Gay Men Say They Feel Lucky To Be Alive After Being Drugged, Robbed

And when I said I just wanted to be friends so I didn’t lead you on after an unplanned hookup you wanted nothing to do with me because there was nothing to gain anymore.

In the wake of the mass shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs, some LGBTQ+ nightclubs in other cities are preparing for what to do if they face such a situation.For instance, the Atlanta Police Department and the Mayor’s Division of LGBTQ Affairs held an active shooter and “stop the bleed” training at Future, a club in that city, TV station WAGA reports. It took place Monday, the one-month anniversary of the Club Q tragedy, in whic five people were killed and more than 20 injured.“The thought that we would even have to offer this training is concerning, but we want to be prepared,” Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum told the station.There have been threats against LGBTQ+ spaces in Atlanta.

Members of Islamic police enforcing sharia law in the northern Nigerian state of Kano arrested 19 men and women yesterday, accusing them of attending a same-sex marriage.A spokesperson for the religious police, known locally at the hisbah, said they acted after receiving a tip about the alleged wedding. Same-sex sexual relations are illegal in the conservative African country, punishable with prison sentences of 10 to 14 years under state law, and by death under sharia religious law.“Our men broke into the venue where a gay couple was holding a wedding and arrested 19 men and women, including the wedding planner,” Lawan Ibrahim Fagge told the Agence France Press in a statement.Fagge told the BBC the hisbah would counsel the 15 men and four women and their families before deciding whether to hand them over to the country's police.“We’ll explore the avenue of change before we charge them in court,” Fagge said.

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RuPaul’s Drag Race legend Bianca Del Rio has taken on a new role as host of Drag Race aftershow, The Pit Stop.

The Islamic police force in Nigeria have arrested 19 Muslims who are accused of attending a same-sex wedding on 18 December.

Telehealth platform MISTR, known for providing free pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and sexually transmitted infection testing, has partnered with RuPaul’s Drag Race star Willam and drag icon Jackie Beat to release a holiday music video that has us all hiding our Christmas candy.The song, titled “MISTR Wonderland,” features the blush-worthy quips Beat and Willam are known for next to “The MISTRs,” a sexy group of men who dance around in their speedos and Santa hats.The video begins with The MISTRs driving up to a house party as the music begins. Willam wakes up Beat saying, “Jackie, wake up, there’s boys!” Viewers are then transported into MISTR Wonderland, where the tune of “Winter Wonderland” plays with lyrics encouraging people to take their sexual health into their own hands by signing up for MISTR’s free PrEP services.Lyrics like “If a hunky Santa in a cock ring is coming down your chimney, don’t forget, thanks to MISTR you can stuff your stocking with candy canes and gingerbread and PrEP” encourage people to practice safer sex even if they’re feeling “slutty, thirsty, or sleazy.”The video comes in tandem with the health platform launching its first HIV long-term care program on World AIDS Day.

This is a case for the FBI — or at least Andy Cohen. Heather Gay reveals her black eye to her Real Housewives of Salt Lake City costars in Us Weekly’s exclusive sneak peek of the Wednesday, December 21, episode — and attempts to dodge questions about how the injury went down on their San Diego girls’ trip.

Trans rights activist Henry Berg-Brousseau, who worked to oppose anti-transgender legislation in his home state of Kentucky before going on to work with the Human Rights Campaign, died Friday at the age of 24.His mother, Kentucky Democratic state Sen. Karen Berg, said Berg-Brousseau died by suicide.In a statement posted on Twitter via Bluegrass Politics, Berg said that her son had spent his life “working to extend grace, compassion, and understanding to everyone, but especially to the vulnerable and marginalized.”She added that “this grace, compassion, and understanding was not always returned to him” as a transgender man.

Children born outside of the UK to British parents in same-sex relationships have been left stateless by the Home Office, according to The Guardian.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights is opening an investigation into Granbury Independent School District in Texas after the superintendent ordered that school libraries remove any books dealing with LGBTQ+ topics.In January, Superintendent Jeremy Glenn met with district librarians and directed them to remove the books.

A man who used online therapy service BetterHelp has claimed a therapist told him to “stop being gay” if he wanted to reconnect with his family.

