For more than four decades, Outfest has been telling LGBTQ+ stories through the thousands of films screened during its annual Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ+ Film Festival—but that event may have a different look this year because of financial troubles, per the Los Angeles Daily News. The LA-based nonprofit went through a financial disaster last year that resulted in the pause of all Outfest programming and the subsequent layoff of the approximately 20-person staff. However, the LGBTQ+ film festival could still come back this year—although in a much different and, more than likely, smaller version. Interim Executive Director (and sole employee) Christopher Racster said it's possible a revamped film festival may take place in late summer or early fall.
The Latine theatrical community wants one of the current Broadway theaters renamed for three-time Tony honoree Chita Rivera, who passed away Jan. 30 at the age of 91, according to Playbill. Eric Ulloa, who made his Broadway debut in On Your Feet!, launched the campaign on Instagram shortly after Rivera's passing, and there is now an online petition. During the pandemic, the major theatre owners made a pledge to rename some of the Main Stem's 41 houses to add representation for BIPOC artists. The Shuberts renamed the Cort Theatre the James Earl Jones in September 2022, while the Nederlanders renamed the Brooks Atkinson after Lena Horne in November 2022. The petition, "Rename a Broadway Theater for the legendary Chita Rivera," is at Change.org .
Several out LGBTQ+ athletes did well at the ISU Figure Skating World Championships, per Outsports. Out Canadian skater Paul Poirier, along with ice dance partner Piper Gilles, scored a silver medal at worlds while U.S. figure skating champion Amber Glenn, who's bisexual, recorded a 10th-place finish in the women's singles competition—and landed only the second triple axel by a woman at the event. In addition, Illinois native Jason Brown placed fifth in the men's singles competition. U.S. teen figure skater Ilia Malinin won the world championships in the men's division, landing a quad axel (the most difficult jump) to the theme from the TV series Succession; Japanese competitor Kaori Sakamoto won the women's singles title while U.S. skater Isabeau Levito won the silver medal.
Billie Eilish, Billy Porter, Nicki Minaj, Stevie Wonder, Brothers Osborne, Pearl Jam, Kacey Musgraves, Sam Smith, Greta Van Fleet, Imagine Dragons and more than 200 other artists joined the Artist Rights Alliance non-profit in issuing an open letter calling on "AI developers, technology companies, platforms and digital music services to [stop using] artificial intelligence (AI) to infringe upon and devalue the rights of human artists," Variety noted. In part, the letter stated, "Make no mistake: we believe that, when used responsibly, AI has enormous potential to advance human creativity and in a manner that enables the development and growth of new and exciting experiences for music fans everywhere. Unfortunately, some platforms and developers are employing AI to sabotage creativity and undermine artists, songwriters, musicians and rightsholders."
LGBTQ+ Tony-winning playwright Christopher Durang has died at age 75, TheaterMania noted. Durang was diagnosed with a form of dementia, called logopenic primary progressive aphasia, in 2016. Considered a master of black comedy and satire, Durang shot to fame with 1979's Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You, which earned him an Obie; he also was behind iconic titles like Beyond Therapy, The Actor's Nightmare, The Marriage of Bette and Boo, and Laughing Wild. He was a Pulitzer finalist for Miss Witherspoon. "I have always felt irrationally at home in Chris' world," Durang's frequent collaborator, actor Sigourney Weaver, told TheaterMania in 2012 upon the off-Broadway premiere of Durang's Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, which earned him the Tony. Durang's only immediate survivor is his husband, John Augustine.
On Sept. 3, Missouri-based queer poet Cass Donish will release the collection Your Dazzling Death, on Knopf, according to a press release. The release stated, "Written in the aftermath of partner Kelly Caldwell's suicide, Donish's collection memorializes a brilliant woman, and bears witness to their own state of 'obliteration,' widowed and isolated as a global pandemic is unfolding." Among Donish's published works is the poetry collection The Year of the Femme, which won the Iowa Poetry Prize.
GLAAD announced an addition to the newest GLAAD Media Awards: "Queer Fan Favorite," which invites the GLAAD community to vote on their favorite TV series or film from a list of contenders from the past year, per a press release. Fans also have the option to "write in" a project if one of their favorites is not reflected in the list of 10. The nominees include 9-1-1: Lone Star; All of Us Strangers; Bottoms; Grey's Anatomy; Harlem; Heartstopper; The Last of Us; Red, White, & Royal Blue; Station 19; and What We Do in the Shadows. People can vote until April 17 at glaad.org/mediaawards/35/fan-favorite/ .
