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Published by AFP US singer and songwriter Dolly Parton arrives for the 57th Academy of Country Music awards at the Allegiant stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 7, 2022 New York (AFP) – Country music icon Dolly Parton was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Wednesday even though she did not want the honor, calling herself unworthy of it. Parton was among an eclectic group of new inductees that include the rapper Eminem, the crooner Harry Belafonte, rocker Pat Benatar, the British band Duran Duran and the pop singer, songwriter and producer Lionel Richie, among others. Parton, 76 and known for such hits as “Islands in the Stream” and “Jolene” asked last month that her name be withdrawn from consideration. “Even though I’m extremely flattered and grateful to be nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I don’t feel that I have earned that right,” she said. When the hall of fame rejected her rejection, in part because voting was already under way, Parton eventually relented. The hall of fame said she was much more than a country star. “With her trailblazing songwriting career, distinctive voice, campy glamour, business savvy and humanitarian work, Dolly Parton is a beloved icon who transcends the genre she transformed forever,” the organization said on its website as it announced the new members. Country stars are not foreign to the Cleveland-based Hall of Fame — Johnny Cash, Jimmie Rodgers and Chet Atkins are all among its ranks. Other new inductees announced Wednesday include Carly Simon, the Eurythmics, and Judas Priest. In an interview last with National Public Radio, Parton said that after first saying no, she would “accept gracefully” if she were inducted to the hall of fame. She said that it was always her belief that the Cleveland-based organization was for people in rock and roll. “So I just felt like I would be taking away from someone that maybe deserved it, certainly more than me, because I never considered myself a rock artist,” Parton said. “But obviously, there’s more to it than that.” Acts can be inducted 25 years after their first commercial music release. They are voted on by a body of more than 1,000 artists, music historians and industry veterans. The new honorees will be formally inducted in a ceremony in Los Angeles on November 5. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Jeff Mason and Jarrett Renshaw WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden sharply criticized former President Donald Trump’s “MAGA” movement as extreme on Wednesday while touting his Democratic administration’s efforts to reduce the U.S. deficit, which rose under his Republican predecessor. In what could be a preview of a midterm campaign speech, Biden took aim at what he dubbed “MAGA” Republicans who he charged with protecting billionaires at the expense of working class Americans while only paying lip-service to budget responsibility. MAGA is a reference to Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again.” Biden and his fellow Democrats have come under fire from Republicans for a historic rise in inflation that some critics say stems from overspending in Washington amid the COVID-19 pandemic as well as global supply constraints. Biden noted on Wednesday that the annual deficit is going down – thanks to increased revenue as the economy emerges from the pandemic and winding down of COVID emergency spending – something that never happened under Trump. “The bottom line is the deficit went up every year under my predecessor, before the pandemic and during the pandemic. And it’s gone down both years since I’ve been here.” Biden took aim at Republican U.S. Senator Rick Scott’s economic plan, saying it would raise taxes on 75 million Americans, most of whom make less than $100,000 a year. Scott is leading Republican efforts to get Republicans elected to the Senate. “Let me tell you about this Ultra-MAGA Agenda. It’s extreme, as most MAGA things are,” he said. “I don’t want to hear Republicans talk about deficits and their Ultra-MAGA Agenda. I want to hear about fairness. I want to hear about decency.” Scott’s campaign staff did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Republican National Committee said nothing Biden had done reduced the deficit and said his legislative plans, if passed, would only increase it. The United States has reported budget deficits every year since 2001. Beginning in 2016, increases in spending on Social Security, healthcare and interest on federal debt have outpaced the growth of federal revenue. In the past few years, the annual deficit has ballooned to around $3 trillion due to pandemic spending and loss of revenue. In 2017, Republicans ushered in a massive tax-cut bill under Trump that by some estimates has added more than $1 trillion to the debt. “The previous administration increased the deficit every year it was an office in part because of its reckless $2 trillion tax cut. I know you’re tired of hearing me saying that but a $2-trillion tax cut that was not paid for,” Biden said. Supporters of Trump have noted that the economy under Trump saw historically low unemployment coupled with record highs in the stock market. Biden noted that the budget deficit fell by more than $350 billion in his first year and is projected to fall by more than $1.5 trillion this year – the largest deficit reduction in a single year on record and a revision up from the $1.3 trillion projected in the president’s budget released earlier this year, according to an administration official. The Treasury Department also estimates that it will pay down the national debt this quarter for the first time since 2016. Biden is still seeking a nearly $2-trillion bill to expand the social safety net and tackle climate change, but Democratic U.S. Senator Joe Manchin has effectively blocked it, citing spending concerns. (Reporting by Jeff Mason and Jarrett Renshaw;Editing by Nick Zieminski) View the full article

