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At last, a place in St. Patrick’s Day parade

After decades of protest, gay contingent welcomed into NYC tradition

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St. Patrick's Day Parade, gay news, Washington Blade
St. Patrick's Day Parade, gay news, Washington Blade

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks at the St. Pat’s for All Parade on March 6 in New York. Brendan Fay, founder of the Lavender & Green Alliance, is in the rainbow scarf. The mayor boycotted the St. Patrick’s Day Parade the last two years for its LGBT exclusion but will go this year. (Photo by Jon Nalley)

The official word announcing that the board of directors of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, a non-profit that runs the annual New York City event every March 17, had invited the LGBT group the Lavender & Green Alliance to the event is a bare-bones statement indicating nothing of the decades of effort that led to the change of heart.

“Since 2016 marks the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising, the birth of Irish Independence, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade March 17 is a special opportunity for renewed commitment to Irish values and tradition and the Irish role in the 21st century,” board chair John Lahey said in a press release.

Brendan Fay, founder and chair of the Lavender & Green Alliance, which has held its own St. Pat’s For All Parade annually in Queens since 2000, was granted a quote in the release.

“We celebrate the welcome,” he said. “March 17, 2016 will be a great day for hospitality and inclusion.”

There were signs that change was imminent. At last year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Out@NBC, a gay employee group at the affiliate WNBC-TV 4, which broadcasts the event locally, was the first out group welcomed into the parade although unlike Lavender & Green, they weren’t particularly Irish. Some Alliance members viewed the NBC group’s inclusion while their own was left out, a slap in the face.

The ongoing rancor had led to significant tension. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio this year announced the end of a two-year boycott of the 253-year-old event, the largest St. Patrick’s Day parade in the country. He marched in and spoke at Sunday’s St. Pat’s for All Parade.

“The St. Patrick’s Day Parade is a New York City tradition but for years, Irish LGBT New Yorkers could not show their pride,” he told the Associated Press in a March 2 story. “Finally they can celebrate their heritage by marching in a parade that now represents progress and equality.”

The parade, held rain or shine, begins on Fifth Avenue at 44th Street and ends on Fifth Avenue uptown at 79th Street. It typically runs from about 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. About 200,000 people are in the parade each year. About 300 are expected to march under the Alliance banner.

So why now? Fay told the AP de Blasio’s boycott had an effect. He was the first mayor in more than 20 years to refuse to participate,” the Associated Press reports.

Fay told the Blade there “were many factors bringing us to this historic moment,” and cites boycotts by other elected officials, some of which go back 25 years, pressure from the New York City Council, letters of support from straight Irish New Yorkers, pressure from beer companies like Guinness and Heineken that threatened to pull out and more.

“It was the persistent determination of activism of a determined and hope-filled community,” Fay says. “Not just the LGBT community, but the Irish community as a whole.”

So why was it such a big deal? And in New York City, of all places?

The controversy ties in deeply with the parade’s Catholic roots. First held in 1762, the parade marches up Fifth Avenue and is reviewed from the steps of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. In the mid 1800s, the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH), an Irish-Catholic fraternal organization, became the official sponsor of the parade. Although in 1992, the National AOH directed all its chapters to form separate corporations to run their various parades, the parade’s roots in the Roman Catholic Church — Ireland was essentially a pawn in the Protestant Reformation battles between Italy and England — are strong and deep.

Although the St. Pat’s for All Parade has developed into its own thing and will continue (there were about 100 contingents in the March 6 event), Fay says the significance of the Alliance’s inclusion in the official parade cannot be overstated.

“History will be made for the first time on March 17,” he says. “We’ll be carrying the green Alliance banner and we’re all really feeling the moment. There’s so much joy in the Irish community of New York City and back home in Ireland as well.”

Dignity New York, an LGBT Catholic group that’s the local chapter of DignityUSA, members — of which Fay is one — have been watching this drama unfold for years. They say it just took time for the strong opposition to play out.

“Brendan is much more well versed in the politics of this and all the ins and outs … but I think gradually, you know, the people who wanted the group to march finally won out and I think it was a matter of attrition,” says Jeff Stone, a spokesperson for Dignity New York. “Eventually the older, more conservative members who were against it either left or died or whatever and I understand that Barbara Jones, the consul general of Ireland in New York, tried to urge the committee to let them march. That’s also in line with what’s happening in Ireland, especially now with the pro-same-sex marriage vote. The people of that country have clearly spoken.”

