Arts & Entertainment

Oscar brings mixed bag

Harris hosts, Gaga wows and Rivers snubbed at 87th awards

Published

12 years ago

February 24, 2015

Neil Patrick Harris, gay news, Washington Blade

Out actor Neil Patrick Harris drew mixed reviews for hosting the Oscars. (Photo by Kristin Dos Santos; courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

As is common for the telecast, the presentation of the 87th annual Academy Awards on Sunday night drew mixed reviews on everything from Neil Patrick Harris’s hosting performance, Lady Gaga’s “Sound of Music” tribute, Graham Moore’s acceptance speech in the adapted screenplay category and a spate of other matters.

Perhaps because none of the heavily nominated films were box office home runs in the league of last year’s “Gravity,” interest and ratings overall were down. The telecast garnered about 36 million viewers in the U.S., making it the least-watched Oscars since 2009 (when Hugh Jackman hosted) and the third-lowest Oscars in the awards’ broadcast history, according to Deadline.

“Birdman or (the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel” each won four Oscars with the former taking the best director and best picture awards. “The Imitation Game,” a biopic of gay World War II-era British codebreaker Alan Turing, was nominated in eight categories but won only the screenplay award.

In accepting it, Moore said he’d attempted suicide at 16 “because I felt weird and different and I felt like I did not belong.” He then urged young viewers to “stay weird, stay different.” Although he never said the word gay, many assumed he was referencing recent gay teen suicides, especially considering his connection to the Turing film. But Moore told BuzzFeed at the Governor’s Ball later that night that he’s “not gay.”

Out twin singers Tegan and Sara performed “Everything is Awesome” from “The Lego Movie.” The Shawn Patterson-penned song lost to “Glory” from “Selma.”

In the acting categories, Julianne Moore won best actress for “Still Alice,” Eddie Redmayne won best actor for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in “The Theory of Everything,” J.K. Simmons won best supporting actor for “Whiplash” and Patricia Arquette won best supporting actress for “Boyhood.”

Lady Gaga, honoring the 50th anniversary of “The Sound of Music” with a medley of its songs, drew largely praise from many on social media who mentioned her range and ability to sing many genres of music as also evidenced by her performance on the Grammys on Feb. 8 when she sang with collaborator Tony Bennett.

And Harris, such a hit when he hosted the Emmys and Tonys, drew surprisingly lackluster reviews especially compared to Ellen DeGeneres, another openly gay host, who helmed the ceremony last year. Harris, who even came out in only socks and underwear at one point (in a spoof of “Birdman”), was criticized for mangling names, making a joke after one winner referenced her son’s suicide and going on and on about his predictions being locked in a box on stage all through the evening.

Many gay fans felt Joan Rivers, a staple of the red carpet for years, was snubbed by not being included in the “in memoriam” segment, though her film work was largely comprised of voice-over, cameo and documentary work.

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Online Culture

Clavicular charged in alleged rape of teenage influencer

Online personality’s real name is Braden Peters

Published

20 hours ago

September 23, 2026

Joe Reberkenny

Braden Peters a.k.a. "Clavicular" (Screen capture via NBC News/YouTube)

Online personality Clavicular, whose real name is Braden Peters, has been accused of rape.

According to NBC, Aleksandra Vasilevna Mendoza, an 18-year-old influencer known online as Alorah or Alorah Ziva, accused Peters of sexual assault, and the case is making its way through the court system.

The alleged incident occurred on May 23, 2025, when Mendoza was 17.

According to a criminal complaint from the Chatham (Mass.) Police Department, Peters called her an Uber to his family’s home. Once there, he allegedly got her drunk on vodka while they livestreamed on Twitch and then raped her. His mother and grandmother were allegedly in the house.

The documents allege Clavicular committed rape, drugging a person for sexual intercourse, and procuring and providing liquor to a person under 21.

According to court documents acquired by NPR, Mendoza began communicating with Peters on Instagram, where he paid her to appear on his livestreams to help her “make her name known on social media.”

According to those documents, Peters arranged for the minor to come to Cape Cod home to participate in a videostream for his 437,000 followers on Kick, 1.2 million followers on TikTok, and more than 1 million followers on Instagram.

At his home, Peters allegedly instructed Mendoza to say she was 18 on his videostream and to claim the alcohol on camera was water instead of vodka. Mendoza said she felt peer-pressured to drink the spirit and that she became noticeably intoxicated after a couple of drinks.

The allegations go on to state that after stopping the stream, Peters and Mendoza kissed on a couch and then had sex in his bed without her consent. Mendoza said she did not receive a sexual assault forensic exam after the incident. NPR does not name alleged victims of sexual assault.

The charges come months after Mendoza sued Peters in Miami, accusing him of sexual battery in connection with the events of May 2025. The civil lawsuit also separately alleges that he injected her face with a non-FDA-approved fat-dissolving substance during a November livestream in Florida.

Peters is known for his “looksmaxxing” concept of vanity, which is at the core of his online presence. The “looksmaxxing” culture he has helped cultivate combines elements of incel culture and heterosexuality, with the stated goal of attracting the opposite sex. He has gone as far as to say he has undergone “bonesmashing,” or hitting his own face with a hammer; taken anabolic steroids to more rapidly grow muscle; and used crystal meth as an appetite suppressant.

At the same time, looksmaxxing has been described as having elements of homoeroticism, with “looksmaxxers” appearing more concerned with impressing other men than women. Peters has multiple times pointed to openly gay actor Matt Bomer as the gold standard for male facial aesthetics.

Peters’s arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 14.