“Rubber Match”The increasing emergence of LGBTQ identities in pro wrestling is now spreading to the comic book world in the romantic pro wrestling comic “Rubber Match,” an upcoming graphic novel that is as much about bodyslams as it is about budding romance. “Rubber Match” is the story of rival wrestlers turned close friends and tag team champions Ty Curry and Scorpion Butch, collectively known as the Spicy Boys, struggle to preserve their relationship as fellow wrestler Blue Devil tries to drive a wedge between them out of jealousy. The premise feels pulled straight from the drama of professional wrestling and sports manga with a decidedly-queer focus on masculine romance. Wrestling Comic: Previously on Towleroad LGBTQ Pro Wrestling Comic Book ‘Rubber Match’ Brings Queer Masculine Love To The Mat Brian Bell May 4, 2022 Read More Lil Nas X Comic Released; Furries Rescue Pro-LGBTQ Library; Iceman’s Big Queer Prom; Tennessee Bible Burning Protest: Books Roundup Brian Bell February 9, 2022 Read More “Batgirl” Film Likely Introduces DC Comics’ First Major Trans Character To Its Cinematic Universe Brian Bell January 21, 2022 Read More Wonder Woman’s 1st Trans Amazon; ‘Battlefield’s 1st Non-Binary Specialist; ‘Superman’ Colorist Quits Offended By New Motto. Brian Bell October 26, 2021 Read More Is It A Bird? Is It A Plane? No, It’s The First Bisexual Superman Towleroad October 11, 2021 Read More World of Batman Now Even More Queer; Longtime Robin Comes Out as Questioning in DC Comics Anthology Series Brian Bell August 11, 2021 Read More Image courtesy of Kira Okamoto View the full article

[This post contains video, click to play] Published by OK Magazine There is a new pop sensation on the rise! Singer Jamie Hannah, 22, just released the music video for his new song “Flowers,” which showcases his classically trained operatic vocals that caught the attention of music icon Boy George. @justjamiehannah/Instagram The queer singer-songwriter was signed by the “Karma Chameleon” artist, with George, 60, telling Billboard, “I’ve never heard a voice like his before, and I believe his music will pierce through!” BOY GEORGE THROWS MAJOR SHADE AT KARDASHIANS’ CALVIN KLEIN AD! In the song, Hannah croons about the difficulties of finding connection and the heartache that comes with it. “When you listen to my new song I want you to feel that it is OK to feel vulnerable searching for love,” the musician told Broadway World. “Getting hurt or being let down during the process is a necessary part of life – to have experience the euphoria and the joy to smell the flowers. We have all experienced similar challenges – and its time for us for us not to feel so alone in the discovery process,” he continued. @justjamiehannah/Instagram The lyrics of the song were heavily inspired by a quote by Xan Oku which reads “May the flowers remind us why the rain was necessary.” Hannah detailed, “This quote resonated in me while creating ‘Flowers’ while in lockdown, allowing me to look deep within myself to examine my own personal experience of love – both good and less good.” ALY & AJ DROP EXPLICIT RENDITION OF ‘POTENTIAL BREAKUP SONG,’ AND FANS FREAK OUT: SEE REACTIONS “It was a cathartic process,” he noted. “It is primarily a song about the universal quest to find love; it tries to evoke the joyous yet volatile beauty of love.” “Allowing yourself to fall in love is a huge jump into the unknown and takes bravery and strength,” the singer explained. “When you listen to my new song I want you to feel that it is OK to feel vulnerable searching for love. Getting hurt or being let down during the process is a necessary part of life – to have experience the euphoria and the joy to smell the flowers.” @justjamiehannah/Instagram Watch the music video for “Flowers” by Jamie Hannah above! View the full article

Published by Factinate With his blonde hair, blue eyes, and his tanned California good looks, it’s easy to understand how Arthur Klem transformed into Tab Hunter—one of the leading heartthrobs of the 1950s and 60s. Famous for playing romantic leads on screen, the leading man lived a lie off screen. Get ready: We’re unveiling the scandalous life of Hollywood’s most surprising hunk, Tab Hunter. Tab Hunter Facts1. He Had an Unusual BeginningBefore he became “Tab Hunter,” he was Arthur Andrew Klem. Born in Manhattan on July 11, 1931, the baby’s birth was far from celebrated. His father Charles reportedly celebrated his … Read More View the full article

Published by Radar Online mega Angelina Jolie was reportedly forced to evacuate from a building over a bomb threat during her trip to Lviv, Ukraine. The Hollywood star is currently in the war-torn country on a personal humanitarian visit to provide support and “welcome internally displaced Ukrainians” as Vladimir Putin‘s vicious war against them rages on. mega Video footage obtained by Marca showed the Maleficent star calmly but quickly walking towards a shelter accompanied by an entourage as anti-aircraft sirens blared in the background. This comes shortly after Jolie was spotted by a group of Ukrainian fans while waiting in line to place an order at a small café. In a video taken by an eager onlooker, the mom-of-six quickly smiled and waved at the person filming. Another moment showed a fan asking the Eternals star for an autograph. Russian Soldiers ‘Encouraged’ By Parents To Murder ‘Civilians & Children’ In Ukraine According to the Kyiv Independent, who has been covering her stay in Ukraine, the Girl, Interrupted star also joined a bustling crowd of people at the central railway station to visit with Ukrainian evacuees. “Actress and filmmaker Angelina Jolie visits the central railway station in Lviv to welcome the internally displaced Ukrainians arriving on an evacuation train from Pokrovsk, a city in Donetsk Oblast, on April 30,” the outlet captioned a photo of the famed actress on Saturday, April 30. “Jolie is a special envoy of UNHCR.” mega While in Lviv, Jolie reportedly visited a children’s hospital treating injured kids who were affected by the horrific Kramatorsk Station bombing on Sunday, April 8, that left at least 50 people dead. “She was very moved by their stories,” the head of regional military administration, Maksym Kozytskyy, explained per CNN. “One girl was even able to tell Ms. Jolie about her dream privately.” Kozytskyy also mentioned Jolie was kind enough to take the time to visit with various medical and psychological care volunteers. “She thanked them for their work,” he added. “She talked to people who managed to leave the zones of active hostilities.” View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega Johnny Depp couldn’t help but giggle when his private parts became the focus of the courtroom during his multimillion-dollar defamation trial againstAmber Heard. The Pirates of the Caribbean actor, 58, completely lost it and was forced to bury his hands in his face when his former bodyguard, Malcolm Connolly, took the stand and cracked a joke about the star’s manhood. Connolly addressed the court and was asked about an alleged urinating incident that reportedly led to the fight where Depp’s finger was severed. Heard’s attorney claimed the actor was holding his exposed junk and peeing in the foyer of their Australian home in 2015. However, his ex-bodyguard had a different story — and it caused the whole courtroom to burst out laughing. Mega After admitting he “heard shouting,” Heard’s lawyer asked Connolly