As the Vietnam War raged on, Walter Cronkite filed a special report with a rare on-air commentary. In it, the legendary CBS anchor declared the catastrophic conflict, well into its second decade, was destined to “end in a stalemate.”

Upon watching Cronkite’s warning, President Lyndon B. Johnson reportedly remarked that if he had lost the venerated newsman, he had “lost Middle America.” Two months later, LBJ announced he would not seek re-election in 1968.

In today’s America, there’s no equivalent to Cronkite, and “Middle America” has disintegrated into a million little echo chambers. But we are experiencing a similar breaking point. For three straight days, D*nald Tr*mp has threatened to commit war crimes in Iran and destroy the country of 90 million people.

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” the 79-year-old declared Tuesday morning.

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In response, the loudest carnival barkers in the MAGA echo chamber are publicly denouncing the president. Even for them, genocidal insanity is a step too far.

Now the question is, will our country be rescued from the nuclear brink? For humanity’s sake, here’s hoping the answer is yes.

“How do we 25th Amendment his a**?”

Alex Jones, a desperate and defeated people turn their weary eyes to you. The arch conspiracy theorist has broken with the president over his illegal war in Iran, recently praying that Tr*mp is “rescued from the evil control he’s under.”

Now, the Info Wars host wants Tr*mp out of office. “How do we 25th Amendment his a**?,” he asked on his show.

Marjorie Taylor Greene issued the same demand. “25TH AMENDMENT!!!” she posted Tuesday. “This is evil and madness.”

While we’ve known for a decade that Tr*mp is deranged and unfit for office, we won’t discourage anybody from joining the chorus. We appear to be on the verge of catastrophe, engineered by the President of the United States in our name. Now is not the time for purity tests!

We remain suspicious of MTG’s rebrand while hoping her calls for intervention are heeded. The situation is spiraling out of control.

On Easter Sunday, Tr*mp threatened to bomb Iran’s power plants, which is almost certainly a war crime. The Geneva Convention, ratified after WW2, prohibits the targeting of critical civilian infrastructure.

Using expletives, POTUS said he would attack if Iran didn’t fully open the Strait of Hormuz.

“Open the F*ckin’ Strait, you crazy b*stards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH!,” he posted at 7:03 a.m. EST before concluding with a very Christian message: “Praise be to Allah.”

Tr*mp’s mockery of Islam sent one of his most steadfast boosters, Tucker Carlson, over the edge.

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The biggest defection

For months, Carlson has lambasted the Administration for its unauthorized campaigns against Iran and Venezuela. But the ex-Fox News host has avoided criticizing Tr*mp directly.

Until now. After his Easter morning missive, Carlson ripped into Tr*mp with a scathing monologue.

“How dare you speak that way on Easter morning to the country?” he said. “Who do you think you are? You’re tweeting out the f-word on Easter morning.”

Carlson went on to call Tr*mp’s threats “vile on every level.” He also took issue with the president lampooning Islam.

“No decent person mocks other people’s religions,” he said.

In keeping with our theme, people of all political stripes welcomed Carlson’s words.

Carlson also called for military officers to take away the nuclear codes…

The end of an empire

If one were to draw up the end of the American Empire, it would look a lot like the current moment.

At the White House on Monday, Tr*mp rambled on about the war effort beside an Easter Bunny. It was a visual that even the strongest high would struggle to produce.

“I don’t think it gets much more hostile than Iran,” he said. “They’re capable fighters, they’re very tough people. You don’t mind when the enemy is weak, but that enemy is strong. Not so strong like they were about a month ago, I can tell you. Right now, they’re not too strong at all in my opinion.”

Later in the White House briefing room, Tr*mp gushed over the military’s apparent rescue of an injured airman whose plane was shot down in Iran.

Oozing with incoherence, his words were impossible to follow.

“They came in so fast and so hard and these guys knew exactly what—‘let’s go, come in, get in, let’s go, pwah!,'” he said. “They came right after another. Not at the same time. They don’t want to come at the same time. They had to come right after each other. They didn’t have any room.”

And we, clearly, do not have a sane president in office.

MS NOW medical analyst Dr. Vin Gupta said he’s certain the soon-to-be 80-year-old Tr*mp is suffering from dementia.

Will the 25th Amendment be invoked?

With all that said… we’re not hopeful! Ratified in 1967, the 25th Amendment would require the Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet to declare that Tr*mp is unable to discharge his power or duties.

While an increasing number of Democrats are calling for the 25th Amendment, no elected Republican has followed suit.

As Tr*mp teases genocide, JD Vance, who would be responsible for invoking the clause, is all the way in Hungary.

Thirsty for approval, the VP echoed Tr*mp’s threats in a speech Tuesday.

That’s right: the situation is so dire, Alex Jones has a stronger grip on reality than our Vice President. That’s not good.

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On Wednesday, 11 members of the Turkish rights group Young LGBTI+ were tried over charges of “obscenity” and “violating the protection of the family,” their lawyer told Agence France-Presse.

The defendants face three years in prison for violating an article in the Turkish constitution that prosecutors say undermines “family values.” Among the activists’ offenses: posting images to social media that show same-sex couples kissing, a display deemed “obscene” by the government.

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The trial in the western city of Izmir could result in prison time for the defendants and the suspension of their civil rights. It coincides with an appeal against another court ruling issued in December ordering Young LGBTI+’s dissolution based on the same charges.

While homosexuality isn’t illegal in Turkey as it is in most neighboring Muslim-majority countries, authoritarian President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made the LGBTQ+ community a frequent target when it suits him. He blames Turkey’s low birthrate in part on gay people.

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“This trial arises from a policy of excluding LGBT+ people from the public sphere,” said Kerem Dikmen, who is the Young LGBTI+ group’s lawyer and also a defendant in the case.

“This is not about obscenity. Activities that are perfectly legitimate, legal and in line with the Constitution are being criminalized. It is a form of dehumanization,” he said.

Turkey’s tenuous ties to Europe once moderated the country’s official treatment of LGBTQ+ Turks, but with Erdogan’s rise, the country’s integration with the West stalled. Talks on EU membership, first proposed in 1999, effectively ended in 2016 over European concerns on human rights, migration issues, and Erdogan’s democratic backsliding.

In October, draft legislation leaked that would impose penalties targeting Turkey’s LGBTQ+ community and behavior deemed “contrary to biological sex and general morality.”

“Legislators could be considering the criminalization of any expression of LGBTI identities, consensual same-sex sexual activity, and access to vital gender-affirming healthcare,” Dinushika Dissanayake, Amnesty’s Deputy Director for Europe, said at the time. “Under these proposals, people could face jail terms based on gender stereotypes, how they present themselves, and who they chose to be in a relationship with.”

“These proposals present a grave threat to the rights of LGBTI people and those who advocate for LGBTI rights, and they must never see the light of day,” he warned.

While the legislation was withdrawn in November, the new case is testing the limits of current law to the same ends.

“We will not give up defending human rights,” said Young LGBTI+’s lawyer. “But they are trying to send a message to society through us.”

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There’s uproar in San Francisco over the news that a local coffee chain will be removing its Pride flags.

Phil Jaber and son Jacob launched Philz Coffee in San Francisco in 2003. It now has outlets across the Bay Area, as well as greater Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento, and Chicago.

The Jabers completed a sale of the business, which now has around 75 branches, last year. It’s now owned by private equity firm Freeman Spogli & Co.

On the weekend, a Change.org petition was launched by unnamed baristas. They expressed unhappiness over a new dictate that they remove Pride flags from stores.

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“Philz Coffee’s recent decision to remove pride flags from their stores has left many team members and customers feeling confounded and unsupported,” they say. “Within Philz’s expressed core values, the company emphasizes its goal to create a ‘customer and team-member focused’ experience. The pride flags within the stores hold deep meaning and value to both staff and visitors, symbolizing that these locations are safe and welcoming spaces for all individuals, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.”

“Unity is fundamental to how we operate”

In a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle, CEO Mahesh Sadarangani appeared to confirm the policy. Sadarangani said Philz, “was working toward creating a more consistent, inclusive experience across all our stores, including removing a variety of flags and other decor.”

Sadarangani went on to say that Philz’s “longstanding support of the LGBTQIA+ community is unchanged. This is a change in how our stores look, not in who we are. Our allyship runs deeper than what is on our walls. It shows up in who we hire, how we treat one another and in our annual Pride Month Unity celebration, which returns this June as it has every year. Unity is fundamental to how we operate.”

Local media outlets report not all stores have implemented the policy. Some staff say they’ve not yet been informed about it.

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Customers react to news of the change

As evidenced on its social media, the brand is known for displaying Pride flags in several stores. The video below appeared in January.

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A post shared by Philz Coffee (@philzcoffee)

Unsurprisingly, many people are now leaving critical comments on the Philz Coffee social media pages.

“Uninstalled my app today and decided no more Philz for myself or orders for my staff,” said one customer. “Removing flags does not create inclusivity, it’s the opposite.”

Some customers say this is the latest way that Philz Coffee has changed in ethos since it was sold to a private equity firm.

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On TACO Tuesday, D*nald Tr*mp got served a heaping plate of political comeuppance.

Hopefully he was hungry!

As the U.S. and Iran announced a fragile cease-fire that doesn’t accomplish any of the administration’s supposed objectives, Republicans were once again thrashed in local elections from suburban Wisconsin to Anchorage, Alaska. Though the GOP did retain a House seat in Marjorie Taylor Greene’s deep red Georgia district, the electorate swung towards the Democratic candidate by 25 points. It was the Dems’ biggest over-performance in a special House election in 18 years.

With a narrow majority in Congress and Tr*mp’s approval ratings under water, Republicans are bracing themselves for a midterm shellacking. Already, Democrats have flipped more than two dozen seats in Republican or battleground states, while the GOP hasn’t captured any Democrat-held seats.

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In a delicious example of symbolism, Dems have even flipped the Florida district that includes Mar-a-Lago, where Tr*mp and his cabinet plotted the five-week war that sent the world to the nuclear brink.

Here are all the ways that Tr*mp is licking his wounds…

Iran

The world never needed a TACO Tuesday more. Hours after threatening the Iranian people with extinction, Tr*mp reversed course and accepted a cease-fire. While both sides are claiming victory, it’s apparent that Iran holds the cards.

Despite absorbing 13,000 targeted strikes from U.S. and Israeli forces, Iran managed to choke off the global oil supply and pelted America’s Persian Gulf allies with missiles and drones. They hit oil refineries, economic hubs and American military bases, shattering the perceived insulation of glistening desert metropolises such as Dubai and Doha from the region’s instability.

Emboldened, Iranian officials released a 10-point peace plan that involves the lifting of all sanctions, U.S. withdrawal from the Middle East and continued control over the Strait of Hormuz, where 20% of the world’s oil supply passes through. Still intact, the hardline Iranian regime hasn’t mentioned anything about surrendering its nuclear stockpile, the alleged driving force behind America and Israel’s bombing campaign.

Desperate to save face, the White House says they received a different proposal from Iran, but there’s no denying the uncertainty on the ground. As of Wednesday morning, ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz remains “throttled,” per the New York Times.

Of course, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention the biggest tragedy of this senseless war: the mass loss of human life, including a reported 3,500 in Iran, 1,400 in Lebanon and 19 in Israel and 13 American service members.

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If Tr*mp has lost Alex Jones…

Wisconsin

Last spring, a usually obscure election for a Supreme Court seat in Wisconsin attracted $100 million in spending and featured Elon Musk donning a cheesehead hat. But the richest man in the world’s money and presence backfired.

The Democratic candidate won the seat.

On Tuesday, another election for a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat was held, albeit with much less fanfare. The liberal candidate skated to a blowout win over his conservative rival, providing progressives with a 5-2 advantage on the bench.

In keeping with national trends, heavily Hispanic areas shifted sharply towards the Democrat-aligned candidate. A key voting bloc for the GOP in 2024 has all but evaporated. Maybe siccing federal agents on immigrant communities wasn’t such a good idea after all!?

Despite Milwaukee and Madison’s status as deep blue cities, Wisconsin has remained a swing state due to its populous and ruby red suburbs. But in another sign of electoral doom for the GOP, Democrats won a mayoral seat in one of the state’s most conservative areas.

Here’s another crazy stat: if you toss out all the Wisconsin districts that Kamala Harris carried in ’24, the liberal Supreme Court candidate still would’ve won.

Georgia looking peachy

Tr*mp won Marjorie Taylor Greene’s rural district with 68% of the vote. The Republican who’s taking MTG’s place in Congress, Clay Fuller, won by just 11%.

Since re-signing from Congress, MTG has emerged as one of Tr*mp’s most vociferous critics on the right. She says the president has sold out the “America First” movement and working class people. In the wake of his unhinged threats, she’s called for him to be removed from office.

It appears that many GOP voters in her district agree. All 10 of the area’s counties shifted by double digits towards the Democratic candidate.

In 2024, nearly two dozen House Republicans won their races by 10 points or less.

Even the GOP’s brazen redistricting efforts don’t seem like they can change the midterm math: Republicans are in trouble!

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It may be too late for Philz Coffee.

A belated announcement by the specialty coffee shop’s CEO on Wednesday explained that the San Francisco-born retailer will remove Pride flags and other LGBTQ+ ephemera from all of its locations, following the company’s sale last August to a private equity firm.

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The company didn’t respond to inquiries about the new policy.

Phil Jaber and his son Jacob founded Philz Coffee in Jaber’s former corner store on 24th Street in the Mission District in San Francisco in 2003. 

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The owners’ “one cup at a time” philosophy and the store’s groovy ambiance — posters, tapestries, and painted clouds on the walls brewed hippie nostalgia — caught on with the artisanal crowd in the Bay Area and made Philz a coffee spot phenomenon. 75 locations now operate across California and the Chicago area.

The Silicon Valley darling catered the coffee at Mark Zuckerberg’s 2012 wedding to Priscilla Chan, fortifying guests with caffeine and their not-so-secret ingredients of cardamom and manufacturing cream.

The Jabers and their investors earned $145M with the company’s sale last summer to LA-based private equity firm Freeman Spogli.

CEO Mahesh Sadarangani’s explanation on Wednesday about stripping the stores of Pride flags and “other decor” to create “a more consistent, inclusive experience” was forced by the publication of a Change.org petition from an unnamed group of Philz employees denouncing the new policy.

“The Pride flags within the stores hold deep meaning and value to both staff and visitors, symbolizing that these locations are safe and welcoming spaces for all individuals, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity,” the petition reads. “Removing these flags risks alienating a core group of team members and loyal customers who see Philz not just as a coffee shop, but as a place where they are embraced and celebrated for who they are.” 

“Philz has made their branding and fortune off of supporting the LGBTQ community,” said one former barista in response. “This is a slap in the face to all of your employees.”

“Make this right!” they added.

It may be too late for that.

The corporatization of Philz has been underway for a long time, say several staffers, past and present, as the owners met the demands of expansion and other investors throughout the coffee company’s 22-year history. The original poster-laden location closed in 2023.

“It hasn’t been Philz for years now,” one purported employee shared on Reddit just ahead of the company’s sale in August. “They are getting ready for a big Starbucks-style change.” 

Even the petition itself holds clues to the corporatization of OG Philz’ cardamon-infused culture: “team members,” “core values,” “a customer-focused experience,” and “welcoming spaces” are likely not terms that came up between baristas and customers over their custom-made coffees next to a pencil jar holding a Pride flag in 2003.

By the time a company is asked to “reaffirm its commitment to diversity and inclusion, aligning its values with the community it serves,” it’s likely already lost the thread.

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Asiri Kuttige left Sri Lanka for the United Kingdom with nothing besides a small backpack. In it, he packed a pillow and sandals.

It’s fair to say one item wound up being a little more practical than the other!

But don’t blame Kuttige for packing poorly: he had never previously left Sri Lanka. Located about 880 miles off the southeast coast of India, the island nation of 23 million people is known for its breathtaking tropical landscape. A beautiful place to grow up, it can also be stifling. Though Kuttige and his Catholic family grew up as religious minorities in the majority Buddhist nation, their conservative sensibilities were the norm.

Once Kuttige suspected he was gay–he had come across an article in a magazine–he knew he had to leave. “If I stayed in Sri Lanka, I could never be myself,” he tells Queerty.

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Now as an out gay man who splits his time between London and Spain, Kuttige is enjoying a life that he never thought was possible. He’s had a fruitful career in children’s TV and is passionate about his creative pursuits. When he looks in the mirror each day, he’s proud.

That wasn’t always the case. For much of Kuttige’s life, he suffered from body dysmorphia. A dedication towards fitness and wellness shifted him spiritually.

And OK… it also gave him a ripped bod!

“I do this for myself,” he says. “When I stand in front of the mirror, if I feel good, that’s enough.”

The closeted, shy kid who left his school uniform on at the beach would be proud. Better yet, Kuttige enjoys complete acceptance from his family. Though his father passed in 2014, he came out to his mother last year, after all of this time.

She responded with unequivocal love.

“She said, ‘Nothing changes, you are who you are,'” he says. “It was amazing.”

During a moment of downtime, Queerty recently caught up with Kuttige to chat about his transformation, his fitness routine and his dreams of being an underwear model. Here’s what he had to say…

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QUEERTY: Why have you decided to share your story?

ASIRI KUTTIGE: I often receive messages on Instagram, particularly from Asian men who are struggling with their identity or feel afraid to come out because of cultural expectations or family pressure. Many of them are still living with their families and feel they have no safe space to be themselves. I realize that being able to live independently in the U.K. is a privilege, and if sharing my story can give even a small sense of hope to someone who feels stuck or alone, that means a lot to me.

All my life, I’ve gone through body dysmorphia and things like that. I always told myself “I’m not good enough, I’m ugly, that’s why nobody really likes me.” Things like that. I tried to end it end it a few times. But I just kept going. I said to myself, “There has to be something else. There has to be something else.”

You’ve certainly found it. How did you keep going?

I think if I really want something, I really work for it. I won’t stop. People have said to me, “Oh yeah, you’re at a certain age, you will never have abs.” Things like that. I don’t to challenge anyone, but I also want to prove, “Is that true?” I do it for myself. I don’t do it for anyone else. It’s not a competition. That’s how I keep going. If I have a goal, I just keep working towards it.

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Suffice to say, you look great! What’s your fitness routine?

I had a crazy one. I trained seven days per week. But then I just felt it was too much. So I’ve cut back to six days. Now at the moment, it’s five days. I think that’s OK! I do push-pull legs, full-focused full body workouts. That’s my routine.

How do you get yourself to show up at the gym even if you don’t want?

For me, part of it is about confidence and self expression. Since I was very young I have had the dream of modeling underwear or swimwear, so building my physique has been a way of working towards that and feeling confident in my own skin. Another motivation is the environment of the gym itself. Wherever I train there is always someone stronger or fitter, and I see that as a positive thing. I often use that as motivation to push myself a little further each time.

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What do you eat on your cheat day? Please tell me you have one…

I still eat quite clean. But when I go out, I don’t want to feel guilty. I love cakes and pastries! I love cream cakes. I love cheesecake. I don’t feel guilty having some of those.

