Mizz June eventually recovered from COVID-19 but she is still scared she could contract it again. (Mizz June/ Facebook) A trans woman who contracted coronavirus has described how she was told to stay home by first responders while coughing up blood, highlighting healthcare barriers for LGBT+ people, especially queer people of colour. Singer and actress Mizz
COVID-19
World-renowned illusionists and conservationists Siegfried and Roy (right) pose with their white tiger in an undated photo. (Photo courtesy of Siegfried and Roy/The Mirage via Getty Images) Roy Horn, the tiger-levitating entertainer who dazzled Las Vegas audiences as half of magic duo Siegfried and Roy, has died from COVID-19 complications. Roy Horn died at MountainView
A police officer asks for documents at a checkpoint on April 21, 2020 in Bogota, Colombia. (Guillermo Legaria/Getty Images) Gender-based lockdown rules in Bogotá, Colombia, will be lifted after they fuelled a wave of violence against transgender people living in the city. Bogotá’s mayor, Claudia Lopez, said in a virtual press conference on Friday (May
Chinese authorities will allow further leisure venues, including cinemas, to gradually re-open now that the coronavirus pandemic has largely been controlled in the country, the top administrative body said on Friday. This comes after movie theaters were shuttered nationwide in January, ultimately dealing a $2.5B+ loss to the box office in just the first quarter.
Health secretary Matt Hancock has denied laughing at non-binary people when asked why a coronavirus announcement included a reference to “certain genders”. In an interview with Talkradio’s Julia Hartley-Brewer, Hancock was questioned about a tweet from the Department of Health which highlighted “the emerging evidence that coronavirus is having a disproportionate impact on some ethnic
Hitting topics that are top of mind in Hollywood, ViacomCBS Bob Bakish said stalled production is a money saver now but needs to restart by mid-summer; that movies will be released in theatres as planned if they’re open and enough people are going; and that COVID-19 has spurred cost efficient work that will inform its
LGBT+ people are likely to be more vulnerable to coronavirus (Piero Cruciatti/AFP/Getty) State lawmakers are urging US officials to record the sexuality of coronavirus victims, as the data could be critical to the LGBT+ community’s safety amid the pandemic. The CDC currently breaks down coronavirus cases publicly by location, race, gender and age, but not
EXCLUSIVE: Despite recent, scattered press reports suggesting New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was snubbing Broadway by shutting the industry out of his New York Forward Re-Opening Advisory Board, the state and the theater industry are working closely on how to re-start, Charlotte St. Martin, president of the Broadway League, tells Deadline. “We are completely aligned
HIV transmission has dropped significantly with lockdown breaking the chain of new cases, a leading sexual health clinic has claimed. 56 Dean Street, a London-based sexual health clinic, is urging people to order free home test kits online in an effort to keep the number of new HIV cases down when the pandemic is over.
Dr Rachel Levine giving a live update on the coronavirus crisis in Pennsylvania (Facebook/Pennsylvania Department of Health) Pennsylvanians have united in support of Dr Rachel Levine, the transgender secretary of health who’s leading the state through the coronavirus crisis. A graduate of Harvard College and a specialist in paediatrics and adolescent medicine, Dr Rachel Levine
French movie theaters will not be allowed to re-open when the country begins to lift its lockdown on May 11, while a ban on festivals and events that draw more than 5,000 people has been extended to September. That includes professional sports, notably the 2019-2020 soccer season. France’s Prime Minister Edouard Philippe made the statements
Placard at a sex workers’ rights march in Stockholm. (Twitter/SWARM) Trans sex workers in Greece who don’t have legal gender recognition are being excluded from government support in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. In Greece, where sex work is legalised but heavily regulated, only Greek nationals with a female gender marker in their documents
Roddy Alves gave an emotional interview in which she opened up about childhood bullying. (Screenshot/Truly) Celebrity Big Brother star Roddy Alves, who became famous as a lover of plastic surgery and later came out as transgender, has opened up about her transition in an emotional interview. Roddy Alves found fame after spending half a million
Outlander star Sam Heughan at the premiere of “Bloodshot” on March 10, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Jean Baptiste Lacroix/WireImage/Getty) Outlander star Sam Heughan has broken his silence after years of “bullying, harassment and stalking” from online trolls who insist he’s secretly gay. The Scottish actor best known for his role as Jamie Fraser in
Lady Gaga and Boris Johnson. (Getty/Global Citizen/Ray Tang/Anadolu Agency) An explosive article in today’s Sunday Times revealed that UK prime minister Boris Johnson skipped the first five crisis meetings about coronavirus – meanwhile, Lady Gaga raised $127m for the COVID-19 relief effort and curated a global star-studded concert. Johnson, whose poor handling of the pandemic
