Warning: This column mentions violent activity.
NATIONAL
Voters in left-leaning Colorado and Washington state approved measures designed to ban trans athletes from participating in school-sanctioned sports, the AP noted. Colorado’s Proposition 134 will require educational institutions and athletic associations to assign sports as male, female or co-ed; Washington’s measure will prevent students who were assigned male at birth from participating in sports designated for female athletes.
Five federal employees want a federal court to overturn the Trump administration’s elimination of gender-affirming care coverage in the government’s health-insurance systems, according to the Federal News Network. Employees suing the Office of Personnel Management filed a preliminary injunction request, seeking to restore the benefit in the Federal Employees Health Benefits and Postal Service Health Benefits programs.
Atlanta approved a home for demolition that was a part of (anti-)LGBTQ+ history, per The Advocate. The house at 811 Ponce de Leon Place NE was where Michael Hardwick was arrested in 1982 for having sex with another man—leading to the case Bowers v. Hardwick, the landmark 1986 case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled five to four to uphold Georgia’s sodomy law that criminalized oral and anal sex regardless of the participants’ gender.
In Mississippi, Democratic nominee Scott Colom made history in defeating Republican U.S. Senate incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith, The Advocate noted. Interestingly, Hyde-Smith previously used her Senate power to block Colom from becoming a federal judge, citing his supposed position on transgender athletes. Now, he will become the state’s first Black U.S. senator since Reconstruction and the first Democrat elected to the chamber since 1982.
Feb. 28, 2027, will mark the 50th anniversary of the first issue of Gaysweek, the queer New York newspaper founded by publisher Alan Bell, per OutNewsWire. Published from 1977 to 1979, Gaysweek covered local and national news, politics, community organizations, culture and entertainment, as well as the everyday life of gay and lesbian New Yorkers. More information is here.
In Chicago, guests at the National Women’s History Museum’s Women Making History Awards were surprised when Sen.-elect Juliana Stratton took the stage at the Navy Pier event, per the Politico Illinois Playbook. Stratton introduced the event’s first honoree, Laura Ricketts, and said she wouldn’t be where she is today without her. Ricketts and her wife, Brooke Skinner Ricketts, co-chaired Stratton’s campaign finance team. Laura also separately contributed $250,000 to Illinois Future PAC, which supported Stratton’s campaign.
Out gay U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was relocated from his Washington home to a military base due to increasing Iranian threats against him, CNBC noted. A person who requested anonymity claimed The Wall Street Journal “published an article featuring an online photo that allowed the location of the secretary’s Georgetown home to be geo-located.”
Queer writers Phoenix McDonald, Page Powars and Kit Rosewater sued Alabama’s state library board over rules that threaten libraries’ state funding if they acquire books marketed to minors that feature trans characters even for their adult sections, per The Advocate. Powars—author of the New York Times best-seller But I Hate Him—noted on social media that the policy has basically made it impossible for libraries to purchase that book even if it were shelved in an adult section.
By a unanimous vote (seven to zero), San Francisco’s Planning Commission approved plans for Sanctum Baths—paving the way for the city’s first new gay bathhouse in more than four decades, PinkNews noted. A major sticking point was the building’s street frontage, as planning rules require commercial premises to keep street-facing windows transparent and unobstructed. Zoning administrator Corey Teague agreed to grant a variance exempting the project from the clear-window requirement.
Jay Katari, a board member of EqualPride—publisher of such LGBTQ+ publications as The Advocate and OUT—resigned because of his association with President Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, according to Press Pass Q. Journalist Kevin Ortega-Rojas posted on his blog that Katari previously donated $10,000 to Republican anti-LGBTQ+ former Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes. Katari’s profile was removed from the company website on Sept. 15.
In Wisconsin, Chris Watts has allegedly engaged in same-sex relationships while serving five consecutive life sentences at Dodge Correctional Institution for murdering his wife and their two young daughters, per Yahoo! Canada. A source claimed that younger men seek Watts’ approval while the convicted murderer “showers them with gifts” in exchange.
In California, the city of West Hollywood has officially recognized poly relationships, The Advocate noted. On Nov. 2, the West Hollywood City Council voted unanimously to pass an ordinance paving the way for three or more adults in a committed relationship to register as a “multi-partner domestic relationship” within the city.
WORLD
In Senegal, an investigating judge sent 32 people to trial on allegations that included “acts against nature” and the deliberate transmission of HIV, Erasing 76 Crimes noted. The public prosecutor at the Louga High Court moved the case to criminal court; the group’s next hearing was scheduled for Nov. 12.
