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‘Unique’-ly Alex
Out singer on ‘Glee,’ Pride, Beyonce and more
Alex Newell of ‘Glee’ fame says Pride is important because it gives the LGBT community a place to celebrate its accomplishments. (Photo by Brian Ziff)
Singer/actor Alex Newell, best known for playing Unique on “Glee,” is one of this year’s headliners on the Capitol Concert Stage at Capital Pride this weekend.
Look for him in the 2 p.m. slot where he’ll showcase his soaring, buttery vocals. We caught up with the soft-spoken, yet outspoken, 23-year-old performer by phone from Los Angeles.
BLADE: You have a new song out?
NEWELL: Well right now I’m kind of doing the Pride circuit. It’s Pride month, Pride season. I also have a new song out today called “Need Somebody.” It just came out. This first week, we’re donating a portion of the sales to the Trevor Project.
BLADE: Who produced it?
NEWELL: Cutfather. He’s amazing.
BLADE: You had an EP (“Power”) out earlier this year. Do you plan more?
NEWELL: It depends. We’re just trying to see. There’s no set plan. I think we’re going to do another, but this is just its own thing. We’re focusing on making new music and making good songs. The EP was so good and everyone enjoyed it and it was successful so now we’re just trying to match that or go above and beyond it.
BLADE: How many Prides are you doing?
NEWELL: I don’t know. Maybe four, five or six. I don’t like to count them because then it starts to feel overwhelming.
BLADE: Why is Pride important?
NEWELL: It’s a time to celebrate each other and the accomplishments in our community. Because that’s where it starts. It always starts at home. If we don’t celebrate each other and where we are, it just gets kind of superfluous after a while.
BLADE: You toured with Adam Lambert earlier this year and played Washington in March. How was it?
NEWELL: It was amazing. I went on tour with one of my good friends. I had fun. I couldn’t have asked for a better time. We played D.C. right after New York. The audience was warm and responsive and welcoming. It was a good time.
BLADE: What was it like on the “Glee” set? Fun and hanging out or nerve-wracking and hard? All of the above?
NEWELL: It was very friendly like a giant family. It’s basically like a household. It’s dysfunctional, it’s functional. And at the same time you’re working 16-hour days a lot of the time and you’re with each other five days out of the week and sometimes more than that because we’re friends at the end of the day. And you’re trying to make the best product you can whether you’re singing, dancing, acting or having dance rehearsals and makeup tests and filming scenes or filming a music number or having a fitting or going to pre-record the song. There’s so many variables to it so it was just as crazy as anyone would think it was. But at the end of the day, we were all there together and we were just working at a well-oiled machine.
BLADE: Which “Glee” episode was your favorite?
NEWELL: I don’t know. They started to blur together after a while. Like sometimes I’ll forget what I did in each episode. I think one of my favorites would have to be my second-to-last one where I sang “I Know Where I’ve Been” with the trans chorus. It was just a good moment to have everyone rally. I also really liked the “Grease” episode. I felt that one has so much heart.
BLADE: Was (creator/executive producer) Ryan Murphy around a lot?
NEWELL: Yeah, we saw him all the time. He was there as much as someone who has three shows on TV is there. It’s not like he’d be there everyday all the time because he had “Glee” and “American Horror Story,” and then one year he had “Glee,” “American Horror Story” and “The New Normal” on TV at the same time. Then “The New Normal” got canceled and he had “American Horror Story,” “Glee” and he was developing “Scream Queens” and “American Crime Story.” So I feel like the show runner doesn’t always have to be there but his ear was to the ground. He knew what was going on the entire time.
BLADE: Was he approachable?
NEWELL: Oh yeah. He was amazing. He’s so sweet and kind. He’s very intelligent. He’s smart and every time he greeted me, he gave me a warm hug. He’s known me since I was like 17, 18. He’s watched me grow, not just as an actor but as a performer. He’s always very welcoming and warm.
BLADE: Were you and Chris Colfer (Kurt) especially friendly?
NEWELL: I love him dearly. I don’t want to judge it based on other friendships I may have, but we were very friendly.
BLADE: You got really famous really fast at something really specific. How hard has it been trying to funnel that momentum into other things you want to do?
