NATIONAL
In New York City, the Mount Sinai Health System has been accused of further restricting gender-affirming care for youth in the face of pressure from the Trump administration, Gay City News reported. Mount Sinai and some other providers had already faced scrutiny for allegedly canceling appointments for youth after President Donald Trump signed an executive order limiting federal funds for providers offering gender-affirming care for individuals younger than 19 years old.
Stonewall National Museum, Archives & Library (SNMAL) hosted its 4th Annual “Standing on the Shoulders of Heroes” Gala at The Venue Fort Lauderdale in Wilton Manors, a press release noted. Supporters, civic leaders and cultural influencers gathered to honor three monumental figures whose impact spans politics, philanthropy and music: Arcus Foundation Founder Jon Stryker, former Congressman Barney Frank and Grammy‑winning legend Janis Ian. Also, SNMAL has an exhibit on Baron Friedrich Wilhelm Von Steuben entitled “Von Steuben: Architect of American Independence” that will run April 17-May 15 before traveling to select cities across the country.
Out gay OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wrote to staff that he will draw the same red lines that sparked a high-stakes fight between rival Anthropic and the Pentagon—no AI for mass surveillance or autonomous lethal weapons, Axios reported. However, Altman stressed that he still wants to strike a deal with the Pentagon that would allow ChatGPT to be used for sensitive military contexts.
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he feels Democrats will continue to struggle unless they become more “culturally normal”—which seems to mean they adopt a slant that’s less focused on some aspects of being queer, per LGBTQ Nation. Talking with CNN’s Dana Bash to promote his new memoir, Young Man in a Hurry, Newsom reaffirmed his sometimes controversial positions on trans and queer issues. For example, Newsom said he has a record of supporting trans rights, but that sports are “a very different issue.” He also said, “I believe that [Democrats should be] less prone to spending disproportionate amounts of time on pronouns [and] identity politics, [while being] more focused on tabletop issues—things that really matter.”
Transgender and non-binary runner Nikki Hiltz prevailed in the 1,500-meter race at the the USA Track & Field (USATF) Indoor Championships, presented by Prevagen, USATF noted. Hiltz won a fourth straight U.S. indoor title in 4 minutes and 11.34 seconds, fending off surges from runner-up Gracie Morris and bronze medalist Sinclair Johnson with a blistering 29.52-second closing lap, SILive.com noted.
Brooklyn-based queer nightclub Club Lambda was set to close Feb. 28, per Gay City News. It was one of two LGBTQ+ bars that couple Charles Hughes and Richard Solomon owned, with the other being Harlem’s Lambda Lounge (which will remain open). In 2021, Hughes and Solomon said they launched their own bar after their evening at a different nightclub was ruined by a DJ who told them that “men don’t dance with men.”
WORLD
Kazakhstan has brought charges against two LGBTQ+-rights activists—Temirlan Baimash, from Queer.kz; and Zhanar Sekerbayeva, from Feminita—per Erasing 76 Crimes. Baimash and Sekerbayeva are being prosecuted under Article 109 (1) of Kazakhstan’s Criminal Code and are accused of attacking anti-LGBTQ+ activist Ziuar Zhumanova, who has repeatedly disrupted community events. ILGA-Europe is documenting these developments and will publish a broader analysis of the increasing trend of criminalizing LGBTQ+-rights work across Europe and Central Asia.
Indonesia’s parliament is debating a measure—the Broadcasting Bill—that would ban queer content on TV, radio and the internet, Erasing 76 Crimes noted. The online advocacy site All Out is urging people to sign a petition opposing the legislation, and almost 20,000 people have signed it. Homosexuality is taboo in Indonesia, where about 90% of its 280 million inhabitants are Muslim and conservative religious groups wield major influence in politics.
Queer competitors in the 2026 Milan Olympics won 11 medals during the games, according to Them, citing Outsports. Were LGBTQ+ people to be their own team, they would’ve placed 13th in the overall medal count, with five gold medals, two silver medals and four bronze medals. Gold-medal winners included Cayla Barnes, Hilary Knight and Alex Carpenter, from Team USA’s women’s ice hockey team; controversial French figure skater Guillaume Cizeron, U.S. skier Breezy Johnson; U.S. figure skater Amber Glenn; and freestyle Swiss skier Mathilde Gremaud.