Despite studies that show disparities on all kinds of issues between official Catholic Church teaching and the laity, the anti-gay theology is well documented. As just one example, earlier this month the AOH issued a press release calling for Disney/ABC to “immediately apologize” for its new gay-themed sitcom “The Real O’Neals.” Although careful not to slam gays, it cites Irish stereotypes, anti-Catholicism and gay activist/writer Dan Savage, the show’s executive producer, in a scathing assessment.

“Dan Savage has a well-documented hostility to the Catholic Church,” the statement says. “(We) question the wisdom and motivations of Disney/ABC giving him a national platform to perpetuate his intolerance.”

Stone says movement on same-sex marriage, both in Ireland and the U.S., welcoming gays into the parade, the use of more inclusive language among Catholic leaders and more are all aspects to the policy change. He also says the tide has shifted enough that there were economic considerations as well.

“It’s just not a good situation for them when there’s all this bitterness and controversy surrounding the parade,” he says. “It’s counter to the law in Ireland, it’s not good for tourism. I think they wanted to get this resolved so that the parade could return to being a symbol of celebration and of Irish-American pride and not a source of division and bitterness that it had become for many people. The parade lost a lot of sponsors over this.”

Fay says the change makes a powerful statement.

“I think it’s conveying a message about equality and what I call cultural hospitality,” he says. “There’s an overall feeling of excitement and just really great and joyful expectation. … I’ve really come to appreciate how important cultural gatherings and parades are in our lives and communities.”

St. Patrick's Day Parade, gay news, Washington Blade

Brendan Fay, in the rainbow scarf, on March 6 at the St. Pat’s for All Parade in Queens, New York, with Lavender & Green members and allies. He says the counter parade will continue as it’s developed into its own event over 17 years. (Photo courtesy the Alliance)

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Introducing the Torchbearers Awards honoring queer, trans women and nonbinary people

Meet the Legends and Illuminators lighting new paths

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The Torchbearers Awards are more than recognition—they are a continuation of legacy. They honor the quiet architects of progress in our community: those who organize, advocate, build, and protect, often without fanfare but always with purpose. Rooted in a belief in intentional recognition, this honor names those who carry our movements forward—those who make room for others, who remind us that change is both generational and generative. In a time marked by uncertainty and challenge, these leaders push forward with courage, clarity, and an unwavering commitment to expanding opportunity and equity.

This year’s honorees reflect the full breadth of our community, spanning generations, backgrounds, identities, and industries. From Legends, with decades of leadership and having created pathways for others, to Illuminators, who are lighting new paths with creativity and innovation, each Torchbearer represents the power of intergenerational leadership and the strength found in our diversity. They are organizers, advocates, artists, policy leaders, healers, and changemakers whose lived experiences shape a shared vision for equity and liberation.

This award is our love letter to queer and trans women and nonbinary people who carry the flame when it would be easier to let it dim. To those who consistently show up, who use their voice and visibility and stand firm, often without recognition, so that others may live more freely and fully. The Torchbearers Awards celebrates not just what has been done, but the enduring spirit, responsibility, and collective care that ensure the work continues, and that the flame is always passed forward. 

Co-Creators of the Torchbearers Awards: Shannon Alston, June Crenshaw, Heidi Ellis

Torchbearers Awards Advisory Board: Aditi Hardikar, Lesley Bryant, Jasmine Wilson-Bryant, Stephen Rutgers

