LGBT Entertainment
Live Nation Sponsors Artist Who Sings About Killing Gay People
Published August 24, 2009 @ 04:54PM PT
Generally speaking, if you hear someone sing about taking an uzi, holding it up to a gay person's head, and then blowing the trigger, you wouldn't anticipate that they would get a national concert tour sponsored by one of the leading music industry promoters in the world. That's not the case with Buju Banton, a Jamaican artist who has repeatedly called for the execution of gays in his songs, who is being promoted by Live Nation for a series of concerts at the House of Blues this October. Live Nation lists four concerts for Banton, in Chicago, Las Vegas, Dallas, and Houston. And they're all at House of Blues.
Banton's songs are laced with the type of violence toward LGBT people that one would expect from a terrorist, not an international music star. A sample:
Anytime Buju Banton comes
Faggots get up and run.
Boom (gun shot) bye bye (Goodbye, as in you're dead)
In a faggot's head
Rude boy don't promote any nasty (queer) man
They have to die...
Send for the automatic (gun) and
The Uzi (gun) instead
Shoot them, don't come (to help them) if we shoot them...
If a guy comes near me
Then his skin must peel
Burn him up bad like an old tire wheel
I'm curious what part of that song Live Nation most wants to promote? The part where he advocates shooting a gay person in the face? The part where he advocates pouring acid on a gay person's skin? Or the part where he wants to burn gay people like old tires?
Efforts to protest Buju Banton have been around for quite some time, and even led the singer to sign in 2007 a "Reggae Compassionate Act," which sought to root out homophobic lyrics in reggae music. Pink News, however, reports that Banton withdrew his support for the Reggae Compassionate Act and never signed it.
Whether he did or didn't, Banton has continued to use pretty vile language to define the LGBT community. He's called LGBT protestors of his music "stupid" and "ignorant," told them to "fuck" off, and continues to sing homophobic songs (like the one above). YouTube video of him singing the song above in Miami came out AFTER he made a pledge to stop singing the song. Banton also sang the song at a Guyana music festival, causing the ire of local LGBT activists.
If Buju Banton is going to renounce homophobia in his lyrics, he should make that commitment extremely public. Until then, by Live Nation choosing to sponsor his tour, it sends the message that singing about murdering gay people is not only appropriate, it's lucrative.
Let Live Nation and the House of Blues know what you think. He's got four dates scheduled on Live Nation's site. Gayliberation.net has even more dates listed for Banton.
Reba McEntire: Don't Hate on Same-Sex Marriage
Published August 23, 2009 @ 08:08PM PT
Another celebrity joins the side of equal rights, with country superstar Reba McEntire saying that when it comes to the issue of same-sex marriage, people shouldn't judge. Seems like pretty simple advice, albeit one that might challenge some of Reba's listeners. After all, country music fans are far more likely to vote for conservatives than progressives.
McEntire will be interviewed in the upcoming issue of Out Magazine, becoming the second country music star to be featured in the mag (behind Martina McBride). For McEntire, it's a Biblical principle not to judge LGBT folks.
"I just try not to judge. Don't judge me, and I won't judge you. And that's what it says in the Bible -- 'Don't judge.'"
Perhaps McEntire might want to share those thoughts with a few Lutheran pastors who blame tornadoes on homosexuality, or a couple of evangelicals from Illinois who like to compare LGBT people to Nazis.
McEntire goes on to say that her principle of 'non-judgment' carries over to same-sex marriage, throwing a shout-out to her gay friends. And her straight ones, too. Because the issue isn't about religion, it's about love.
"Keep an open mind. That would be my voice. I have gay friends. I have a lot of straight friends. I don't judge them. I take them for what they are. They're my friends, and I can't defend my feelings for them, other than I like 'em," said McEntire. "I have gay friends who have partners, and I see where they would want to get married. I understand why. So, I can't judge that."
Very cool to see prominent straight allies - especially ones who might be challenging a portion of their audience - take a public step in support of marriage equality.
David Letterman Pauses for a Marriage Equality Riff
Published August 20, 2009 @ 09:15AM PT
Kudos to David Letterman for taking advantage of Donald Trump's appearance on his show this week to champion the issue of marriage equality. The audience's reaction to Letterman's comments? Widespread applause.
