Lady Gaga came to the defense of Dylan Mulvaney after a post with the trans influencer/activist for International Women's Day received hateful responses, People Magazine noted. On Instagram, Gaga stated, "It's appalling to me that a post about National Women's Day by Dylan Mulvaney and me would be met with such vitriol and hatred. When I see a newspaper reporting on hatred but calling it 'backlash' I feel it is important to clarify that hatred is hatred, and this kind of hatred is violence." The musician/actress added that there's a lot of work that needs to be done as a society "to make room for transgender lives to be cherished and upheld."
STARZ has greenlit Down in the Valley—a documentary series inspired by the world of P-Valley that is set to air this year, per a press release. The release also stated, "The six-half-hour episode series hosted and executive produced by NAACP Award winner Nicco Annan (P-Valley) will take viewers on a tantalizing tour of the Deep South, unveiling a complex South that is equal parts poignant, joyful, and magical." Annan, best known as Uncle Clifford on STARZ's drama series P-Valley, will be immersed in the people, sensuality, music, culture and stories of the South.
Newly unsealed court filings in Wendy Williams' lawsuit against Lifetime parent company, A+E Networks, over the release of the documentary Where Is Wendy Williams? appear to show that the company allegedly shot the film without obtaining consent from the former talk-show host's court-appointed guardian, Sabrina Morrissey, per The Hollywood Reporter. The project documented Williams' life for a lot of a year, showing her downward spiral as she struggled with family, fame and excessive alcohol consumption. "This blatant exploitation of a vulnerable woman with a serious medical condition who is beloved by millions within and outside of the African American community is disgusting, and it cannot be allowed," stated the complaint.
Out actor Luke Evans told Yahoo UK that Hollywood is "responsible" to keep telling queer stories in order to give audiences better understanding and appreciation for other people's experiences. The actor made the comment while promoting the film Our Son, a movie he made with Billy Porter has a divorcing couple who fight over custody of the title character. "I'm a gay man and, I mean, I've not been married but I've been in relationships," Evans added. "Life is never straightforward, and I'm old enough to know that quite profoundly. I just understood [his character] Nicky's journey; he discovers himself through his son, but he also discovers his son."
Insiders claimed that celebrity hairstylist Jonathan Van Ness has "rage issues" that have caused "fear" to people on the set of Netflix's Queer Eye, per Instinct Magazine, citing Rolling Stone. An insider shared that Van Ness, who identifies as non-binary, is "a yeller," and that they have a shouting match at least "once a week." Other sources reportedly described the Queer Eye star as a "monster," "nightmare" and "demeaning." However, people who have appeared on previous seasons of the show have defended Van Ness, per TMZ. Queer Eye's eighth season, the last to feature co-host Bobby Berk, is now available for streaming on Netflix; interior designer Jeremiah Brent is confirmed to replace him in the upcoming ninth season.
And in more Queer Eye drama, co-host Tan France has claimed that Bobby Berk was "fired" from the show as he responded to damning accusations about the series, per PinkNews. Some sources alleged that France and co-star Antoni Porowski tried to get Berk "fired" and replaced with new cast member Jonathan Brent by using "mean girl antics." However, France alleged that Berk was let go in a move that he had nothing to do with. Taking to Instagram on March 9 in a post which both Jonathan Van Ness and Porowski liked, he denied those claims.
ACG Unwritten's film Transition, released through Gravitas Ventures, will be available on all digital platforms everywhere on March 26, per a press release. This award-winning documentary follows journalist Jordan Bryon's dangerous transgender journey while embedded with the Taliban in Afghanistan. (He is accepted as a man while with the Taliban.) Transition had its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival, and has been shown as an Official Selection at Sheffield DocFest, Sydney Film Festival, International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), Watch Docs Festival and the Human Rights Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award.
British act Bananarama marks more than 40 years in music with the release of their new album Glorious: The Ultimate Collection, out via London Records. The album features two brand new tracks: "Supernova" and "Feel the Love." The duo's past hits include "Venus," "Robert De Niro's Waiting," "Cruel Summer," "I Heard a Rumor" and others. In addition, Bananarama is immortalized in the Guinness World of Records for having the most internationally charted hits by an all-female group.