ILLUMINATOR AWARDEES

  1. Representative Sharice Davids (she/her), (D, KS-03)
    — U.S. House of Representatives
  2. Greisa Martinez Rosas (she/her/ella)
    — Executive Director, United We Dream
  3. Paola Ramos (she/her)
    — Journalist & Correspondent
  4. Meagan A. Fitzgerald (she/her)
    — Journalist & Correspondent
  5. Jessica L. Lewis (she/her)
    — Founder / Producer, Play Play DC
  6. Savannah Wade (she/her)
    — Founder,  OAR Agency
  7. Suhad Babaa (she/her)
    — Filmmaker/ Former Executive Director of Just Vision
  8. Ashlee Davis (she/her)
    — Global Head of Inclusive Outcomes, Ancestry
  9. Jazmine Hughes (she/her)
    — Journalist and Former Editor at New York Times Magazine
  10. Queen Adesuyi (she/they)
    — Policy Advisor & Organizer, ReFrame Health & Justice
  11. Michele Rayner, Esq. (she/her)
    — Civil Rights Attorney, State Representative (Florida House of Representatives) 
  12. Gaby Vincent (she/her)
    — Sports/Cultural Commentator and Community Leader
  13. Jenny Nguyen (she/her)
    — Founder & Owner, The Sports Bra
  14. Denice Frohman (she/her)
    — Independent Artist, Poet / Performer
  15. Vida Rangel (she/her)
    — Founder, Our Trans Capital
  16. Roxanne Anderson (they/them)
    — Executive Director, Our Space
  17. Ann Marie Gothard (she/her)
    — Co-Founder & President, Pride Live (Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center)
  18. Diana Rodriques (she/her)
    — Co-Founder & CEO, Pride Live (Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center)
  19. Wendi Cooper (she/her)
    — Founder / Executive Director, Transcending Women
  20. Toya Matthews (she/her)
    — City of San Antonio, Texas
  21. Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones (she/her)
    — Sports/Cultural Commentator and Community Leader
  22. Charity Blackwell (she/her)
    — Poet, LGBTQ Advocate & Community Leader
  23. Wilhelmina Indermaur (she/her)
    — Director of Communications, Tyler Clementi Foundation
  24. Em Chadwick (she/her)
    — CMO, For Them & Autostraddle
  25. Kylo Freeman (they/he)
    — CEO, For Them & Autostraddle

LEGEND AWARDEES

  1. Sheila Alexander-Reid (she/her)
      — Executive Director, PHL Diversity, Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau
  2. Cassandra Cantave Burton (she/her)
    — Interim Director of Thought Leadership & Senior Research Advisor, AARP
  3. leigh h. mosley (she/her)
      — Photographer / Educator, PhotoFlo Photography
  4. Jenn M. Jackson, PhD (they/them)
      — Assistant Professor of Political Science; Author & Columnist, Syracuse University
  5. Jordyn White (she/her)
      —  COO, Washington Prodigy / VP of Leadership Development & Research, HRC Foundation
  6. AJ Hikes (they/them)
      — Deputy Executive Director, ACLU
  7. RaeShanda Lias (she/her)
    — Digital Creator, RL Lockhart
  8. Donna Payne-Hardy (she/her)
    — Educator, EEO Specialist, Former Leader at the Human Rights Campaign
  9. Courtney R. Snowden (she/her)
      — Principal, Blueprint Strategy Group
  10. Gaye Adegbalola (she/her)
    — Musician & Activist, Musician / Inductee of the Blues Hall of Fame
  11. Cheryl A. Head (she/her)
    — Independent Author, Novelist (Crime Fiction)
  12. Letitia Gomez (she/her)
    — The American LGBTQ+ Museum, Formerly of Voto Latino 
  13. Lynne Brown (she/her)
      — Publisher, Washington Blade 
  14. Shay Franco-Clausen (She/Her/Ella/Queen)
    — Political Strategist and Organizer
  15. Melissa L. Bradley (she/her)
      — Founder & Managing Partner, New Majority Ventures
  16. Meghann Burke (she/her)
      — Executive Director, NWSL Players Association
  17. Victoria Kirby York, MPA (she/they)
      — Director of Public Policy & Programs, National Black Justice Coalition
  18. Joli Angel Robinson (she/her)
      — CEO, Center on Halsted
  19. Jeannine Frisby LaRue (she/her)
      —  CEO, Moxie Strategies
  20. Alice Wu (she/her)
      — Film Director (Saving Face, The Half of It) / Screenwriter
  21. Storme Webber (she/her)
      — Interdisciplinary Artist / Educator, University of Washington
  22. Kim Stone
    — CEO of the Washington Spirit, Washington Spirit
  23. Mickalene Thomas
      — American Visual Artist, Mickalene Thomas Studio
  24. Erika Lorshbough (any/they/she)
    — Executive Director, interACT
  25. J. Gia Loving (she/ella)
      — Co-Executive Director, GSA Network
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D.C. springs back to life with new, returning events

Cherry blossoms, Rehoboth season kickoff, and more on tap

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D.C.’s annual Cherry Blossom Festival kicks off later this month. (Blade file photo by Marvin Bowser)

Longer and warmer days are back meaning: It’s time to get out of the house and enjoy Washington D.C.’s many events. Below are a few to check out this spring.

The National Museum of Women in the Arts will host “Making their Mark: Works from the Shah Garg Collection” until Sunday, July 26. This exhibition illustrates women artists’ vital role in abstraction, considers historical contributions, formal and material breakthroughs and intergenerational relationships among women artists over the last eight decades. For more details, visit. NMWA’s website

Art in the Attic will host a pop-up on Saturday, March 14 at 6 p.m. at 1012 Madison St., Alexandria, Va. There will be a variety of vendors selling products across different modes of art. For more details, visit Eventbrite.

