Arts & Entertainment
Ryan Murphy spearheads effort for Hollywood diversity
‘American Horror Story’ show runner wants to help minorities
(Screenshot courtesy of YouTube)
Ryan Murphy is initiating an effort to expand diversity in Hollywood to include more LGBT people, women and people of color, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Murphy was spurned into action after hearing former publicist Nanci Ryder’s speech at The Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment breakfast, where she said Hollywood had a “gender problem.”
“Nanci said, ‘People in power, you have a position and responsibility to change the industry,’ and I thought, ‘She’s right,’ “Murphy told The Hollywood Reporter.
Murphy, show runner for “Scream Queens,” American Horror Story” and “American Crime Story” has decided to create inclusion for minority groups by having 50 percent of his director positions filled by women, people of color or members of the LGBT community.
According to the Directors Guild of America, women are 16 percent of directors in T.V. and minorities are 18 percent.
Young people will also be given more attention. Murphy’s plans will have outreach at colleges and universities for potential internship and shadowing opportunities. He plans to have a database of names and contact information that he can share with other show-runners.
“The industry has always been about, you come to us,” Murphy says. “There’s not a lot of effort and inclusion, and I’m saying, ‘No, we’re going to go to you.’”
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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Comings & Goings
Minimal version of ‘Streetcar Named Desire’ heading to Dupont Underground
