Director/co-writer Shariff Nasr's intimate coming-out drama El Houb will be out on Digital and DVD on April 4 via Dark Star Pictures (and in L.A. theaters on April 7), per a press release. The film's decorated festival run includes Frameline, Seattle Queer FF (where it won for Best Feature), Twin Cities Arab FF, Out On Film and many more. The plot is as follows: Moroccan-Dutch Karim tells his parents that he is attracted to men. After years of keeping up appearances, the word is finally out. He realizes that he has to confront his family to finally break the silence—but he must first come to terms with his own feelings.
Chris Chalk will play the late gay author James Baldwin in the latest installment of Ryan Murphy's Feud series, called Feud: Capote's Women, according to Deadline. Chalk, currently starring in the HBO series Perry Mason, revealed the exclusive news during an episode of the Deadline podcast 20 Questions on Deadline. Feud: Capote's Women, based on Laurence Leamer's best-selling book with a script from Jon Robin Baitz, follows the story of Truman Capote's friendship with a group of society women he called his "swans." Capote ultimately used the women's lives for a thinly veiled expose he wrote for Esquire in 1975 entitled "La Cote Basque 1965"—and the betrayal led to his banishment from society.
Madonna has added a Nashville date to her upcoming greatest hits tour in protest anti-LGBT+ bills in Tennessee, The Independent noted. In March, Tennessee became the first state in the country to effectively ban public drag performances and drag shows for children. The "Express Yourself" singer will now perform in Nashville on Dec. 22, saying that "the oppression of the LGBTQ+ is not only unacceptable and inhumane; it's creating an unsafe environment."
The White Lotus is heading to Thailand for its third season, Deadline confirmed. The first season of the HBO series was filmed and shot in Maui while season two was in Sicily. The third season will feature a new cast, as season two did, albeit with Jennifer Coolidge's Tanya. Whether she will be back (given what happened at the end of season two) is up in the air.
The HBO Original three-part documentary series Angel City—directed by Arlene Nelson and executive-produced by Academy Award winners Natalie Portman, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin—will debut on HBO in May, per a press release. The docuseries goes behind the scenes and onto the pitch of the Los Angeles-based professional women's soccer team known as the Angel City Football Club.
The head writer of The Disney Channel show Wizards of Waverly Place revealed that he wished Selena Gomez's character, Alex Russo, could've been bisexual, according to Out. On the new podcast Wizards of Waverly Pod, head writer/executive producer Peter Murrieta said, "I wished we could have played more with what was quite obvious to a lot of us was the relationship between Stevie [played by out actress/singer Hayley Kiyoko] and Alex. But we weren't able to in that time…it was pretty clear to all of us what that relationship was. That would've been fun."
Push It Productions—the company founded by Wanda Sykes and Page Hurwitz—signed a first-look deal with Warner Bros. TV, per The Hollywood Reporter. Push It Productions is behind The Upshaws, the Netflix comedy series with stars Sykes, Mike Epps and Kim Fields that has been renewed for a third season. The company also produced Stand Out, a comedy special that features LGBTQ+ comics that was conceived, co-written and co-directed by Hurwitz, and an accompanying documentary.
Mariah Carey and Megan Thee Stallion will headline this year's annual LA Pride in the Park event, Out noted. This two-day, multi-stage, musical Pride event in Los Angeles will be kicked off with a performance by Megan on Friday, June 9; Carey will then perform on Saturday, June 10. For tickets and more information about LA Pride 2023, visit LAPride.org .
Nathan Lane revealed on Sunday Today that Robin Williams, his co-star in The Birdcage, once protected him from coming out as gay against his will on national television, Variety reported. Lane was nervous about doing an interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show (in 1996), as The Birdcage was one of his first major film roles, and he did not want to come out publicly as gay at the time. Winfrey did end up asking questions that left the door open for Lane to come out—but Williams "sort of swoops in and diverts Oprah, goes off on a tangent and protects me because he was a saint," Lane added, also saying that Williams was a "beautiful, sensitive soul."
