Arts & Entertainment
AFA outraged at Hilton ad featuring gay men in bed
organization starts petition against hotel chain
(Photo via Hilton Worldwide)
The American Family Association (AFA) is attacking Hilton Worldwide for an ad featured in Travel + Leisure magazine that displays two men cuddling together in bed.
In a post written on the AFA website, the organization accused the hotel chain of not advertising in a “family friendly manner.”
“Hilton Worldwide shocked readers by placing a full-page ad that featured two men in bed together,” the AFA writes. “If Hilton had advertised two men playing tennis, cards or having lunch, that would have been reasonable.
“Travel and Leisure isn’t a gay-specific magazine sent directly to homosexual’s homes,” the AFA continued. “It’s a widely distributed mainstream publication that can be found in many public places such as doctors’ or auto repair waiting rooms.”
Hilton Worldwide responded to the AFA saying “Hilton Worldwide is a global company of diverse cultures serving diverse guests…We are proud to depict and reflect our guest diversity in our advertising…”
AFA has started a petition to ask Hilton Worldwide to change their marketing strategies in mainstream media.
The full ad can be found here.
Celebrity News
Madonna announces release date for new album
‘Confessions II’ marks return to the dance floor
Pop icon Madonna on Wednesday announced that her 15th studio album will be released on July 3.
Titled “Confessions II,” the new album is a sequel to 2005’s “Confessions on a Dance Floor,” an Abba and disco-infused hit.
The new album reunites Madonna with producer Stuart Price, who also helmed the original “Confessions” album. It’s her first album of new material since 2019’s “Madame X.”
“We must dance, celebrate, and pray with our bodies,” Madonna said in a press release. “These are things that we’ve been doing for thousands of years — they really are spiritual practices. After all, the dance floor is a ritualistic space. It’s a place where you connect — with your wounds, with your fragility. To rave is an art. It’s about pushing your limits and connecting to a community of like-minded people,” continued the statement. “Sound, light, and vibration reshape our perceptions. Pulling us into a trance-like state. The repetition of the bass, we don’t just hear it but we feel it. Altering our consciousness and dissolving ego and time.”
Denali (@denalifoxx) of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” performed at Pitchers DC on April 9 for the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show. Other performers included Cake Pop!, Brooke N Hymen, Stacy Monique-Max and Silver Ware Sidora.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
In an act of artistic defiance, Baltimore Center Stage stays focused on DEI
‘Maybe it’s a triple-down’
By LESLIE GRAY STREETER | I’m always tickled when people complain about artists “going political.” The inherent nature of art, of creation and free expression, is political. This becomes obvious when entire governments try to threaten it out of existence, like in 2025, when the brand-new presidential administration demanded organizations halt so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming or risk federal funding.
Baltimore Center Stage’s response? A resounding and hearty “Nah.” A year later, they’re still doubling down on diversity.
“Maybe it’s a triple-down,” said Ken-Matt Martin, the theater’s producing director, chuckling.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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