point-blank, “And then you went in the house and saw Mr. Depp in the foyer, correct?” He confidently followed up that “Mr. Depp was trying to urinate in the foyer, wasn’t he?” “No,” the bodyguard responded, causing Depp to chuckle a bit. That’s when Connolly dropped a line that got the whole room rolling. “Mr. Depp had his penis out of his pants, didn’t he?” Heard’s attorney asked, stammering over the question. “I think I would remember if I’d seen Mr. Depp’s penis,” Connolly responded matter of factly, which threw Depp and the courtroom into hysterics. LAW&CRIME NETWORK/YOUTUBE The sitting Fantastic Beasts actor immediately folded forward in his chair and buried his face while having a giggle fit during Connolly’s interrupted testimony. The people in the courtroom couldn’t hide their laughter either. Even Depp’s attorney started chuckling. This isn’t the first time jokes have taken over the Virginia courtroom either. Judge Penney Azcarate was forced to step in after laughter erupted when Depp admitted that he couldn’t remember the movies he had been in. The judge issued a strict warning. “Order in the court or I will have you removed. Understood? Thank you,” she stated, causing all snickering to come to an abrupt halt. Mega Depp and Heard’s defamation trial will last for several weeks. He hurled explosive accusations against his ex-wife when he took the stand. Heard will testify sometime next week. Depp sued Heard for $50 million after she claimed she suffered domestic abuse in an op-ed written in the Washington Post. Heard never named him in the story, but Depp claimed the accusations got him canceled from Hollywood. Heard countersued him for $100 million, alleging he attempted to derail her career by smearing her name. View the full article

Published by Radar Online Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency Elisabeth Moss opened up about her upbringing in the Church of Scientology and how it has impacted her role as a working actress in Hollywood. The star, 39, who portrays June Osborne in The Handmaid’s Tale, grew up around the ideology as her parents became Scientologists before she was born. RB/Bauergriffin.com / MEGA Moss talked about her religion in a profile for The New Yorker, in which she explained why it’s a topic she doesn’t often bring up. As an actress, she prefers to keep an air of mystery surrounding her life. “I don’t want to come off as being cagey,” she explained. “If you and I met, just hanging out as friends, I’m, like, an open book about it … I don’t want people to be distracted by something when they’re watching me. I want them to be seeing the character.” Moss faced scrutiny as her star power continued to climb following notable roles inThe Handmaid’s Tale and Mad Men. Many of the reported abuses perpetrated by Scientology “echo the authoritarian tactics of Gilead” in Handmaid’s Tale, the article pointed out. The interviewer mentioned that some people are already distracted by Moss’ ties to Scientology, which she was unfazed by. MEGA “People can obviously hold in their mind whatever they want to, and I can’t control that. If it’s not that, it’s going to be something else,” she shared, stating the biggest misconception is that it’s “really a closed-off religion.” The Los Angeles native said Scientology has improved her communication skills, telling critics, “I would just encourage people to find out for themselves.” Moss even discussed two instances that have become widely reported due to the church’s controversial connection to Hollywood. AXELLE/BAUER-GRIFFIN / MEGA In 2017, reports surfaced that Moss left the room during former Scientologist Leah Remini‘s winning speech at the Television Critics Association Awards. “I went to the bathroom,” Moss said, squashing feud rumors. “I wish it was more exciting than that.” She also addressed the speech she gave while winning her Emmy that year, in which she thanked her mother for showing her that “you can be kind and a f—-ing bad—.” A former churchgoer later spoke out and said that’s how Scientologists “down the tone scale” to average people amid claims that “cursing in Scientology is almost a sacrament.” Moss said it was upsetting, adding, “That pissed me off. That was a really, really big moment for me, and it was a big moment for my mom and me. My mom, who has supported me through the years and been such an incredible mother to both me and my brother. And to tell a lie like that, about that — I didn’t deserve that, and it was wrong.” View the full article

Published by Factinate Behind every man, there’s a great woman—but this went double for “The Queen Mother.” Not only did Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon rule through her husband King George VI, she also oversaw the reign of her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II. Yet before that, she’d already experienced a lifetime’s worth of royal scandal. From bedroom gossip that rocked the monarchy to Elizabeth’s high-class feuds, this seemingly stately Queen hid some very dirty laundry. Elizabeth Queen Mother Facts1. She Was A Spoiled BabyElizabeth Bowes-Lyon’s birth was about as aristocratic as they come. Born into a wealthy noble family on Au… Read More View the full article

Published by AFP Naomi Judd (R) and her daughter Wynonna Judd sit onstage during an Academy of Country Music concert in their honor on April 4, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada Washington (AFP) – Grammy-winning US musicians The Judds were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in a tear-filled ceremony just one day after the duo’s matriarch Naomi Judd died Saturday at age 76. Musicians and other attendees mourned the country legend at Sunday night’s ceremony in Nashville, where a red carpet event was cancelled out of respect for the singer and her grieving daughters, singer Wynonna Judd — the other half of The Judds — and actor Ashley Judd. But the Judds family had requested the induction go on, and country music stars sang the duo’s songs along with those of fellow inductees Ray Charles, Eddie Bayers and Pete Drake. “I didn’t prepare anything tonight because I knew mom would probably talk the most,” Wynonna, 57, quipped after a hall of fame medallion was draped around her neck. “My heart’s broken, and I feel so blessed. And it’s a very strange dynamic to be this broken and this blessed.” A tearful sister Ashley told the audience “My mama loved you so much… and I’m sorry that she couldn’t hang on until today.” Ashley and Wynonna Judd had announced their mother’s death Saturday in a joint statement. “We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness,” they wrote. “We are navigating profound grief and know that as we loved her, she was loved by the public.” Naomi and Wynonna Judd formed their duo in the late 1970s, although their big break didn’t come until 1983. Over the course of their career, they had 14 number-one hits and won multiple music awards, including five Grammys. On Friday, the Country Music Hall of Fame had announced The Judds would join its ranks for helping “take country back to its roots in the 1980s with lean, tuneful songs influenced by traditional folk music, acoustic blues, and family harmony acts.” Some of the pair’s biggest hits include “Love Can Build A Bridge,” “Mama He’s Crazy” and “Girls’ Night Out.” The Judds officially disbanded in 1991, when Naomi was diagnosed with Hepatitis C, although they reunited several times for special tours and performances. Tributes to Naomi Judd poured in from stars including fellow country music icon Loretta Lynn, who said she was “just heartbroken” over the death of “my fellow Kentucky girl, my friend, and an amazing singer.