The 27-year-old will join the wildly popular show as hockey player Troy Barrett. He will be starring alongside the existing cast of Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, who play hockey rivals-to-lovers Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander.

Heated Rivalry director Jacob Tierney has maintained that, despite Hollywood heavyweights wanting to join the cast, he’s committed to Canadian talent like Gillespie.

“We need Canadian talent, and we love Canadian talent. It’s not a burden, but it’s also something we literally have to do to get our financing,” Tierney said. Casting unknown actors certainly worked well for season one.

As the hype for Heated Rivalry season two continues to mount, here’s everything you need to know about new cast member Charlie Gillespie…

Who is Charlie Gillespie in Heated Rivalry season 2?

In Heated Rivalry season two, Gillespie plays hockey player Troy Barrett.

His character is a complicated one, a closeted player with a history of bullying. He joins Ilya Rozanov’s team, the Ottawa Centaurs, after a dramatic fallout with former friend and teammate Dallas Kent, who has been accused of sexual assault.

With a new team, Troy gets a fresh start. It’s also where he meets the team’s lovable, gay social media manager, Harris Drover (played by Justice Smith).

Troy is a central character in Rachel Reid’s book Role Model, the fifth book in her Game Changers hockey romance series.

Season two will also draw on Role Model, alongside the show’s central adaptation focus, The Long Game. In Role Model, Troy and Harris are the central couple.

Is Charlie Gillespie queer?

Gillespie has kept his personal life private and has not publicly shared details about his sexuality or who he is dating. 

Instead, his Instagram account mainly features his work, with behind-the-scenes details alongside candid shots of his life and trips.

What has Charlie Gillespie starred in before?

You will perhaps recognise Gillespie as Luke Patterson in the 2020 Netflix series Julie and the Phantoms. The cult favourite musical comedy-drama follows a teen girl who finds her passion for music by helping the band Phantoms. Gillespie plays Luke, the band’s singer and lead guitarist; he is also the central love interest.

Additionally, he’s had supporting roles in One Night Only and Totally Killer. However, he had a viral role in Splitsville last year thanks to his sculpted body.

Also, Heated Rivalry isn’t the first time Gillespie has played a hockey player. In Shattered Ice, he plays Will, a New England teenage hockey player who attempts to navigate life after his best friend, the school’s star player, dies by suicide.

With some previous experience on the ice, we can’t wait to see Gillespie lace up his skates and join Heated Rivalry.

Heated Rivalry is streaming now on HBO, Crave and NOW. Season two is confirmed to premiere in spring 2027.

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The LA-born star will join the pre-existing cast of Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, who play hockey rivals-to-lovers Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander.

After announcing he’ll join the series as Harris Drover, Smith shared a message with Heated Rivalry fans.  

In his message to fans, Smith wrote: “I am moved by the support and love I’m getting from fans in my DMs, fans who have welcomed me with open arms and who already feel a responsibility to protect me.”

He also added: “I am beyond excited for the experience.”

As the hype for Heated Rivalry season 2 continues to mount, here’s everything you need to know about new cast member Justice Smith…

Who is Justice Smith in Heated Rivalry season 2?

Along with his casting, it was announced that Smith would play Harris Drover. 

Harris is the social media manager for the Ottawa Centaurs hockey team. The character is a lovable, openly gay man who loves connecting with others.

Harris is a central character in Rachel Reid’s book Role Model, the fifth in her Game Changers hockey romance series.

Season two will draw on Role Model, alongside the show’s central adaptation focus, The Long Game. In Role Model, Harris and complicated hockey player Troy Barrett (played by Charlie Gillespie) are the central couple.

Is Justice Smith queer?

Smith has spoken openly about his sexuality; in 2020, he came out as queer. He has publicly dated actor Nicholas L Ashe previously.

Last year, Smith opened up about who he sees himself dating in the future.  

Speaking to Gayety, he shared he had no plans to date women ever again, though he clarified that he was still attracted to women as well as men.

“I will never date a woman again,” he noted. “Not because I’m not attracted to them. But because I don’t like the feeling of having to be the man in the relationship.”

He also continued: “When I was dating women, I just felt like I always had to be the proverbial big spoon.

“What I like about same-sex relationships is that we both can kind of switch off and on what parts of ourselves we’re showing.”

What has Justice Smith starred in before?

Smith has been working in film, television, theatre, and even video games for more than a decade. Additionally, he’s been part of a number of high-profile projects ahead of Heated Rivalry.

Notably, he’s starred in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Detective Pikachu and Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves.

Additionally, Smith’s performance in HBO’s Genera+ion was acclaimed. He starred as queer, gender fluid character Chester. 

Speaking to The Daily Beast, the actor shared: “For so long, queer people have had to try to find their like representation in straight material. Now it’s kind of the other way around.”

Smith also made waves in his leading role as Owen in I Saw the TV Glow. The young character becomes obsessed with a mysterious late-night TV show which severs his reality. Jane Schoenbrun’s film serves as an allegory for the trans experience. 

Heated Rivalry season two is confirmed to premiere in spring 2027.

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The federal rule, finalised Tuesday (11 August), would prohibit Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program funds from being used for gender-affirming healthcare for people aged 18 and under.

The Trump administration’s Medicaid administrator, Dr Mehmet Oz, described the treatments as harmful and “sex-rejecting procedures” in a statement, while major medical organisations continue to support gender-affirming care as appropriate treatment for some transgender young people.

The federal government currently covers around 50 per cent of Medicaid costs for children and 65 per cent of CHIP costs. Massachusetts says it will use its Affirming Health Care Trust Fund to make up the difference if federal funding is cut off. As reported by Boston public radio station WBUR, legislative leaders have said that the fund held $8.5million as of July.

MassHealth spent $3.6million on gender-affirming care for members aged 18 and under in 2024, with more than $2.6million going toward hormone therapy. It remains unclear whether the state will also cover puberty blockers under the new arrangement.

The Healey administration said it is committed to ensuring Massachusetts residents can continue to access gender-affirming healthcare. “President Trump continues to attack the health and wellbeing of all people,” Gov. Maura Healey told GBH News in a 13 August statement. “Here in Massachusetts, we are going to keep working with providers to make sure that everyone – including LGBTQ residents – can get the essential health care they need.”

Attorney General Andrea Campbell called the federal rule “unlawful” in a 12 August statement and said the state plans to challenge it in court.

The federal changes are currently scheduled to take effect on 13 October, with a six-month tapering period for young people already receiving hormone therapy. Mental healthcare for transgender MassHealth and CHIP members would not be affected.

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Former NBA (National Basketball Association) players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White have claimed they are eligible for the WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association) draft. The draft isn’t until next April.

Freedom, who retired in 2022, declared he was a WNBA prospect. He wrote: “If simply declaring who you are is all that’s required, then I meet every single requirement necessary to compete in WNBA.

“My team and I have carefully examined the WNBA’s eligibility critera and governing framework surrounding self-identification and inclusion. Based on the current guidelines, I can and am officially declaring my eligibility for the upcoming WNBA draft in April 2027.”

