring some 80 trucks. In the early hours of Sunday, police searched an apartment in Berlin’s Schöneberg district but found no one there.

Julian Miethig, who had attended the festival nearby, said: “It’s a dark day for the community.”

Berlin CSD and the ongoing manhunt

CSD is the name used for Pride events across German-speaking countries, referencing New York’s Christopher Street and the Stonewall uprising. Berlin CSD is among Europe’s largest Pride celebrations, combining a parade with political messaging, community groups and corporate participation.

Police have appealed for public help to locate the suspect as the manhunt continues, following the incident that led to the celebrations being halted.

The post Berlin Pride van attack – police name 21-year old suspect Abdul B with alleged ties to ‘Islamist scene’ appeared first on PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news.

Berlin’s Christopher Street Day (CSD) Pride parade was called off on Saturday night after police said a vehicle entered the Tiergarten park near the march route and hit several people, leaving multiple injuries. So far, there has been one reported death, with several people sustaining life-threatening injuries.

A major incident was declared in the German capital after reports that a car crashed into a crowd close to the parade route through the city.

In a message shared by police, officers said: “We believe that a vehicle entered the Tiergarten park and hit several people and injured them,” adding that they were actively seeking those responsible.

Berlin Police also said in a statement: “We are currently deployed with numerous police forces as well as rescue units from the Berlin Fire Department in the Großer Tiergarten. It is presumed that a vehicle has driven into the Tiergarten here, has struck and injured several people. The injured are currently being treated by rescue personnel. We are conducting an intensive manhunt for suspects.”

Organisers urged people to leave the area safely, writing: “Please leave the premises calmly and in an orderly manner. Please avoid the Victory Column and the Tiergarten. Leave the premises in the direction of the main train station.”

What police and organisers have said

A Berlin police spokesman, Florian Nath, said “numerous” people were injured, including several with life-threatening injuries. He also said a white vehicle was driven into the Tiergarten and hit several people along the Ahornsteig, a road through the park.

Police did not give a confirmed number of injured people in their initial public updates, and said they were searching for one or more suspects.

One German outlet has reportedly said one person died and 14 others were receiving medical treatment, citing police for the figures.

What Christopher Street Day is

Christopher Street Day (CSD) is the name used for Pride events across Germany, commemorating the Stonewall uprising on New York’s Christopher Street. Berlin’s CSD typically draws large crowds and is a flagship LGBTQ+ visibility event in Germany, combining protest roots with celebration.

Pride events around the world in recent years have faced heightened security planning due to threats, counter-protests, and occasional violence, with safety messaging often central to organising, including after two people were shot near the Stonewall Inn following New York Pride.

The CSD board told crowds from the stage: “Unfortunately, we have to end the event prematurely due to a difficult situation.”

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The 23rd Commonwealth Games is being held in Glasgow, Scotland, from 23 July to 2 August. This year, the program features just 10 sports, cutting the usual program in half.

This means a smaller outing for Team LGBTQ+. However, there are still plenty of queer athletes competing in the 2026 Commonwealth Games…

Amy Atwell

Amy Atwell is a star on the Perth Lynx and the Australian national basketball team. The 28-year-old holds an impressive career record with a bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics and also a silver at this year’s FIBA 3×3 World Cup.

Atwell will be making her Commonwealth debut this year as part of the Australian 3×3 team. Furthermore, she is in a long-term relationship with fellow basketball player and teammate Alex ‘Ally’ Wilson.

Julie Charlton

Julie Charlton made her Commonwealth Games debut in Birmingham in 2022. The 27-year-old Australian competes in the Shot Put Para-Sport. She finished 9th in the women’s shot put F57. This marked the first time that shot put for athletes with a disability had appeared on the program since 2010.

Alongside competing, Charlton is a disability, mental health and queer advocate. She is also a member of the Disability Council of NSW under the NSW Government.

Gabriela DeBues-Stafford

Canadian middle- and long-distance runner Gabriela DeBues-Stafford is a star on the track. The 30-year-old, two-time Olympian, competed at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. She was set to compete at the 2022 Games, but had to end her season prematurely because of injury.

DeBues-Stafford is a bisexual athlete. In 2021, she dyed her hair rainbow colours to visibly showcase their relationship to the LGBTQ+ community. Also, she’s married to a man and used herself as an example of bisexual erasure and straight-passing assumptions.

Seamus Derbyshire

26-year-old British track and field athlete Seamus Derbyshire competes in the 400m hurdles. 2026 will be his Commonwealth debut, though he did win silver at the Commonwealth Youth Games in 2017. 

Derbyshire is gay and has been celebrated online for his pre-race introductions. Additionally, at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Derbyshire imitated Glinda from Wicked’s “toss toss” hair flick and blowing kisses to the audience. He hopes to inspire other gay athletes by being himself in the sport.