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Dove Cameron’s Met Gala dress took 600 hours to make. The 26-year-old singer-and-actress turned heads on the red carpet at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on Monday (02.05.22) evening thanks to her unique white Iris Van Herpen creation, which was inspired by cosmic structures of spiral nebulas and was made from recycled mylar. Dove loved the way the gown – which incorporated a high neck, structured tassels, boning, and cut out detailing and was reinforced by a delicate laser-cut metal structure – fitted the Gilded Glamour dress code and allowed her to show a lot of skin. She said: “Just as much as there is of dress, you are also seeing of me. It’s a lot of body.” “It plays into the theme of ‘Gilded Age’ in the way that it’s incredibly structured, all about shape, but it’s also honouring Iris’s unique vision.” The Descendants’ star had been a big fan of the designer for some time, and recalled sending an image of Iris’ creation for Grimes at last year’s Met Gala to her publicist. She wrote: “How does Iris create like this? It’s so otherworldly. It’s so alien.” In recent years, Dove has shifted her career closer to music, dramatically changed her hair, and come out as queer, and she explained they were all inflection points symbolised in her gown. She told the New York Times newspaper: “At this moment in time for me, with my music and with this rebirth I’ve been having, Iris, as a creative, and I are very matched. “I’ve been able to live my life a little more out loud. “I’ve shed some of my fear, and I’ve kind of created my own little world for myself as a human and as an artist. “This dress represents that. It’s not hiding anything, it’s very bold, it’s very transformative.” 2022 marked the first time Dove has attended the Met Gala, which had the theme ‘In America: An Anthology of Fashion’. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) – During his 16 years on the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Samuel Alito has forged a reputation as a staunch conservative on a range of issues, opposing abortion and LGBT rights and supporting religious liberty and gun rights. Alito, the 72-year-old author of a leaked draft opinion in a major abortion case from Mississippi that would overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing the procedure nationwide, was sworn in on Jan. 31, 2006. He was appointed by Republican former President George W. Bush to replace the court’s first woman justice, Sandra Day O’Connor. He became the nominee only after Bush’s first choice, his White House counsel Harriet Miers, withdrew amid an uproar from conservatives who among other things feared she was not sufficiently opposed to abortion rights. Bush then turned to Alito, whose conservative record as a federal appellate judge prompted Democrats to mount a campaign against him in the U.S. Senate. In the end, the Senate voted to confirm him 58-42 – a vote touted at the time as an important victory for conservatives as they sought to send the court on a rightward course. The court now has a 6-3 conservative majority, with Alito and Clarence Thomas, appointed by Bush’s father in 1991, considered its two most conservative justices. Alito found himself in the minority in major Supreme Court rulings in recent years buttressing abortion rights. The court in 2016, on a 5-3 vote, struck down a Republican-backed Texas law that sought to impose restrictions on clinics and doctors who perform abortions, provisions that had caused some clinics to close. In 2020, on a 5-4 vote, it struck down a Republican-backed Louisiana law with similar physician restrictions. In his dissent in the Louisiana case, Alito wrote that “the abortion right recognized in this court’s decisions is used like a bulldozer to flatten legal rules that stand in the way.” “Today’s decision claims new victims,” Alito added in the 2020 case. “The divided majority cannot agree on what the abortion right requires, but it nevertheless strikes down a Louisiana law … that the legislature enacted for the asserted purpose of protecting women’s health.” The Texas and Louisiana rulings invalidated state abortion restrictions because they ran afoul of Roe v. Wade, which recognized a woman’s constitutional right to terminate her pregnancy, and a subsequent 1992 ruling reaffirming Roe. During oral arguments last December in the Mississippi case, Alito was among the conservative justices who played down the notion that the court must be careful in overturning its own precedents. “So there are circumstances in which a decision … must be overruled simply because it was egregiously wrong at the moment it was decided,” Alito said during the arguments. “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” Alito wrote in the Mississippi draft opinion dated Feb. 10, according to Politico, which posted a copy online. The court is due to issue its ruling by the end of June. RELIGIOUS RIGHTS Alito authored a major 2014 ruling, a 5-4 decision, that touched upon religious liberty, corporate rights and then-President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law. Alito wrote that Christian-owned Hobby Lobby Stores Ltd could mount a religious objection to an Obamacare provision requiring that health insurance provided by employers cover women’s birth control. Alito defended the idea that privately owned corporations could have religious objections, noting that protecting the rights of corporations “protects the religious liberty of the humans who own and control those companies.” When the court in 2021 rejected a Republican bid to invalidate Obamacare, preserving it for the third time since its 2010 enactment, Alito was one of two dissenters in a 7-2 decision. In 2010, Alito authored a 5-4 