Vice President Kamala Harris shows up at the top of the Paramount+ series RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars’ season ender (on July 26) to urge viewers to vote in the November election, according to Deadline. “Each day we are seeing our rights and freedoms under attack, including the right of everyone to be who they are, love who they love, openly and with pride,” the VP and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee says. “So, as we fight back against these attacks, let’s all remember, no one is alone.” Harris delivers her message with Michelle Visage, acclaimed choreographer Jamal Sims, Lance Bass, Leslie Jones and Cheyenne Jackson by her side. The pitch was actually filmed last month.
An unconfirmed listing on industry publication Theatrical Index claims that Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera may be preparing to return to NYC, per Playbill. The Tony-winning musical ended its historic, 35-year Broadway run in 2023. The Index’s listing—which claims performances will begin March 15, 2025—does not share a venue or any creative team members beyond the writers, along with Evan Bernardin Productions as general manager and Kate Lumpkin Casting handling casting. Original producer Cameron Mackintosh has made it no secret that he plans to bring the musical back to Broadway.
Redwood—the new, original musical starring Tony winner Idina Menzel—has set its Broadway theatre and dates, according to Broadway World. The musical will open on Broadway at The Nederlander Theatre, with previews beginning Jan. 24, 2025 ahead of a Feb. 13, 2025 opening. Written and directed by Tony Award nominee Tina Landau, with music by Kate Diaz, and lyrics by Diaz and Landau, Redwood is conceived by Landau and Menzel, with additional contributions by Menzel. In a video, Menzel said, “I made my Broadway debut at the Nederlander Theatre in Rent almost 30 years ago, so to be returning there with Redwood is very emotional for me as it feels like a real homecoming.”
It was a shocking crime involving a gay teen that inspired author Stephen King to write the classic horror tome It (which has been made into movies), per The Advocate. In 1984, three teenagers in Bangor, Maine, killed Charlie Howard for being gay—and the crime shocked many, including King. While King’s novel featured an evil, murderous clown, King refused to let Bangor off the hook for killing Charlie. This month marks the 40th anniversary of Howard’s murder.
WNBA star Brittney Griner and wife Cherelle Griner now have a baby boy, per The Hollywood Reporter. Brittney Griner revealed the news on the CBS Sports show We Need to Talk; the couple had previously stated their plans to name the child Bash. (Also, Brittney said she wants to be known as “Pops,” according to LGBTQ Nation.) The athlete, who plays for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, is set to compete on the U.S. women’s national basketball team this summer at the Paris Olympics; Brittney previously won gold with the team in the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games.
VMI Releasing announced North American VOD release of the campy LGBTQ+ Southern Gothic thriller Ganymede, per a press release. At the Chattanooga Film Festival, the film won the Pride Award. Ganymede debuts on Cable and Digital VOD on Aug. 6 on platforms including Apple TV, Fandango at Home and Prime Video. The plot is described as follows: “When a small town wrestling star develops a crush on an openly gay classmate, he begins to be stalked by a grotesque creature that invades his thoughts—all the while struggling to live up to the standard set by his legacy-obsessed dad.”
The HBO Original documentary Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes, directed by award-winning filmmaker Nanette Burstein, will debut Saturday, Aug. 3, per a press release. An official selection of the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival, the film—which uses Taylor’s own voice to narrate her story—had its world premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. In 1964, at the height of her fame, Taylor sat down with journalist Richard Meryman for a candid, extensive interview. The movie draws from 40 hours of the newly unearthed audio interviews as well as access to personal photos, home movies, archival interviews and news footage, illustrated with clips from roles that mirrored her real-life challenges and triumphs. Alongside Taylor, the documentary features the voices of actors Roddy McDowall, Debbie Reynolds, Liz Smith and Richard Burton, among others.
Fitness guru Richard Simmons’ staff revealed that he had a final uplifting message for his fans before his passing, according to E! News. “Let me fly you to the moon so we can gaze among the stars,” read Simmons’ message, which accompanied a photoshopped pic of the fitness instructor wearing a NASA uniform costume and appearing inside a slot canyon. “Love, Richard.” As Windy City Times (citing another source) previously noted, Simmons never officially came out as LGBTQ+, although Jane Fonda stated on Instagram, “I saw him last when I took him and a boyfriend of his to lunch at the Polo Lounge. The relationship was new and he was proud. I never saw or heard from him again and, like many thousands of others, I’ve mourned his absence from my life.”
