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Takei, Aiken compete to be next Trump ‘Apprentice’

Also appearing are several prominent LGBT allies, outspoken celebrities; several LGBT and AIDS charities to benefit

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Though he is opposed to equal benefits for same-sex couples, Donald Trump’s next ‘Celebrity Apprentice‘ could be gay ‘American Idol’ Clay Aiken or married Star Trek star George Takei.

In March, when the Des Moines Register asked the then-rumored potential candidate for the G.O.P. Presidential nomination about whether or not same-sex marriage ought to remain legal in Iowa, Trump responded with a sound declaration against maintaining the law.

“They should not be able to marry,” the television host and casino magnate told the paper.

When pressed as to whether or not same-sex couples should have access to the same rights as opposite-sex couples, Trump responded his “attitude on it has not been fully formed.”

“As of this moment, I would say no and no,” he told the paper.

But the icon of wealth may be forced to reevaluate his position this February when openly gay former Star Trek star George Takei — who married his long-time partner Brad Altman in California in 2008 — joins the cast of the NBC show in its fifth season this year. Takei will be raising money and awareness on the show for the Japanese American National Museum, to which he will donate his winnings if he takes the top spot.

Aside from Takei, gay ‘American Idol’ runner up Clay Aiken will also join the cast. Aiken is a native of North Carolina which is facing a ballot measure to amend the state constitution to bar same-sex unions in that state. Aiken, who is an outspoken advocate for curbing LGBT youth bullying, came out in People magazine in 2008 after years of speculation. He will appear on the show to raise money and awareness for his charity, the National Inclusion Project, which promotes inclusive classrooms and playgrounds for children with disabilities.

Takei and Aiken will also be joined by prominent straight allies singer Deborah Gibson, Former ‘Danity Kane’ singer and ‘Making the Band’ cast member Aubrey O’Day, who is appearing on the show to raise money for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), and long-time outspoken LGBT activist, comedian Lisa Lampanelli, who is playing for AIDS charity Gay Men’s Health Crisis. Two other scheduled cast members playing for AIDS charities will be TV personality Arsenio Hall, playing for the Magic Johnson Foundation and Miss Universe 2008 Dayana Mendoza, playing for the Latino Commission on AIDS.

Also joining the cast will be racer Michael Andretti, talk show host Adam Carolla, ‘Incredible Hulk’ actor Lou Ferrigno, magician Penn Jillette, ‘Twisted Sister’ front man Dee Snyder, ‘American Chopper’ cast member Paul Teutul Sr., actress Tia Carrere, ‘Real Housewives of New Jersey’ cast member Teresa Giudice, ‘Growing Up Gotti’ cast member Victoria Gotti, 70s supermodel Cheryl Tiegs, and model Patricia Velasquez

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PHOTOS: Hagerstown Pride

LGBTQ community celebration held at Doubs Woods Park

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Chasity Vain performs at Hagerstown Pride 2025. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The 13th annual Hagerstown Pride Festival was held at Doubs Woods Park in Hagerstown, Md. on Saturday, June 21.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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Theater

‘Hunter S. Thompson’ an unlikely but rewarding choice for musical theater

‘Speaks volumes about how sad things land on our country’

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George Salazar in ‘The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical.’

‘The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical’
Through July 13
Signature Theatre
4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington, Va.
$47 to $98
Sigtheatre.org

The raucous world of the counterculture journalist may not seem the obvious choice for musical theater, but the positive buzz surrounding Signature Theatre’s production of Joe Iconis’s “The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical” suggests otherwise. 

As the titular, drug addled and gun-toting writer, Eric William Morris memorably moves toward his character’s suicide in 2005 at 67. He’s accompanied by an ensemble cast playing multiple roles including out actor George Salazar as Thompson’s sidekick Oscar “Zeta” Acosta, a bigger than life Mexican American attorney, author, and activist in the Chicano Movement who follows closely behind. 

Salazar performs a show-stopping number — “The Song of the Brown Buffalo,” a rowdy and unforgettable musical dive into a man’s psyche. 

“Playing the part of Oscar, I’m living my Dom daddy activist dreams. For years, I was cast as the best friend with a heart of gold. Quite differently, here, I’m tasked with embodying all the toxic masculinity of the late ‘60s, and a rampant homophobia, almost folded into the culture.”

He continues, “My sexuality aside, I like to think that Oscar would be thrilled by my interpretation of him in that song. 

“Our upbringings are similar. I’m mixed race – Filipino and Ecuadorian and we grew up similarly,” says Salazar, 39. “He didn’t fit in as white or Mexican American, and fell somewhere in the middle. Playing Oscar [who also at 39 in 1974 forever disappeared in Mexico], I pulled out a lot of experience about having to code switch before finally finding myself and being confident just doing my own thing.

“As we meet Oscar in the show we find exactly where’s he’s at. Take me or leave me, I couldn’t care less.”

In 2011, just three years after earning his BFA in musical theater from the University of Florida in Gainesville, Salazar fortuitously met Iconis at a bar in New York. The pair became fast friends and collaborators: “This is our third production,” says George. “So, when Joe comes to me with an idea, there hasn’t been a moment that I don’t trust him.”

In “Be More Chill,” one of Iconis’s earlier works, Salazar originated the role of Michael Mell, a part that he counts as one of the greatest joys of artistic life.

With the character, a loyal and caring friend who isn’t explicitly queer but appeals to queer audiences, Salazar developed a fervent following. And for an actor who didn’t come out to his father until he was 30, being in a place to support the community, especially younger queer people, has proved incredibly special. 

“When you hear Hunter and Oscar, you might think ‘dude musical,’ but I encourage all people to come see it.” Salazar continues, “Queer audiences should give the show a shot. As a musical, it’s entertaining, funny, serious, affecting, and beautiful. As a gay man stepping into this show, it’s so hetero and I wasn’t sure what to do. So, I took it upon myself that any of the multiple characters I play outside of Oscar, were going to be queer.

Queer friends have seen it and love it, says Salazar. His friend, Tony Award-winning director Sam Pinkleton (“Oh, Mary!”) saw Hunter S. Thompson at the La Jolla Playhouse during its run in California, and said it was the best musical he’d seen in a very long time. 

“Since the work’s inception almost 10 years ago, I was the first Oscar to read the script. In the interim, the characters’ relationships have grown but otherwise there have been no major changes. Still, it feels more impactful in different ways: It’s exciting to come here to do the show especially since Hunter S. Thompson was very political.”

Salazar, who lives in Los Angeles with his partner, a criminal justice reporter for The Guardian, is enjoying his time here in D.C. “In a time when there are so many bans – books, drag queens, and travel — all I see is division. This is an escape from that.”  

He describes the Hunter Thompson musical as Iconis’s masterpiece, adding that it’s the performance that he’s most proud of to date and that feels there a lot of maturity in the work. 

“In the play, Thompson talks to Nixon about being a crook and a liar,” says Salazar. “The work speaks volumes about how sad things land on our country: We seem to take them one step forward and two steps back; the performance is almost art as protest.”

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PHOTOS: Goodwin Living Pride Parade

Senior living and healthcare organization holds fifth annual march at Falls Church campus

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Goodwin Living Pride March 2025. (Photo courtesy of Goodwin Living)

The senior living and healthcare organization Goodwin Living held its fifth annual Pride Parade around its Bailey’s Crossroads campus in Falls Church, Va. with residents, friends and supporters on Thursday, June 12.

(Photos courtesy of Goodwin Living)

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