The hidden history of Quebec lesbians is being explored, the CBC reported. Between 1985 and 1996, a group of lesbians leased the Plateau-Mont-Royal school and ran it as a community center. The school was also home to the Lesbian Archives of Quebec, which documents the history of lesbian life in the province. The lesbian archives got their start at La Kahena restaurant in 1983, when the women running it started collecting documents; they later moved to the Gilford School. Last spring, the archives moved to the Cite-des-Hospitalieres monastery near Jeanne-Mance Park.
Research showed that almost a fifth of women in Scotland have experienced online violence—but only 4 percent would report it to police, the Morning Star reported. The Open University study—the largest ever into online abuse of women and girls in Britain—found that 17 percent of women in Scotland had experienced violence online, ranging from trolling to threats and unwanted sexual remarks. The number increased even more for younger women (16-24), 27 percent of whom had this experience, and rising further to a staggering 45 percent for LGBT women.
At the 10th Rugby World Cup in Paris, the French Rugby Federation (FFR) selected gay player Cyril Leroy to be the game's official ball-carrier for the opener between France and New Zealand, Outsports noted. The honor was in recognition of him being the founder of Les Gaillards—the country's first gay rugby team—and his longtime commitment to promoting inclusion and fighting homophobia. TV viewers will also see Leroy during commercial breaks throughout the tourney, with sponsor Land Rover Defender featuring him in a "Trailblazers" ad spot. France won the match 27-13; the World Cup will run through Oct. 28.
Activists criticized the European Union (EU) for missing a "critical opportunity" to take action over Uganda's harsh anti-LGBTQ+ law that was enacted in May, PinkNews reported. The European Commission—part of the executive of the EU—confirmed that it wouldn't suspend humanitarian aid to the African nation despite passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Jutta Urpilainen, the European commissioner for international partnerships, raised concerns that withholding financial assistance from Uganda because of this legislation would "deprive the most vulnerable populations, including LGBTIQ persons, from vital support."
In the UK, a teacher who has faced years of discrimination for being Black, gay and HIV-positive has spoken about his traumatic experiences—from being turned away by the church to thinking he was a "diseased, filthy, incapable vagabond," according to Ireland Live. Joshua Royal, 32, from Oxfordshire, recalled being called the N-word for the first time at ballet school in London before having his face punched into a wall when he was just 12. Now two years sober, he is looking to buy a house and start a family with his partner, Andrew Donnell, and is hoping that his experiences will help inspire others to fight against discrimination.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) announced its recognition of National Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month month throughout September, with World Suicide Prevention Day falling on Sept. 10, per a press release. "We are living in a state of emergency and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric has real-life consequences beyond discriminatory laws and policies," said HRC President Kelley Robinson. "To be clear, LGBTQ+ people are not inherently more prone to suicide. But because of discrimination and stigma, our community's risk is much higher than non-LGBTQ people."
Out Spanish director Pedro Almodovar and LGBTQ+ U.S. actor Colman Domingo were among those honored at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), per The Hollywood Reporter. Almodovar received the Jeff Skoll Award in Impact Media, and was at the fest with Strange Way of Life—the gay narrative short he directed that stars Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke. Domingo—the star of fest films Rustin (for which he has garnered best actor Oscar buzz) and Sing Sing—received a Tribute Performer Award from Clement Virgo, who directed him in the upcoming Netflix limited series The Madness.
Also at TIFF, a bomb threat delayed the world premiere of the Lil Nas X documentary Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero, The Advocate noted, citing Variety. As Lil Nas X arrived, he was held in place for 20 minutes while officials informed the film's team of the threat. A source claimed the threat targeted the rapper for being a Black queer artist; however, TIFF officials told Variety and other outlets on record that the threat wasn't directed at the artist.
Additionally at TIFF, Elliot Page returned to the festival for his latest film, Close to You—his first leading-man role since coming out as transgender in 2020, Yahoo! noted. The movie's director, Dominic Savage, confirmed that the movie is very much rooted in Page's own journey. After the screening, the actor took the stage and called the film, "one of the most incredible experiences of my career." (As an independent production, Close to You qualified for an interim agreement with the striking SAG-AFTRA, which allowed Page to attend the festival.)