You mentioned you want to model underwear or swimwear. How do you feel when you’re wearing a speedo?

Amazing, amazing, amazing! I never, ever thought I would be able to wear one. I’ve always been a shy kid. In Sri Lanka, after school you would always go to the beach, because it’s an island and beaches are everywhere. We would go to the beach after school four or five times per week. Everyone would take their clothes off and jump into the water in their underwear. I was the only one who wouldn’t go. I would keep my uniform on, because I was too shy.

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Well, now you’re certainly not! Along those lines, do you prefer thongs or jockstraps?

Oh my God! Oh my God… that’s hard. Uh… thong! Thong!

What’s your favorite muscle to work out?

There’s two of them: glutes and pecs. I have a dedicated page for that as well. Just a dedicated page for workouts for glutes and pecs.

What do you do for fun?

I love TV shows, so I love watching stuff on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV. At the moment, I’ve recently finished Outlander. That’s one of my favorite shows. I also play piano. I have one at home. Then I like cleaning. I’m a clean freak and love things organized and tidy. That’s probably one of the reasons why I’ve never found love! 

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A Christian dad took his son to a TV court for $6,000, claiming his gay son owes him the money because he didn’t attend the entirety of a summer conversion therapy program.

The story appeared on a recent recirculated episode of Equal Justice with Judge Eboni K. Williams, a court-TV show. Dad Gregory Talbert said that he caught his son, Michael Talbert, kissing another boy the previous year when Michael was still 17-years-old. Gregory showed Judge Eboni K. Williams text messages where he threatened to kick his minor child out if he didn’t stop being gay.

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Michael apologized to his father and promised he’d “do whatever you need me to do.” Gregory responded, saying, “Let’s fix this.”

Several days later, Michael found a religious conversion therapy program and told his dad about it. The program would last for three months and would require him to be present every weekday from 8 to 5.

“If I go to the program, can I continue living here?” he asked his dad.

Gregory says he paid for the program because he liked the idea of turning his only child straight. He mentioned that he was very happy when he learned that his child would be a boy so that he would have someone to carry on his family name, something that, as a very religious Christian in the Memphis area, was important to him.

Well, the program didn’t work, and a month into it, Michael wanted to leave. He texted his dad, who refused to let him stop.

“Son, it was your idea to go to this program,” Gregory texted back. “You need to finish what you started. I spent $6,000. Money doesn’t grow on trees. How am I going to teach you how to be a man if you don’t keep your promises? Just follow the rules and you’ll be cured in two more months.”

Michael eventually escaped the program and went to stay with the friend he had previously kissed. His dad was furious and texted him to “pack your things and move out.”

Gregory was asking the court to make his son reimburse him for the $6,000 that the conversion therapy program cost. Judge Williams dismissed his claim, pointing out that Michael only said he wanted to go because he was worried about being thrown out of his home as a minor.

In an emotional moment, Judge Williams took Michael aside and affirmed that he deserves a family that loves him.

“Young man, you are not cursed,” she told him. “You are as loved and as worthy, Michael, as your father, your mother, and everyone else who gets the privilege to reside on this earth, young man. And I don’t care what your daddy says…. I don’t care what some stupid conversion therapy says, which is nothing but a bunch of hoopla and a scam and a money grab for young, vulnerable men like yourself.”

“I see you. You are valuable.”

It’s unclear when the episode first aired, but it has been getting attention on social media recently since it was just uploaded to YouTube. Equal Justice debuted in 2023.

Courtroom television shows are not actual courtrooms and therefore don’t have to follow the same rules as real courts. Equal Justice bills itself as a “small claims court arbitration” show. Arbitration is a private process in which a neutral third party hears both sides of a dispute and issues a decision that may be binding if the parties agreed beforehand to follow it. Arbitration is not the same as civil litigation.

Williams’ Wikipedia page identifies her as a lawyer and a TV host, not as a judge who has been elected or appointed in any jurisdiction. So it’s probably more accurate to think of courtroom TV shows like Equal Justice as talk shows that use a judicial-style format to tell a story.

But the problems with conversion therapy that the show presented are real. Conversion therapy has not been demonstrated to be able to turn LGBTQ+ people straight or cisgender, are often run by members of the clergy or lay ministries in a religious context, and both children and young adults are often badgered into going into them because they want to be good kids for their parents or even worry about being thrown out to the streets before they’re ready to support themselves.

Research has shown that LGBTQ+ youth are twice as likely as straight youth to face homelessness. Conversion therapy is associated with increased depression, anxiety, substance abuse risk, and suicidality.

The episode never explained how aware Michael’s mother was of the conversion therapy or what her reaction is to it now that her son has moved out.

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Lane is currently starring in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman on Broadway.

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Children’s hospitals in Minnesota are fully reinstating their gender-affirming care programs for people under 18 after parts of them were paused for over a month. The healthcare centers had temporarily suspended parts of their programs after the Trump administration threatened the hospitals’ federal funding in December.

“Offering science- and research-based health care to transgender and gender diverse youth is part of Children’s Minnesota’s vision of being every family’s essential partner in raising healthier children,” Children’s Minnesota said in a statement.

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Activists arrested for protesting RFK Jr’s proposed ban on gender-affirming care

Children’s Minnesota is a non-profit children’s hospital system in Minnesota with locations in both Minneapolis and St. Paul. Like many hospitals and clinics across the country, it suspended elements of its gender-affirming care plan for youth because of pressure from Trump and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

On February 27, Children’s Minnesota released a statement noting that they would “temporarily pause prescribing puberty-suppressing medications and pubertal hormones (estrogen and testosterone) for patients under age 18 in our Gender Health program,” citing “an increase in federal actions directed at pediatric health systems like ours that provide this care.”

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Under that pause, the hospitals still provided gender-related mental health care and counseling. Gender-affirming surgeries were not part of the pause because the hospital does not offer them to minors.

The threat to Children’s Minnesota’s federal funding came in December when Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. issued a declaration deeming puberty blockers, hormone treatment, and surgeries as unsafe (contradicting the evidence-based findings of numerous studies and the best practices recommended by every major medical association). Kennedy’s declaration cited the HHS’s own much-criticized review from May 2025 (which was anonymously generated in 90 days and underwent no peer-review process). His declaration threatened to potentially deny Medicaid and Medicare funding to any hospitals or clinics that still offered those treatments to minors.

Medicaid alone was estimated to have covered the cost of roughly 48% of patients admitted to the Children’s Minnesota Hospitals in 2023. A loss of the Medicaid and Medicare funding would represent millions of dollars of federal funding and result in the hospital being unable to care for many of its patients.

After the declaration, Minnesota was among the 21 states (plus D.C.) that came together to sue HHS in response. The lawsuit, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, said, “Health care services for transgender young people remain legal, and the federal government cannot intimidate or punish the providers who offer them.”

In March, Oregon-based federal judge, Mustafa Kasubhai, ruled that the administration had overreached with its declaration, providing preliminary relief to hospitals and doctors who provide gender-affirming care to minors.

The judge also noted that the declaration did not allow for proper notice periods or hearings, and implied that it was an attempt to circumvent proper policy change procedure.

In his ruling, Judge Kasubhai wrote, “The notion that ‘I will go forward and issue a declaration and see if we can get away with it’ is not a principle of governance that adheres to the overarching commitment to a democratic republic that requires the rule of law to be regarded and respected and honored as a sacred.”

With Judge Kasubhai’s ruling in place, Children’s Minnesota appears to have felt safe enough to offer gender-affirming care in its entirety once more. In its statement, the hospital wrote that the decision was related to “a federal court ruling that vacated a federal declaration attempting to restrict gender-affirming care.”

At this point, 27 states have passed laws restricting access to gender-affirming care for youths. Conversely, Minnesota has passed a law that protects people’s right to access trans healthcare.

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The gay nightlife scene in a U.S. city known for its progressive values and frigid winters may soon get a lot steamier.

For the first time in nearly 40 years, Minneapolis is considering a push to re-open the city’s bathhouses and gay sex clubs. The proposed ordinances, which include updating zoning regulations and revising health standards, would allow sex venues to operate legally.

Like many U.S. cities, Minneapolis had a thriving bathhouse scene until the AIDS crisis in the 1980s. During that time, nearly every major metro passed ordinances that banned the businesses. Minneapolis’ last legal bathhouse closed In 1988, per the Star Tribune.

Citing the public health crisis, officials across the country moved to shutter bathhouses, which was likely at the top of their wishlists anyway. Many activists and academics believe politicians used AIDS as a pretext to surveil gay people and push homosexuality back into society’s shadows.

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With the advent of PrEP and retroviral drugs, the risks today are far different. Minneapolis City Council president Elliott Payne, an author of the proposed changes, told the Star Tribune that he thinks bathhouses can be a benefit for public health.

He also views them as a way to protect queer people from a hostile regime in D.C.

Across the country in San Francisco, a city supervisor has been making a similar argument for years. After passing an array of repeals of 80’s-era prohibitions, San Francisco could soon see the return of its bathhouses as well.

The story of what happened in Minneapolis, and what’s changing, mirrors shifting societal attitudes on bathhouses and cruising in general.

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The battle over bathhouses

Believe it or not, some LGBTQ+ activists were proponents of closing sex clubs. The first out gay member of the Minneapolis City Council, Brian Coyle, helped pass the city’s ban in the ’80s.

He was diagnosed with HIV in 1986 and passed away from AIDS-related complications in 1991 at age 47. The Star Tribune says he warned that bathhouses facilitated “high-risk” encounters.

Before the city’s last adult bathhouse closed in ’88, the paper says a former patron of the club demonstrated outside the space and blamed anonymous sex as bathhouses for facilitating the spread of HIV.

Over in San Francisco, Larry Littlejohn, who founded a homophile organization (groups that pushed for gay rights by downplaying sex), first introduced a ballot initiative to close down the city’s baths. SF passed a number of onerous ordinances making it impossible for bathhouses to operate. The last one closed in 1987.

But figures like Coyle and Littlejohn were in the minority. Most advocates were proponents of bathhouses, and blamed conservatives for using concerns over AIDS to fulfill their long-standing objectives.

In addition to being safe places for gay sex, bathhouses were community hubs. They provided a way for medical professionals to reach at-risk people who were detached from care.

Bay Area LGBTQ+ activist Harry Breaux says closing the bathhouses in SF had the same impact on gay people as “shutting down the internet” would today.

The movement in Minneapolis

For nearly a decade, advocates have been pushing to bring back legal bathhouses in Minneapolis. A 2017 article from a now-defunct local newspaper reports on one of the early, under-the-radar meetings.

Even though PrEP had been around for five years, there still wasn’t a lot of political muster behind the movement. As recently as 2023, Minneapolis officials closed down an unlicensed sauna. It boasted around 900 members.

But in the second Tr*mp era, high-profile city officials say they see bathhouses as potential safe havens.

“Parties and events that operate as adult sex venues already happen in the shadows, and we are trying to ensure that they are safe for patrons, especially when LGBTQ+ individuals are under attack by the federal government,” Payne, who is straight, told the Star Tribune.

A spokesperson for Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey said he’s supportive of the city looking into the proposal.

As backlash grows over hookup apps and sex bots, bathhouses could also be vital antidotes to social isolation and alienation.

Bathhouses offering IRL experiences

A 2024 Minneapolis report found that six U.S. cities allow bathhouses to operate with special permits. None of those cities “reported issues with the businesses.”

Along with Minneapolis, San Francisco is looking to become one of them. In recent years, the city has lifted a number of restrictions. A City Supervisor named Rafael Mandalman, who’s gay, is leading the charge.

He told GayCities he doesn’t view bathhouses as sex-only venues. In Europe and Asia, they are social places to gather.

He doesn’t see why the same can’t be true here.

“If you think about the great bathhouses around the world, they’re not just sex venues,” he said. “They’re a kind of community center.”

In Mandalman’s mind, gay people connecting in a physical, sex-forward space is preferable to scrolling the grid. With Grindr subscriptions now costing hundreds of dollars annually, it’s also more inclusive and cost effective.

“I think it’s good for human beings,” he said. “People are social. I think we get a kind of stimulation from some of this online activity, including online-based sex apps, but it’s actually better to have more sustained community in person.”

Clearly, there’s an appetite for IRL cruising. In my home city of Chicago, the line for Steamworks, the bathhouse in Boystown, often stretches down the block on busy party weekends.

Rather than looking at their phones, prospective patrons are looking at each other.

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Out trans Rep. Sarah McBride (D-DE) scorned anti-trans Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) for implying that merely being trans is as egregious as the president’s threat to wipe out Iranian civilization.

McBride, the first out transgender person elected to Congress, posted on Wednesday, condemning Donald Trump‘s Truth Social post proclaiming “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” if Iran didn’t open the Strait of Hormuz. Iran stopped allowing ships to pass through the narrow waterway after Trump bombed the country last month.

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“I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” Trump continued.

Of course, Trump did not obliterate Iran. Instead, the president announced a two-week ceasefire deal as he and Iran negotiate. While Trump continues to claim he’s doing an incredible job, many have said it is extremely clear that the United States has suffered an embarrassing defeat in this unnecessary war.

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“It doesn’t matter if it’s ‘just bluster’ or ‘leverage,'” McBride posted yesterday. “The president doesn’t get to threaten genocide as a negotiating tactic.”

Mace replied, “You don’t get to call yourself a woman but you still do it.”

McBride didn’t take it lying down. She reposted Mace’s words and wrote, “According to this person in my replies, trans people exist so Donald Trump gets to genocide a country.”

While some, like Mace and anti-trans activist Riley Gaines, have stood by Trump throughout this mess, folks on all sides of the aisle have been horrified by the president’s threats and by his overall conduct toward Iran. Even (former) diehard MAGA followers have spoken out against his behavior.

But as McBride pointed out, Mace seems to believe being trans is the moral equivalent of threatening to kill nearly 100 million people.

When McBride was first elected to Congress, Mace mounted a campaign to prevent her from using the women’s room in the Capitol complex despite trans people having visited the Capitol for decades without incident.

She posted several messages a day to social media, attacking McBride and trans people as she tried to get resolutions passed preventing trans people from using the restrooms associated with their gender identities.

Mace has since continued to escalate her anti-trans rhetoric, building her entire brand around transphobia. In one social media post, she bluntly declared herself a “proud transphobe.”

She has referred to McBride as “it” and claimed, “She’s not a woman! It’s a man!” Mace has repeatedly misgendered and deadnamed McBride; claimed that McBride, trans people, and their allies are a threat to the safety of women and girls; repeatedly discussed McBride’s genitals on national television; and called her “mentally ill.”

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Former Fox Host Megyn Kelly recently went off on the president for allowing himself to be “bamboozled” by Israel into starting a pointless war with Iran.

Kelly’s rant shocked folks on social media, given that her rhetoric has become increasingly inflammatory and extreme of late. She is one in a series of right-wingers who have been speaking out against Donald Trump this week after he threatened to wipe out all of Iran if it did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz and after it became clear that the U.S. is not winning this war.

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“What led Trump, at 79 years old, to sit there in that Situation Room with Bibi Netanyahu… and buy what that guy was selling hook, line, and sinker when every other president was able to see through that liar?” Kelly told Piers Morgan. “What was it? Because he was told the next day by our own top advisors… that these are lies and that these objectives are not going to be attainable. Don’t believe him.”

She also called the president “too weak to say no” and “too gullible to see through the lies” when he “allowed himself to be pushed into this insane conflict.”

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“The goals as stated by Trump when we actually did pull the trigger were all over the board,” she said, “and to this moment, he’s pushing the BS claim that we effected regime change. No, we didn’t! It’s the same regime, just different players.”

She also pointed out that “Iran is more powerful economically” now, given its control over the Strait of Hormuz.

She slammed Trump for touting lies in the name of “saving face to bail off his insane threats about annihilating an entire civilization.”

“So I don’t know how we got here, Piers,” she said. “I’d like to know just as much as anybody else.

In response, some have expressed their surprise at agreeing with Kelly, while others have wondered how Trump‘s behavior could possibly be a surprise.

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Miami is home to one of the most vibrant communities in the world, one filled with eclectic characters, must-visit locales, and plenty of other jaw-dropping wonders.

No, we’re not talking about the gay nightlife scene of South Beach—we’re talking about the South Florida Reef Tract, a gorgeous underwater ecosystem that is, against all odds, utterly thriving.

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Surely we don’t have to tell you that Mother Nature isn’t doing so hot right now. Thanks to global warming and all the other human-inflicted damage on the planet, many of our most beautiful natural habitats are crumbling right under our feet.

Yet somehow this particular coral reef off the shore of Miami, once decimated by dredging in the 1950s, has bounced back, a resilient sign of hope in these ecologically depressing times.

And two gay men have made it their mission to keep it that way, rallying their community around preserving this aquamarine wonderland. Because not all heroes wear capes… some wear briefs.

Set to make its debut at the Miami Film Festival this month, Neon Reef is a different kind of nature documentary—surely one of the few queer nature docs in existence?—that shines a light on the intersection of the LGBTQ+ community & environmental activism.

At the heart of the story is married couple Patrick Breshike and David Grieser, South Beach residents leading the charge in keeping the South Florida Reef Tract safe from harm.

It was out of boredom during our 2020 lockdown era that the pair began more frequent paddle-boarding trips over the shallows of South Beach where they couldn’t help but notice dark outlines of something below them on the ocean floor. They soon took it upon themselves to strap on some scuba gear and explore beneath the surface, completely blown away by the lively biodiverse ecosystem they found.

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Since then, they’ve been deemed the “reef guardians” of Miami’s Urban Paradise Guild non-profit, rallying their neighbors & lobbying local politicians to do all they can to preserve this natural beauty, warding off poachers, combating the effects of climate change, and educating the masses.

From filmmaker Alex Mitow (a producer of Peter Hujar’s Day), Neon Reef welcomes audiences into Patrick & David’s world, which is just as colorful above & below sea level, as well as the diverse coalition of activists they’ve emboldened, from queer coral scientists to female divers to “eco-mermaid” Merle Liivand, the Guinness World Record-holder for farthest swims using a monofin. Pretty iconic, if you ask us.

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With loud & proud couple Patrick and David front-and-center, their fondness for flashy, form-fitting swimwear makes this an unexpectedly sexy nature doc, but not even their beach bods are a match for the beauty of Miami’s “gorgeous, world-class, eye candy reef.”

On April 19, Neon Reef will make its world premiere at the Miami Film Festival featuring a live Q&A with the director and his subjects—including an optional scenic bike ride to the screening guided by Patrick & David!—so if you’re in the area, grab tickets ASAP because they’re selling fast!

After that, the doc will screen as part of the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival‘s South Beach Shorts program on April 27 (tickets here), and if you’re not in the area, it’ll also be streaming via the fest’s virtual program beginning May 3.

Stay tuned for more festival screenings & wider release details for Neon Reef sure to come. And in the meantime, check out its first teaser trailer below:

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When Joanna Whaley calls potential donors to her campaign for Michigan state representative, she often faces a thorny problem. Awkward exchanges occur when an old friend or colleague is unaware that Whaley transitioned four years ago. Similarly, Whaley has been mistaken for her own brother, when in fact she’s an only child. 