Additionally, White, who retired in 2018, also declared his eligibility. He told Fox News: “I’m transgender. I’m a woman. I identify as sometimes identifying as a woman for purpose of basketball, professional basketball, so I’ll be declaring for the WNBA draft in 2027 as well.”

White went on: “I’m a young Black, hopefully United States Senator that would like a fair chance to participate as a sometimes-identifying-as-a-transgender-woman athlete.”

The league has now responded to this transphobic stunt that mocks trans athletes. Currently, there are no out trans players in the league.

Currently, the WNBA’s policy states that “only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA”. The rule has no explicit language referencing gender identity or sex assigned at birth.

“There are no immediate eligibility matters affecting the WNBA, and we strongly denounce the bad-faith efforts to use these topics to demean or marginalise others,” a league spokesperson told the Associated Press.

The statement came after an anti-hate task force met to discuss recent issues surrounding the WNBA, including the social media attacks on trans athletes.

“Today’s meeting covered a wide range of topics, including ongoing discussions on transgender athletes and the continued hate and vitriol directed at players online,” the WNBA statement said. 

“We will continue to engage all league stakeholders in the coming weeks and months. We will approach these important conversations thoughtfully and in alignment with the values of our league.”

This discussion began last month when Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham shared her perspective on trans athletes. She told ESPN that banning trans women from women’s sport was “common sense”, drawing both praise from gender-critical figures and criticism from trans rights supporters.

“I think that I am here to extend love,” she said. “But I also think with that love is truth, being honest.”

She added, after saying she “does not hate” trans people: “I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”

Following JD Vance’s support for Cunningham, Caitlyn Jenner also weighed in on the controversy. When asked about the topic, Jenner criticised commissioner Cathy Engelbert. 

Jenner said: “They’re showing the hypocrisy of what’s going on out there in the WNBA.”

“XX, you’re in; XY, you’re out. It’s that simple,” Jenner said, adding: “We have to protect women’s sports.”

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This marks the latest move from the Trump administration to restrict access to trans healthcare and spread an anti-trans ideology.

The federal investigation the administration is pursuing alleges that hospitals incorrectly billed insurers for transgender health care procedures to make a profit.

A report by the Department of Health and Human Services alleged that there have been millions in insurance claims for treatments. These procedures also include the likes of puberty blockers and hormone therapy.

The report is titled Wolves in White Coats: How Doctors and Hospitals Pushed and Profited from the Fraud of “Gender Medicine”. 

“Some pediatric gender clinics and children’s hospitals have apparently used misleading or even fraudulent diagnostic and billing codes to ensure that insurance companies will cover the procedures,” Vance wrote in a letter calling for the investigation, Politico reported.

The Trump administration is reportedly seeking reviews of gender-affirming care at more than 200 hospitals and clinics.

Gender-affirming surgeries are very rare among minors

This push arrives after Medicaid funding was cut to hospitals that offer gender-affirming care for minors. This care applies to not just transgender minors, but nonbinary, intersex, and cisgender patients as well.

President Donald Trump celebrated the change in a Truth Social post, describing gender-affirming healthcare as “barbaric” and saying the rule would spare children from what he called potentially harmful procedures. It’s a further attempt to advance an anti-transgender ideology.

Trump also wrote: “the Dumocrat Party wants your kids to be able to chop off their reproductive organs before they are old enough to vote”.

Trump’s Medicaid cuts are set to take effect on October 13. However, legal challenges have the potential to delay or block the rule.

Gender-affirming surgeries are very rare among minors, according to research published in JAMA Network Open. For pre-teens, these sorts of treatments are virtually nonexistent.

Trump’s new rule seeks to ban the more commonly used forms of care, including puberty blockers and hormone treatment.

Medical and LGBTQ+ organisations have strongly criticised the policy. The National Alliance on Mental Illness has cited research indicating that access to gender-affirming care can improve mental health outcomes.

Furthermore, regret about gender-affirming surgery is rare, with a rate of approximately 1.94%, according to a 2024 study.

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In it, he could be seen imagining what it must be like for actors who have already been cast but whose roles have yet to be announced.

In a November 2025 episode of Off Menu with Ed Gamble and James Acaster, Acaster riffed about unannounced cast members watching each new casting reveal and worrying about how audiences will react, before jokingly imagining what an actor cast in a huge role such as Voldemort must be thinking.

“’I’m f****** Voldemort! I’m Voldemort! That’s a huge part! A huge part! They’re not letting anyone get away with this! I just wanna get away with it! I hope when we announce my one, and everyone knows I’m in it, I hope that everyone just responds like they did in the old days to Harry Potter and they’ll just think it’s exciting. Is that too much to ask? I thought it’d be exciting,’” Acaster said.

He also joked about the possibility of an actor having to explain their decision to work on the series despite controversy surrounding it.

“‘I’ll say I didn’t know there’s any controversy, or I’ll say that we don’t agree. We don’t agree but I can still work with her,'” he said.

Nicholas Hoult was confirmed to have been cast as Gilderoy Lockhart in season two of HBO’s Harry Potter TV series by Deadline on 11 August, leaving many of his LGBTQ+ fans feeling disappointed.

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Jenner appeared on Fox News on Wednesday (13 August) to weigh in on a row that has engulfed the WNBA in recent weeks. Asked whether the players were making a valid point or going too far, she said: “They’re showing the hypocrisy of what’s going on out there in the WNBA.”

The controversy began last month when Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham told ESPN that banning trans women from women’s sport was “common sense”, drawing both praise from gender-critical figures and criticism from trans rights supporters.

It escalated when former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White declared themselves eligible for the WNBA draft in a stunt mocking trans athletes, claiming they now identified as women.

Jenner used the appearance to call on the WNBA to adopt a hardline stance, criticising commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who had said there were “no immediate eligibility matters affecting the WNBA” and denounced “bad-faith efforts to use these topics to demean or marginalise others”.

“XX, you’re in; XY, you’re out. It’s that simple,” Jenner said, adding: “We have to protect women’s sports.”

There are no known transgender women currently playing in the WNBA, and the league has said it has had no eligibility issues before it.

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The global girl group – currently comprising Daniela Avanzini, Sophia Laforteza, Yoonchae Jeung, and queer members Lara Raj and Megan Skiendiel – are back with new music, just weeks after they released “Animal”, also taken from Wild.

In the new music video, the group bring their trademark dynamic choreography and sizzling costumes, heating things up even more in this heatwave.

The song is perfect for the club, with a heavy bass-line and drum track, and is reminiscent of the noughties thanks to its lighter, synth pre-chorus.

“Hootie Frutti” is a similar vibe to Katseye’s tracks like “Gnarly” and “Pinky Up”, but the full EP features other songs that fans who really want to hear the girls sing will enjoy.

Katseye release new EP Wild

Previously released songs “Pinky Up” and “Animal” are the first two tracks on the five-song EP, following by new single “Hootie Frutti”.

Next up is “Bel Air”, a break from the heavy noise, a retreat from the dance floor, perhaps. And, like “Animal”, it allows the girls to show off their vocal abilities.