A leading medical chief has offered important advice to any LGBT+ people considering hooking up on Grindr during the coronavirus pandemic. Dr Anthony Fauci, who is part of the White House coronavirus taskforce, explained in an interview with Vanity Fair that it’s all about “relative risk”. “If you really feel that you don’t want to
Boys and men are feeling vulnerable during the coronavirus pandemic but are disguising it through risk-taking behaviour, a researcher has said. In an article for TES, criminology professor Ross Deuchar and former police chief inspector in the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit Graham Goulden wrote of their fears for boys and men in COVID-19 lockdown. Deuchar
Contrary to claims made in a viral news story, Belgium’s health minister has not banned group sex during coronavirus lockdown. The original story, published on worldnewsdailyreport.com, claimed that the country’s health minister urged people not to engage in group sex while the crisis continues. But anyone who looked at the website for more than a
A gay couple have opened up about their horrific experience of being spat on during a homophobic incident in Amsterdam while the world is in coronavirus lockdown. The couple, called Daniel and Fabio, were walking to a supermarket on Molukkenstraat in Amsterdam yesterday (April 12) when the incident occurred. They were approached by a group
Joe Biden holds a virtual campaign event on March 13, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois. (Scott Olson/Getty) Joe Biden is holding a star-studded ‘virtual’ fundraiser in the Los Angeles LGBT+ community, with minimum donations of $1,000. The event on April 23 will feature performances from TV, Broadway and music stars, including Billy Porter, Kristin Chenoweth and Melissa Etheridge. The
This 10-second TikTok video parodying gay couples in coronavirus lockdown has made us feel both seen and attacked at the same time. The video was uploaded to the short-form video platform by Darren and Michael and is captioned: “Gays in quarantine.” In the 10-second long clip, the couple bakes, cleans, pots plants, engages in some
UPDATE, with specific show details Broadway will remain closed through June 7, a two-month extension of the current coronavirus shutdown that would seem to retroactively end the 2019-2020 Broadway season with the March 12 shutdown. No mention was made in the Broadway League’s announcement today of officially closing the Broadway season – theoretically, at least,
Ellen DeGeneres, after production of her show was suspended due to coronavirus, is back and is filming from her Los Angeles living room. (Screen capture via YouTube) Ellen DeGeneres has quietly removed the section of her show in which she compared quarantining in her $27 million Californian mansion to “being in jail”. On Tuesday the
Tommy Ferris tows his grandmother’s wheelchair on his sit-down lawnmower. (Screen capture via BBC) A gay grandson caring for his 81-year-old grandmother with dementia has documented his time spent in lockdown as Britain comes to grips with the coronavirus. Tommy Ferris, 31, from Yate, Gloucestershire, recorded the tearjerking moments he shared with Nana Jean, from
Young people have been advised not to come out while coronavirus restrictions are in place (Envato Elements) An LGBT+ charity has advised young people to “hit pause” on coming out while self-isolating with their families during the coronavirus pandemic. The Albert Kennedy Trust (AKT), a charity that cares for the LGBT+ homeless, has warned young
Henrietta Robinson was ‘ beacon of light in the transgender movement’ (Facebook/Miami Beach Pride) A trans woman known as ‘Grand Lady of Miami Beach’ has died of coronavirus, marking yet another LGBT+ leader lost to the disease. Henrietta Robinson, 79, was a renowned figure in the LGBT+ community and was celebrated as one of the
Brian Zupanick, left, and his partner John Giarratano, who has been battling coronavirus (GoFundMe) A gay man who watched his partner struggle through coronavirus has shared his story with the warning: “Everyone should be terrified.” Brian Zupanic lives in New York City with his partner of ten years, John Giarratano, a freelance TV producer. Aged
Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. (HAIDAR HAMDANI/AFP via Getty) Iraqi Shia political leader Muqtada al-Sadr has been widely criticised online for claiming that the coronavirus pandemic was caused by same-sex marriage. Writing on Twitter on Saturday (March 28), al-Sadr – who is the leader of the Sadrist Movement and the Saraya al-Salam militia, said: “One of
The pioneering trans activist Lorena Borjas sadly passed away at the age of 60 (Facebook/Samy Nemir Olivares) The pioneering transgender activist Lorena Borjas has tragically passed away from coronavirus early on Monday morning. Borjas, 60, was known as the mother of the trans Latinx community in Queens. As a survivor of human trafficking, she dedicated
This zookeeper delighted viewers at home with an impromptu fan dance (Twitter/@dariennelake) An Australian zookeeper has won worldwide fame by dancing away the coronavirus blues with a snap of his rainbow fan. Australia’s Melbourne Zoo has restricted visitor numbers to just 2,000 people a day to allow for social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic. With