“Some of those conversations go weird,” Whaley told LGBTQ Nation. “We have a semi-pro hockey team in the area, and I was sitting down with one of the directors. In the middle of the conversation, he says, ‘So do you have a brother? I went to high school with someone named blah blah blah,’ and they said my dead name. I’m like, ‘That’s me.’ And they’re like, ‘Whoa, what?’”

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“It happens all the time,” Whaley continued. “I’m honored by it, but at the same time, it does turn into some really weird and uncomfortable conversations, especially with some of my old Christian friends who then try to save my soul and tell me that I’m living in sin.”  Given that Whaley was a pastor in some of the country’s most well known megachurches over a career that spanned 20 years, she does have an abundance of “old Christian friends.”

“My Rolodex is very evangelical,” Whaley said.

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Whaley’s journey from evangelical leader to Democratic candidate is certainly unlikely, made even more so by the fact that she endured conversion therapy with four different therapists over a period of 15 years.

After publicly transitioning at 34, Whaley began advocating for queer rights in affirming faith spaces.

“In the winter of 2022, I was forced to resign from my job as a pastor at one of Michigan’s largest megachurches because they had heard that I was considering a gender transition,” Whaley said. 

“After picking up my life and picking up the pieces and starting my transition publicly, I started working at an LGBTQ affirming church in Royal Oak. And it was in that space that I really began to hear from people who were queer who longed for their faith, like they lost it, and they didn’t know that there were even churches that would accept them.”

By the summer, Whaley was speaking out and sharing her story on social media; she also started a podcast. She’d earned a master’s degree and was working as a clinical hospital chaplain in emergency rooms and ICUs. 

A pivotal opportunity came at a “Hands Off” protest in her community last fall. She volunteered to speak not only on LGBTQ+ rights but also on Christian nationalism, which she knew as well as she knew the Bible.

It was after that speech that people in the community started asking Whaley to run for office. 

“They said, ‘You need to run for something,’” Whaley said. “I wasn’t quite sure what that would be. It wasn’t on my bingo card to run.” 

Whaley was well aware that her current state representative was one of eight House Democrats who voted in favor of a resolution that would ban transgender girls from playing school sports. It was merely symbolic, a transphobic gesture put forth by the majority House Republicans in a divided Legislature with Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer at the helm. But the fact that so many Democrats voted in favor convinced Whaley how powerful her own voice could be in Lansing. 

Growing up, Whaley said she “wasn’t necessarily politically engaged at home” in her “super Catholic family.” 

“But then I ended up going to this church that was very much in the Christian nationalist world. And so I actually was like a full-blown Christian nationalist for my early adult life. That was what my religious environments taught me.” 

At 17, Whaley was hired for her first church job. This entailed mostly tech production; she said she could be considered a music minister. Whaley acknowledged she had a lot of responsibility for her age.

“Then I started working closely, hand in hand, with our youth pastor and pastoring young people within our church,” Whaley said.

Whaley lacked seminary training at that point, but said on-the-job training for high performers was pretty normal in megachurch spaces. 

By age 20, Whaley took the title of pastor. At one point, she stood in for a youth pastor temporarily during a period when there was a “really bad sex scandal” that she had to figure out how to navigate.

As a kid, Whaley had early inklings of being trans. She said she knew “something was up” around the ages of 8 to 10.  “But that was in the 90s,” Whaley said. “You know the environments we were in— my mom and my family—we didn’t really have language for being trans.”

“My mom knew something was up,” Whaley said. “She would ask me very regularly if I was gay. I’m like, ‘No, I don’t think so. I don’t think I’m gay.’ And now I’m definitely very gay.”

It wasn’t until high school that Whaley said she started to ask questions. She gained more clarity in college.

“When I got to college is when I met my first trans person,” Whaley said. “And that’s when I first had the language like ‘oh my gosh, I think I’m trans.’”

By then, Whaley was already a minister at a megachurch. She felt safe turning to the people who had initially welcomed her with open arms, but it didn’t go well.

“That’s how conversion therapy began,” Whaley said. “I knew at a really early age, but didn’t come out until I was 34.”

Whaley said she was forced to go to Christian conversion therapy, paid for by the church. Being outed and losing her job, livelihood, and family connections was unimaginable.

Christian conversion therapy, as described by Whaley, always began with the Bible.

“We pulled out a Bible,” Whaley said. “And he said, ‘No matter what happens in this room, we’re going to start and end here.’”

“Speaking of the Bible,” Whaley continued, “that is really not good therapy. What that communicated to me is it didn’t really matter what happened. I had to kind of adhere to whatever the interpretation of scripture was.”

The first “round” of conversion therapy involved inner child work. Whaley’s transness was “blamed” on being raised by her mother and grandmother, as opposed to being the child of a nuclear family. “So now I was being put at odds with my family,” Whaley said.

Whaley also said her queerness or transness was sometimes blamed on an experience of abuse of a sexual nature during childhood perpetrated by a family member.

“That’s a narrative within Christian circles, that people who are abused become gay and become trans because their sexual experience is all messed up or whatever,” Whaley said. “They just started blaming it on all my ‘family failures.’ I did a lot of that very ill-advised trauma therapy. I would feel just like absolute dirt after every session.”

Whaley said after a course of conversion therapy, she would be “good” for about two years. Then she would “bottom out” and go back to therapy.

The second time Whaley was put through conversion therapy involved what she called public homework. “It was like, ‘OK, you’re gonna now start telling your testimony and name it and claim it’ type of theologies. ‘You’re gonna claim your victory. Tell everyone that God has delivered you from cross-dressing.”’ 

“And so I started doing that,” Whaley said. “I started standing on stages in front of thousands of people and saying how God delivered me. And when it didn’t work, after a couple of years, I bottomed out again.”

The next type of therapy was much different, Whaley said. This time, she denied her feelings existed. “We’re going to erase this and put it in the bottom of the sea like Christ does to our sins,” Whaley said. “And that was what I had to endure: forgiving myself, forgiving my sins.”

During this third round of therapy, Whaley was married. It was fear therapy, Whaley said.

“It got to the point where I wasn’t allowed to have cash,” Whaley said. “My locations were tracked. I would be questioned if I stopped at a gas station. ‘What are you doing there?’ I was not even allowed to go into Target with my family. Any store that had a women’s clothing section, I was not allowed to go into.”

Whaley prefers not to say much about her ex-partner. It was a very difficult period for all involved.

“I try to honor her and our children,” Whaley said. “I have a great relationship with my kids, another thing that I was told in therapy would never happen. Yeah, my kids love me, and they call me Dad still. I love that title, and I’ll always allow them to call me that.”

Yet Whaley still hadn’t found a fourth and ultimately affirming therapist. She said she interviewed potential therapists and asked how they felt about LGBTQ+ issues. 

“They gave me some pretty cliche answers,” Whaley said. “But the one guy that I ended up going to see gave me a bit more of an intriguing answer. But he was still kind of unclear.”

When Whaley completed the intake process this time, explaining why she had come to therapy, something unexpected happened.

“I start sharing my story, and then he stops me halfway through,” Whaley said. “He says, ‘I just need you to know you’re not sitting in a conversion therapy session right now.’ And I just lost it. I just bawled my eyes out. And that was really the beginning of that journey for me to feel cared for and feel like I was safe. It was a beautiful thing. It was unexpected and very beautiful.”

From then on, Whaley was welcome to come to therapy as herself, as Joanna.

“It was very liberating,” Whaley said. “It was really important to be able to talk about my spirituality, as myself. It did help me to see that I could actually have a better relationship with my divine presence.”

Whaley called her first experience being out publicly “phenomenal.”

“I went to my uncle’s cottage in New Hampshire and basically had a very spiritual experience of ending my time in my old self and emerging as Joanna the next morning,” Whaley said. “And it was a really beautiful moment. Yeah, it took me a while to get used to the fact that I wasn’t wearing pants at times.”

These days, as the August primary date approaches in Whaley’s left-leaning district, she’s betting community members are more focused on what she stands for, and less on her gender identity.

“This has been a really deeply ignored district, especially in Lansing and state leadership in general,” Whaley said of House District 2, encompassing Lincoln Park, Allen Park, Melvindale, and parts of Southgate. The area is south of Detroit, known as Downriver. 

“Some people kind of refer to our communities as the ‘drive-through’ cities.” Whaley noted some more desirable “hot spots” in her district, yet many people are mostly focused on paying their utility bills. Whaley is hoping that her potential constituents see in her someone who struggles as they do, and who is already putting in the work to address their basic needs.

Whaley’s two primary opponents have both served in elected office previously. However, it’s Whaley and her team who delivered water to more than 300 homes in Melvindale during an unexpected shut off, and who raised over $10,000 to ensure that district residents who couldn’t make it to food pantries had food delivered when SNAP benefits ran out.

“My transness, my queerness is never even a topic with most people in my community,” Whaley said, “because we’re focused on the things that they are focused on. And the number one thing is utility bills.”

In addition to reining in the state’s ever-climbing utility costs, another high priority for Whaley is supporting legislation introduced by a representative in the Ann Arbor area that would create MiCare, a universal, publicly financed healthcare system for Michiganders. “If the federal government can’t act, I am going to,” Whaley said.

Whaley is proud to have earned endorsements from such organizations as the LGBTQ Victory Fund, Run For Something, Her Bold Move, and Families United for Trans Rights (FUTR).

Well-versed in social media and unafraid to turn the camera on herself, Whaley has drawn the attention of both fans and foes. She chooses to leave the comment section uncensored. But it sometimes goes beyond transphobic jabs: Whaley has received a number of death threats. 

“My advisory board, actually, they were very tough on me about getting a security company before I filed for office,” Whaley said. “I knew it was gonna get bad. And it has been bad at times.”

Whaley’s greatest campaign expense has been security. Still, she’s undeterred by threats and nasty comments. Whaley credits her thick skin to the media training she received as an evangelical.

“They always preached at us that we would be ‘persecuted for our faith,’” Whaley said. “I’m using big air quotes here. American evangelical religious persecution is hilarious. It’s accountability. But they taught us how to stay focused on our mission through opposition. So honestly, I’m taking everything they taught me and applying it and staying focused on the things people want and are asking for.”

“Also, I come from the Whaley family, and we’re just very strong-willed people. You can’t knock us off our goals.”

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A courtroom moment has gone viral after being shared on X this week.

The drama first aired on TV a few weeks ago, as part of the show Equal Justice with Judge Eboni K. Williams (S03, E65), but just recently making the rounds online. The show is available on Justice Central TV and Apple TV+, but we suspect not many people will be aware of this particular episode.

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In the case of Calbert vs. Calbert, a father (Gregory Calbert) was suing his 19-year-old son (Michael) for repayment of $6,000. Dad says he was shocked to discover Michael kissing a male friend that he had over for a sleepover. Michael was 18 at the time of the alleged incident.

Dad later sent his son a text threatening to kick him out unless he “fixed” himself.

Alarmed and fearful of being made homeless, Michael did some research into conversion therapy. He found an intense course that lasted three months. Although not residential, he would need to attend five days a week from 8am to 5pm.

His dad, a devout church-goer, agreed to pay the $6,000 fee.

After a month of attending the course and being told repeatedly he was cursed and going to hell, Michael could take no more and dropped out. Friends have assured him he does not need fixing.

His dad now wants Michael to repay him the $6,000.

A father is suing his own son after he came out as gay — demanding to be repaid for every expense from raising him, calling it a “worthless investment.” pic.twitter.com/pxNlmUS4cV

— PopPulse (@PoppPulse) April 8, 2026

The whole episode is on YouTube, and you can watch it below.

“You are perfect in the eyes of God”

Judge Williams, who was previously a Real Housewives of NYC star for one season, is horrified by the dad’s actions and by what Michael has gone through.

In one moving segment (at the 11-minute mark), the Judge leaves her bench, goes to Michael, and takes his hands. Looking into his eyes, she says, “Young man, you are not cursed. You are as loved and as worthy, Michael, as your father, your mother, and everyone else who gets the privilege to reside on this earth, young man. And I don’t care what your daddy says … what this (so-called therapist) Matthew guy says. I don’t care what some stupid conversion therapy says, which is nothing but a bunch of hoopla and a scam and a money grab for young, vulnerable men like yourself. I see you. You are valuable. And Michael, you are perfect. You are perfect in the eyes of God.”

“Downright cruel”

When Michael’s father discovered his son was skipping his conversion therapy session, he sent an angry text saying: “How could you betray mom and me like this? I need you to pack your things and move out.”

Dad told the judge he regretted the “harshness” of his words he used in that text, and said he loves his son.

Judge Williams is unimpressed.

“I don’t give a damn how angry you were, sir. And now I’m about to get real harsh with mine.

“It’s unacceptable. It’s manipulative. And sir, it’s downright cruel. I believe I’m ready to rule in this matter.

“I deal with a lot of cases in my courtroom, sir. And many of them are extremely complicated and nuanced, and I really have to sometimes seek counsel as we tease through the minutia and the theories and the legal complexities. And this one is very simple. This young man deserves a father and a mother who love him completely. Not that tolerates him, sir. Not that begrudgingly accepts who he is, but that loves him unconditionally and completely. He deserves a home, sir, where he is safe and loved. And it’s clear to this court that you nor your wife, according to your testimony here today, can provide that. Therefore, it is with great joy and comfort that I dismiss your case in its entirety. The plaintiff’s case is dismissed.”

Real or fictional?

Watching the video, one might assume this was a real case. However, according to IMDB and comments on Reddit, the show uses numerous actors in its productions.

Queerty has reached out to Allen Media Group, which owns Justice Central TV, to ask if this episode used actors or was based on a real-life case.

Whether a fictional courtroom drama or not, the episode does raise the issue of conversion therapy at a pertinent time.

The discredited practice does not work to alter anyone’s sexuality. Numerous studies have found that it often does more harm than good. Many states have now banned it. However, late last month, the US Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that a Colorado law banning conversion therapy for minors likely violates the First Amendment free speech rights of therapists. The decision allows counselors to argue that, as “talk therapy,” these practices are protected speech rather than regulatable conduct. The SCOTUS ruling likely threatens similar bans in other states.

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A high school history teacher in Ohio is suing his school district for forcing him to remove an anti-hate flag featuring the colors of the LGBTQ+ and transgender Pride flags from his classroom, which he alleges violated his First Amendment rights.

According to the lawsuit, filed earlier this week, the teacher, identified as John Doe, first hung a small flag featuring the slogan “Hate Has No Home Here” in rainbow letters in his classroom at Little Miami School District in August 2022. Along with the slogan, the flag depicted “heart-shaped icons representing, among other things, the American flag, a peace sign, a rainbow Pride flag, and a transgender Pride flag.”

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Following the Ohio Assembly’s January 2025 passage of the state’s Parents’ Bill of Rights law — which allows parents to remove their students from instruction that includes sexuality content — Doe was informed in September 2025 by his principal that Little Miami School Board president David Wallace visited his classroom and took a photo of the anti-hate flag.

In early February, the school’s principal told Doe that Wallace had asked the district’s Superintendent, Regina Morgan, to have Doe remove the flag. The principal declined to force Doe to do so, and Doe refused to comply with Wallace’s request, according to the complaint. In a February 3 email, Morgan wrote that she did not “believe a reasonable observer would conclude its primary purpose is to prompt discussion, provide instruction, or solicit student engagement on sexual concepts or gender ideology.”

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During a meeting with Doe and the school’s principal the following day, Morgan informed the teacher that she would not order him to remove the flag, as requested by Wallace, but said that if the school board voted to have it removed, his refusal would constitute “insubordination and subject John Doe to discipline,” the lawsuit states.

Later the same month, the board voted 4–1 to remove the flag, claiming it constituted “sexuality content” in violation of both Ohio’s Parents’ Bill of Rights law and a similar policy adopted by the district in October 2025.

However, the complaint notes that under both state law and district policy, “incidental references to sexual concepts or gender ideology occurring outside of formal instruction or presentations” are not considered “sexuality content.” Doe’s suit argues that “at most, the Hate Has No Home Here Flag’s inclusion of a rainbow symbol was an incidental reference to sexual concepts or gender ideology ‘occurring outside of formal instruction.’”

The complaint claims that “Comments from School Board members made it clear that the opposition to the Hate Has No Home Here Flag was focused on the association of the rainbow symbol with a position on LGTBQ rights that the Board Members disagreed with and anti-LGTBQ animus.” It also claims that the board “has a history of animus towards the message that LGBTQ individuals are entitled to equal rights,” citing the removal of “safe space” stickers from classrooms in 2023, efforts to restrict access to books featuring LGBTQ+ characters, and a proposed policy to limit what teachers can display in their classrooms that failed to pass in the face of “significant public backlash” to proponents’ focus on LGBTQ+ symbols and messages of support for the community.

Doe argues that in forcing him to remove the “Hate Has No Home Here” flag, the Little Miami School District violated his First Amendment right “to speak as a citizen addressing matters of public concern,” and that the district’s actions “were motivated by a desire to silence those with whom they disagreed on the matter of LGBTQ identity and status.”

“A teacher hung a flag in his classroom for four years saying every student deserves to be treated with respect — and nobody had a problem with it until some school board members decided to make it one,” Doe’s attorney, Joshua Adam Engel, said in a statement to Ohio LGBTQ+ outlet The Buckeye Flame. “The Constitution demands more; school board members cannot silence speech simply because it disagrees with the message.”

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To quote everyone’s favorite Supermodel Of The World, “You better work!”—but what that work entails can be very different these days.

In the decades that have passed since RuPaul first sissied that walk, more and more people have turned to a form of sex work referred to as “camming” where they perform over a live webcam to earn money. Queer people especially are drawn to cam work, some in pursuit of creative freedom while others might come to rely on it out of economic necessity. 

You’d think this kind of onscreen performance would be perfect fit for cinematic storytelling, but few films & shows have really delved deep into what the camming experience is actually like for queer people. 

That’s starting to change now and will likely continue to do so if all the buzz surrounding a new cam movie named Blue Film is anything to go by…

So, get your tips ready & join us as we explore the wild—and apparently very profitable!—world of queer cam work as depicted on-screen in 6 very different stories.

Blue Film (2026)

If you think regular cam work is a bit taboo, wait until you get a load of Blue Film. 

While camboy Aaron Eagle (Boots‘ Kieron Moore) makes a decent living live-streaming, he still says yes when an anonymous client offers him $50,000 for a night together. However, we soon discover that Aaron knows this mysterious man quite well, because he turns out to be a guy from his past named Hank Grant (Tony-winner Reed Birney). But not just any old guy: Hank was Aaron’s former middle-school teacher, and it’s during this night together that Hank confesses he was in love with Aaron back when he was a boy.

First-time feature filmmaker Elliot Tuttle really goes there with his debut, exploring the connection between a camboy and the man who inappropriately longed for him all those many years ago. Major film festivals were reportedly scared to platform the taboo subject matter, but Blue Film is now set for wider release in May following its world premiere at the Edinburgh Film Festival last summer.

