Arts & Entertainment
Imagine Dragons singer apologizes for preaching anti-gay messages
the musician is planning a LGBT benefit concert

(Screenshot via YouTube.)
Imagine Dragons lead singer Dan Reynolds has apologized for preaching Mormon teachings that homosexuality is a sin.
Reynolds was honored with the Hero award for the Trevor Project and in his acceptance speech, he admitted he wasn’t always accepting of the LGBT community.
“I knocked on thousands of doors. For those two years when people asked me what the doctrine was and they said, ‘Hey, I’m gay,’ I thought that it was a sin because that’s what I had been raised to teach,” Reynolds, who is Mormon, told the crowd. “I hold regret about that until this day. I wish I could re-knock on those doors and tell them I was wrong. I can’t do that. All I can do is come forward to you today and say I’m sincerely sorry.”
The singer credits his wife, Aja Volkman, for changing his viewpoint.
“She taught me what I already knew in my heart, which is to be gay is beautiful,” Reynolds says.
He also told Billboard that he received letters from gay fans after the Imagine Dragons’ song “It’s Time” appeared on “Glee”. In the episode, Blaine (Darren Criss) sings the song to his boyfriend, Kurt (Chris Colfer). Fan reactions led Reynolds to realize that he needed to speak up on the issue.
“One of the reasons I’ve felt such a need to speak out on this is I’ve gotten countless emails and letters from fans around the world who said, “I’m gay, but I know you’re Mormon so that probably means you don’t accept my lifestyle, but I love ‘It’s Time’ and your music.’ That was devastating and it broke my heart to get letters like that. I’ve written back to these people to tell them, “No, I do support you and I’m here for you,'” Reynolds told Billboard.
Reynolds is now organizing Love is Loud, a concert to benefit the LGBT community, on Aug. 26 in Provo, Utah. Proceeds will benefit Encircle, Stand4Kind, GLAAD and the Trevor Project. Neon Trees lead singer Tyler Glenn, an out Mormon, will also perform.
The 2026 World Pride March was held on Saturday, Aug. 8 in Amsterdam. Tens of thousands of participants marched from Martin Luther Kingpark to the grounds of the Pride Village at Museumplein.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)








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The weekly drag show “Daddy Issues” was held at Kiki on Wednesday, Aug. 5. Performers included Evry Pleasure, Indiana Bones and Tiara Missou-Sidora.
(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)









Books
Something’s off about Dad. When is it time to step in?
‘When Memory Fades’ can help when families face dementia
‘When Memory Fades’
By Nathaniel Chin, MD
c.2026, St. Martin’s Essentials
$30/422 pages
Mom called you in a panic the other day.
She’d lost her keys and by the time you arrived to help, she’d found them. In the refrigerator.
These kinds of things keep happening, not often but often enough, and you don’t know quite what to worry about. But in the new book “When Memory Fades” by Nathaniel Chin, MD, you’ll learn about the journey ahead, for both of you.
You can’t remember why you walked into a room. You got lost last week, going to the bank. Popular wisdom says that things like that are normal as we age, but Chin says that’s not true – although the answer may not be a worst-case scenario, either. Yes, memory problems could just be signs of stress, dehydration, or lack of sleep – or is it time to see a doctor?
Chin says maybe, yes.
He was working his way through medical residency when his father, a geriatrician in Madison, Wisc., was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Chin, now a geriatrician, was blindsided, but that diagnosis also changed his life.
Here, he writes about the brain, and how Alzheimer’s and dementia are diagnosed, explaining that dementia has many faces and, depending on a doctor’s evaluation, memory problems might be slowed or improved. He shares his father’s illness with readers, but he also writes about his mother, a steadfast, steady caretaker.
Her story reminds reader-guardians to care for themselves, too.
Know how to talk the talk, so that you can have “a more productive” conversation with your doctor. Understand that there’s nothing “normal” about dementia or Alzheimer’s. Know the statistics – African Americans are affected with dementia twice as much as whites – and know how to lower your risks. Learn here what questions to ask, how to break the news to everyone, and any legal matters that will be important soon. And know how to tend to you.
Says Chin, “The best action you can take is to educate yourself… The more you understand, the better equipped you are to make sound judgments.”
Something’s off about Dad, just a lot of little things that don’t add up. When is it time to step in? “When Memory Fades” can help you decide.
Wise, wide-spread, comprehensive, and compassionately helpful, this is a book you can read and then take it to the doctor with your loved one. It’s a book that makes sense when nothing else does, and its biggest feature is that it smoothly transitions from easy-to-grasp science and charts, to gentle coaching for caregivers. Author Nathaniel Chin, MD writes with storytelling, humility, grace, and experience from both sides of the Alzheimer’s/dementia issue, and his words are reassuring but also urgent. Learn, but don’t wait, he says. Know how to safeguard yourself. See your doctor, and don’t fear testing. Watch for signs of depression. And never, ever stop asking for help.
Read those last seven words, and find “When Memory Fades” now. It’s a book to have on your shelf, whether you’re 45 or 95 because, as you’ll see, dementia happens and knowledge is key.
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