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PBS series to profile Billie Jean King

Retired tennis champ outed in 1981 after lawsuit disclosed same-sex relationship

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Billie Jean King, tennis, sports, gay news, Washington Blade
Billie Jean King, tennis, sports, gay news, Washington Blade

Billie Jean King (Photo by Andrew Coppa Photography)

PBS will profile retired tennis champion Billie Jean King in an episode of “American Masters” the network will air on Sept. 10.

King, 69, won 39 Grand Slam titles during her professional career that spanned more than a decade from 1968 to 1983.

She founded the Women’s Tennis Association in 1973, the same year she defeated Bobby Riggs in a match that became known as the Battle of the Sexes. King the same year founded the Women’s Tennis Association, and in 1974 she co-founded the co-ed Mylan World TeamTennis league.

FIND MORE OF THE WASHINGTON BLADE SPORTS ISSUE HERE.

King came out as a lesbian after her relationship with her then-secretary and hairdresser Marilyn Barnett became public when she filed a palimony lawsuit against her while she was still married to her husband.

The retired tennis champion told reporters during a conference call on Monday she lost all her endorsements “within 24 hours” of publicly declaring her homosexuality. King noted the companies that had once backed her “wrote me about how horrible a person I was.”

“The culture at the time was not accepting, at all,” she said, noting she had planned to retire in 1981, but delayed the decision two years because she lost more than $2 million because of the lost endorsements. “It was completely different than it is now.”

King added she feels gay Americans currently find themselves at “a tipping point” in terms of the LGBT rights movement, even though she noted more than 30 states still lack transgender-specific employment protections.

“If I went back to 1981, I cannot tell you how tough it was,” King said, referring to gay 1963 March on Washington organizer Bayard Rustin. “I can’t even imagine the pioneers before me and all the people that couldn’t come out that wanted to accomplish things not only for themselves, but for others.”

King also weighed in on calls to boycott the 2014 Winter Olympics that will take place in Sochi, Russia, in February over the country’s LGBT rights record.

“The athletes who have the most to derive from it and the least to derive from it if they don’t go, I think they should get the vote,” she said during the conference call in response to a Washington Blade question about the issue. “This is the Olympics. This is about the athletes and the fans, so it’s a really hard call.”

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Australia

Australian prime minister re-elected

Anthony Albanese marched in 2023 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade

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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (Screen capture via ABC News Australia/YouTube)

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Saturday won re-election.

Albanese’s Labor Party defeated the Liberal Party that Peter Dutton led.

Dutton, who lost his seat in parliament, quickly conceded to Albanese, who is the first Australian prime minister to win re-election in 21 years. Foreign Minister Penny Wong, a lesbian who represents South Australia in the Australian Senate, on Saturday introduced Albanese at his victory party.

“Today the Australian people have voted for Australian values; for fairness, aspiration, and opportunity for all, for the strength to show courage in adversity, and kindness to those in need,” said Albanese. “Australians have voted for a future that holds true to these values.”

(9News Australia)

Albanese has been prime minister since 2022. In 2023 he became the first Australian prime minister to march in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade.

Voters re-elected Albanese less than a week after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and his Liberal Party won the country’s federal election. The Trump-Vance administration’s global tariffs are among the issues that factored into both country’s votes.

“Congratulations to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on his victory in Australia’s federal election,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio on X. “Australia is a valued U.S. friend and a close partner.”

“We look forward to continuing to promote freedom and security in the Indo-Pacific and around the world,” he added.

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Virginia

Va. LG opposed marriage equality affirmation bill in handwritten note

Winsome Earle-Sears constitutionally required to sign HB 174 as Senate president

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Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears speaks at CPAC in 2023. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears last year in a handwritten note indicated her opposition to marriage rights for same-sex couples when she signed a bill that affirmed marriage equality in the state.

Brandon Jarvis of Virginia Scope on May 1 published Earle-Sears’s note on House Bill 174, which state Del. Rozia Henson, a Prince William County Democrat who is gay, introduced.

The Virginia Senate passed HB 174 by a 22-17 vote margin, and the state constitution required Earle-Sears to sign it as the chamber’s president. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed the measure into law after it received bipartisan support.

“As the lieutenant governor, I recognize and respect my constitutional obligation to adhere to procedures set out in the constitution of Virginia,” wrote Earle-Sears in her note. “However, I remain morally opposed to the content of HB 174 as passed by the General Assembly.”

Earle-Sears, a former U.S. Marine who served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2002-2004, in 2021 became the first woman elected Virginia’s lieutenant governor. Activists have criticized her for her opposition to LGBTQ rights in Virginia.

She sparked controversy last year when she misgendered state Sen. Danica Roem (D-Manassas), who is transgender, on the Senate floor. Earle-Sears has also spoken at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

Earle-Sears is running to succeed Youngkin as governor once his term ends in January 2026. She will likely face former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat who previously represented Virginia’s 7th Congressional District.

John Reid, a conservative talk show host who is openly gay, last month secured the Republican nomination to succeed Earle-Sears as lieutenant governor. Youngkin has called for Reid to end his campaign amid reports that he posted “pornographic content” on social media.

Reid has strongly denied the reports.

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World Pride 2025

D.C. liquor board extends drinking hours for WorldPride

Gay bars, other liquor-serving establishments can stay open 24 hours

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Venus Valhalla performs at Pitchers. Liquor-serving establishments in D.C. will be able to remain open for 24 hours during WorldPride. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

D.C.’s Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board, which regulates liquor sales for the city’s bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and other establishments licensed to serve alcoholic beverages, has approved extended hours for alcohol service and sales during the days when most WorldPride events will be held in the nation’s capital.

In a May 2 announcement, the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration, which works with the board, said the extended liquor serving and sales hours for WorldPride will take place beginning Friday, May 30, through 4 a.m. Monday, June 9.

Although the official schedule for WorldPride events shows the events will take place May 17-June 8, most of the large events, including a two-day Pride street festival, parade, and concert, were expected to take place between May 30 and June 8.

According to the ABCA announcement and an ABCA spokesperson, liquor servicing establishments with the appropriate license can stay open for 24 hours and serve alcoholic beverages from 6 a.m. through the day and evening until 4 a.m., with no liquor sales allowed from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. during the May 30-June 9 period.

The ABCA announcement says liquor serving establishments must apply for the extended hours option and pay a $100 registration fee by a deadline on May 27.

Sources familiar with the liquor board have said the board has for many years approved the extension of liquor serving and sales hours for important events and for certain holidays such as New Year’s Eve.

At the time it approved the extended hours for WorldPride the liquor board also approved extended hours during the time when games for a World Cup soccer tournament will be held in the city on June 18, June 22, and June 26.

It couldn’t immediately be determined how many of D.C.’s 22 LGBTQ bars plan to apply for the extended drinking hours. David Perruzza, owner of the Adams Morgan gay bar Pitchers and its adjoining lesbian bar A League of Her Own, said he will apply for the 4 a.m. extended hours option but he does not intend to keep the two bars open for the full 23 hours.

Under the city’s current alcoholic beverage regulations, licensed liquor serving establishments may serve alcoholic beverages until 2 a.m. on weekdays and 3 a.m. on weekends.

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