Taylor Small, the first out trans legislator, got engaged to her long-term partner outside the White House on 13 December.

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Joan Collins and Jaclyn Smith looked incredible on Sunday night when they had a 'ladies of the '80s' reunion at famed designer Mark Zunino's glitzy holiday party.The iconic Dynasty star, 89, and the Charlie's Angels stunner, 77 – who recently enjoyed a very flirty workout session with her fourth husband – sat side by side and posed for a picture, producing the ultimate Christmas present for fans. 'A fabulous Christmas party,' captioned Collins, posting the picture to her Instagram account. 'TV's leading ladies of the 80s!'  Christmas miracle: Joan Collins, 89, and Jaclyn Smith, 77, looked incredible on Sunday night when they had a 'ladies of the 80s' reunion at famed designer Mark Zunino's glitzy holiday party'Always a wonderful time with you two!!!' commented Mark Zunino, the illustrious host of their A-list evening.

SINGAPORE: The cryptocurrency ecosystem - which has taken a hammering after reaching euphoric highs last year - is expected to be more regulated moving forward, forcing players to be more diligent in following the rules, said one observer.

With the referral of former President Donald Trump to the Department of Justice on at least four criminal charges, the crescendo was reached for the much-heralded House Select Committee on January 6 opus. This was a first in the long history of the U.S. Congress that a criminal referral for a former or current U.S.

Oak Lawn United Methodist Church stands on the corner of Oak Lawn and Cedar Springs.

A Black transgender man was found dead in Philadelphia last week, having apparently suffered blunt force trauma to his head.The body of Mar’Quis “MJ” Jackson was discovered Wednesday in the backyard of a home in Philadelphia’s Nicetown neighborhood, Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents reports. He hadn’t come home two days earlier, December 12, which was his 33rd birthday. His mother called several of his friends and acquaintances, and she eventually reached the occupant of the residence where his body was found.

In the wake of accusations that gay Republican Congressman-elect George Santos falsified his résumé, the gay Democrat he defeated in a New York congressional district in November, says it was clear to him that Santos was not what he claimed to be.“My campaign has been calling out [Santos's] scams and lies about himself for several months. We've worked to raise many of these issues,” Robert Zimmerman said in a statement posted on Twitter.  Santos beat Zimmerman by eight percentage points to win an open seat in New York’s Third Congressional District, which covers most of the north shore of Long Island.

Less than a month after the founder of Gays Against Groomers, Jamiee Michell, appeared on Tucker Carlson’s program to an estimated 3.2 million nightly viewers, a group of anti-drag queen protesters entered the office of gay New York City Council member Erik Bottcher Monday about 3 p.m., according to the New York Police Department Deputy Commissioner’s press office. “Once inside, the individuals wrote graffiti on the walls of an office within the building,” the NYPD told The Advocate. “Two female individuals, without permission to do so, entered the residence and were placed under arrest.” The two were charged with criminal trespassing. Two hours later, people saying they were with the group Gays Against Groomers surrounded Bottcher’s Chelsea apartment building, the council member said. Bottcher told The Advocate Monday night that the vandalism at his office and the situation with the protesters storming his building stemmed from a drag queen story hour at a local library over the weekend.“I attended a drag queen story hour in Chelsea and saw the protest activity outside with signs with vile, hateful anti-LGBTQ language.

Caelee Love-Light

Granbury ISD Superintendent Jeremy Glenn

Christmas Eve conjures for many a combination of the religious, spiritual, and familial. But for LBGTQ+ people, this can also mean being separated from either the tradition they and their family have followed or the queer aspect of themselves.As the senior minister of Boston’s Arlington Street Church, Kim Crawford Harvie, told The Boston Globe, “I think a lot of queer people go to church because that’s kind of what you do in the holidays — you have this strange homing instinct to go to a candlelight service or a Christmas Eve service.”She continued, “But if you’re queer, you don’t bring all of yourself to most of those places.”Crawford told the paper that some holiday services can force people back into the closet or make them avoid "practicing" their sexuality — "whatever that means.""But I think saying: ‘no, we want all of you here, we want you to bring your whole self’ is so important," she explained. Arlington Street Church is Unitarian Universalist, a denomination known to be accepting of LGBTQ+ people.

