NOTE: This week’s column mentions suicide. If you or someone you know needs mental health resources and support, please call, text, or chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or visit988lifeline.orgfor 24/7 access to free and confidential services.
Marla Mindelle (Titaníque) and Josh Sharp (Josh Sharp: ta-da!) will star in a developmental production of A Kidman Carol: A Gay Dementia on Australian Dames off-Broadway at Theater 511 on Dec. 17–21, according to Playbill. Mindelle and Sharpe will star as Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchett, respectively, in a story that sees Blanchett visited by three spirits of Kidman to learn the true meaning of awards season. The farce will also send up Tár, The Hours, Carol, The Lord of The Rings, To Die For, The Others, Notes on a Scandal and more from the Kidman and Blanchett canons.
On Dec. 1, Madonna criticized the Trump administration for ignoring World AIDS Day as a group of HIV-positive men held a kiss-in at the U.S.-Mexico border wall, Instinct noted. The event, hosted by MPact Global, marked a moment of visibility for both HIV-positive individuals and queer migrants. In an Instagram post, Madonna expressed her outrage at the government’s refusal to acknowledge the day dedicated to those lost to AIDS, calling it “ridiculous” and “absurd.”
Alongside her Wicked: For Good co-star Ariana Grande, queer actress Cynthia Erivo has made history as the first two actors from the same film to be consecutively nominated for their roles as Elphaba and Glinda, Deadline noted. However, in addition to that, Erivo also made Golden Globes history as the first Black woman to be nominated twice in the Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture—Musical or Comedy category. “It’s amazing, but also let’s make sure that it doesn’t stay that way,” she told Deadline. “Let’s make sure that more Black women are nominated in this category. Being the first is always wonderful, but let’s make sure I’m not the last.”
Chad Spodick—one of the 13 men who contended for Robert Sepúlveda Jr.’s heart on the reality show Finding Prince Charming almost a decade ago—has passed away at age 42, People noted. (No cause of death was initially provided.) A spokesperson for the Boca Raton police department in Florida confirmed to multiple publications that Spodick died by suicide, according to PinkNews. Spodick quit the show after six weeks and later accused Sepúlveda of trying to pursue him and other former contestants after the show ended, according to Just Jared. Show host Lance Bass paid tribute to Spodick on his Instagram Story, stating, “I am truly heartbroken about the sudden passing of our friend, Chad.”
Republic Records and Verve Records have released Wicked: For Good (Original Motion Picture Score), available everywhere, per a press release. The album features the expansive original score from Universal Pictures’ Wicked: For Good, composed by Academy Award® and GRAMMY® nominee John Powell as well as GRAMMY® and Academy Award® winner Stephen Schwartz, the composer-lyricist of the Wicked stage musical.
Beyoncé, iconic tennis player Venus Williams and Nicole Kidman will join Vogue’s Anna Wintour in hosting The Met Gala next May, Yahoo! News noted. Williams—who has never hosted before—is taking the role seven years after her younger sister and fellow tennis champion, Serena, was co-chair. Beyoncé was honorary chair in 2013, and Kidman co-chaired in 2003 and 2005. Last year, the event raised a record $31 million for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.
The LGBTQ+ film Night in West Texas opened in NYC and LA on Dec. 5 and 10, respectively, a press release noted. (The movie was also recently screened at the 32nd annual CineSol Festival in Brownsville, Texas, per Texas Monthly.) In this crime documentary, 40 years after a gay Apache man was framed for the brutal murder of a closeted Catholic priest, a police chief uncovered long-buried evidence that jolted the small, oil-rich west Texas town that imprisoned him.
The Shudder Original film Influencers—starring Cassandra Naud, Emily Tennant and Georgina Campbell—will debut on the streamer Dec. 12, per a media release. The film’s synopsis is: “In the sun-drenched countryside of southern France, CW lives a quiet, idyllic life with her girlfriend Diane, hiding a dark obsession with murder and stolen identities. During an anniversary getaway, they cross paths with Charlotte, a bold, alluring influencer whose curiosity quickly turns intrusive. When CW acts on a violent impulse, the consequences spiral out of control, and as Diane begins to suspect the truth, CW’s carefully constructed life threatens to collapse around her.”
