NATIONAL
Openly gay Apple CEO Tim Cook is stepping down from the job that he inherited from the late Steve Jobs, Politico reported. Cook will turn the CEO duties over to Apple’s head of hardware engineering, John Ternus, on Sept. 1; however, Cook will remain involved with the California company as executive chair.
The U.S. Supreme Court passed on deciding if a school violated parents’ constitutional right to direct the upbringing of their child when handling a student’s request to be identified by a specific name and pronouns, USA Today reported. On April 20, the court declined to hear the case of parents Stephen Foote and Marissa Silvestri, who said employees at a middle school in Ludlow, Massachusetts, “secretly facilitated” their child’s “social gender transition.”
Palm Springs, California marked Lesbian Visibility Week with various community events, including the multi-day exhibit “Trailblazing Lesbians of the Coachella Valley,” NBC Palm Springs noted. The week began with a flag-raising ceremony at the LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert; during the event, Mayor Naomi Soto issued a formal proclamation recognizing the occasion and honoring trailblazers within the local LGBTQ+ community.
At NYC’s Julius’ Bar on April 21, the city’s oldest continuously operating gay bar commemorated the 60th anniversary of one of the first documented acts of civil disobedience in the modern movement for LGBTQ+ rights—a so-called “sip-in” inspired by the Black civil-rights movement’s “sit-ins,” Gay City News noted. Randy Wicker, 88—who took part in the 1966 event—said this time around, “It wasn’t a sip-in; it was the first time that gay people demanded the right to assemble, to be by themselves.”
Stonewall National Museum, Archives & Library hosted a VIP preview for “Von Steuben: Architect of American Independence”—a new exhibition that will soon begin its national tour, a press release noted. Funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the exhibit honors Friedrich William Baron von Steuben, a gay Prussian immigrant whose leadership helped transform George Washington’s army and strengthen the fight for U.S. independence.
Equalpride—publisher of queer brands like Out, The Advocate, Out Traveler, Health PLUS Wellness, Pride.com and Advocate Originals—recently acquired the LGBTQ+ media brand Them, which Condé Nast launched in 2017, per The Hollywood Reporter. The news came shortly after a significant number of staff cuts at Equalpride, including The Advocate Editor-in-Chief Alex Cooper and Pride.com editor-in-chief Rachel Shatto.
The Advocate ran an article on Grindr’s Republican ties. CEO George Arison is a self-described “conservative,” admitting he agrees “with some of Trump’s policies” in a social-media post. In addition, Joe Hack, the company’s new head of global government affairs, spent a decade as a Republican aide on Capitol Hill. Also, Grindr is hosting its inaugural White House Correspondents Dinner weekend party and is busy lobbying the GOP-controlled legislature.
The Baptist General Convention of Texas has said that it will formally review its 140-year relationship with Baylor University after the private Baptist school organized a talk featuring several LGBTQ+ advocates, including Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson, Interfaith Alliance President Paul Raushenbush and Baylor professor Greg Garrett, per The Advocate. The event was counterprogramming to a Turning Point USA event, according to the Baptist Press.
And in Ohio, now-former Blanchester Community Church pastor Silas Shelton—who once criticized the LGBTQ+-inclusive graphic novel Heartstopper—formally admitted guilt in a case involving sexual offenses against a minor, per Instinct. In August 2023, at a Little Miami Local School District board of education meeting, he said the book was harmful, describing it as a “health risk,” among other things.
WORLD
The European Court of Justice found that Hungary’s outgoing government violated European law with rules prohibiting or restricting access to LGBTQ+ content, France24 reported. The European Commission, 16 member states and the European Parliament took Hungary to the European Court of Justice over the 2021 statute. Originally aimed at toughening punishment for child abuse, outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s ruling coalition amended the law to ban the “promotion of homosexuality” to minors.
Russian police took in Yevgeny Kapiev—CEO of Russia’s largest publisher, Eksmo—for questioning in a criminal case over the printing of LGBTQ+ books, Yahoo! News noted, citing AFP. The publisher’s finance director, head of distribution and deputy commercial director were also questioned. The probe was launched last year, when more than 10 Eksmo staffers were arrested after authorities said “[queer] propaganda” had been “detected” in several books published by Eksmo subsidiary Popcorn Books.
Brothers Michael and Anthony Stewart, now ages 57 and 60, are on trial for a former cold case involving the killing of gay man Anthony Littler in North London in 1984, PinkNews noted. They allegedly ambushed Littler, a 45-year-old civil servant, as he walked alone down an alleyway in East Finchley. Family members revealed that Michael and Anthony were racist and had allegedly engaged in “queer-bashing.”
