High School Musical showrunner opens up about potential queer storyline for Joshua Bassett’s character

The Washington Post.The scheme allegedly took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, when schools were closed for over a year and were struggling to connect students to virtual learning platforms. Prosecutors claim Ward took advantage of the situation to put in orders for technology that never materialized, instead using the money to purchase a $169,000 property in West Virginia, at least nine vehicles — including two Teslas worth $218,000 and a Ford F-450 worth $120,000 — and assorted art and sports memorabilia.

Former soccer star David Beckham is facing a seemingly endless barrage of criticism for his new video promoting Qatar as “perfection,” despite the country’s atrocious record on LGBTQ+, women’s and worker’s rights.In 2021, Beckham inked a deal to be the media-friendly face of the vehemently homophobic Gulf state ahead of this year’s World Cup. It was initially reported that the gig would net him £10 million ($18 million U.S.), though that’s been updated to a staggering £150 million ($174.3 million U.S.).In the short promo, the self-described “gay icon” says “the modern and traditional fuse to create something really special” in Qatar.

Sex workers aren’t always a part of the conversation in working with the LGBTQ community, but they should be. Sex workers are often targeted, harassed, and assaulted. Brian and Colman sit down with advocate Kevin Chadwin Davis as he discusses his own story in the business.

Whitney Rose vehemently denied having anything to do with her Real Housewives Of Salt Lake City costar Heather Gay's black eye on Wednesday morning.The 36-year-old country singer addressed the shocking injury, which was unveiled in the latest trailer for the series, after a fan account tweeted at her.'Did you do this yes or no,' wrote the account while including a closeup of Heather's face.  Wasn't me! Whitney Rose, 36, vehemently denied having anything to do with her Real Housewives Of Salt Lake City costar Heather Gay's black eye on Wednesday morning Ouch! Heather, 40, revealed the shocking injury in the season three trailer for RHOSLCWithin minutes, Whitney replied, 'NO! Of course not.' Heather, who is Whitney's cousin and has written about her painful experiences with the Mormon church after getting divorced, had a sizable black eye that was completely swollen shut in the clip. However, there weren't any obvious injuries on her aside from the swollen eye.Despite her denial that she had anything to do with the black eye, the musician was an obvious culprit, as she appeared to have a physical altercation with Heather in the series' latest trailer.

Jason Aldean's wife Brittany Aldean says her allegedly transphobic Instagram Reel was 'taken out of context', a week after she received intense online backlash.The former cheerleader, 34, took to her instagram to announce the launch of her Barbie inspired clothing line, writing in the caption, 'Per usual, my words have been taken out of context over the last week' and adding that they were 'twisted.' She also took to her Stories to address the slogan on her merchandise: 'They all say "Don't tread on our kids" because that's how we feel. Leave the kids alone.' Out of context: Jason Aldean's wife Brittany Aldean says her allegedly transphobic Instagram Reel was 'taken out of context', a week after she received intense online backlash'Instead of getting twisted about the twisting of my words, I’ve chosen to bring some good out of it,' the star wrote in her caption as she introduced her new collection alongside her sister-in-law Kasi Rosa Wicks.

In yet another recent example of Britney Spears’ exes being weird, Jason Trawick had a coming out post and subsequent retraction in record time this week.Trawick’s Instagram drew attention after this post was made on his story:The post states he’s at his “boyfriend’s apartment,” first suspected by viewers to be the man seen lying on the couch.As out-of-the-blue as this post was, most were ready to take it at face value. The touches of things like the Chanel pillow and framed Britney Jean album art, while odd for her ex to have, really locked in the acquaintance of Dorothy image.Soon after people caught wind of this on social media, Trawick took to TMZ to set the record straight — like, actually straight.“No, it wasn’t me,” he said.

(CNN) -- The pace of new monkeypox cases reported in some major cities -- and in the US overall -- has started to slow recently, but experts say it's too early to know if the trend will last.On Friday, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said that she is "cautiously optimistic" about the downward trend, but warned that the overall case count is still growing."The rate of rise is lower, but we are still seeing increases and we are of course a very diverse country and things are not even across the country.

