‘Sex and the City’ writer Candace Bushnell says there was a “piece missing” from the shows’ reboot without Kim Cattrall.

The author, 64, shared her excitement Kim, 66, will be reprising her role of sex-crazed publicist Samantha Jones in the second season of ‘SATC’ follow-up series ‘And Just Like That’, with the actress announcing last week she will be coming back for a cameo in the upcoming season.

Candace told Page Six: “When I heard the news I was happy and surprised. The fans love Kim and I think it will be great for the show.

“There was a piece missing. She was a major part of that girlfriend circle.”

Candace’s hit 1996 book ‘Sex and the City’ was the basis for HBO’s show of the same name in 1998, and the show marked its 25th anniversary on Tuesday. (06.06.23)

Kim had previously said she wouldn’t come back to the show’s ‘AJLT’ spin-off, with her last appearance in the franchise in the second ‘SATC’ feature film in 2010.

She is now set to appear in a cliff-hanger finale for the second season of ‘AJLT’.

Variety has reported she shot only one scene for the episode and filmed it in one day in March.

Kim starred as Samantha for six seasons on ‘SATC’ alongside Sarah Jessica Parker, 58, as Carrie Bradshaw, Cynthia Nixon, 57, as Miranda Hobbes and Kristin Davis, 58, as Charlotte York Goldenblatt.

Samantha was seen settling down in season 4 of the original series with artist character Maria Reyes, played by Sonia Braga, 73, revealing to her on-screen friends over dinner: “Yes ladies, I’m a lesbian.”

Her character was then written out of the show, but not killed off,

‘The Carrie Diaries’ writer Candace also said she believes the latest batch of episodes “will be a great season” after Kim’s return was announced.

She added: “I’m happy that Kim is going to go on there. I think it’s probably the greatest thing for the show.”

Evan Handler, 62, who plays Charlotte’s husband Harry Goldenblatt on the show, also called Kim’s comeback “great”.

He told People: “Apparently (her cameo) was shot in the garage somewhere with no contact with anybody, so the only place I have to welcome her is into my living room when it airs on television.”

Washington (AFP) – Pat Robertson, the soft-spoken televangelist who helped make America’s Christians a powerful political force while demonizing liberals, feminists and gays as sinners, died Thursday at the age of 93, his organization announced.

The longtime host of “The 700 Club” on his huge Christian Broadcasting Network and one-time presidential candidate died at his home in Virginia Beach, according to a network statement.

Robertson promoted “a worldview that believes in the inerrancy of the Bible,” CBN said.

“Today, his influence and legacy crisscross interests and industries that have broken barriers for countless Christian leaders and laypeople.”

Broadcasting “The 700 Club” daily since 1966, the avuncular Robertson promoted a literal belief in “end of times” prophecies of the Old Testament Book of Ezekiel that forecast the destruction of the world to become a Christian paradise.

In practice, he advocated for an extremely conservative Christianity focused on “traditional” families and a country founded on the Bible, rejecting the longstanding US principle of separation of church and state.

He defined the world as riven by an epochal fight between Islam and Christianity, and meanwhile spearheaded US Christian support for Israel as the land of the “chosen” Jewish people.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once called Robertson “a tremendous friend of Israel and a tremendous friend of mine.” 

But he also drew loathing from progressives with his condemnations of feminism and LQBTQ culture as destroying America.

His powerful support in 2016 for Donald Trump — arguably helping seal Trump’s presidential victory — further widened the cultural chasm dividing the country.

Marine, lawyer, minister

Robertson was born on March 22, 1930 in Lexington, Virginia, son of a conservative Democratic member of the US House of Representatives and then the Senate for 34 years.

After graduating from Virginia’s Washington and Lee University, in 1948 he joined the US Marines, serving in Korea.

He then graduated from Yale Law School, was ordained a Baptist minister, and in short order launched in 1961 what became the massive CBN empire from a small television station in Tidewater Virginia.

After CBN’s early financial struggles, he named “The 700 Club” for an early core of 70 supporters who pledged $10 each month.

The program mixed news, spiritual and lifestyle stories along with interviews of public figures, and became a hit especially in rural communities across the country.