They sing about an ex who whispered them big dreams, then snatched it away. But this isn’t some sad song that will leave you needing to dry your eyes, with it’s repetitive melody and backing track feeling like a summer evening.

Finally, “That Way” has an air of “Gabriella” and “Animal”, with its almost vintage-feeling sound. After singing of a break-up in “Bel Air”, the members are on the hunt for someone new – though maybe not Mr (or Mrs) Right.

With lyrics packed full with innuendo and sensuality, it’s hard not to get it stuck in your head. Add on to that the airy vocals and harmonies, and it could quite easily become a favourite among Katseye fans.

There’s also another song “Unloveu” which is exclusive on the Target version of the physical release in the US.

The entire EP shows a more mature side to the group, which fans around the world will soon get to experience themselves.

Katseye are heading out on tour around Europe from 1 September, starting in Dublin, before three nights in the UK in London and Manchester.

After a run of dates in Europe, they return to the US and Canada, before heading down to Mexico.

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With the new track and music video, the 31-year-old “Rush” hitmaker is launching a new era. His fourth album, titled She’s The Best, arrived October 9.

The track is a love letter to all shades of womanhood, with the singer repeatedly singing, awestruck: “That girl, wow. She’s the best.”

In the music video, Sivan’s narration of what he loves about an unnamed woman is paired with a collage of women performing, including drag queens and stage performers.  

In the music video, the Australian stars Sivan and Kidman are major features. Kidman appears strutting down the street in a black leather dress, sunglasses and a feathered jacket, smoking a “thin little cigarette”. 

“Nicole Kidman in a Troye Sivan video was not on my bingo card but I really love it,” the top YouTube comment reads.

In the video, Sivan is performing at a club while Kidman watches him attentively. They then dance together briefly.

‘Nicole Kidman in a Troye Sivan video was not on my bingo card’

Towards the end of the video, Sivan also appears in drag, as he did in his 2024 music video for “One of Your Girls”. He and Kidman are sashaying through the backrooms of a club.

RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15 winner Sasha Colby was also featured as a notable cameo in the music video.

“She’s The Best” was written and produced by Sivan, Jack Antonoff, Leland, Styalz Fuego, and Charli XCX’s husband, 1975 drummer George Daniel.

“The vocal that you hear at the end of ‘She’s the Best,’ it’s Charli,” Sivan said during a recent conversation in the Rolling Stone Studio.

“We’ve found ways to work these women into the songs. I don’t want to speak for him, but I think for both George and I, Charli is obviously a very, very, very special person to both of us, and so to have her on that song in some small way is very meaningful to us.”

Speaking about the meaning  of the track, Sivan highlighted the importance of women in his personal life.

“To be able to have made music with Ariana [Grande] or Lily-Rose Depp, then touring with Charli [XCX] and growing up alongside her… I’ve always just loved being in the orbit of these women,” he said.

“’She’s the Best’ was the first time I wasn’t trying to psychoanalyse myself, and I wasn’t writing about men,” he also added.

“The one thing that has been constant in my whole life is the women in my life, and the feminine people in my life.”

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Sharing a screenshot of a text exchange on Instagram, Pankiw, who directed Black Mirror episode “Joan Is Awful”, revealed how she responded when approached about the franchise.

“Harry Potter? Hard no?” the message reads. Her reply: “Absolutely f****** not! lol. (But thank you for asking).”

Pankiw made her reasoning clear in the caption: “It simply is this easy to say no to funding transphobia!”

She added that the approach had been for directing, not acting.

Her stance comes as HBO’s Harry Potter TV series continues to draw criticism over creator JK Rowling’s involvement and her long record of gender-related campaigning.

Several of the actors announced for the upcoming series have faced backlash online, with critics arguing that lending their names to the project suggests they support Rowling, who serves as an executive producer and stands to profit from it, or her views.

The cast have responded to that criticism in varying ways.

John Lithgow, who is set to play Dumbledore, admitted it had been a “hard decision” to join the Harry Potter reboot because of the controversy, and said he found Rowling’s views “ironic and somewhat inexplicable”.

Nick Frost, cast as Hagrid, told reporters that he and Rowling “don’t align in any way, shape or form” on the issue.

Bel Powley, who will play Petunia Dursley, said she “strongly disagree[s] with JK Rowling’s views on gender“, adding that “the trans community deserve safety and dignity and respect and total acceptance”.

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In a 13 August profile with British Vogue, the Oscar-winning actor recalled visiting trans clubs early in her career, where she lovingly recalled how trans women taught her how to do her hair and makeup.

“I used to go to trans clubs. That’s where I learnt to do my hair and makeup,” Kidman said. “I would sit down as a little freckled-faced red-headed girl and they would make me beautiful.”

Kidman went on to describe the elaborate makeovers she received, saying the women would do a full glam routine on her while there.

“They would do my lashes and straighten my hair and put hairpieces on me and makeup. I would walk out of there and I would feel pretty. I would feel like I was transformed,” she said.

The actor suggested those experiences played a role in shaping her relationship with fashion, beauty and performance, adding: “And so that’s probably where it all started for me – clothes and make-up and hair – and then all of it mixed with studying literature and loving acting.”

Trans women and drag artists have had a significant and longstanding effect on beauty and makeup culture as a whole, utilising highly skilled approaches to cosmetics and popularising aesthetics that have subsequently entered mainstream beauty culture.

While Kidman’s admiration for those trans women who helped build her passion for aesthetics earlier in her life, she’s also embraced her status as a camp icon and publicly stated it would be her “dream” to perform her meme-worthy AMC commercial alongside a drag queen in a March 2024 interview with Elle. “I’ve got to be able to do that at some point,” she said.

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Heated Rivalry has added five new cast members for season two, including one with a rather unexpected past role.

Schitt’s Creek star Emily Hampshire and Canada’s Drag Race winner Priyanka are joining, as are Young Royals actor Edvin Ryding and Black Mirror star Sabrina Jalees. But it’s Robert Naylor that has a surprising previous acting credit.

Hampshire will play Vanessa, while Priyanka has been cast as Tarek. They are both friends of Fabian, from the book Tough Guy, which suggests casting announcements for both Fabian and Ryan will be imminent. Abdalla Amour is rumoured to have been cast as androgynous musician Fabian.

Meanwhile, Ryding will play Luca Haas and Jalees will portray Farah Jalali, who is Shane and Ilya’s sport agent. Naylor will play Wyatt Hayes, the Ottawa Centaurs’ goaltender.

Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie were previously announced to play Harris Drover and Troy Barrett.

Which books season 2 will adapt

The first season adapted books one and two in Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series. Season 2 is set to adapt the sixth book, The Long Game, while introducing the lead characters of book five, with Smith and Gillespie playing that pairing.

The casting of Hampshire and Priyanka are a sure sign book three, Tough Guy, will also feature.

Who are the new cast members?

Hampshire is best known for playing Stevie Budd in the Emmy-winning sitcom Schitt’s Creek, and has also appeared in projects including 12 Monkeys.

Priyanka won season one of Canada’s Drag Race and has built a mainstream profile through performance, comedy and music.

