The estate of the late singer George Michael made its thoughts known about the Taylor Swift song “Father Figure,” which is on her new album The Life of a Showgirl, per Queerty. “We were delighted when Taylor Swift and her team approached us earlier this year about incorporating an interpolation of George Michael’s classic song ‘Father Figure’ into a brand-new song of the same title to be featured on her forthcoming album,” according to the estate’s social-media accounts. Swift’s song is very different from Michael’s; besides a chorus that features Swift singing “I’ll be your father figure,” there’s very little similarity.
This year’s Dinah celebration marked the end of an era for what many people have called “lesbian spring break,” per NBC News. Event founder Mariah Hanson announced in June that she would be stepping down after 34 years at the helm, making the 2025 celebration her last. Hanson was “just a little young pup promoter” in San Francisco when she got the idea to start a new lesbian party in Palm Springs, coinciding with a major women’s golf event that was then known as the Colgate Dinah Shore Golf Tournament; that was in 1991.
GLAAD announced a call for applications to Queer Emerging Developers, a new program from GLAAD Gaming, per a press release.
The Queer Emerging Developers program, supported by Logitech, will select a small cohort of LGBTQ+ game developers to receive resources and mentorship to accelerate their careers in the video-game industry. The program will give queer developers the skills, platform and career velocity to successfully bring high-quality LGBTQ+ representation to larger audiences of players. Individuals have until Nov. 10 to apply here.
Electronic Arts (EA) has been acquired by an investment consortium consisting of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners for $55 billion—but some gamers are worried about how the acquisition could impact the content in EA’s games, particularly LGBTQ+ material, according to Forbes. Among other games, EA has single-player and story-driven franchises like Mass Effect and Dragon Age. Both games have LGBTQ+ followings because players can enter romantic relationships with certain characters, regardless of the player’s gender. A Reddit user recently asked, “Am I the only one who is scared by EA being purchased by people as conservative as Kushner and the Saudi Royal family?” Affinity Partners is owned by Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump’s husband.
Film Forum will present the U.S. theatrical premiere of Ira Sachs’ Peter Hujar’s Day on Friday, Nov. 7, per a press release. Out actor Ben Whishaw is pioneering queer photographer Peter Hujar and Rebecca Hall is the author Linda Rosenkrantz. According to the release, “Based, verbatim, on a recently discovered transcript of their conversation—about a difficult shoot with Allen Ginsberg, a confusing visit from a Vogue editor, a call from Susan Sontag, [and] financial and health worries—and set entirely in Rosenkrantz’s apartment, Peter Hujar’s Day vividly renders a unique and moving window on an evolving artist at a specific place and time.” The trailer is here.
Taylor Swift’s new album Life of a Showgirl had the second-highest weekly sales tally for any album, ever—after just one day of selling 2.7 million copies, Variety noted. The record for the most album sales in one week is held by Adele’s 25, which sold 3.4 million copies in 2015. (Swift surpassed Adele’s record after five days.)
GLAAD announced a star-studded auction in honor of #SpiritDay, supported by artists including Barbra Streisand, Olivia Rodrigo, Sam Smith, Adam Lambert, KATSEYE, FLETCHER, Chelsea Handler, Jonathan Bennett, Sarah Jessica Parker and more, according to a press release. Running through Oct. 16 at www.eBay.com/glaad, shoppers can bid on one-of-a-kind items and experiences from celebrity GLAAD supporters. All auction items will start at 99 cents.
Chicagoland LGBTQ+ singer/musician Jeannie Tanner has been re-elected by her peers at the Recording Academy (Grammys®) to continue serving as a governor on the Chicago Chapter Board, she stated in an open email. In addition, Tanner is co-chair of the Songwriters & Composers Committee for the Chicago Chapter. In addition, she continues to serve on the SCL (Society of Composers and Lyricists) Chicago Chapter’s Steering Committee as co-chair of the SongArts and THE SCORE Magazine committees.
LGBTQ+ WNBA player Paige Bueckers was among those supporting fellow star Napheesa Collier, who called out league commissioner Cathy Engelbert for what she described as a “lack of accountability,” according to Them, citing The 19th. Collier tore ankle ligaments during her last game of the season. Afterward, Collier said she received “calls, texts and well wishes from so many players across the league”—but only received a message from Englebert’s “No. 2,” saying that Engelbert “doesn’t believe physical play is contributing to injuries,” Collier added. (Collier cited private conversations she had with Engelbert, including one in which Engelbert allegedly said, “Only the losers complain about the refs.”) A’ja Wilson—the 2025 league MVP who plays for the Las Vegas Aces—lauded Collier and said she was “disgusted” by the alleged comments from Engelbert.
An extraordinary cast of artists came together at NYC’s Symphony Space for a one-night-only performance of “THIS IS CRAZY!,” a new play from Tony and Obie Award-winning playwright V (formerly Eve Ensler), to benefit the National Alliance on Mental Illness, a press release noted. Jane Fonda, Edie Falco, Mark Ruffalo, Sanaa Lathan, Rosanna Arquette, Lois Smith, Rachel Hilson, Olivia Oguma, Colette McDermott, Derrick Delgado, Luke Ferrari, Doireann Mac Mahon, Clarence Maclin and Mohammad Saleem brought to life a series of monologues. Ellen Barkin and Kirsten Dunst were among the guests.