NEWELL: Well, it’s always hard and difficult when you’re coming off playing a specific thing and a role on such a large scale because after a while, that’s all people can see you for. You kind of have to prove yourself on another scale. A lot of people say, “Well, they pre-recorded on ‘Glee,’ none of them are really singers,” but in actuality, the majority of us were actual wingers and we’ve honed our craft and all. But there’s always that thing of trying to prove myself even more than just being a TV actor or a TV personality. That I’m actually talented and that I can do other things than play that specific role. But this is not exactly news to anyone. It happened to lots of child stars. When they grew up, it was always hard for them to be seen as anything other than the role they’d been playing.
BLADE: I know you can’t quantify this exactly, but how much of what you’ve achieved has been talent vs. perspiration?
NEWELL: I feel like it’s an even balance. I work extremely hard for everything that I have and everything that I’ve gotten. Where I’ve been, I’ve fought tooth and nail and just as much as anyone else if not harder. You have to know that you’re amazing and not get complacent. You have to remind yourself that you’re the best at what you do and it’s always good to know that no one else can do exactly what you do. They can do it like you, but they can never do it exactly like you do it. You bring something special to the table.
BLADE: You’ve said you’re a big Beyonce fan. How do you like “Lemonade”?
NEWELL: Oh, it’s amazing. It’s honest, it’s truthful and something we haven’t seen. I hear some people wishing the old Beyonce was back but after a while, you have to evolve. You have to go places and I mean, old Beyonce, new Beyonce, Beyonce is Beyonce. I live for her.
BLADE: How do you feel she stands up to classic divas like Donna Summer or Diana Ross? Like when Miss Ross was at her commercial peak with “Upside Down” and “I’m Coming Out” and all that, is Beyonce’s stuff in that league?
NEWELL: I think it’s like a whole other thing. It’s completely different. It’s apples and oranges or like comparing the Civil War to the Cold War. They happened in completely different times. I think too often people want to compare people to the past when they did it on their own and made something their own out of nothing. So I’m not a huge person about comparing things. And with all the changes that have happened in the industry since then, I feel sometimes we have to fight more now because there’s so much that goes on with pirating and not selling, so you end up working even harder. It was easier back in the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s because the only way you got it back then was if you went to the store and physically picked it up. The game has changed so much, it’s hard to even start to compare.
BLADE: Name someone who you’d just be beside yourself if she put out a new record.
NEWELL: Chaka Khan. She hasn’t done anything in so long. I feel like everyone’s kind of reinventing themselves. Barbra’s going back on tour. Cher went back. It’s like everyone’s kind of reinventing themselves saying, “I’m still here, I can still kick your ass.” I’d be shocked if one of them came out with something new, honestly.
BLADE: What do you have planned for your Pride set?
NEWELL: I’m going to do some new things, I’m going to do some old things, I’m going to do some “Glee” things. I think it’s going to be like 30-40 minutes. It’s just gonna be fun. When I do a show I like to reflect. I feel like reflection’s always really nice and just to the obvious of what people expect you to do.
BLADE: I know they’re totally different from your role on “Glee,” but do you feel any connection with shows like “Transparent” or “I Am Cait” or keep up with them?
NEWELL: I do. I’m always for representation because for the longest of time, there weren’t many people on TV who looked like me. Obviously I’m African American, and for the longest time after the ‘90s, after shows like “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and “Family Matters” and “Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper” went off the air, it felt like everything got very whitewashed. So not only was my race not represented, my sexual orientation wasn’t either. I imagine millions of other people felt the same way. So I will always stand up for the trans community because I know what it feels like to be that person who has no representation. Laverne (Cox) is one of my good friends. We have lunch and talk and text. We’re good. I’m always there for it.
BLADE: How do you feel about this North Carolina stuff with House Bill 2?
NEWELL: It’s just people trying to control others. It’s basically a dumbed-down version of segregation like having a blacks-only entrance and a whites-only entrance. People are trying to get rid of something they don’t like just because they don’t understand it. I feel like it’s just too much. Like when Stacey Dash said they should just go pee in the bushes. I’m like, “I’m pretty sure your ancestors were being hung from trees just like the rest of us, so why would you say something as inhumane as that?”
BLADE: Is this the tipping point for the transgender movement?
