THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

On Thursday, Aug. 19 (World Humanitarian Day), LGBTQ+ streaming service Revry will show the feature film Moving Stories, a press release noted. The movie is about diverse dancers from the Battery Dance Company who travel the world, working with youth who have experienced war, poverty, prejudice, sexual exploitation and severe trauma as refugees. As the youths prepare to perform in public, students and teachers experience transformations, unlocking feelings and stories of creativity.

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga will join forces for a pair of shows at Radio City Music Hall in August that are being billed as their final appearances together, Variety reported. The "One Last Time: An Evening With Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga" shows will take place Aug. 3 and 5; all ticketholders will be required to show proof of COVID vaccination. The first of the two nights will be Bennett's 95th birthday.

Showtime has signed The L Word: Generation Q showrunner, executive producer, director and writer Marja-Lewis Ryan to an overall deal through which she will develop television projects exclusively for the network, a press release noted. Ryan made her feature directorial debut with 6 Balloons, starring Abbi Jacobson and Dave Franco, which premiered at SXSW and for which she was nominated for the 2018 SXSW Gamechanger Award. She's producing an untitled dance series alongside executive producers Sandra Bullock, John Legend and Akiva Goldsman; and she is writing a remake of the iconic 1984 film Splash, set to star Channing Tatum and Jillian Bell.

Also, Showtime announced that Emmy and SAG Award nominee Shailene Woodley (Big Little Lies) will star in the original series Three Women, based on the r nonfiction best-seller by Lisa Taddeo, who is also a writer on the series, a press release noted. In the project, described as a "intimate, haunting portrayal of American female desire," three women are on a crash course to radically overturn their lives; Gia (played by Woodley), a writer grieving the loss of her family, persuades these women to tell her their stories.

LGBT sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson—suspended over a failed drug test (for THC) after establishing herself as one of the fastest women on the planet—is the centerpiece of a new Beats Studio Buds ad soundtracked with "No Child Left Behind," a new song from Kanye West, Yahoo! Sports noted. The ad appeared during Game 6 of the NBA Finals, and features Richardson preparing to launch out of the blocks. Sports-marketing experts noted that Richardson is a dynamic figure even without the medal, and could turn the setback into an opportunity.

The DiscOasis—a music-driven interactive theatrical experience that invited guests into a fantastical garden of pure rhythm and celebration—took place at the South Coast Botanic Garden in Palos Verdes Estates, California, on July 21, per a press release. Musician/producer Nile Rodgers, DJ Cassidy, and co-hosts Jimmy Iovine and Liberty Ross were featured. Special guests included Adam Lambert, Dita von Teese, Fortune Feimster, Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman, Jeremy Scott, Bruce Bozzi, Will.I.Am, Tess Holliday and more.

Lil Nas X released the new single "Industry Baby" on July 23, Pitchfork noted. Jack Harlow features on the track, co-produced by Take A Daytrip and Kanye West. The "Industry Baby" announcement video fictionalizes a trial regarding Lil Nas X's "Satan Shoes," a limited-edition collaboration that the musician made with the New York—based art collective MSCHF. The Satan shoes were inspired by Lil Nas X's "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" music video, in which Lil Nas X gives a lap dance to Satan. The "Industry Baby" video features everything from group shower dancing to inmates being clad in pink.

Texas-based queer-conscious rapper Chris Conde dropped the single "Summertime Heat," a collaboration with Grammy-nominated Corpus Christi electro-cumbia king El Dusty, per a press release. While the song is a fun party jam about Conde's "love for all things Tex-Mex, like spending summers in the Rio Grande Valley with my cousins, eating raspas and my tia's [aunt's] awesome food," the rapper explained, "it's also about being LGBTQIA+ and Mexican American—something that has its own set of challenges, having grown up with a very [macho] culture that doesn't support being queer."

Actor Tommy Dorfman officially came out as a transgender woman in a Time interview after documenting her transition on Instagram for more than a year, according to LGBTQ Nation. Dorfman rose to stardom portraying Ryan Shaver in the hit Netflix series 13 Reasons Why. Dorfman said she will keep the same name to honor her namesake, "an uncle who held me as he was dying." She will no longer play male roles. In a press release, GLAAD Head of Talent Anthony Allen Ramos said, "Tommy Dorfman sharing that she's a transgender woman will inspire so many trans young people and also reminds us that when it comes to queer identity there is not a specific timeline or roadmap to follow."

