Actor Jonathan Bailey (Jurassic Park: Rebirth; the Wicked movies; Fellow Travelers) has been named People’s Sexiest Man Alive, making him the first openly gay man to hold the title, USA Today noted. Jimmy Fallon revealed the title during the Nov 3, episode of The Tonight Show. “It’s the honor of a lifetime,” Bailey said. “I want to say, Jimmy, thank you so much for turning it down so that I could be here.” Previous honorees include Idris Elba, John Krasinski, Chris Evans and David Beckham. “Jonathan Bailey’s recognition as People’s Sexiest Man Alive 2025 is a pop culture milestone that reflects just how far LGBTQ visibility in Hollywood has come. For decades, LGBTQ actors were excluded from conversations around leading-man appeal and blockbuster film franchises,” said GLAAD Vice President of Communications & Talent Anthony Allen Ramos in a statement.
RuPaul’s Drag Race alum BenDeLaCreme will host burlesque queen Dita Von Teese’s Nocturnelle 2026 UK & Europe tour, a press release noted. Before she became a global touring sensation and breakout star on two seasons of Drag Race, DeLa got her start as a drag and burlesque performer while she pursued a BFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Nocturnelle—which will hit cities such as London, Amsterdam, Berlin and Oslo—follows Von Teese’s record-breaking Glamonatrix tour, which remains the biggest touring burlesque show of all-time.
At Greece’s premier film event, the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, trans actress Indya Moore (Pose) delivered a passionate speech while introducing the Jim Jarmusch movie Father Mother Sister Brother, Deadline noted. Moore—who stars in the film alongside Cate Blanchett, Tom Waits, Adam Driver, Mayim Bialik, Charlotte Rampling and others—said, in part, “These past three years, we have witnessed an atrocity that we thought we would never see happen to fathers, mothers, sisters, and brothers. And I grieve with the entirety of our human diaspora as we spiral into some mysterious space of self-destruction. But it’s film and TV and storytelling in general that help us remember the ways that we are not just individuals, but we exist as a collective.” The festival runs through Nov. 9.
GLAAD announced the third cohort of its award-winning Equity in Media & Entertainment Initiative (EMEI) powered by Gilead Sciences, per a press release. This year, the program shines a spotlight on Black queer visual artists. Each of the 20 selected artists will receive $10,000 in funding to support a new creative project, alongside mentorship; professional development; and access to leaders across the art, media and entertainment industries.
LGBTQ+ actress Jodie Foster will be among those receiving tributes at the Marrakech International Film Festival, per Deadline. Foster’s career will be honored with a gala screening of her latest film, Rebecca Zlotowski’s French-language murder mystery A Private Life, as well as screenings of a film she directed, The Beaver, with Mel Gibson; David Fincher’s Panic Room and Jonathan Demme’s The Silence of the Lambs will also be seen. Other honorees will include director/producer Guillermo del Toro, Egyptian actor Hussein Fahmi and Moroccan star Raouya.
Lesbian singer-songwriter Reneé Rapp lends her voice to the Now You See Me film franchise with her song “Lucky,” an original record created for Lionsgate’s upcoming film Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, per a press release. Out on Interscope Records and available on all streaming platforms, the song will be prominently featured as the movie’s end title track. Rapp’s collaboration introduces a modern sound to this new-generation heist film ahead of its theatrical release on Nov. 14.
Queer country artist Orville Peck released his epic new single “Drift Away” and announced his forthcoming project, the Appaloosa EP, out Nov. 14 on Warner Records, per a press release. In addition, Peck is holding his 7th Annual Rodeo, running Nov. 14-16 in Pioneertown, California, at Pappy & Harriet’s; it will feature performances from Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Joy Oladokun, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Allison Russell and more. Beyond curating the entire experience—which includes nightly after-parties and a drag brunch hosted by Meatball—Peck will play a different set each day, notably headlining on Nov. 15.