LGBTQ+ musician Orville Peck unveiled his upcoming North American Stampede headlining tour and revealed that his new single with Willie Nelson, "Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other," arrived on April 5, per a press release. This news follows the announcement of the acclaimed artist's signing to Warner Records. The tour—which includes rescheduled dates from his summer 2023 tour—will kick off in Asheville, North Carolina, on May 28, continuing on to Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Phoenix and more cities before wrapping up in Brooklyn on Oct.19-20.
Doctor Who co-star RuPaul's Drag Race's only two-time winner Jinkx Monsoon revealed that she's changed her personal name as she continues on her gender journey, according to PinkNews. She said that her "chosen name" is now Hera Hoffer, but assured fans that she would always publicly be known as Jinkx Monsoon. The revelation came a few weeks after she shared that she had undergone facial feminization surgery—a procedure that some trans and non-binary people undertake to change the shape of their face in order to make it appear more feminine.
And speaking of Monsoon/Hoffer, she will headline the 2024 Portland Pride Waterfront Festival and Parade, per KOIN. Monsoon began her drag career in venues like the Escape Night Club, an all-ages LGBTQ+ venue in Portland that closed at the end of 2016. In 2023, they made their debut as Mama Morton in Chicago— becoming the first drag queen featured in a Broadway musical.The festival—with the theme of "Feast and Love" —will take place July 20-21.
Lost Angel: The Genius of Judee Sill will be in theaters as well as on Prime Video and Apple TV+ on April 12, a press release noted. David Geffen, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Graham Nash, JD Souther, Shawn Colvin and Fleet Foxes are among the musicians in the documentary about Sill, who, in just two years, went from living in a car to appearing on the cover of Rolling Stone; unfortunately, she battled addiction and died in 1979 (at age 35) of an overdose. (No obit was published after she died until The New York Times ran one in 2020.) Media outlets also noted that Sill was openly bisexual.
The 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards took place April 1 in Los Angeles, with SZA winning multiple trophies, including the final prize of the night: song of the year for "Kill Bill," per Billboard. Jelly Roll won for both pop and country new artist of the year, while Ice Spice was named hip-hop's new artist of the year. Taylor Swift was named artist of the year while Beyonce received the Innovator Award (with Stevie Wonder—who played harmonica on her new version of the Dolly Parton classic "Jolene"—presenting the honor to her). Beyonce called for acceptance, asking everyone to open their ears to enjoying art "with no preconceived notions," according to People. In addition, Cher received the Icon Award, reflecting on "so many times" in her career when she felt she was "down and out," but she said she "never gave up" on her dream, per USA Today.
SiriusXM created a Taylor Swift-only channel on March 31—13 days ahead of the release of her 11th era album, The Tortured Poets Department, per USA Today. Dubbed Channel 13 (Taylor's Version), the 24/7 station will be available through May 6. The goal is to showcase Swift's discography leading up to the album's release and then play "Tortured Poets" repeatedly after it comes out.
After canceling seven dates of her first North American tour in five years amid weak ticket sales, Jennifer Lopez has renamed it, changing it from "This Is Me… Now" to "This Is Me… Live | The Greatest Hits," per Variety. Upon release in February, This Is Me… Now struggled to find an audience, selling 14,000 copies in its first week. While the album debuted atop the Billboard Top Album Sales Chart due to 11,000 in physical sales, it arrived at No. 38 on the Billboard 200, becoming the second of her nine studio albums to debut outside the top 10.
In Variety, out Oscar-nominated actor Colman Domingo (Rustin) paid tribute to the late Oscar-winning actor Louis Gossett Jr. In part, Domingo stated of his The Color Purple co-star, "When he wrapped, I kissed his hands twice. I asked Fantasia to sing a song of thank you. He told us, 'Knock 'em dead, now.' He had tears in his eyes. I couldn't thank him enough for all that he had given. He ran his race for us. It is up to us to 'Knock 'em dead, now.'" Gossett (An Officer and a Gentleman; the original Roots miniseries) died on March 29 at age 87.
Spoiler alert: The ABC show The Good Doctor saw a major character getting killed off in its seventh and final season, Deadline noted. At the end of the episode that aired April 2, Noah Galvin's Dr. Asher Wolke suffered an antisemitic attack that ended his life. The moment was juxtaposed with Asher's boyfriend, Jerome (Giacomo Baessato), waiting for him at a restaurant nearby to propose to him as a surprise on their second anniversary. A title card at the end of the episode read, "If you or anyone you know has experienced antisemitism, racism, anti-LGBTQ+ related incidents or hate crimes, or if you want to learn more about what you can do to stop hate, please visit SPLCenter.org ."