Global drag personalities and RuPaul's Drag Race stars BenDeLaCreme and Jinkx Monsoon are taking the stage once again in "The Return of The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show, LIVE!" across the United States, United Kingdom and Canada on Nov. 13-Dec. 30, per a press release. (The Chicago stop is Dec. 9 at Thalia Hall.) Recently, Monsoon and DeLa have been part of the holiday season with their sold-out holiday tours (To Jesus, Thanks for Everything in 2018 and All I Want for Christmas Is Attention in 2019).

In a series of now-deleted tweets, singer and new mother Halsey called out Allure Magazine for misgendering them and publishing quotes that they said were out of context in the singer's new cover story, out.com noted. "First your writer made a focal point in my cover story my pronouns and you guys deliberately disrespected them by not using them in the article," they initially tweeted, in part. Halsey uses she/they pronouns and, usually, when someone says they use multiple pronouns, that means they want to be referred to by both of them.

In a momentous move designed to shake up the movie awards season, Film Independent's 2022 Independent Spirit Awards is moving from its longtime traditional day before the Academy Awards to a much earlier slot, on Sunday, March 6, Deadline reported. The 94th Academy Awards is set for three weeks later, on March 27. The correlation between the Best Film winner at the Spirits and the Best Picture Oscar has been growing closer in the past decade, with six Spirit winners—The Artist, 12 Years a Slave, Birdman, Spotlight, Moonlight and Nomadland—matching the Academy's choices.

Eva Reign will star in What If?, which will be Emmy winner Billy Porter's directorial debut, out.com reported. What If? is a coming-of-age romance film about Kelsa, a trans high school senior, and Khal, a cis student at her school who has a crush on her. When he posts online about his crush, the internet encourages him to go for it, and the movie follows their relationship. Originally, the film was supposed to star 17-year-old British newcomer Yasmin Finney; however, because of the pandemic, she was unable to secure a work visa in time.

After originally planning to reopen at a pace of one show per month starting in July, Cirque du Soleil has accelerated its schedule, the Honolulu Star Advertiser noted. Both Mystere, at Treasure Island; and O, at Bellagio, are already performing. Michael Jackson: One will resume Aug. 19 at Mandalay Bay and Love is scheduled to return to the Mirage about then as well, although a date hasn't been announced. KA, at MGM Grand, is expected to be the last to reopen sometime in October. The only Cirque show that won't return is Zumanity, which played at New York-New York.

Actress Victoria Cartagena has officially been cast in the role of lesbian crimefighter Renee Montoya for the upcoming third season of the CW hit show Batwoman, out.com noted. Deadline described Montoya as "righteous and pragmatic, and LGBTQ+. She's a woman with a very personal [and mysterious] mission to help clean the streets of Gotham in the right way, by whatever means necessary." Cartagena also played Montoya on Fox's Gotham, where she was a police officer.

And on a related note, Leslie Grace has been tapped to play Barbara Gordon in Warner Bros snd DC Films' Batgirl, Deadline noted. The studio was already super-high on the rising Afro-Latina star following her breakout role in In the Heights, and sources say her audition sealed the deal as the choice.

HBO Max gave an eight-episode order to the rock-climbing competition series The Climb with Jason Momoa, through his production company On the Roam; rock climber Chris Sharma; and the series creators The Intellectual Property Corporation (IPC), an Industrial Media company, per a press release. In this all-encompassing competition, amateur climbers are put through a rigorous series of mental and physical challenges, utilizing the most intimidating ascents in the world to crown the world's best amateur climber.

Also regarding Momoa, he has joined his fellow cast and crew in London for the production of the film sequel Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Movieweb noted. Momoa, who has also been busy lately filming new episodes of See (a sci-fi series on Apple TV+ that co-stars Alfre Woodard and Dave Bautista), posted a video to his Instagram account announcing his presence on the Aquaman 2 set.

Legendary out musician Bob Mould along with his friend, actor, comedian and avid Mould fan Fred Armisen, share a video in which they open boxes of the different vinyl volumes of Mould's career retrospective box set Distortion, a press release noted. Armisen penned the introduction to Mould's massive 24-CD Distortion box that Demon released last fall. The vinyl volumes have been released periodically over the last year, with the fourth and final vinyl box— Distortion: Live—scheduled to be released by Demon on Aug. 6.

Rickie Lee Jones will be touring the States in 2021 and 2022, marking her first in-person performances following the release of her memoir, Last Chance Texaco, a press release noted. The tour includes headlining dates and major festival appearances at Trans-Pecos in Marfa, Texas, French Quarter Festival, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, 30A Songwriters Festival, and a reading at the Southern Festival of Books, in Nashville. Jones will also be supporting Brandi Carlile in Canandaigua, New York (July 24); and Bend, Oregon (Sept 4-5).