Robyn Love

Scottish wheelchair basketball player Robyn Love has represented Great Britain at the 2016 and 2024 Paralympic Games. After playing in the 2022 Games, Love will compete in wheelchair 3×3 basketball at the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

The 35-year-old is a lesbian and engaged to fellow wheelchair basketball player and teammate Laurie Williams. They have a child together. Love is also an ambassador for the British Elite Athletes Association (BEAA) and Athlete Ally.

Lowri Thomas

British and Welsh track cyclist Lowri Thomas was part of the team sprint that came in third at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Since then, the 27-year-old has been steadily rising up the ranks.

At the 2025 UCI Track Cycling Nations Cup and also the 2026 European Championships, Thomas won silver. Thomas has shared that she is part of the LGBTQ+ community via her Instagram. 

Marena Whittle

Marena Whittle has been selected for the Australian 3×3 basketball team for the 2026 Commonwealth Games. As part of the national team, she won gold at the 2024 FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup and was also selected in Australia’s first 3×3 Olympic team for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Then, after the Olympics, Whittle got engaged to fellow professional basketball player Anneli Maley. Together, Maley and Whittle are formidable on the court and making a mark for LGBTQ+ representation more widely. 

Michaela Walsh

Michaela Walsh is a Northern Ireland boxing star who fights in the featherweight division. She has a host of medals to her name, including two silver and one gold Commonwealth Games medals. For the 2026 Games, she’s looking to secure another gold.

“This sport has transformed so much and if you’d told to me 10-15 years ago that there would be an equal number (of medals) I’d have said ‘there’s not a hope in hell’ it would happen, so it really shows how much women’s boxing has grown,” she said ahead of the Glasgow Games.

Though these athletes are taking part in this year’s Games, there are plenty of notable LGBTQ athletes who have competed in the past…

Michelle-Lee Ahye: Trinidadian track athlete who won gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Ashleigh Brazill: Won gold at the 2022 Games as part of Australia’s netball team.

Tom Bosworth: British two-time Olympic race walker who holds three World bests and a silver Commonwealth medal.

Hannah Cozens: A Welsh hockey player at the 2022 Games.

Tom Daley: One of England’s most famous gay athletes, the diver holds five Commonwealth medals, four gold and one silver.

Stacey Francis-Bayman: A member of the England netball team that won bronze medals at the 2010 Games.

Kirsty Gilmour: The first-ever European champion in badminton from Scotland; Gilmour is a lesbian and one of very few LGBTQ+ professional badminton players.

Amy Jones: The English cricketer competed at the 2022 Games. Also, she is married to Australian cricketer Piepa Cleary.

Osian Jones: A retired Welsh Athletics hammer thrower, Jones set a record in 2017 and came out publicly in 2022.

Sarah-Jane Perry: The squash player has two silver and one bronze Commonwealth medal. She married her partner in 2024, with whom she has two children.

Natalie Powell: She became the first female British judoka to be ranked number one in the world and won gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Katherine Sciver-Brunt: The former cricketer, married to teammate Nat Sciver-Brunt, played in England’s first fixture of the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Nat Sciver-Brunt: The English cricketer, married to fellow England cricketer Katherine Brunt, was vice-captain at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Mark Tewksbury: Legendary Canadian swimmer who holds four gold Commonwealth medals. He came out in 1998, after retiring from the sport.

Ciara Torrance: The Scottish badminton player, who uses she/they pronouns, competed at the 2022 Games.

Delmi Tucker: South African cricketer who competed at the 2022 Games.

Lorraine Ugen: The English long jumper has a gold medal from the 2018 Games.

Leah Wilkinson: The Welsh defensive hockey player has played at the 2010, 2014 and 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Sharni Williams: The Australian rugby player has a silver and gold Commonwealth medal; Williams is a lesbian who married her partner in 2023.

The post The LGBTQ+ athletes to cheer on at the 2026 Commonwealth Games appeared first on PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news.

Taylor, 24, seemingly revealed she is dating Colorado-based content creator and barber Kelsie Chesser, after being spotted in the comments of one of Chesser’s TikTok videos.

In the clip, posted on 21 July, Chesser lip-synced to a viral Beyoncé audio over the text: “When I slid into my girlfriend’s DMs just hoping she was into girls.” She captioned it: “Thankful she was #wlw #girlfriend.”

Taylor left a one-word comment underneath, “Folded”, which fans quickly took as confirmation the video was about her.

Followers also noted that Chesser has the same flower and snake hand tattoos as the mystery woman who appeared in Taylor’s relationship “soft launch” earlier this month.

Chesser owns a barbershop in Golden, Colorado, and has more than 40,000 followers on TikTok, where she shares lifestyle content.