Dr. Nasser Mohamed—the first person from Qatar to publicly come out as gay, after being granted asylum in the U.S.—talked with LGBTQ Nation about being granted asylum and being subjected to authoritarian rule, among other topics. In part, Mohamed said that he “came [to the U.S.] for my residency in 2011, and then I lived on the East Coast, and then moved to San Francisco in 2015. When I finished my residency training, I was supposed to go and report for the mandatory military service in Qatar. And during my time in the United States, I had come out as gay and been living as an out gay person. I truly did not feel safe going back home.”
French President Emmanuel Macron announced the appointments of new leaders for two of France’s most important museums: the Musée du Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay, per The Art Newspaper. Current Palace of Versailles President Christophe Léribault was named the president/director of the Musée du Louvre following the resignation of director Laurence des Cars in the wake of the heist and ticketing scandal at the museum. Petit Palais director Annick Lemoine will lead the Musée d’Orsay. Both appointments were proposed by the French culture minister Rachida Dati, who is expected to leave the government to campaign for the post of Paris mayor this month.
SHOWBIZ
Grammy winner Megan Thee Stallion will make her Broadway debut as the impresario Zidler in Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Deadline reported. She’ll begin an eight-week engagement at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on March 24, finishing on May 17.
“Stepping onto the Broadway stage and joining the Moulin Rouge! The Musical team is an absolute honor,” Megan said in a statement. “I’ve always believed in pushing myself creatively and theater is definitely a new opportunity that I’m excited to embrace.”
Appearing on SportsCenter, queer U.S. women’s hockey team member Hilary Knight said that a widely circulated comment from President Trump about the squad was a “distasteful joke” and that she’s more focused on celebrating women’s accomplishments at the Milan Games, according to ESPN. During the U.S. men’s team’s locker room celebration in Milan, Trump invited the players to come to Washington and the State of the Union address. (Five players didn’t attend.) “I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that,” adding with a laugh that if he didn’t also invite the women’s team, “I do believe I probably would be impeached.”
Out British actor Andrew Scott is set to join Emily Blunt, Tom Cullen and Ciarán Hinds in Walk the Blue Fields, according to Deadline. The film follows a woman on her wedding day being confronted with a tough decision as a love triangle from her past threatens to be revealed. Scott most recently was seen in the Oscar-nominated film Blue Moon opposite Ethan Hawke as well as the most recent installment in the Knives Out series, Wake Up Dead Man.
Breaking Glass Pictures announced the re-release of the cult-favorite LGBTQ+ comedy Another Gay Sequel: Gays Gone Wild!, arriving on major streaming platforms on March 3, a press release noted. Originally released in 2008, the 99-minute unapologetically queer sequel stars Jonah Blechman, Jimmy Clabots, Aaron Michael Davies and Jake Mosser, with cameos by RuPaul; comedian Scott Thompson (The Kids in the Hall); Willam Belli (RuPaul’s Drag Race); and adult entertainment legends Michael Lucas and the late Colton Ford.
Mariah Carey, Melissa Etheridge, Phil Collins, Joy Division/New Order, Pink, Luther Vandross, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Shakira, Sade and INXS are among the 2026 nominees for the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame, USA Today noted. Those selected for entry as performer inductees will be announced in April, in addition to inductees entering the Rock Hall in the categories of musical influence, musical excellence and the Ahmet Ertegun Award, the latter given to nonperformers.
Actors/couple Kyle Dean Massey and Taylor Frey are officially parents of three after they welcomed their third baby, son Savoy Massey-Frey, via surrogate, People revealed. Massey told the outlet that their baby boy was “10 years in the making,” adding the entire process was “so intentional and worth it.” Their daughters are Gigi and Rafa.
Actor Shia LaBeouf (Transformers) was arrested in New Orleans “after allegedly targeting two men with anti-gay slurs and physical attacks at a bar,” New Ways Ministry noted, citing Yahoo! Entertainment.The incident’s police report “states he continued using offensive language even after officers arrived and began questioning those involved. At one point, he allegedly remarked, “‘These f–gots put me in jail. I’m a Catholic.'” The incident follows LaBeouf’s history of legal troubles and what has now been revealed to be marital issues with his ex-wife, Mia Goth (Frankenstein).
Backstreet Boys announced another six summer 2026 dates as part of their Into the Millennium residency at Sphere in Las Vegas, per a press release. Produced by Live Nation, the newly added shows will take place July 30, 31 and Aug. 1, 6-8 and follow the recent announcement of performances on July 16-18 and 23-25. Since launching the residency last July as the first pop act to headline Sphere, the group has performed to over 575,000 fans across 35 sold-out dates.