Out legend Melissa Etheridge will perform at the opening ceremonies for WorldPride 2014, happening June 20 in Toronto, according to OUT Traveler. Etheridge will sing her anthem "Uprising of Love," a song she wrote for LGBT Russians suffering through state-sanctioned discrimination and abuse. The rocker will be up front and center at Nathan Philips Square in central Toronto to perform "Uprising," a song that benefits the group Russia Freedom Fund.
Police in Guangzhou, China, raided a gay "club" in a rented apartment, Gay Star News reported. In the midnight crackdown, the authorities caught a total of 13 men, some of them naked. Police were first notified of the venue after residents nearby suspected the large number of strangers frequenting it were brothel patrons. The suspects were charged with group licentiousness.
European opera director Gerard Mortier has died at age 70, Out reported. Mortier was general director of the Paris opera from 2004 to 2009, and he headed the prestigious Salzburg festival from 1991 to 2001. His last venture was Brokeback Mountain, which he originally commissioned in 2008 for New York City Opera, when he was poised to become its director. ( The job fell through because the company was reportedly financially troubled. ) British critic Norman Lebrecht called Mortier "one of the most flamboyant, contentious and original opera personalities of modern times."
In England, 19-year-old art student Clayton Pettet still plans to lose his virginity in front of an audience at an art gallery, as part of a performance art piece, according to NewNowNext.com . The event will take place April 3 at the Orange Dot gallery in Bloomsbury, a London neighborhoodand it will involve a male partner, according to Pettet's website ( artschoolstolemyvirginity.tumblr.com ). Pettit has said, "Virginity is subjective because it has no physical attributes. First experiences are real, and what you determine to be your first experience."
Orange just became the first multinational company with operations in Uganda to pledge to defend its employees in response to the nation's new anti-gay law, according to a press release from All Out. Orange confirmed in a statement that it would provide legal and security assistance to any employee, including its LGBT workers in Uganda, in a situation of crisis. Orange also pulled its paid advertisements in the Ugandan tabloid Red Pepper, which recently listed the names, photos and locations of LGBT people in Uganda. All Out is now calling on other multinationals operating in Ugandasuch as Heineken, KLM and Coca-Colato follow suit.
On March 16, Singapore's first gay men's magazine, Element, presented the first-ever Asia Pink Awards, according to a press release. The award ceremony recognized businesses and individuals that have been actively campaigning for diversity and social acceptance of the LGBTQI community in the Asia region. Moovz ( moovz.com/ ), a social-networking site designed for the gay community, was the only online platform on which users can watch the broadcast live, and it has backstage coverage of the event as well.
Alice Nkom, a pro-gay lawyer from Cameroon, has spoken out about the treatment of gay people in her country, calling it an "anti-homosexuals apartheid," according to Gay Star News. She also compared the situation to that of slavery in the United States before it was abolished in the 19th century. Homosexuality is illegal in Cameroon and carries a maximum five-year prison sentence and a fine.
In Hong Kong, former J.P. Morgan investment banker Paul Ramscar created Pink Dollar, a smartphone app that combines fighting anti-gay sentiment with helpful lifestyle listings, according to SCMP.com . Pink Dollar was launched for iPhones in October 2012 and expanded into the Android market last December. An update has shown that it has grown from a simple list of gay-friendly businesses to an app that offers an extensive go-to guide for the LGBT community.
Twenty-five-year-old gay model Kenny Brain is making quite an impression on the Big Brother Canada TV show, according to Towleroad. Brain, who sports what some have called an "epic" beard, went the extra mile when housemates were ordered to compete by creating a "buzzworthy" photo: He stripped down to his underwear and poured oil all over himself while exercising.
Danny Silver is launching The Villages Group-Rainbow, which will be "the first gay active living community for over 50s in France," according to Opp-connect.com . He said, "These kinds of resorts are enormous in America, very big in Australiaand yet it's not being done here. The gay community is just not catered to in this part of the world. So I thought, well, I've got nothing to lose, let's go." Based in the Languedoc region of southwest France, the seven-hectare community is aiming to open by early 2015.
Out British talk-show host Graham Norton is publishing a memoir on the theme of love entitled The Life and Loves of a He-Devil, The Telegraph reported. A decade after his first autobiography, So Me, Norton will write about the people and places that have meant the most to him from his childhood to the present day. The presenter and comedian said the book would cover his love for "Dolly Parton and dogs to wine and Ireland."
Uganda's first lady, Janet Museveni, recently said if cows can't be gay, then humans can definitely not be gay, according to Gay Star News. She made the statement while congratulating the Church of Uganda's bishops for their recent work. Uganda recently made law the Anti-Homosexuality Act, punishing gay sex with up to life in prison.
In Canada, some Toronto District School Board trustees have issued a formal request asking if public-nudity laws will be enforced at this year's Pride parade, according to CBC.ca. Displays of gay pride and its occasional lack of clothing have recently become hot topics at Toronto City Hall. Trustee Sam Sotiropolous got into a Twitter battle last month with Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam over the legality of public nudity. Shortly after, Councillor Doug Fordaddressing Mayor Rob Ford's refusal to attend Prideremarked he does not condone "men running down the street buck naked" during the celebrations.
In a related matter, Doug Ford has said that Mayor Rob Ford, his brother, is not anti-gay, even though he won't be attending Toronto's week-long World Pride Festival this summer, CBC.ca noted. Doug said it's the mayor's prerogative not to attend the celebration of the LGBTQ community. "He's not homophobic. He has friends that are gay," said Ford of his brother. The councillor said he himself would not attend the Pride Parade because he objects to the nudity of participants.