Oscar-nominated actors Colman Domingo and Jeremy Strong are in talks about making their debuts at London’s National Theatre, per Deadline.
“They’re the real deal, and I want them here at the National,” artistic director/co-chief executive Indhu Rubasingham said. “I’m talking to them about what they might want to do here.” Rubasingham already announced her inaugural season of plays and musicals, featuring actors such as Paul Mescal (Gladiator II), Letitia Wright (Black Panther), Monica Barbaro and Nicola Coughlan (Bridgerton). Rubasingham and Domingo have a history; in 2013, she invited the openly gay actor to bring his one-man show A Boy and His Soul to the Tricycle Theatre (now known as The Kiln Theatre) when she was artistic director of the arts venue in Kilburn, London.
Also regarding Domingo, he and fellow LGBTQ+ actor Marco Calvani are married to each other in The Four Seasons, Netflix‘s Tina Fey-led update of the 1981 film of the same name, Queerty noted. According to Domingo, “The beautiful thing is, Marco and I were friends for a good year prior [to filming The Four Seasons], and we met through a mutual friend, Bruce Cohen”—and then Domingo revealed that he hand-picked Calvani for the role. Calvani added, speaking with Domingo, “I have to say, I think whether you were a conscious of it or now, but you kind of honor the idea that Tina had when she was pulling together—I wasn’t in the picture yet, but she shared a few meetings with Colman, and she was like, ‘I want to put a group of people together who love to be together. I don’t want any ego involved, I just want people who know how to play with each other.’ And, somehow, the fact that we were friends honored that.”
Jill Sobule—the singer/songwriter whose hits included “I Kissed A Girl” and “Supermodel”—died in a house fire at age 66, USA Today noted. The Minnesota Star Tribune reported that the fatal house fire happened in Woodbury, located on the outskirts of Saint Paul, Minnesota. GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement that Windy City Times received that “Jill Sobule wasn’t just a trailblazer in music—she was a beacon for queer artists, and I was incredibly lucky to call her a dear friend. Long before it was safe or common, Jill was writing and singing about sexuality and identity with raw honesty and wit. … That courage helped pave the way for today’s artists like Brandi Carlile, Tegan and Sara, Lil Nas X, Sam Smith, Adam Lambert, and so many others who now stand proud and open in their music.” An investigation into the fire is still continuing.
Variety ran an article on snubs and surprises regarding the 2025 Tony nominations. Among the stunners were a total shutout for record-breaking Othello, which stars Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal; newly minted Oscar winner Kieran Culkin not getting a nod for his role in Glengarry Glen Ross; Idina Menzel and her passion project Redwood being ignored; James Monroe Iglehart receiving a nod for playing the title figure in the short-lived A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical; George Clooney’s Good Night, and Good Luck missing out on a Best Play nod; and Real Women Have Curves not getting a Best Musical nomination.
The three-night production of the classic Broadway musical Jesus Christ Superstar that is set for the Hollywood Bowl this summer is adding Adam Lambert to the cast, as Judas, per Variety. He joins Cynthia Erivo, who will portray Jesus. Lambert will be coming to Hollywood not too long after he ended a six-month stint in the ongoing Broadway revival of Cabaret (or Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, as it’s been retitled for the current production). The Bowl’s three-night Superstar stand is being directed and choreographed by Tony winner Sergio Trujillo, and it will be conducted and music-directed by Tony and Grammy winner Stephen Oremus (Wicked).
LGBTQ+ singer Kehlani’s Central Park show scheduled on June 26 was called off by SummerStage organizers, who cited safety and security issues raised by city officials, per The New York Daily News. Organizers at the nonprofit City Parks Foundation cited concerns “due to the controversy surrounding Cornell University’s decision to cancel Kehlani’s concert” late last month. The upstate New York school pulled the plug on the R&B singer performing at its annual spring celebration after complaints that she’d expressed antisemitic sentiments. The five-time Grammy-nominated singer previously pushed back at Cornell calling her views as “antisemitic, anti-Israel sentiments,” saying “for the millionth time” that she’s not “anti-Jew” but is “anti-genocide.”