A Texas schools superintendent was secretly recorded telling librarians to pull off shelves books related to LGBTQ people and issues, and other books that “do not conform,” whether they like it or not, because the county is “conservative,” and he was getting complaints. Shortly after, the school district pulled 130 titles, mostly with LGBTQ themes, according to a report by NBC News, The Texas Tribune, and ProPublica.

 During season five episode seven, Jamie Dutton hatched a plan to impeach his father as Governor of Montana at urging of Sarah Atwood. However, the biggest moment of the night came when Clara, took part in the show's first lesbian kiss.Clara, played by Lilli Kay, kissed a woman wearing a cowboy hat while at the Montana State Fair.Some fans slammed the Yellowstone for 'going woke' with the same-sex kiss via Twitter. Groundbreaking: During season five episode seven, Jamie Dutton hatched a plan to impeach his father as Governor of Montana at urging of Sarah Atwood.

Mother… has spoken. RuPaul has revealed which iconic Drag Race star should’ve taken home the crown on their season. 

GEMMA Collins has revealed her secret wedding plans ahead of tying the knot with her fiance Rami Hawash. The former The Only Way Is Essex star has revealed she wants to keep things "low key" for the big day. Gemma, 41, and Rami, 49, got engaged last year for the second time, eight years after their first engagement in 2013.

An anti-LGBTQ+ church in Texas labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center is looking for a new home after its lease was not renewed.The Stedfast Baptist Church and its various pastors have a history of delivering hateful anti-LGBTQ+, racist, and anti-Semitic rhetoric in its sermons, which the church later posts to social media. According to Pastor Jonathan Shelley, their religious beliefs are not popular in the local community and have made finding a location difficult.“I wanted to give you an update about our church location.

As You Like It is the first original show programmed by the new-for-2022 @sohoplace theatre in London’s West End. The venue opened in the autumn with a transfer of Marvellous, and is now staging its first show proper in the form of Josie Rourke’s take on this classic Shakespeare comedy.

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Patti LaBelle with Kirk Myers and his husband

Lily Collins said she feels 'very grateful to the city of Paris' for allowing her show, Emily in Paris, to film there.The 33-year-old actress played Emily Cooper in the hit Netflix series Emily in Paris, and Lily has relished the experience of filming in the French capital. 'I mean, shooting at the top of the Eiffel Tower will definitely go down in the books of something I never thought that I would get to say that I've done, let alone do, and it was just a real joy,' she remarked to Entertainment Weekly.

Asian countries are struggling to match global progress on LGBTQ+ rights despite positive steps this year in Singapore and Vietnam, Washington’s first openly lesbian ambassador told Openly in an interview.

As Scotland decides whether to let transgender people change their legal gender without a medical diagnosis, a U.N. LGBTQ+ rights expert has rejected suggestions that the step could pose a threat to the safety of women and girls.

Those who may soon be facing criminal charges for their roles in the U.S. Capitol insurrection of January 6, 2021, include John Eastman, a legal adviser to Donald Trump and longtime anti-LGBTQ+ activist.The U.S.

SINGAPORE: To borrow from Britain's Queen Elizabeth, 2022 is not a year on which the cryptocurrency world shall look back with undiluted pleasure.

With her exuberant energy and ageless beauty, it’s hard to believe that the career of legendary actress Sheryl Lee Ralph has now spanned over 45 years — and that she’s been an HIV advocate for nearly as long. After Ralph’s first big break in the 1977 film A Piece of the Action, she made her Broadway debut in 1981, originating the iconic Deena Jones in Dreamgirls (a role for which Ralph earned a Tony nomination and was later played by Beyoncé in the 2006 film version). Since then, Ralph has literally never stopped working and has appeared in dozens of movies, TV shows, and stage productions including Sister Act 2, Moesha, Barbershop, and To Sleep With Anger.

According to GLAAD’s 10th annual Studio Responsibility Index (SRI), there was a decrease in the percentage of LGBTQ+ visibility in films last year.