The apparent confirmation comes weeks after Taylor came out as bisexual on Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast, revealing she had known about her attraction to women since she was “little” but had long struggled to share it publicly.

“I just feel like I’m finally in the era that I’m over not being truly myself,” she said. “I’m very proud now to be out.”

Taylor joined the hit reality series in its first season as a newly divorced single mother of two. She was previously married to Clayton Wessel, with whom she shares sons Oliver and Maxwell, and has since dated co-star Cameron Jolly and Mason McWhorter on the show.

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Warning: spoilers ahead of the ending of Tip Toe.

The five-part Channel 4 miniseries chronicled the growing tension and hostility between warring Manchester neighbours Leo (Alan Cumming) and Clive (David Morrissey).

The Queer as Folk and It’s a Sin creator concluded the LGBTQ+ show with a devastating finale. 

Clive and a group of hooligans brutally murder Leo and leave his body hanging from a lamppost after he’s wrongly accused of being a paedophile.

The deeply shocking moment and imagery stunned viewers with its powerful message about the rise of hatred and bigotry in the UK.

Speaking about shooting this deeply harrowing sequence, Davies told the Independent that the ending took three days to film.

‘We had Alan Cumming, a stuntman, and a dummy’

“We had to be very careful with it,” Davies shared of the scene. “There was a school nearby that broke up at 3.30pm, so we had to stop at that point every single day.

“We were next to quite a major A road, so we had to erect huge screens to block off the set, otherwise cars driving along would have seen a man hanging, and we could have caused an accident.

“It was all very complicated and meticulously planned – we had to build that lamppost. We had Alan Cumming, a stuntman, and a dummy.

“When the crew first hoisted the dummy up into the air, absolute silence fell over the entire street. Everyone stopped what they were doing and just stood there, as the enormity of it hit us.”

Davies added that while the scene is disturbing on the screen, the cast of hooligans were “the loveliest boys”.

Davies also noted that the hanging scene was shot before the shoot’s one-week break. “Everyone could let go of it and shake it off,” he explained. “It gave people time to recover from something that was genuinely traumatic.

“For Alan, filming it, he had to be at the centre of a lot of hostility. Even though it’s acting, you still have to be held back and have a rope put around your neck, and so he was absolutely delighted it was over.”

Davies also revealed that Channel 4’s Compliance department were worried about broadcasting the scene. 

“There were a lot of warnings said on screen before it was transmitted. And there were lots of conversations about how to get the scene right,” he explained.

“Channel 4 is there to be edgy and bold and radical, to cause debate and to be controversial. But we didn’t linger on his face after he was hanged. I just think that would be torturous, and kind of obscene.”

Tip Toe is available to watch now on Channel 4 in the UK.

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Speaking in Thursday’s (23 July) episode of Finding Fire Island, the Pink Flamingos and Hairspray director reflected on turning 80 in April, his place within the LGBTQ+ community, and the queer history that younger generations may never fully experience.

“The younger people understand me and my films,” Waters said, as per HuffPost, “because they know my films and everything, it’s a very different world for me in the gay community.”

Waters also joked that, even in his younger years, he never fit the mould of the stereotypical hyper-muscular gay man.

“Even at the height of when I looked the best, I never was a ‘Muscle Mary,'” he said. “It’s a culture that I know about… but to me, the hippie gay thing, ‘The Cockettes’ and all that, was more radical and to my liking than, say, clones.”

The filmmaker then turned to a more sobering subject: the HIV/AIDS epidemic that devastated the LGBTQ+ community in the 1980s and 1990s. “That’s the main thing: If you’re older, you remember that, and you can never convey what that was like to young people,” Waters said.

Finding Fire Island host Jess Rothschild, a New York journalist, said she was especially drawn to Waters because of how he has always embraced being different, even within queer spaces. “John Waters represents the idea that what society calls ‘too much’ can become a source of creativity, humour and power,” she said.

“I love how he speaks to being an outsider even within the gay community and relishing it,” she continued. “The traits that make you feel out of place can become the foundation of your identity, your art and your community rather than something to hide.”

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During a 16 June Clay County School Board workshop, published to YouTube, district leaders openly discussed “nuclear options” for dealing with the constant flood of book challenges, including closing high school libraries altogether or stripping them down to nonfiction only while they carefully review books for content deemed unsuitable for students.

“There doesn’t seem to be an effective moderate option,” the district’s chief academic officer, Rodger Dailey, told board members. “The options on the table are kind of nuclear options like, ‘Close the library. Take all the fiction books out, just leave the nonfiction.’ Things that would – to people who aren’t abreast of this, right? Would be shocking to them.”