ruling expanding gun rights, writing that the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment’s promise of an individual right to keep and bear arms applies to state and local gun control laws. The ruling built upon one two years earlier striking down the nation’s strictest gun control law in the District of Columbia. In 2013, Alito was in the majority when the court struck down a key part of the Voting Rights Act, the 1965 law aimed at protecting Black voters from discriminatory practices. Alito was on the losing side in he 2015 ruling legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide. Alito was born on April 1, 1950, in Trenton, New Jersey, to an Italian immigrant father and a school principal mother. Alito earned his undergraduate degree from Princeton University and law degree from Yale, then clerked for a federal judge and became a federal prosecutor. During the 1980s, he worked as an assistant to the solicitor general, the government’s chief advocate before the Supreme Court, under Republican President Ronald Reagan, arguing 12 cases at the high court, then became deputy assistant attorney general and later U.S. attorney in New Jersey. Republican President George H.W. Bush appointed him as an appellate judge in 1990. (Reporting by Will Dunham; Editing by Howard Goller) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Benedict Wong has blasted homophobic trolls for attacking teenage star Xochitl Gomez. The ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ actor has defended his co-star – who plays gay superhero America Chavez in the Marvel blockbuster – after backlash over her character, who references her lesbian mothers in the film. Speaking to Asia One, Gomez said: “It’s a big deal that America is in this movie. It’s just huge. And I’m just so happy that Marvel has stuck to it and kept the scene in there. “And it’s just pretty crazy that I get to be the one who plays America. Although, yes, my name may be circled within hate and stuff but it’s okay.” However, Wong jumped into the interview and added: “It’s not okay. It’s not okay. We have to all collectively understand that… She auditioned aged 13 and she joined us aged 14, one of the youngest actors to join the MCU of a film of that magnitude. “You know, she’s just a young girl playing her role and full praise for that.” Saudi Arabia’s cinema classification board recently confirmed Disney has refused to remove the scene in which Gomez’s character references her two mothers. Meanwhile, Wong – who reprises his role as his namesake sorcerer Wong in the film – described online trolls as “cowards”, and praised the movie for “radiating representation”. He said: “There’s a real level of shame for all those trolls that are cowards not to actually put their face [out there], and they should feel a deep shame of what they’re doing. “Let’s all just play nice. Let’s all just enjoy what we are representing. It’s sad that fans in that country won’t get to see this. “But all we are doing is radiating representation, voicing the voiceless. And that’s all that we can do — represent people so that they can be seen.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Andrew Chung (Reuters) – U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion that would end the recognition of a constitutional right to abortion could imperil other freedoms related to marriage, sexuality and family life including birth control and same-sex nuptials, according to legal experts. The draft ruling, disclosed in a leak that prompted Chief Justice John Roberts on Tuesday to launch an investigation, would uphold a Mississippi law banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy and overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized the procedure nationwide. The draft’s legal reasoning, if adopted by the court when it issues its eventual ruling by the end of June, could threaten other rights that Americans take for granted in their personal lives, according to University of Texas law professor Elizabeth Sepper, an expert in healthcare law and religion. “The low-hanging fruit is contraception, probably starting with emergency contraception, and same-sex marriage is also low-hanging fruit in that it was very recently recognized by the Supreme Court,” Sepper said. The court’s 6-3 conservative majority, including Alito, has become increasingly assertive on a range of issues. The court confirmed the authenticity of the leaked draft but called it preliminary. The Roe decision, one of the court’s most important and contentious rulings of the 20th century, recognized that the right to personal privacy under the U.S. Constitution protects a woman’s ability to terminate her pregnancy. “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences,” Alito wrote in the draft, adding that Roe and a 1992 decision that reaffirmed it have only “deepened division” in society. According to Alito, the right to abortion recognized in Roe must be overturned because it is not valid under the Constitution’s 14th Amendment right to due process. Abortion is among a number of fundamental rights that the court over many decades recognized at least in part as what are called “substantive” due process liberties, including contraception in 1965, interracial marriage in 1967 and same-sex marriage in 2015. Though these rights are not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, they are linked to personal privacy, autonomy, dignity and equality. Conservative critics of the substantive due process principle have said it improperly lets unelected justices make policy choices better left to legislators. Alito reasoned in the draft that substantive due process rights must be “deeply rooted” in U.S. history and tradition and essential to the nation’s “scheme of ordered liberty.” Abortion, he said, is not, and rejected arguments that it is essential for privacy and bodily autonomy reasons. ‘SOCIAL PROGRESS’ Like abortion, other personal rights including contraception and same-sex marriage may be found by conservative justices to fall outside this framework involving rights “deeply rooted” in American history, scholars noted. “This was considered social progress – we were changing as a society and different things became important and became part of what one cherished,” said Carol Sanger, an expert in reproductive rights at Columbia Law School. In the draft, Alito sought to distinguish abortion from other rights because it, unlike the others, destroys what the Roe ruling called “potential life.” “Nothing in this opinion should be understood to cast doubt on precedents that do not concern abortion,” Alito wrote. Sepper said that Alito is “not particularly convincing because he doesn’t do the work to distinguish