Arts & Entertainment
MOST ELIGIBLE SINGLES: John Jack Gallagher
Meet D.C.’s top 20 LGBT bachelors and bachelorettes
John Jack Gallagher (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Name: John Jack Gallagher
Age: 1.8 Billion Seconds. That’s 57 if you’re bad at math.
Occupation: Owner/photographer of John Jack Photography.
Identify as: #smart #kind #important #loyal #creative #tall #gay
What are you looking for in a mate? My ideal mate hates piña coladas and getting caught in the rain. He’s not much into yoga. He has half a brain. He likes making love at midnight wearing Superman capes. He’s singing along in his head now and in pretty good shape.
Biggest turn-off: Closed minds. We don’t have to agree on everything, but, if you demonstrate you can only see the world from one perspective without articulating your beliefs with facts, I’ll shut down and move on. Intellectually curious minds are attractive and keep me interested.
Biggest turn-on: A guy who is secure with his uniqueness, has a sense of humor and a genuine laugh and smile. I think you can’t truly have one of those things without the others.
Hobbies: When I am not taking or editing photographs, I am amassing quite a collection of Capital Bikeshare miles, unused JR.’s drink tickets and broken Grindr/Scruff promises to meet for coffee.
Describe your ideal first date: Free breakfast in bed.
Favorite TV show: “Broad City.” Those ladies get it.
Celebrity crush: Brienne of Tarth. She could crush anyone.
One obscure fact about yourself: During college summers (’78, ’79, ’80), I read meters for Philadelphia Electric. So I was basically in every business, home and basement throughout Center City, Fairmount and South Philly. Yes, I have stories. You’ll have to read my memoir if you want to know.
The Freddie’s Follies drag show was held at Freddie’s Beach Bar in Arlington, Va. on Saturday, Jan. 3. Performers included Monet Dupree, Michelle Livigne, Shirley Naytch, Gigi Paris Couture and Shenandoah.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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Queer highlights of the 2026 Critics Choice Awards: Aunt Gladys, that ‘Heated Rivalry’ shoutout and more
Amy Madigan’s win in the supporting actress category puts her in serious contention to win the Oscar for ‘Weapons’
From Chelsea Handler shouting out Heated Rivalry in her opening monologue to Amy Madigan proving that horror performances can (and should) be taken seriously, the Critics Choice Awards provided plenty of iconic moments for queer movie fans to celebrate on the long road to Oscar night.
Handler kicked off the ceremony by recapping the biggest moments in pop culture last year, from Wicked: For Good to Sinners. She also made room to joke about the surprise hit TV sensation on everyone’s minds: “Shoutout to Heated Rivalry. Everyone loves it! Gay men love it, women love it, straight men who say they aren’t gay but work out at Equinox love it!”
The back-to-back wins for Jacob Elordi in Frankenstein and Amy Madigan in Weapons are notable, given the horror bias that awards voters typically have. Aunt Gladys instantly became a pop culture phenomenon within the LGBTQ+ community when Zach Cregger’s hit horror comedy released in August, but the thought that Madigan could be a serious awards contender for such a fun, out-there performance seemed improbable to most months ago. Now, considering the sheer amount of critics’ attention she’s received over the past month, there’s no denying she’s in the running for the Oscar.
“I really wasn’t expecting all of this because I thought people would like the movie, and I thought people would dig Gladys, but you love Gladys! I mean, it’s crazy,” Madigan said during her acceptance speech. “I get [sent] makeup tutorials and paintings. I even got one weird thing about how she’s a sex icon also, which I didn’t go too deep into that one.”
Over on the TV side, Rhea Seehorn won in the incredibly competitive best actress in a drama series category for her acclaimed performance as Carol in Pluribus, beating out the likes of Emmy winner Britt Lower for Severance, Carrie Coon for The White Lotus, and Bella Ramsey for The Last of Us. Pluribus, which was created by Breaking Bad’s showrunner Vince Gilligan, has been celebrated by audiences for its rich exploration of queer trauma and conversion therapy.
Jean Smart was Hack’s only win of the night, as Hannah Einbinder couldn’t repeat her Emmy victory in the supporting actress in a comedy series category against Janelle James, who nabbed a trophy for Abbott Elementary. Hacks lost the best comedy series award to The Studio, as it did at the Emmys in September. And in the limited series category, Erin Doherty repeated her Emmy success in supporting actress, joining in yet another Adolescence awards sweep.
As Oscar fans speculate on what these Critics Choice wins mean for future ceremonies, we have next week’s Golden Globes ceremony to look forward to on Jan. 11.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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