The UK Privy Council overturned Trinidad and Tobago’s Sexual Offenses Act outlawing consensual sex between adult males, saying that it breached plaintiff Jason Jones’ fundamental rights under the country’s constitution, DW.com reported. Jones initially won his case at Trinidad and Tobago’s High Court; however, the government and religious organizations managed to partially overturn the ruling once more. Jones—a 61-year-old born in Trinidad and Tobago—said he fled the country in 1996 because of homophobic violence and discrimination.
Meduza—a Latvia-based news site run by journalists who fled from governmental pressure in Russia—reported that Russia’s anti-LGBTQ+ crackdown has even involved homophobes, per Erasing 76 Crimes. The bigots inadvertently violate strict rules about publishing photos of rainbows and other queer-related images. For example, Vera Makeyeva, a retiree from Kurgan who welcomed Russia’s ban on the “LGBT movement,” was fined 1,500 rubles (US $18) for old reposts of homophobic content featuring a rainbow flag.
According to Erasing 76 Crimes, homophobia and war have forced thousands of queer refugees in East Africa on dangerous multi-nation treks in search of safety. For example, almost 50,000 refugees—including an estimated 2,400-plus LGBTQ+ people—have fled from renewed fighting in Ethiopia to seek refuge in Kenya.
The International LGBTQ+ Travel Association (IGLTA) announced that Vivian Perez (she/her) from Ladies Touch Events & Travel is the recipient of the 2026 Pioneer Award, a press release noted. This honor recognizes individuals, businesses or organizations whose innovative spirit and actions have played a pivotal role in advancing LGBTQ+ travel. The award will be presented to Perez during the 2026 IGLTA Global Convention in Seville, Spain on Nov. 19.
The Ghanaian-French artist Kwama Frigaux and the Senegalese Fatoumata Sy were the joint winners of the Yaa Asantewaa Art Prize, per The Art Newspaper. The prize was founded by the London- and Accra-based Gallery 1957 in 2021 to support women artists in Ghana and its diaspora; this year, it expanded to include artists from Senegal, in partnership with Institut Français du Sénégal. The prize is named after the former Ashanti queen mother, known for her anti-colonial resistance when Ghana was under British rule. Frigaux has made LGBTQ+ community history one of her themes.
French President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron filed a lawsuit against anti-LGBTQ+ MAGA broadcaster Candace Owens in Tennessee (Owens’ home state) over Owens’ repeated claims that Brigitte is a transgender woman, according to LGBTQ Nation. In June 2024, Owens started repeating the rumor —originated by two women who were initially found liable for defamation—that Brigitte is actually her own real-life brother, Jean-Michel Trogneux, who transitioned into a woman. (The siblings have been photographed together.)
French artist Christine and the Queens released the new single “Rendez-vous avec toi“ /“Rendez-vous in your arms,” in French and English, and announced upcoming shows, a press release noted. The single is accompanied by a dance-based music video choreographed by Alexander Ekman and shot in Paris. Born female, the artist self-identifies as male and uses male pronouns.
SHOWBIZ
In an episode of WNBA star Azzi Fudd’s podcast, Fuddin’ Around, she and Dallas Wings teammate Paige Bueckers announced they are no longer dating—and have been apart for more than a year, according to Them. More than one-quarter of the players in the WNBA are out as LGBTQ+. Also regarding Fudd, she was inducted into the University of Connecticut (UConn) women’s basketball Huskies of Honor on Nov. 8 at Gampel Pavilion, USA Today noted.
On Nov. 6-8 in Los Angeles and New York City, A24 hosted surprise opening weekend Q&As of Jordan Firstman’s film Club Kid that celebrated the film’s limited release, with special hosts Ayo Edebiri, Benito Skinner, Finneas, Moby, Hannah Einbinder and Rachel Sennott at AMC The Grove and AMC Century City in LA; and Josh Hutcherson, Kareem Rahma and Ira Madison in NYC. Club Kid follows hard-partying gay New York City club promoter Peter (played by Firstman), whose life is upended when his 10-year-old British biological son Arlo (Reggie Absolom) is unexpectedly left in his care after the boy’s mother dies by suicide.
Madonna is headlining the dance tent at the Coachella Music Festival, with Zara Larsson, Robyn, Phoebe Bridgers, Weezer and Daddy Yankee set to perform, per The Guardian. Dua Lipa, SZA and Tame Impala will be the event headliners. The festival will take place in the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California on April 9-11 and 16-18.