Frameline—the arts nonprofit that will host the 49th San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival (Frameline49)—announced the upcoming California premiere of Heightened Scrutiny, by Sam Feder (Disclosure), as well as a historic Pay-It-Forward initiative that ensures trans and non-binary filmgoers have complimentary access to the documentary, a press release stated. Additionally, Frameline announced a partnership with California Film Institute (CAFILM), which will bring Frameline49 films to the North Bay. This Pride Month, Frameline49 will showcase a slate of yet-to-be-announced films in venues throughout San Francisco and Oakland during June 18–28. Heightened Scrutiny, which chronicles ACLU civil-rights lawyer Chase Strangio’s courtroom battles against anti-trans laws, will be honored as the festival’s First Friday film (June 20).
Celebrating its 27th year, the Provincetown International Film Festival (PIFF) announced its lineup of narrative, documentary, and short films, as well as honorees for this year’s Filmmaker on the Edge, Excellence in Acting and Next Wave Awards, a press release noted. Honorees include writer-director-producer Ari Aster (Hereditary), out actor Murray Bartlett (The White Lotus), writer-director-actor Eva Victor (Sorry, Baby) and writer-director-actor River Gallo (Ponyboi).
Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror will open the festival while Spiritus: No Business Like Dough Business will close it. The festival will run in Provincetown, Massachusetts, on June 11-15.
RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 10 has confirmed the line-up of guest judges, Digital Spy noted. Guest judging this season are Wicked stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, rapper Ice Spice, and current superstar Chappell Roan; in addition, there will be two-time Oscar nominee Colman Domingo, actor Kate Beckinsale, event producer Susanne Bartsch, So You Think You Dance judge Adam Shankman, Jamal Sims, actors Mayan Lopez and Devery Jacobs, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer legend Sarah Michelle Gellar. The season starts streaming May 9.
And speaking of Cynthia Erivo, she will unveil her new full-length solo album, I Forgive You, on June 6 via Verve Records/Republic Records, a press release noted. She initially teased this chapter with the release of “Replay,” co-written by Erivo and Justin Tranter. The release stated, in part, “Holding nothing back and opening up more than ever before, she traces a personal, poetic, and poignant journey through romance, heartbreak, love, forgiveness, rebirth and new beginnings.”
Queer streaming platform Revry released the first trailer and the full judges lineup for the new competition show King of Drag, which will premiere June 22, per Them. The first-of-its-kind series is set to put a spotlight on masculine drag personas with permanent judges like RuPaul’s Drag Race alumni Gottmik and Sasha Velour as well as guest judges like Tony nominee Cole Escola, former WNBA star Layshia Clarendon, comedian Cameron Esposito and Real Housewives star Lisa Rinna, among others. Hosted by renowned drag king Murray Hill, King of Drag will feature contestants of diverse gender identities, including transmasculine people, cisgender women, non-binary folks and more—all of whom will perform as drag kings.
Mogul Barry Diller—who has been married to fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg since 2001—recently spoke, for the first time, about his past relationships with men, Page Six noted. “While there have been a good many men in my life, there has only ever been one woman, and she didn’t come into my life until I was 33 years old,” the billionaire wrote in an essay for New York Magazine titled, “The truth about us, after all these years” ahead of the release of his memoir, Who Knew. Diller—who has only ever been married to von Furstenberg—added that he is “well-aware” that his relationship with the designer has “caused confusion and lots of speculation,” alluding that those in his inner circle have known about his sexual desires for men. He also stated, “And, yes, I also liked guys, but that was not a conflict with my love for Diane. I can’t explain it to myself or to the world.”
British Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling reacted to an article speculating about whether she will “sack” actor Paapa Essiedu, who has been cast in the upcoming series as Potions Professor Severus Snape, The Hollywood Reporter noted. Recently, Essiedu—along with Fantastic Beasts star Eddie Redmayne and Harry Potter film series actor Katie Leung, and more than 400 others—signed an open letter that called upon the United Kingdom’s entertainment industry to commit to protecting the trans community. Rowling (known for her anti-trans stance) later stated on social media, “I don’t have the power to sack an actor from the series and I wouldn’t exercise it if I did. I don’t believe in taking away people’s jobs or livelihoods because they hold legally protected beliefs that differ from mine.”
LGBTQ+ actress Michelle Rodriguez and actor Richard Gere are set to star in plane survival thriller Left Seat, per Deadline. The summary reads, “When a traveling pharmaceutical rep (Rodriguez) is forced to take control of a small charter plane after the pilot falls unconscious mid-flight, she must rely on the help of a stranger (Gere) over the radio, to navigate through deadly storms and land the aircraft before the fuel runs out.”