Swedish actor Ryding is best known for appearing in Young Royals and 28 Years Later, and has already amassed a strong fanbase at just 23.

Lesbian actor and comedian Jalees has an impressive back catalogue, having written for Canada’s Got Talent and Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock. She has also acted in Transparent and Black Mirror.

But it’s Naylor who has the unexpected past role, having voiced Dora Winifred Read, better known as DW, in animated kids’ classic Arthur between 2007 and 2012. More recently, the Quebec-born star has appeared in a number of French-language series.

Heated Rivalry season one is streaming on NOW and Sky in the UK.

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The Reform UK leader won with 63% of the vote on a turnout of 44%. Farage will now return as the constituency’s MP

The highly publicised by-election was triggered after scrutiny about Farage’s financial backing. He was up against 34 candidates, including novelty opponent Count Binface, who came second with 27% of the vote.

Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats, the Greens and Restore Britain did not stand candidates against Farage. The Westminster parties dismissed the poll contest as a “gimmick” and a “circus.”

As reported by the BBC, Farage did not attend the count and told his supporters that Essex Police had warned him of an “organised campaign to disrupt and degrade the result”.

A Reform UK spokesperson said: “Essex Police advised Nigel not to attend the count tonight due to a credible threat against him.”

Essex Police have said they did not advise any candidate that they should not to attend the count.

‘It was safe to go ahead’

The Guardian also reported Essex police said there were no “incidents or issues” regarding the Clacton by-election on Thursday or overnight, and the decision of whether candidates attend the election count is “for individuals and their security teams”.

Speaking to reporters after the declaration, Count Binface addressed Farage’s claims. “I asked Essex police if there was any credible threat of disruption here and I can tell you they said unequivocally no, it was safe to go ahead,” he said.

Farage received 22,239 votes, 1,014 more than his winning total at the general election in 2024. When he first became the MP for Clacton, he increased his majority from 8,405 to 12,784.

Though Farage may have won, it will do little to silence the mounting investigation into his and and Reform’s financial affairs.

The parliamentary standards watchdog’s formal investigation into gifts and donations Farage failed to declare is set to resume. Farage has said the investigation was “being used as a political tool”.

The inquiry includes the £5 million gift received from Thailand-based businessman Christopher Harborne. Farage says he was not in politics at the time the gift was made. 

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The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced alongside Bulgarian National Television (BNT) that the coastal city will host the show in 2027, after speculation it would be held in the country’s capital of Sofia.

The event will take place at Arena Burgas, Bulgaria’s newest venue for sports and entertainment, which was opened in 2023.

It will take place on Tuesday 11, Thursday 13 and Saturday 15 May, 2027. Preview shows will also be available for fans to buy tickets for, taking place between Monday 10 to Saturday 15 May.

The announcement came after the EBU updated its rules to say winning countries may be barred from hosting if they are deemed unsafe.

Where is Burgas?

Burgas is Bulgaria’s fourth biggest city, just down the coast from popular party destination Sunny Beach.

It is known for its beaches and parks, as well as its culture and summertime events.

The city was selected from four options, with representatives of BNT and the EBU working with other international experts to evaluate the potential hosts.

They looked at proposed venues and production requirements, as well as local infrastructure such, accommodation and transport links, as well as whether the cities could host such a huge number of artists, production staff, media and fans.

Burgas and Sofia reached the final two during the selection process, after narrowing down bids that also came from Varna and Plovdiv. However, the three cities not chosen will still be involved with Eurovision Song Contest programming next year.

Burgas Airport is a short distance from the city centre, with a number of flight companies, including Ryanair, Wizz and TUI, providing travel from the UK.

Eurovision Song Contest statement

Martin Green CBE, the director of the Eurovision Song Contest, said: “We are delighted that Burgas will be the Host City for the Eurovision Song Contest 2027.

“Burgas brings something really special to the Eurovision Song Contest. It is a vibrant, welcoming city on the Black Sea with a strong musical and cultural identity, and it has the ambition, infrastructure and passion needed to welcome the Eurovision family.

“For the first Eurovision Song Contest ever to be held in Bulgaria, we want to create something that feels truly Bulgarian while also being unmistakably Eurovision – a celebration that brings people together through music.

“We thank all of the cities which showed such enthusiasm in their bids to host Bulgaria’s first ever Eurovision Song Contest.

“Together with BNT, the City of Burgas and our partners across Bulgaria, we are looking forward to creating an unforgettable Eurovision week in May and welcoming the world to Burgas.”

Is Bulgaria safe for LGBTQ+ visitors?

According to the UK Government’s travel advice, public attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community are less tolerant, especially outside of Sofia.

They also advise that there have been a handful of recorded incidents of hostility towards people perceived to be queer in Burgas, as well as Plovdiv.

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Stranger Things star Noah Schnapp will make his theatre stage debut this autumn, starring in Affluenza at Riverside Studios, a new drama set among the ultra-wealthy of the Hamptons that explores power, privilege and accountability.

The play runs from 26 September to 21 November 2026, and tickets are now on sale.

Schnapp, who came out as gay in 2023, said as per Variety: “I am so excited to make my stage debut in London with Affluenza,” adding: “I started talking with Andy Sandberg a few months ago about finding the right opportunity to work together, and it’s thrilling to now be bringing this play to life in London.”

He continued: “I wanted to be very intentional about what I took on next, and as I spend more time with this excellent script, I feel so connected to the characters.”

Schnapp, recently graduated college, added: “Without giving away too much, I get to play two very different roles, and it’s a story that’s really going to leave audiences talking and thinking.”

What Affluenza is about

Written and directed by Andy Sandberg, Affluenza is said to raise “thought-provoking questions about moral accountability, family legacy, and the American justice system”.

The story follows a teen whose drunken car ride ends in devastation, with the verdict coming down to a single question: can someone be too affluent to know the difference between right and wrong?

The play is inspired by true events surrounding a shocking legal defence, and explores the “ripple effects of power and privilege”.

Sandberg, a Tony-winning producer and the season’s artistic director, said: “I am incredibly excited to be launching this play and this season in just a few weeks and now with Noah Schnapp at the helm,” adding: “Noah is a brilliant young actor who has captivated audiences on screen, and now London audiences will have the opportunity to see him in his stage debut.”

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Shevrin Jones is currently in the running to replace Rep. Frederica Wilson, who is retiring, as representative for Florida’s 24th congressional district. Jones was Florida’s first out LGBTQ+ Black senator and, if he wins the seat, will become the state’s first out gay member of Congress.

On 11 August, many voters received a text message ahead of the Democratic primary, claiming: “Shevrin Jones was denied to donate blood to Covid Survivor due to testing positive for HIV/AIDS because of his homosexuality. This is not right stand with our Gay community.” [sic]

The message also declared that it was “paid for by Equality Florida”, which it was not, and included a link to video footage from a 2020 TV news story.

The story showed Jones being turned away from donating convalescent plasma under previous FDA guidance that restricted donations from sexually active queer men. However, that ban has since been overturned in favour of individual screenings for potential donors.

That same news coverage was also used against Jones when he first ran for Florida Senate back in 2020, a race which he went on to win.

