U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris recently met with the cast and creators of Queer Eye as well as the original Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Deadline noted. Marking Pride Month, Harris called the series “groundbreaking” in that it raised the consciousness of the LGBTQ+ community. Harris met with executive producers David Collins and Michael Williams, current cast members Karamo Brown and Jonathan Van Ness, and original cast members Carson Kressley and Jai Rodriguez. The show launched on Bravo in 2003 and then returned on Netflix in 2018.
Sony Music has offered more than $1 billion for the catalog of the British band Queen, which queer singer Freddie Mercury initially headed, per Variety. The only revenue not covered in the deal is for live performances, which founding members Brian May and Roger Taylor—who still actively tour with singer Adam Lambert—will retain. Queen’s music catalog is among the most valuable of the rock era—with classics like “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Another One Bites the Dust,” “Radio Ga Ga” and “Somebody to Love.”
In the new song “Discourse,” singer/actress Amandla Stenberg (she/they) reflected on the new wave of homophobic and racist online attention they’ve received as the lead of the Star Wars series The Acolyte, EW noted. The song features the refrain, “We so bored/Don’t f— wit yo discourse,” and addresses the hatred and prejudice they’ve received over their career. In the song, Stenberg also criticizes right-wing pundits and racists for co-opting “woke” as a catch-all term for progressive or diverse ideas they despise.
In a personal op-ed for Out, singer Carissa Mae Martin (of the folk-pop band Us the Duo) talked about being outed and reclaiming her power. In March, Martin and Michael Alvarado—partners in marriage and in music since 2012—announced they had divorced; earlier this month, Alvarado released an album, The Five Stages, about the end of the relationship, which included the track “Homewrecker.” In her essay, Martin said. in part, “Coming out should have been a sacred process. Something that should have been on my own terms. But that was ripped away from me. It was one thing to be outed to my friends and family, but to be outed publicly through a song for personal gain and promotion? Absolutely sickening.”
Actor/comedian Marlon Wayans (White Chicks) laughed in the face of haters as he celebrated Pride Month with his transgender son, Kai, per Instinct Magazine. Wayans recently posted photos on Instagram supporting his son and the LGBTQ+ community. In a June 14 post, Wayans wrote, “Happy PRIDE to all my LGBTQ+ peoples. P.S. I’m STRAIGHT… well, according to my child, I’m a CISGENDER male. I just love and support my peoples.” He added, “Yeah, and just for the HATE MONGERS… I’m posting ANOTHER,” Wayans captioned. “As a father of a child in the LGBTQ+ community, I show my support. Zero f‐‐‐‐s given about what people think.”
Queer artist Sam Smith is readying to celebrate the tin anniversary of their debut studio album with In the Lonely Hour: 10 Year Anniversary Edition, per Billboard. The collection, due from Capitol Records on Aug. 2, will include the original’s 10 songs as well as the exclusive new track, “Little Sailor.” A collector’s edition of the refreshed LP will feature 25 songs on four LPs and two CDs, including live versions of some of the album’s original songs and special features with Mary J. Blige, A$AP Rocky and John Legend. Smith’s original album featured their breakthrough Billboard Hot 100 number-two hit “Stay With Me,” as well as the number-five hit “I’m Not the Only One” and the number-eight-peaking Lay Me Down” as well as fan favorites “Money On My Mind” and “Like I Can.”
And speaking of Smith, Alicia Keys made a surprise appearance at Julius—NYC’s oldest gay bar—for a 10th-anniversary celebration of Smith’s debut album, The Lonely Hour, during Pride in NYC, according to Page Six. Drag legend Lady Bunny DJ’ed the bash and even teased Keys a little, calling her “Alice Keys.” “I said she was an emerging new artist,” Bunny posted on social media. “She was a great sport, and giggled at it. Sam was super nice and sounded fab!” Meanwhile, fashion designer Christian Siriano celebrated Pride earlier in the week with partner Kyle Smith and Siriano’s Rupaul’s Drag Race muse Gottmik at Park Lane’s Darling Rooftop.