Disney said it fired out lesbian Marvel executive Victoria Alonso because of her work as a producer of the Oscar-nominated feature film Argentina, 1985, Variety reported. Alonso's attorney, however, pushed back, calling that explanation "absolutely ridiculous." Lawyer Patty Glaser, who represents Alonso, claimed her client was "silenced" by Disney, and that she had the studio's "blessing" to work on Prime Video's Argentina, 1985—but Glaser added that Alonso "was terminated when she refused to do something she believed was reprehensible," per Gizmodo. (Also, LGBTQ Nation noted that Alonso may have been fired, in part, for her criticism of Disney's initial response to Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law.) Argentina, 1985 is based on the true story of how a public prosecutor, a young lawyer and their inexperienced legal team prosecuted the leaders of Argentina's bloody military dictatorship.
CMP—a Chicago organization dedicated to supporting social-impact documentary film—announced the full slate of 10 films being showcased at the 8th annual Doc10 documentary film festival running May 4-7, per a press release. The films include Lisa Cortes' Little Richard: I Am Everything, which also looks at the queer aspects of the legendary singer's life. The event will open with Sundance hit Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie; and will close with Going Varsity in Mariachi, which focuses on a group in Texas vying for a state competition. See www.doc10.org .
Andrew Lloyd Webber announced the death of his eldest son, Nicholas Lloyd Webber, from gastric cancer, Deadline reported. Andrew announced his son's illness when the composer recently announced that he would miss the Broadway opening of his latest musical, Bad Cinderella, in order to remain by a hospitalized Nicholas.
Country singer/songwriter Maren Morris appeared on stage to push back against Tennessee's anti-drag and anti-trans legislation, standing in solidarity with other celebrities at Nashville's Love Rising event, Entertainment Weekly noted. "Yes, I introduced my son to some drag queens today," Morris said at the city's Bridgestone Arena. "So, Tennessee, f—-ing arrest me." Morris was a guest judge on a January episode of RuPaul's Drag Race and addressed homophobia in country music with the show's competitors.
At the iHeartRadio Awards in Los Angeles, out singer Todrick Hall teased his upcoming fall tour—but he's already receiving pushback from Tennessee, according to Out. Hall told the outlet, "We were told that we might not be able to perform in the whole state of Tennessee, which is a first for me. I think it's really important for us to be there fighting. I think it's really important at this time for us to show up in a way that we have not shown up before."
Three of the teams that competed in this year's NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament had out LGBTQ+ coaches, Outsports noted. Those leaders include Iowa's Raina Harmon (assistant coach) and Jan Jansen (associate head coach); Maryland's Kaitlynn Fratz (assistant coach); and Miami's Katie Meier (head coach). Iowa made it to the Final Four, defeating Louisville 97-83 on March 26.
The Brooklyn Academy of Music's "Queering the Canon: Totally Radical" will take place April 6-10, per a release. Films that will be shown include The Doom Generation: Director's Cut, Born in Flames and Zero Patience, among others. There will also be in-person Q&As with legendary filmmakers Gregg Araki (The Doom Generation), Silas Howard and more. The event is curated by NewFest's Nick McCarthy and Kim Garcia, and presented in partnership with NewFest.
Apple TV+'s Ted Lasso—about around the titular character (Jason Sudeikis), an U.S. college football coach who is hired to coach an English Premier League soccer team, AFC Richmond, even though he has no experience—just introduced its first gay character, Out noted. In the third episode of the third season, "4-5-1," Richmond player Colin (Billy Harris) reveals he is not only closeted, but also in a relationship with newbie Michael (Luke Ashton). GQ UK noted that there are around 550 active players in the Premier League, which makes it statistically likely that at least one player is gay. No one has come out while playing in England's top tier since Justin Fashanu in 1990; he ultimately committed suicide eight years later after enduring massive hostility from the press.
Jane Fonda said that Jennifer Lopez never apologized for cutting her face while filming the film Monster-in-Law, Entertainment Weekly noted. Fonda said on The Drew Barrymore Show that Lopez unintentionally broke skin on Fonda's face on the 2005 rom-com when Viola (Fonda) and Charlie (Lopez) clash on the day of the latter's wedding to the former's son, Kevin (Michael Vartan). In the film, Charlie quickly apologizes to Viola for getting physical with her, with Viola quipping that her future daughter-in-law should "get some backbone" and never let an apology follow an intentional slap.