That made it a mainstream stop for political candidates courting Christian voters: guests included Republican Ronald Reagan and Democrat Jimmy Carter.

Robertson expanded into other media business, launching what became the popular, conservative “Family Channel” on cable television, and the influential Christian-based Regent University in Virginia Beach.

Push into politics

In 1987, he launched the Christian Coalition, seeking to bring together different Christian denominations as a force for the conservative values he espoused. 

Ever since, the organization has been at the forefront of the US culture wars, pressuring Congress and the White House on moral and religious issues such as abortion and the separation of church and state.

In 1990, he launched the American Center for Law and Justice, a legal lobby to advance Christian religious rights against secularism in the courts. 

Robertson himself sought political office, running unsuccessfully in the Republican presidential primary in 1988.  

But what he built had a lasting impact: a conservative Christian voter bloc instrumental in bringing Trump to power and still exercising enormous influence over the Republican Party.

“He shattered the stained glass window,” TD Jakes, a Dallas pastor said in CBN’s statement. “People of faith were taken seriously beyond the church house and into the White House.”

Controversies

But there were controversies along the way. 

He courted Democratic Republic of the Congo dictator Mobutu Sese Seko and Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, hoping to convert their countries to Christian states where gay people were banned — while investing in diamond mining in a deal with Mobutu.

In 2001, as America reeled from the September 11 attacks, Robertson endorsed the view that tolerance for lesbians, gays and doctors carrying out abortions had drawn God’s wrath on the country. 

In 2005, he called for the United States to assassinate then Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez. “It’s a whole lot cheaper than starting a war,” he quipped on “The 700 Club.”

And last year, he said Russian President Vladimir Putin was “compelled by God” to attack Ukraine, because it was predicted in the Book of Ezekiel as a step toward the end of times.

Washington’s political establishment was remarkably quiet Thursday in response to Robertson’s death.

Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor, said Robertson “touched so many lives and changed so many hearts.”

“He stood for America — and more importantly, for truth and faith,” she said.

But on the left, there was little sympathy.

“Robertson’s death doesn’t mean we must overlook his long record of extremist rhetoric,” wrote Rob Boston of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

“Robertson spent most of his time spreading hate, conspiracy theories and lies,” he said.

Washington (AFP) – US President Joe Biden has named a government coordinator to handle the thorny issue of book bans in schools — one of a series of initiatives announced Thursday by the White House to support the LGBTQ community during Pride Month.

“Across the country, our nation faces a spike in book bans — efforts that disproportionately strip books about LGBTQI+ communities, communities of color, and other communities off of library and classroom shelves,” the White House said.

“In fact, 2022 saw the highest number of book bans in 20 years.”

The new coordinator, under the auspices of the Department of Education’s office of civil rights, will be tasked with providing new training for schools on how book bans can create a “hostile” environment for students — and possibly violate federal laws.

“Book banning erodes our democracy, removes vital resources for student learning, and can contribute to the stigma and isolation that LGBTQI+ people and other communities face,” the White House said. 

Book bans have moved front and center in the so-called “culture wars” in the United States, reflecting deep societal divisions about race, gender and sexuality.

Some US states, many of them led by conservative governors, have removed scores of books from library shelves, claiming they promote homosexuality or are too shocking.

Classics such as works by Nobel-winning writer Toni Morrison and Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel about the Holocaust, “Maus,” have been targeted.

Other initiatives announced by the White House on Thursday to coincide with Pride Month will help support homeless members of the LGBTQ community, as well as youths in foster care. 

The US government will also put in place new safety training classes for LGBTQ community organizations, including small business and Pride festivals, as well as provide them with regular briefings on threats.

The White House was meant to host an outdoor Pride event on Thursday but was forced to postpone it until Saturday due to the toxic air quality in the US capital, sparked by wildfires in Canada. 

By Nandita Bose and Trevor Hunnicutt

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden warned Thursday about “ugly” attacks from “hysterical” people who are targeting LGBTQ+ Americans, as he announced new measures intended to curb book bans and rising hate crimes.