GLAAD released its 21st edition of Where We Are on TV, a press release noted. One of the takeaways from the latest report is that—on scripted primetime broadcast, cable and streaming original series that aired a new season from June 1, 2025 to May 31, 2026—GLAAD counted 369 LGBTQ+ characters in total. That is a decrease of 120 characters and 25% from the 489 queer characters counted in the previous season.
Openly LGBTQ+ Emmy nominee Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton; Wicked) and Oscar nominee/BAFTA winner Bill Nighy (About Time) will star in Dominic Cooke’s love story Insomniac City, a story set in New York City about writer/photographer Bill Hayes and celebrated neurologist Oliver Sacks, Deadline reported.
Queer Grammy-winning recording artist, philanthropist and entrepreneur Megan Thee Stallion will return as a guest star in the season-two finale episode of The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins on NBC, per a press release. Megan will reprise her role as Denise, a divorced mom who flirted with Arthur Tobin (played by Daniel Radcliffe) last season.
Asthmatic Kitty Records released LGBTQ+ musician Sufjan Stevens’ “On This Christmas (It Only Gets Better),” per a press release. The song is a previously unreleased single from Worst Christmas Ever!, a single-album compiling Sufjan’s holiday catalog. It’s the first new Christmas song that Stevens has written, produced and performed in nearly 15 years.
Joey Nebulous (a Chicago-born, Los Angeles-based queer indie pop project led by singer/songwriter Joseph Farago) announced his new EP, Dance With Joey, due in January 2027 via Mendel, per a press release. The announcement was accompanied by the release of the lead single/video “Dance With Him.”
Pro beach volleyball player Alex Ukkelberg has come out as gay, Out noted. “When you grow up in a town of less than 800 people [Battle Lake, Minnesota], being different is almost always a bad thing—and it’s definitely something you want to hide,” Ukkelberg captioned a video. “I knew I was different from a young age … but I didn’t know what that meant.”
Canadian-American singer/songwriter Alanis Morissette came out as pansexual on the Handsome podcast that features lesbian comedians Tig Notaro and Fortune Feimster as well as bisexual nonbinary comedian Mae Martin, LGBTQ Nation noted. Morissette previously mentioned her past romantic encounters with women during a 2008 interview with Howard Stern. While Stern called it a “lesbian phase,” Morissette said she saw the encounters as a “self-defining thing” but added that she saw herself as “pretty heterosexual.”
Phil Vischer—who helped create the Christian-themed animated series VeggieTales—has said that the Bible confirmed that God is non-binary, according to Them. “Let’s be clear: If you believe the eternal God, creator of the universe, is a male (or female) of a gendered species, you have departed from Christian orthodoxy,” Vischer wrote on X; he followed that with a post summarizing his past arguments.
Rosie O’Donnell criticized Megyn Kelly after the former Fox News anchor called Russell Brand’s 10-and-a-half-year prison sentence for rape and sexual assault “an outrage” and “insane,” USA Today noted. Under a Threads post sharing Kelly’s comments, O’Donnell wrote, “Go [expletive] [yourself,] Megan.”
The Country Music Association (CMA) and ABC announced that Taylor Swift will perform at The 60th Annual CMA Awards on Nov. 18 at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, per a press release. A two-time CMA Entertainer of the Year, Swift is nominated for Single of the Year for “I Knew It, I Knew You”—her 26th career CMA nomination.
On Dancing With the Stars, Brandy and Monica—who had a co-headline arena tour last year—announced The Boy Is Mine Las Vegas Residency, with 10 shows to be performed in Resorts World Las Vegas in 2027, per Billboard. It will mark the first Vegas residency for both R&B stars.
Out actor Andrew Rannells (who’s currently in previews of It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play) called out a fan who—after complaining about Rannells not appearing at a theater’s stage door—posted a photo of the actor on stage, Queerty noted. Rannells shared the fan’s post, saying, “You broke my heart for filming DURING THE SHOW! I will try my best to do the stage door as often as possible. But especially during previews, with rehearsals during the day,” he continued, “I have to think of my health and wellness first.”
After controversial comedian Dave Chappelle joked that he feels better ever since conservative figure Charlie Kirk was murdered, widow Erika Kirk responded, Variety noted. She stated on X, “To see leftist podcasters, comedians, and commentators laugh about political assassination as though it’s entertainment and the destruction of a human life is a punchline, is beyond disgusting.” Chappelle has been receiving backlash on social media after footage from his Madison Square Garden show—advertised as a phone-free experience—was shown.