NATIONAL
Firefighters are investigating a suspicious fire that burned down The Quest Club, a decades-old LGBTQ+ nightspot in Birmingham, Alabama, LGBTQ Nation noted. The city officially closed the bar in 2024, although its building and bright exterior mural remained. While the bar initially opened in 1982, it closed after the city pulled its business licenses following a double homicide in May 2024; city officials claimed the bar’s owner did not implement measures to keep the venue safe.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed an executive order that officially established the city’s first-ever Mayor’s Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs, The Advocate noted. Mamdani also appointed attorney Taylor Brown as the office’s inaugural director—making her the first transgender person in history to lead a New York City office or agency.
Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico—who recently defeated Jasmine Crockett in the party’s primary—is still supporting trans youth despite right-wing media’s attempts to paint his positions as radical, extreme, or even “creepy,” according to Them. “The only thing the media wants to ask me about are trans athletes,” he said on MS NOW. “What I would say is that the only minority destroying this country is the billionaires.”
And as he attempts to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins, controversial Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner claimed that Republican attacks on transgender rights are an “invented culture-war scare” to create division, Them noted. Platner—an oyster farmer who faced major public criticism for a Nazi totenkopf tattoo he reportedly got on his chest as a Marine in 2007—told Slate, “The anti-trans campaign in Maine [is] funded by an out-of-state billionaire [likely Illinois resident Richard Uihlein] to make sure that we have this discussion and we don’t talk about raising his taxes.” Platner also said that party leaders threatened to “rip [his] life apart” if he ran against Gov. Janet Mills (who he currently leads in polls) in the Democratic primary this year.
In South Carolina, students at the College of Charleston claim that the university has rolled back crucial support systems for LGBTQ+ people because of political pressure, WCIV reported. “I feel like the College has failed LGBTQ+ students, and I don’t feel safe or supported here,” senior Chris Boyette said in a release. “I always felt safe during my first few semesters here, but now I am afraid to go to public events for my campus organization.” Among other things, the college has closed the Multicultural Center and Pride Center, and has allegedly failed to curb harassment.
A Texas judge sentenced San Antonio resident Jer Auntey Pleasant, 25, to 200 years in prison for murdering two men he met via Grindr: 54-year-old Larry Wilson and 22-year-old Joseph West, per LGBTQ Nation. Pleasant’s sentence also included penalties for aggravated robbery and the aggravated sexual assault of a child. In a release, the Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio stated, “We ask and remind members of the LGBTQIA+ community to be vigilant when using online dating and social media apps. Sharing your personal location can be risky, so only do so when you feel comfortable with who you are talking to.”
Good Morning America weekend co-anchor Gio Benitez will receive the 2026 NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists Randy Shilts Award at its Headlines & Headliners New York benefit event, per a press release. The award will be presented April 16 at 7 Hudson Square. “In the current era of persistent anti-LGBTQ+ repression, Gio Benitez’ work stands out for its fearless insistence on bringing our community’s stories to mainstream audiences,” said NLGJA National Board President Ken Miguel.
Openly gay Trump associate Ric Grenell planned to leave his role as president of the Kennedy Center, as the venue prepares for a two-year shutdown for renovations, Axios noted. Grenell, who is also Trump’s envoy for special missions, will still be active in the organization as an unpaid consultant.
And bisexual former U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema acknowledged having a romantic relationship with a member of her security detail that began while she was a lawmaker, per CBS News. In a lawsuit, Heather Ammel claims that she and husband Matthew had “a good and loving marriage” and that “genuine love and affection” existed between them before Sinema had relations with him; however, Sinema’s “conduct related to her romantic relationship with Mr. Ammel does not connect her to North Carolina [where the Ammels resided] in a meaningful way,” Steven Epstein, Sinema’s attorney, wrote. North Carolina is one of a few states that allow spouses to sue for “alienation of affection” to seek damages from a third party responsible for the breakup of their marriage.
WORLD
The Ukrainian human-rights organization Insight LGBTQ announced that the Supreme Court of Ukraine officially recognized the “de facto” marriage of queer-rights activists Zoryan Kis and Tymur Levchuk, Novaya Gazeta noted. A Kyiv district court recognized the couple as a family last June, and the Supreme Court upheld that decision in the face of an appeal brought by conservative movement Vsi Razom (All Together). The ruling is the first of its kind in Ukraine, where, according to the country’s 1996 constitution, marriage can only be between two members of the opposite sex.
Moroccan lesbian activist Ibtissame “Betty” Lachgar—who was jailed after posting a photo of herself wearing a T-shirt reading “Allah is a lesbian”—may have to have her arm amputated as her health reportedly deteriorates in prison, according to Erasing 76 Crimes, citing Metro Watch. Lachgar was sentenced last September to two-and-a-half years in prison after authorities deemed the Facebook post “offensive to Islam.” A bone-cancer survivor with a prosthesis between her left shoulder and elbow, Lachgar reportedly sustained a fractured elbow while imprisoned at Salé prison; Amnesty International has previously alleged that prisoners there have suffered physical abuse and torture at the hands of guards.
In Senegal, the National Assembly in Senegal unanimously approved a bill to double the prison time for same-sex relations, sending it to President Bassirou Diomaye Faye for his signature, Erasing 76 Crimes reported. Faye was expected to approve the measure, doubling the maximum sentence to 10 years; however, it was Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko who promoted the bill.