Gospel singer Kim Burrell apologized to the LGBTQ+ community for a homophobic sermon she delivered in 2016 in which she called homosexuality a “perversion,” LGBTQ Nation noted. “I want to apologize to the LGBTQ community. Let’s give them a great big round of applause. We want them to have strength and to sincerely know that we must all do the work to embrace all of God’s people and show his love to everyone,” she said during her Aretha Franklin Icon Award acceptance speech at the 39th annual Stellar Awards. Burrell’s original comments led to her radio show and television program being canceled; also, she was dropped from an appearance on Ellen DeGeneres’s show, where she was set to appear with the singer Pharrell, who distanced himself from her comments. GLAAD responded, “Burrell’s apology is but a first step toward full accountability and healing from a record of harmful, inaccurate rhetoric, and her appearance at the Stellar Awards shows the work still to be done.”
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the release of the late gay British singer George Michael’s hit song “Careless Whisper,” George Michael Entertainment, GME and Sony Music will release the Careless Whisper EP on Oct. 18, per a press release. Available on both digital and physical formats, the EP will feature a previously unreleased live recording of the hit performed at NYC’s Madison Square Garden during Michael’s concert on July 23, 2008. The EP will also include newly mastered versions of the original single, the extended mix and instrumental. Michael wrote the song with Wham! bandmate Andrew Ridgeley when Michael was just 17.
Adam Lambert and Mean Girls: The Musical movie star Auli’i Cravalho will make their Broadway debuts as the Emcee and Sally Bowles this fall in Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, according to Variety. They replace Eddie Redmayne and Gayle Rankin, who starred in it when it premiered last spring. Lambert—who is also a solo artist and the frontman for Queen—previously was part of the North American touring production of Wicked. Cravalho also provided the voice of the title character of Disney’s Moana, singing the hit “How Far I’ll Go,” and was in Hulu’s Crush.
After a six-year hiatus, Broadway performer Telly Leung returned to New York City’s Birdland Jazz Club with a brand-new cabaret show, “Back to Birdland,” that took place on July 22, according to Instinct Magazine. Leung performed Broadway classics as well as songs from his solo recordings, featuring a trio of New York’s finest musicians with Gary Adler on piano, Mary Ann McSweeney on bass and Joe Choroszewski on drums.
Queer singer/actor Joshua Bassett has released his debut album, The Golden Years, via Warner Records, per a press release. The release stated, “A snapshot of Bassett’s life, the album’s diaristic lyrics capture the highs and lows of his transition from adolescence to adulthood.” On July 30, Bassett will kick off The Golden Years North American headline tour in Phoenix, making stops in Houston, Atlanta, New York, Chicago, Toronto, Nashville and more before wrapping up in Los Angeles at YouTube Theater on Sept. 3; the European leg of the tour will follow.
Lady Gaga paid tribute to her beloved friend and musical collaborator, icon Tony Bennett, one year after his death, Billboard noted. On July 20, the pop superstar and actress shared a heartfelt message on social media about the late crooner, who passed away on July 21, 2023, in his hometown of New York City at age 96. “It’s been one year since Tony passed away,” Gaga wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of herself with Bennett. “This picture says it all. I’m so grateful for my continued friendship with his wife Susan— the legacy of jazz music he left—and for the community of jazz musicians I still work with who all knew and loved Tony. We’re gonna keep on swingin’. Miss you … life is a beautiful thing.”
Before Celine Dion was set to perform at the Paris Olympics, she received some good news. According to Deadline, I Am: Celine Dion—the film that chronicles the singer’s extraordinary career and her recent health struggles—has become Prime Video’s most popular documentary ever. It has also impacted her music sales: Since the documentary’s release on June 25, “Dion’s catalog streams are up 33% worldwide,” per Amazon MGM Studios. Among the platform’s most popular documentaries are Bye Bye Barry, about NFL Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders; Kelce, about Jason Kelce’s final season with the Philadelphia Eagles, and The Blue Angels, a film about the U.S. Navy’s elite flight demonstration squadron.
Queer music icon Melissa Etheridge is facing a legal battle over her brief entry into the cannabis business, according to Billboard. Two business partners in Northern California—Josephine and D’Angelo Roberto—claim that the singer “abandoned them” and left them in “financial ruin.” The Grammy-winning songwriter (who rose to stardom in the 1990s with hits like “Come to My Window” and “I’m The Only One”) announced in 2019 that she would launch Etheridge Farms, which aimed to bring the benefits of cannabis to middle-aged women. Now, the Robertos claim that Etheridge and her wife, Linda Wallem-Etheridge, effectively torpedoed the company by refusing to support it.