Trans actress Hunter Schafer (Euphoria) said she no longer wants to play trans characters, per the BBC, citing GQ. Schafer said she felt she could go further as an actress by "not making it the centerpiece to what I'm doing," adding, "I worked so hard to get to where I am, past these really hard points in my transition, and now I just want to be a girl and finally move on." There has been a long-running debate in Hollywood about representation in casting, with many in the trans community arguing that trans characters should be played by actors who are trans in real life. Some actors have apologized or expressed regret for previously taking on trans roles; in 2021, Eddie Redmayne said of his casting in 2015's The Danish Girl: "I made that film with the best intentions, but I think it was a mistake."
The Scandal rewatch podcast Unpacking the Toolbox will return with new episodes on April 11, Variety noted. "Toolbox" is hosted by former Scandal co-stars and real-life friends Katie Lowes (who played Quinn) and the out actor Guillermo Diaz (who played Huck). Part of the iHeartPodcasts network, "Toolbox"—a reference to Huck's torture kit —was paused during the SAG-AFTRA strike, having covered the first two seasons of Shonda Rhimes' ABC drama, which ran during 2012-18.
Wils, the world's first openly gay Chinese pop singer, announced his retirement from music with his final single, "Dancing Lights," out April 12, per a press release. "My journey in music is complete," the singer-songwriter confirmed. "It has been a heartening 10-year ride that has taught me to live fearlessly as my authentic true self and I am ready to now follow the 'Dancing Lights' to [wherever] they lead me." Wils first gained fame with his 2014 album, WTF, which was named Best Pop Album of the Year at the Hollywood F.A.M.E Awards.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak supported J.K. Rowling after the Harry Potter author spoke out against Scotland's new hate crime act, daring the police to arrest her for misgendering trans women, Variety reported. The act includes an offense for "stirring up hatred" regarding age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and variations in sex characteristics. In a lengthy thread posted on X, Rowling listed 10 trans women—including India Willoughby, who, in March, reported Rowling to the police for alleged transphobia—who would be protected under the measure. "April Fools!" wrote Rowling. "Only kidding. Obviously, the people mentioned in the above tweets aren't women at all, but men, every last one of them." In backing her, Sunak said, "People should not be criminalized for stating simple facts on biology." Also, Scottish police have said Rowling's posts aren't criminal, Deadline noted.
NEON—in partnership with AMC, Regal, Marcus and Harkins theaters—offered tickets to the Sydney Sweeney horror movie Immaculate for $6.66 on April 3, per a press release. Immaculate had its world premiere at SXSW and opened in 2,000 venues on March 22; it has grossed more than $11 million so far. Sweeney produced and stars in the movie, marking a reunion with her and Michael Mohan, who directed the 2021 film The Voyeurs with the Euphoria actress.
Former The View co-host Meghan McCain slammed news from Deadline that the musical comedy Ghost of John McCain will debut at the Soho Playhouse this fall. "This is trash," McCain posted on X/Twitter, adding, ""nothing more than a gross cash grab by mediocre desperate people…I hope it bombs." The musical—written by Scott Elmegreen and Drew Fornarola and produced by a team that includes political strategist Jason Rose and John McCain's longtime campaign consultant Max Fose—begins performances at New York's Soho Playhouse on Labor Day Weekend. The production will run through November 5—Election Day.
Journalist/author Toure accused Sean "Diddy" Combs of rescinding an internship from his younger male cousin after the intern declined Combs' alleged sexual advance to "stay the night" with him, Vibe reported. On Joy Reid's The ReidOut, Toure said his cousin mysteriously stopped working with Combs a few months after with no explanation—but eventually admitted that Combs gave the cousin an ultimatum to spend the night with him or have his internship terminated. Combs has been hit with several lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault and other allegations, including drug-fueled sexual romps and human trafficking. On March 25, the Department of Homeland Security raided two of Combs' homes; however, the mogul has not been arrested or charged with a crime, and maintains his innocence.
And speaking of Combs, son Christian Combs is also accused of assault, Vibe noted. The yet-to-be-filed suit accused the younger Combs of sexually assaulting and drugging a woman. The identity of Combs' alleged victim has yet to be revealed and details surrounding the reported lawsuit are sparse. The younger Combs is a rapper who performs under the name King Combs.
Tori Spelling (best known for her role on the original Beverly Hills, 90210) shared a vulnerable moment on the debut episode of her podcast, misSPELLING, per CNN. Spelling, who filed for divorce from Dean McDermott on March 29, started the episode by admitting she had not yet told him she'd filed the paperwork. At the time of the episode's recording, it had just become "public," she said.