Speaking to the Miami Herald on 11 August, Jones said: “What makes it so disgusting is that somebody decided to use my sexuality and HIV as weapons in a political campaign.”

He continued: “There are people across South Florida who are actually living with HIV every single day, raising families, going to work, serving their communities, and living full lives. I think their health status should never be used to shame them.”

Brandon Wolf, the spokesperson for Equality Florida, also defended Jones in a statement.

“This is a disgusting attack against a public servant who has poured his heart and soul into his community,” he said.

“We can all see it for what it is: a desperate attempt by a shady, dark money group supporting one of Shev’s opponents that traffics in ugly tropes, misrepresents a trusted statewide organization, and weaponizes a Black man’s identity.”

Wolf added that Equality Florida is pursuing legal action against the culprits, and said that Jones’ opponents’ “willingness or unwillingness to denounce this smear tactic today will tell us all we need to know about who you are.”

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On the evening of 5 August, Nadeau was walking with friends along Back Cove Trail in Portland, Maine, heading toward one of her favourite graffiti spots beneath Tukey’s Bridge. According to court documents obtained by The Portland Press Herald, a man on a bicycle allegedly approached the group while wielding a knife. Police identified the man as 58-year-old Glen Rodney.

The documents allege that Rodney chased Nadeau and her friends before fatally stabbing Nadeau in the chest. According to a GoFundMe, Nadeau’s friend Liz McGehee, who was with the group, reportedly attempted to pull the attacker away and called 911. Nadeau later passed away at Maine Medical Center.

In the aftermath, some initial media coverage misgendered and deadnamed Nadeau, as Them reports.

Her partner of two years, Kasper DeWitt, described Nadeau as “the most loving person” and “an angel sent here to make things better”.

“She was divine,” DeWitt told Them in a 12 August interview.

Nadeau found joy through her communities. She and DeWitt bonded through furry spaces, attending conventions throughout New England and making friends wherever they went. One of her favourite places was Anthrocon in Pittsburgh, where she would often spend more time by the waterfront than inside the convention itself.

“She just wanted to be at the waterfront all day,” DeWitt recalled.

Friends remember Nadeau as someone who could make an impression even after meeting someone only once. She danced, partied, explored and embraced the communities that made her feel at home.

“She experienced socially more than a lot of people ever will in their life,” DeWitt said. “It’s horrible because she would have had the chance to live 10 times that much.”

Nadeau’s death has left her loved ones facing not only grief but the practical aftermath of losing someone so young. DeWitt had planned to propose to her at next year’s Anthrocon. Instead, they are now looking for ways to carry her memory forward.

Her family described Nadeau as “kind, compassionate, vibrant” and “spirited”, adding that she had “a whole life ahead of her”.

Her loved ones say they keep encountering little reminders of her, such as the pink, green and white colours she loved. They joke that, if Nadeau were somehow sending messages from beyond, they could easily imagine those signs arriving in the form of some of the things she loved, like dogs or a McDonald’s Refresher.

DeWitt, who planned to propose to Nadeau soon according to the GoFundMe, said they intend to honour her in the way they believe she would have wanted: with community, celebration and a very big party.

“She was a massive party girl,” DeWitt said. “I know that she would have wanted me to throw literally the biggest party I’ve ever thrown ever for her—and that’s my plan.”

If you’ve been affected by this story, you can reach out to Mind on 0300 123 3393, Switchboard on 0800 0119 100 or the Samaritans on 116 123. Readers in the US can call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.

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Speaking on All Out with Jon Dean in his first interview since coming out as gay, Haven said secrecy could shape everything from introductions to how people left a venue.

Discussing how encounters could begin while he was not publicly out, Haven said: “Sometimes it’s just an action taken or an invite,” before sharing an example from “an Oscars luncheon” where, he said “the person just followed me” into the bathroom.

Outside of public events, Haven described what he framed as a more formalised system of discretion.

“It starts with an assistant… never the person,” he said, adding that the assistant might use a real name or a code name. He continued: “Then it just becomes like, ‘Hey, come to the whatever,’ which is of course like code for it. Come to a place where we all leave in a different vehicle so no one knows.”

Haven added: “And then you end up in like a warehouse,” or on a private jet.

Coming out and family reactions

Haven publicly came out as gay earlier this month. He first spoke about his sexuality during a Substack livestream on 6 August with his ex-wife and close friend, Romi Imbelli, before appearing alongside her for his first in-depth interview since coming out on Dean’s podcast.

Reflecting on the emotional cost of staying closeted, Haven said: “If you know you are, but you can’t say it, you’re hurting every day,” and later added: “I want a life now. I want to actually live a life. I want to be happy… I’m not hiding anymore.”

He also shared his father’s response. Haven said Jon Voight told him: “So, I finally know who you are,” during a phone call.

In the same podcast appearance, he said Jolie had not yet spoken to him following his public announcement, but he expects she will be supportive.

Who is James Haven?

Haven is an American actor and producer and the older brother of Angelina Jolie. He has appeared in films including Gia (1998) and Original Sin (2001), and has worked in producing and behind-the-scenes roles. He was a visible figure at awards events alongside Jolie in the early 2000s, attracting tabloid attention, and is the son of actors Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand.

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Trump wrote in a Truth Social post, which Leavitt also shared on Instagram, that she would be leaving to spend more time with family. He confirmed she would now be acting as an outside advisor and “influential voice” in the Republican Party.

The statement went on: “Karoline has been a real leader in the White House, and has done a phenomenal job fighting for Justice, Liberty and Freedom, since 2018.”

But, has she…?

Outing LGBTQ+ students

During her run for Congress in New Hampshire in September 2022, Leavitt demanded that public schools out LGBTQ+ students to their families.

She said, as per Uncloseted Media: “Families should always be informed about their children. We should not be allowing bureaucrats and politicians to stand in the way of the family unit.”

Granite State Progress, a local advocacy organisation, said Leavitt’s demand would “directly interfere in parent-child relationships and could put some Granite State students at risk for harm”.

“Don’t Say Gay”

In March 2022, Leavitt showed strong support for the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill in Florida. It banned public schools in the area from teaching about either sexual orientation or gender identity until 12th grade, or when students were around the age of 17 or 18.

She said: “China and Russia and our adversaries around the world are not teaching their children about who is gay and being transgender and all this other bologna. They are teaching them math, arithmetic, reading and writing … Quite frankly this is a national security risk.”

Transgender issues

Leavitt has repeatedly showed support to limiting the rights of or education about transgender people. Writing for The Telegraph in August 2023, she said “young women like her love Trump” as he wants to cut funds for schools who teach about “gender ideology” or “other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content to our children”.

She also said Joe Biden’s support for trans athletes – or, as she wrote “transgender-identified men in women’s sports, bathrooms and locker rooms” – was “insulting to women”.

In January 2025, Leavitt spoke out against “wokeness”, when she shared Trump’s plan to cut funding for trans issues.

Then in February of the same year, the falsely claimed that the US Agency for International Development had provided a $32,000 grant to fund a “transgender comic book” in Peru. It was later revealed USAID had provided a grant, however the comic featured no trans characters.