Tom Tom Club's classic album The Good, the Bad, and the Funky is making its debut on digital platforms, a press release noted. The album was originally released in 2000 only on CD and was the band's fifth and last full-length studio album. Known for hits such as "Genius Of Love" and "Wordy Rappinghood," Tom Tom Club was formed by Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads. Songs on "Funky" include "Happiness Can't Buy Money," "Lesbians by the Lake" and a reworking of the Donna Summer classic "Love to Love You Baby."

Grammy-winning multiplatinum artist Lorde has released new song "Stoned at the Nail Salon," per a Republic Records press release. The song is the second track from Lorde's third studio album, Solar Power, which will be released via Republic Records on Aug. 20. The album includes 12 tracks and is produced by Jack Antonoff, who she collaborated with on her chart-topping last album, Melodrama.

Actor Sean Penn issued an ultimatum on the set of the upcoming Starz Watergate series Gaslit: Either the entire cast and crew receive COVID-19 vaccines, or he's not returning to work, Variety reported. Although NBCUniversal, Gaslit's studio, imposed mandatory vaccines for "Zone A" cast and crew members (those in close proximity during production), and provided an on-site vaccination clinic for those involved with the production, Penn is putting his foot down.

Puppets from Broadway's Avenue Q and The Lion King are among more than 100 characters featured in the upcoming "Puppets of New York" exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York, opening Aug. 13, according to Playbill. Puppets of New York covers three themes: "The Stage," looking at puppetry in the theater industry from the Yiddish theatre of the 1920s through modern Broadway, such as Avenue Q and The Lion King; "The Set," featuring puppets from television, including Jim Henson's Muppets and Shari Lewis' Lamb Chop; and "The Street," about the puppetry of the city's community and streets.

VH1 is bringing back The Surreal Life, Deadline noted. The show ran for six seasons between 2003 and 2006, and will launch later this fall. The news came after Deadline revealed that MTV was bringing back Cribs alongside other reboots across ViacomCBS including The Real World, Behind the Music, Ink Master and Dating Naked. The series will feature Dennis Rodman, August Alsina, Stormy Daniels, Tamar Braxton, Frankie Muniz, Kim Coles, CJ Perry and Manny MUA living together and competing in a series of challenges.

Grammy-nominated multi-platinum pop superstar Jessie J has joined forces with Grammy-, Emmy- and Tony-winning Billy Porter to release "I Want Love (twocolors Remix)," via LAVA/Republic Records, per a press release. "I Want Love" features a remix from Berlin-based artist/producer/remix team twocolors. "I Want Love" sets the stage for Jessie J's fifth full-length album, coming later this year, that's co-written with and executive-produced by Grammy-winning mega-producer Ryan Tedder (Beyonce; Adele).

The Academy of Country Music (ACM) announced the return of its annual ACM Party for a Cause benefiting ACM Lifting Lives, debuting for the first time ever in Nashville, a press release noted. The event will feature live performances by Lee Brice, Brett Eldredge, Mickey Guyton, Sam Hunt and Old Dominion as well as special guests Tenille Townes, Trisha Yearwood and more to be announced; it will take place Tuesday, Aug. 24, at the Ascend Amphitheater in Nashville, preceding the 14th Annual Academy of Country Music Honors celebration on Wed, Aug. 25.

Country-music singer Morgan Wallen—who saw his album sales skyrocket after he was caught on video using a racial epithet in a loud conversation with friends—said he donated $500,000 of that sales spike money to the Black Music Action Coalition and other advocacy organizations, Deadline reported. In an exclusive interview with Good Morning America's Michael Strahan, Wallen, in his first major interview since the February incident, expressed remorse and contrition over his use of the N-word, and said his actions that night followed several days of heavy drinking.

Two of Fran Drescher's former co-stars on The Nanny have come out in support of her political rival, Matthew Modine, in the race to be the next president of SAG-AFTRA, Deadline reported. Charles Shaughnessy and Madeline Zima also are backing the Membership First slate of candidates headed by Modine and his running mate, Joely Fisher. A third former cast member, Renee Taylor, is backing Fisher in her race to become the union's next secretary-treasurer, but is remaining neutral in the presidential race. Election ballots will be mailed to members Aug. 3 and tabulated Sept. 2.

Production on FX's long-running anthology series American Horror Story has been shut down due to the COVID pandemic, Deadline reported. Season 10 of the series, American Horror Story: Double Feature, is set to launch Aug. 25. It sees returning cast members including Frances Conroy, Leslie Grossman, Billie Lourd, Sarah Paulson, Lily Rabe and Finn Wittrock, with new cast members including Macaulay Culkin, Neal McDonough and Kaia Gerber. The series is thought to feature two stories: one by the sea and one by the sand.