For years there has been a rise in right-wing extremism in the United States, but since the Department of Justice obtained and executed a search warrant at former president Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago retirement residence, violent extremists have taken to TikTok to post alarming videos and one Texas activist is sounding the alarm.Michelle Davis, a progressive blogger in Texas, began noticing right-wing extremism when writing about the Black Lives Matter movement and issues surrounding Confederate statues in 2020. In any given week, Davis tracks several thousand extremist TikTok accounts. She agrees that, in a way, she's the antidote to the right-wing Twitter troll Chaya Raichik who tweets under the Libs of TikTok pseudonym.She saw hundreds of new, threatening TikTok posts each day in the wake of the FBI's August 8 raid of Donald Trump's compound, she said, and still more on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.She says she sees the same kind of rhetoric that she noticed online ahead of the January 6th violent insurrection at the U.S.

There has been much progress for LGBTQ+ Americans in recent years, but equality remains elusive, says the United Nations’ independent expert on sexual orientation and gender identity.Victor Madrigal-Borloz made the remarks at a press conference Tuesday after spending 10 days traveling around the United States. The U.N.

Congressman Eric Swalwell

 

Gemma Collins has been embracing her curves as she continues to soak up the Greek sunshine with her partner Rami Hawash.The TOWIE alum, 41, was all smiles as she confidently posed in a designer pink Dior swimsuit as the body-positive star captioned the snap saying: "Good morning from MYKONOS. J'ADORE DIOR." Gemma appeared to wink as she posed in the one-piece as her blonde hair draped over her shoulders, while she also accessorised with a large silver cross necklace.The star looked completely at ease while standing in front of a large sun-lounger.

Congrats, Nick Adams, you’re Kid Rock’s biggest fan. Now can you please stop tweeting about him? It’s starting to make us uncomfortable.Noted MAGA mouthpiece and—apparently—”Trump’s favorite author” (not the ringing endorsement he thinks it is) Nick Adams has repeatedly taken to Twitter to sing the praises of country-rap croaker Kid Rock. How and why this obsession started remains unclear, but the dude’s incessant stan-dom is single-handedly starting to rival Nicki Minaj’s Barbz and the BTS A.R.M.Y.

Photo courtesy of Unsplash.com

Madonna stans have been having a collective meltdown the past few days after rumors began swirling over the weekend that her self-written/directed/produced biopic was on the verge of being shelved.It all started when a Twitter account that peddles in celebrity gossip posted a screenshot of an alleged DM from someone claiming to be a Madonna insider who said the hotly-anticipated biopic “might actually not happen.”According to the unnamed source, the project is a “nightmare”, the script needs “constant changes”, and the whole thing is “costing a ton of money.”Ah, yes. Sounds highly credible to us!According to a new post from @deuxmoiworld, the biopic May no longer be happening anymore pic.twitter.com/j1chExjp7W— The Madonna Bible : a FAN account! (@madonnabible_) August 26, 2022While all of those claims sound plausible, they are also extremely vague, impossible to verify, and not unlike 90% of films when they’re in development.

Brittany Aldean is getting support from one very specific corner in the ongoing controversy surrounding her recent transphobic Instagram post.

Since becoming a breakout star as 18-year-old trans girl Elle Argent in Netflix’s Heartstopper, Yasmin Finney has stayed booked and blessed. Now her latest gig has been announced: Finney is set to lead the upcoming shortfilm Mars, based on a song by pansexual singer Yungblud.The story is reportedly set in the North of England and is about a young fan that the singer met while he was on tour. Finney’s character, Charlie Acaster, is a teenager who has only ever wanted to live a normal existence but an extraordinary night makes her reassess what truly matters, reports Deadline.Yungblud has previously described the film to NME as “an uncensored, unfiltered portrayal of youth.

Laverne Cox was mistaken for Beyoncé at the first round of Serena Williams's first-round U.S. Open match. A post of Cox wearing a face mask with the caption "#Beyonce at the #USOpen," began to circulate on Twitter gaining more than 200,000 views.

