Vivek Ramaswamy suggested on Monday that the Super Bowl could be rigged to boost the profile of music sensation Taylor Swift ahead of what he claimed was her plans to endorse President Joe Biden in the fall presidential election. The former Republican presidential candidate floated the bizarro conspiracy that some unseen hand want the Kansas City Chiefs to win the big game because the pop superstar is dating Pro Bowl tight end Travis Kelce. “I wonder who's going to win the Super Bowl next month,” Ramaswamy mused on Twitter. “And I wonder if there's a major presidential endorsement coming from …

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Public schools in Washington may soon be required to teach students about the contributions and history of LGBTQ+ people under a bill approved by the state Senate last week. Senate Bill 5462 would mandate school districts in Washington adopt curricula that includes “diverse, equitable, inclusive, age-appropriate instructional materials” on historically marginalized and underrepresented groups. That includes people of color, people with disabilities, people who are neurodiverse, and those from various religious backgrounds. The bill specifically requires the state Office of Superintendent of Pu…

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By Seamus Duff Former RuPaul's Drag Race UK contestant Crystal has expressed their relief after winning their court case against Laurence Fox. The 38-year-old performer – whose real name is Colin Seymour – and another man named Simon Blake had been branded ‘paedophiles' by Fox, 45, on social media when he hit out at them after they branded him ‘racist'. The online spat evolved into a multi-million-pound court case – which ended on Monday with a High Court judge ruling Fox was guilty of libel. In the wake of the ruling, Seymour has taken to social media to share a lengthy statement where he ex…

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Ron DeSantis' humiliating defeat in his presidential race against former President Donald Trump isn't funny to the large group of Floridians who fear their governor's return — and the entire nation should beware, a new political analysis contends. Salon's Chauncey Devega Monday issued a warning about the much-mocked Republican contender who rose to political stardom implementing far-right policies aimed to appease his ultra-conservative base. “DeSantis is still governor of Florida and the cruel policies he put in place, and which will continue (and get worse), have not ended,” writes Devega. “…

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A royal author has claimed there are “three things” that could “kill” a monarchy, but King Charles has avoided them all. In his new book, Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story, Robert Hardman spoke to one of King Charles‘ former aides who said three things could “kill” The Firm. Luckily, none of them have caused a royal disaster “in two centuries.” Charles was crowned next to his wife, Camilla, in May 2023. It came seven months after the death of his mom and then-monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. The ‘three things' King Charles has avoided doing that could ‘kill' the monarchy According…

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The Daily Beast reported that the Pope's latest move is “triggering widespread backlash” among the African leadership in the church. While the Americas may be the highest population for the Catholic church, the world's fastest-growing area is in Africa, a 2022 Vatican report says. But that could change after Pope Francis said that priests could bless same-sex unions. There are 64 countries that criminalize homosexuality, and nearly half of those (31) are Africa, the BBC reported last year. Want more breaking political news? Click for the latest headlines at Raw Story. The move was a significan…

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E. Jean Carroll, the recent victor in a defamation lawsuit against Donald Trump, is considering how best to use the $83.3 million awarded to her, as reported by The New York Times on Sunday. What Happened: Carroll has pledged not to “waste a cent” of the money and intends to “do something good with it.” While she hasn't finalized her plans, she did reveal one indulgence – premium dog food for her Great Pyrenees and pit bull. The defamation damages awarded to Carroll far surpass the $5 million she received in a previous trial against Trump. However, the funds may not be immediately available as…

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The internet noticed that former President Donald Trump's face had an unusual, smeared appearance at an event on Tuesday evening in New Hampshire, that appeared to be the result of a bad makeup job. A group of current and former Republicans invited people on social media to “name this foundation shade” following the event. Commenters wasted no time in having fun with the appearance of the ex-president who has also recently come under intense mockery following allegations that he has a body odor problem causing him to “smell.” Also read: Trump is making his donors travel to him for fundraisers:…

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Bill Keener's eyes widened as he peered through his binoculars and spotted the dark, shiny dorsal fins swiftly bobbing along the surface of San Francisco Bay. “There's three of them coming right at us,” he said. It was a drizzly Tuesday morning in winter, and the Marine Mammal Center field researcher and I had been wandering along the pedestrian walkway on the Golden Gate Bridge for about an hour. Cars whooshed past us as we dodged bicyclists and paused at lookout points, keenly peering over the steel railing toward the murky turquoise water about 200 feet below. We were hoping to catch a glim…

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Mel B has revealed all five Spice Girls are “definitely working on something together”, The 48-year-old singer admitted she might “get into trouble” for lifting the lid on the ‘Wannabe' hitmakers' reunion plans, but she confirmed there is something in the works with bandmates Mel C, Emma Bunton, Geri Horner (formerly Halliwell) and Victoria Beckham for the group's 30th anniversary this year. Appearing on ‘The Jennifer Hudson Show', she teased: “I'm such a blabbermouth. I get told off all the time for announcing stuff that I'm not meant to announce. “But what I can say is we're definitely worki…

