Arts & Entertainment
Harvey Levin gives an honest account of growing up gay
TMZ founder pens letter for Los Angeles LGBT Center
(Screenshot via YouTube)
TMZ founder Harvey Levin wrote a letter, published by the Los Angeles LGBT Center, sharing his difficult experience growing up gay according to Gay Star News.
“When I was a teenager, I found myself in a profound internal struggle – what I perceived as a mandate to live a ‘straight’ life, despite contrary feelings that were welling to the surface,” Levin writes.
“I thought I did a pretty good job sublimating those feelings, but someone close to me had a good sense of what was really going on. That person went on with what felt like a homophobic campaign, denigrating LGBT people with epithets and snide comments – without ever confronting me directly,” Levin continued. “That was my first encounter with anyone who suspected I was gay, and it scarred me for many, many years. I tried harder than ever to lead a ‘straight’ life.”
Eventually Levin allowed himself to take part in the gay night life scene, but did so cautiously.
“When I finally began to experiment, I felt such shame. If I went to a gay bar, I would wait – sometimes for half an hour – just to make sure cars weren’t passing by the front door for fear a driver might see me enter. When I met someone, I would often use an alias so I could easily cut ties. It actually makes no sense, but that’s what I did. Short story, I was a mess,” Levin writes.
Levin, 65, is now a donor for the Los Angeles LGBT Center and decided to share his story to gain support for the Center.
“The Center has been a place of comfort for so many kids and adults who have been rejected or fear rejection by their families. (It has) been the mortar in the LGBT community, often quietly providing a lifeline for people with great value, but who have no support,” Levin writes.
“During the 1980s the Center provided care and comfort to our community as AIDS ravaged thousands. The people who provided these services truly are angels, and the Center deserves profound respect and support in our community,” Levin concluded the essay.
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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