Season three of HBO’s The Gilded Age will debut its eight-episode third season on June 22, per a network press release. Carrie Coon, Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon, Morgan Spector, Leslie Uggams, Donna Murphy, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Claybourne Elder are just part of the series’ huge cast. The show revolves around the late 19th-century New York City social scene, and the clash between old-money families and the nouveau riche.
Queer actor Kit Connor (Heartbreaker), ally Manu Rios (Elite) and Will Poulter will co-star in the horror movie Rapture, per Deadline. Set in Medieval England in the year 1348, the story is set in Lansley Abbey, which houses 10 monks. Their peace is disrupted by a messenger who’s a man with haunting news from the outside world who rapidly shows symptoms of a mysterious illness that turns its victims into “revenants”—restless, undead beings. Eventually, the monks face a moral dilemma between caring for the sick and wanting to protect the centuries of knowledge safeguarded by the monastery.
Queer virtuoso pianist and pop artist Micah McLaurin has released his new, sensual dance-pop single “Satisfied” via Casa Doce Music, per a press release. The song is described as “a ‘90s house-infused anthem driven by desire.” “Satisfied” follows the release of McLaurin’s French club anthem “Baboom,” which debuted at nightlife legend Susanne Bartsch’s New York Fashion Week party. Born in Charleston, South Carolina, McLaurin trained at the Curtis Institute of Music and Juilliard; he has performed as soloist with major orchestras around the world, including the Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Orquestra Filarmónica de Montevideo and the Charleston Symphony Orchestra.
Lorde officially announced her new album, Virgin, will be released on June 27 via Republic, according to a press release. The project marks the New Zealander’s first full-length body of work in four years. The announcement follows the release of her new single “What Was That”, co-produced by Lorde, Jim-E Stack and Dan Nigro. “What Was That” has already made a major impact, hitting #1 on Spotify in the States—becoming Lorde’s first #1 on the platform in this country since “Royals.”
In the tech world, queer dating app Grindr has updated its AI strategy, now partnering with Amazon Web Services and Anthropic for its “Wingman” product, according to Tech in Asia. The new “A-List” feature will use Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet 3.7 model and Amazon’s Bedrock tool to help users reconnect with past connections and identify new matches through curated lists and chat summaries. CEO George Arison said the move to Amazon resulted from privacy concerns and the versatility of Bedrock in supporting multiple AI models. Grindr’s latest development shows the evolution of dating platforms, having launched in 2009 as the first app to leverage the iPhone 3G’s GPS capabilities for location-based connections.
Nicholas Galitzine (the queer film Red, White & Royal Blue) and Marisa Abela (Industry) will co-star in the Hera Pictures thriller The Return of Stanley Atwell, Deadline noted. The film is based on a story by Oscar winner Steven Soderbergh, who also serves as executive producer. The summary reads, “Stanley Atwell (Galitzine), the presumed dead son and heir to Lord Atwell’s title and fortune, unexpectedly returns to the family estate having escaped a decade of mysterious captivity. Atwell’s shocking reappearance causes chaos as he finds his sister Beatrice fighting to claim his inheritance, [while] close friend Pamela (Abela) manipulates his puzzling return, and a dark family secret, in a bid to seize control of the Atwell fortune.”
Trans actor Hunter Schafer (Euphoria; Cuckoo) and Tim Roth are set to star in Fish, a drama set in a dreamlike Venice that will be directed by Italian auteur Carlo Hintermann, Variety noted. The English-language film is expected to go into production in Venice early next year. Roth will play “a brilliant but reclusive art historian who is undergoing a mysterious transformation: he is slowly becoming a fish,” according to a synopsis. As the professor’s secret is revealed, Billie (Schafer) and other students of his begin to perceive their own identities in new ways.
Following his recent turn on HBO’s The White Lotus, actor Patrick Schwarzenegger is campaigning to star in Luca Guadagnino‘s upcoming American Psycho adaptation, Deadline confirmed. The actor is once again setting his sights on the coveted role of Patrick Bateman, previously portrayed by Christian Bale in the 2000 feature film based on Bret Easton Ellis’ 1991 novel. Schwarzenegger previously declared it would be “my dream” to play Bateman when the adaptation was announced in October.