Trump was on the show promoting the Miss Universe pageant. Tangentially tied to the Miss Universe contest is the Miss USA pageant, where earlier this year Carrie Prejean (otherwise known at the time as Miss California) went on to proclaim that opposite marriage is morally superior to same-sex marriage. Letterman asked Trump what he thought about the brouhaha involving Carrie Prejean, and Trump provided a bit of strange fodder by saying that the only reason people jumped down Carrie Prejean's throat for her marriage comments was because she's so "beautiful."
Or, in other words, nobody gave a damn that Carrie Prejean thought that gays and lesbians should be relocated to a second class status in this country. Rather, they just didn't like her because she was too pretty.
If that sounds a little crazy, it's because it is. Thankfully, Letterman didn't let the moment pass without getting a marriage equality riff in. "Anybody who wants to get married ought to be able to get married." Cue widespread applause, and cue a little 'eating of the crow' so to speak by the Donald.
Check out the clip below.
Brokeback Mountain Shirts the Stuff of Film Legendry
Published August 19, 2009 @ 06:11AM PT
Like that sled from "Citizen Kane," or those slippers from "The Wizard of Oz," or even those sabers from "Star Wars," the cowboy shirts from Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain" have just been established as film props destined for eternal reverance. How so? By being installed at the Gene Autry National Center of the American West, a museum dedicated to "exhibit and interpret" the heritage of the American West.
This is seemingly a small thing, but underneath the surface it's a really cool step. As Mike Szymanski writes for examiner.com, the Autry National Center is known for its more manly and macho images of cowboy culture. The fact that the museum will now be displaying the two shirts worn by actors Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal mark a breakthrough for LGBT film history, and the crippling of a stereotype that says the American West is for straight people.
For their own part, the Autry National Center issued a press release saying much of the same thing. "The iconic shirts are at the center of the Contemporary Westerns case in order to highlight Brokeback Mountain's significance in keeping the Western genre alive and thriving in the new millennium, and also to spotlight the LGBT community's struggle for safety and inclusion in the rural, Western communities from where many originate yet often feel forced to abandon," said the Center.
Actor and art collector Tom Gregory, who originally purchased the shirts at auction and has lent them to the Center, took it a step further, and said that these two shirts represent much more than just film props. According to Gregory, this two shirts are the "ruby slippers" of our time. "These shirts are a visual representation of love. Two shirts intertwined, stained and soiled with mud and the life-blood of Brokeback Mountain, where exhilaration soared for two men who found a deep, passionate, and reverent love with one another, a love that they were never allowed to live," said Gregory during the installation of the shirts. "These shirts have become the only tangible reference point for millions who have been touched by Annie Proulx’s story and Ang Lee’s film, including the hundreds of men and women who sent me e-mails and letters emoting for their long lost same-sex love."
And truth be told, Gregory is right. How many of us were able to hold back the emotions during that last scene, where in the closet of Heath Ledger's character hangs his lover's shirt?
I'll still never understand how Brokeback Mountain didn't win the Best Picture. But kudos to the Autry Center for underscoring the importance of this film, both for the LGBT population and for the American West.
Bea Arthur's Lasting Gift to Fight LGBT Homelessness
Published August 18, 2009 @ 03:15PM PT
Earlier this year the world lost one of its biggest gay icons, when former Golden Girl Bea Arthur died. Arthur was ever the champion of LGBT causes, so much so that her name will now carry on in the fight against LGBT homelessness.
The Ali Forney Center, which for the past seven years has worked to serve the LGBT homeless population in New York City, announced today that they would rename one of their shelters after the legendary television and theater performer. The official renaming will take place at a memorial service at the Majestic Theater, and will commemorate Arthur for her work to end homelessness among LGBT youth.
In 2005, Arthur said that her work to support organizations like the Ali Forney Center stemmed from wanting to make the world a better place for vulnerable kids. "I'm very, very involved in charities involving youth and the plight of foster children. But these kids at the Ali Forney Center are literally dumped by their families because of the fact that they are lesbian, gay, or transgender."
