Protesters vandalized the offices of Zimbabwe’s largest LGBTQ+-rights organization, GALZ, per The Washington Blade. Said protesters gathered at the organization’s gate and sang homophobic songs; they also left anti-gay graffiti on the gate and walls. Several people questioned the authenticity of the protest, arguing GALZ itself organized the protest in order to get funding. GALZ said it has filed an official police report, and is “cooperating fully with the ongoing investigations,” adding in a statement, “We categorically condemn the acts of vandalism and intimidation that occurred. … While we respect differences in values, it is utterly unacceptable to deploy acts of vandalism and intimidation against communities who hold different values.”
A survey that World Travel Protection commissioned revealed the safety threats and challenges faced by LGBTQIA+ employees when traveling for business, according to Travel Age West. The survey found that most business travelers (64% in the U.S., 56% in Canada) expressed concern about traveling to regions known to be biased against or to criminalize relationships of people who identify as LGBTQ+. World Travel Protection noted that more than 70 countries criminalize same-sex relationships.
After his party suffered a major loss in EU elections, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said he is going to pause pushing forward new LGBTQ+-rights legislation, per The Washington Blade. Mitsotakis announced his support for same-sex marriage and adoption rights last year after being re-elected, and his government passed a marriage bill in February. However, in recent EU elections, his party’s support dropped nearly 5 percentage points while the more radical far-right Greek Solution and the anti-LGBTQ+ conservative NIKI party collectively gained about 10 percentage points.
Rome held its 30th annual LGBTQ+ Pride celebrations—and one theme revolved around Pope Francis’ controversial “frociaggine” comment, PinkNews noted. One sign read: “Attention, from here on high levels of f****try.” Others took aim at Prime Minister Giorgia Melon, with one sign saying, “better gay than with her.” Earlier in June, Pope Francis reportedly used an anti-LGBTQ+ slur during discussions about whether out gay men who remain celibate should be admitted to Catholic seminaries; he later apologized, although there have been reports of a second incident with the pontiff using the slur.
Under drenching rain and overshadowed by war, a few hundred people gathered in Kyiv for the Ukrainian capital’s first Pride march since the Russian invasion—and there was a heavy police presence, according to Agence France-Presse. In contrast to other Pride gatherings around the world, the slogans they chanted reflected a country at war: “Arm Ukraine Now” and “United toward victory.” Several diplomats also attended the march, including Denmark’s ambassador Ole Egberg Mikkelsen, who noted that one of the conditions for European Union (EU) membership required the protection of minorities. Most residents want to join the EU.
In the UK, Yorkshire-based organization Leeds Pride changed its mind about a code of conduct policy that forbids “political opinions” after receiving criticism, per PinkNews. In a section on the Leeds Pride Parade 2024 guidance document—which details terms and conditions for individuals and walking groups entering the event—the group wrote that comments about “specific individuals, beliefs or political opinions are strictly forbidden.” Among those criticizing the code was the activist group Dirt Dykes, who made a post vowing to boycott Leeds Pride. Dirt Dykes later rejected Leeds Pride’ claim that it welcomed them, arguing that Leeds Pride had not made a sufficient effort to address its problems with the policy and claiming that it was only amended after parade applications had been closed. Leeds Pride’s event will be July 21.
In Georgia, the organization that holds Pride events in the capital of Tbilisi announced it is cancelling all physical Pride festivities this year because of an increasingly hostile environment ahead of elections this fall, per The Washington Blade. In a statement, Tbilisi Pride said, “We anticipated that the summer before the 2024 parliamentary elections would be filled with physical violence encouraged by the government and rhetoric filled with hate and hostility. Now, after ‘Georgian Dream’ adopted the Russian-style law on ‘foreign agents’ and announced a hate-based anti-LGBTQ legislative package alongside constitutional changes, we are even more confident in our decision.”
Dozens of people gathered in a park in Toronto’s Gay Village to remember a prominent Egyptian 2SLGBTQ+-rights activist who apparently died by suicide in 2020, CBC noted. The group paid tribute to Sarah Hegazi—who sought asylum in Canada after being arrested and tortured in her native Egypt—in Barbara Hall Park. Hegazi was imprisoned in the fall of 2017 after waving a rainbow flag at a concert in Cairo featuring the Lebanese band Mashrou’Leila; it ignited a three-week anti-gay crackdown by the authorities, in which Hegazi was the only woman arrested.
A biography claims that the late Greek billionaire businessman Aristotle Onassis was secretly bisexual and “savagely beat” young male sex workers, according to PInkNews. In the new book, Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed, Daily Mail columnist Maureen Callahan explores claims that Onassis was bisexual. Onassis was famously the second husband of Jacqueline “Jackie” Lee Kennedy Onassis, who was married to U..S. President John F. Kennedy; she married Aristotle Onassis in 1968, five years after JFK was assassinated. Interestingly, JFK was also rumored to be bisexual.
In Austria, the OK Linz Museum will hold the first-ever solo museum exhibit of the works of Nadya Tolokonnikova—artist and founder of the feminist art collective Pussy Riot—through Oct. 20, per a press release. According to the statement, “Her exhibition ‘RAGE’ once again focuses on resistance and repression, rebellion against authoritarian regimes, and patriarchal structures. … Tolokonnikova’s work includes not only her performative pieces but also objects and installations in which she finds beauty in her political struggle.”
Elton John: Never Too Late—a feature documentary about the pop legend —and the Amy Adams dark comedy Nightbitch will have their world premieres as a gala screening at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, Variety noted. In addition, Adams (a six-time Oscar nominee) will receive Toronto’s 2024 TIFF Tribute Performer Award. In addition, Canadian director David Cronenberg will receive the 2024 Norman Jewison Career Achievement Award while Canadian actress Sandra Oh (TV’s Killing Eve and Grey’s Anatomy) will receive the 2024 TIFF Tribute Awards Honorary Chair.
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.
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.”
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.
French rugby union star Antoine Dupont told LGBTQ+ magazine Tetu that he believes rugby is an accepting place but that players need to speak out more in support of queer people, PinkNews noted. In part, he said, “The goal is for all players to feel good about their sexuality and to be accepted by others. Even if rugby can be seen as macho, we are very open-minded, and today I think we are all capable of accepting others’ sexual orientations.” Only one professional rugby star in France, Jeremy Clamy-Edroux, is openly gay—although Dupont said he believes there are more gay competitors.
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.