Another school district on Vancouver Island has cut ties with a Christian summer camp after a 16-year-old spoke out against the organization's staff agreement, which bans "homosexual behavior" and calls it a "sexual sin," the CBC reported. Cowichan Valley is the third school district that will stop sending students to Camp Qwanoes, in Crofton, following the Nanaimo-Ladysmith and Sooke school districts.
Uganda's National Drug Authority admitted it knew HIV medicine was being used to fatten animals in 2014—but did not warn the public, the BBC noted. The regulator's senior drugs inspector, Amos Atumanya, told parliament it became aware anti-retrovirals were being given to pigs and chickens to treat them. A recent report by Makerere University found that more than a third of chicken and 50% of pork it tested contained traces of anti-retroviral drugs. About 1.4 million people in Uganda are living with HIV/AIDS.
The LGBTQ+ film short An Avocado Pit has qualified to be considered for a 2024 Academy Award, per a press release. Written and directed by Lisbon-based trans activist Ary Zara, the movie "follows the meeting of trans woman Larissa and cis man Claudio with wit and sensitivity. We follow these two worlds colliding in a heartwarming story free from violence but rather filled with light and hope," the release stated. An Avocado Pit—which stars Portuguese actor Ivo Canelas and trans actress Gaya de Medeiros—has already won the Oscar-qualifying awards at Outfest and the Guadalajara International Film Festival (2023), and the Grand Jury Special Mention for Best Lead Acting at the AFI Festival (2022), among other honors.
UFC fighters Charles Radtke and Manel Kape apologized to fans after using homophobic slurs following their match wins in Sydney, per PinkNews. "F**k all you f****ts up in the f**king crowd," Radtke initially told the booing crowd after defeating Mike "Blood Diamond" Mathetha. "Come down here and get some you p***y-a** b***h. F**k you." UFC President Dana White didn't indicate that the fighters would face any repercussions for using the slurs, the BBC reported.
A customer of a Walmart in Montreal filed a discrimination complaint with the Quebec Human Rights Commission, calling on the retailer to ensure trans shoppers can use the bathroom they feel most comfortable in, according to CTV News. Seth Day (he/they) said he was publicly berated by an employee at a Walmart after he used the store's washroom. Shortly after Day emerged and resumed shopping, an employee allegedly confronted him and asked to tell him his sex. "For me, that means that I don't identify as a man or woman, sort of somewhere in between. And in terms of expression, I have a beard, but I also dress very feminine," Day explained.
ITV will be the new home of the Oscars ceremony in the United Kingdom as part of a new multi-year deal with Disney Entertainment, Variety revealed. The ceremony was previously hosted on Comcast's pay-TV operator Sky (which relinquished its rights to the event this year) for 20 years; Sky got the rights to the broadcast back from the BBC in 2004.
There was outrage after a leading Polish TV talent show featured celebrity contestants in blackface, impersonating Kendrick Lamar and Beyonce, per The Guardian. Singer Kuba Szmajkowski won the second episode of the 19th series of Twoja Twarz Brzmi Znajomo after performing Lamar's track Humble in blackface, fake cornrows and a fake beard; he also used the N-word, which went uncensored on the broadcast. In 2021, the Czech iteration of the show banned its contestants from using blackface.
The musical adaptation of The Devil Wears Prada will open in London's West End in October 2024, per Playbill. The musical is set to play in the Dominion Theatre with a score by Elton John, lyrics by Shaina Taub, a book by Kate Wetherhead, and direction and choreography by Tony winner Jerry Mitchell. The Devil Wears Prada had its world premiere at Chicago's Nederlander Theatre during summer 2022.
Johnny and Associates—the high-profile Japanese talent agency whose deceased founder and longtime president, Johnny Kitagawa, has been revealed as a serial sexual abuser—will structure a victim-compensation fund, Variety noted. A recent report found that the abuse of boys and young men supposedly under the agency's care went on for more than two decades and may have affected more than 100 clients.
Alexander McQueen's creative director, Sarah Burton—who designed Kate Middleton's royal wedding dress—is leaving the British label after her final Paris Fashion Week show later this month, Page Six noted. Burton worked alongside McQueen for more than a decade before his February 2010 death and was appointed director of the label that spring, less than a year before she designed Middleton's iconic wedding gown.