Play Play will host “Indoor Recess – The art of play” on Sunday, March 15 at 2 p.m. This event will embody classic recess energy, including opportunities to build and experience community and connections through games, movement, art stations, and creative freedom. Tickets are $12.51 and can be purchased on Eventbrite

Spark Social will host “Gay Bar Crawl on U Street” on Friday, March 20 at 7:30 p.m. This will be a fun night out in gay D.C. with other gay people, whether you’re visiting D.C., new to the area, or just looking to expand your social circle. Many crawlers have formed lasting friendships and even romantic relationships after just one night out. Tickets are $35.88 and are available on Eventbrite

Creative Suitland Arts Center will host “EFFERVESCENT: House of Swann” on Saturday, May 30 at 7 p.m. This will be a gay, good time where we will celebrate love, joy, wellness, and visibility for the LGBTQIA+ community. Tickets start at $17.85 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

SWAG Works DC will host “Unapologetically Her” on Saturday, March 14 at 2 p.m. at 701 E St., S.E. This event is a powerful celebration of womanhood, resilience, creativity, and self-expression in honor of Women’s History Month. This all-women exhibition highlights the diverse voices, stories, and artistic perspectives of women who create boldly, live authentically, and stand confidently in their truth. This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite

9:30 Club will host “Gimme Gimme Disco: A Dance Party Inspired by ABBA” on Saturday, March 14 at 6 p.m. There will also be a “Donna Summer Power Hour – The Queen of Disco” segment during this event. It’ll be one hour of music with no skips. Tickets are available on 9:30 Club’s website

Harder Better Faster Stronger will host “Heated Rivalry Rave” on Friday, March 20 at 9 p.m. at Howard Theatre. This event is open to all ages. Tickets are available on the theater’s website

CAMP Rehoboth hosts its 25th annual Women’s+ FEST, April 9-12 in Rehoboth Beach, Del. Entertainers include headliner Mina Hartong, a comedian, storyteller, and founder of Lez Out Loud; and singer Yoli Mayor. There are dances, dinners, pickleball, and much more. Details and tickets at camprehoboth.org.

Also in Rehoboth Beach, the Washington Blade’s 19th annual Summer Kickoff Party is set for Friday, May 15 featuring Ashley Biden, who will accept an award on behalf of her brother Beau. State Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall will also speak. More speakers and the venue to be announced soon.

The annual D.C. Cherry Blossom Festival kicks off March 21 at DAR Constitution Hall and culminates with Petalpalooza on April 4, the day-long, outdoor street party with music and art, stretching across Navy Yard, and ending with fireworks over the Anacostia River. 

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‘Queer Eye’ star Dorriene Diggs on life before and after appearing on hit show

Emotional January episode highlighted 40-year love affair with partner

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D.C. residents Dorriene Diggs and sister Jo starred in an emotional episode of ‘Queer Eye’ earlier this year. (Screen capture via IMDB)

Dorriene Diggs, 70, whose 40-year relationship with her domestic partner, Diane until Diane’s passing in 2020, the couple’s tense relationship with their respective parents, and Dorriene’s current living arrangement with her straight sister Jo, were the focus of a final season episode of the popular TV series “Queer Eye.”

In a recent interview with the Washington Blade, Diggs told of how her appearance on the show has impacted her life. She elaborated on the many aspects of her life experiences that she told to the five “Queer Eye” co-hosts who interviewed her and her sister in their D.C. home. 

Although her parents and her partner’s parents, who have since passed away, were not accepting of their relationship, Diggs has said most of her family members at this time reacted positively to her appearance on the show.

“They loved it,” she told the Blade. “Yes, everybody that saw the show called me and said they loved the show, they really enjoyed themselves watching it.”

Through an arrangement with D.C.’s Rainbow History Project, the “Queer Eye” show featuring Diggs and her sister was presented in a special screening on a large video screen at the D.C. History Center in January.

“Dorriene, a 70-year-old Black lesbian living in Washington, D.C., had spent decades building a life with her partner while navigating silence within her own family,” a “Queer Eye” statement announcing the episode on Diggs states. 

“The Fab Five did not arrive to introduce Dorriene to herself, but to help ensure her story was finally heard in full,” the statement says.  

