Warning: This column mentions child sexual abuse.
NATIONAL
Craig A. McCarthy has been released from a California state prison, bringing renewed attention to the Palm Springs murder case that became widely known as the “gay grifters” case, Instinct noted, citing The Bay Area Reporter. The American Hustlers podcast helped introduce the story (in which McCarthy testified against four other people accused of participating in what prosecutors described as a conspiracy to kill 74-year-old retired art dealer Clifford Lambert) to a new audience, and it’s now moving toward TV; Hulu is developing a drama series based on the podcast and Sherrie Lueder’s book Until Someone Gets Hurt. The project will explore the lives of Kaushal Niroula and Daniel Garcia, whose alleged schemes earned the case its “gay grifters” nickname.
President Donald Trump’s administration has officially removed federal protections for LGBTQ+ children in foster care, The Advocate reported. Under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Department of Health and Human Services published the change, eliminating a Biden-era rule. Research consistently shows that young LGBTQ+ people are overrepresented in foster care and have worse experiences within the system.
The LGBTQ+ group the Christopher Street Project has endorsed Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan in the state’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary, selecting the ally over lesbian U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, per Yahoo! The organization cited Craig’s failure to co-sponsor the Trans Bill of Rights, along with Flanagan’s support from queer leaders in Minnesota.
In Arizona, a Democratic congressional primary has focused on LGBTQ+ rights, with outside groups accusing former state Rep. Amish Shah of supporting conversion therapy, although some queer-rights advocates have said that the opposite is true, per The Advocate. Now, many are expressing anger at the groups attacking Shah and connecting them to his Democratic primary opponent, Marlene Galán-Woods—a broadcaster and former Republican who supported anti-LGBTQ+ leaders in the past.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is defending a state law protecting LGBTQ+ individuals after being named a defendant in a lawsuit brought by the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, who operate Rosary Hill Home, a palliative care facility in Hawthorne, New York, according to New Ways Ministry. The 2024 law requires healthcare facilities to comply with transgender patients’ identity regarding pronoun usage, room assignments and restroom access. The Trump administration’s Department of Justice announced on June 18 that it would intervene in support of the nursing facility.
Brooklyn resident Dmitriy Popov—who fatally stabbed Black gay dancer O’Shae Sibley at a gas station in 2023—was sentenced to 20 years in prison, per Gothamist. A jury found Popov (who was 17 when he killed Sibley, 28, but was tried as an adult) guilty of first-degree manslaughter as a hate crime and other charges; jurors acquitted him of murder.
Throughout August, Fort Lauderdale’s Stonewall National Museum, Archives & Library will bring a snapshot of the history of small groups of gay men gathering in bars, backrooms and informal social circles in the exhibit Bear Witness, a press release noted. Museum CEO Robert Kesten said, “The bear community has had a lasting impact on LGBTQ+ culture, yet much of its history has remained outside traditional museum collections. Bear Witness is a first step in reminding people of those stories.”
Florida-based OutLGBTQ.com—a calendar, directory and database platform devoted to uplifting LGBTQ+-led and -supporting businesses and organizations—announced the next step in its expansion: an official partnership with OutSFL Newspaper that begins Aug. 1.
The American Medical Association Foundation (AMAF) announced that the 2027 annual convening on LGBTQ+ health will take place on March 23- 24 in downtown Chicago, per its website. The event typically features several educational tracks, presentations by celebrated advocates, renowned experts in LGBTQ+ health, program directors and fellows from grantee award sites, and AMA/AMAF leadership. Those interested in attending should contact amafoundation@ama-assn.org.
Marty O’Donnell—the Trump-backed GOP nominee in a competitive congressional race in Nevada—described LGBTQ+ people as part of an alliance pushing Western civilization toward an “abyss,” The Advocate noted. O’Donnell is a video-game composer best known for his work on the Halo and Destiny franchises.
Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich announced that Father Michael Pfleger has been accused of the sexual abuse of a minor—and this marks the fifth person to accuse the South Side pastor of sexual misconduct, according to ABC 7 Chicago. The alleged abuse—which Pfleger has denied—reportedly occurred more than 30 years ago at Saint Sabina Parish. Pfleger has been removed from his ministry.
WORLD
In Northern Ireland, Belfast Crown Court Justice Patricia Smyth acquitted three men charged with the murder of queer journalist Lyra McKee, PinkNews noted. The development happened more than six years after she was fatally shot while covering an April 2019 riot in Derry. Smyth said there was insufficient evidence against Jordan Devine, Paul McIntyre and Peter Cavanagh.
The Mediterranean archipelago of Malta received the Award for Leading LGBTQ Destination at the Baxter Travel Media Agent’s Choice Awards, presented in Toronto, per a media release.
The Cabo Verde (Cape Verde) archipelago is a bastion of tolerance in Africa, where anti-LGBTQ+ laws have become increasingly harsh, according to Erasing 76 Crimes. Same-sex relations have been legal there since 2004; four years later, the country of around 500,000 residents also barred workplace bias based on sexual orientation.
Justice Janet Fuhrer refused transgender woman Amanda Cooper’s request to order the Correctional Service of Canada to move her from the men’s prison system into a women’s institution, CBC noted. Correctional authorities refused Cooper’s requests to move to a women’s institution, citing her risk and the safety of other women inmates; she has been incarcerated as a dangerous offender since 2001 for sex crimes committed when she identified as a man.
In a related matter, transgender German far-right activist Marla-Svenja Liebich was taken to a men’s prison after being extradited to Germany from the Czech Republic for failing to report to a women’s facility, Reuters reported. She was sentenced while legally a male in 2023 and received an 18-month prison term for offenses including incitement to hatred, insult, trespass and defamation.
In Ireland, an appeals tribunal ruled that a male Malawi asylum-seeker is not gay despite the man showing photos of himself attending a Pride parade and his participation in a Galway LGBTQ+ organization, The Irish Times noted. The man (born in 1998) was seeking international protection after claiming he suffered violence and threats in Malawi because of his sexual orientation.
In Pakistan, a transgender person named Mishi was killed while another named Tara was injured in a shooting that took place in Peshawar, according to PinkNews. Arzoo Khan—president of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Transgender Community and executive director of the Manzil Foundation—criticized the shooting, saying, “The continuous targeting of transgender people is unacceptable and requires immediate punitive action.”
Midnight at the Never Get is running its U.K. premiere at London’s Menier Chocolate Factory through Sept. 12, per Playbill. Out actor Ben Platt (Dear Evan Hansen; Parade) leads the cast, along with Gregor Milne and Barry James. The project is set in 1965 New York City, when Trevor Copeland and Arthur Brightman’s queer romance is illegal; however, the couple act out their love in a secret nightclub gig.
And at the same venue, openly gay Tony winner and five-time Emmy nominee Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family)—who played to sold-out crowds in the recent immersive off-Broadway production of Tru—will reprise his work as late writer Truman Capote for London audiences Sept. 27-Nov. 14, with previews starting Sept. 19, Playbill noted.
In Sydney, the landlord of Divine Playhouse—a deconsecrated church newly transformed into an arts venue hosting queer events—has ordered the venue to stop “engaging in offensive trade” after religious groups protested against its opening night, The Guardian noted. The Catholic men’s group Fit for the Kingdom and Christian brotherhood the Prodigal Sons have claimed the venue “mocks religious faith.” The playhouse’s future is now uncertain.
Australia women’s national cricket team, just a week after winning the World Cup, was rocked by revelations that its vice captain, Ashleigh Gardner, reportedly confessed to wife Monica Wright that she had an affair with another player on the team, Georgia Voll, according to Out. Although these reports are only surfacing now, the breakup was in November, reported the Daily Mail, and the messy separation has allegedly left the team—the most successful in the sport—in disarray.
