The Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRCF) launched the sixth annual HRC Equidad MX: Programa Global de Equidad Laboral—a survey evaluating LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion within major Mexican businesses and multinationals, a press release announced. This year, 252 employers earned top ratings in the 2023 HRC Equidad MX report, and total participants have increased to 298 from last year's total of 262. The HRC Equidad MX program is modeled after HRC's Corporate Equality Index, which measures LGBTQ+ workplace equality in the U.S. The report is at https://www.hrc.org/resources/hrc-equidad-mx-global-workplace-equality-program.
Queer actress Kristen Stewart has been selected as president of the international jury at next year's Berlin International Film Festival, Variety noted. Stewart—who shot to fame in films such as Twilight—is known for her body of acting work, including recently her portrayal of Princess Diana in Spencer, for which she was nominated for an Oscar. She is set to make her feature-length directorial debut with The Chronology of Water, a film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Lidia Yuknavitch. Stewart is also currently working on a paranormal reality series about LGBTQ+ ghost hunters for which she recently issued an open casting call; see https://ghost.castingcrane.com/age-gate.
British superstar Elton John has reportedly had enough of Twitter following a recent change in policy, becoming yet another celebrity to stop using the platform, according to PinkNews. The singer-songwriter tweeted, outlining his decision to stop using the social media site following its acquisition by Elon Musk. "All my life, I've tried to use music to bring people together," John wrote. "Yet it saddens me to see how misinformation is now being used to divide our world."
Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu struck a coalition deal with a far-right leader known for his homophobic rhetoric and disparaging remarks about non-Orthodox Jews, The Guardian reported. Netanyahu's Likud party announced the agreement named Avi Maoz, the leader of the ultra-nationalist Noam party, as a deputy minister. Maoz, a Jewish fundamentalist and West Bank settler, is an outspoken opponent of LGBTQ+ rights and women serving in the military, and has opposed Arabs teaching Jewish students in Israeli schools.
A South African lesbian couple are suing Craig Marks, a Cape Town jeweler, after he refused to make an engagement ring because it was for two women, WorldCrunch noted. Candice van Eck told Mamba that after she decided to propose to her partner, she ordered engagement rings from the jeweler's website. But as soon as the owner discovered the order was for a lesbian couple, he immediately stopped responding to messages.
Pro tennis athlete Fabien Reboul—who is currently the doubles world number 54 player (a career high)—posted a photo of himself kissing fellow French player Maxence Broville, Out noted. On top of the image, the Association of Tennis Professionals player who played at Wimbledon for the first time this July wrote "I did not fall in love with you, your love pushed me to it." Neither player has posted anything about the photos to confirm a relationship. If they did, they would be the ATP's first gay couple.
Gay Australian sports climber Campbell Harrison may get a place on his country's 2024 Olympic team after winning two titles at Australia's national championships, Queerty noted, citing Outsports. "I definitely have big dreams to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics," he told the publication. "Competing as a queer athlete, I always hope that I can show other young queer climbers that being gay doesn't have to be a barrier to participation in sport."
Author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie once again aired her views on the lives of trans people, generating criticism, PinkNews noted. Adichie has drawn widespread criticism from trans advocates since 2017 for seeming to embrace damaging rhetoric championed by gender-critical voices and for dismissing critics. She doubled down recently, asking "So somebody who looks like my brother—he says, 'I'm a woman' and walks into the women's bathroom, and a woman goes, 'You're not supposed to be here,' and she's transphobic?" She also spoke about "this whole trans thing," referring to her run-ins with the trans+ community and allies.
LGBTIQ+ Nigerians have moved to stop popular Nigerian comedian AY—known for his homophobic routines and support for laws cracking down on queer people—from entering the UK for his comedy tour, No Strings noted. The petition was started by the openly gay, British-Nigerian Reverend Jide Rebirth Macaulay. At one of his shows in 2018, AY publicly mocked effeminate gay men and told attendees that homosexuality is a sin and that LGBTIQ+ people have no rights.
In an Instagram video, singer Celine Dion said she's been diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder called stiff person syndrome, the Chicago Sun-Times noted. Dion added that the diagnosis means the Europe portion of her tour won't be able to restart in February. The shows scheduled for the spring have been postponed to 2024, while the shows she had scheduled for the summer have been canceled. Stiff Person Syndrome, or SPS, is a disease that causes "progressive muscle stiffness and painful spasms" that are triggered by environmental factors such as "sudden movement, cold temperature or unexpected loud noises," according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Australian director Andrew Dominik addressed the backlash against Blonde, his Marilyn Monroe biopic for Netflix that stars Ana de Armas in the title role, The Hollywood Reporter noted. Speaking at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia, the director said that the U.S. audiences had the strongest adverse reaction to the film—"they hated the movie!"—and claimed that when it came to iconic Americans such as Monroe, they only wanted to see a celebration. The festival ends Dec. 15.