“We have some hysterical and, I would argue, prejudiced, people” engaged in targeting LGBTQ people, Biden said. “It’s an appeal to fear and it’s an appeal that is totally, thoroughly unjustified, ugly,” he said.

Biden also criticized a flurry of Republican bills targeting the community, and particularly transgender youth. “These are our kids, these are our neighbors. It’s cruel, it’s callous. They’re not somebody’s else’s kids, they’re all our kids,” he told reporters during a news conference.

The president was expected to deliver remarks on the issue at a White House party on Thursday evening, but the event was pushed back to Saturday due to smoke from the Canadian wildfires.

Forest fires continued to burn across Canada on Thursday as the country endured its worst-ever start to wildfire season, sending a smoky haze billowing across U.S. cities and grounding flights.

Biden also announced new measures Thursday to help schools and LGBTQ kids navigate book bans, community centers fight threats, transgender youth access better care, and urged Congress to pass the Equality Act.

“LGBTQ Americans, especially children, you’re loved, you’re heard and this administration has your back,” Biden said. “I mean it. We are not relenting one single second.”

REPUBLICAN BANS

Republican-led states have signed a flurry of bills targeting transgender youth. Some states have banned teachers of younger children from discussing gender or sexuality and conservative lawmakers have proposed or passed laws restricting drag performances.

In April, the White House warned that bills targeting LGBTQ kids and gender-affirming care for youth set a dangerous precedent.

Biden announced a new coordinator to train schools on how to deal with book bans, the impact they have on LGBTQ kids and how they violate civil rights laws.

He also said there would be new federal coordination to “better protect Pride celebrations, marches, community centers, healthcare providers and small businesses, and new resources for mental health care providers supporting transgender kids.

Florida has been at the forefront of restrictions aimed at the LGBTQ community under Governor Ron DeSantis, who says he is protecting children, and recently entered the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination to challenge Biden.

LGBTQ+ EVOLUTION

Biden’s own views on gay rights have evolved over his decades in public life. A watershed moment was his endorsement of same-sex marriage in 2012 as vice president, which pushed then-President Barack Obama to express his support for gay marriage a few days later.

As president, Biden has overturned a ban on transgender individuals serving in the military, issued a new order to stop conversion therapy and signed the Respect for Marriage Act, which federally recognizes same-sex marriages, into law.

American support for same-sex marriage has doubled since the late 1990s to more than 70%, Gallup polls show, and the percentage of people who identify as LGBTQ has doubled in the past decade to over 7%.

On Tuesday, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the largest LGBTQ advocacy organization in the United States, declared its first national state of emergency, citing the proliferation of anti-LGBTQ legislation in statehouses across the country.

More than 70 bills HRC considers anti-LGBTQ were passed in statehouses this legislative session, double last year’s previous record, and over 500 were introduced.

(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington; Additional reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Trevor Hunnicutt, Heather Timmons, Gerry Doyle and Jonathan Oatis)

Janelle Monae has always wanted the “approval” of her mum.

The 37-year-old star came out as pansexual in 2018, before coming out as non-binary last year, and Janelle feels relieved to have the support of her mother Janet, who worked as a janitor and hotel maid.

Asked how important her mum’s support has been, Janelle told ET Canada: “It’s everything… it feels good when your mom supports you. It really does. It really feels good, you know, because she has her life. I have mine. And for us to be able to meet each other on these journeys, her to respect me as non-binary, being pansexual.

“Like for her to just in her own way, you know, accept me means the world. You know, she brought me into this world. And I’ve always, I guess, sought out her approval. So it feels good to have that.”

Janelle’s mum took “a while” to accept her as queer.

But now, the singer is determined to offer her support to other people who are going through similar experiences.

The ‘Many Moons’ hitmaker said: “I mean … there was a time where my mom, (it) took my mom a while to come around to accepting me being queer, you know and that was a tough time.

“So I just want you to know, if you’re watching right now, I feel you. I see you. I have been you when I haven’t felt supported.

“You know, even still, there may be family members in my family who don’t support me in that way. You know, they may smile and ask for tickets at the concert, but deep down, they may have [an] issue with my authenticity. But I want you to know that you can have chosen family. I love you. I love you. I love you just the way you are.”