At Jackson State University in Mississippi, GLAAD presented the “Generation Z and HIV: Human Issue. Southern Solution. An HBCU Tour,” which featured a special surprise appearance by rapper/The Voice judge Snoop Dogg, per a press release. Snoop Dogg, whose family hails from Mississippi, joined GLAAD Director of Local News: U.S. South Darian Aaron for a fireside chat produced by GLAAD in which Snoop addressed recent statements involving LGBTQ+ representation in media and the impact of HIV in the music industry. In October, Snoop Dogg partnered with GLAAD for Spirit Day to host a conversation with music artist Jeremy Beloate about their friendship since meeting on The Voice and how the two are collaborating together on new music.
Breaking Glass Pictures announced that the upcoming U.S. release of Sauna, the drama from Danish director Mathias Broe, will arrive on digital platforms on Nov. 18, per a press release. Sauna tells the story of Johan, a gay man enjoying Copenhagen’s nightlife scene whose life takes an unexpected turn when he meets William, a transgender man. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, earning a Grand Jury Prize nomination (World Cinema – Dramatic); and screened at the Göteborg Film Festival, receiving critical acclaim.
Outsports published an op-ed about NBA Hall of Famer Dwight Howard’s admissions of sexual encounters with men—including one that resulted in a lawsuit in 2023. The article stated, “Despite not trying to hide that he had gay sex, Howard is still denying that he’s ‘gay.’” (Howard has children with multiple women.) As for grabbing a teammate’s crotch on one occasion (which he initially denied), Howard told podcaster Patrick Bet-David that he’s “a jokester.” The op-ed also stated, “Maybe it’s for the best that Howard tries to erase his “gay” experimentation from the public. Young [LGBTQ+] teens and adults deserve better role models than someone who has an allegedly rocky relationship with appropriate physical interactions with others.”
Rosie O’Donnell asked for support as her 28-year-old daughter, Chelsea O’Donnell, faces prison time, USA Today noted. The actress/former talk-show hostess shared a photo of Chelsea from her childhood, captioning, “my child chelsea belle – before addiction took over her life – i loved her then i love her now as she faces a scary future- prayers welcomed – #addiction awareness.” Chelsea’s prison sentence comes after her probation was revoked on Oct. 22, other publications stated. Rosie adopted Chelsea, along with four other children, with ex-wife Kelli Carpenter.
Will & Grace alum Debra Messing was the subject of backlash after she shared, on election day, a political meme suggesting that New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is a “jihadist,” per Yahoo! News. She shared an image from another account called The Persian Jewess that showed an edited ballot that listed two candidates: One that read, “A Democrat. Just a Democrat,” and the other read, “An actual communist jihadist. A literal Karl Marx-quoting, America-hating jihadist.” Mamdani is now “the city’s first Muslim and Indian American mayor, and its youngest mayor in generations,” the AP noted.
In the upcoming Hulu drama series Foster Dade, out actor Matt Bomer will play the adult lead and Daniel Minahan will direct the pilot, written by Greg Berlanti and Bash Doran, per Deadline. Fellow Travelers star/executive producer Bomer and director/executive producer Minahan are re-teaming with another Fellow Travelers EP, Robbie Rogers, who executive produces the pilot and who is married to Berlanti.
LGBTQ+ actress Alexandra Shipp (Barbie) and actor Brenton Thwaites (Oculus; Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales) will co-star in the sci-fi horror movie Lost Planet, Deadline noted. The film takes place in the near future where an aerospace corporation has established colonies on various planets. When one colony suddenly goes dark, two astronauts, played by Shipp and Thwaites, are sent to investigate—but find no one there.
Critics and TV journalists alike are bashing the Ryan Murphy TV series All’s Fair— starring Kim Kardashian, Glenn Close, Niecy Nash-Betts, Naomi Watts, Sarah Paulson and Teyana Taylor—calling the new legal drama “existentially terrible,” “tacky” and a “disaster zone,” per Yahoo! The series, now available on Hulu and Disney+, follows a team of female divorce attorneys who open their own firm in L.A. In The Times’ zero-star review of the series, headlined “All’s Fair review: this may be the worst TV drama ever,” deputy TV editor Ben Dowell wrote, “Well done, Kim. You must have quite a healthy ego yourself to star in what may well be the worst television drama ever made.”