Blade: Can you tell us how your appearance on the “Queer Eye” program came about? How did they find out about you?

Diggs: You know, I still don’t have all the details. I think it was my niece, Missy. And she knows somebody there from “Queer Eye.”

Blade: So, did you first learn about it when someone from “Queer Eye” contacted you?

Diggs: No, the “Queer Eye” guy knocked on my bedroom door and started talking. I was in my bedroom watching television and the next thing I know my door opened up and there was Karamo [Karamo Brown, one of the “Queer Eye” co-hosts] with his big black cowboy hat on, opening the door grinning. … They contacted Jo first. And when they came here, they realized there was a gay woman in the house, too. Because my name was not mentioned at first. After they came here, they learned about me, because when Missy reached out to them, she reached out to them about Jo. But that doesn’t bother me. This was all about Jo in the beginning, and not me. … They started talking to me and Jo. And he said, Dorriene, ‘you’ve done so much for so many people, it’s time for someone to do something for you.’ That’s what they said. He said, ‘this is the day we’re doing it for you.’

And so,  they put me and my sister up in a hotel for a week. They gave us a personal driver to take us anywhere we wanted to go. And then they took us to a bunch of places. We didn’t know why they were doing all of this. We had no idea that they were renovating the house and renovating our bedrooms. We had no  idea.

Blade: What was your reaction when you saw the home renovation?

Diggs: It was amazing. And they bought us all new complete wardrobes – clothes, shoes. But most of the stuff they got me I gave away to a women’s shelter. But it was so nice. Actually, to meet the guys. I’ve been watching the show for 10 years. I have watched it from the beginning. And actually, it brought me and my sister closer – really. We’re closer now than we’ve ever been. She’s my baby sister – not the baby, but next to the baby. She’s the younger one.

Blade: What has been the reaction to your appearance on the show? Do more people now recognize you?

Diggs: Yes, yes. I’m getting phone calls and it’s almost like I’m a celebrity. And I don’t want people to make a fuss over me. All the things I did I did from the heart. I really did. And I don’t want people to think I’m more than I am. I’m just a good Christian woman that believes in giving back.

And I do. God gives me help giving. That’s what I do. And I don’t want anything in return from anyone. You know, because I know what it means to not to have. I know what it means to go to bed hungry, with no food. Going to school with holes in your shoes. I know that. I know that feeling. I’ve been there. And I promised myself as a kid I would never live like this again. And when I got bold enough to leave home, I left home at 14, and I moved in with a drag queen. Damen was his name.

Blade: Did your appearance on the show change your life and your relationship with your sister?

Diggs: Yeah, yeah, it actually did. We are actually closer now than we’ve ever been. Because, like I said, I moved away from home early and I never went back. My parents had a problem with my lifestyle. They really did. My mom looked at me with such hatred. When I was old enough to say goodbye, I never looked back. And to come back around now in the last few years after Diane died, that’s when I came back here.

And at one point I stayed with my nephew Todd and his wife – but he got killed in a car accident. I couldn’t stay at his house anymore. So, then I called Jo and told her I need to get out of here. And without hesitating she came and picked me up and brought me to her home. And I’ve been here ever since.

Blade: Can you tell a little about when it came about and how you met your partner?

Diggs: We lived on 18th Avenue in condos. I just bought one. Hers was above mine. I bought the bottom one. When my brother came over, she was getting out of her car. She was driving a Vega. And I turned to my brother and I said – this is the God’s honest truth – I said Keith, that’s the woman I’m going to spend the rest of my life with. Just like that. And he started laughing. He said, girl you’re crazy. I said I know I’m crazy, Keith, but I’m telling you that woman right there is who I’m going to spend the rest of my life with.

Blade: And when was that?

Diggs: It was 1980 actually. And then I started going to the laundry room to do my laundry. So I started talking to her. She said, ‘I’m not speaking to you.’ Isaid ‘why not?’  She said ‘because you’re nothing but a female gigolo.’ And I said I’m not dating anymore. I’m waiting for you. ‘No, you’re too fast for me.’ I said, ‘well, I’m not giving up.’

And I didn’t give up. So, I was playing an album one day and she knocked on the door and asked what I was playing, I think. I said you liked that. She said yeah. I said OK, I’ll bring it upstairs and we can listen to it together. So, when I went up there to her apartment that day and whenever I went up there, I never left.

Blade: So, your partner’s name was Diane?