those cases in a meaningful way.” She added: “It’s a really sweeping opinion. It doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to the abortion right.” Alito’s opinion resembles his dissent in the court’s same-sex marriage ruling in which he said the 14th Amendment’s due process promise protects only rights deeply rooted in America’s history and tradition. “And it is beyond dispute that the right to same-sex marriage is not among those rights,” Alito wrote in his 2015 dissent. Some conservative commentators have suggested that Alito has provided a road map for future attempts to eliminate other guaranteed liberties. Other legal scholars doubt that there is either a willingness on the court or in legislatures to eliminate other rights. “On interracial marriage, contraception and same-sex marriage, for one reason or another there is no likelihood the court is going to revisit those decisions,” Northwestern University law professor John McGinnis said. The fact that Americans have relied on the same-sex marriage decision to plan and invest in their lives and relationships makes it unlikely that the justices will overturn it, McGinnis said. McGinnis added, “No state legislature is going to get rid of contraception. That’s fanciful. And no state legislature is going to get rid of interracial marriage.” George Mason University constitutional law professor Ilya Somin said Alito’s ruling could make it unlikely the court would recognize due process protections in new areas such as transgender rights. “But on the whole its effect on due process rights is likely to be minor,” Somin said. (Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York; Editing by Will Dunham and Scott Malone) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Xochitl Gomez was proud of the authentic teenage representation in ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’. The 16-year-old star plays LGBTQ+ Latina superhero America Chavez in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) sequel and was delighted to play a character who matched her age. Xochitl told Variety at the premiere of the movie in Hollywood on Monday (02.05.22): “It’s really crazy because I was 14 and she was 14. I feel like teens don’t really get as much representation because they have like, a 20-year-olds playing 15-year-olds. So what’s better than an actual 14-year-old playing 14.” The star also revealed that she studied co-star Elizabeth Olsen, who plays Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, during her time on set. Gomez said: “I did look at Lizzie, you know, especially while she was acting, and getting ready to kind of do the scene… She’s just, you know, a powerful woman. “Especially me as a young girl, I would constantly look up to her, and I realised how much five minutes before a scene that’s kind of difficult, she would kind of get in that moment. And I realised that, ‘Oh, well, if she’s doing it, I should probably do it, too.'” Xochitl described the premiere as a “lifetime experience” as it marked a first in her career. She said of watching the film with fans: “This is going to be like one of the lifetime experiences for me, honestly. I know that Benedict (Cumberbatch) and Lizzie (Olsen) have gone to their movie premieres; they’ve seen themselves on the screen, but this is a whole other thing for me. “It’s absolutely crazy.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Phoebe Bridgers had an abortion while on tour last year. The 27-year-old singer-songwriter – who is allegedly engaged to ‘Normal People’ star Paul Mescal – has shared her abortion story after a document leaked by the US Supreme Court suggested the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade case that legalised abortion across America could be overturned. The ‘Smoke Signals’ singer says “everyone” should have “access” to abortion services like Planned Parenthood and shared “a big list of places you can donate to right now”. She tweeted: “I had an abortion in October of last year while I was on tour. “I went to Planned Parenthood where they gave me the abortion pill. It was easy. “Everyone deserves that kind of access.” Meanwhile, a partygoer recently claimed that the singer introduced Paul as her fiancé as she attended a bash at the Coachella festival in California. Phoebe performed at the event while Paul was also seen mingling with his ‘Normal People’ co-star Daisy Edgar-Jones at the festival. The pair were first romantically linked in 2020 when the American singer referred to Paul as “the cute boy” during an interview and revealed she “got a little pitter-patter” in her heart when she noticed the actor was following her on Instagram. Paul then landed a role in her music video for the track ‘Saviour Complex’ before the pair went Instagram official at the end of last year. The 26-year-old actor hasn’t publicly confirmed the relationship but has spoken about the positive aspects of having a girlfriend. He said: “To have someone too lean on through such a mad, mad time has been invaluable. Really, I don’t know where I’d be without her.” Phoebe came out as bisexual when she was in high school and previously suggested that she “doesn’t believe in” straight people. The singer said: “I don’t know — I actually don’t believe that anyone is, like, entirely straight. “I just don’t believe in straight people! It’s like, how? It’s 2021!” View the full article

Published by New York Daily News Lawmakers in more than a dozen states have announced plans to introduce “trans refuge laws” in an effort to counterbalance a growing number of laws targeting transgender youth and their families across the country. On Tuesday, the LGBTQ Victory Institute, Equality California, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, as well as California state Sen. Scott Wiener, announced the rollout of a national initiative designed to protect transgender youth from penalties when seeking gender-affirming care. Legislatures in 22 states have introduced bills to ban best-practice medical care for transgend… Read More View the full article