Love it or hate it, Moore welcomes the conversations that his latest film inspires, telling EW:

“I don’t think all art is meant to agree with us. I don’t think it’s meant to dismiss our opinions. I also think it’s meant to strengthen them, but I think it can be all of them,” says Moore opines. “The movie doesn’t make you do anything. The movie gives you an opportunity. And that is where I think the [discomfort] lies.”

Blue Film opens in select theaters on May 8.

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Cam (2018)

While Blue Film taps into very real horrors through a dramatic lens, Daniel Goldhaber’s film Cam goes full-blown horror within that same field. 

The story follows Alice (The Handmaid’s Tale star Madeline Brewer), a successful cam girl who’s suddenly locked out of her account one day by a doppelganger named Lola. What ensues is a nightmarish descent into paranoia and the damage that losing your online persona can do to you as a person. 

Writer Isa Mazzei used her experiences as a former cam girl to help build the narrative and ensure that Alice’s job is never depicted as exploitative on screen. It also helps that both she and Goldhaber identify as queer, because Cam‘s deconstruction of identity would never have been so detailed had a straight person got their hands on this story. 

Cam is a Netflix film, though it is unfortunately not available on the platform at the moment.

Cam Boy (2021, 2025)

Cam Boy does what it says on the tin, following a young gay man named Aston (Callum Dunphy) who turns to camming when he struggles to make ends meet in Nova Scotia.

Born out out production restrictions in 2020, the first season all took place in one house with one actor where other characters could be introduced virtually. When OUTtv green-lit a second season of the show in 2025, other characters were able to be re-introduced into the story as actual people who physically appear in the show. 

What the two seasons do share, however, is all the ways in which creator Thom Fitzgerald balances vulnerability and empowerment within the world of camming. There’s choice and agency in Aston’s work, but he also gives something of himself, doing what he does so publicly.

Cam Boy is available to stream exclusive via OUTtv.

Queer Britain (2017)

Back in 2017, BBC Three commissioned a six-part documentary series named Queer Britain where presenter Riyadh Khalaf explored queerness across the pond. While each episode revolved around different facets of modern-day Britain, including racism and homelessness, the fifth installment specifically honed in on the world of queer adult film.

Titled “P*rn Idols,” the episode in question took a candid look at the queer adult film industry, including scenes with trans female webcam performers. Through interviews and behind-the-scenes access, Queer Britain shined a light on into the real-life challenges and aspirations that queer cam performers face in their day-to-day work. 

The episode can be watched in full right here on YouTube.

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WebCam Boys (2016)

One year before Queer Britain aired, BBC Three released a documentary called WebCam Boys which focused specifically on four men who perform online for money. 

According to this doc, more than 100,000 British men had joined this multi-billion-dollar industry over the previous five years, so the goal was to investigate why the appeal of camming had grown so quickly. 

Four men were involved including Martyn, a 22 year-old who web cammed full time, often performing sex shows with his male friends. “We never touch each other,” said Martyn. “We’re just in the same room.” Sure, Martyn. Sure.

Another guy named Joseph cammed five nights a week in a shed that his parents refurbished for that exact purpose. ‘Web camming has been very good for Joey’s social life’, explained his mother in a rather illuminating moment.

For some of the men, camming is just an easy way to make money short-term, while others see a future in it long term. And then there are those who simply want to explore their sexuality on camera and flaunt their sculpted bodies for the world to see. For that, we salute you.

WebCam Boys is not streaming via any official channels, but can be found in segments uploaded to YouTube.

Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed (2026)

Camming isn’t just a side hustle these days. That’s true for the performers, yes, but also mainstream entertainment now thanks to a new series is heading to Apple TV. 

The tagline for Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed is “Cam Boys. Blackmail. Divorce. Soccer practice,” and boy does the trailer live up to that!

Orphan Black queen Tatiana Maslany stars as a recently divorced mother named Paula, but eagle-eyed gays will also spot Brandon Flynn playing a camboy in the trailer, too. 

During a recent Apple TV presentation, co-star Charlie Hall asked Flynn what a camboy is. “I mean, I’m an actor. That’s kind of a camboy by definition,” joked Flynn before going into more detail (which only those in the room were privy to, unfortunately).  

Flynn will also be joined by another gay actor, Murray Bartlett, alongside Maslany in the series set to premiere on May 20th. Let’s hope they all end up camming together!

Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed premieres May 20 exclusively on Apple TV.

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For the first time in over half a century, a majority in a poll said that they wanted to see the president impeached. The poll was conducted after Donald Trump started a war with Iran for reasons that have not been made clear to the public.

A new poll from Lake Research Partners found that 52% of U.S. voters want Trump to be impeached. Only 40% of voters don’t want him to be impeached, with the rest undecided.

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“This is an unprecedented result this early in a presidential term,” said Lake analyst John Bonifaz, who noted that voters have turned on Trump earlier in his term than they did against Richard Nixon in 1974. He also said that the public only turned on Nixon after a thorough congressional investigation into Watergate, whereas Congress right now is doing everything it can to avoid investigating Trump, and the public still wants him impeached.

While the public wants Trump impeached, impeachment would still face an uphill battle in Congress. Republicans hold majorities in both the House and the Senate, and it’s unlikely enough Republicans would break ranks with the party to vote to remove Trump. Two-thirds – or 67 – senators would have to vote to remove Trump from office.

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Moreover, the poll’s results showed a stark contrast between parties. Only a small minority of Republican voters (14%) supported impeachment, while most Democrats (84%) did. Independents also supported impeachment, with 55% for and 34% against.

Trump is currently the only U.S. president to have been impeached twice, but the Senate did not remove him both times.

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At least one producer was audibly shocked to hear a Republican congressional candidate use the n-word in a Wednesday interview with TMZ as he was talking about Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL).

Right-wing influencer Dan Bilzerian is running in the GOP primary to represent Florida’s Sixth Congressional District, which pits him against the incumbent, Fine, who is among the most obsessively anti-LGBTQ+ members of Congress. Fine is also Jewish, something that Bilzerian hasn’t hesitated to point out.

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TMZ executive producer Harvey Levin asked Bilzerian about how he has called Fine “this fat Jew” in the past. Levin is himself Jewish.

“You called your opponent ‘this fat Jew,'” he said and tried to preempt any argument that Bilzerian was just criticizing the Israeli government. “So he’s not from Israel, but you called a guy in Florida ‘this fat Jew.’ How is that not antisemitic?”

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Opinions vary on the word “Jew.” Jewish comedian Howie Mandel recently noted that it’s a word he rarely hears non-Jewish people use in a positive context, and Levin was pointing out the word’s use in a negative context.

“He puts Israel before America, and I think that he should be tried for treason,” Bilzerian said.

He went on to call Fine “a Jewish supremacist” and note that Fine has said in the past that Muslims are worse than dogs. “Is that Islamophobic?” he asked Levin and TMZ co-host Charles Latibeaudiere, as if he had them cornered in a debate.

“Yes,” both Levin and Latibeaudiere responded. Bilzerian then tried to argue that the term “antisemitic” is “made up.”

After some back-and-forth, Levin presented a hypothetical to Bilzerian: if he didn’t like a Black person, would he feel free to use the n-word?

“Is Jew the same as [n-word]?” Bilzerian said as someone off-camera gasped, and Latibeaudiere, who is Black, showed exasperation. “Because one is a slur and one is describing a religion, so you can’t compare the two.”

Latibeaudiere said that the way Bilzerian uses the word “Jew” sounds like an insult, and Bilzerian then said that he doesn’t use the n-word so he didn’t like the hypothetical comparison. Both Levin and Latibeaudiere pointed out that he just used the n-word, and he said that they were all “adults” who can have a conversation about it and that “people are too sensitive.”

Fine was recently elected to Congress in 2025 after winning a special election to replace former Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) after Waltz was nominated to be the national security advisor. Fine previously served for a decade in the state legislature.

Fine has repeatedly accused LGBTQ+ people of “grooming” children, which is another word for child sex abuse. “The perverts who wish to groom our children will stop at nothing to achieve their ends,” he posted to X in 2023, referring to LGBTQ+ people.

He was a key supporter of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which banned mentions of LGBTQ+ people in grades K through 3 (and was later expanded to include all grades) in public schools.

In a 2023 speech supporting a bill to ban drag performances, he implied that drag performers are child sex abusers. “If it means ‘erasing a community’ because you have to target children – then, damn right, we ought to do it!” he said at the time.

In 2024, he filed a bill to ban the Pride flag from being flown on government buildings. In 2025, he denounced rainbow crosswalks, saying that they “promote a woke agenda.”

Fine has also earned a reputation for making anti-Muslim statements. “If you’re not an Islamophobe, you’re a fool,” he said in 2024. “I don’t think every Muslim is a bad person, but I think that there’s an awful lot who are.” He has called for the U.S. to take away citizenship from Muslim people and for the mass deportation of “legal and illegal” Muslim people.

“We need more Islamophobia, not less. Fear of Islam is rational,” he posted to X.

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The Trump administration is investigating the anti-discrimination policies of the Los Angeles Unified School District in response to parents who filed a lawsuit claiming the district is responsible for their trans child’s death.

Kathleen Mulligan and Andrew Parke allege the school’s decision not to inform them that their child was beginning a social transition isolated them and ultimately led them to take their own life two years after graduating from Palisades Charter High School, the New York Times reports.

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The lawsuit says the school connected the child with a therapist and allowed them to go by new pronouns without informing them. (LGBTQ Nation has chosen not to use the child’s name and to refer to them with gender neutral pronouns, since it is unclear what they preferred at the time of their death).

The complaint reportedly claims the school “actively took steps to facilitate the separation” of the child from their family.

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“The secrecy policy isolated [the child] rather than helping [them],” it says. “It did not expand educational access or reduce stigma; instead, it cut [them] off from those best equipped to address [their] distress and mental health risks, depriving [them] of the stability parental involvement provides.”

The district’s anti-discrimination policy allows school officials to use their discretion when it comes to outing trans kids to their parents and encourages schools to do so in only extremely limited circumstances.

“School personnel should be aware that the student may not have disclosed their gender identity to their parents,” it states. “When school personnel find it important to discuss a student’s gender identity or expression with parents (if, for example, the student is being bullied based on their gender identity or expression), school personnel should consult and work closely with the student to assess the degree to which, if any, the parent is aware of the student’s gender identity or expression and is supportive of the student, and school personnel shall take into consideration the safety, health and well-being of the student in deciding whether to disclose the student’s gender identity or expression to parents.”

The policy emphasizes a student’s right to privacy and says a student’s gender identity and expression “shall be shared only on a need-to-know basis.”

“Students have the right to openly discuss and express their gender identity and expression, and to decide when, with whom, and how much information to share,” it states.

Justice Department assistant attorney general for civil rights Harmeet K. Dhillon told the Times that the administration “will not tolerate policies that deny parents’ fundamental rights.”

“Parents have a fundamental right to the care, custody, and control of their children, including the right to direct their children’s upbringing and education,” Dhillon said.

The Justice Department’s investigation also reportedly includes a sexual assault allegation from a student who says the district ignored her when she expressed concern about a certain student.

Schools across the country have increasingly adopted “forced outing” policies as parents demand the right to know anything a school knows about their children. But a study from the University of Connecticut found that a third of youth who were forcibly outed had a greater likelihood of experiencing major depression as well as low family support. Additionally, more than 65% of youth said being forcibly outed was “highly stressful.”

Data for the study came from the 2017 LGBTQ National Teen Survey by the Human Rights Campaign, which included more than 17,000 nationwide respondents ages 13 to 17.

“Students do in fact have a constitutional right to privacy,” said ACLU spokesperson Gillian Branstetter when the study was released. “It’s not about subverting the parents’ will. It’s about protecting the young people who face very real, very great risks.”

According to the Movement Advancement Project, 15 states currently have some form of forced-outing law. These laws typically require schools to alert parents if their child requests to use a different name or pronoun at school than the one associated with their birth name. For trans kids, this means either hiding who they are all day, every day, or being forced to come out to their parents before they’re ready – something that can be especially problematic for kids who would be in unsafe situations if their parents knew they were trans.

In 2024, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed the SAFETY Act, which prohibits “parental notification” policies in school districts that require educators to notify parents if their child requests to use pronouns and facilities different from the gender they were assigned at birth.

The law also protects teachers and administrators from retaliation if they choose not to follow district directives to out queer kids to their parents. It also funds resources for parents and families of queer students to help offer supportive conversations about their identities on terms that make the children feel safe and respected.

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On Saturday morning, Miami Beach unveils its answer to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ (R) officially sanctioned demolition in October, when, at the presidential administration’s order, he bulldozed and sledgehammered the city’s Pride crosswalk out of existence.

This weekend, one day before the oceanside resort’s annual Pride parade, Miami Beach rededicates the crosswalk, now relocated to Lummus Park and transformed to a sidewalk, just steps from its original location.

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The iconic crosswalk has been reassembled, brick by brick, in a defiant show of community resilience.

“To take what was considered an assault to some people, a tragedy to others — and definitely an affront to most of us — and turn it into a moment of strength and pride — what’s better than that?” asked Miami Beach Commissioner Tonya Katzoff Bhatt.

“We have Tallahassee spending its time manufacturing culture wars,” Bhatt told News 10 Miami. The crosswalk’s removal was the answer to a non-existent problem.

“It was empirically the safest intersection on Ocean Drive,” she said.

Bhatt called the removal “a real slap in the face to our residents and visitors.”

Bhatt’s colleague on the commission, out member Alex Fernandez, credited the community’s straight allies for helping right the rainbow crosswalk wrong.

“When the State forcibly removed this crosswalk, it was our straight allies on the Miami Beach City Commission who ensured our gay community would not be pushed into the shadows,” Fernandez told Out South Florida. “Our allies understood that this crosswalk symbolizes a history of perseverance through the stigma of HIV/AIDS, the injustice of military exclusion, workplace and housing discrimination, and the long fight for the right to marry and to build a family.”

“These crosswalks were a symbol of that progress, and when they come strip it away, it’s very clear message.” The reinstallation “is a powerful reminder that our allies will help us overcome this moment,” he said.  

The new crosswalk — more art installation than pedestrian crossing — is built from 3,606 rainbow pavers salvaged from the original crosswalk. It’s scheduled for unveiling Saturday morning on the final weekend of Miami Beach Pride. The new installation bypasses the state’s ban on street art by being located entirely within a park.

“It’s so important and gratifying to be able to rise above the manufactured culture wars to build something lasting, recognizing the struggle and celebrating the love that this new installation represents,” Bhatt said.

“After the crosswalk was removed, we came back stronger,” said city Commissioner Joe Magazine. “This installation is Miami Beach’s answer to anyone who thought they could legislate away our community’s pride.”

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The Trump administration on Friday filed an emergency appeal asking the Supreme Court to halt a lower court order that allowed transgender and nonbinary people to change the sex marker on their passports despite an earlier administration policy denying such changes. It is the 26th emergency appeal the Trump administration has made to the court in the nine months since he retook the Oval Office.

A judge blocked the policy in June, finding that plaintiffs who sued against it could successfully prove the administration’s order is “based on irrational prejudice toward transgender Americans,” is “arbitrary and capricious,” and “was not adopted in compliance with the procedures required by the Paperwork Reduction Act and Administrative Procedure Act.”

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In its filing to the Supreme Court, Trump’s Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote, “The Constitution does not prohibit the government from defining sex in terms of an individual’s biological classification,” and noted the court’s recent ruling upholding state bans on gender-affirming healthcare for trans minors. 

In a statement, Jon Davidson, senior counsel for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project said, “The State Department’s policy is an unjustifiable and discriminatory action that restricts the essential rights of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex citizens…. including the freedom to travel safely and the freedom of everyone to be themselves without wrongful government discrimination.”

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Trans and nonbinary people with incorrect gender markers on their government-issued ID are more likely to face harassment and violence, studies have shown.

In a Bluesky post, gay legal journalist Mark Joseph Stern wrote, “I think it is extremely likely that the Supreme Court will freeze the current injunction and allow Trump’s State Department” to continue its policy, adding, “[The Supreme Court] has stayed plenty of rulings against the Trump administration that were NOT nationwide injunctions. It basically just goes straight to the merits now, with some hand-waving about equities. And it will agree with the government on the merits.”

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A man allegedly attacked Lilith Barraza Garcia, a 22-year-old transgender woman, and her friend outside of Rumors Cabaret Bar — an LGBTQ+ bar in Bellingham, Washington — on Sunday, March 22, as Garcia and her friend tried to help an intoxicated man who was slumped over.

Garcia told The Advocate that she had gotten the intoxicated man a bottle of water and was “checking on him,” when his friend — someone she had seen at the bar several times before — confronted her and told her she had “great breasts for a man.”

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As he continued to insult her, Garcia began arguing with the man. He eventually pushed her and punched her in the chest and face, breaking her glasses, she told the publication.

“The man thanked me, but then started hurling transphobic comments at me,” she wrote on a GoFundMe page to help cover her lost income and legal fees. “He then hit & punched me, pushed me and my friend, and eventually shoved me to the ground while saying hateful slurs during assault.”

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“I was told he was part of the Navy and at first I was a little bit shocked, but then I was like, ‘Oh that makes sense and why he was so strong’ because when he hit me, I did go unconscious for like two seconds and now I understand what people mean now by ‘seeing stars,’” she told the aforementioned publication.

The assault left her with a black eye, a cut on her face, a swollen jaw (which has made it difficult to eat with pain and bleeding), and a foot injury that has made it very difficult for her to walk, she wrote on her GoFundMe page.

The attack also left a bruise on her chest, which she is now concerned about since she had breast augmentation surgery less than a year ago.

“I am also now dealing with PTSD from the incident,” she added on her crowdfunding campaign page. “This is not the first time I have been attacked by a man. I’m anxious to leave my house alone.”

She said she filed a report with the Bellingham Police Department and that the man now faces felony anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime charges.

The GoFundMe campaign to help Garcia has rasied $7,822 of its $8,000 goal.

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Don Lemon and husband Tim Malone celebrated their second wedding anniversary this week. The two met in 2016 and married on April 6, 2024. The date also happened to be Malone’s 40th birthday (a great way to always remember your wedding anniversary!).

Yesterday, Malone marked the anniversary of tying the knot. In a post on Threads, he posted several photos from that day, alongside the message, “2 years married. Let’s keep going.”

Sweetly, some people replied with their favorite photos of Lemon and Malone. One well-known image showed Malone leading Lemon by the hand after a court appearance earlier this year.

How about we take this to the next level?

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On January 18, Lemon livestreamed an anti-ICE demonstration inside Cities Church in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He was subsequently taken into custody in Los Angeles. Lemon and several co-defendants are charged with interfering with religious freedoms at a place of worship.

Malone’s own profile rose in the wake of a subsequent court appearance his husband made. Videos and photos of him leading Lemon through a small crowd after his release from custody went viral. Some compared him to Kevin Costner’s character in The Bodyguard movie with Whitney Houston.

Other couples share their love

Sweetly, many others responded to Malone’s anniversary Thread with photos of their own weddings. This included several same-sex couples.

