NATIONAL
Warning: There are descriptions of fatal violence against a transgender woman in this column.
According to The Advocate, eight Congressional Democrats voted for the so-called “Don’t Say Trans” bill that would force teachers across the country to out trans kids to their parents.
The Democrats included Reps. Rep. Henry Cuellar (Texas), Don Davis (North Carolina), Eugene Vindman (Virginia), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Washington), Cleo Fields (Louisiana), Laura Gillen (New York), Vicente González Jr. (Texas) and Marcy Kaptur (Ohio). The “Stopping Indoctrination and Protecting Kids Act” (H.R. 2616) passed 217-198.
Gay Colorado Gov. Jared Polis reduced the prison sentence of 2020 election denier/former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, The Advocate noted. In 2024, a jury found Peters guilty of letting a person affiliated with MyPillow founder/election conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell to access Mesa County voting systems after Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss. Polis’ decision came after continued pressure from Trump, who threatened “harsh measures” against Colorado if Peters was not freed.
In California, the City of Long Beach suddenly canceled the annual Long Beach Pride Festival hours before it was set to begin—igniting a feud between city officials and LGBTQ+ organizers over safety, politics and the future of Pride itself, The Advocate noted. Officials said the three-day Pride Festival couldn’t proceed because organizers allegedly failed to provide the safety and operational documentation required for approval. The city-backed Pride parade, however, continued as planned.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has released a list of the 11 most endangered historic sites in the country—and, for the first time, the list has a theme: equality and erasure, per NPR. Some of the sites include NYC’s Stonewall National Monument; the Ben Moore Hotel in Montgomery, Alabama; the Detroit Association of Women’s Clubs; and El Corazón Sagrado de la Iglesia de Jesús, in Ruidosa, Texas (which lies within a few hundred yards of the U.S. border wall’s proposed expansion).
Eryka Caldwell, a 41-year-old transgender woman, was stabbed to death in her Bushwick, New York apartment, according to Them. Police arrested her boyfriend, Jonathan Fernandez, 38, at the scene; he’s been charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
Lambda Legal announced Cathryn (Kate) Oakley as its new deputy legal director of policy, per a press release. Oakley joins Lambda Legal from the Human Rights Campaign, where she served various roles since 2012, including senior director of legal policy, senior counsel and state legislative director.
Alan Manning Chambers—who led a Christian ministry that promoted conversion therapy—was arrested for soliciting sex from a minor in a police sting, The Advocate reported. The Orlando Police Department arrested the former leader of Exodus International and charged him with solicitation of a minor via computer, sending harmful material to a minor and illegal use of a two-way communication device.
On his YouTube show, gay journalist Don Lemon criticized Black MAGA supporters, per Queerty. In part, he said, “I cannot understand, and maybe you can explain it to me. How anyone could be Black and be a MAGA supporter right now with what has happened … with voting rights in this country and what they’re doing? I don’t get it. And some people are defending it, even Black MAGA? Black folks, Black lawmakers, like, what? It’s similar to the Log Cabin Republicans. I can’t see how … gay people can be part of a party that doesn’t even believe that they should exist.”
According to People, Anderson Cooper marked his exit from 60 Minutes on May 17. The departure happened three months after Cooper announced his departure after being on the show for almost 20 years, as he cited family reasons for stepping away. He remains at CNN, where he renewed his contract in December 2025; he also continues to anchor Anderson Cooper 360° as well as co-host CNN’s annual New Year’s Eve special alongside Andy Cohen.
NYC Pride’s first-ever silent auction is now live online through June 28, the organization announced. A few of the items include five nights in the Catskills in a unique farmhouse; a $1,000 Macy’s gift card; and a Calvin Klein travel accessory package.
In Maryland, Eshel (for the 13th year) hosted a retreat for Orthodox parents of LGBTQ+ Jews at Pearlstone Retreat Center, the Baltimore Jewish Times noted. Eshel Executive Director Miryam Kabakov previously told the outlet that Orthodox Jews are generally “not accepting” of LGBTQ+ people; for parents of these Jews, a space to be comfortable is critical.
WORLD
On the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexphobia and Transphobia (May 17), Canada’s unions reinforced “their commitment and longstanding solidarity in defense of 2SLGBTQIA+ rights, both in Canada and abroad,” according to a press release from the Canadian Labour Congress. “Attacks on 2SLGBTQIA+ rights, and all human rights, have no place in just and democratic societies like ours,” said Congress President Bea Bruske.
In Bangladesh, four students of the Government Unani and Ayurvedic Medical College in Dhaka had their dormitory seats withdrawn over allegations of homosexuality, per Erasing 76 Crimes. At the same time, five individuals, including one outsider, were handed over to the authorities and served 15 days in prison. JusticeMakers Bangladesh in France criticized the collective persecution.