While talking with Variety about his movie Pillion, star Alexander Skarsgård seemed to indicate that he has had same-sex relations, Queerty noted. In part, he said, “I do have a kid, but what I’ve done in the past, who I’ve been with, men, women … To me, what was important was that this felt like an opportunity to tell a story about a subculture I hadn’t seen portrayed this way—with so much authenticity.” However, it wasn’t clear if he was admitting to specific experiences or if the role didn’t matter whether he had been with women and/or men.
Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford revealed that, last year, he tied the knot with Thomas, his partner of more than three decades, per LGBTQ Nation. The heavy-metal icon broke the news in an interview with Jake Shears on the out Scissor Sisters singer’s Queer the Music podcast. Halford said he’d asked Thomas to marry him several times throughout their 35-year relationship but suggested his now-husband’s “extremely conservative” background may have been the source of his reluctance.
Real Housewives of Atlanta co-star Porsha Williams revealed that she’s currently dating a man and a woman, per Page Six. “Of the people I am talking to now … he is nice,” Williams said at CultureCon. “And she is nice. … “I really wanted to make sure these were normal people. And what I talked about with my therapist the other day was [that] I’m having a hard time opening up because they’re not narcissists.” Williams split from husband Simon Guobadia last year.
Through a media release, Bleecker Street, World of Wonder and Universal Pictures Content Group announced that fan favorites from the Emmy®-winning RuPaul’s Drag Race franchise will star in Adam Shankman’s upcoming action-comedy feature film, which has now started principal photography. Ginger Minj, Jujubee, Brooke Lynn Hytes, Latrice Royale, Marcia Marcia Marcia, Monét X Change and Symone will appear alongside RuPaul in the first-ever theatrical feature from the Drag Race universe. The film is slated to be released next year.
Journalist/songwriter Joey Amato will release his debut album, Up All Night, per a press release. Every song on the record features original lyrics written entirely by Amato that utilized AI-powered music platforms, which provided the instrumental arrangements and vocal recordings for the songs. Some of the tracks on the 13-song album include “IYKYK,” “Addicted” and the title tune.
Emmy-, Tony- and Grammy-winning singer Josh Groban announced the album Hidden Gems, arriving Nov. 14 via Reprise Records, a press release noted. In addition to his new song “The Constant,” Hidden Gems includes fan-favorite cuts like “Signs,” co-written with Toby Gad and Bernie Herms; “Everything You Needed,” a ballad given to Groban by Sia; “Smile,” Groban’s take on the Charlie Chaplin classic that he’s performed around the world; and “Konosaki No Michi,” the closing theme from a major 2012 Japanese drama, among other pieces.
British singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor (“Murder on the Dancefloor”) recently criticized transphobia, according to PinkNews. “These people make trans people their whole personality and spend their entire day checking their socials and being angry, whereas trans people themselves just want to be under the radar and live their lives,” Ellis-Bextor told The Independent. Ellis-Bextor has long had an LGBTQ+ following and last year said she loved playing at Pride events because there was always a “very inclusive, supportive, warm audience.”
Love Is Blind co-star Nick Amato apologized for controversial comments he made about the LGBTQ+ community, USA Today noted. The watch dealer faced backlash after episode four of the new season, when he asked fellow contestant Annie Lancaster if she thought it was a “fad” when young kids begin identifying as LGBTQ+. In a video message posted to Instagram, Amato said the “gay kids and gay love conversation” on the show had been “deeply impacting me over the last couple of days.” He added, “I will LOVE and support my future children unconditionally, no matter how they identify.”
X owner and billionaire Elon Musk has led a boycott campaign against Netflix, using his perch to punish it for daring to feature LGBTQ+ characters in children’s programs, The Advocate noted. The move occurred days after the conservative group Libs of TikTok protested a trans character (Barney Guttman, voiced by Zach Barack) being on the show Dead End: Paranormal Park. Musk is estranged from his own trans daughter, Vivian Jenna Wilson.
According to Playbill, the Broadway adaptation of Good Night, and Good Luck—starring George Clooney—is available to purchase on demand (for $19.99) via Amazon, under the title Good Night, and Good Luck: Live on Broadway A DVD release is scheduled for Dec. 30. The play takes place at the height of the Red Scare, as U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy was prosecuting anyone suspected of having Communist ties. On his CBS news show, journalist Edward R. Murrow calls out McCarthy, taking a huge risk.
British pansexual singer Yungblud announced that he will be returning to North American shores in 2026 for a 24-date headline run, per a press release. Starting on May 1 in Sterling Heights, Michigan, Yungblud and his band will be making stops across all major cities including New York City’s Radio City Music Hall, Los Angeles’ Greek Theater, Phoenix’s Arizona Financial Theatre, Toronto’s Coca-Cola Coliseum and many more on the Live Nation-promoted tour. Yungblud recently wrapped a sold-out North American tour and performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is doubling down on the threat of ICE at the 2026 Super Bowl, according to Yahoo! News. On a podcast, Noem said that ICE will be “all over that place” and has every intention to “enforce the law” at the NFL championship game, which will feature Bad Bunny as the halftime performer. In an interview with I-D last month, Bad Bunny said his Puerto Rico residency will not be stopping in the U.S. because “fucking ICE could be outside [my concert]. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”
According to an interview with Variety, openly gay producer Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story) is toying with the idea of creating a Netflix series about Luigi Mangione—the 27-year-old Ivy League graduate currently awaiting trial for the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, Instinct noted. “We have a ‘maybe one day’ file,” Murphy said. “We know nothing about him. There was nothing to write—we didn’t have information yet. Maybe something will come out in the trial.”