Lemon also marked the anniversary. On Instagram, he shared some previously unreleased footage from his and Malone’s big day. It shows both men being walked down the aisles of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church.

Afterward, they and their guests walked the short distance to Ralph Lauren’s Polo Bar for a reception. A traditional Dixieland jazz band accompanied Lemon and Malone on the walk. The men and their guests waved white hankies while the band played.

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A post shared by Don Lemon (@donlemonofficial)

Don Lemon has enjoyed a significant boost in his web traffic since authorities swooped upon him in January. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges levelled against him, and his defense team has indicated they believe them to be unconstitutional. The case rumbles on, but one thing’s clear: Malone will be standing by Lemon’s side all the way.

Happy anniversary, guys!

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David Geffen’s contentious divorce from his 50-years younger ex Donovan Michaels (who also goes by David Armstrong) appears to be over.

The 83-year-old billionaire has been involved in a nasty split with his 33-year-old ex-husband for nearly a year.

But now it seems the pair have ironed out all the details as Geffen, who has an estimated net worth of $9 billion, claims they’ve settled their differences.

According to court documents, the mogul has reached a divorce settlement with the former model, per TMZ.

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And just like that …it’s over.

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A post shared by ICONICHIPSTER.COM (@iconichipsterdotcom)

The way they were

While the two men were declared legally singled in November, they still had to workout the financials in regards to spousal support, division of property and attorney fees. Since the new legal docs were marked “uncontested”, it signifies both Geffen and Michaels have come to an agreement on the remaining money issues.

If you were hoping to find out just how much Michaels was going to get from his octogenarian former lover, you will be sadly disappointed. The terms of the settlement have not been disclosed.

This marks a pretty uneventful conclusion to Geffen and Michaels very messy relationship, which the couple entered into legally without a prenup.

Geffen and Michaels were together for seven years before tying the knot in May 2023.

Messy divorce

The legal marriage lasted barely 24 months, with Geffen pulling the plug in May 2025 just ahead of their 2nd anniversary. In the divorce filing, he cited irreconcilable differences as the cause of the split.

Two months later, Michaels dropped a bombshell lawsuit claiming the Hollywood kingpin exploited him over the years amid accusations of paid sex, alleged drug use and extremely controlling behavior, including being forced to remove all of his body hair.

In the complaint, the ex go-go boy also alleged he first met his future husband in 2016 on a sugar daddy website, “where men like Geffen shop for the vulnerable.” A transaction occurred with Michaels alleging Geffen paid him $10,000 for sex on their first night together.

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David Geffen and Donovan Michaels married in 2023 without a prenup.

While he didn’t specify an amount in the lawsuit, Michaels had asked for unspecified compensatory and other damages, as well as attorneys’ fees and other costs. 

Then in October 2025, he abruptly dropped the lawsuit, but requested it be dismissed “without prejudice,” so he would be able to re-file the if the mediation over the financials didn’t turn out to the way he liked.

Geffen had previously stated he’d be willing to pay Michaels $50K a month spousal support, but only for 12 months. He also claimed to have given his ex $200K since their split, in addition to covering his $15K monthly rent.

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Should he get more for being married to a billionaire without a prenup? Everyone has an opinion.

While we may never know how much Michaels is walking away with, both he and Geffen are now free to move forward with their lives.

On to the next, gentlemen!

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A queer therapist and sexpert is calling out a double standard that always seems to penetrate its way through the dark room.

On Instagram, Dr. Matthew Brinkley usually posts videos about dating advice and how to avoid emotionally unavailable men. But the L.A. resident recently loaded up on toxic tops who think their d*cks aren’t deserving of the same distasteful discourse they dump on bottoms.

“There is judgment around topping versus bottoming in those spaces, and being labeled negatively for the number of people one bottoms for,” he says. “But [tops don’t] endure same labeling as tops in those same spaces.”

Brinkley sums up the disparity with a moan of disgust.

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UGH!

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A post shared by Dr. Matthew Brinkley, PsyD, LMFT (@dr.brinkley)

Bottom shaming

An abhorrent practice, bottom shaming dates back to the time of the ancient Greeks. Elites kept male concubines for their sexual gratification and used them as boy servants. “The shame has always been there, to be honest, since the time of the Greeks, when the role of the bottom was always taken by a boy or a slave, and as such a noncitizen,” an academic expert on bottoming once told Vice.

Though the definition of “homosexuality” has shifted over time, it’s long been associated with partners on the receiving end. The AIDS crisis only exacerbated the stereotype that bottoms are dirty or inferior.

“These categories became particularly entrenched during and after the AIDS crisis when there were anxieties about certain practices being more risky,” said HIV/AIDS advocate Ben Weil.

Since receptive anal sex is higher risk, many gay men disavowed bottoming, and those who were submissive were shamed into the shadows.

Despite the advent of PrEP and retroviral drugs, bottom shaming persists. Thankfully, it’s not nearly as present: bottom-forward personalities and bum-showing attire like jockstraps and thongs are all the rage these days. But as Brinkley says, it still exists in the darkest of places.

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The role of sexism

We would be remiss if we didn’t mention the relationship between bottom shaming and misogyny. For millennia, promiscuous men and women have been judged differently. If a woman has sex with lots of guys, she gets called disparaging names.

Meanwhile, if a guy has sex with lots of women, he gets a high five from his friends.

Brinkley says tops who disparage bottoms are engaging in the same noxious behavior. “I am so over people bottom policing. Shut the f*ck up,” he says.

He continues with a simple question: “Who are you to tell what someone what they should do with their body?”

Period!

“If you’re so worried about other people having sex, your sex is probably trash,” Brinkley continues. “How about that?”

Dark room discourse

With bathhouses making a comeback, it’s more important than ever for tops to hold their judgment–just like they often withhold their emotional attachment! That’s especially the case when it comes to cleanliness.

Douching, while no longer a medieval experience, can still be time consuming and difficult. Sex can also be unpredictable. You don’t always know when it’s going to happen! One minute you’re dancing with your girlies on the dance floor, and the next minute you’re in a sling.

Isn’t being gay exhausting?

But seriously, there’s no reason for portraying an unsuspecting bottom as Picasso. It’s mean-spirited, and probably hypocritical.

Paging Dr. Brinkley

As mentioned, Dr. Brinkley offers a wide range of romantic advice. This week, he invited his followers to play the “emotionally unavailable game.” It goes as follows:

“If he’s inconsistent, vague, emotionally unresponsive, avoids accountability, avoids repair and avoids real plans, congratulations, he’s emotionally unavailable.”

And if that’s the case, then the question is, “Why are you still there? Is it because you’re also emotionally unavailable?”

Clocked!

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A post shared by Dr. Matthew Brinkley, PsyD, LMFT (@dr.brinkley)

Speaking of high impact, Brinkley and his partner, David Brandyn, are far from inconspicuous. They got married in red!

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A post shared by Dr. Matthew Brinkley, PsyD, LMFT (@dr.brinkley)

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A post shared by Dr. Matthew Brinkley, PsyD, LMFT (@dr.brinkley)

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A post shared by Dr. Matthew Brinkley, PsyD, LMFT (@dr.brinkley)

If we met either one of them in a dark room, well, there would be no shame in that! Just sayin’…

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While waiting for students’ rides at the end of the school day, Cameryn Lovett, a teacher’s assistant at the Mulberry Creek Elementary School in Harris County, Georgia, overheard a student making homophobic comments.

“He was talking badly about gay people,” she told WTVM. “He was saying he didn’t know any gay people because they are bad and stuff like that, so I was like, ‘You do know a gay person.’”

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“He let me know he wasn’t very happy to hear that,” she added.

She saw the interaction as a teachable moment. But an internal investigation by school administrators found her comment inappropriate and in violation of the educators’ code of conduct. So they gave her a choice: Resign or be fired.

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Lovett now wonders whether a straight teacher would’ve also faced an investigation for making similar comments. Georgia doesn’t have a “Don’t Say Gay” law forbidding educators from teaching about LGBTQ+ identities.

The school’s human resources (HR) administrator allegedly told Lovett that a resignation would look better on her educational resume than a firing. So Lovett resigned.

Later, she discovered that resigning made her inelligible for recieving unemployment benefits or taking any future legal actions against the district.

Lovett could have talked to an attorney before resigning, according to Borquaye Thomas, an education attorney with The Teachers Lawyer LLC. He told the aforementioned news outlet that Lovett also could have taken advantage of the fair dismissal act, a state law entitling educators to a hearing before termination.

Lovett did neither. Thomas said the forfeited hearing could make it more difficult for her to find a future job in schools.

“I feel like I was duped a little bit,” she said of the school’s HR administrator.

“I’m not the only gay person that works in the Harris County school district,” Lovett noted. “There are kids growing up in that school district that are gay.”

“I’m someone that a lot of kids looked up to,” she continued. “All I tell them is, ‘Speak up for yourself and be true to yourself.’ But now, they don’t know if they can trust the school.”

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Hi Jake,

So, my husband sent me the Queerty article this week about Kristi Noem’s husband allegedly being into “bimbofication,” and he was going off about it. He started ranting about how gross and “pathetic” it was, and said something along the lines of, “Imagine being turned on by that?!”

I laughed along in the moment… but the problem is: I didn’t totally feel like I was laughing.

While I’ve never used that exact term—and I don’t agree with politicians (or their spouses) who act against things they secretly do—I’ve had my own version of this in my head for years. Not a full transformation fantasy or anything extreme, just a fascination with exaggerated, hyper-pretty, slightly clueless “himbo” energy. Think overly-groomed, smooth, a bit airheaded, and more focused on perfect pecs and biceps than having much going on upstairs.

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I’ve watched videos, read stuff, even caught myself imagining what it would feel like to be that version of myself for a minute… less in control, more… objectified. Which is not how I move through the world at all.

I’ve never told him this or acted on it. It’s just this quiet fantasy of mine. But after hearing how strongly he reacted, I feel like I’ve gotten a glimpse of exactly how he’d see me if I ever shared this part of myself.

I feel stuck. Do I keep this in my own private “spank bank,” or do I find a way to share it with my husband and risk being seen as “gross” or “ridiculous” by the person I’m supposed to feel safest with?

Himbo in Hiding

Dear Himbo in Hiding,

The article you’re talking about—the one about Kristi Noem’s husband and this whole “bimbofication” thing—has definitely been getting a lot of attention this week, and your husband’s not alone in having a strong negative take. It’s easy to mock something that feels deviant or outside the norm, especially when it’s coming from the husband of someone who’s taken pretty hardline positions around gender and sexuality. That kind of hypocrisy tends to bring out a lot of judgment.

But what matters here isn’t really the article—it’s what it stirred up for you. As you were hearing all of this, you recognized something in yourself. Set the headlines aside, and what you’re left with is simple: you have a fantasy. And there’s nothing inherently wrong or pathological about that.

Here’s what may actually be happening. What you’re describing is a kind of objectification fantasy, but not in the way people usually think about that word. At its core, this isn’t really about becoming “dumb” or exaggerated. It’s about stepping out of a role you usually occupy.

Most of us move through the world managing how we’re perceived. We try to come across as competent, capable, in control. That takes energy. So it makes sense that there can be a pull toward the opposite. Being seen as purely desirable, simplified, even a little ridiculous. Not because you are those things, but because you get to stop performing everything else for a minute.

In a gay context, that can show up in familiar ways. The “himbo” archetype—polished, pretty, a little vacant, hyper-desirable—is already part of the culture. It’s a way of playing with power and attention without the usual stakes. There can be something freeing in letting yourself be objectified for a moment, even just in your imagination. You’re not being evaluated. You’re just… wanted.

And yes, that can be hot.

The important thing here is that this isn’t a moral failing. It’s part of your inner world. What makes it complicated isn’t the fantasy. It’s the context it lives in. Right now, it exists as a secret alongside a partner who’s shown you how he reacts when something doesn’t make sense to him.

So the question becomes less “is this okay?” (it is) and more “what feels safe to share?”

You don’t owe anyone full access to your imagination. But if something starts to feel hidden or shameful, that can create distance. So instead of jumping straight into a full confession, start by opening the door a little.

You might say something like, “That article actually got me thinking. I agree the hypocrisy is gross, but I also don’t think it’s as crazy as people are making it sound.”

That gives you a way to test the waters without putting yourself fully on the line. You’re not trying to explain everything. You’re just seeing whether there’s room for curiosity without judgment. And if there isn’t, that tells you something too.

At the end of the day, fantasies like this exist for a reason. They offer a kind of escape—from pressure, from performance, from having to be fully “on” all the time. And in the words of the ultimate himbo in Barbie… you are Kenough.

Ask Jake is Queerty’s advice column by editor and Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist Jake Myers. Got a question? Email jakemyers@queerty.com—or connect more deeply through his LGBTQ+ therapy platform. 

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Two members of Congress known for their virulently anti-trans statements had pictures taken in drag in the past that are getting attention today.

Reps. Buddy Carter (R-GA) and Mike Collins (R-GA) both have scores of “0” on HRC’s Congressional Scorecard; they have both made anti-trans statements in the past; and they are both running in the primary for U.S. Senate to get their party’s nod to try to unseat Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) in the general election.

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Now, The Advocate has found pictures of both of them in drag from high school in the 70s and 80s. Collins’ 1985 senior yearbook from Piedmont Academy shows him wearing a sleeveless dress with the caption “senior class ‘beauties,’ Mike Collins and Andy Brady.” In another photo, Collins appears in a dress with two other students.

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Nowadays, Collins is better known for his support of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-GA) bill to ban gender-affirming care for trans youth at the federal level, a bill that would criminalize doctors who provide it. He has called transgender health care “radical woke ideology.” He called for the impeachment of then-Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in 2023, accusing him of practicing “wokeism” and saying he was only part of Joe Biden’s Cabinet due to “identity politics.”

Rep. Carter is shown in his 1975 senior yearbook from Robert W. Groves High School wearing a dress. That picture has no caption, just his government name, Earl Leroy Carter. Another yearbook picture shows him in a wig and a dress, with a caption calling him “Miss Cantelope Carter” and complimenting his “sexy legs.”

Half a century later, Carter’s opinion on gender expression appears to have changed. He introduced the “Truth in Gender Act” last year, a bill that would codify the president’s executive order that declared that there are only two sexes and that gender identity isn’t real. He also voted in favor of Rep. Greene’s (R-GA) bill to ban gender-affirming care for trans youth at the federal level.

Carter already released an absurdly transphobic ad this election cycle attacking Ossoff. The ad is narrated by a male actor playing a trans woman. Wearing a dress and a wig, the deep-voiced actor complained about how Carter has been “MAGA from the beginning.”

“Buddy Carter even believes there’s only two genders,” she says with a trans Pride flag in the background. He’s “banning people like me from competing in women’s sports!” the trans woman complains.

Republicans have been repeatedly caught wearing drag in old photos while they denounce drag performers today. While they argue that wearing drag when someone is young or as a joke is OK but actually practicing drag as an art form should be banned, many on the right don’t make such distinctions. For example, Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL) cited the fact that some high school students in California in 2023 performed in drag as a reason to pass her “Stop the Sexualization of Children Act” bill just last month.

“Only people whose brains have been rotted by ill-prescribed hormones and the continual over-sexualization of life around them would view a yearbook photo of Rep. Collins and his wife 40 years ago switching clothes for a Homecoming tradition as anything more than lighthearted humor,” Rep. Collins’ office said of the pictures of him in drag.

Rep. Carter’s office refused to confirm whether the images were of Rep. Carter, Advocate reports.

“There’s this big bogeyman of trans people, even though statistically, historically, and factually, trans people pose no harm to the American economy, pose no harm to cisgender people, especially cisgender women,” drag performer Taylor Alxndr told The Advocate. “This idea that trans women are following or trying to attack or harm cisgender women in restrooms, it’s all just a big distraction from the actual evil that plagues a lot of the country, and it’s these politicians and people who support them.”

They added that Collins and Carter may have actually liked dressing in drag for the “very simple, fun, nonsensical experience.” If that’s the case, they may have used the jokey context as an excuse to do drag, something that’s not even available to them nowadays because of how drag has been demonized over the past several years by the right.

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Reality stars, they’re just like us … messy AF!

Shahs of Sunset star Reza Farahan is no stranger to giving his opinion on just about everything and everyone. And that’s partly why he’s been such a fan favorite for years.

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But the 52-year-old outspoken reality vet, who currently stars on Bravo’s The Valley: Persian Style, is now turning the tables and spilling all the tea on himself.

Reza just released his new memoir, the amazingly titled Memoirs of a Gay Shah: My Story of Family, Fame, and Becoming a King, and it reveals all kinds of spicy deets about his wild sexcapades prior to becoming a Bravolebrity.

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From friends to threesome

One of the juiciest hook-ups involved a friendship with Biggest Loser trainer Bob Harper that eventually evolved into a threesome relationship. It happens!

The duo first met working out at the same gym and became “inseparable” hanging out all the time. One thing lead to another and the men were soon more than platonic friends.

“Bob and I carried on like that for a good while. It was very much a friends-­with-­benefits situation, though,” Reza writes in the book, per People.

“I wanted more, but I always got the feeling he wasn’t interested in any kind of serious relationship with anybody, so I didn’t really push the matter.”

But turns out Bob wasn’t a f*ckboy, he was married!

According to Reza, Bob was wed at the time to a man named Scott. Plot twist!

Instead of that information ending the hook-up, a ménage à trois situation developed with all parties on board. But it soon got complicated as feelings got involved.

“Bob and I still ended up falling totally in love,” Reza adds. “For a while, Bob was bouncing back and forth between Scott and me.”

However, Reza notes that the trio relationship ended on a “bittersweet” note following an unexpected tragedy.

“Poor Scott, who I honestly harbored no ill will toward even though I was chasing his husband, ended up passing away,” Reza writes. “And even though Bob and I didn’t last forever, we remain friends to this day.”

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A post shared by Reza Farahan (@rezafarahan)

While Reza doesn’t give a timeframe for when and he Bob were romantically involved, it appears to be prior to Shahs of Sunset‘s premiere in 2012.

This isn’t the first time Reza and Bob’s past has come up. Back in 2015, Bob himself confirmed the romp during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live.

Without going into specifics or mentioning his late ex, Bob admitted they had “a thing.”

“We had a thing—a very, very long time ago!” Harper told Andy Cohen. “It was a tawdry little thing!”

Maybe not-so little as far as Reza is concerned, but ok.

Bob Harper

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A post shared by Bob Harper (@bobharper)

Bob’s relationship – and possible marriage – to his late partner Scott was not previously known. He’s never spoken publicly about the relationship and there doesn’t seem to be photos of them together as a couple.

In 2019, Bob became engaged to his longtime boyfriend Anton Gutierrez. However in August 2025, the Traitors alum, 60, disclosed they had broken off their engagement.

Bob is currently single and teaching hot yoga near his NYC home.

Reza and Adam Neely

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A post shared by Reza Farahan (@rezafarahan)

Interestingly, Reza also first met his husband Adam Neely at the gym. The duo began dating in 2010 and were engaged in August 2013. The proposal was featured in an episode during the third season of Shahs of Sunset.