Published by AFP Protestors in New York hold up cardboard cutouts of conservative Supreme Court justices after the leak of a draft court ruling that would end the constitutional right to abortion Washington (AFP) – The leaked draft decision that indicates the Supreme Court is poised to eliminate abortion rights marks a stunning triumph of a five-decade campaign by religious conservatives to plant their agenda at the center of US political life. At the core of the “culture wars” over feminism, race, secularism and LGBTQ rights, the campaign took off when conservative Catholics and Evangelical Protestants joined hands following the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling guaranteeing a woman’s right to have an abortion. That alliance, at first weak compared to the progressive social movement, grew to become a juggernaut in local and national politics over the following decades. The final stage was set when Donald Trump, never an opponent of abortion before he ran for president in 2016, repaid the religious right’s support by naming three conservative justices to the Supreme Court, tilting it decidedly in their favor. “Roe v. Wade was decided 50 years ago, and the right wing began to resist it and launched an enormous backlash immediately,” said Columbia Law School Professor Katherine Franke. Their stunning success at the Supreme Court, she said, represents a “radical retrenchment” of three generations of constitutional law. Litmus test for candidates Russell Moore, a veteran Evangelical Christian activist and public theologian at Christianity Today, recalled that abortion was not a partisan political issue in the 1970s. At the time, he said, “Many Roe supporters assumed that the ‘pro-life’ movement would just go away.” Catholics and Evangelicals built media-savvy lobby groups with names like “Moral Majority” and “Family Research Council” that spread their message in churches around the country. With strong funding, they supported political candidates who backed “right to life,” as the anti-abortion movement was dubbed, and steadily accrued power. By the arrival of president Ronald Reagan in 1981, abortion had become a centerpiece of conservative politics, and was a litmus test for any Republican seeking office. Moore said the movement took advantage of advances in medical technology to promote their arguments. For one, steady improvements in care for premature babies pushed back the view of “viability” — how early a fetus can live outside the womb — changing people’s views of the consequences of abortion. In addition, Moore said, the spread of sonograms allowed expectant mothers and their families to see their babies in the womb. With sonograms, “it becomes very difficult… to speak of the unborn child as simply a clump of tissue or collection of cells,” he said. Washington insider In parallel with the popular movement, anti-abortion activists built a force in Washington with a long-term goal to get their own justices on the Supreme Court. “From the very beginning, people understood that this would have to be addressed through the judiciary,” said Moore. Central to that effort was Leonard Leo, a former clerk of the court’s most conservative justice, Clarence Thomas, and a figure in the Catholic Church’s anti-abortion Opus Dei sect, a quiet but highly influential force in Washington politics. From the late 1990s, Leo built a network to shape the US judiciary over the long term, operating from the powerful Federalist Society and tapping donors for tens of millions of dollars. According to The Washington Post, in the 2000s, Leo was deeply influential in President George W. Bush’s administration. Most notably, Leo led the campaigns to promote Bush’s two nominations to the high court: Samuel Alito, the author of the leaked draft opinion overturning Roe, and Chief Justice John Roberts, who reportedly stands with the court’s three liberals against it. A key contact of Leo’s in the Bush White House was Brett Kavanaugh — now one of the five Supreme Court Justices who reportedly backed Alito’s opinion. Victory with Trump Polls showed, and still show, that a significant majority of Americans support abortion rights. But by 2016, the anti-abortion movement were powerful enough to make or break Trump’s presidential campaign. Never particularly religious or opposed to abortion, Trump actively courted Evangelical leaders and, earning their blessing, began to condemn abortion and say Roe should be overturned. Trump chose for his vice president Mike Pence, an Evangelical himself who as Indiana governor set tough restrictions on abortion. And Trump announced a “shortlist” of nominees he would propose to fill court vacancies — a list supplied by Leo. That helped swing the election, with nearly 80 percent of Evangelicals backing Trump despite clouds over his personal life. The payoff was clear: Trump, it turned out, had the opportunity to name three justices to the nine-member Supreme Court, and all were conservatives backed by Leo and his network. Struggle not over Moore said he is uncomfortable with the way Alito’s draft decision was leaked, saying it tarnished the court. Nevertheless, it marks the success of a five-decade political battle. “Most conservative evangelicals will be very happy with the court decision,” Moore told AFP. “But most of us understand that does not mean an end to the struggle, but a new phase,” he said, referring to what is already a fight to have abortion made illegal by the legislatures in each of the 50 states. View the full article

Published by New York Daily News NEW YORK — Fashion’s biggest night out was also a big night for reflection. Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union paid a touching tribute to their 14-year-old daughter, Zaya, at the Met Gala on Monday night, while also sharing powerful words of advice for other parents of trans kids. The power couple’s fashion turned heads as they entered the celebrity-packed fund-raiser benefitting the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute: Union, 49, stunned in a silver sequin Versace number with a long feathered train and a massive flower accent around her waist; while Wade, 40, wore a white blazer, whit… Read More View the full article

Published by Raw Story By Sky Palma An official audit of five large California law enforcement agencies has found evidence of significant racial bias from officers, some of whom are members of the right-wing extremist group the Proud Boys, Rolling Stone reports. “The results of the state auditor’s investigation into ‘biased conduct’ — launched at the request of the legislature — were released last week in a 95 page report,” reports Rolling Stone. “The investigation surveyed the patterns and practices of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s department, the police departments of San Jose, San Bernardino, and Stockton, as well as… Read More View the full article