The Hollywood Bowl will open its 2024 season on June 23 with a tribute to the late Henry Mancini, per Playbill. "Opening Night at the Bowl: Henry Mancini 100th Celebration" will feature queer Tony winner Cynthia Erivo (the upcoming Wicked films), Michael Buble, out saxophonist Dave Koz and Monica Mancini. Henry Mancini—the 20-time Grammy-winning composer of "Moon River," the score for The Pink Panther and Victor/Victoria—appeared regularly on the Bowl's stage, conducting 29 times.
Tom Blyth and Russell Tovey are set to lead Plainclothes, a new independent film from writer-director Carmen Emmi, per Variety. Set in the '90s and inspired by true events, a working-class undercover officer is assigned to entrap and apprehend gay men—only to find himself drawn to one of his targets. Blyth most recently starred as Coriolanus Snow in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes; the openly gay award-winning actor Tovey can currently be seen in Ryan Murphy's FX drama series Feud, and was recently seen in the leading role in Murphy's eleventh season of the FX horror anthology American Horror Story: NYC.
Rob McElhenney—who plays the gay character Mac on the FX show It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia—has launched More Better Industries, a multi-faceted company which encompasses three dynamic entities: More Better Productions, More Better Advisory and More Better Ventures, per Deadline. More Better is already in business with people including Ryan Reynolds, Larry David, Elliot Page and Nzingha Stewart, to name a few. (Also, McElhenney and Reynolds co-own the Wrexham soccer club, the subject of the Hulu docuseries Welcome to Wrexham. In April 2023, the team defeated Boreham Wood 3-1 to move up into the English Football League for the first time in more than a decade, per People.)
The queer art/film experience Kiss/Crash ran through March 12 at SXSW, per a press release. The installation triptych used AI imagery to explore themes of desire as well as the expanding gap between real experience and artificial representations in the digital age. The five-minute interactive experience, directed by Adam Cole, consisted of three related works that use AI to add or negate dimensions to the iconic image of the Hollywood kiss. In a statement, Cole said, in part, "Kiss/Crash elevates the conversation around AI-generated art by creating an original contemporary piece that moves beyond pure novelty and instead critically reflects on the very technology used in its production."
After declaring in a Deadline guest column that he would boycott the SXSW Opening Night debut of Road House, director Doug Liman apparently changed his mind, the entertainment outlet noted. Liman made his initial decision to stay away because he felt that Amazon MGM signed him to a deal that called for a theatrical release of the Jake Gyllenhaal/Conor McGregor film, but instead switched and is launching the film directly on the Amazon Prime streaming service, starting March 21.
Also at SXSW, Stormy Daniels skipped the red carpet but took the stage briefly after a screening of documentary Stormy, which debuted on the festival's opening night, Deadline noted. She was emotional, often wiping away tears, as she embraced director Sarah Gibson and talked about how important the film is to her. But she also displayed her trademark defiance, ending the night by saying, "And f*ck Trump." Judd Apatow is an executive producer for the film, which premieres on Peacock later this month.
Jewish musician and LGBTQ+ ally Matisyahu cancelled his scheduled House of Blues in Chicago because of the "threat of protests," per Deadline. Matisyahu said that House of Blues canceled the show and paid the contractual penalty, which he promised to donate to an organization that advocates for the Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. The Chicago date was the third cancellation for Matisyahu (who has been outspoken in his support for Israel, and has performed for troops there) on his current U.S. tour, following similar developments in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Tucson, Arizona.In Los Angeles, Jewish author Brett Gelman and TV personality Mayim Bialik also had events canceled or interrupted because of their support of Israel.
According to a message on Ticketmaster's website, Jennifer Lopez has canceled several concert dates on her upcoming This Is Me... Now tour dates, including planned stops in Nashville; Raleigh, North Carolina; Atlanta; Tampa; and New Orleans, per Yahoo! Entertainment. The canceled dates were all planned to take place across a consecutive eight-day stretch from Aug. 22-30. EW learned that a logistical issue through the promoter forced the last several dates to be canceled, but shows might take place in the affected cities in the future.