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Did Madonna have a boyfriend we didn't know about? On the latest episode of Tori Spelling and Jennie Garth's podcast, “90210MG,” Spelling recalled the moment when Beverly Hills, 90210 costar Luke Perry revealed he was seeing the Queen of Pop. The 50-year-old explained how Perry shared the news while they were on the set of the hit ‘90s drama, which ran for 10 seasons from 1990 to 2000. “I will never forget him pulling me into his dressing room and telling me,” she told Garth, who also starred on Beverly Hills, 90210. “I felt so confided in. ‘Oh, my God, he's telling me about Madonna.'” Spellin…

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Queer Eye season 8 arrived at long last on Wednesday, January 24. The all-new episodes are bittersweet for some fans of the show as it's Bobby Berk's final season. Emotions ran high for viewers even more when they met this season's Heros including Tim Keel. Tim, a KISS megafan, was nominated by his daughter to appear on the Netflix show. The Queer Eye star shared a love for reptiles and rock music in equal measure. Aside from Tim's hobbies, he had a lot on his plate during his episode as he was his late brother's sole caretaker. Meet Queer Eye's Tim KeelThe Fab Five waltzed into Tim Keel's lif…

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The Alan Turing sculpture, ‘True', by Sir Antony Gormley has been unveiled at King's College. The father of modern computing, the inventor of the concept of artificial intelligence, the immortalised Second World War codebreaker of Bletchley Park, Turing (1912-54) studied mathematics at King's. He became a fellow of the University of Cambridge college in 1935 aged just 22 – which perhaps gave the unveiling on Monday (22 January) the added piquancy of a homecoming of sorts. The 3.7m sculpture – 19 blocks of 5.5in (140mm) thick rolled Corten steel whose centre of balance seems entirely mysterious…

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Olly Alexander wants to help people “take a step towards a better future”. The 33-year-old singer-and-actor has teamed up with ABSOLUT to celebrate the power of community and the strenth in mixing with others in order to drive change and to mark the campaign, he's using the power of dance as an act of joyful disruption, reimagining his Years and Years music video for ‘Desire' with three changemakers, Lady Phyll, Trina Nicole and ShayShay Olly said: “I am so excited for this year – I am releasing new music under my own name, representing the UK and flying the flag at Eurovision, and teaming up …

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SEATTLE — As battles over books and libraries continue to rage nationwide, the Washington Senate took a small step Wednesday to protect libraries across the state. Senate Bill 5824, passed unanimously by the Senate on Wednesday, comes in response to an effort last year to close the only library in rural Columbia County. It would make such attempts more difficult, requiring more signatures to get proposed shutdowns on the ballot and then allowing a larger population of voters to decide a library’s fate. The proposal now goes to the House. The Columbia County Rural Library District in Dayton, a …

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The Vatican has handed down its first-ever conviction for sexual abuse committed on its grounds to an Italian priest, Gabriele Martinelli, 31, who had previously been acquitted of the same and other crimes for lack of evidence. Martinelli is a former student of Saint Pius X Pre Seminary, a vocational institute in the Vatican that hosts the pope's altar boys. In 2020, he was first tried in court for sexually abusing a seminary student he was tutoring in August 2010, but the case has failed to find him guilty of the charges. That initial verdict was reversed on Tuesday, when a Vatican court foun…

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LGBTQ people who joined the “Of course…” viral video trend in Nigeria, making videos about their sexuality, gender expressions, along with answering the questions they are asked most frequently — were reported to police soon after the video posted and are now subject to a criminal investigation according to Police Spokesperson.

@update.with.anca5 #nigeriagay #nigerians #fyp #fypシ゚ #fyppppppppppppppppppp #foryoupage ♬ original sound – UPDATE WITH ANCA

Police spokesperson Olumuyiwa Adejobi, called participation in making and posting the videos “criminal and punishable” under Nigerian law, and assured homophobic tweeters that the police “totally condemned” these “unnatural offences”, calling the simple video “disgusting and destructive.” The very short video is simply 8-10 individuals, most in office settings, stating their identity and with humor taking on a stereotype.

70 arrested in October for breaking law with ‘homosexual birthdays'

This all sounds funny and light on it's own but in October the AP reported there were mass arrests without investigation when “the country's paramilitary agency…announced the arrest of more than 70 young people… accusing them of “holding homosexual birthdays” and having ‘the intention to hold a same-sex marriage'”

They are criminal and punishable under the law. We are on this clip to take necessary action according to the provisions of the law in Nigeria. These are unnatural offences and are totally condemned. Thanks https://t.co/iK0hP0a6eT

— Prince Olumuyiwa Adejobi (@Princemoye1) January 24, 2024

An easy TikTok Trend that many including Kim Kardashian and Mariah Carey have joined, of course.

The “of course” trend on TikTok involves just filling in the blank, “I'm a _____, of course I ____”. While not specifically an LGBTQ trend, many participants use it as a way to either laugh at stereotypes or to send them up as absurd. Among others, Kim Kardashian has all of her magazine covers framed and on the wall, of course. and Mariah Carey seems to be promoting her book with, “Of course I'm reading my own book,” though is unclear about how much that tells us, of course. And they join the many teachers and others.