Diggs: Yes, Ruth Diane Robinson. But she hated the name Ruth. So, the only people who called her Ruth were at work, the people she worked with. Everybody else called her Diane.

Blade: And how many years were you together?

Diggs: Forty. Forty years together

Blade: And where were you living with her most of the time?

Diggs: We lived in Hagerstown the longest, Hagerstown, Md. And so, if Diane hadn’t died I probably still would have been in our house in Hagerstown.

Blade: Can you tell me a little about what you were doing career wise during those years?

Diggs: I do computers. I used to do computers. And before that I cooked. I love to cook like my mom. And then I wanted to do something else. So, I taught myself computers. I taught myself how to build computers and stuff. So, then I got my own computer business called Ida One Computer Consulting. And so, we helped build computers for people.

Blade: Around when was this, in the 1980a or 1990s?

Diggs:  Yes, in the 1980s. I think I stopped I would say around ’96, when I stopped. Because we both said we were going to retire at 55. And we did. We both retired at 55. And then she started diabetes. Every day I had to give her an injection because she was afraid of needles. She couldn’t give it to herself. So, I had to give her an injection every day One time, I don’t remember when, she had a mild stroke. And I had to take care of her. I’ve always taken care of her. And I don’t regret it. I never regretted it. It’s taking care of the one you love.

Blade: When was it that she passed away?

Diggs: In 2020. I found her on the kitchen floor.

Blade: How did your family and your extended family react to your relationship  with Diane?

Diggs: Well, her family, oh my God, they hated me – her mother the worst. Because I put a stop to them treating her really bad. I told her mother – I said never in my life – my mother raised me well. Never disrespect someone’s mother. I said but this time I’m going to disrespect you because you are going to start treating Diane like you ought to. This is a wonderful woman and you and your son and you it’s always about your son. You never, ever say anything good about your daughter. 

I said it isn’t going to happen again. You’re never going to disrespect her again. I said you take a damn good look at her because you’ll never see her again. I meant that. I grabbed Diane. I said it’s time to go. They don’t care about you.

Blade: Can you tell a little about your family?

Diggs: Yeah, I’m a triplet sister. So, it’s Dorriene, Chorine, and Chrissy — we are the triplets. So, my mom had a set of twins and a set of triplets within nine months. One of the twins died at birth. So, the other twin is Margaret.

Blade: So then how did your family react to you and Jo being on “Queer Eye”?

Diggs: Most of my family really had no problem with it.

Blade: Were  you out to them?

Diggs: Oh yeah. I was never in the closet. I didn’t give a damn what people felt about me, sweetheart. I really didn’t. I didn’t care. Because I was going to be me. And for people who didn’t like it, I wasn’t living for them, I was living for me. I’ve always been out. I had a brother who was also gay, Marvin. God rest his soul, too. But he stayed in the closet. He was in the closet until he was about 55 years old.

But everything I said on the show was the truth – my account. The things that I went through with family … You can’t tell me how I felt. If they try to make mom and dad out as perfect, they weren’t perfect. They were the worst parents. That’s my account of it.  

So yes, everything I said on that interview was the truth. That’s one thing people who know me know – I do not lie.

Blade: What are some of the things you like to do these days?

Diggs: I’m a sports lover. I love sports. So, my baseball season is getting ready to get started. Baseball is my favorite sport. Yes, I love baseball. I like the statistics of it. And watching the guys. I wish they had a women’s professional baseball team, honestly. … I’m a D.C. sports fan. The Wizards, the Nationals, the Mystics, the Caps. … And see, I’m a diehard Redskins fan and I refuse to call them the Commanders. They’re the Redskins. They will always be the Redskins to me. I love my sports teams.

Blade: Can you tell a little about the history of the house where you and Jo now live and where they did the filming of the “Queer Eye” show?

Diggs: Jo had a house on 17th Street, I think it was Northeast because it was over there by H Street, N.E. And I think somebody wanted to buy her house. I don’t know why she moved. So, she found this house. Because she wanted to buy something where she could buy a house straight out. She didn’t want a mortgage on another house.

Blade: What are your thoughts on being on the last season of “Queer Eye?”

Diggs: Yeah, we were the last ones. We took it out with a bang, me and Jo. That was it. 

Blade: Can you say how you and Jo appearing on the show impacted your life?

Diggs: I don’t know. I’m the same person. I’ve been getting calls from people saying I saw you on the show. And friends who I haven’t seen in years have been calling. … So yeah, the show, people I haven’t seen and talked to in years have been calling. I think that’s a good thing.

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