She also declared trans women would not compete at the 2028 Olympics, saying: “The policy of this administration is that there are only two sexes: male and female. Pretty simple.”

Leavitt continued: “I think kids have already been exposed to discrimination, especially young women and girls who have been forced to shower in locker rooms with biological men, who have been forced to compete on playing fields with biological men, which is incredibly unfair and unsafe, and again, an incredibly unpopular policy with the American people.”

Speaking to The National News Desk, she called on Congress to pass the executive order to ban trans women from women’s sports at high school and college level.

She also spoke of a “long list of c***” that Biden’s administration had put in place, including “$2million for sex changes in Guatemala”. In reality, the fund was given for a range of different gender-affirming care, as well as mental health and speech therapy, and around $350,00 was provided.

In September 2025, Leavitt suggested it was “worth looking into” claims that there had been a rise in “transgender violence” in the country. Her comments came after the death of Charlie Kirk, with unverified rumours emerging at the time that shooter Tyler Robinson identified as trans.

Trump support

Leavitt has repeatedly showed unrelenting support for President Trump, saying he was “bringing our country together and making life better for Americans”.

She also slammed Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde at Trump’s inaugural prayer service who asked him “to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now … There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republic and independent families. Some who fear for their lives.”

Leavitt responded by telling Fox News that “everybody there was shocking and mortified by the disturbing comments from” Budde. She added that Budde used her moment to “spew lies”.

In April of 2025, Leavitt told The New York Times that the White House would not respond to questions from journalists with “pronouns in their bios”.

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Clarke was announced for the role in July, and it reimagined the Shakespeare classic as a Black, lesbian retelling. It was scheduled to run from 13 February to 3 April, 2027.

Clarke said in a statement: “I would like to thank all the beautiful people at the RSC for their understanding, love, support and healing energy. Othello will be my north star as I undergo treatment.

“Susie, my family and I are overwhelmed, humbled and buoyed by the tidal wave of love that we have received and are so blessed to have an army of strength and support to hold us up. Love and thanks to my beautiful people.”

Show director Monique Touko said: “On behalf of the entire creative team, we send Sharon all the love for her ongoing treatment and recovery.

“As a Director, I have been incredibly blessed to collaborate with Sharon on this major reframing of Shakespeare’s tragedy, which reimagines Shakespeare’s Othello through the lens of misogynoir. Sharon is the ultimate collaborator. Her generosity and passion for this project continues to astound me and I look forward to us coming back together when the time is right to share this production with the world.”

Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey, the co-artistic directors at the RSC, added: “The casting of Sharon as Othello is integral to Monique Touko’s adaptation, which is why we have taken the difficult decision to postpone, to give Sharon the time and space she needs to undertake treatment.

“Sharon is, in every sense of the word, a warrior and, we know she will meet this challenge with the unwavering strength and indomitable spirit that she brings to so many aspects of her life and work. We look forward to revisiting this thrilling collaboration in the future and, on behalf of everyone at the RSC, we send Sharon our love and strength for a full recovery.”

Those affected by the postponement will receive an automatic refund, and a replacement schedule will be announced in due course.

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Dylan Walsh has paused his Cameo account after a Cameo clip shared on X spread online in which he appeared to hint that season two of Crave’s Heated Rivalry could be getting a bigger episode order.

In the video, Walsh says: “Getting ready to go back up to Canada and shoot some more episodes… I think we’re doing 12 this time,” a remark that quickly caught the attention of fans of the hockey romance series.

Walsh, who plays Shane’s dad David Hollander, also appeared to reference the blowback in a short message on his Cameo profile. He reportedly wrote: “Stepping away because a video went viral that got me in trouble.”

The first season of the smash hit Crave drama had six episodes, so Walsh’s comment has led fans to believe that they may be filming seasons two and three back-to-back.

Or, in an ideal world, season two would be a whole 12 episodes, and we’d still get a season three…

Heated Rivalry season two

Season two is set to premiere in spring 2027, with production beginning in Canada earlier this week.

The new run is also set to introduce new stars. Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie have been cast as Harris Drover and Troy Barrett respectively, with the story drawing from Role Model, the fifth book in Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series. Troy is a closeted hockey player on Ilya’s team, the Ottawa Centaurs, best known for being close to bully player Dallas Kent, while bubbly Harris is the team’s social media manager.

Is Heated Rivalry getting a season three?

A third season has not officially been greenlit by its home network Crave, however given its worldwide popularity, it’s likely to come.

Adding on to that is the fact that both Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams signed on for three seasons, as per GQ.

Showrunner Jacob Tierney previously suggested to Deadline that Ilya and Shane’s story continuation from the book The Long Game may be split into two seasons as “there’s a lot of material”.

Regardless, Reid’s third book following their stories, Unrivaled, is set for release in 2027, giving Tierney even more material to work with.

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Harris shared what he went through during a 12 August episode of the podcast Great Company with Jamie Laing.

When asked if deciding to publicly come out as gay was a tough moment, he said it was more of an “evitability”. Harris had started dating his now-husband David Burtka when he auditioned for How I Met Your Mother, and everyone on the show knew they were a couple.

“That was at a time when there were bloggers on the internet and that you would go to read the salacious, you know, ‘Try to guess who this actor is that’s gay and in the closet,’ kind of comment,” he said.

He went on to share that there was a “fear that [he] would be the next target on that.”

“David and I would go to movie premieres together, but I would walk the carpet and he would go around the other side of the photographers because we weren’t a couple [to the public],” he said.

“We could justify it and say that’s our private life, which it was, and we don’t need to sort of parade stuff around and ask too many questions. We’re here for work, I have a career, so does he, which was all very true, but intrinsically makes David feel potentially less than, if I’m getting to walk a carpet while he’s, like, skulking behind, right?” Harris laughed.

However, things changed when a comment came out that he had said he “wasn’t of that ‘persuasion’”.

Neil Patrick Harris on coming out

“The target came towards me in a very weird way,” he explained. “Someone asked a publicist about my sexuality and the publicist said that I was not of that persuasion. That turned into a, ‘That’s weird for him to say because we know that he’s gay, what a weird [thing to say], why is he doing that?’”

Harris continued: “Then it became: ‘Oh! I’m gonna have to say something. I’ve gotta get ahead of the story, because I don’t want to be coming out in reaction to: ‘If anyone has any information on Neil Patrick Harris, have you ever slept with him? Please come forward.’ You don’t want those stories.”

In response to the rumours, Harris and his then-agent and publicist crafted a statement to share that felt “authentic” to himself and “really truthful”.

“I think then at that point I was a little scared of what would come from that, what kind of stigma would come from that?” he said. “At that time, there were people who would go and plant ‘God hates f*gs’ signs on lawns of people, right? It was a potential to be a bad week,” he laughed.

However, none of that transpired. “There was indifference at best,” he said. “There were a lot of people before my coming out that had a much harder time, and that paved the way for me to come out, in a way.