Deadline revealed that George Michael: The Faith Tour—a restored and remastered feature based on a long-lost film—is being lined up for a worldwide big-screen release later this year. George Michael Entertainment and Mercury Studios are behind the never-seen-before project, which will be accompanied by the release of an 18-track album of previously unheard performances by the late gay British icon. The new film will contain footage shot at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy during the European leg of the Faith Tour in 1988.
Madonna’s 1980s hit “Into the Groove” appeared on the Official Streaming chart in the UK for the first time, Forbes noted. The track landed at No. 95 on the UK’s list of the most-played cuts on streaming sites. The pop icon first landed on the list a little more than a decade ago; “Bitch, I’m Madonna,” which also credits Nicki Minaj, climbed as high as No. 73 after launching on the roster in June 2015.
And Morrissey called off a show in Valencia, Spain, after claiming the city is so loud that he was unable to rest, The Independent noted. He pulled the plug after struggling to get any sleep “due to festival noise, loud techno singing and megaphone announcements” through the night, which he said has left him in “a catatonic state.” Morrissey’s arrival in Valencia coincided with the festival known as Las Fallas.
SHOWBIZ
Iconic songstress Dionne Warwick (“Do You Know the Way to San Jose?”; “Heartbreaker”) is recording the final album in her 65-year career, Billboard revealed. “Ocean in the Desert,” the first single from Warwick’s forthcoming DWuets album, will drop on March 20; the song marks the first collaboration between Warwick and queer Emmy, Tony and Grammy winner Cynthia Erivo. Also, new Grammy winner Kehlani will join Warwick on the album’s second single. In addition, DWuets marks another first-time collaboration: Warwick teaming with Grammy-winning songwriter and 17-time Oscar nominee Diane Warren.
General Hospital star and Emmy winner Kate Mansi—who portrays queer character Kristina Davis on the show—has been reflecting on a situation in 2015 when she had to undergo emergency surgery to save her life, TV Insider noted. Back then (when she was on Days of Our Lives), Mansi suddenly started suffering severe cramps, heavy bleeding, a distended stomach and nausea, telling People, “It had been going on for a couple days, and doctors just kept dismissing it.” At the hospital, Mansi met with her mother and stepfather, who is an OB-GYN, and found that an 11-centimeter mass had formed in her abdomen; physicians called an oncologist, but Mansi’s stepfather said she needed emergency surgery and volunteered to perform it himself. It was later that it was discovered that she had endometriosis—a subject tackled in the March 16 episode of General Hospital.
LGBTQ+ “Old Town Road” singer/rapper Lil Nas X appeared in court in Van Nuys, California, and his lawyer Christy O’Connor reportedly asked a judge for a short delay so she could file a motion to transfer his case into an unspecified diversion program, according to People, citing Rolling Stone. The judge ordered the case back on April 6. Lil Nas X—was arrested last August after he allegedly used “force and violence [to] inflict and injury” upon three different police officers—later told reporters, “All I wanted to say is to my fans, I really love and I miss you, and I appreciate your support so much, and I can’t wait to be back hugging you guys.”
Trans actor Chaz Bono married longtime partner Shara Blue Mathes in a glamorous Hollywood ceremony, USA Today noted. “I first met Shara more than 40 years ago when we were just teenagers,” Bono (the son of Cher and the late Sonny Bono) told People. “I think it’s safe to say that not many grooms ultimately end up marrying the very first girl they ever kissed so many years later.” Cher reportedly attended the wedding, which was held at The Hollywood Roosevelt hotel in Los Angeles.
Musician Tegan Quin of the queer Grammy-nominated pop duo Tegan and Sara will write a story in Wiccan & Hulkling: Raid of Ultron #1, Marvel’s annual Pride special that will hit stands on May 27, a press release noted. The singer-songwriter—half of Tegan and Sara with her twin sister Sara—will write a story starring Marvel’s own twin superheroes, Wiccan and Speed. Wiccan & Hulkling: Raid of Ultron #1 brings together a line-up of LGBTQ+ talent and rising stars, including stories by Wyatt Kennedy, Josh Trujillo, Luciano Vecchio, Zoe Tunnell, Rachael Stott, Bradley Clayton and more.
Boca Raton authorities arrested Real Housewives of Pretoria stars Melany Viljoen and Petrus Viljoen for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars’ worth of groceries from a Florida Publix, per Page Six. The South African personalities were also allegedly caught on security footage leaving the supermarket with carts full of expensive items after skipping the self-checkout lane. Melany admitted to stealing $5,300 worth of items from the Boca Raton Publix, adding that she had no choice because she was in “survival mode” and “has not worked since coming to the US” without a visa.
And EJ Johnson—the son of NBA legend Magic Johnson—stated that despite being a gay man, he actually prefers romantic relationships with straight men and often finds himself competing with women for their affection, according to Yahoo! On the Reality with The King podcast, EJ revealed that his dating preferences do not extend to gay men; also, he does not frequent gay clubs and he chooses to not participate in socializing within the gay circle. In addition, he added that while he is known for his gender-fluid fashion, he is gradually phasing out some masculine undertones and leaning more toward femininity.