ABC and Dick Clark Productions (DCP) announced that iconic singer Diana Ross will illuminate Times Square and usher in the new year with a live performance as the 2026 headliner for Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest, a press release noted. Ross—who will join previously announced performers such as Chappell Roan, 50 Cent, 4 Non Blondes, Demi Lovato, Pitbull and many others—will headline with a performance that promises hits including “I’m Coming Out” and “Upside Down,” which has seen a 373% surge in streams since being featured in the fifth season of Netflix’s Stranger Things.
Out revealed its list of the 11 best LGBTQ+ films of the year. They included Wicked: For Good, The Wedding Banquet, The History of Sound, Ponyboi, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Come See Me in the Good Light, Peter Hujar’s Day, Hedda, Plainclothes, Enigma and Twinless. Both Ponyboi and Twinless starred straight actor Dylan O’Brien.
LGBTQ+ WNBA Hall of Famer Sue Bird had her number retired at the University of Connecticut—joining classmate Swin Cash and Rebecca Lobo as the only UConn women’s basketball players to have the honor bestowed upon them, ESPN noted. “This is home, this is where it started,” said Bird, a member of the Naismith and Women’s Basketball halls of fame. “It’s an incredible honor.” The ceremony took place before UConn took on Chicago’s DePaul University, with the Huskies prevailing 102-35.
At the 2025 Grand Prix Final in Nagoya, Japan, LGBTQ+ U.S. figure skater Amber Glenn redeemed herself in the free skate portion of her competition to finish fourth overall, per Olympics.com. After a botched triple axel attempt in the short program left her in last place, Glenn bounced back in the long program, landing eight triple jumps to score a 144.65 to total 211.50. “[This skate] put that belief back in myself going forward,” Glenn said. “[When I arrived], I started doubting not only my ability, but that I even belonged here. I had to remind myself that I do and that I’ve worked for this.”
In GQ, actor Richard Gere reflected on his 45-year friendship with the late gay Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani. They met on the set of 1980’s American Gigolo, starring a young Gere decked out in the designer’s lightweight, drapey tailoring. The collaboration came to define both men, as Gere tells GQ in an exclusive video tribute to the menswear icon. “I don’t think I even had a suit before I had those clothes,” the actor said. “But I think I took some from the set after that.” Armani died in September at age 91.
In his 10th-anniversary season at NYC’s Cafe Carlyle, entertainer/fashion icon Isaac Mizrahi will return Feb. 3-21 with A.I. artificial isaac, an all-new show about current events and the passage of time, per a press release. (Tickets are available online via Tock.) In addition, Mizrahi recently worked as a consulting producer on the recently cancelled Hulu sitcom Mid Century Modern. He also recently appeared in Prime Video’s Étoile, and will have a role in A24’s upcoming Timothee Chalamet/Gwyneth Paltrow film Marty Supreme, to be released on Dec. 25.
Out gay director Gregg Araki’s I Want Your Sex will be one of the films shown at Sundance, World of Reel noted. In the film, Cooper Hoffman stars as Olivia Wilde’s “sexual muse” in what is Araki’s first feature in more than a decade. And speaking of Wilde, her movie The Invite—with Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz, Edward Norton and Wilde herself—is also slated to air.
Adult-film star Rhett Douglas Messerly, known by his fans as Scott Finn, has died at 27, Out noted. Messerly’s family released an obituary on an online memorial site, explaining that Messerly passed away on Nov. 23, and although no cause of death was listed. Messerly—who had noted in a recent post that he had gone through a divorce—was best known for his gay adult-film content that he made for websites like Active Duty and Next Door Studios. His family had planned to hold his funeral on Dec. 4.
LGBTQ+ singer-songwriter Tom Goss has gotten into the holiday season by releasing “Christmas With You,” out on all major streaming platforms, the musician himself revealed. In a statement to Windy City Times, he said, “The track captures the joy of celebrating the holidays with the people who make them feel magical. Blending acoustic folk with a touch of Americana charm, Goss—joined by Anne Reburn and Ricky Somborn—delivers a heartfelt reminder that joy and longing often share the same table at Christmastime.”
RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars 10 winner Ginger Minj released a cover of the Sister Act track “Fabulous, Baby!,” which was originally performed by Patina Miller, a press release noted. (An animated video is here.)
Minj said, “Every ‘theater queen’ lives for a moment like ‘Fabulous Baby,’ where you get to truly commit to the camp and just be the biggest, most over-the-top star on that stage. It’s a pure, unadulterated diva moment that makes the crowd go wild!” Minj will release The Broad’s Way EP, featuring a collection of stage classics, early next year.
