Global LGBTQ+ groups are strategizing how to fight back against the anti-queer wave around the world, according to The Bay Area Reporter. Activists, thought leaders and funders have been re-examining strategies to combat the global backlash against queer and gender-expansive communities for the past several years. “We think [of] ourselves as we’re the democratic beacon of the world, but our civil society organizations are actually funding a lot of anti-democratic, illiberal efforts around the world,” said Princeton University professor Kristopher Velasco. “We support democracy when it works for us, but if democracy isn’t working then we’re okay getting rid of [it].” Global Philanthropy Project Deputy Director Ezra Berkley Nepon added that saying phrases such as “anti-queer,” “anti-trans” and “anti-choice” often correlates to “anti-democratic” from the right-wing perspective.
African Human Rights Coalition (AHRC) Executive Director Melanie Nathan, who’s also a human-rights attorney, said that the U.S. embassy in Zambia has revoked a promised grant for sheltering LGBTQ+ refugees, according to Erasing 76 Crimes. That move came while the Trump administration was making a massive cutback in U.S. support for foreign aid; however, a Donald Trump-appointed judge in D.C., said he would temporarily reverse the U.S. president’s officials’ orders putting 2,200 USAID workers on administrative leave and withdrawing almost all of the agency’s overseas workers within 30 days. Meanwhile in Zambia, AHRC and a local partner organization are scrambling to serve LGBTQ+ refugees, who keep arriving.
Also regarding refugees, a coalition of three large refugee aid and resettlement organizations sued the Trump administration for declaring an indefinite pause in accepting refugees, according to Erasing 76 Crimes. The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) filed the suit on behalf of Church World Service (CWS), HIAS and Lutheran Community Services Northwest (LCSNW) as well as on behalf of impacted individual plaintiffs, including refugees who had their travel to the United States canceled on short notice. The new federal litigation, filed in the Western District of Washington, asks the court to declare Trump’s executive order illegal, enjoin all implementation of the order and restore refugee-related funding.
The queer film Ìfé—which made a splash with its bold depiction of lesbian love in Nigeria—is getting a sequel, Erasing 76 Crimes revealed. Director Pamela Adie announced the film on X (formerly Twitter), calling the sequel “magic.” The film is currently in production and is set for release later this year. The sequel continues the story of Ìfé, played by Uzoamaka Aniunoh, and Adaora, played by Gbubemi Ejeye. “I watched Ìfé (the short film), and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing the sequel. I love the poster already!,” a user wrote on X.
In Bangladesh, transgender activist Shila was brutally killed in her home on Feb. 3, and France-based human-rights organization JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) expressed its outrage over the crime, per Erasing 76 Crimes. Local sources said that five unidentified individuals were seen entering Shila’s home on Feb. 2; when attempts to contact her the following day went unanswered, a fellow trans individual alerted neighbors. Kaukhali Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md. Saiful Islam Sohag condemned the crime, calling it an act of extreme violence. Robert Simon, a prominent French LGBTQ+-rights activist and chief adviser of JMBF, said, “Shila’s murder is not just a tragedy; it is a crime against humanity and an attack on the fundamental rights of transgender individuals. We cannot allow such horrific violence to go unchecked.”
Irish Gay Rights Movement co-founder Clem Clancy has died of prostate cancer, GCN noted. From 1974 to 1984, Clancy occupied a central role in IGRM and later led the development of a queer leather-and-kink club scene in Dublin. Like some others, Clancy’s activism was launched by membership in the Sexual Liberation Movement, a pansexual advocacy group established in Trinity College in late 1973. Clancy is survived by his husband, Frank, as well as a wide circle of friends in Ireland and abroad.
The Anglican Church leadership in South Africa admitted to failing to disclose sexual-abuse claims against former member John Smyth, who mistreated children in the 1970s and 1980s in the U.K. and Zimbabwe before fleeing to South Africa, where he died in 2018, according to ABC News. Last November, an independent review found the Church of England covered up “horrific” abuse by Smyth. Smyth joined the church after fleeing Zimbabwe to South Africa in 2001 following allegations that he had sexually, physically and psychologically abused more than 100 children and men in Christian summer camps, where he volunteered. “I and the Diocese apologize to our congregants and the wider community that we did not protect people from that risk,” Cape Town Archbishop Thabo Makgoba said to church members.
The Pride Fund—India’s first LGBTQIA+ philanthropy fund—has been established, The Hindu reported. It’s spearheaded by Godrej DEI Lab head Parmesh Shahani; Radhika Piramal, executive director of VIP Industries and trustee of Dasra UK, which works to build awareness of effective philanthropy in India; and Keshav Suri, executive director of The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group and founder of The Keshav Suri Foundation. With approximately 140 million LGBTQ+ individuals in India, the fund’s vision is to create lasting, on-ground impact by empowering organizations that work directly within the community.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa declared his support for LGBTQ+ rights during a response to vitriol coming from U.S. President Donald Trump, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump’s billionaire ally Elon Musk, who’s a South African native, per Erasing 76 Crimes. The U.S. criticism did not focus on LGBTQ+ rights but on South Africa’s new land-seizure policy and its anti-genocide case against Israel in the International Court of Justice, with Trump claiming that the new land law discriminates against white farmers, whom he invited to move to the United States. The LGBTQ+-rights group Activism Ghana stated on X, “It’s refreshing to see an African cis heterosexual/straight man affirming LGBTQI+ rights during his key public address as President. Human rights in Africa, especially LGBTQI+ rights, have been under attack by anti-gay/anti-gender groups in alliance with western right-wing ones.”