Dr. Alex Khadavi, a famous cosmetic dermatologist in L.A., allegedly went on a homophobic tirade about his neighbors, threatening to "blow their f***ing heads off"—and his rant was captured on security footage, per TMZ.com . The video, obtained by TMZ, is from Khadavi's condo complex in West Hollywood, and it shows him approaching the front desk concierge in a hostile manner while ranting about people who live in the building ... referring to them with the homophobic f-word. He goes on to say he'll shoot these people and later threatens to kill them. The July 7 incident resulted in one of Khadavi's neighbors—a gay man—filing for a restraining order against Khadavi for himself and his husband.

New York drag performer CT Hedden thinks the West Village Peruvian hot spot Baby Brasa is transphobic, Page Six noted. Hedden and former employees of Brasa are accusing the restaurant of transphobia and lack of pay. Hedden said that Brasa owner Milan Kelez hired him to do events for a planned pop-up at Soho House in Miami this summer—and then axed the gig out of fear he would populate the joint with too many trans people. The performer added that Soho House severed ties with Brasa and eventually pulled the plug on the pop-up event after hearing of Kelez's remarks.

Halloween Ends will most likely be the end of scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis's legendary run in the role of Laurie Strode, according to Movieweb. First debuting as the fan favorite horror character in the original Halloween, Curtis has been playing Laurie since 1978. Although she didn't go into detail, the actress suggested to Total Film Magazine that she'll be finally finished with the franchise after Halloween Ends comes out next year. Halloween Kills will be out later this year.

Paramount+ renewed The Good Fight for a sixth season, Deadline noted. The news arrived on the heels of show creators Robert and Michelle King's other series, Evil, being renewed for a third season at the streamer. Season 5 saw the departures of Lucca Quinn (Cush Jumbo) and Adrian Boseman (Delroy Lindo) as well as the ascension of Diane Lockhart (Christine Baranski) to partner—of an African American law firm—alongside Liz Reddick (Audra McDonald).

Willow Smith did something one doesn't see every day during a performance: have her head shaved while on stage, Today noted. The 20-year-old singer, the daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, sat down in a chair as someone shaved her head while she continued to play the guitar during the song "Whip My Hair." Willow recently released her new album "lately I feel EVERYTHING."

Usher has started his musical stay at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace—home to previous residencies by Celine Dion, Cher, Elton John, Mariah Carey and Rod Stewart, Billboard noted. During a segment devoted to his Atlanta roots, Usher donned skates along with his dancers and turned the massive Colosseum stage into a giant roller rink as he performed "Don't Waste My Time" (featuring Ella Mai). "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love," "OMG," "My Way," "Without You" and "Yeah" are also featured in the show. Usher—The Las Vegas Residency continues through Aug. 14.

Actor Timothy Hutton will not face legal ramifications from Canadian authorities for an alleged 1983 sexual assault after prosecutors decided to close the decades-old case on the Oscar winner, Deadline reported. Earlier this month, the Crown Counsel in British Columbia told the Vancouver Police Department that a "no charge" decision had been rendered in the claims by Sera Dale Johnston that Hutton raped her in 1983.

One day after being extradited to L.A. to face rape charges that could see him behind bars for up to 140 years if found guilty, Harvey Weinstein made his first court appearance in the West Coast case and entered a "not guilty" plea, according to Deadline. During the brief hearing, Weinstein's attorney, Mark Werksman, told Judge Sergio Tapia he would contest the 11 counts from L.A. DA George Gascón's office; additionally, the attorney said he wanted a new evaluation of his frequently ailing client's medical condition.

Rapper Kid Cudi took to Twitter to announce he had disabled comments on his most recent Instagram post—because some people criticized him for having painted fingernails, Complex noted. Cudi said he initially began blocking the critical people, but the negativity became so abundant he figured it would be much easier to simply to disable the comments. "I really need u to understand, if u don't like me doin this or anything I do, please dont buy my albums, dont come to my shows," he continued. "Fuck way off."

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills co-star Lisa Rinna revealed that she had a few wild nights when she was on the soap Days of Our Lives, including one-night stands with actor Patrick Muldoon—who played her brother on the show, Page Six noted. "Patrick Muldoon and I had like, a thing," she said on a podcast, going on to note that it was before she met now-husband Harry Hamlin. Rinna and Muldoon also appeared on the nighttime soap Melrose Place.