Queer singer, songwriter, actor and activist Frankie Grande released a new single and music video entitled “I Don’t Remember It,” out now via Casablanca Records, a press release noted. In the track, Grande reclaims the prom night he never quite got to have back in high school. The song is part of Hotel Rock Bottom (Deluxe), which features a duet version of the title tune that features his sister, Ariana Grande. He is currently sharing the stage with RuPaul’s Drag Race Global All Stars winner Alyssa Edwards and drag-queen sensation Kori King on the “Slay Ride” Holiday Spectacular Tour.
Tig Notaro revealed that she and Zack Snyder (who directed her in 2021’s Army of the Dead) have been working on a “hot lesbian action” project with the working title Deviants, Deadline noted. Snyder’s camp confirmed the project is in development. Notaro signed on to play helicopter pilot Marianne Peters in Army of the Dead in 2020, stepping in for Chris D’Elia, who was cut from the film amid sexual misconduct allegations—and Notaro became a sex symbol for people across all genders.
LGBTQ+ actress Sophia Bush is starring in and executive-producing Broad Trip, a road trip comedy for The Roku Channel, Variety noted. Bush leads the film, which co-stars Lauren Holly and Steve Guttenberg, and it’s set to debut next May. The movie’s logline is “When buttoned-up daughter Alice (Bush) plans a “bachelorette” road trip with her wild and impulsive mother, Jeanie (Holly), to talk her out of marrying a guy she just met (Guttenberg), they rediscover their unbreakable bond, confronting old wounds and old flames, while learning the lesson that sometimes life doesn’t follow a plan—and maybe that’s okay.”
On his radio show Hot Mics With Billy Bush, former Extra host Bush criticized People Magazine’s selection of gay actor Jonathan Bailey as the publication’s “Sexiest Man Alive,” calling out what he sees as a move to appease People’s predominantly female audience, according to Instinct. “People’s Sexiest Man Alive is Jonathan Bailey,” Bush said. “He’s gay. He’s openly gay. And normally, People magazine circulation feeds 95 percent women. It’s all women. And I mean, hey, you go gay all day. But People’s Sexiest Man Alive when your audience is female… again, this is lecturing to the female audience.”
Queer Brazilian (and LA-based) electropop artist Tutafarel (the alias of Raphael Rosalen) released the album Monte Casanova on Dec. 5, per a press release. Part of a larger multimedia project that includes Tutafarel’s debut book of the same name and an ongoing TikTok/serialized video series, the album arrived alongside its focus track, “Sky Won’t Break.” Some of the other songs on Monte Casanova include “Hi are you free next week i could do wednesday or saturday if you want to sleep over,” “PINEAPPLE DIESEL” and “A glitch in the matrix.”
Queer actor/playwright Jeremy O. Harris—known for the Tony-nominated Slave Play—was arrested last month at a Japanese airport on suspicion of attempting to smuggle illegal drugs into the country, Reuters reported. A spokesperson said Harris was stopped Nov. 16 at Naha Airport after a customs officer discovered 0.78 grams of crystal containing the synthetic narcotic MDMA in his tote bag. Per Variety (citing The New York Times), Japanese authorities said that Harris had been released on Dec. 8, but didn’t say if he had been officially charged.
LGBTQ+ Selling Sunset star Chrishell Stause slammed Gwen Stefani after the singer advertised an anti-abortion prayer app, per Page Six. In the clip, Stefani told viewers it was “important this holiday season” to “spend time in prayer” before asking her followers to download Hallow, a Christian prayer app. (A Bit Fruity podcast host Matt Bernstein shared the video. Bernstein then suddenly ended the ad to share details about the “right-wing, anti-abortion, pay-to-pray app.”) In the comments section of Bernstein’s video, Stause wrote, “Gwen-DON’T SPEAK. Please take your own advice on this one
.”Goo Goo Dolls will take their live show back on the road in 2026 with an extensive run of U.S. tour dates with Neon Trees, which features out gay lead singer Tyler Glenn. A press release noted that Neon Trees will start supporting Goo Goo Dolls on July 24 in Lincoln, California, with stops in Boise, Idaho; Bloomington, Illinois; and Charleston, South Carolina, among other cities. Additionally, the Dolls’ Tiny Desk performance with NPR Music is out now; the four-song set features performances of their global hit “Iris,” “Slide,“ “Feel The Silence” and “Not Goodbye (Close My Eyes),” which appears on the act’s new Summer Anthem EP.