Adele announced that she's extending her Las Vegas residency with 34 more dates between June and November—and she also plans to release a concert film, per The Chicago Tribune, citing the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Her March 25 show was the last performance in the British singer's original "Weekends with Adele" series that covered 34 dates since last November on the Las Vegas Strip. "Playing to 4,000 people for 34 dates is not enough, and I know that," Adele said. "So I am coming back for a few weeks in June, and I'm going to release it to make sure anyone who wants to see this show can see it."
The Freeform show Grown-ish—a spinoff of the now-former ABC show Black-ish—will end with its upcoming sixth season, Variety noted. The first part of the final season will premiere this summer, while the second will air in 2024. The show will air its 100th episode during season six. Grown-ish originally focused on Yara Shahidi's character Zoey Johnson, but fellow Black-ish alum Marcus Scribner joined the show in season five, reprising the role of Andre Johnson Jr., with the show now following him during his first years at Cal U.
The American Music Awards (AMAs) will likely take a one-year hiatus, Variety noted. Following news that the Billboard Music Awards would move its date to Nov. 19, 2023—typically a Sunday held for the AMAs—it would seem to leave parent company Dick Clark Productions (DCP) no choice but to move the AMAs to 2024, when it can take the May slot previously held by Billboard. However, a spokeswoman for Penske Media Corp. (which owns DCP) said that discussions are ongoing for both events.
Actor Jonathan Majors (Creed III; Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania) was arrested in New York on domestic-violence allegations after a dispute with a 30-year old woman, Variety noted. "He has done nothing wrong," Majors' spokesperson told the entertainment outlet. "We look forward to clearing his name and clearing this up." (Also, his attorney, Priya Chaudhry, told Deadline in a statement, "Jonathan Majors is completely innocent and is provably the victim of an altercation with a woman he knows.") The Hollywood Reporter noted that the U.S. Army has pulled a major "Be All You Can Be" ad campaign featuring Majors after his arrest.
A woman who was found dead in her Manhattan apartment in July 2022 has now been identified as fashion designer Kathryn Marie Gallagher, 35, who dressed entertainers such as Lady Gaga, Laverne Cox and Rita Ora, People noted. The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner confirmed that Gallagher died of a homicide; her cause of death was acute intoxication by the combined effects of fentanyl, p-fluorofentanyl and ethanol.
Vince McMahon paid WWE $17.4 million for costs the wrestling-entertainment company incurred in investigating misconduct allegations against him, according to Variety. McMahon, WWE's billionaire executive chairman and controlling shareholder, returned to the company in January after he "retired" from the company last year.
The FX docuseries The Secrets of Hillsong, debuting in May, will feature the first interviews with married couple Carl and Laura Lentz since they were ousted as pastors of the infamous megachurch, Variety noted. Hillsong became famous for attracting celebrities like Justin and Hailey Bieber as well as Kylie and Kendall Jenner—before the church was exposed for involvement in misconduct including marital infidelity and child sexual abuse.
A verdict was reached in the Gwyneth Paltrow ski crash trial today in Park City, Utah, and the actor was cleared of any wrongdoing as she was awarded the $1 requested in her countersuit, Variety noted. The televised trial captivated social media for the past two weeks. Terry Sanderson, a 76-year-old retired optometrist, sued Paltrow for $300,000, alleging that in 2016 the actor skied into him at the Deer Valley ski resort, leaving him with various injuries.
Emily Ratajkowski's estranged husband, Sebastian Bear-McClard, is being accused of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior with teen girls, media reports noted. Among other people, a young woman, now 24, claimed in a Variety expose that the film producer reached out to her when she was just 17 years old via Instagram. They then allegedly met up at a loft in New York City and the meeting resulted in a small role in his film Good Time. Ratajkowski filed for divorce in September 2022, claiming the filmmaker cheated on her multiple times.
The Bachelor creator/executive producer Mike Fleiss' recently announced departure from the hit ABC reality-show franchise came after he had been investigated over workplace misconduct allegations, Deadline reported. The Bachelor producer Warner Bros. TV, working with ABC, recently completed the investigation into claims of alleged racist behavior as well as verbal and emotional abuse against Fleiss. Claire Freeland, Jason Ehrlich and longtime executive Bachelor producer Bennett Graebner were later named showrunners for the franchise.