After spinning out in controversy last summer, DaBaby is firmly in the latter half of the “f*ck around and find out” cycle.DaBaby’s self-inflicted downfall started most notably last July, when he shouted out-of-the-blue homophobic comments mid-performance at the Rolling Loud music festival.“If you didn’t show up today with HIV/AIDS, or any of them deadly sexually transmitted diseases that’ll make you die in two to three weeks, then put your cell phone light in the air,” he said. “Fellas, if you ain’t suck a n**** d*ck in the parking lot, put your cell phone lights in the air.

Winnie-The-Pooh: Blood And Honey.In this horrifying new movie from schlock-maestro filmmaker Rhys Waterfield, Pooh and company are re-imagined as axe-wielding slashers, gone absolutely feral in the years since their human friend Christopher Robin left them for college. After seeking revenge on Robin, the honey-mad bear and his pal Piglet head off on a killing spree, eventually setting their sights on a group of young women renting a cabin on the wrong side of the Hundred Acre Wood.We reported on some first-look images earlier this summer, which had Twitter exclaiming, “Oh, bother!” But now there’s a full-length trailer, and the thing looks even more gonzo than we might have dreamed/feared.

Zack Sharf J.K. Rowling recently told Graham Norton that her new novel, “The Ink Black Heart,” is not based on her own experience being slammed as transphobic despite featuring a character who finds herself in a similar social media firestorm (via Rolling Stone). The new book, published under Rowling’s pseudonym Robert Galbraith, is part of Rowling’s “Cormoran Strike” crime thriller series and includes a character named Edie Ledwell, a “creator of a popular YouTube cartoon who sees internet trolls and her own fandom turn on her after the cartoon was criticized as being racist and ableist, as well as transphobic for a bit about a hermaphrodite worm.” As reported by Rolling Stone, the character in the novel is “doxxed with photos of her home plastered on the internet, subjected to death and rape threats for having an opinion, and is ultimately found stabbed to death in a cemetery. The book takes a clear aim at ‘Social Justice Warriors’ and suggests that Ledwell was a victim of a masterfully plotted, politically fueled hate campaign against her.”

To the Editor: Re “Harry Styles Walks a Fine Line,” by Anna Marks (Opinion guest essay, Aug. 31), about the singer’s use of queer symbols while declining to claim a queer identity: The fine line that Harry Styles actually walks is not between so-called “queerbaiting” and the closet, but between being his authentic self (someone who chooses to use his massive platform to celebrate and uplift gender fluidity, nonconformity and queer positivity) and being the person Ms.

At the end of a summer when the number of cases in the monkeypox outbreak rose sharply, the increase in reported infections now appears to be cresting amid increased public messaging and access to vaccines, prompting U.S. health officials to expand their strategy with a new equity-based effort to combat the disease.

Brittany Aldean said her comments comparing her "tomboy phase" to transgenderism have been taken out of context, and used the controversy to inspire a new charity clothing line. "Per usual, my words have been taken out of context over the last week," she captioned photos of the new tops Wednesday before including an eye roll emoji.

Employees of Texas’s child welfare agency were told to avoid written communications and take other steps to maintain secrecy about investigations of parents who allow their transgender children to receive gender-affirming care.The investigations began after Gov. Greg Abbott ordered them in February, based on a nonbinding legal opinion from Attorney General Ken Paxton that allowing kids access to such care is child abuse.

brief from the world’s top crisis intervention and suicide prevention organization, LGBTQ youth with one parent in the military face 17% higher odds of experiencing anxiety symptoms, 14%  higher odds of contemplating suicide, and are nearly 40% more likely to have reported attempting suicide in the past year.The data backing up these findings was drawn from The Trevor Project’s 2021 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health, which surveyed nearly 35,000 LGBTQ youth ranging in age from 13 to 24 years old.Overall, 5% of LGBTQ-identifying youth reported having a parent currently in the military, a figure that rises to 7% when just counting those youth who are under 18 years old. Geographically, LGBTQ youth in the South report higher rates of having a parent in the military, at 7%, compared to only 4% in the Northeast and Midwest and 5% in the West.