They married in October 2015 during a surprise ceremony in Palm Springs, which was also filmed for an episode during the fifth season of the Bravo series.

Following their 10th wedding anniversary, both Reza and Adam have continued to share their romance for the cameras on The Valley: Persian Style.

The Valley: Persian Style can be streamed on Peacock and Reza’s book Memoirs of a Gay Shah: My Story of Family, Fame, and Becoming a King is out now.

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Is three’s company or a crowd? Let us know what you think.

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Leyton Taylor, age 13, hung himself in his bedroom in his Wymondham, England, home on April 6, 2025. He died in the hospital five days later.

Taylor’s family had just moved to the town from a nearby village, and he started attending Wymondham High Academy in the middle of the school year. Though he left behind his old friends in the move, he seemed to make friends at his new school quickly at first. But in the months and weeks before his death, his classmates subjected him to “relentless” bullying after he revealed that he had a boyfriend, his mother said.

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“None of the boys in that school accepted him,” his mother said during a court inquest into his death, Attitude reported. “They told him they would never accept him for the way he spoke. He was a sassy speaker, more feminine – not the ‘hard boy’ type. This wasn’t going on for just a little while.”

His school’s headmaster, Chris Smith, said that teachers and staff were unaware of the bullying. “He had some really close friends and formed quick bonds, he attended well. He always came across as happy and confident speaking to adults,” he said.

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However, after Taylor’s death, Smith said that school staff members learned “that there had been remarks made.” Taylor also apparently spoke to a school counselor about “putting on a fake mask of smiling.”

During the inquest, Taylor’s mother said that as the family’s second-oldest child, he regularly helped care for his disabled half-brother, who has Dravet syndrome, a severe lifelong form of epilepsy. Leyton also regularly assisted with childcare, cleaning, and shopping for the family.

But on the day of his death, his stepfather, Kyle Townson, slapped him on the back of his head after his half-brother hurt himself on a trampoline. One of his parents also took his TV away from him for using one of his siblings’ bikes to go shopping.

“Both [his mother] and I asked him to look after [his disabled brother] quite a lot. There would be arguments because some of the other kids would not help out as much,” Townson said in a statement at the inquest. “[His mother] would ask Leyton because the other kids argue back.”

He added, “I also did not do enough. I should have done more… I will never forgive myself for what happened. I know I could have done more to help [his mother] and this would have helped Leyton.”

Coroner Yvonne Blake’s narrative conclusion of Taylor’s death said there was “no evidence of his intent” to kill himself, but she told the court that the teen seemed stressed by the demands of caring for his disabled sibling without much help from Townson.

“Suffice to say, anyone would be fed up – not just a 13-year-old boy or girl. He felt he was being asked to do more than anyone else, which seems like it’s probably true,” Blake said, according to the women’s website Tyla. “He had never run away or had a history of self-harm. He could be lippy, but there did not seem to be that weekend anything out of the ordinary, apart from being told off three times in one day.”

“He’s only 13. He’s a young lad. He’s probably up and down, upset, did not much like his school, did not like where he lived, had various things confiscated off him,” Blake continued. “It’s [all] probably normal things happening to a teenager, but they’re not emotionally mature.”

Editor’s note: This article mentions suicide. If you need to talk to someone now, call the Trans Lifeline at 1-877-565-8860. It’s staffed by trans people, for trans people. The Trevor Project provides a safe, judgement-free place to talk for LGBTQ youth at 1-866-488-7386. You can also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

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A Reddit post appears to have resonated with many gay men. Posting on the AskGayBros subreddit, someone asked, “Are there things, actions or decisions you promised yourself you would never do again?”

The query prompted almost 400 replies. They range from general advice applicable to anyone to queer-specific issues.

Surprisingly, the most-liked response cautioned people to avoid the temptation to head to Times Square on New Year’s Eve.

The next most-liked response was from someone who said they would never again “Tolerate a cheating partner.” This prompted others to share their experiences of infidelity.

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Another man said, “Loan money to family members comes to mind. Chase after a man who shows me no interest whatsoever. You can’t make someone fall for you, but you can lose all self-respect trying.”

Another said the one thing he would never do is, “Go back in the closet. I would rather die than have to again deny myself the affection and happiness that I did for so long due to my Catholic upbringing.”

In a similar vein, someone else said they would never again “​​Hate myself for being gay. It’s been many years since I’m very happy with it and I’m grateful for how it forced an introvert like me to go out from my comfort zone and put myself out there and meeting new people and broaden my perspective and open my mind and fundamentally become a better person.”

When to walk away and other life lessons

Others said they won’t tolerate a potential date misrepresenting themselves online.

“I used to sit through the dates where the guy lied about his age, or sent old pictures, or some other deception. After the last time it happened, I gave myself permission to just get up and walk away from these dates from now on.”

Others said they would avoid entering a “Long-distance relationship without a clear light at the end of the tunnel.”

Alternative experiences not to be repeated included dating downlow men or dating people who easily become jealous. Falling for straight guys is also best avoided.

One man said he would never again try chemsex, which prompted many responses from others who felt the same. Others said they would never again date someone “who’s an obvious alcoholic…no matter how fun they seem.”

One man said he’d built a big following by posting thirst traps. However, he no longer chased the same validation.

“There was a point in my early 20s when I posted a lot of thirst traps and sexy pics/adult content on Facebook and Twitter, and I was extremely famous and popular. I figured out I just did it because I was insecure, and compliments from men on my body filled that empty hole for me, seemingly. It’s not until I realized they didn’t actually like me, they don’t know who I even am, they just like the body and stuff. And if they only like my body, they could just easily go on to someone new if I’m not there anymore.”

Have you ever had an experience and thought afterward, “I’m not doing THAT again”? Let us know in the comments below.

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Need a boost to get over Hump Day? The Hot Sheet is Queerty’s midweek pop culture catch-up, highlighting the entertainment stories everyone’s talking about, the ones you might’ve missed, and the notable LGBTQ+ film & TV releases in the days ahead. Here’s everything you need to stay in-the-know:

What To Watch This Week

• The Boys, Season 5 — Now Streaming (Amazon Prime Video): The final season of this bloody & bawdy superhero satire that always knows how to pull a stunt that gets the gays to tune in!
• The Testaments — Now Streaming (Hulu): One Battle After Another‘s Chase Infiniti leads this Handmaid’s Tale sequel that tells a defiant coming-of-age story set in a dystopian near-future.
• Big Mistakes — Apr. 9 (Netflix): Dan Levy follows up Schitt’s Creek with this much darker family comedy, about a sibling duo (Levy & Taylor Ortega) drawn into the criminal underworld.
• Hacks, Season 5 — Apr. 9 (HBO Max): The final season of the beloved, Emmy-winning sitcom. But will Deborah (Jean Smart) & Ava (Hannah Einbinder) finally admit they’re in love with each other?
• Faces Of Death — Apr. 10 (Select Theaters): Queer director/writer duo Daniel Goldhaber & Isa Mazzei remake the underground horror classic for a new generation, with Barbie Ferreira starring.
• Outcome — Apr. 10 (Apple TV): Keanu Reeves is a Hollywood star whose career is threatened when a bizarre video from his past resurfaces, co-starring our faves Matt Bomer & Laverne Cox.
• The Christophers — Apr. 10 (Select Theaters): Steven Soderbergh directs this story of a queer, past-his-prime artist (Sir Ian McKellen) & the woman (Michaela Coel) hired to forge his work.
• The Stranger — Apr. 10 (Select Theaters): Out French director François Ozon adapts the classic Albert Camus novel with a decidedly homoerotic flair & the lens of the gay male gaze.
• Euphoria, Season 3 — Apr. 12 (HBO Max): The dark teen drama takes a five-year time jump, following the characters (Zendaya, Hunter Schafer & more) as they navigate young adulthood.

Culture Catch-Up

MATERIAL GIRLS: After Madonna & Julia Garner were spotted in Venice, rumors swirled that the Queen Of Pop’s long-delayed biopic was finally back on track… but not quite! Here’s how Seth Rogen‘s Apple TV comedy The Studio revived the project (sort of) for a storyline in the comedy’s second season. [Variety]

DOWN TO PUCK: In D.C., an unofficial Heated Rivalry lookalike contest crowned its knock-off Ilya & Shane in worthy, lip-locking winners Felix Eller & Aram Matagi, but bragging rights wasn’t their only prize: they also went on a date immediately after that was oh-so-adorable. What’s next, boys, the cottage? [Just Jared]

@felix.eller Won more than the competition #heatedrivalry #mlm #lookalike #ilya #shane ♬ All The Things She Said – t.A.T.u.

WORD ON THE STREET: Last year, The L Word co-stars and BFFs Kate Moennig & Leisha Hailey opened up about their experiences making the iconic show in the joint memoir So Gay For You, which is now being developed into a series for Amazon MGM by Charlie Covell (Kaos) with both actresses set to star. [Deadline]

SUPER SMASH BROS: In his follow-up to Baby Reindeer, Richard Gadd has bulked up for Half Man, a dramatic miniseries about the fraught relationship between two step-brothers over the decades. Co-starring Jamie Bell, the thrilling first trailer hints there may be something more than a little bromantic going on here…

LIKE A CHAMP: In last year’s Drag Race All Stars, queens gave makeovers to collegiate basketball players, which Bosco won by turning UCLA’s Lauren Betts into her drag sister, Goddess. Cut to a year later, Betts helped lead her team to the winning title of the Women’s March Madness National Championship. [Outsports]

SET IT OFF: The colorful crime comedy I Love Boosters sees Keke Palmer leading a group of shoplifters plotting to take down a wicked fashion mogul, played by Demi Moore. Also starring Sorry, Baby‘s Naomi Ackie, Zola‘s Taylour Paige & Hacks‘ Poppy Liu, the Boots Riley-directed film truly looks one-of-a-kind.

WE <3 BL: What started as a niche Asian trend, the BL (boys’ love) genre has grown into a global phenomenon, with gay romantic series inspiring devoted fandoms & creating a new generation of stars. From Revenged Love to Peach Trap, here are the most crush-worthy names you should know about. [Queerty]

ONWARDS & UPWARDS: Following his headline-making late-night stroll & arrest last summer, Lil Nas X will have his battery charges dismissed, so long as he complies with court-mandated treatment. Asked for comment, the hip-hop superstar said he’s “thankful” and ““just going through the flow of life.” [Rolling Stone]

DE-BRIEFED: NYC drag icon Kiki Ball-Change is the creator & star of indie miniseries, Pussy Papadopoulos: Classified Affairs, premiering April 10 on YouTube. Described as a “high-camp spy parody” in the style of Divine in Pink Flamingos & RuPaul’s Starbooty, check out the stylish, sexy & silly teaser below:

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GET HAPPY: On June 14, LA’s 56th Annual Pride Parade reaches its grand finale at the Pride Village in Hollywood, which just announced an incredible lineup of talent, including Queerty fave Bentley Robles as the fabulous headliner, plus a special showcase of the King Of Drag Season 1 cast & so much more. [ABC LA]

SOMETHING NEW: While her controversial wedding movie The Drama sparks conversations, Zendaya‘s doing the press cycle right, buying a dress for one lucky lesbian bride-to-be, with a little help from her celebrity stylist Law Roach. The happy couple have called it the “sparkliest week” of their lives. [LGBTQNation]

LASSO UP: Rising queer pop artist Keanna Kee has teamed up with supermodel Valery Kaufman for fiery new sapphic breakup anthem “Ex’s Funeral,” all about the friends who get you through the hard times, and it comes complete with a country-fied music video featuring the smoking-hot pari rolling around in the hay.

The Final Hump

When he’s not hosting his Queerties Award-nominated That’s A Gay *ss Podcast or touring the country with his solo show Why All The Drama, where can you find comedian Eric Williams? In the bathroom stalls of course! Produced by Portal A, his comedic chat show Confession Hole is back for a second season, asking iconic guests to spill their seed tea while they’re in the can. Ugh, god bless the queers! Launching April 9, this time around Williams will be gabbing it up with a gaggle of gays, including comedians like Margaret Cho, Zach Noe Towers, & Dylan Adler, influencers like Star Amerasu, Kevin McDonald & Uly Morazon, and even pop princess Chrissy Chlapecka. So grab an extra roll of T.P. because it’s about to get messy!

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A Mississippi state senator is braving the fraught politics around trans rights in his deeply conservative state with an emotional plea to the state’s governor and colleagues “to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly,” and reject a hateful piece of legislation directed at the trans community.

“Mississippi deserves better,” said State Sen. Rod Hickman, a Democrat from Macon.

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The Black state senator, a lawyer and prosecutor born in Shuqualak, Mississippi, addressed Senate Bill 2322 in an editorial published Tuesday in Mississippi Today. The law would ban gender marker changes on driver’s licenses and other state identification, and require “sex at birth” on the IDs.

If adopted, the red state would become the eighth to require “sex at birth” on identity documents.

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While the change is not retroactive like a similar law recently enacted in Kansas, it will force trans Mississippians whose licenses are now aligned with their gender to revert the gender marker back to “sex at birth” on renewal.

Hickman called the bill a “burden” on those it targets, and therefore on all Mississippians.

“I did not come to the Mississippi Legislature to be a spectator or to do harm dressed up as policy,” Hickman wrote. “I came to solve problems, to make our communities safer, and to ensure that the laws we pass actually serve the people of this state. That is why I write today with deep disappointment following the recent passage of Senate Bill 2322, which is now pending the governor’s signature to become law.”

“Taken as a whole, this bill does not address a pressing public safety need. It does not fix a broken system. Provisions that invalidate certain out-of-state driver’s licenses may sound strong on paper, but they do little to improve safety on our roads,” he said.

Hickman was referring to a provision in the bill that would require out-of-state driver’s license holders to also carry documentation proving they’re U.S. citizens, and force authorities to report anyone who can’t prove their legal status to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for detainment.

While that provision on its own is a naked civil rights violation (and likely to form the basis of a future court challenge, if the bill is signed into law), Hickman was even more unsettled by the implications for the other targets of the bill: trans people.

“The most troubling aspect of this legislation is the ‘sex at birth’ provision,” Hickman wrote. “It is a rigid mandate that ignores reality, ignores evidence, and ignores the human impact of what it requires the state to do.”

“It does not make a single Mississippian safer,” he said.

“What it does instead is require the state to issue identification that may directly conflict with a person’s lived identity and, in some cases, with other legal documents someone might possess. That kind of inconsistency does not create clarity. It creates confusion and invites unnecessary conflict in everyday interactions,” he continued.

“More than that, it is degrading,” he said.

Whether at a traffic stop, at a workplace, in a place of business, or in any routine encounter that requires identification, “that moment of mismatch is not just inconvenient, but also can be harmful,” Hickman said.

“It forces individuals to explain themselves in ways that are deeply personal and often unwelcome, and it increases the risk of confrontation in situations that should be routine,” he added.

About a quarter of transgender people whose IDs don’t match their gender identity reported verbal harassment, assault, or denial of services, according to the 2022 U.S. Trans Survey.

“We cannot ignore the reality that this provision targets a vulnerable group of people who already face disproportionate levels of discrimination, misunderstanding and, in many cases, outright hostility,” Hickman added. “Rather than offering protection, this law adds to that burden. Rather than making their lives safer, it makes them more exposed. That is not the role of government, and it is not the purpose of good legislation.”

“We were sent here to protect Mississippians – all Mississippians,” Hickman said. “And when we pass laws that do not protect, but instead isolate and place people in harm’s way, we have to be honest about what we are doing. This is not about safety. It is not about efficiency. It is a policy choice that carries real consequences for real people.”

“I say plainly and without hesitation that we can do better than this.”

Of his Biblical exhortation for to colleagues to “do justice, love mercy and walk humbly,” Hickman added, “[It] is not just a personal calling, but also should be a standard for how we govern. Laws rooted in justice protect rather than target. Laws grounded in mercy recognize the dignity of every person. Laws shaped by humility reflect a careful use of power, not an overreach of it.

This law, said Hickman, “falls short of that standard.”

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The city of Boise won’t take “no” for an answer. Republicans said no Pride flags, so the mayor responded with Pride “wraps.”

Just days after Idaho Gov. Brad Little (R) signed an updated law that finally banished the Pride standard from flying at City Hall, Boise unveiled vinyl wraps featuring the Progress Pride flag colors on the building’s three flagpoles, reaching nearly all the way up to the flags themselves.

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The flags on those poles don’t include a Pride flag.

Last Tuesday, following Little’s signature — not so coincidentally, on the Trans Day of Visibility — Boise Mayor Lauren McLean (D) ordered the city’s Pride flag lowered after more than a decade.

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After an earlier law first banned all flags that aren’t official government flags, the City Council made the Pride flag an official city flag. Republicans responded with an update to that law, adding language and fines that the city couldn’t circumvent.

On the day Gov. Little signed the new bill, Mayor McLean stood with council members and about 60 supporters at a special City Council meeting, where they proclaimed March 31 as Transgender Day of Visibility in the state capital.

“Many people in this state and around this country are seeking to divide us. They’re seeking to divide us by targeting the most vulnerable among us,” McLean said as she choked back tears, according to the Idaho Statesman. “I want the people in this room to know that I see you. We see you. You are wanted, important, and unique members of our community.”

That night, McLean lit City Hall in the colors of the transgender flag: pink, white, and baby blue.

Now Boise has added the wraps, and a massive sign hung in the building’s glass facade that declares, “Creating a city for everyone,” alongside a Progress Pride rainbow.

“Well, the law pertained to flags, and we are in full compliance with the law,” Mayor McLean told Boise State Public Radio on Tuesday.

“We have a rich history of an arts and culture scene here,” she added. “So because it’s allowed, we have installed art that demonstrates our values of being a safe and welcoming city for everyone.”

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State Rep. Ted Hill (R), who brought the two bills to address Republicans’ displeasure with the Pride flag, told the Statesman he was expecting some kind of response, though he’d guessed it would be a mural.

It was too early to tell whether lawmakers would bring a bill to address the mayor’s workaround, Hill said. 

“She’s insulting everyone else,” he complained. “Is that City Hall or some activist Pride Hall?”

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On TACO Tuesday, D*nald Tr*mp got served a heaping plate of political comeuppance.

Hopefully he was hungry!

As the U.S. and Iran announced a fragile cease-fire that doesn’t accomplish any of the administration’s supposed objectives, Republicans were once again thrashed in local elections from suburban Wisconsin to Anchorage, Alaska. Though the GOP did retain a House seat in Marjorie Taylor Greene’s deep red Georgia district, the electorate swung towards the Democratic candidate by 25 points. It was the Dems’ biggest over-performance in a special House election in 18 years.

With a narrow majority in Congress and Tr*mp’s approval ratings under water, Republicans are bracing themselves for a midterm shellacking. Already, Democrats have flipped more than two dozen seats in Republican or battleground states, while the GOP hasn’t captured any Democrat-held seats.

Politics, but make it gay!

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In a delicious example of symbolism, Dems have even flipped the Florida district that includes Mar-a-Lago, where Tr*mp and his cabinet plotted the five-week war that sent the world to the nuclear brink.