New York resident Daniel Sikkema was arrested and charged in the Southern District of New York for allegedly hiring someone to kill his estranged husband, who was murdered in Rio de Janeiro in January 2024, according to a Department of Justice press release. Sikkema, 54, allegedly offered another individual (CC-1) money in exchange for CC-1 killing Sikkema’s estranged husband, with whom Sikkema was involved in acrimonious divorce proceedings. The victim, a U.S. citizen, had amassed a multi-million-dollar estate and often traveled to Rio de Janeiro where he maintained property.
In the UK, openly gay MP Oliver Ryan was suspended by Labour for his involvement with a WhatsApp group in which he allegedly mocked another MP’s sexuality, PinkNews noted. Ryan—who overturned a Tory majority to win his seat last year—was a member of a WhatsApp group called Trigger Me Timbers that included Labour officials, party activists and Health Minister Andrew Gwynne. Offensive messages in the group were exposed by the Mail on Sunday, including correspondence in which members made racist remarks about Black veteran MP Diane Abbott; Gwynne joking about a pensioner dying; and a string in which Ryan mocked another Labour MP about his sexuality and criticized Colin Bailey, the vice-chairman of the party’s Audenshaw branch. Gwynne was fired from his ministerial post and had the whip removed; Ryan was suspended, and has apologized.
Grammy-nominated LGBTQ+ international singer Anitta released a new single and music video entitled “Romeo” out now via Republic Records/Universal Music Latin Entertainment, per a press release. According to the release, “The Spanish-language track revolves around a propulsive dancefloor-ready beat punctuated by a thick bassline. Anitta delivers flirty verses with charisma, building towards an instantly irresistible refrain.” Last year, Anitta released the Grammy-nominated album Funk Generation.
Emilia Pérez won the Goya (the Spanish equivalent of the Oscar) for Best Film recently—and controversial star Karla Sofía Gascón (who was not present) was on the minds of many, Deadline noted. When accepting the award, reps from the movie’s Spanish distributors gave a shout-out to the actress that was met with cheers and applause from the audience at the ceremony in Granada. “In the face of hatred and ridicule,” the distributors asked for “more cinema, more culture.” In the wake of revelations about Gascón’s past social-media posts, she has scaled back her awards-season appearances. Other films in the Best European Film Goya category included France’s The Count of Monte-Cristo, Latvia’s Flow, Italy’s La Chimera and last year’s International Feature Oscar winner from the UK, The Zone of Interest.
A self-guided tour at a major British museum has called Lego blocks anti-LGBTQ+, warning they reinforce “heteronormativity,” News.com.au noted. The “Seeing Thing Queerly” tour assists visitors to view London’s Science Museum through the perspective of “queer communities, experiences and identities.” Although the exhibit highlights people such as the late renowned British mathematician Alan Turing, the tour also takes aim at Lego blocks because the children’s toy has “male or female parts” that “mate” with each other—supposedly supporting the view that there are only two genders. In reacting, X owner/Department of Government Efficiency leader Elon Musk simply shared a clown-face emoji.
A flurry of news has recently emerged about the late One Direction singer Liam Payne—including that he supposedly struggled with his sexuality, per the New York Post. Rolling Stone revealed the item that came from an anonymous source who claimed that the musician Payne “sexted men” during his relationship with ex Maya Henry, whom he dated from 2018 to 2022. Henry broke her silence on Payne’s passing in the March Rolling Stone cover story, saying, “This was someone I loved very much. Initially, it was the drug use and addictions that tore us apart. Anyone who has been with an addict understands how difficult that is. While I loved him deeply, he did things that hurt me in ways I’ll never fully understand, and he continued to hurt me years after we broke up.”
In Manchester, England, a Dolly Parton-themed musical was suspended mid-show when homophobic abuse was hurled at the stage, an actor in the production has claimed, according to the BBC. Stevie Webb said on TikTok that an incident at the Opera House during Here You Come Again saw the whole cast “leave the stage, because a woman was so disgusted there was a gay character on the stage.” Then Webb added that the incident was followed by similar trouble a few days later, when a man had to be removed from the audience. ATG Entertainment, which runs the venue, said it took a “zero-tolerance” approach to such incidents. Parton has long been an ally of the LGBTQ+ community; in 2014, she spoke out in favor of same-sex marriage.
Fiji Rugby Union director Laijipa Naulivou was fired just days into her new role, after stirring controversy with remarks that the women’s national team had a “gay problem,” the BBC noted. The move came as women’s-rights advocates (including those in the group the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement) criticized the “harmful and discriminatory” comments. In an interview, Naulivou said she had also previously recommended the coach be removed; she also asked for a panel be set up to select the team instead of “a person who practices lesbianism being up there and choosing her people.” Naulivou is a prominent figure in the local rugby scene, known for being the first captain of the women’s national team.
In a twist, rapper Azealia Banks called out British Harry Potter author JK Rowling’s stance on transgender people—despite previously sharing her own anti-trans perspectives, according to PinkNews. “I think the dolls are fab and do not need to shade them or change myself because my femininity is not threatened by them,” Banks posted, adding that Rowling and those who share similar sentiments “feel their femininity is threatened.” The “212” rapper went on to claim that her brother is a trans man and she had seen the “type of misery, pain, ostracism” that some trans people experience. This is a U-turn from 2021, when Banks compared gender-affirming care to “getting castrated” and suggested that society does “mental gymnastics” to validate trans women.
And in other Banks-related news, she’s been removed from Amsterdam’s electronic, queer-inclusive Milkshake Festival—two days after organizers announced her as part of the line-up, per Billboard. Several fans urged Milkshake to reconsider the choice of including Banks. One commenter wrote in Dutch that the rapper was “an artist who has repeatedly spoken negatively about the LGBTI+ community, and especially about our transgender friends.” In a subsequent statement, Milkshake’s organizers said, “It is clear to us that we made a mistake and that we have overlooked essential information. We sincerely apologize for this.”