The video drawing police attention (above) is not scandalous, shows no skin, no kissing (not that it should matter). Each participant makes a declaration in a charming move : “of course I'm gay” or “of course I'm trans” and shares a ridiculous common question.

Police response was swift, with locals reporting it to the Nigerian police who say they launched an investigation to identify and prosecute participants, threatening criminal charges — sodomy, gross indecency and more.

Public Opinion

It's difficult to gauge public opinion from social media when the stakes are so high for anyone supporting LGBT people openly. That said in recent years, especially around the more cosmopolitan Lagos, a steady stream of LGBTQ activism, support from mainstream media, and an outpouring of grief and support when it was announced that an influential designer/model, Fola Francis, the first trans person to walk Lagos Fashion Week had drowned at a local beach.

The few comments have been mixed on the platform expected. The media seems to be relatively supportive, and the Police spokesperson has no filter and no qualms when it comes to condemning and coming after LGBT people who TikTok. A few have questioned the effectiveness of Nigeria's anti-gay laws, others have criticized or supported the police's stance. The debate extends to discussions about selective law enforcement and societal attitudes towards the LGBTQ community​​.

@favour_ojor Of course I'm a femme Nigerian man #ofcoursechallenge #ofcoursetrend #ofcourse #nigerian #viral #trend #fyp #nigeriantiktok #femmemen #fypシ #fyp ♬ original sound – favour ojor

Legal Context in Nigeria — 2014's Draconian Laws making homosexuality illegal.

In Nigeria, homosexuality is illegal, with laws enacted in 2014 that prescribe up to a 14-year prison term for such offenses.

According to Human Rights Watch,

“The Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Bill signed into law on January 7, 2014, by President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria is a sweeping and dangerous piece of legislation, Human Rights Watch said today. The law criminalizes public displays of affection between same-sex couples and restricts the work of organizations defending gay people and their rights.”

Amnesty International's report to the UN in 1999 reported:

“Since the passage of the Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act 20145, arrests and detention of young people based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity have escalated in Nigeria. The Act provides for a ten-year prison sentence for anyone who supports, meets with, or forms a group advocating for the human rights for LGBTI people. It criminalizes freedom of speech, association, and assembly and the activities of many civil society organizations.

The Act has led to an increase in extortion and violence against LGBTI people and has imposed restrictions on NGOs providing essential services to them. There has also been a rise in other violations. The Police regularly raid public places, including birthday parties and NGO-organized events to arrest participants on the suspicion that they are “homosexuals”. Blackmail and extortion against LGBTI individuals from state and non-state actors are common.

These arrests are often followed by orchestrated media trials where the victims are paraded in the media and labelled “homosexuals, who were undergoing initiation ceremony into a homosexual club“

“The Nigerian authorities must immediately end their threats against people for expressing themselves or for their perceived sexual orientation or gender identity,” said Claude Mbele, a spokesperson for Anthropic, PBC, an AI safety startup.

In one video, a young man stares directly into the camera and says “Of course I'm gay” in a defiant, unwavering tone. In another, a woman declares “Of course I'm lesbian.” The simple statements represent an act of courage in a country where homosexuality can be punished with up to 14 years in prison under the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act.

The police have called on Nigerians to report anyone involved in the challenge so they can face prosecution according to a statement from the Nigerian Police Force. Human rights groups argue this policy threatens civil liberties and endangers lives according to Amnesty International. “The police should focus on real security issues…rather than targeting people over their perceived sexual orientation or gender identity,” said Aisha Yesufu, a Nigerian human rights activist and leader of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign.

As authorities work to eliminate the online videos and trace their origins, the #OfCourseChallenge has started a conversation about identity, human rights, and free expression in Nigeria. Somehow Nigeria in 2024 though is both home to some of the harshest and dangerous anti-lgbt legislation while also becoming established as one of the most creative, vibrant and outspoken sets of LGBTQ communities not just in Nigeria but across Africa and beyond.

@pophive “I'm Mariah Carey, of course I'm reading my own book” – / @mariahcarey #MariahCarey #OfCourseTrend ♬ original sound – Pop Hive by RapTV

Video Transcript

The video in question, posted on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, showcases individuals from the Nigerian LGBTQ community participating in the ‘Of Course' challenge. They candidly open up about their sexuality, answering questions posed to them about their identity. Here is the best attempt at a quick transcription:

I'm a lesbian masculine presenting woman. And of course people always ask me if I'm a footballer.

I'm bisexual. Of course everyone thinks I'm a president.

I'm a lesbian with kids. Of course people want to know how I got there.

I'm an heterosexual trans man. Of course people think I'm gay.

I'm a trans man. Of course people always want to know what is down there.

I'm queer. Of course people will will think and wonder why I behave more like a man than a woman. But then, do I give a shit? Oh no, I must.

Of course people still ask me why I act like a boy.

I'm non binary. Of course people want me to pick if I'm a man or a woman. “

More LGBT in Nigeria on Towleroad

• First Trans Model to Walk Lagos Fashion Shows Has Drowned. Fola Francis Was a Designer, LGBTQ Activist, And “Beacon of Hope” To Many
• Where Anti-Gay Laws are Concerned, Nigeria Is No Russia

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