In another Ryan Murphy-related development, Ariana Grande has been cast in the 13th season of the FX anthology series American Horror Story, per Variety. This will reunite her with series creators Murphy and Brad Falchuk after starring in their short-lived horror comedy series Scream Queens. Additionally, season 13 will feature the returns of many franchise regulars, including Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates, Emma Roberts, Billie Lourd, Gabourey Sidibe and Leslie Grossman.
Dame Helen Mirren will be honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award during the new primetime special Golden Eve, which will air Thursday, Jan. 8, prior to the Golden Globes ceremony on Sunday, Jan. 11, according to Variety. The special honoring the three-time Golden Globe winner and Oscar-, Emmy- and Tony-winning actress will air on CBS and stream on Paramount+. Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Oprah Winfrey, Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier and Barbra Streisand are among the previous honorees.
Out gay Welsh actor Luke Evans is set to star as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the upcoming Broadway revival of The Rocky Horror Show, per Instinct. The revival of Richard O’Brien’s cult classic will take place at Studio 54 for previews starting March 26, 2026, ahead of an April 23 opening; the limited engagement runs through June 21. Tony winner Sam Pinkleton will direct the revival.
Frankenstein’s Creature Jacob Elordi, One Battle After Another’s Chase Infiniti and Teyana Taylor, Weapons’ Amy Madigan, Christy actress Sydney Sweeney and Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere’s title star Jeremy Allen White will be among those discussing their work and receive their awards in person at the Santa Barbara Film Festival during a ceremony on Feb. 8, 2026, Deadline noted. The evening will be moderated for a 16th year by Turner Classic Movies host Dave Karger. The 41st Santa Barbara Film Festival will run Feb. 4-14; official events including screenings, filmmaker Q&As, industry panels and celebrity tributes.
Benson Boone canceled his show at the UK’s Utilita Arena Birmingham an hour before his concert due to vocal issues and illness, according to Yahoo! On social media, the Grammy-nominated pop artist apologized, adding that he is working on rescheduling the tour date as soon as possible. Boone—known for his on-stage backflips—is currently on the international leg of his tour supporting his second studio album American Heart.
Tony winner Nicole Scherzinger and Robin Antin, the choreographer who founded the Pussycat Dolls, settled their lawsuit over a failed reunion tour of the group, People noted. The pair agreed to a “confidential settlement” of the lawsuit Antin filed against Scherzinger in 2021. Antin initially claimed that Scherzinger refused to participate in a reunion tour unless she received creative control and a larger share of the group’s business venture.
On TikTok, Queer Eye’s Jonathan Van Ness revealed he’s now lost 70 pounds, per Queerty. He felt moved to explain his position after receiving accusations that his weight loss negates previous comments he’s made about body positivity. “I have always felt confident and beautiful in my body, no matter what size I was,” he stated, adding that what prompted him to start losing weight was experiencing a “medical issue” in 2023.
Controversial right-wing Twitch streamer Asmongold (real name: Zack Hoyt)—known for his political commentary and gaming content—stunned his fans when he said that if he were to have a trans child, he would respect and support them, according to PinkNews. “Once they’re an adult, they would get to make adult choices and, at the end of the day, it would be more important for me to preserve the relationship that I have with my child than for me to uphold a viewpoint that is, to me, you know, really inconsequential,” he said. In April, Hoyt claimed that trans children are the “victim” of parents with “mental illness.” Sean “Diddy” Combs arrived at the New Jersey federal prison where he will serve his four-year sentence for transportation for the purposes of prostitution, Yahoo! News noted, citing ABC News. Combs was transferred from MDC-Brooklyn to FCI Fort Dix, the facility his legal team requested because it offers a special drug treatment problem that, if completed successfully, could reduce his sentence. Meanwhile, Combs is asking a federal appeals court to expedite his appeal of his conviction on two prostitution-related charges.