Hunter Doohan has opened up about his marriage to Fielder Jewett.

Zendaya has shared her hopes for Rue in Euphoria’s forthcoming third season.

Protestors vandalized an out New York City Council member’s office and entered his apartment building on Monday, the member said.Erik Bottcher, who represents the city’s District 3, including Greenwich Village, Chelsea, Hell’s Kitchen, Hudson Square, Flatiron, Times Square, the Theater District, and the Garment District, tweeted that several people showed up to his office and defaced it.“Today people who call themselves “gays against groomers” vandalized the hallway outside our district office. We will not be cowed. We will not be silenced.

(CNN) -- Amber Heard has settled the defamation lawsuit with her ex-husband, Johnny Depp, according to a statement posted on her verified Instagram account.Heard said she has "made no admission" and that the settlement is "not an act of concession." She pointed to her experience with the American legal system as part of her motivation for deciding to settle the case, alleging that "abundant, direct evidence that corroborated [her] testimony was excluded" and that "popularity and power mattered more than reason and due process.""I make this decision having lost faith in the American legal system, where my unprotected testimony served as entertainment and social media fodder," Heard said.The actress filed an appeal in the defamation case earlier this month, but Heard said in her statement Monday that "even if [her] U.S. appeal is successful, the best outcome would be a re-trial where a new jury would have to consider the evidence again."CNN has reached out to representatives for Heard and Depp for comment."I simply cannot go through that for a third time," Heard said in her post, adding that she wants to spend her time "productively and purposefully," and can't afford to "risk an impossible bill -- one that is not just financial, but also psychological, physical and emotional."Depp accused Heard of defaming him in a 2018 op-ed she wrote for the Washington Post.The jury awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million dollars in punitive damages.

Best-selling author J.K. Rowling is showing her anti-transgender ways again by tweeting “Merry Terfmas.”The Harry Potter creator’s tweet is a play on TERF, an acronym for “trans-exclusionary radical feminist.” She has expressed anti-trans views and promoted those of others.

President Joe Biden’s administration is not appealing a ruling by an anti-LGBTQ+ federal judge that certain types of workplace discrimination against transgender people are legal in Texas.That doesn’t mean the administration accepts the ruling, and legal experts say it likely has another strategy in the works, The Dallas Morning News reports. But for now, federal government officials aren’t responding to queries, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who brought the lawsuit that resulted in the ruling, is touting the lack of an appeal as a victory.In October, U.S.

(CNN) -- Former movie producer Harvey Weinstein was found guilty of three of seven charges against him, including rape, Monday in a Los Angeles sexual assault trial in which prosecutors said he used his Hollywood influence to lure women into private meetings and assault them.Jurors found Weinstein not guilty of one count of sexual battery by restraint against another woman. They were a hung jury on one count of sexual battery by restraint, one count of forcible oral copulation and one count of rape related to two other women -- including Jennifer Siebel Newsom, first partner to California Governor Gavin Newsom.The three charges he was convicted of -- rape, sexual penetration by foreign object and forcible oral copulation -- were all tied to one of his accusers, a model and actress who testified the movie mogul assaulted her in a Beverly Hills hotel room in February 2013.The woman, identified as Jane Doe 1 in court, was the first to testify in the trial."Harvey Weinstein forever destroyed a part of me that night in 2013.

Philip Lokoko of the Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria announced the mother-to-child transmission rate of HIV has dropped to less than 10 percent in Nasarawa State. He delivered the news while discussing the Nigeria Resilient and Sustainable System for Health Project in Lafia.According to PM News Nigeria, RSSH is a project for Nigeria’s health system to strengthen their fight against tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV.The project also improves management and laboratory systems while strengthening the Nigerian health management information.

The morning after The Teddy Bear Party, attendees (and some of their kiddos) returned to the Echo Lounge to bag up the bears that they donated to Cook Children’s Hospital. Children’s Health, the usual recipient, canceled its trans health program, so the sponsors changed hospitals. The party collected 2,101 bears that give hospitalized children comfort. Doctors often explain procedures to children by demonstrating on the bears. Next year’s party will return to Echo Lounge on Dec. 9. (Photo by Bryan Chatlien)