NEWELL: I can’t really speak to that. I think it’s a catapulting movement where this could really put the limelight on things, but is this the start of the avalanche going down? I just don’t know. I don’t know if this is the last straw, but it’s poking at that bear.
BLADE: You identify as gay but you’re so heavily identified with a transgender role. Does that ever get weird or are you OK with it?
NEWELL: I get mistaken as trans all the time and it’s something I’m fine with and welcome it only because it means my role was so important in helping or it means I did a good job with it at the end of the day. It’s something I stand for and something I represent and I want to be a voice with, so it’s fine. I mean, I’ll correct someone, but ti’s OK. When I’m back in Boston with my mom and we go out to dinner, they’ll often say, “And how are you ladies doing?” My mom’s like, “I don’t see a lady,” and I’m like, “I don’t either,” but most people do. I have a very effeminate face and I have long hair and I’m extremely gay, so it happens. I haven’t really heard anything negative, like somebody saying I’m pretending to be something I’m not. I haven’t experienced that.
BLADE: Is there any song you remember from growing up singing in church that has stayed with you?
NEWELL: I used to sing a song called “Give Me a Clean Heart.” Sometimes I hum it and when I go back to church, it’s always the song they want to hear. So that’s kind of followed me my entire career.
Out actor Alex Newell says he doesn’t mind getting mistaken for being transgender. (Photo by Brian Ziff)
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Award-winning D.C. chef reaching new culinary heights
Anthony Jones of Marcus DC competing on ‘Top Chef’
In Anthony Jones’s kitchen, all sorts of flags fly, including his own. Executive chef at award-winning restaurant Marcus DC, Jones has reached culinary heights (James Beard Award semifinalist for Emerging Chef, anyone?), yet he’s just getting started.
Briefly stepping away from his award-winning station, Jones took a moment under a different set of lights. Recently, he temporarily gave up his post at the restaurant for a starring small-screen slot on the latest season of “Top Chef,” which debuted in March. (The show airs weekly on Bravo and Peacock).
Before his strategic slice-and-dice competition, however, Jones, who identifies as gay, draws from his deep DMV roots. In the years before “Top Chef” and the top chef spot at Marcus, he was born and raised in Sunderland, Md., in southern Maryland, near the Chesapeake.
Early memories were steeped in afternoons on boats with his dad bonding over fishing, and wandering the garden of his great-grandparents spread with fresh vegetables and a few hogs. “It was Southern, old-school ethics and upbringing,” he said. “Family and food went hand in hand.” Weekends meant grabbing bushels of crabs, dad and grandma would cook and crack them. Family members would host fish fries for extra cash. In this seafood-heavy youth, Jones managed time to sneak in episodes of the “OG” Japanese “Iron Chef” show, which helped inspire him to pursue a career in the kitchen.
Jones moved to D.C. after graduating from college, ending up at lauded Restaurant Eve, and met famed chef Marcus Samuelson, who brought him to Miami to be part of the opening team for Red Rooster Overtown. After three years, Jones moved back to D.C., where he ran Dirty Habit, reinventing and reimagining the menu, integrating West African flavors and ingredients.
Samuelson, however, wouldn’t let a talent like Jones stay away for too long. Pulling Jones back into his orbit, Samuelson elevated Jones to help him open his namesake restaurant Marcus DC, which has been named a top-five restaurant by the Washington Post. Since then, Jones has been nominated as a semifinalist for the RAMMYs Rising Culinary Star in 2026 and won the Eater DC’s Rising Chef award in 2025.
Samuelson’s Marcus is a tour de force interpreting the Black Diaspora on the plate, from the American South to West Africa, along with his signature “Swedopian” touches. Yet it’s Jones who has deeply informed the plate, elevating his own story to date. Marcus DC is primarily a seafood restaurant, which serves Jones well.
“Where I’m from is seafood heavy, and as I’ve progressed in my career, I’ve moved away from meat.” Veggies and fish are hero dishes. His own dish, Mel’s Crab Rice, was not only lauded by the Washington Post, but is framed by his youth carrying home the crustaceans from Mel’s crab truck. It’s a bowl of Carolina rice, layered with pickled okra, uni béarnaise, and crab. Jones also points to a dish on the opening menu, rockfish and brassica, paying respect to a landmark D.C. institution, Ben’s Chili Bowl. Jones reverse engineered a favorite bowl of chili that’s seafood instead of meat forward, leveraging octopus and rockfish along with different riffs of cauliflower: showing his intellectual, creative, and cultural sides.
