The news is, well, bad.
From the war in Eastern Europe to dangerous American legislation targeting trans kids to trucker convoys to the climate crisis (yeah, that’s still a thing), it’s understandable if the churn of the news cycle has meant you’ve spent some much needed time offline this week.
But amidst all of that bad news, the goings on of queer and trans pop culture is good. Whether it’s queer celebrities speaking out about the aforementioned bad news, over-the-top gay weddings (and engagements!) or the lead up to Oscars season, sometimes pop culture can be a welcome escape from everything else going on right now. If you could use a little levity this week, “The Buzz” is here to help.
Here’s what you missed this week in queer and trans pop culture.
→Queer and trans celebrities and parents are speaking out in support of trans kids in Texas following a devastating policy directive from Gov. Greg Abbott. The new policy requires teachers, doctors and other community members to report parents of transitioning kids for child abuse.
As lawyer and trans activist Chase Strangio wrote in The Nation, the policy essentially criminalizes caregiving for trans youth, and if allowed will lead to devastating impacts on a generation of trans youth and their families.
The directive quickly went viral last week, with queer and trans people slamming it online and in news reports. Actor Elliot Page, who continues to be an outspoken advocate against the wave of anti-trans legislation in the U.S., called the policy “inhumane.”
“I am horrified by the inhumane and downright dangerous declarations by the Texas Governor and Attorney General,” Page said in a statement to Variety. “Trans youth deserve gender-affirming care and to be able to live their true, authentic selves without fear and oppression. I stand with trans youth and their families.”
He wasn’t the only one to speak out, as a slew of queer and trans celebrities decryed the “montrous” bill.
Actress Gabrielle Union, whose step-daughter Zaya Wade came out as trans in 2020, said everyone must come together to fight the policy, while Jamie Lee Curtis—whose daughter Ruby came out as trans last year—said she was “outraged.”
Wonder Woman’s Lynda Carter, who has spoken openly in favour of trans rights for years, also slammed the policy.
The fight continues.
→Josh Gad says his portrayal of LeFou in Beauty and the Beast didn’t go far enough to be celebrated as Disney’s “first explicitly gay character.”
“We didn’t go far enough to warrant accolades. We didn’t go far enough to say, ‘look how brave we are,’” he said in an interview with The Independent. “My regret in what happened is that it became ‘Disney’s first explicitly gay moment’ and it was never intended to be that.”
The moment comes late in the film, when LeFou is partnered with another male character for a few seconds during a group dance. Director Bill Compton referred to the scene as Disney’s “first explicitly gay moment” during the film’s press junket.
“It was never intended to be a moment that we should laud ourselves for, because frankly, I don’t think we did justice to what a real gay character in a Disney film should be. That was not LeFou,” Gad said.
→Nineties rap legend Da Brat and her longtime partner Jesseca “Judy” Dupart tied the knot this week in an over-the-top gay wedding that I would’ve killed to be invited to.
→Speaking of gay weddings, Amy Schneider is engaged!
What is, “news we could use right now?”
→And Colton Underwood—a.k.a. the Bachelor who came out as gay last year—also just got engaged to beau Jordan C. Brown. He’s been dating the political strategist since last summer.
→Opponents of Florida’s new “Don’t Say Gay” bill have turned the name of the politician behind it into a gay resource website.
→Pop star Troye Sivan is starring in a new film about a Florida teen exposed to HIV a week before his high school graduation. Set in 2011, the film is loosely based on the life story of writer and director Jared Frieder, and is now streaming on Paramount+ in the U.S.
→Euphoria just finished its messy, meandering, weird and wild second season to mixed reviews. But if you’re still looking for sapphic drama, Killing Eve is back, airing on Sundays for all of us (a.k.a. me) whose life problems would be cured if Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer shared just one little kiss.
→Niecy Nash and her wife Jessica Betts were the first-ever same-sex couple to grace the cover of Essence and their photo shoot looks super steamy!!
→Queer heartthrob and West Side Story breakout Ariana DeBose has continued her stellar Oscars campaign, taking home the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Why you can trust Xtra
