We’re in the midst of Moira Rose’s favourite season: awards.
Last week saw a delightfully queer Oscars ceremony marred by one big pop culture slap. Though this week’s Grammy Awards weren’t quite as viral, they still produced plenty of notable moments.
Amid all of the red carpet glamour and internet-breaking buzz, the regular buzz of the pop culture machine continues to churn, and “The Buzz” is here to keep you abreast of the latest happenings in the LGBTQ2S+ cultural space.
Here’s what you missed this week in queer and trans pop culture.
→The 2022 Grammy Awards happened this past weekend! And while some bad things happened (like Louis C.K. winning for Best Comedy Album, his first award since being called out for sexual misconduct), the night on the whole was very queer and fun.
Lil Nas X stunned in both his red-carpet look (a white bejeweled number with platform boots) and in his performance alongside rapper Jack Harlow. While Montero didn’t win any awards, the young star seemed to have a lot of fun.
For the country sapphic crowd, Brandi Carlile was introduced by legends Joni Mitchell and Bonnie Raitt for a performance where she hit a note so perfectly, it belongs in a museum.
Carlile, who was nominated for five awards this year but didn’t score any, was also spotted smooching with her wife on the red carpet.
Elsewhere, Lady Gaga honoured Tony Bennett, a gaggle of Broadway stars paid tribute to legend Stephen Sondheim and Brothers Osborne won Best Country Duo/Group Performance for their song “Younger Me,” about member T.J. Osborne coming out as gay.
In an emotional acceptance speech, T.J. reflected on what the win meant following his coming out.
“For those of you who don’t know, this song was written in response to me coming out,” he said. “And I never thought that I would be able to do music professionally because of my sexuality. And I certainly never thought I would be here on this stage accepting a Grammy, after having done something that I thought was going to be life-changing in a potentially very negative way. Here I am tonight, not only accepting this Grammy Award with my brother, who I love so much, but I am here with a man [his partner Abi Venture] that I love and who loves me back. I don’t know what I did to be so lucky.”
So, all in all, a pretty queer Grammys night!
→Jeopardy! champion Amy Schneider, who had a 40-game winning streak on the show, was hosted at the White House as part of Trans Day of Visibility on March 31.
→Also on Trans Day of Visibility, Fox News announced that Caitlyn Jenner is joining the network as a contributor, which is … a choice.
“As you might know I am trans, but I’m not a trans activist,” Jenner said after the announcement.
→Frank Iero, likely best known as the guitarist for My Chemical Romance, wants to sell binders as merch. In an incredibly earnest tweet, Iero called on the queer and trans community for suggestions on how to make that a reality.
My Chemical Romance disbanded in 2013, but Iero is currently working as part of Frank Iero and the Future Violents. Here’s hoping he gets to see this through and make emo trans mascs around the world incredibly happy.
→RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 5 winner Trinity The Tuck has opened up on social media about being trans and non-binary, and what medical transition has meant to her.
→Survivor’s Zeke Smith and Superstore’s Nico Santos are engaged! Smith popped the question during Saturday’s GLAAD Media Awards and it was honestly the cutest thing.
→Speaking of the GLAAD Awards, photo wire service Getty made a hilarious error in misidentifying The L Word: Generation Q star Leisha Hailey as her bisexual character, Alice Pieszecki.
→British singer-songwriter Emeli Sandé, best known for her hit song “Heaven” (a staple in gay clubs around the world), has come out as queer, saying she’s dating a woman.
“For me, true love and having love in your life makes everything fit into place,” she said in an interview with the U.K. tabloid Metro.
→Looking to add gay boys, bisexual glamour gals, angst, intrigue and crime to your streaming schedule? The trailer for the fifth season of Netflix’s Elite, which debuts April 8, is here and very queer.
→JoJo Siwa is apparently off the market. The pop star revealed in an interview on the podcast Rachel Uncensored this week that she is no longer single and ready to mingle.
“I went around the block. I did, and I tried a lot, and I learned a lot and I’m very, very, very happy where I am now,” she said.
→Singer and recent Drag Race judge Dove Cameron has released the video for her new single “Boyfriend” and it is very hot and gay.
→Comedian Jerrod Carmichael came out as gay in his new special, Rothaniel.
“I’m accepting the love, I really appreciate the love. My ego wants to rebel against it,” he says during the special, later adding, “I rebelled against it my whole life. I thought I’d never, ever come out. At many points I thought I’d rather die than confront the truth of that, to actually say it to people. Because I know it changes some people’s perceptions of me. I can’t control that.”
Carmichael also hosted Saturday Night Live this weekend, where he played Bowen Yang’s partner in a sketch about queer baby onesies.
→Ariana Grande has pledged to match up to USD$1.5 million in donations to support trans youth in states targeted by anti-trans legislation.
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