The awards were announced at the Cannes Film Festival, and the stars of Coward—director Lukas Dhont’s film about the developing romance between two Belgian soldiers during World War I—made quite the impression, Deadline noted. Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagneshare, the stars of the movie, shared the Best Actor Award.
Out British producer/showrunner Russell T Davies has a new queer Channel 4 drama called Tip Toe, saying the show—which is about “the radicalization of society” and how “the voices that were online are transferring into the real world”—could have been written about many different minority groups today, per Deadline. “A Jew could have written this,” Davies told the BBC’s Today. “If this was a Jewish version of the story you wouldn’t be calling it timely—you’d be calling it too late.”
Mbolé singer Snoopy la Mélodie—who now goes by the name Mélo du Quartier—is trying to distance himself from his past as a homophobic artist so he can continue his career, according to Erasing 76 Crimes. The Cameroonian singer (known for the song “Les nerfs des boys,” which has the chorus line “stab the fags”) has decided to apologize to the LGBTQ+ community; he canceled his May 30 concert in Liège, Belgium, and has said he is open to talking with human-rights organizations.
At the Cannes Film Festival promoting his film Bitter Christmas, out Spanish director Pedro Almodovar spoke out against President Donald Trump, per Deadline. “The worst thing to happen to us [is] to stay silent. We have a moral obligation to speak out about all these things. We need to turn against Netanyahu. In Europe, we have laws, there are certain limits. We have to act as a shield against this madness,” the filmmaker continued, adding, “Europe should never be subjected to Trump!”
Barbra Streisand had to miss this year’s Cannes Film Festival—where she received an honorary Palme d’Or at the French event—because of a knee injury, USA Today noted. A tribute to Streisand was still slated to take place during the festival’s closing ceremony on May 23.
Newly elected British council member Stephen Mousdell quit his post after it emerged he runs social-media accounts that feature hardcore videos of him with other guys, Queerty noted. Mousdell is a member of the right-wing Reform UK party, led by Nigel Farage and founded in 2018.
A UK court sentenced truck driver Jakub Jan Konkel to 13½ years in prison for smuggling 7 million pounds ($9.4 million) worth of cocaine in a shipment of underwear and clothing from Skims, Kim Kardashian’s shapewear brand, the AP noted.
Spain’s tax authority was ordered to repay Colombian superstar Shakira more than 55 million euros ($64 million) after a Madrid court ruled that it had mistakenly pursued her for unpaid taxes, per CNN.
SHOWBIZ
Advocates for Trans Equality, GLAAD, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the National Women’s Law Center Action Fund and PFLAG National filed a public comment to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on behalf of more than 40 organizations, a press release noted. The comment was in response to a rating-system proposal that would require a “warning label” before family television shows that include LGBTQ+ characters, stories or themes—even in programs currently rated as appropriate for all ages. A few other of the 40 groups include the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association, Transgender Law Center, Equality California and AIDS United.
In Something Still—a new short film premiering at Toronto’s Inside Out festival from director Ariel Mahler—a couple played by John Brodsky (who also wrote the movie) and Zane Phillips gets involved in open relationships and polyamory, Queerty noted. “One of the gifts of the queer experience is that we are granted the opportunity to build our relationships on our own terms, free from societal expectations or heteronormative ‘rules’,” Mahler said. “And yet many of us end up falling into the same toxic patterns that we’ve tried to break free from, simply because we feel we have to.”
Following the May 4 fire at Broadway’s Eugene O’Neill Theatre, The Book of Mormon will reopen May 27, according to Playbill. Although the show was slated to restart May 21, ATG Entertainment said that “recovery took longer than expected this past weekend.”
Colman Domingo celebrated his “brother in the industry” and fellow Black gay actor Tramell Tillman’s inclusion in TIME’s 100 Next list of influential rising stars, MSN noted. Domingo praised Tillman by writing, “He has swagger and charm and an extraordinary onscreen presence,” calling him a performer who brings “soulful curiosity” and “a profound respect for the craft.”
Right-wingers have reacted negatively to the possible casting of trans actor Elliot Page as Achilles in the upcoming Christopher Nolan movie The Odyssey, LGBTQ Nation noted. Among others, Elon Musk (who also criticized the casting of Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy) has been retweeting and commenting on X posts that mock Page’s casting.
Queer country artist/author Ty Herndon, Michael Passons and Melissa Greene (the latter two formerly of Avalon) announced their reimagined 2026 version of “Testify to Love”—a previous hit for Avalon that became one of the most recognizable songs in the history of contemporary Christian music, per a press release. However, although many have embraced the song, conservative author Allie Beth Stuckey slammed the re-release as an “LGBTQ-affirming anthem,” adding that Christians cannot claim to be “nicer than God” by rejecting biblical teachings on sin and sexuality, The Christian Post noted.
Laura Benanti and Tituss Burgess will host The Tony Awards: Act One—a live pre-show on Pluto TV that will air Sunday, June 7, immediately preceding the Tony Awards, per Deadline.