An English court convicted Adam Hall, 43, of deliberately inflicting grievous bodily harm by transmitting HIV to five young men, a 15-year-old male and a 17-year-old boy, and of raping four of those individuals, LGBTQ Nation reported. Hall will now serve a minimum of 23 years of a life-long prison sentence. Prosecutors said Hall conducted a “campaign” to harm men across the United Kingdom.
Two French municipalities recently removed LGBTQ+ symbols, LGBTQ Nation noted. New far-right Mayor Steve Fortel of Elne removed the rainbow flag from the town hall and had a rainbow crosswalk repainted white. In addition, in a suburb of Lille near the border with Belgium, new Faches-Thumesnil Mayor Brice Lauret (also a conservative) removed the rainbow flag from the town hall and canceled a scheduled Pride celebration.
In Yaoundé, Cameroon, local youths assaulted and robbed the participants of a trans beauty pageant held to celebrate the International Transgender Day of Visibility, Erasing 76 Crimes noted. Trans activist Brandy (not the U.S. singer/actress) said, “This kind of attack demonstrates just how much society still refuses to see us as human beings. Yet, all we ask for is respect and safety.”
Supporting his album Make-Up Is a Lie, British singer Morrissey announced his 2026 European tour, per a press release. It is slated to start June 27 in Lillestram, Norway, at the Nova Spektrum and conclude Dec. 31 in Brussels, Belgium, at Forest National with more stops in cities such as Berlin, Warsaw and Paris, among others. He is also slated to perform at the Darker Waves Festival in Huntington Beach, California, on Nov. 14.
The internet took note of British singer Zayn Malik’s usage of both male and female pronouns in his song “Take Turns”—with some speculating that he’s bisexual, Queerty noted. However, the outlet noted, “one suggestive lyric does not make a coming-out story, and Malik would hardly be the first pop boy to lean into bisexual flirtation and queerbaiting to promote a new album.”
SHOWBIZ
The executive producers of Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair (the reboot of the classic TV series Malcolm in the Middle) said their experience parenting their own queer children influenced their inclusion of a new nonbinary character in the limited series, LGBTQ Nation noted. Among the additions to the cast is Vaughan Murrae, who plays Kelly—the child with whom Kaczmarek’s Lois learned she was pregnant with in the original series’ 2006 finale. Like Murrae, Kelly is nonbinary.
Multi-Oscar winner Meryl Streep said that the queer community was “top of mind” while revisiting her role of Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada 2, Out noted. “It makes me so happy! Would we have fashion without gay people? Forgive me—would we have anything? I wouldn’t know how to put together anything. It’s a joy to have made it with [the LGBTQ+] community in mind. Top of mind,” Streep told the outlet. The film premieres in theaters on May 1.
One potential RuPaul’s Drag Race season-19 contestant Tammy Faye Brown (the drag name of Gaige Brown) has already come under fire for allegedly being a Trump supporter, Out noted. Brown hasn’t been announced as part of the upcoming cast; however, that hasn’t stopped Drag Race fans on Reddit from compiling videos showing that the Alabama drag queen is potentially part of the MAGA movement. While Brown has publicly admitted to voting for Trump, she has also said that she doesn’t consider herself a Republican.
Cher reportedly learned she had a secret granddaughter more than a decade after her son, Elijah Blue Allman, allegedly welcomed the child, according to Page Six. Talking with the US Sun, former model Kayti Edwards (the granddaughter of Julie Andrews) claimed she dated Allman in 2010 and gave birth to their daughter, Ever, that year.
Apparently, there are a couple of unreleased “rough tracks” featuring gay Emmy-nominated actor Matt Bomer and 17-time Oscar-nominated songwriter Diane Warren, Deadline noted. Talking with Josh Horowitz for Happy Sad Confused, Bomer revealed that he has an unreleased EP of songs tied to 2015’s Magic Mike XXL.
Queer New York City-based harpist/singer-songwriter/composer Stephanie Babirak announced her sophomore album, Rotten Fruit, due to be released June 12, a press release noted. She has also introduced the lead single, “Hey Cain”—a reflection on loss borrowing from the story of Cain and Abel—and a second song, “Waterline.”
And queer streaming platform Tello Films is debuting the original cooking series Boudin and Bullshit on May 1, per a press release. The statement added, “Hosted by Brandy Cavitt—a self- proclaimed lifelong “Gayjun” (gay + Cajun)—the show blends mouthwatering Louisiana cuisine with candid storytelling and laugh-out-loud moments.”