Here are all the ways that Tr*mp is licking his wounds…

Iran

The world never needed a TACO Tuesday more. Hours after threatening the Iranian people with extinction, Tr*mp reversed course and accepted a cease-fire. While both sides are claiming victory, it’s apparent that Iran holds the cards.

Despite absorbing 13,000 targeted strikes from U.S. and Israeli forces, Iran managed to choke off the global oil supply and pelted America’s Persian Gulf allies with missiles and drones. They hit oil refineries, economic hubs and American military bases, shattering the perceived insulation of glistening desert metropolises such as Dubai and Doha from the region’s instability.

Emboldened, Iranian officials released a 10-point peace plan that involves the lifting of all sanctions, U.S. withdrawal from the Middle East and continued control over the Strait of Hormuz, where 20% of the world’s oil supply passes through. Still intact, the hardline Iranian regime hasn’t mentioned anything about surrendering its nuclear stockpile, the alleged driving force behind America and Israel’s bombing campaign.

Desperate to save face, the White House says they received a different proposal from Iran, but there’s no denying the uncertainty on the ground. As of Wednesday morning, ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz remains “throttled,” per the New York Times.

Of course, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention the biggest tragedy of this senseless war: the mass loss of human life, including a reported 3,500 in Iran, 1,400 in Lebanon and 19 in Israel and 13 American service members.

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Wisconsin

Last spring, a usually obscure election for a Supreme Court seat in Wisconsin attracted $100 million in spending and featured Elon Musk donning a cheesehead hat. But the richest man in the world’s money and presence backfired.

The Democratic candidate won the seat.

On Tuesday, another election for a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat was held, albeit with much less fanfare. The liberal candidate skated to a blowout win over his conservative rival, providing progressives with a 5-2 advantage on the bench.

In keeping with national trends, heavily Hispanic areas shifted sharply towards the Democrat-aligned candidate. A key voting bloc for the GOP in 2024 has all but evaporated. Maybe siccing federal agents on immigrant communities wasn’t such a good idea after all!?

Despite Milwaukee and Madison’s status as deep blue cities, Wisconsin has remained a swing state due to its populous and ruby red suburbs. But in another sign of electoral doom for the GOP, Democrats won a mayoral seat in one of the state’s most conservative areas.

Here’s another crazy stat: if you toss out all the Wisconsin districts that Kamala Harris carried in ’24, the liberal Supreme Court candidate still would’ve won.

Georgia looking peachy

Tr*mp won Marjorie Taylor Greene’s rural district with 68% of the vote. The Republican who’s taking MTG’s place in Congress, Clay Fuller, won by just 11%.

Since re-signing from Congress, MTG has emerged as one of Tr*mp’s most vociferous critics on the right. She says the president has sold out the “America First” movement and working class people. In the wake of his unhinged threats, she’s called for him to be removed from office.

It appears that many GOP voters in her district agree. All 10 of the area’s counties shifted by double digits towards the Democratic candidate.

In 2024, nearly two dozen House Republicans won their races by 10 points or less.

Even the GOP’s brazen redistricting efforts don’t seem like they can change the midterm math: Republicans are in trouble!

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Love it or hate it, Grindr is an entrenched part of the culture. You can find your Prince Charming—or your Prints Charming—with one swipe, or you can find yourself stuck in one of the worst hookup scenarios imaginable, or anywhere in between.

Sadly, you can also find a lot of pretty disgusting behavior from men who, despite being a part of the queer community, feel comfortable being as racist as possible in their swiping behavior. In the year 2026, the “no fats, no femmes, no Asians” problem is still depressingly real, as evidenced by a recent video concerning racial “preferences” on Grindr.

In a man on the street segment from late March, OF creator Hadi Khalifa interviews a white man about his dating preferences.

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“Do you prefer white guys or Black guys?” He asks. The interviewee, in a sadly unsurprising turn, says “100% white.” He goes on to say that while he “might” sleep with Black men, he considers white people to be “the most attractive race.”

Obviously this rancid take caught the attention of quite a few creators who had to drag this man by the short hairs. “Whew!!!! We’re safe,” joked one commenter. “We don’t prefer you either Quasimodo,” another said.

“This has to be some form of reparations,” joked poster @iamizaiahhh on TikTok. “Because saying all that while looking like the Michelin Man is f*cking crazy.”

It certainly is! Even saying that while not looking like the Michelin Man is a pretty rank choice. Grindr’s racism problem has been an issue ever since the app’s creation in 2009 (remember the 2018 #KindrGrindr campaign?) and in all that time, apparently certain users have learned absolutely nothing.

“If you think that’s just exclusive to attraction when it comes to the “community,” I’m gonna hold your tip when I say this—it’s really not,” says creator Mo (@dakkatsu.) “Trans Black and brown women have been complaining about how the spaces they literally created and allowed gay men to have excludes them a lot of the time.”

As Mo says, the problem is by no means exclusive to dating, but for some reason, to many Grindr users feel comfortable putting their rancid views on blast on the apps as if it’s a totally natural and acceptable thing. While yes, some people do have distinct types they might prefer in a guy, when those types start to exclude entire races, that’s when “preference” becomes straight-up racism.

In a 2022 study where 550 Black queer men used the apps Grindr and Jack’d to find romantic partners, a stunning 99% experienced discrimination due to their race. The problem is, of course, not limited to the Black community, Queer people of color consistently face dating discrimination on the apps thanks to a combination of almost total anonymity and a rising culture of racial intolerance in the Tr*mp years. “I was on Grindr this weekend,” one man posted in a video last year, “and I had someone tell me that Indian people are the worst, that we stink of curry. Yeah. In 2025.”

“It takes a lot of courage to send a face picture on THE Grindr,” says TikToker Eric. After receiving the picture and asking a disrespectful question about Eric’s Asian identity, the user promptly blocked him.

Obviously none of this is cute behavior—it wasn’t cute in 2009, or 2018, or in 2026, but somehow, it persists. The solution, however, seems relatively simple. It’s the same tactic we’re using for the people who are still somehow proudly showing their MAGA loyalties on main even at this late date. Bring back shame, and make it stick!

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Dark humor spread on social media yesterday with people joking that, while the president is leading the U.S. into a possible global war, at least the voters who supported him got what they wanted on cultural issues. The joke pointed out that the reasons people voted for the current president in 2024 were trifling compared to the amount of destruction he seemed likely to cause while threatening genocide in Iran.

And then the country’s most famous fifth-place swimmer made the argument in earnest.

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Minnesota Gov. and former vice presidential candidate Tim Walz (D) said that the president “has lost his mind” in a post yesterday, likely referring to how the president said that a “whole civilization will die tonight.”

“If the man who required tampons in 4th grade boy’s bathrooms thinks you’ve lost your mind, it’s a pretty good sign you’re completely sane,” anti-trans activist Riley Gaines replied, referring to a law in Minnesota that required menstrual products – not necessarily tampons – to be made available in school bathrooms for students starting in grade 4 so that “all menstruating students” could access them. That law became the basis of constant right-wing attacks on Walz in 2024.

The Minneapolis City Council is considering legalizing venues that allow “sexual activity between consenting adults,” including bathhouses.

Bathhouses and sex clubs were staples of nightlife across the U.S., particularly among gay men, until the mid-1980s, when the AIDS crisis led to local laws that forced them to shut down.

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A 1988 Minneapolis ordinance supported by Brian Coyle, the city’s first out gay city council member, banned businesses that facilitate “high-risk sexual conduct.” The city’s last adult bathhouse closed before the ordinance was passed, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune.

But a package of proposed ordinances set to be discussed this week would allow such businesses to operate in Minneapolis for the first time in decades.

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The four ordinances were authored by Minneapolis City Council President Elliott Payne and Council Members Jason Chavez and Soren Stevenson at the urging of the Safer Sex Space Coalition. The coalition – which formed in 2023 and successfully lobbied for the removal of language in the 1988 ordinance that it said targeted LGBTQ+ people and those living with HIV – says the ban on adult sex venues has driven sex gatherings underground, making them less safe and making outreach to at-risk communities harder. The ordinances were first introduced two weeks ago, according to local ABC affiliate KSTP.

The items proposal reportedly seeks to amend regulations for “adult entertainment, where sexual activity between consenting adults may be facilitated”; updating definitions in the city’s zoning code to “eliminate stigmatizing language” and “reflect advances in preventative care”; adding “exceptions for licensed establishments where sexual activity between consenting adults may be facilitated” according to the city’s provisions pertaining to indecent conduct and disorderly houses; and amending the city’s health and sanitation code to include updated guidance “pertaining to venereal diseases and high-risk sexual conduct.”

The City Council was expected to refer the ordinances to staff for more research on Tuesday, but KSTP reports that council members delayed talks on the matter and are now expected to take up the discussion on Thursday.

In a statement, City Council President Payne noted that the proposal “has been shaped by and for the community.”

“These venues are historically LGBTQ+ spaces, with advocacy organizations emphasizing their importance in the community,” Payne said. “What we know about sexual health, STIs/HIV, and public health interventions and advancements is different than 40 years ago. Parties and events that operate as adult sex venues already occur underground and this policy will ensure that they center and prioritize consent, health, and safety.”

Payne noted that other cities have demonstrated that “these venues can be key centers of public health interventions, especially for communities that are often marginalized.”

The Star Tribune cites a 2024 city auditor’s report indicating that six U.S. cities, including Duluth, Minnesota, allow bathhouses to operate and have reported no issues.

In a separate statement, Minneapolis city council member Chavez said that “LGBTQIA+ gathering spaces, including bathhouses, have long been targeted by criminalization and policing.”

“Our communities have paid a devastating price for that,” Chavez said. “That’s why we’re referring this to staff to begin building policy alongside community members and stakeholders.”

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Lisa Fleischmann, owner of the Trump Truth Store + Hangout in the Chicago suburb of Crystal Lake, Illinois, used to sell red MAGA caps, Trump 2028 flags, and “God, Guns, and Trump” shirts. But she has had to close her store indefinitely because business at her shop has been “dead as a door nail” since Trump started the war with Iran.

“[I’m] lucky to get three cars a day,” she wrote on Facebook, according to The Independent. “And most people don’t even buy a thing.”

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“I am not even making ½ of my rent,” she wrote on Facebook. “I never did this for the money but I don’t know how much longer I can last with paying for all the stuff.”

“[The recent slowdown at the shop] all started with the war. It was dead as a door nail the minute that happened,” she continued. “I think a majority of [customers] are unsure what’s going on… And if you wear [MAGA apparel], they feel someone might come up to them and ask them questions.”

“I really did this for the people,” she continued. “I really thought that everyone wanted this, but no one’s coming, not even people that promised and promised that I need to open up a store. I just spent so much money on tables and chairs for the Trump bingo. I really don’t even feel like anyone’s even gonna come.”

A courtroom moment has gone viral after being shared on X this week.

The drama first aired on TV a few weeks ago, as part of the show Equal Justice with Judge Eboni K. Williams (S03, E65), but just recently making the rounds online. The show is available on Justice Central TV and Apple TV+, but we suspect not many people will be aware of this particular episode.

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In the case of Calbert vs. Calbert, a father (Gregory Calbert) was suing his 19-year-old son (Michael) for repayment of $6,000. Dad says he was shocked to discover Michael kissing a male friend that he had over for a sleepover. Michael was 18 at the time of the alleged incident.

Dad later sent his son a text threatening to kick him out unless he “fixed” himself.

Alarmed and fearful of being made homeless, Michael did some research into conversion therapy. He found an intense course that lasted three months. Although not residential, he would need to attend five days a week from 8am to 5pm.

His dad, a devout church-goer, agreed to pay the $6,000 fee.

After a month of attending the course and being told repeatedly he was cursed and going to hell, Michael could take no more and dropped out. Friends have assured him he does not need fixing.

His dad now wants Michael to repay him the $6,000.

A father is suing his own son after he came out as gay — demanding to be repaid for every expense from raising him, calling it a “worthless investment.” pic.twitter.com/pxNlmUS4cV

— PopPulse (@PoppPulse) April 8, 2026

The whole episode is on YouTube, and you can watch it below.

“You are perfect in the eyes of God”

Judge Williams is horrified by the dad’s actions and by what Michael has gone through.

In one moving segment (at the 11-minute mark), the Judge leaves her bench, goes to Michael, and takes his hands. Looking into his eyes, she says, “Young man, you are not cursed. You are as loved and as worthy, Michael, as your father, your mother, and everyone else who gets the privilege to reside on this earth, young man. And I don’t care what your daddy says … what this (so-called therapist) Matthew guy says. I don’t care what some stupid conversion therapy says, which is nothing but a bunch of hoopla and a scam and a money grab for young, vulnerable men like yourself. I see you. You are valuable. And Michael, you are perfect. You are perfect in the eyes of God.”

“Downright cruel”

When Michael’s father discovered his son was skipping his conversion therapy session, he sent an angry text saying: “How could you betray mom and me like this? I need you to pack your things and move out.”

Dad told the judge he regretted the “harshness” of his words he used in that text, and said he loves his son.

Judge Williams is unimpressed.

“I don’t give a damn how angry you were, sir. And now I’m about to get real harsh with mine.

“It’s unacceptable. It’s manipulative. And sir, it’s downright cruel. I believe I’m ready to rule in this matter.

“I deal with a lot of cases in my courtroom, sir. And many of them are extremely complicated and nuanced, and I really have to sometimes seek counsel as we tease through the minutia and the theories and the legal complexities. And this one is very simple. This young man deserves a father and a mother who love him completely. Not that tolerates him, sir. Not that begrudgingly accepts who he is, but that loves him unconditionally and completely. He deserves a home, sir, where he is safe and loved. And it’s clear to this court that you nor your wife, according to your testimony here today, can provide that. Therefore, it is with great joy and comfort that I dismiss your case in its entirety. The plaintiff’s case is dismissed.”

Real or fictional?

Watching the video, one might assume this was a real case. However, according to IMDB and comments on Reddit, the show uses numerous actors in its productions.

Queerty has reached out to Allen Media Group, which owns Justice Central TV, to ask if this episode used actors or was based on a real-life case.

Whether a fictional courtroom drama or not, the episode does raise the issue of conversion therapy at a pertinent time.

The discredited practice does not work to alter anyone’s sexuality. Numerous studies have found that it often does more harm than good. Many states have now banned it. However, late last month, the US Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that a Colorado law banning conversion therapy for minors likely violates the First Amendment free speech rights of therapists. The decision allows counselors to argue that, as “talk therapy,” these practices are protected speech rather than regulatable conduct. The SCOTUS ruling likely threatens similar bans in other states.

Related

Bowen Yang opens up about conversion therapy in emotional interview
Yang and his parents have gone through a lot to get to a loving, accepting place

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When Randi Weingarten feels hopeless, she remembers herself as a closeted kid in the 70s. That girl, she told LGBTQ Nation, would never in a thousand lifetimes have thought she’d someday stand before the love of her life – already a decade into her tenure as the first lesbian president of one of the nation’s largest teachers unions – and legally say, “I do.”

But on March 25^th, 2018, that’s exactly what she did.

Related

The right knows conversion therapy bans don’t stop them. Here’s why they fought to repeal them.

Living a life that her younger self could not even have conceived helps the longtime union powerhouse and leader of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) muster the faith to fight through the moment we’re in now, when the Trump administration and others on the extreme right have waged a bitter war against inclusive and truthful education.

Today’s landscape, frankly, is bleak.

Never Miss a Beat

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Don’t Say Gay laws have silenced teachers across the country while cutting off students from critical information; a Trump-stacked Supreme Court has greenlit parents to opt their kids out of lessons they deem inappropriate; books on queer identities have been banned from countless classrooms and libraries; officials are hiding behind Title IX to justify transphobic sports policies; trans kids are being forced to use the wrong restrooms and their teachers forced to call them by the wrong pronouns; educators are being doxed for promoting acceptance; and the Trump administration has weaponized what’s left of the Department of Education to investigate and threaten schools for having LGBTQ+-inclusive policies.

Nevertheless, Weingarten sees a path forward, one she says must be grounded in justice, inclusion, and respect. She has already seen democracy work to enhance LGBTQ+ rights, and that fuels her every day to keep going.

“We didn’t win marriage equality by yelling at people,” she said. “We won by saying, how dare you not give us the rights that you have? We may have felt it, but we didn’t win hearts and minds that way. We didn’t win the Supreme Court case that way, and we didn’t win in legislative battles that way…  Nonviolent protests are important. But to change hearts and minds, you actually have to think about how to change hearts and minds. And education is a really important way of doing it.”

Weingarten’s book, Why Fascists Fear Teachers, positions educators as the country’s secret weapon against the Trump regime. Teachers, Weingarten writes, have always been on the frontlines fighting governments that exhibit what she calls “fascistic behavior.” Because good teachers don’t teach kids what to think; they teach kids how to think. And a country filled with critical thinkers is the precise antidote to the poison of fascism.

Even with the educational repression perpetrated by the Trump administration today, Weingarten sees plenty of cracks where the light can get in. Not only are lawsuits forcing the administration to temper its attacks, but determined teachers across the country are finding ways to make it work for the good of their students.

It’s no wonder she describes her book as “a love story” to the educators who refuse to give up.

An existential threat

Weingarten describes a classroom as a “mini democracy.”

“You’re creating rules of engagement,” she said. “You’re helping kids figure out how to work and operate with each other… That is pluralism, and that’s what schools do.”

But bad actors on the right, she said, want to make us fear one another, which runs counter to the very structure of the classroom. “Fascists… want the division; they want the hate; they want to create a sense of, ‘be scared of something that’s different.’”

Queer people, then, make a perfect scapegoat.

“Fear of the other centralizes power and control for the strong man who’s in office,” Weingarten explained. “They use that as an intentional strategy… They say, ‘We’re going to degrade, we’re going to dehumanize, we’re going to make them so venal, so awful, so toxic, and we are also then going to say that we are the ones who are fighting against them.'”

“You take people who really don’t have much power anyway, and you pretend they’re so powerful, and then you say, ‘We will protect you from that.’”

The fear and outrage machine the right has been building for years has culminated in acts like the Department of Education directing its workers last year to end all transgender-inclusive programs and policies. It has resulted in a Don’t Say Gay bill signed in Texas last year, barring discussion of LGBTQ+ identity in classrooms, banning LGBTQ+ student clubs, and prohibiting school staff from acknowledging student identities that diverge from the binary.

The relentless fearmongering led the Idaho legislature to pass a bill in March requiring educational institutions to out trans kids to their parents if they express any desire to act in a way perceived as discordant with their sex assigned at birth or risk being charged with  “aiding and abetting” a child’s transition without parental consent.

It is this right-wing plot that led two in three students to report in Glisten’s 2025 school climate survey that they feel unsafe at school due to their sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. Only one in three LGBTQ+ youth reported that they frequently look forward to school, and 62% said there is no LGBTQ+ content in their classrooms. 53% said they’ve experienced anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination.