The discussion comes after Florida’s HB 1069 made it possible for any county resident to challenge books in school libraries. In Clay County, a single individual filed more than 400 challenges, resulting in 287 books being removed in one school year, including classics like The Handmaid’s Tale, Slaughterhouse-Five, and The Color Purple, as reported by local news outlet News4Jax.

Notably, district officials weren’t arguing that books shouldn’t be removed; rather, they were debating how to remove them faster and with less administrative burden.

Dailey suggested flipping the current process entirely by removing books first and only returning them after they’ve been individually vetted. “You would take the books out and then put them back on once you have vetted them, as opposed to trying to comb through and find a needle in a stack of needles,” he said.

He also floated banning entire authors based on previous removals, saying: “This author has had three, four, five books removed… maybe we say that author – we’ve had too many problems to look for the one good book that author has.”

School board member Beth Clark went even further, asking: “I don’t understand why we can’t sue for providing pornography to our children. It’s that simple,” while discussing the possibility of using AI to screen books.

If libraries were eliminated, Dailey suggested replacing those spaces with research centres, computer labs, or school stores due to the low checkout rate at the senior high school, claiming that older kids are primarily consuming their information digitally instead of through print.

More than 60 studies spanning five decades were reviewed by the Center for American Progress in 2024. It found that well-resourced school libraries with certified librarians are associated with stronger academic outcomes, with the greatest benefits seen among low-income students, students of colour, and students with disabilities.

While part of HB 1069 was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge in 2025, the decision is currently being appealed, and the law remains in effect while the case moves through the courts.

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Avatar: Seven Havens is a sequel show to The Legend of Korra, which in itself was a sequel of the much-loved animation Avatar: The Last Airbender.

The new series takes place after the death of Avatar Korra, with young Earthbender Pavi discovering she is the next Avatar. She finds her long lost twin Nisha, and goes on a mission to save the Seven Havens after an apocalyptic event. However, while the Avatar has previously been celebrated as the saviour of humanity, they are thought of as a destroyer in Avatar: Seven Havens.

The trailer was released on 23 July, ahead of the premiere on Paramount+ on 9 October, 2026.

In it, a character can be heard saying “the Avatar let us down”, as an image of Korra in the Avatar State appears.

Fans rushed to defend the beloved character, who is confirmed as bisexual thanks to her romance with Asami.

One said: “They said the same s*** about Aang for 100 years I’m not moved Korra will be redeemed.” Another wrote: “We gawn die in the fight defending Korra aren’t we.” A third said: “Time to defend Korra as soon as October hits.” Someone else said: “Enough with the anti Korra propaganda.” And another added: “Korra babe they will never make me hate you.”

New Avatar releases

Aside from the Korra discourse, Avatar: Seven Havens has also prompted discussion about the change in animation style.

While Legend of Korra had used a mixture of hand-drawn and digital animation, Seven Havens looks different, with creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko previously explaining it was influenced by artist Jean Giraud and Japanese anime of the 1990s.

Opinions are divided, with some saying the show “already looks better than Korra ever did”, while some have been left unhappy with the change in art style.

And if Avatar: Seven Havens wasn’t enough, a new movie following the original Team Avatar is set to release on 25 July, called Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender.

The trailer was released earlier this year, and fans were left ecstatic as it seemed to confirm that loveable rogue Prince Zuko was, like Korra, bisexual.

Avatar: Seven Havens premiered on Paramount+ on 9 October.

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The post Avatar fans rush to defend bisexual icon Korra as trailer released for Seven Havens appeared first on PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news.

The exchange unfolded on Threads, where Woah Vicky, real name Victoria Waldrip, posted: “You not gay it’s a demon that’s inside of you.”

Wilson, who goes by the handle “vivllainous”, replied: “Vicky the demons are calling me.”

The comeback is the latest in a long line of witty responses Wilson has fired back at people making homophobic or transphobic comments about her.

When Elon Musk previously posted that his “son” had been “killed by the woke mind virus“, Wilson responded by lip-syncing the RuPaul’s Drag Race line: “I look pretty good for a dead b****.”

She later turned one of his anti-trans phrases into a merchandise line raising money for LGBTQ+ youth charity The Trevor Project.

Wilson came out as transgender at 16 and legally changed her name and gender in 2022, taking the surname of her mother, Justine Wilson. She has said she “no longer wishes to be related to” Musk “in any way, shape or form”, after years of him publicly deadnaming and misgendering her.

She has previously spoken about the importance of pushing back against the framing of queer people as something sinister.

“As queer people, we’re always screaming into this void that we’re not these demons you think we are,” she told Out earlier this year. “It’s exhausting, but it’s incredibly important to lift up the queer community. We can’t stop screaming.”

Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.

The post Vivian Wilson claps back at influencer’s ‘demon’ jibe: ‘They’re calling me’ appeared first on PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news.