RuPaul’s Drag Race season 16 star Morphine Love Dion was injured in a Los Angeles car crash that left one person dead, per EW. The Miami-based drag entertainer—who placed fifth on the most recent season of the MTV reality competition series—was involved in a deadly car crash on the 10 freeway in L.A.’s Jefferson Park area. A statement on Dion’s official Instagram Story read, “She suffered multiple injuries but is grateful to be alive. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. Some space and time is appreciated as she focuses on healing.”
Tom Ford announced the imminent departure of Peter Hawkings as creative director of the brand, who was head for less than a year, according to Highxtar. Hawkings has had a distinguished career in the fashion world, beginning his career as senior menswear designer at Gucci, where he worked closely with Ford to design and develop the brand’s men’s collections from 1998 to 2006. Last year, Ford left the brand following its sale for $2.8 billion.
Farm Aid 2024 will take place Saturday, Sept. 21, at Broadview Stage at Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, New York, per the event’s website. The lineup will feature LGBTQ+ ally Willie Nelson and his family as well as Mavis Staples, Neil Young, Southern Avenue, Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds, John Mellencamp, queer musician Joy Oladokun, Jesse Welles and others (including some who have not yet been announced).
British LGBTQ+ singer Jessie J revealed that she was recently diagnosed with ADHD and OCD, per People. She started noticing signs of both disorders after welcoming son Sky Safir in May 2023. “I knew to some extent but having a baby has let’s say… exposed it a lot more. 
which was comforting in a way, as it made it feel less heavy and scary,” she wrote on Instagram. “But also in moments has made me feel like I can’t talk about it. F*** that. Here I am talking about it. Embracing it with the 
.”
Conversations over the tightening of protocols on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars are taking place in the wake of the recent Strictly Come Dancing scandal, Deadline reported. The new Strictly protocols were unveiled after a second dancer, Graziano Di Prima, left the show over allegations of inappropriate behavior toward a partner. (Di Prima admitted kicking partner Zara McDermott and another dancer, Giovanni Pernice, left the British show following allegations by Sherlock star Amanda Abbington, who said she suffered PTSD after training with him.) All future Strictly rehearsals will now be policed by a member of production staff.
The late gay writer Victor J. Banis, who was from Ohio, is getting his due via the newly created Victor J. Banis Foundation, courtesy of niece “Maggie” Weadick, according to The Buckeye Flame. The foundation was prompted by public interest in Banis’ work—notably, when he was honored at the 2020 Rubi Awards as one of “Dayton’s LGBT Trailblazers.” Banis—whose most popular series is The Man from C.A.M.P. (under the pseudonym Don Holliday)—wrote more than 200 books in his lifetime before passing away in 2019.
On a recent episode of SiriusXM’s Jeff Lewis Live, Mindy Cohn opened up about a Facts of Life revival that was in the works but is now dead due to a “greedy” co-star, per Deadline. Cohn said that creator Norman Lear approached the cast about a Facts of Life reboot following the positive response to ABC’s Live in Front of a Studio Audience special in 2021, when episodes of Facts and Diff’rent Strokes were re-created. The actress said that “one of the girls … went behind our backs and tried to make a separate deal for a spinoff just for herself and devastated the rest of us.” Cohn added that there was no trust among the group anymore and there is “no desire to ever work together.”
Hulu has ordered 20 more episodes of The Kardashians, for a sixth season, Variety noted. The season premiered on May 23 and was the most-watched unscripted launch of 2024 on Hulu in the United States as well as on Disney+ and Star in international territories when accounting for the first four days of streaming.
Kyle Gass of Tenacious D (an act with actor/musician Jack Black) deleted his Instagram apology following intense backlash over a controversial comment about former U.S. President Donald Trump during the band’s Sydney concert, per Billboard. When asked to make a wish on stage when presented with a birthday cake, Gass replied, “Don’t miss Trump next time,” referencing a recent assassination attempt on the former president. The fallout resulted in Gass being dropped by his agent and the remainder of Tenacious D‘s tour being canceled. Even Australia’s former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was drawn into the drama, telling news.com.au, “It makes me feel sick [that] someone would joke about violence—physically ill.” A recent Instagram post from Gass featured a video of a flight over Sydney Harbor with the cheeky caption: “Birthday helicopter ride around Sydney Harbour, hours before the storm.”