NATIONAL
Thousands of students across the United States took part in the 30th annual Day of Silence (a student-led campaign organized by Glisten, formerly GLSEN) on April 10, The Advocate noted. What began in 1996 as a small, grassroots action at the University of Virginia has become a nationwide movement observed in K-12 schools, colleges and even workplaces. “So much has changed for the better since the first Day of Silence at UVA in 1996,” co-founder Maria Pulzetti said. “But today’s young people face a new set of challenges, many of which are focused on erasing, silencing, and dehumanizing transgender and non-binary young people.”
Queer San Francisco Supervisor Jackie Fielder was reportedly in the hospital—and has said she is planning to resign from the board of supervisors, MSN noted. “Jackie Fielder is going through an acute personal health crisis right now and we are not at liberty to share details, but we appreciate the support people have given us and are proud of her for taking care of herself,” Fielder’s legislative aide said in a statement shared with the Chronicle. The reason for her hospitalization was unclear.
The nonprofit that organizes Oakland Pride is ending—but the festival has a new home within the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center, per The Oaklandside. Oakland Pride, usually held in September, will now take place Aug. 16; a parade course introduced last year—from 22nd Street and Broadway to Frank Ogawa Plaza—will remain in place.
Transgender Latina Lilith Barraza Garcia said she and her friend were physically assaulted outside Rumors Cabaret Bar in Bellingham, Washington, while trying to help a drunk person, per The Advocate. Garcia said that the person’s friend—a man whom she had previously seen inside the bar on other occasions—confronted her and her friend. A GoFundMe page to help Garcia with medical and other expenses has raised almost $9,000.
In Illinois, former DuPage County prosecutor Samuel Cundari, 32, was sentenced to home confinement and supervised release after pleading guilty to suggesting online in 2024 that a bomb could go off at Springfield PrideFest, per The Chicago Sun-Times. Cundari also made online threats to two state lawmakers and gun control groups. In March, he was sentenced to three years of mandatory supervised release, with one year spent in home confinement.
The LGBTQ+ travel community is rallying around Queer Scout, an emerging travel brand serving adult LGBTQ+ travelers, following a federal lawsuit that the Boy Scouts of America (now called Scouting America) filed earlier this year, according to an organizational press release. “We built Queer Scout to create space for LGBTQ travelers to be visible, to connect, and to experience destinations as their full, authentic selves,” said founder Sam Castañeda Holdren. “The support we’re seeing right now shows how much that visibility matters.”
Boar’s Rut Men’s Campground—a spot in Camden, Arkansas, that welcomes gay, straight, bi and trans men—has reopened after the Arkansas Department of Health closed the campsite in July, per Them, citing the Arkansas Times. Last year, an inspection found that its plumbing and wastewater systems were not up to state code. “After 9 months of hard work, setbacks, inspections, construction, compliance meetings, teamwork and more patience than we knew we had…We officially passed inspection,” campground organizers posted on Instagram.
WORLD
Uganda’s Supreme Court deferred action on a challenge to the Constitutional Court’s 2024 decision that upheld the Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA) of 2023, Erasing 76 Crimes noted. On March 17, the Supreme Court had announced that March 31 would be the date for the much-anticipated hearing on the appeal that featured 22 appellants. However, on March 27, Deputy Registrar of the Supreme Court Akullo Elizabeth Ogwal issued a statement saying the hearing had been deferred due to “unforeseen circumstances.”
Showing how dangerous things are for LGBTQ+ people in Bangladesh, the JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) unveiled its annual report about 2025, per Erasing 76 Crimes. The report documented 260 incidents of violations affecting at least 426 LGBTQ+ individuals nationwide—“a sharp increase compared to previous years and confirming a continuing upward trend since 2022.” The violations included everything from extortion to murder.
Outright International announced that Grammy, Emmy and Tony-winning artist/activist Cyndi Lauper is its Outspoken Award honoree, and she will be honored at the Celebration of Courage on June 1 at Pier Sixty in New York City, per a media release. The organization stated, “From co-founding vital initiatives like the Girls Just Want to Have Fundamental Right Fund to testifying before the U.S. Senate, her work aligns seamlessly with Outright International’s mission to advance the rights and dignity of LGBTIQ people worldwide.”
Misua (aka Jason Elvie Ty)—who was cast as one of the drag queens of the fourth season of Drag Race: Philippines, which was set to start filming—has died at age 27, per PinkNews. She was also a beloved queen in the Filipino drag community and a member of Haus of LaFeya. Filming was temporarily halted in light of Misua’s death.