Guy Ritchie will direct the sequel to Road House—with Jake Gyllenhaal set to reprise his lead role as ex-UFC fighter Dalton, according to Variety. This film will mark the third collaboration between Ritchie and Gyllenhaal and their second for Amazon MGM Studios following Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant. The first Road House was viewed as a success for Amazon MGM and the studio announced a sequel was in development last summer during its inaugural Upfronts presentation.Ritchie steps in for director Doug Liman, who expressed frustration over the streaming release of the first movie.
Francesca Gregorini’s Anna Nicole Smith biopic, Hurricanna, will be on sale at the upcoming Cannes Market with Millennium Media and UTA, per Deadline. The film—which follows the chaotic final 24 hours of Smith’s life—stars Holly Hunter, Mark Duplass and Sylvia Hoeks, and it is told from the fragmented and colliding perspectives of Smith, her psychiatrist and her former lover. Cannes Market runs May 13- 21.
CNN will debut three new CNN Originals projects this summer, including non-fiction series about John F. Kennedy Jr., the 1985 Live Aid concert and the notorious Billionaire Boys Club, per Deadline. The three-part series American Prince: JFK Jr. will tell the story of the life of Kennedy—the son of President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy—who was always in the spotlight as he was pressured to carry on his family’s legacy. Live Aid: When Rock ’n’ Roll Took on the World will look back at the 1985 concert Live Aid—one of the largest global music events in history that raised money for famine relief in Africa; the project features interviews with Bob Geldof, Bono, Sting, Patti LaBelle, Phil Collins and Lionel Richie along with George W. Bush, Condoleezza Rice, President Obasanjo and Tony Blair.
Fire Island star Zane Phillips and Fellow Travelers actor Jelani Alladin will lead the upcoming queer erotic thriller Strangers on a Beach, according to Instinct. The film’s official logline states, “It’s 1983 in San Francisco and a mysterious killer is targeting homosexual men. But Calvin just wants to kiss that handsome stranger.” Co-stars include Juliana Aidén Martinez (Griselda), Jack Falahee (How to Get Away With Murder), Nancy Lam (Miss Saigon), and Perry Young (In the Heights). Director Michael Schwartz has described the film as a love letter to the ‘80s thrillers of David Lynch and Brian DePalma.
E!’s new docuseries Honestly Cavallari: The Headline Tour will premiere Wed., June 4, with two back-to-back half-hour episodes, per a media release. The series follows TV personality Kristin Cavallari as she takes her hit podcast, Let’s Be Honest, on the road. With stops in Atlanta, Chicago, Boston and New York, the series also follows Cavallari and BFF Justin Anderson off the stage as they explore local hot spots in each city with friends and podcast guests. Some of the guests will include Kim Zolciak, Harry Jowsey, and Brie and Nikki Garcia.
Some of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ former sexual partners, a business associate and a male sex worker are among the witnesses expected to testify at the music mogul’s criminal trial, according to CNN. The central witness in the trial is Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura—the singer and an ex-girlfriend of Combs who was seen being beaten by him in a viral video—who has chosen to testify under her real name. Combs has pled not guilty to charges of racketeering conspiracy, transportation to engage in prostitution and sex trafficking; he has denied all civil allegations against him.
Italian fashion designer Riccardo Tisci has been accused of sexual misconduct, according to a new lawsuit that claims he drugged and assaulted a man in 2024, per USA Today. The complaint—filed on behalf of a man named Patrick Cooper in New York Supreme Court on April 29—alleges that Tisci, 50, spiked Cooper’s drink before taking him back to his residence and sexually assaulting him. The assault is alleged to have taken place in June at 2 Sisters 4 Brothers Restaurant and Lounge in NYC. Tisci, through a spokesperson, vehemently denied the claims.
Backstreet Boy Nick Carter recently faced new sexual-assault allegations in a lawsuit that claims the singer raped a woman on two occasions while they were n a relationship in 2005, Variety noted. Laura Penly accuses Carter of forcing her into sexual acts in 2004, when she was 19 and Carter was 25, stating they had consensual sex about three times before Carter became aggressive. Penly claims Carter “failed to use protection” during an altercation and, in turn, failed to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infections, including HPV; she alleges these actions led her to contract cervical cancer later in life. Liane K. Wakayama and Dale Hayes Jr., attorneys for Carter, said the lawsuit is “just more of the same nonsense from the gang of conspirators and their lawyers who continue to abuse the justice system to try to ruin Nick Carter.” Penly’s lawsuit is the fourth sexual assault lawsuit in a series of legal complaints filed against Carter.