In the upcoming ID documentary Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, actor/musician Drake Bell opens up about being sexually assaulted by Nickelodeon dialogue and acting coach Brian Peck, Variety revealed. The documentary, airing March 17-18, dives into both the alleged emotional abuse by Nick executive Dan Schneider and the physical abuse by Peck. In 2003, Peck, 43 at the time, was arrested on 11 charges, including sodomy, lewd act upon a child 14 or 15 by a person 10 years older, and oral copulation by anesthesia or controlled substance—but the minor was not named until now.
In the sports world, a lawsuit has been filed against the company that owns the San Jose Sharks, alleging that a 12-year-old player was sexually abused by a former youth hockey coach, per CBS News. The suit filed in Santa Clara Superior Court alleges that Sharks Sports & Entertainment, LLC and its subsidiary, Sharks Ice, LLC, were negligent in the case involving former coach Kevin Whitmer. The lawsuit alleges that Whitmer began grooming the 12-year-old male victim in April 2021 and assaulted him numerous times at Sharks Ice. Whitmer was arrested by San Jose police in November for lewd and lascivious acts with a minor and possession of child pornography.
Neve Campbell revealed on her social-media platforms that she is back as Sidney Prescott in the next Scream movie, per Deadline. In an Instagram post, she said its been asked back and is happy to return. She also announced that original Scream writer Kevin Williamson (who happens to be openly gay) will be directing from a script written by Guy Busick. The Spyglass film has been dealing with issues in recent months after star Melissa Berrea was let go because of comments she made on social media about the conflict between Israel and Hamas; also co-star Jenna Ortega (who played Berrea's sister in the film series) allegedly left the project over scheduling.
Cardi B took the stage and Madonna's daughter Estere struck a pose as the Queen of Pop ended the West Coast swing of her Celebration Tour on March 11, per Billboard. Madonna tapped Cardi as her latest celebrity guest judge for the "Vogue" dance-off. Katy Perry, Paris Jackson, Rosie O'Donnell, Corey Feldman and Erika Jayne were among the celebrities in attendance as Madonna completed her five-night stand at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California. The tour hasn't been entirely smooth, as Madonna apologized after calling out a fan in a wheelchair for sitting during her performance.
Actor/comedian Kevin Hart has reflected on the homophobic jokes that cost him his hosting spot at the 2019 Oscars, per PinkNews. Hart has claimed the criticism he received for a series of homophobic posts he wrote between 2009 and 2012 was "a come-to-Jesus moment," he told The Wall Street Journal. The posts included one where Hart said if he ever spotted his son playing with a dollhouse, he would "break it over his head and say: 'Stop, that's gay.'" In other posts, he called gay people "f*gs" and mocked lesbians. Hart added, "I sincerely apologize to the LGBTQ+ community for my insensitive words." Hart previously reflected on the controversy in 2021, saying he "doesn't give a s**t about [cancel culture]", adding: "I've been cancelled, what, three or four times? Never bothered.
Kelly Clarkson's ongoing legal battle with ex-husband Brandon Blackstock is expanding with a new lawsuit aimed at potentially going much further than the $2.6 million ruling she won against him last fall, per Billboard. With Blackstock appealing that November decision, Clarkson filed a new case, seeking a ruling that he and his father's management firm violated state labor rules all the way back to the very start of their relationship. The new case is the latest development in an ongoing legal battle between the two ex-spouses, who split in 2020 after seven years of marriage.
Meghan Markle won a court victory in a defamation case brought forward by her half- sister, Samantha Markle, per People Magazine. U.S. District Attorney Judge Charlene Honeywell dismissed the case with prejudice—in which Samantha claimed Meghan defamed her in multiple interviews, including her CBS interview with Oprah Winfrey. The Florida judge said in the filing that the motion to dismiss the case was granted after Samantha failed to produce statements that supported her defamation claim. In the filing, Honeywell wrote that the allegations "suggest" that Samantha "disagrees" with Meghan's "opinions rather than statements of fact."
