How’s everyone doing out there? Two weeks into Pride Month 2022, here’s hoping you’re staying hydrated, well-rested and calm. It’s a marathon, not a sprint—and we’ve got plenty of celebrity coming-outs, ill-advised corporate rainbows and LGBTQ2S+ news to come.
Every week in “The Buzz” we keep you up to date and informed on what’s happening in queer and trans pop culture, which is more relevant than ever in this dual Gemini and Pride season.
As Pride Month continues to surge ahead into its midpoint, here’s what you need to know about what happened this week in the world of celebrity queers.
→ Rebel Wilson is queer—though the revelation has been soured by some sleazy media shenanigans.
The Pitch Perfect star announced on social media last week that she was in a relationship with another woman, designer Ramona Agruma, writing: “I thought I was searching for a Disney Prince … but maybe what I really needed all this time was a Disney Princess.”
Fans were thrilled with the news and congratulated Wilson. But, over the weekend, details emerged about how an Australian newspaper columnist might’ve rushed the revelation along.
In a since-retracted column in the Sydney Morning Herald, writer Andrew Hornery said the publication was prepped to report on Wilson’s relationship and reached out to her on Thursday morning for comment. Hornery expressed disappointment that Wilson chose to come out herself shortly after the message from the paper, saying the actor chose to “gazump” the story by sharing the news herself.
The Sydney Morning Herald initially denied accusations that the paper pressured Wilson into coming out. In a June 12 statement, editor Bevan Shields said the paper “simply asked questions and as standard practice included a deadline for a response.” But on June 13 in a follow-up column, Hornery fully apologized and retracted his original column.
“It is not the Herald’s business to ‘out’ people and that is not what we set out to do. But I understand why my email has been seen as a threat. The framing of it was a mistake,” Hornery wrote. “The Herald and I will approach things differently from now on to make sure we always take into consideration the extra layer of complexities people face when it comes to their sexuality.”
While Wilson herself hasn’t confirmed that she came out in order to avoid being forcibly outed by the paper, she did thank fans for their support during the “hard situation.”
→ The Tony Awards took place this weekend, hosted by bisexual superstar and Oscar- winner Ariana DeBose. DeBose opened the show with a firecracker mash-up of Broadway hits, including shout-outs to all the “twinks” out there and a reminder to “keep it gay, keep it gay, keep it gay!”
As for the actual awards, there was plenty of queerness to celebrate, with the innovative Black queer musical A Strange Loop taking home the award for Best New Musical. Six co-creator Toby Marlow also became the first non-binary composer-lyricist to win Best Score. And diva queen Jennifer Hudson got her EGOT!!
→ Alison Bechdel has spoken! After a whole lot of Twitter drama around whether or not Joel Kim Booster’s delightful new rom-com Fire Island should need to pass the Bechdel test, Bechdel herself has weighed in.
Glad we got that sorted!
→ Architectural Digest highlighted former soccer player Abby Wambach and author Glennon Doyle’s home this week. As Doyle wrote on Instagram, the pair are “proud to be the first queer women pictured in Architectural Digest in bed.”
→ There’s a new feature on NBC looking at how the lesbian rom-com Kissing Jessica Stein became a surprise hit 20 years ago.
“I think what people respond to in the film is the energy of it. And that came from all those things that you can’t buy. They just are; they come with the urgency,” co-creator Heather Juergensen said.
→ Amidst continued criticism for platforming transphobes like Dave Chappelle, Netflix has released its 90-minute LGBTQ2S+ stand-up comedy special Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration, which was taped in Los Angeles last month. The special features short sets from a slew of queer and trans comedic heavy hitters including Wanda Sykes, Mae Martin and Billy Eichner, who used part of his set to slam Netflix’s programming choices.
“We all know how backwards and dangerous the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ laws are,” Eichner said. “Queer people, and especially trans people, are under legislative attack in this country. Trans people are being demeaned. They’re trying to dehumanize trans people. They’re trying to erase trans people. And I’m not even talking about Florida. I’m talking about Dave Chappelle’s latest Netflix special!”
The special itself was also criticized for giving these huge queer and trans comics such little time compared to Chappelle.
And comedian River Butcher’s entire set was reportedly left out of the special.
So anyway, Netflix still has a lot of work to do.
→ Looking for your new favourite Pride anthem? The Peacock hit Girls5Eva has released the club remix of “B.P.E.” and yes, it does stand for what you think it stands for.
→ Taking a firm stance in the “yes, kink at Pride!” debate, Christina Aguilera wore a massive strap-on at Los Angeles Pride for a duet with Kim Petras.
→ The first images from the Harry Styles and Emma Corrin queer film My Policeman are here. Based on a 2012 novel by Bethan Roberts, the film follows a closeted policeman (Styles) who marries a teacher (Corrin), and has an affair with a male museum curator.
→ G Flip (aka, the non-binary rapper dating Selling Sunset’s Chrishell Stause) spoke to Thrillist about the culture that influenced their identity.
“I’m so glad that now there are non-binary figures in the world for people to look up to because if I knew about being non-binary as a kid, fuck, it would’ve made my life so much easier,” they said.
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