Jason Trawick is addressing rumors and speculation.

The gay survivor of a hate crime kidnapping and gang rape says he can finally restart his life after the Worcester Magistrates Court sentenced his attackers on Tuesday.

With August 31 marking the 25th anniversary of her untimely death, we are resharing one of our favorite anecdotes about the beloved former princess. This story not only illustrates what a great ally Diana was — it also gives us a peak into the lesser known humorous and fun-loving side of her personality. In the late 1980s, at the height of fear and stigma around HIV, Diana regularly visited AIDS wards in hospitals.

Exhibiting his best “don’t-make-me-turn-this-plane-around” dad vibes, a Southwest Airlines pilot recently used the plane’s intercom to admonish an unidentified passenger to stop sending inappropriate NSFW pics to his cell phone. Video of the incident captured by TikTok user @teighmars has since gone viral with over 2.2 million views.The naughty AirDrop took place while the otherwise unindentified Southwest Airlines jet waited on the tarmac for its departure to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Rep. Eric Swalwell has shared an unhinged death threat he received from a person who claimed to be a gay man.Taking to Twitter on Tuesday, the California Democrat and outspoken LGBTQ  ally wrote that, “A staffer of mine — who’s 1 month into her job — received a call from a man saying he’s coming to our office w/ an assault rifle to kill me.”Related: Lauren Boebert rages after Rep. Eric Swalwell shares these photos of herHe continued: “I hesitate to share this but how else do I tell you we are in violent times, & the architects are [Donald] Trump & [House Minority Leader Kevin] McCarthy.

From Anderson’s website: lunch

The Crown and the recent movie, Spencer, didn’t offer enough of an insight into the life of the late Princess Diana, prepare yourself for a more factual exploration of her years in the limelight.A new documentary, The Princess, made by Ed Perkins, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. It’s turned into one of the festival’s big talking points.The doc includes no interviews or voiceovers, and instead stitches together hundreds of pieces of media footage from Diana’s life, pretty much from the time she became engaged to Charles, the Prince of Wales, in 1981.Related: Sarah Ferguson just threw the entire royal family under the bus… then got hit by the bus herselfThe footage, some of which would appear shocking to today’s audiences, includes a newsreader talking of why the 19-year-old Diana was a suitable match for the 32-year-old heir to the British throne, adding her family had “vouched for her virginity.”Other footage includes how wedding fever swept the UK … although one off-the-ball pundit predicted the paparazzi would no longer be interested in Diana after her wedding day (talk about getting it wrong!).The documentary traces Diana’s life in the limelight, up until her death in 1997 in a car crash in Paris.Related: Meghan Markle speaks out against royal family and doesn’t mince her wordsMost of the reviews of the The Princess have been favorable, with it scoring 82% on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing.

In anticipation of significant LGBTQ-focused events over the Labor Day weekend, the Biden-Harris administration has announced that it is working with localities to provide thousands of vaccine doses for onsite administration. New Orleans is preparing to host Southern Decadence, one of the country’s largest gatherings of gay and bisexual men. Thousands of additional monkeypox vaccine doses have been sent to Louisiana in anticipation of this weekend’s event.Southern Decadence is expected to attract between 100,000 and 300,000 people.Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra explained the importance of onsite vaccination in a recent call with reporters.“It’s not enough to wait for people to show up at a doctor’s office or a county health department to schedule a vaccination appointment,” Becerra said.

The Justice Department filed a response late last night to Donald Trump‘s request for a federal judge to appoint a “special master” to review the records seized from Mar-a-Lago earlier this month and, once again, things look pretty grim for the one-term, twice-impeached ex-president.In its 36-page filing, the DOJ argues that FPOTUS’s request for a special master “fails for multiple, independent reasons,” and accuses him of leveling “wide-ranging meritless accusations” against the U.S. government.Related: Why has Melania been radio silent about the Mar-a-Lago raid? She’s “annoyed”, sources say.Unlike Trump, however, federal prosecutors don’t just hurl wild accusations around without offering any evidence to support their claims.