Published by AFP Demonstrators in front of the US Supreme Court in Washington on May 3, 2022 Washington (AFP) – President Joe Biden urged voters Tuesday to defend their “fundamental” rights after a leaked Supreme Court draft on ending nationwide legal abortion sparked a political firestorm around one of America’s most divisive ethical issues. If confirmed by the court, the ruling would categorically overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade case, which enshrined abortion rights across the country — ensuring the hot-button question will dominate the November midterm elections for control of Congress. In practice, it would mean that abortion laws were left up to individual state legislatures, with as many as half of the country’s states expected to introduce bans or new restrictions. Abortion is the fiercest fought of all the so-called culture war battles, and Republicans have pushed hard for years to overturn Roe — something that became almost inevitable once three conservative justices were appointed under Donald Trump, shifting the Supreme Court’s political balance sharply to the right. Biden, whose Democrats have been forecast to lose their narrow control of Congress in November, issued a rallying cry to the left, warning that restricting abortion rights will be only the beginning. “I believe that a woman’s right to choose is fundamental… and basic fairness and the stability of our law demand that it not be overturned,” Biden said in a written statement. “It will fall on voters to elect” officials who back abortion rights, he said, vowing to work to pass legislation in Congress that codifies Roe v. Wade — a goal impossible to achieve unless far more Democrats win seats. Speaking to reporters, Biden went further, calling the draft ruling “radical” and warning of a “fundamental shift in American jurisprudence” that could put into question the future of gay marriage and “how you raise your child.” “It would mean that every other decision relating to the notion of privacy is thrown into question.” ‘Roe v. Wade is going to go!’ The leaking of the draft ruling was unprecedented, knocking another hole in the once hallowed reputation of the top court as the one apolitical branch in the US government. Chief Justice John Roberts confirmed that the document released by the Politico news website was authentic, although he cautioned that this did not necessarily represent the court’s final decision. Roberts ordered a probe into the leak. Crowds of protesters from both camps descended on the Supreme Court building, with anti-abortion activists chanting “abortion is violence. Abortion is oppression” as well as “Hey Hey Ho Ho Roe v. Wade is going to go!” In Roe v. Wade, the court ruled that access to abortion is a constitutional right. In a subsequent 1992 ruling, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the court guaranteed a woman’s right to an abortion until the fetus is viable outside the womb, which is typically around 22 to 24 weeks of gestation. Most developed countries allow abortions on request up to a gestational limit, most often 12 weeks. Roe v. Wade makes the United States one of a handful of nations to allow the procedure without restriction beyond 20 weeks of pregnancy — although many others allow it past that point for specific reasons. The court had been expected to decide this June on challenges to Roe v. Wade. The Republican National Committee said it was time for abortion decisions to revert to state governments. “The far left wants unelected judges to impose a radical, one-size fits all abortion policy, leaving Americans without a voice. The Republican Party will always stand for the sanctity of life,” it said. ‘Wrong from the start’ The draft opinion was written by Justice Samuel Alito and according to Politico has been circulating since February inside the court — now dominated 6-3 by conservatives. The 98-page draft majority opinion calls Roe v. Wade decision enshrining the right to abortion “egregiously wrong from the start.” “We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” Alito writes in the document, labeled the “Opinion of the Court.” “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.” The Guttmacher Institute, which backs abortion rights, has said 26 states are “certain or likely” to ban abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned. Democratic governors of several states including California, New Mexico and Michigan swiftly announced plans to enshrine abortion rights into law even if the court overturns Roe, with California Governor Gavin Newsom tweeting: “Women will remain protected here.” View the full article

Published by NJ.com The pastor of a church in Sussex County says a portion of his congregation has felt bullied since the beginning of the year, when vandals began setting fire to the LBGTQ+ flag in front of the building and leaving harassing messages on the house of worship’s voicemail. “It is a rainbow flag, we are an open congregation, and we welcome all people,” the Rev. Steve Bechtold told NJ Advance Media on Tuesday. “But that’s not popular with some people and we get criticism about that,” Bechtold said. Bechtold is pastor of the Sparta United Methodist Church in Sparta. He said the flag was first burned l… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Maria Caspani (Reuters) – Democratic lawmakers from 16 states on Tuesday pledged to introduce legislation providing legal refuge to transgender youth and their families displaced by restrictive laws in their states. These states will join legislative efforts already under way in California, New York and Minnesota to provide a coordinated response to a recent wave of laws and measures banning gender-affirming care for transgender youth in multiple conservative states including Texas and Alabama. “This attack on the very existence of our community is something that we will not accept and we’re going to fight and push back very, very hard,” said California state Senator Scott Wiener as he announced the coalition at an event with the LGBTQ Victory Institute and other civil rights groups. Wiener is the sponsor of a California bill introduced in March that is serving as a template for other states. It would, among other things, reject any out-of-state court judgment removing transgender children from their parents in cases where parents allow their kids to receive gender-affirming care against local measures. It would also bar compliance with any out-of-state subpoenas seeking to obtain health or other related information on individuals who come to California to receive such care, Wiener has said. The rollout of refuge legislation will have to wait in many of the 16 states where legislative sessions have already wrapped up, and might face opposition in some legislatures. Annise Parker, the president and CEO of the LGBTQ Victory Institute, said it was nonetheless important for leaders to send “a very clear message” to trans youth and their families. “We see you, we hear you, we support you and we’re going to do everything in our power to make you safe,” Parker said. (Reporting by Maria Caspani in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis) View the full article