One 18-year-old in Georgia reported, “I constantly had to watch how I presented myself and how much of my identity I could share. Safety for me isn’t just no bullying. It’s being able to exist without shrinking myself.” A 17-year-old in Florida said they took their pronoun pin off their backpack so no one would ask them questions about which bathroom they use.

“We pose in their view this really existential threat to a mythical past,” Weingarten said, “of the two-parent household, of a male and a female and a picket fence, where the male makes all the decisions in the household. In their view, that was a time in America that was just peachy keen, so they are really trying in every way they can to pull us back to the past, which never existed in the first place.”

So if a successfully operating classroom is a mini democracy, what does that make classrooms like those in Idaho, Texas, and the 17 other states with laws that censor LGBTQ+ curricula?

According to Weingarten, it makes them “sanitized” and “stilted.”

“Classrooms are not the safe and welcoming places that they need to be where kids really feel that they can live and be seen, and what happens is the engagement and the agency that kids really need doesn’t happen.”

At the same time, she emphasized that teachers are strong, smart, and resourceful (which is what scares the right so much) and, in many instances, still find ways to help their students feel a sense of belonging.

“There are thousands of classrooms in America every day that are operating as you and I speak, and most of the time, except in the extremes, teachers figure out how to engage with kids so they get the confidence they need and a sense of the agency that they need. So what these laws do is just make our jobs harder.”

Unworkable

Weingarten has always believed in the importance of a strong relationship between teachers and parents. “I always say that parents are kids’ first teachers,” she said, “and we have to actually work with parents to make kids’ lives successful.”

But the rise of the so-called parents’ rights movement has, in many areas of the country, severely blurred the lines between partnership and control. As groups like Moms for Liberty gained influence, more and more parents began treating teachers not as collaborators but as adversaries.

“The movement is [focused on] division as opposed to a fundamental understanding that parents and teachers have to work together in the best interest of kids,” Weingarten said, emphasizing that she will always fight for a parent’s right to raise their kids as they see fit. At the same time, she said, it is impossible for any parent to exert control over every piece of information their child is exposed to out of their home – especially in the age of screens.

“When I hear somebody saying that parents have the right to control everything, that to me is a statement out of fear of the absence of the ability to control everything. Because frankly, with these devices, nobody can control everything.”

Moms for Liberty has been at the forefront of the right-wing movement against inclusive education since it first formed to fight mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic. The group works closely with Republican Party officials and has infiltrated school boards and other influential positions as part of its efforts to ban books by LGBTQ+ authors and pass laws that ban discussions of LGBTQ+ people in schools.

The organization has been designated an “extremist” group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which wrote on its website that “the group’s primary goals are to fuel right-wing hysteria and to make the world a less comfortable place for certain students – primarily those who are Black, LGBTQ, or who come from LGBTQ families.”

The Moms for Liberty-fueled movement gained so much steam that the question of parents’ rights reached the Supreme Court. The Mahmoud v. Taylor decision said a Maryland school district must allow parents to opt their children out of instruction relating to LGBTQ+ identities.

Weingarten says the question of whether parents should have the right to opt their kids out of certain lessons is complicated, as she wholeheartedly believes it is critical to respect a parent’s right to raise their children as they see fit. But she knows one thing for sure: “It is fundamentally terrible for kids when parents opt out.”

She emphasized that to become successful adults, it is vital that kids learn to deal with conflict, difference, and disagreement. “If somebody is opting out of having a conversation or a book about difference, then where are you going to learn it?”

“What I have said,” she added, “is when we get to the question of people opting out, we have lost the battle already,” because “there has to be a presumption, unless you see otherwise, that parents have the best interest of their children in mind.”

Opt out isn’t just bad for kids, though. It’s also a massive burden for teachers. Those in the Maryland district at the center of the Supreme Court case, for example, are required to create alternative assignments for the small number of students who must be removed from the classroom when certain topics are discussed. In fact, the district originally had an opt-out policy but removed it because it had become “unworkable.”

The power of unions

Weingarten said the number one thing teachers who want to stand up to Trump should do is join a union. The “associational rights” of labor unions, she said, “are really, really important.”

“It’s part of the reason why the far right hates us so much. A community is the number one way that we start fighting autocracy, fear, and apathy, and have some fun doing it.”

She said she strongly believes in the message in Martin Luther King Jr.’s book, Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community. “The power of being together in a community that can then not only do mutual aid, but fight the forces of tyranny and fight for the kind of humanity and the kind of government and the kind of society we want,” she paraphrased. “That’s what teachers do every single day in classrooms, and that’s what we need to have them shielded by and embraced in community.”

Teachers who arm themselves with the support of a union, she said, feel more empowered to take to the streets for No Kings rallies, to do what feels right in the classroom, and to do the hard work of changing public opinion. And when they do it with a community behind them, the weight of it all doesn’t feel so crushing.

In its quest to protect both students and teachers, AFT has also been behind critical wins against the Trump administration, including its recent victory against the administration’s attempt to punish schools for having DEI programs. And in an October deal, the administration agreed to resume student debt relief for millions, which it had paused.

“None of us can do everything,” Weingarten said. “But we can all do something.”

A common enemy

Weingarten identified the fight against big tech as a possible uniting factor between the left and the right. “All of a sudden, we have a common enemy,” she said.

“What I’m hearing is that Moms for Liberty and people who support Moms for Liberty are rooting us on to actually limit screen time… It’s not a surprise to me.”

And Weingarten is ready to collaborate.

“My view is you expand the tent as much as you can. At the end of the day, regardless of who I am, our job when it comes to public education is to strengthen it and to make sure we prepare all kids for their lives… But now what’s happened is that the screens are so ever-present, they are taking attention away from schooling, and because the screens are so ever-present at home… You’re seeing MAHA moms and folks who have been historically with the Moms for Liberty movement and conservative moms, as well as liberal moms, basically saying, ‘Wait a second, this is taking our control away.’”

The internet, she said, is where parents really have no power. Kids can get around parental controls, and it’s impossible to know what they’re doing in their bedrooms at three o’clock in the morning. So all this time spent fighting over how to keep kids safe in the physical space becomes moot if they’re unprotected in the virtual one.

Weingarten sees potential for this fight to alleviate some of the tensions between the sides. “Does that mean people in Moms for Liberty are going to like the lesbian labor leader of the AFT?” she asked. “No. But sometimes, if you work together on anything, if you can have a shared experience on anything, that starts opening up the respect and human dignity… and that is how we won marriage equality.”

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The first time my son came home from preschool touting something he learned that I didn’t agree with, I panicked.

It wasn’t even a big thing (and I’m not about to open that can of worms here, just know that it was about politics), yet I still wondered for a fleeting moment whether we had to send him to a new school, whether the fact that a teacher communicated something differently than I would was simply a dealbreaker.

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Support skyrockets for librarian who was fired for refusing to hide LGBTQ+ books from kids

It’s funny now to look back on that moment, when I was still so new to sending my little guy out into the world without me, when it still felt possible and righteous to try to make sure he never hears anything wrong or confusing or hurtful or nuanced.

I have since come to terms with the fact that it is impossible to control what my children are exposed to when they leave the house. Now, this doesn’t mean we just throw up our hands and give up. My wife and I can make sure to send them to good institutions with values that align with ours, and we can do our best to make sure they are always with responsible, loving adults who respect their two-mom family, but in the end, they’re going to hear, learn, and see things that I don’t want them to, whether from peers, teachers, relatives, or media.

Dive deeper every day

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My job, I’ve realized, is not to curate their entire existence. All I can do is tell them whether I agree or disagree with something they learn and point them toward resources to find out more. From there, their own critical-thinking skills will have to kick in. It’ll be their job to consider what they’ve heard and decide what they believe.

The modern parents’ rights movement rejects this ethos.

Fueled by anti-LGBTQ+ right-wing organizations and GOP politicos, this movement wholeheartedly believes in a parent’s right (and ability) to control what their children read and learn in school. Leaders of the movement believe themselves to be the arbiters of what’s appropriate not only for their own children, but for entire student bodies.

The hypocrisy is blatant. When these parents fight for control by banning LGBTQ+ content, they are also taking away control from the parents who want their kids to learn about these identities.

It is obvious that the parents’ rights movement has never believed that all parents deserve rights, just that conservative parents do. But there is no Constitutional right to bully LGBTQ+ kids out of existence just because they make you uncomfortable.

The difference between the sides is stark. One side is teaching kids to hate, and the other is teaching kids to love. One is about censorship, and one is about expanding access to diverse materials.

There are no negative effects on straight cisgender kids who learn about queer people. On the other hand, when LGBTQ+ kids are not affirmed, their mental health suffers greatly. And when non-LGBTQ+ kids don’t learn to accept others who are different from them, we all suffer greatly.

In March 2022, despite national outrage and protest, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed the state’s infamous “Don’t Say Gay” law, which banned elementary school teachers from mentioning LGBTQ+ people in class. From there, the dominoes began to fall. Other conservative states approved copycat legislation, and librarians and teachers began losing their jobs for promoting LGBTQ+ inclusion.

At the federal level, the Trump administration is working to dismantle the Department of Education and is weaponizing what’s left of it to threaten schools that don’t discriminate against trans kids.

It’s a frightening time, but as always in the age of Trump, we must cling to hope for a brighter future and to the belief that the resistance is strong enough to win.

The April edition of LGBTQ Nation centers on the fight to save LGBTQ+-inclusive education. Our writers spoke with teachers, students, librarians, authors, and more to find out what’s really going on inside our schools and what’s being done to keep LGBTQ+ acceptance alive.

Because a lot is being done.

As American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten put it in the issue’s cover story: “There are thousands of classrooms in America every day that are operating as you and I speak, and most of the time, except in the extremes, teachers figure out how to engage with kids so they get the confidence they need and a sense of the agency that they need.”

While the right-wing movement is certainly strong, it is important to remember that oftentimes, it is a very vocal minority calling for book bans and other anti-LGBTQ+ initiatives. On the flip side, there are so many people out there fighting for LGBTQ+ kids.

This month, we’ll tell some of their stories.

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The lawyers who represented sorority sisters who wanted to expel a trans sister were sued by that trans woman, Artemis Langford. Now, one of the lawyers settled with Langford, while the other is expected to appear in court next month facing two civil allegations.

Langford sued the two lawyers, Cassie Craven and John Knepper, on four civil counts, claiming that their representation of the sorority sisters used a “targeted and sophisticated legal and public relations arrangement that publicized graphic, personal, and stigmatizing information on Langford’s body and private life.”

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Wyoming sorority members who harassed a trans sister are back in court, with a Trump ally’s help

That publicity included Craven and the sisters appearing on Fox News and rightwing media, including on shows hosted by Laura Ingraham and Megyn Kelly, and pushing more hateful remarks, like Craven saying, “You can put lipstick on a pig, that doesn’t make it a lady.”

According to court filings last week, Craven of Longhorn Law has settled with Langford, but the details of that settlement have not been disclosed to the public.

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Knepper, of the Law Office of John Knepper, did not agree to settle, instead asking Judge Nathaniel Hibben to dismiss the civil claims. Hibben dismissed two of the claims, but left the other two standing for trial.

Langford was invited to the Kappa Kappa Gamma (KKG) sorority chapter at the University of Wyoming in 2022, making her the Wyoming chapter’s first trans sister. In 2023, six cis sisters sued the sorority for admitting her, claiming that the chapter was in breach of contract for allowing a “man” into the sorority.

The judge in the case, Alan B. Johnson, dismissed the case, noting that the sorority had the constitutional free association right to determine who could be members. Crucially, he also noted that 94% of the plaintiffs’ complaint was focused on attacking Langford with misgendering and transphobic insinuations rather than with legal arguments. He suggested that “If Plaintiffs wish to amend their complaint, the Court advises Plaintiffs that they devote more than 6% of their complaint to their legal claims against Defendants.”

Langford’s civil suit against the attorneys behind that complaint cited four civil claims: “malicious prosecution, intrusion upon seclusion, abuse of process, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.”

Judge Hibben dismissed the claims on the first two counts for Knepper, noting that the threshold for “malicious prosecution” could not be met while the case was still ongoing and that the “intrusion upon seclusion” threshold had not been reached. In his decision, Hibbens wrote of the methods employed by Knepper and Craven that “using social peers or ‘friends’ to surreptitiously report on a person’s conduct, while perhaps reprehensible, does not constitute a physical or sensory prying into a secluded space.”

While the original lawsuit was filed in 2023 and dismissed only a few months later, proceedings in the case are still ongoing. A different attorney, May Mailman, picked it up as a personal project and refiled the case in June 2025. In that filing, Mailman cited the Trump administration’s positions on the legal definition of a woman, trans rights to single-sex spaces, and how Title IX doesn’t protect trans people. Mailman was, by that time, the deputy assistant and senior policy strategist to the president and is credited with writing the “two sexes” executive order.

That case again went before Judge Johnson, who again dismissed it. While the plaintiffs claimed that the sorority’s bylaws only allowed “women,” the judge pointed out that those bylaws never defined “woman” or “women” as exclusively cis women, and noted that the sorority has “published and distributed multiple texts” showing a trans-inclusive interpretation.

Now, Mailman is back in court with two alumni of KKG who are suing over having been expelled from the sorority for their aggressive and public support of the lawsuit against the sorority.

Langford graduated from the University of Wyoming last year and says that she has left the state, citing death threats that she says resulted from the publicity around the case. Last year, she told Wyoming Public Radio that she doesn’t regret joining, despite everything that happened.

“I still think that there’s immense value in Greek life, especially at the University of Wyoming. I joined for a reason. There’s a sisterhood in sororities that you can’t really find anywhere else in 21st-century young adult life anymore. And I would absolutely say people should continue if they want that.”

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In Tr*mp’s America, where viral tweets imply the president attends gay orgies and Grindr crashes at the RNC, it often feels like real life is stranger than fiction.

But even the dumbass-in-chief, his cronies, and their mindless religious followers have their limits, as revealed by a wildly hilarious tweet from satirical news account The Halfway Post, the shocking number of people who believed it, and the ensuing media frenzy.

OK, gays, it’s time to put on our media literacy hats!

How about we take this to the next level?

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It all started — when else? — on Easter Sunday, when @HalfwayPost, which proudly boasts that it doesn’t “report the facts, [it] improves them,” shared an urgent message to its 116,000 followers.

“BREAKING: The homophobic Texas televangelist who claimed Iran would surrender on Easter and name Donald Trump as their new Ayatollah so he could convert all of Iran to Christianity accidentally emailed his entire congregation his Grindr account in his Easter morning e-card,” it read.

LOL.

Obviously, some further research (or even a simple profile click) would’ve revealed that this was totally a joke. How does one even e-mail their Grindr account anyway?!

But very quickly, it became apparent that the people of Twitter X were not only falling for the Grindr-loving priest and his horny Easter e-card, but eating it up.

I just assume that all televangelists are hypocrites and con men until proven otherwise. pic.twitter.com/qLTqv2Bp2H

— ChuSez (@BillWilde388919) April 5, 2026

The Lord moves in mysterious ways.
The homophobic Texas televangelist has just discovered how mysterious it can be on such a personal level indeed.

Is a grinder account considered a choir expense akin to fixing a pipe organ? pic.twitter.com/VQUvIsJJQD

— AJ Skognes (@ASkognes) April 5, 2026

The rumor quickly spread through liberal Facebook community pages, fact-checking group chats, and probably your conservative mom’s Instagram DMs.

In fact, the internet hearsay got so bad that the professional misinformation handlers at Snopes.com were forced to write up an article after multiple readers reached out to inquire about its legitimacy.

“There was no credible reporting about the televangelist’s supposed mishap,” Jack Izzo of Snopes concluded. “It’s also worth noting that the posts sharing the rumor did not include any specific information, such as the purported televangelist’s name or the name of his church.”

Not to mention, the whole “came-from-an-internet-satire-page” thing.

That said, we blame the confusion on the religious right and their terrible PR. After all, this wouldn’t be the first time…

In 2015, a Michigan pastor named Rev. Matthew Makela, who frequently shared anti-gay and anti-trans posts on social media, resigned after his Grindr profile and lewd chats were leaked to our editors and published here on Queerty.

(Don’t judge us, OK?! This dude compared homosexuality to alcoholism, the transgender community to pedophiles, and it was a different time!)

Famously, his church begged constituents to ignore the news, social media, and focus on the Lord in a letter that’s since been scraped from the internet.

“This changes nothing,” they wrote at the time. “Matt is still forgiven and he is still loved, and we will do what we can to stand by him and the family as they face this spiteful attack of shame. God is bigger than this and will see us through.”

Oh, brother.

More than a decade later, it’s clear this brand of hypocrisy is still alive and strong in the conservative religious community.

If anything, Halfway Post’s satirical post, the hopeful believers, and those that mistakenly fell for it are a testament to that.

As one user wrote in response, “Immediately thought this was about [my] state rep.”

Oop! We’ll have to wait and see if we get his story soon.

Related

10 antigay trolls who were busted on Grindr
You know what they say about those who protest the loudest.

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Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was brutally mocked this week for comments he made about whether the president will nominate him or someone else as the next attorney general.

“I love working for President Trump,” Blanche said. “It’s the greatest honor of a lifetime. And if President Trump chooses to nominate somebody else and asks me to go do something else, I’ll say, ‘Thank you very much, I love you, sir.'”

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Former MAGA sycophants have had it with Trump: “Who do you think you are?”

The “I love you” was too much for social media, where users have raked Blanche over the coals for perfectly representing the cult-like adoration Trump’s underlings and followers have for him. Even members of Congress weighed in.

Out former Transportation Secretary and potential 2028 contender Pete Buttigieg used the word “genocidal” to describe Donald Trump’s latest threats against Iran just moments before Trump backed down from his threat to wipe out a population of nearly 100 million people.

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” Trump said yesterday on his social media platform, Truth Social, referring to Iran. “I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.”

Related

Pete Buttigieg blasts Trump’s corruption in fiery public conversation

Trump said that 8 p.m. on Tuesday was the final deadline for Iran to capitulate and “open the F**kin’ Straight, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH!” as he threatened to attack civilian infrastructure in the country, which is a war crime.

As the world waited for that deadline to hit to know just how many civilians Trump was willing to kill in a war that he started, Buttigieg called him out for his “genocidal intent.”

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“Regardless of whether it’s all talk, when the leader of our country expresses plainly genocidal intent, everyone has to do something,” Buttigieg wrote. “For citizens of all political stripes, it means rejecting this madness. For Congress, it means taking action to rein him in. Now.”

Congress is not even in session, and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has said that he won’t even call the House back into session to do anything about Trump’s saber-rattling with Iran.

Shortly before the self-imposed 8 p.m. deadline, Trump announced a two-week ceasefire during which Washington and Tehran will negotiate a peace, and Trump accepted Iran’s 10-point general framework for negotiations. Iran’s 10 points include control of the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. lifting sanctions on Iran, and reparations for the war paid to Iran.

“We received a 10 point proposal from Iran, and believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate,” Trump posted to social media.

Iran said that ships can pass through the Strait of Hormuz during this two-week period if they coordinate with their armed forces, and oil prices reportedly dropped 16% following the announcement, according to CNBC.

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