Gay Christmas,” but there’s plenty more to look forward to including an early Oscars favorite, an eye-opening documentary short, and an award-winning social satire that promises, um, an awful lot of bodily fluids.To help you stay ahead of the curve, we’ve assembled this handy guide recapping all the best and gayest trailers to hit the internet in August. Check them out below and mark your calendars accordingly!Mix one part Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf with one part Get Out, shake it all up with some chilled gay sexual tension and you’ve got a wicked little cocktail in The Albatross.

Birthday suit (Image by Robert W. Richards)

A lot is riding on Billy Eichner.

LGBTQ+ youth who have a parent in the military report significantly higher rates of mental health challenges and suicide risk, according to a new research brief by the Trevor Project.The brief, out Wednesday, draws on data from the Trevor Project’s 2021 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health. Five percent of the youth in the sample reported having a parent currently in the military.Having a parent currently in the military was associated with 17 percent higher odds of recent anxiety symptoms, 14 percent higher odds of seriously considering suicide in the past year, and nearly 40 percent higher odds of attempting suicide in the past year, after controlling for demographic variables.

Gemma Collins showed off her impressive weight loss in her latest sun-drenched snap where she poured her hourglass figure into a gorgeous pink Christian Dior swimsuit. The former TOWIE star, 41, looked effortlessly beautiful as she posed up a storm at the luxury resort where her golden tan practically glowed against her pale pink one-piece.READ MORE: Gemma Collins parades curves in plunging swimsuit after dramatic weight lossIt appeared as though the TV personality embraced her natural beauty for the beachside shoot, as the reality star showed off her fresh-faced appearance which was clear of blemishes as she flashed her pearly whites to the camera.Gemma styled her gorgeous swimwear with a long silver pendent cross necklace which complimented her matching silver bangles whish she had on either wrist.She let her luscious blonde locks loose as they cascaded over her shoulders in soft beachy waves in her latest glamorous post, which she captioned: “Good morning from MYKONOS.

As Manchester Pride celebrations came to an end on Sunday 28 August, the national Trans memorial for the UK was set ablaze. The beautiful memorial based in Manchester city’s Sackville Gardens took the form of large detailed butterflies carved into a tall sycamore tree, decorated by plaques dedicated to victims of transphobia and transphobic hate […]

We for one are sick of the same old tropes in music videos. We need something more exciting, edgier, queerer. No more wide-angle shots of people in the club. No more dancing on top of shipping containers on a construction site. Luckily, we’ve compiled a list of artists who treated us to a fine selection […]

monkeypox-related death in the US.State Health Department officials in Texas reported the death of the “severely immunocompromised” Harris County patient. An investigation continues as to what exact role monkeypox may have played in their death.There have been around 18,000 reported monkeypox cases in the US.

Campus Pride this month released its annual list of the best colleges and universities for LGBTQ students. 

August 30, 2022Swalwell then shared a memo his staffer wrote regarding the threat. The caller allegedly asked for Swalwell’s location, asked to speak to the congressman, and, when told the congressman wasn’t available, went on a rant on gay issues.“[The caller] said he is a gay man, but he doesn’t take it up the ass, he gives it,” the staffer wrote in a memo summarizing the call.

73 questions is toooo lonnnnggg ... (Image via YouTube)

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. In a recent scene, Bassett’s character, Ricky, briefly talks with EJ (played by Matt Cornett) suggesting they might star as male leads in the camp’s Frozen remake. He then goes on to propose that the characters could be “Friends? Enemies? Lovers?”  The Disney+ hit's showrunner, Tim Federle, opened up in an interview with Digital Spy and addressed fans’ theories surrounding the character's sexuality.“One of the joys of a long-running show is that you get to explore all facets and all aspects of all of these characters,” he said.

Joshua Bassett‘s High School Musical: The Musical: The Series character may be exploring in his romantic life next season.