Out country artist Orville Peck announced the release date for his duets album, Stampede, a press release noted. Arriving Aug.t 2 via Warner Records, the project features new collaborations with Beck, Teddy Swims, Margo Price, Mickey Guyton and others. Stampede rounds out the collection of duets first introduced as Stampede Vol. 1 in May, featuring songs with Willie Nelson, Elton John, Noah Cyrus, Midland, Allison Russell, Nathaniel Rateliff, and Bu Cuaron. In May, Peck was honored at the 35th GLAAD Media Awards in New York City with the Vito Russo Award, which is presented to a LGBTQ media professional who has made a significant difference in accelerating LGBTQ acceptance.
Gender non-conforming rapper Lil Uzi Vert has once again been enlisted to serve as the face of another chapter in the larger Marc Jacobs story, per Complex. Uzi, who’s slated to perform at Summerfest in Milwaukee next month, appeared in a Nick Newbold-captured campaign in support of the label’s new Stephen Sprouse medium tote. The limited-edition bag ($550)—which apparently has already sold out—is called a “reinterpretation” of Sprouse’s prior Jacobs collaboration in line with the late artist’s luxury-meets-punk approach.
LGBTQ+ musician The Japanese House (the project of Amber Bain) has released her new single—“:),” aka “Smiley Face,” per a press release. “‘Smiley Face’ is a song I wrote when I was very excited about talking to someone off a dating app,” said The Japanese House. “She lived in Detroit, and I was fantasising about flying to meet her. I was in a session at the time for someone else’s stuff, but I couldn’t help this song spilling out of me, I was in some sort of frenzy. Turns out I did buy the plane tickets, now we’re engaged.” The musician is in the midst of her North American Summer Headline Tour as well as a string of dates supporting Maggie Rogers on her Don’t Forget Me Tour.
Queer DJ The Blessed Madonna has joined forces with singer/songwriter Daniel Wilson and DJ/remixer KON on the new single “Count On My Love,” featuring Yuki Kanesaka, per a press release. “Paying homage to The Blessed Madonna’s roots in Chicago and the inner-city clubs, ‘Count On My Love’ comes together as a celebration of the sounds that have come to help shape modern U.S. dance music,” the release stated.
Matt Bomer and Nathan Lane are set to star in Mid-Century Modern—a multi-cam, Golden Girls-like series for Hulu from executive producer Ryan Murphy and creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan (Will & Grace), Variety reported. Bomer will take on the ditzy Rose-like character that Betty White played in the original Golden Girls, with Lane taking on the Dorothy (Bea Arthur) of the bunch; Linda Lavin will play Lane’s mother, a la the original Sophia. James Burrows is directing the pilot of the show, which is set in Palm Springs.
In women’s soccer, the United States women’s national team (USWNT) dropped to fifth in the latest FIFA rankings—its lowest point since FIFA began ranking women’s teams in 2003, per ESPN. Before 2024, the U.S. women had never been ranked below second in the world, but the team has fallen three places in six months. Spain, France and England make up the top three, in that order; Germany overtook the U.S. women for the fourth spot. The USWNT has Olympic tuneups July 13 vs. Mexico at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey; and July 16 vs. Costa Rica at Audi Field in D.C. The team beat South Korea in two friendlies this month.
Singer/former American Idol judge Katy Perry announced her new single “Woman’s World,” which will be released on July 11 along with the music video on July 12, according to People/Yahoo! Entertainment. “Woman’s World” will also be the first time Perry has released music since her studio album Smile debuted in 2020. The announcement of Perry’s new single followed her last Idol appearance on May 19.
Out actor Noah Schnapp (Stranger Things), 19, was allegedly kicked out of New York City nightclub The Palace after allegedly getting too out of hand, Page Six noted. Schnapp allegedly asked patrons who paid for bottle service to take tequila shots with him and his entourage—but supposedly got angry after his fellow clubgoers refused to participate with him because he is underage. However, the actor is no stranger to controversy; last year, social-media users tried to cancel Schnapp when he shared a video of himself laughing as people around him showed stickers reading “Zionism Is Sexy” and “Hamas Is ISIS.”
Queer actress/comedian Sandra Bernhard is apologizing to Morgan Fairchild for not being nice to her when they were together on the series Roseanne, per Deadline. “It’s one of my biggest regrets that I wasn’t nicer to her,” Bernhard said on Watch What Happens Live. “I was a little dismissive of Morgan, and to this day, would like to say to Morgan, you are incredible to work with. You went there.” Bernhard had a recurring role on the ABC sitcom as Nancy Bartlett; Fairchild played her bisexual girlfriend Marla and appeared in three episodes of the 1990s sitcom.
Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department has stayed atop the Billboard 200 chart (dated June 22) for at least eight consecutive weeks, Billboard noted. It’s the first album to spend its first eight weeks at number one since Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time led for its first 12 weeks a year ago (March 18-June 3, 2023-dated charts). Of Swift’s 14 number-ones on the Billboard 200, Poets ties Folklore with eight weeks on top; only 1989 and Fearless, with 11 each, have more weeks at No. 1 among Swift’s leaders.
Vocalist, Grammy and Golden Globe winner, and Oscar nominee Andra Day returns to the road on her headline Cherith Tour 2024 across North America, a press release noted. The tour kicks off Aug. 9 in Atlanta at Variety Playhouse; visits major markets such as D.C., Nashville, Chicago (at Thalia Hall) and Los Angeles; and concludes Sept. 24 in Seattle at The Showbox. Day stated, “CASSANDRA (cherith) is a journey through my soul, from a state of being already full rather than from a place of lack. It’s an intimate reflection of my personal experiences and growth, presented through the language of music.”
The Heart of Rock and Roll, the musical built around the hits of Huey Lewis, will play its final performance at a matinee on Sunday, June 23, according to Deadline. The show will have played 24 previews and 72 performances. The musical began previews on March 29 and opened on April 22. The musical—which received lukewarm reviews and no Tony Award nominations—has been struggling at the box office, sometimes with the James Earl Jones Theatre just more than half-full with audience members.
Queer British acting icon Sir Ian McKellen was hospitalized on June 17 after falling off stage mid-performance in London, People noted, citing the BBC. He fell during a performance of Player Kings, a production of Henry IV, at the Noël Coward theater in London. McKellen—who plays John Falstaff in the play—reportedly fell off the front of the stage and cried out in pain as crew members rushed to help. He is expected to fully recover but did not return for the production’s final three performances after fracturing his wrist.
Yahoo! Entertainment listed 59 stars who are one award away from achieving EGOT status. (There are only 19 people who are EGOT winners, including Whoopi Goldberg and Barbra Streisand.) Just a few of those who are so close include Adele, Julie Andrews, Cher, Hugh Jackman, Common, Ringo Starr, Cynthia Erivo, Dame Helen Mirren, Al Pacino, Cynthia Nixon, South Park co-creator Trey Parker, composing/songwriting duo Pasek & Paul, and Billy Porter.
Real Housewives of Atlanta cast member Kenya Moore has been indefinitely suspended from the show, per Page Six. The development happened in the wake of Moore shocking party attendees at her Kenya Moore Hair Spa grand opening with posters of series newcomer Brittany Eady allegedly performing oral sex. Eady was reportedly not present for the display and co-star Drew Sidora tweeted, “I’m flabbergasted and floored” after the event. An insider said that the explicit photos in question were “readily accessible” online, and claimed that Eady had made threats to Moore using the word “gun” before the event.
Michael Chernus will portray the late Chicago-area serial killer John Wayne Gacy Peacock’s upcoming limited drama series Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy, according to Variety. Inspired by the 2021 Peacock docuseries John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise, the limited series “peels back the twisted layers of Gacy’s life while weaving in the heartrending stories of his mostly gay victims; exploring the grief, guilt, and trauma of their families and friends; and exposing the systemic failures, missed opportunities and societal prejudices that fueled his reign of terror,” per the official longline. Between 1972 and 1978, Gacy murdered at least 33 young men and boys near Chicago.
Ariana Grande commented on the allegations that former Nickelodeon stars made in the ID docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, per Deadline. On the podcast Podcrushed, Grande looked back at her time on the sets of Victorious and Sam & Cat, asking for therapists to be “mandatory” on kid show sets. Grande also said that it was “devastating” to learn about the experiences that some of her colleagues had.
The Weeknd garnered two new RIAA Diamond certifications, for “Save Your Tears” and “Die For You,” per a press release With this achievement, he becomes “the first Canadian artist to score seven RIAA diamond certifications” and “the third overall artist to score seven RIAA diamond certifications.” Additionally, he also received platinum certifications for 2023 hits “Popular” (with Madonna and Playboi Carti) and “One of the Girls” (with JENNIE & Lily-Rose Depp). This becomes Madonna’s first platinum single released since “4 Minutes,” her 2008 hit.