It's partly that dedication to fight for the rights of LGBT youth that made Bea Arthur such a beloved figure in the LGBT community. Homelessness is a pandemic among LGBT youth, with statistics saying that up to 25 percent of LGBT teens are rejected by their families and face a life on the streets.
Everything can and should be done to prevent that. And that's something Arthur recognized. And for that, while it seems kind of cheesy, it seems like the most appropriate thing to say is, "Thank you for being a friend," to the LGBT population yet again.
The Laramie Project, Ten Years Later
Published August 18, 2009 @ 06:19AM PT
How does a community change more than a decade after one of the most brutal LGBT hate crimes ever committed in the United States? Specifically, how has the murder of Matthew Shepard, which drew nationwide attention in 1998 and became a catalyst in the debate over hate crimes and sexual orientation, impacted Laramie, Wyoming in the past eleven years?
The writers behind The Laramie Project are looking to answer those questions, by adding an 80-minute epilogue to the original play which will include commentary based on more than a dozen interviews with Laramie residents, focused on how Matthew Shepard's murder has changed (or in some cases, not changed) their community and their own lives.
Moisés Kaufman, who wrote and produced the original Laramie Project with the Tectonic Theater Project, told the New York Times earlier this month that the epilogue hopes to answer the question of whether extreme acts of violence within a community, like that which was done to Matthew Shepard, have any measureable effects on the local population. “We wanted to see what occurs in a small town in the long run when it’s been subject to such a devastating event,” said Kaufman. “What has been the long-lasting effect of this watershed moment? Is the fallout of these events positive, negative or perhaps a better question, is it measurable in those terms?”
Without giving anything away, the writers behind the new epilogue say that what they found in looking back at Laramie was a community that is still trying to figure out its place within LGBT history, and figuring out how to come to terms with Shepard's murder.
"We found the people of Laramie still fighting to own their own history, their own identity, their own story, and part of that is shaped by how they understand what happened that night to Matthew," said Leigh Fondakowski, one of the writers behind the new epilogue.
Adding even more intrigue, the writers were able to speak to one of the perpetrators behind Matthew Shepard's killing, Aaron McKinney, who is now serving two consecutive life sentences in prison for the role he played in Shepard's murder. Controversial? Yes. Writers of the epilogue won't reveal what McKinney had to say, but mention that McKinney's commentary will likely defy expectations.
The goal now is to get theaters to sign on for a multi-city simultaneous performance. Writers are hoping that 100 regional theaters will line up to perform The Laramie Project on October 12, which will mark the 11th anniversary of Matthew Shepard's death. So far, at least 40 theaters have committed.
An online community forum has been set up, as well, and features a trailer for the epilogue with video of the interviews that writers conducted in Laramie. From hearing one resident say that Matthew Shepard's murder was the "first time I realized what a hate crimes was," to hearing another resident articulate that the state of Wyoming hasn't responded adequately to Shepard's death, it's clear that there are many feelings about how Matthew Shepard's death changed the residents of Laramie, both on an individual and community level. Check out the trailer below, and the Web site for more info.
Lady Gaga as Gay Culture Warrior
Published August 14, 2009 @ 07:49AM PT
Say what you want about Lady Gaga, but the woman certainly loves her gays. She's the cover story on Out Magazine (after already hitting the covers of Rolling Stone), and she's got a message for the globe: I want to turn the world gay.
It’s not an underground tool for me. It’s my whole life. So I always sort of joke that the real motivation is to just turn the world gay.
Lady Gaga (born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, which is a lot harder to fit on a driver's license) is quickly becoming the next big gay icon. And she notes that in large part, it's because she's always been surrounding by LGBT teachers and mentors.
I had a few gay piano teachers. I was in acting class and ballet from a very young age, and I remember being around a lot of gay boys in dance class. I feel intrinsically inclined toward a more gay lifestyle.
So yeah, it's not the hard-hitting news that LGBT activists are questioning Bill Clinton, or that marriage equality advocates are gearing up for quite the battle in Maine. But I think we all have to admit that if Lady Gaga can succeed in making the world even the slightest bit more gay, we're all better off. :)