“I was a little bit offended that more people weren’t surprised,” Harris joked. “I expected a little more, ‘Wait, what? Him?! He’s so masc!’ So the indifference to me was a little… ‘C’mon, really? You didn’t imagine me on a private island with Jennifer Love Hewitt?’”

He concluded: “Now we live in much different times. And whoever you’re thinking about when you’re jerking off, like, that’s who you should be proud to try and attract.”

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Speaking on the Mark Joseph Show, as reported by Entertainment Weekly, Hinckley said he wished the Silence of the Lambs star well. “I just wish Jodie Foster well, you know. I don’t really see her movies, but I wish her well, and I know she’s doing quite well,” he said. “I hope she has a good life.”

On 30 March 1981, Hinckley opened fire on Reagan outside a Washington DC hotel, injuring several people, including the president, who was struck by a ricocheting bullet.

He was found not guilty on all charges by reason of insanity, and was released from institutional care in 2016, with all restrictions lifted in 2022.

Hinckley had developed a fixation on Foster after watching her in Taxi Driver, and stalked her while she was a student at Yale, years before the shooting.

He was 25 at the time; Foster was 18 and already an established actress.

He described his motivation as “delusional”, telling the host he had believed the attack would lead to “a union with Jodie Foster”.

Foster, who has spoken only rarely about the ordeal over the years, came out publicly in 2013 and is widely regarded as a queer icon.

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Lilly Wachowski has said Hollywood financiers are reluctant to back her roughly $10million dystopian political thriller The Hunted because it has a “wall-to-wall trans cast”.

Wachowski, best known for The Matrix franchise, made the comments to KCRW’s The Business, saying she is now looking for other ways to get the project in front of people.

“People like it, but they really don’t want to make it because it’s [got a] wall-to-wall trans cast,” she said. Wachowski added: “I have to get creative and figure out different ways that I can get this in front of people.”

She also described the script as a response to the current climate for trans people. “It gave me a hugely cathartic receptacle to dump all of my anger and rage and frustration into,” she said.

Wachowski co-wrote The Hunted with her partner, Mickey Ray Mahoney. The project is in development through Anarchists United and Natasha Lyonne’s Ariadne banner/collective.

Taking the story to the stage

Wachowski staged a live table read at Los Angeles’ Dynasty Typewriter theatre on 7 to 8 August. She framed the event as a way of building something communal around the work, saying: “I’m just going to go out and I’m going to grab that trans joy with all of my friends.”

“It’s not the thing that I had imagined it was going to be, but the end result is the same,” she added.

The project is described as involving a dystopian America where trans people are brutalised and pushed to the margins, with two trans women searching for a perpetrator whose trail leads to the highest reaches of government.

Wachowski made waves

Wachowski, who with her sister Lana became a defining voice in late-90s and 2000s sci-fi cinema, came out publicly as transgender in the 2010s and has spoken about trans identity and visibility in media.

She has previously said she had to “let go” of The Matrix due to right-wing interpretations, and co-created Netflix’s Sense8, celebrated for its queer and trans representation.

The Hunted isn’t the first all-trans cast project Wachowski has made, as last year she created the 18-minute short Dolls, which was a different take on classic The Stepford Wives.

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The new rules from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) state that winning countries will not be able to host if the country is involved in “an armed conflict, a sensitive geopolitical situation”, or if “any other situation materially affects the security, safety or stability of their state or immediate region”.

A statement continues: “Where deemed necessary, the EBU may commission an independent security assessment of the winner’s region. Following that assessment, the EBU will consult the Reference Group to determine whether the winning Member is able to safely host the Contest.”

If it is found that that county is not suitable to host, the EBU say they will identify an alternative host country and broadcaster.

“The appointed Host Broadcaster will assume all rights, obligations and liabilities associated with hosting the Contest, including responsibility for the organisation, production and staging of the event,” the statement adds.

“The Host Broadcaster will organise the Contest in its own right and will not be required to stage the event on behalf of another Member.”

This means countries such as Israel or Ukraine may be blocked from hosting in 2028, if they were to win in Bulgaria in 2027.

The United Kingdom hosted the 2023 contest after Ukraine won in 2022 due to the ongoing conflict with Russia.

Other updates rules include upping the minimum age of performers to 18 from 16, and technical audio requirements.

Martin Green, the director of the Eurovision Song Contest, said: “The Eurovision Song Contest is constantly evolving, and our annual review of the Rules is an important part of making sure the Contest remains fair, transparent and consistent for all those who participate, including the millions who engage with the event globally.

“Guided, as always, by feedback from our Members, we have clarified and strengthened several areas for 2027. These changes are about giving everyone involved greater clarity, protecting artists and ensuring the Contest continues to provide a safe and welcoming environment, while preserving the spirit and integrity that make the Eurovision Song Contest so special.”

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In April, Lawrence Barton told BirminghamLive of his intention to make the event free to coincide with the 30th anniversary. The parade is free to attend, however a two-day event – which this year included performances from the likes of Katy B and Sigala – is ticketed.

Barton said: “In 1997 I attended the first Birmingham Pride, 2027 will be the 30th anniversary. I’d love to bring it full circle. In my own mind, I’d love for it to be a free festival.”

While the event was previously free to attend, rising costs from security, cleaning and talent booking meant organisers were forced to charge for tickets.

Tickets were recently released for the 2027 event, with standard access starting at £29.51 for single day tickets or £50.79 for the full weekend, while more costly VIP packages are also available for around twice as much.

The announcement has led to backlash from the community, with many appearing to believe that it was confirmed that the event would be free.

“So free festival in 2027 lasted about five minutes,” one person said under Birmingham Pride’s Facebook post. Another said: “Thought Pride was going to be free next year.” A third echoed: “I thought it was supposed to be free in 2027 they lied.”

Birmingham Pride’s response

Birmingham Pride responded in the comments, saying: “We have previously spoken about our aspiration to explore a free Pride, and we completely understand why people may have been looking forward to that.

“As we have developed our plans for our 30th anniversary, we have carefully considered what is needed to deliver a Pride that is safe, accessible, diverse, affordable and sustainable, while retaining the elements that make Birmingham Pride so special.

“For 2027, we’ve decided that the best way to achieve that is through our full festival programme, alongside our Big Free Community Event on Friday, affordable loyalty tickets and our Low-Income Ticket Scheme, which will offer eligible people tickets at 50% of face value.

“We know affordability matters, and it’s something we remain absolutely committed to.”

PinkNews has contacted Birmingham Pride for further comment.

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The argument that transgender women retain an inherent physical advantage over cisgender women after undergoing hormone therapy is being challenged by researchers in Brazil who pooled the results of 52 studies involving thousands of participants to compare the physical characteristics and fitness of transgender women and cisgender women following hormone therapy in a study published this year.

The researchers found that transgender women generally had greater lean muscle mass, but that difference did not translate into a clear advantage in physical performance. Across the studies examined, there were no meaningful differences between transgender and cisgender women in upper-body strength, lower-body strength or aerobic fitness after hormone therapy.

The study’s authors concluded that while transgender women exhibited higher lean mass, their overall physical fitness was comparable with that of cisgender women. They also noted that the available evidence is largely of low certainty and varies in quality.

