On Oct. 30, the first openly gay governor of Brazil was re-elected in a runoff election, The Washington Blade noted. Rio Grande do Sul Gov. Eduardo Leite, a member of the centrist Brazilian Social Democracy Party, defeated right-wing Liberal Party candidate Onyx Lorenzoni—President Jair Bolsonaro's former chief of staff. (Bolsonaro also lost his election on the same day.) Lorenzoni actually defeated Leite in the election's first round on Oct. 2, but neither received at least 50 percent of the vote.
Tokyo has begun rolling out a partnership certificate plan for same-sex couples—allowing them to be treated as married couples for certain public services for the first time, but falling short of marriage equality, the BBC reported. Japan is currently the only country in the G7 group of developed nations that doesn't recognize same-sex unions. However, recent polling suggests most Japanese support same-sex marriage.
British actor Daniel Radcliffe (the Harry Potter series) doubled down on criticizing Harry Potter UK author J.K. Rowling for her anti-trans comments, Deadline noted. "The reason I was felt very, very much as though I needed to say something when I did was because, particularly since finishing Potter, I've met so many queer and trans kids and young people who had a huge amount of identification with Potter on that," Radcliffe told IndieWire. Rowling drew backlash for her anti-trans sentiment and Radcliffe penned an open letter that was shared by the Trevor Project website.
For the first time in Korean justice history, a court has granted refugee status to a person over LGBTQ+-related persecution, WorldCrunch noted. The suit had been filed by a trans woman from Malaysia who had fled her country after being arrested, fined and briefly detained in 2014 over her sexual identity. She had sought asylum in Korea in July 2017, but the Korean Immigration Service denied the application. After facing subsequent legal hurdles, the Seoul High Court recognized her record of arrest and punishment as persecution as defined in the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.
The Bishop of Oxford became the highest-ranking member of the Church of England to call for an end to a ban on same-sex marriage, PinkNews reported. In a 52-page essay, the Right Rev. Dr. Steven Croft allow for same-sex marriages and said that clergy should also be allowed to enter into their own same-sex marriages.The Church of England allows LGBTQ+ clergy members to be in relationships—but only if they remain celibate.
Qatari officials stopped a protest staged by British LGBTQ+-rights activist Peter Tatchell, the BBC reported. Tatchell said he was "arrested and detained on the kerbside" in Doha following his one-man protest challenging the country's treatment of LGBTQ+ people ahead of the World Cup. Qatar's government said authorities asked someone to move but claims of an arrest were "completely false."
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said that a constitutional amendment that his party will present to parliament will protect families from what he called "perverse trends," appearing to take aim at global same-sex marriage laws, Reuters reported. Erdogan's AK Party (AKP) is preparing to submit constitutional amendments that will also ensure civil rights for women wearing headscarves.
Malaysia's Islamic religious authorities questioned 18 people detained during a Halloween party attended by members of the LGBTQ+ community, Reuters reported. The arrests happened amid concern among human-rights groups and activists over the state's growing intolerance toward the LGBTQ+ community in Malaysia in recent years. Same-sex acts are illegal in Malaysia, although convictions are rare. "They (authorities) isolated the Muslim participants, and identified anyone that did not dress according to the gender that they thought them to be," activist Numan Afifi said.
Former Miss Argentina Mariana Varela and one-time Miss Puerto Rico Fabiola Valentín revealed that they secretly tied the knot, US Magazine noted. "After deciding to keep our relationship private, we opened the doors to them on a special day," the two pageant queens wrote in a joint Instagram post; the caption included the date of their intimate nuptials that took place Oct. 28. The newlyweds met in 2020 during the Miss Grand International competition. "Omg congratulations, MGI brought together a beautiful union," former Miss Grand International champion Abena Akuaba commented on the marriage announcement.
For the first time in RuPaul's Drag Race history (or herstory), RuPaul was absent from judging, Entertainment Weekly noted. Season four of RuPaul's Drag Race UK saw the host take a temporary leave of absence from the panel, getting her Emmy-winning makeup artist, RuPaul's Drag Race alum Raven, as well as the show's longtime judge Michelle Visage to fill in for her. Following the lip-sync battle, Visage grabbed her earpiece and told the cast that she needed to "talk to Ru" to determine this week's eliminated queen; ultimately, Pixie Polite was permitted to stay, and Dakota Schiffer lost.
Elton John unveiled his own world, "Elton John Presents: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road," on Roblox, a global online platform connecting millions of people through shared experiences, a press release noted. Created by John and Rocket Entertainment with Roblox creators and support from Universal Music Group (UMG), the virtual experience is live, offering fans a new way to enjoy his music. This unique experience will let fans follow the yellow brick road through an interactive world inspired by John's life and legacy; The experience includes John's iconic digital fashion and images of memorable moments, interactive challenges set to his greatest hit songs, scavenger hunts and trivia quizzes.
After releasing the posthumous track "Aparentemente Bien" in 2019, the Rivera Estate and Sony Music present "Mision Cumplida" to celebrate Jenni Rivera's legacy, according to a press release. Produced by Sergio Lizarraga and Pavel Ocampo, the single recounts Rivera's beginnings in the banda genre. The song is the latest discovery by her youngest son, Johnny Lopez, who, last April, found the audio reference track with his mother's voice. Rivera died in a 2012 plane accident.