The International LGBTQ+ Travel Association (IGLTA) is accepting session proposals for its 2026 Global Convention, which will take place Nov. 17-21 in Seville, Spain, per a release. The deadline for submissions is May 25. The IGLTA Convention Committee will review all proposals and announce selected speakers in July. The link to apply is here.
Richard Grenell, President Donald Trump’s openly gay special envoy for “special missions,” has reportedly expressed interest in becoming the U.S. ambassador to Russia—which bans LGBTQ+-related “propaganda,” The Advocate noted. Grenell previously served as U.S. ambassador to Germany and was briefly acting director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term.
London’s Wireless Festival was canceled after Kanye “Ye” West was banned from entering the United Kingdom to headline the event, People noted. “Antisemitism in all its forms is abhorrent, and we recognize the real and personal impact these issues have had. As YE said today, he acknowledges that words alone are not enough, and in spite of this still hopes to be given the opportunity to begin a conversation with the Jewish community in the U.K,” event organizers stated. Pepsi had reportedly withdrawn its sponsorship of the event because of his scheduled participation, per The Guardian.
SHOWBIZ
Queer WNBA icons Candace Parker and Elena Delle Donne will be among those enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in August in Springfield, Massachusetts, ESPN noted.
Parker won three titles in the WNBA with three teams—Los Angeles, Chicago and Las Vegas—in addition to two national titles while playing for Tennessee under Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt, two Olympic gold medals and two WNBA MVP awards. Delle Donne (who also played with Chicago at one point) won two WNBA MVP awards, in 2015 and 2019.
And speaking of LGBTQ+ WNBA legends, Sue Bird (the partner of soccer superstar Megan Rapinoe) is expected to be named as an analyst for NBC Sports’ coverage of the WNBA games this season, USA Today revealed. Bird, a 2025 inductee in the Basketball Hall of Fame, won a pair of national championships at the University of Connecticut before becoming a 13-time All-Star and four-time WNBA champion with the Seattle Storm. She retired after the 2022 season.
On her syndicated show, Judge Eboni K. Williams berated a homophobic Tennessee father after he sued his gay son for conversion-therapy costs, per The Advocate. Gregory Talbert found his 18-year-old son, Michael, kissing his best friend in his room on a Sunday morning before church; soon after, Gregory spent $6,000 to send his son to conversion therapy, which Michael left. Leaving the bench to console Michael, Williams said, “Young man, you are not cursed. … I don’t care what your daddy says. I don’t care what some stupid conversion therapy says, which is nothing but a bunch of hoopla and a scam and a money grab for young, vulnerable men like yourself. I see you. You are valuable, and Michael, you are perfect.”
Charlie Covell (The End of the F***ing World) is developing a series at Amazon MGM Studios based on Kate Moennig and Leisha Hailey’s New York Times best-selling book, So Gay for You: Friendship, Found Family, and the Show That Started It All, Deadline noted. Moennig and Hailey—who starred in The L Word and The L Word: Generation Q—will lead and executive-produce the new show, which will be a comedy about female friendship and post-L-Word fame.
CBS and Dick Clark Productions (DCP) announced that LGBTQ+ Grammy® -winning musician, Emmy and Golden Globe®-winning and Academy Award®-nominated actress/producer Queen Latifah will host the 52nd American Music Awards (AMAs) on Monday, May 25, a media release noted. She co-hosted the event in 1995. Tickets for the show are available on AXS.
Tony Award Productions announced that music superstar and global icon P!NK will host the 79th Annual Tony Awards on June 7, per a press release. The event will broadcast live to both coasts on the CBS Television Network, and it will stream on Paramount+.
Also, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and ABC announced the 99th Oscars® will take place Sunday, March 14, 2027, and the 100th Oscars®will take place Sunday, March 5, 2028. The shows will air live at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT on ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide from the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. YouTube will take over the Oscars in 2029.
Lil Nas X was granted entry into a mental-health diversion program, clearing the way to vacating assault charges, Out noted. The case will be dismissed if the queer musician completes a two-year treatment program and avoids possession of weapons or threatening violence during this time.
Queer Los Angeles artist zzzahara released “Chinese Tobacco,” the second single/video from their forthcoming album, Distant Lands, out June 5 on Lex Records, a press release noted. The follow-up to their 2025 album, Spiral Your Way Out, came to zzzahara in a dream they had of their brother, who passed away when they were 12.