Bruno Gualano, a physician and researcher at the University of São Paulo and a co-author of the study, said the findings challenge the reasoning behind blanket restrictions on transgender women in sport.

“This refutes the logic behind blanket bans on transgender women in sports,” Gualano said in a 15 June interview with The Brighter Side. He argued that many such policies are based on the assumption that transgender women retain inherent physical advantages that would allow them to dominate women’s competitions, adding: “The data does not support this idea.”

The research comes amid an increasingly contentious political debate over transgender participation in sport in the United States. A growing number of states have introduced restrictions on transgender athletes, while professional sporting bodies have also adopted policies limiting participation. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in February targeting transgender participation in women’s sports and directing the federal government to prioritise Title IX enforcement against schools that allow transgender women and girls to compete.

The study does not establish that every transgender athlete has identical physical characteristics or that questions around eligibility in sport have a single scientific answer. The researchers themselves emphasised the limitations and varying quality of the existing evidence.

However, the study’s findings challenge the broad claim that transgender women who undergo hormone therapy necessarily retain a significant physical advantage over cisgender women.

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Council Member Mike Cope made the comments in a Facebook post following Lebanon Pride’s 2026 festival. The organisation had shared a screenshot of a video on 25 July showing Cope standing at the edge of the festival grounds and recording a drag performance, thanking him for attending and encouraging other council members to experience Pride firsthand.

Cope responded that the post was “laughable” and criticised the event as celebrating a “lifestyle that does not represent the majority of Lebanon”.

He then suggested that if “one action” at the festival violated existing indecency laws, Lebanon Pride might no longer consider him a welcome guest.

“The problem is that one or two people cannot monitor an entire day, so let this be a call for help in the future,” Cope wrote in his Facebook post.

Cope also called on Ohio lawmakers and Gov. Mike DeWine to pass HB 249, legislation that would restrict drag performances to venues classified as adult cabarets. He described drag performances at Pride as potentially “lewd” and argued they should be kept away from minors and public family settings.

However, Ohio’s existing indecency laws already address lewd performances, and Cope did not provide evidence of a specific performance at Lebanon Pride that violated those laws.

In a response to questions from The Buckeye Flame, Cope said he “love[s] and respect[s] everyone”, while adding that he does not have to agree with everyone about everything. Cope also did not answer any of The Buckeye Flame’s questions regarding why he was at Lebanon Pride in the first place.

Lebanon Pride organisers, meanwhile, say the councilman’s comments could have consequences beyond political disagreement.

Organiser James Reynolds told the Buckeye Flame that the festival has deliberately worked with the city to create an event that is appropriate for the local community, including making changes around tipping drag performers. Organisers say the city has generally been supportive of the festival.

Leslie Nahigyan, who oversees the event’s safety plan, also said Cope’s post could make attendees feel less secure and potentially embolden people looking to disrupt or harm the LGBTQ+ community.

The organisers say they welcome people who disagree with Pride and provide a designated space for protesters, but argue that encouraging residents to actively monitor the festival is different from simply exercising the right to protest.

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The post Ohio councillor calls on locals to monitor Pride celebration for ‘indecency’ appeared first on PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news.

Calling themselves the “KS SB244 Compliance Crew“, the men staged a recent protest at the Long Branch Lagoon Water Park in Kansas’ Dodge City on 8 August.

SB 244 requires trans people to use sex-separated municipal facilities like bathrooms and changing rooms that align with the sex they were assigned at birth as opposed to their gender identity.

The bearded men took to the women’s bathroom – in compliance with the law – while wearing bright yellow t-shirts reading ‘Compliance Crew’.

The manager of the water park reportedly screamed upon seeing the trans men in the bathroom before ushering out nearby children, reported Erin in the Morning.

The men kept their clothes on and didn’t make any crass comments, and police were called. They then had to provide “uncomfortable descriptions of their bodies” to the manager and police to avoid arrest.

“Supporters of SB 244, including Attorney General Kris Kobach and Senate Majority Leader Ty Masterson, billed it as a way to keep men out of women’s spaces; it clearly requires some men to enter women’s spaces,” the group said in a press release.

“Segregating people by suspected genitalia does nothing to improve public safety; it does quite the opposite by opening Kansans up to sexual harassment and discrimination. At no point should anyone be asking anyone else what genitals they have in public.”

The group regularly organises “pop-up protests across Kansas to peacefully showcase the absurdity of bathroom policing,” according to its website.

“As masculine people entering ‘feminine’ facilities, we hope to draw attention from the general public and educate them about the dangers of sex-based segregation.”

They say that their goal is “to reverse SB244, shame those who voted for it, prevent further degradation of Kansans’ rights, and redirect attention to matters that concern all residents.”

“Trans feminine people face the brunt of the KS Legislature’s demonization while trans masculine folks are infantilized and characterized as non-threatening,” the Compliance Crew website continues.

“We believe it’s important to use that relative advantage to work for change.”

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The post Trans men protest in women’s bathrooms to show ‘absurdity of policing’ appeared first on PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news.

The rule was finalised Tuesday (11 August) and is set to take effect on 13 October. States that currently allow Medicaid or CHIP to cover gender-affirming care for minors will no longer be able to use federal funds for those services and would have to finance the care themselves if they choose to continue covering it.

President Donald Trump celebrated the change in an 11 August Truth Social post, describing gender-affirming healthcare as “barbaric” and saying the rule would spare children from what he called potentially harmful procedures, as well as throwing a jab at politicians across the aisle, writing “the Dumocrat Party wants your kids to be able to chop off their reproductive organs before they are old enough to vote”.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. similarly characterised the treatments affected by the rule as “sex-rejecting procedures”, arguing that they carry serious risks and can cause irreversible harm in a statement.

The administration’s policy encompasses a range of healthcare, including puberty blockers and hormones. Gender-affirming healthcare can also include mental health and other medical services intended to help people align aspects of their gender expression, such as appearance or voice, with their gender identity. This care applies to not just transgender minors, but nonbinary, intersex, and cisgender patients as well.

Importantly, gender-affirming surgeries are very rare among minors, and are more common for cisgender youth as opposed to trans youth according to research published in JAMA Network Open in 2024. The new rule nevertheless covers other forms of care that are more commonly used, including puberty blockers and hormone treatment.

Medical and LGBTQ+ organisations have strongly criticised the policy. The National Alliance on Mental Illness has cited research indicating that access to gender-affirming care can improve mental health outcomes.

Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson said that healthcare decisions should be made by young people, their families and their medical providers rather than politicians, adding that the Trump administration is “terrorising trans youth and their families,” in a statement to The Hill.

Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen of the Trevor Project similarly argued to The Hill that the federal government should not impose a “one-size-fits-all mandate” on highly personal medical decisions, noting that gender-affirming care has been provided for decades and is supported by major medical and mental health organisations.

The rule does not eliminate federal Medicaid or CHIP coverage for mental health services for children generally. Instead, it specifically targets federal funding for healthcare classified under the administration’s new restrictions.

Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.

The post Medicaid to stop funding gender-affirming care for minors in Trump ruling appeared first on PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news.