SHOWBIZ
The Odyssey director Christopher Nolan responded to the backlash the film has received based on its casting and trailers, including issues with costuming as well as the casting of Lupita Nyong’o (who plays Helen of Troy) and trans actor Elliot Page (who plays the warrior Sinon), per LGBTQ Nation. Nolan has dismissed the criticisms and believes the film will stand for itself when people actually see it, and Nolan told Rolling Stone about the joy of working with Page again, having worked with him on Inception.
Madonna extended a historic five-decade reign as Confessions II debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 Chart—marking her 10th top-charting album, a press release announced. The first-week sales reached 134,000 units in the U.S. while she also secured a 13th #1 debut in the U.K. She is the only U.S female artist to have #1 albums across five decades in the U.K.
Oh, Mary! will get a live stage film with its non-binary writer and original Tony-winning star, Cole Escola, in the title role, per Playbill. The July 28 performance will be filmed at London’s Trafalgar Theatre during Escola’s previously announced limited run. Sam Pinkleton, the play’s Tony-winning director, will also direct the film.
Jake Shears is now a producer on a film about the fire that destroyed New Orleans’ Up Stairs Lounge in 1973, per Queerty, citing The Hollywood Reporter. The fire is regarded as the largest mass slaying of LGBTQ+ people in the country until the Pulse massacre that took place in 2016. In addition to the upcoming movie, there is a 2015 documentary about the incident on Prime Video called Up Stairs Inferno.
In a July 13 op-ed for Marie Claire condemning anti-trans legislation passed under the guise of “protecting girls,” queer soccer icon Megan Rapinoe claimed a brand pulled her from a World Cup advertisement after AI software used to highlight the “risk” of potential talent named the FIFA World Cup Champion, according to Them. Rapinoe contended that the “risk” she posed “was that I spoke in support of trans rights.”
Queer Emmy- and Oscar-nominated actor Colman Domingo is reportedly looking to co-write an original live-action feature about Princess Tiana inspired by Disney‘s animated 2009 feature The Princess and the Frog, Deadline noted. Also, Domingo may compose the feature with 2020 Tony-nominated Slave Play director Robert O’Hara.
LGBTQ+ producer Ryan Murphy and queer writer Bret Easton Ellis are both involved in FX’s ’80s-set thriller The Shards, an adaptation of the latter’s novel of the same name, Queerty noted. Loosely based on the author’s own teenage years in 1980s Los Angeles, the production is set in the elite Buckley prep school, where Bret (The Fall of the House of Usher‘s Igby Rigney) is an aspiring screenwriter beginning his senior year. The 10-episode drama/thriller series is slated to launch Aug. 5 on FX and Hulu, with a two-part premiere before new episodes air every Wednesday.
Drag legend Ginger Minj announced her Broadway Sacramento debut as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray, per a press release. A Broadway at Music Circus production, performances will take place Aug. 21-30 at the UC Davis Health Pavilion. Tickets are available here.
During an episode of his podcast I Never Liked You, queer comedian Matteo Lane confirmed that his three-year marriage to dancer/athlete Rodrigo Aburto has ended, per Instinct. “We are really good friends, which I love. I actually feel quite proud of that,” Lane said, adding that the couple wanted privacy before speaking publicly about their separation. He also shared that after their breakup, he dated another guy, who he has since broken up with as well—but they’re now friends as well, per Just Jared.
Beartooth frontman Caleb Shomo and his wife of 14 years, Fleur Shomo, are divorcing nearly two months after he came out as gay, per Page Six. Despite feeling “hurt” and “disoriented” by her then-husband’s revelation, Fleur publicly promised to “love and support” him.
Also, Matt Rogers and Below Deck star Fraser Olender have gone their separate ways, People reported. On Today with Jenna and Sheinelle, Rogers said that his relationship with the Bravo star started with a “classic DM slide.”
Mood Fabrics—popularized on the show Project Runway—plans to open a Loop showroom in Chicago at 109 S. State St., The Chicago Sun-Times noted. The almost-2,000-square-foot showroom will have a soft opening in mid-August, with a grand opening planned for September.