While “Top Chef” is showing Jones’s spotlight side, he also lets his identity show at work. “In the kitchen, I make sure we’re inclusive. We don’t tolerate discrimination. Everyone that’s here should feel confident to express themselves. There are so many different flags in the kitchen.”
Jones says that he didn’t fully express his gay identity until fairly recently. He felt reluctant coming out to certain family members, “you’re scared to tell them about being different,” he says, and while that anxiety ate at him, “I’m lucky and fortunate to have unconditional love and that weight off my shoulders.”
Today, “I’m me all the time, Monday to Sunday. I’m honest with people, and my staff is honest with me.”
“Being a chef is hard,” he says, “and being a chef of color is even more difficult.”
Yet his LGBTQ identity is a juggling act, he says. “I need to keep that balance, because once someone finds out something about you, their opinion can change, whether you want it or not.”
Being on a whole season of TV cooking competition, however, might mean millions more might have an opinion of him (Jones has appeared on TV already, on an episode of “Chopped”). To prepare, he says, “I’ve just kept a level head. It’s just an honor to be on top chef with amazing people happy to be there.”
Plus, this season is set in the Carolinas, and Jones attended Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte, N.C. “It’s a full story of my life, now a monumental moment for me.”
Jones also recently was nominated for a James Beard Foundation Award. “JBF has been a north star, a dream for so long. I always had this goal on my wall.”
Being at the top spot at Marcus DC, making waves through his accolades, and cooking on Bravo means that Jones is highly visible. “I think that if someone has a similar background to me, and can see our story, trajectory, and success, they can have more ability to be themselves. This is my goal.”
Back at Marcus, Jones has plenty up his chef’s white’s sleeves. A new spring menu is in the works. He’ll be launching a new tasting menu “dining experience,” he says, and has plans to work on more events and collaborations with chefs and friends to bring in new talent and share the culinary wealth.
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Introducing the Torchbearers Awards honoring queer, trans women and nonbinary people
Meet the Legends and Illuminators lighting new paths
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
- Representative Sharice Davids (she/her), (D, KS-03)
— U.S. House of Representatives - Greisa Martinez Rosas (she/her/ella)
— Executive Director, United We Dream - Paola Ramos (she/her)
— Journalist & Correspondent - Meagan A. Fitzgerald (she/her)
— Journalist & Correspondent - Jessica L. Lewis (she/her)
— Founder / Producer, Play Play DC - Savannah Wade (she/her)
— Founder, OAR Agency - Suhad Babaa (she/her)
— Filmmaker/ Former Executive Director of Just Vision - Ashlee Davis (she/her)
— Global Head of Inclusive Outcomes, Ancestry - Jazmine Hughes (she/her)
— Journalist and Former Editor at New York Times Magazine - Queen Adesuyi (they/she)
— Policy Advisor & Organizer, ReFrame Health & Justice - Michele Rayner, Esq. (she/her)
— Civil Rights Attorney, State Representative (Florida House of Representatives) - Gaby Vincent (she/her)
— Sports/Cultural Commentator and Community Leader - Jenny Nguyen (she/her)
— Founder & Owner, The Sports Bra - Denice Frohman (she/her)
— Independent Artist, Poet / Performer - Vida Rangel (she/her)
— Founder, Our Trans Capital - Roxanne Anderson (they/them)
— Executive Director, Our Space - Ann Marie Gothard (she/her)
— Co-Founder & President, Pride Live (Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center) - Diana Rodriquez (she/her)
— Co-Founder & CEO, Pride Live (Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center) - Wendi Cooper (she/her)
— Founder / Executive Director, Transcending Women - Toya Matthews (she/her)
— City of San Antonio, Texas - Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones (she/her)
— Sports/Cultural Commentator and Community Leader - Charity Blackwell (she/her)
— Poet, LGBTQ Advocate & Community Leader - Wilhelmina Indermaur (she/her)
— Director of Communications, Tyler Clementi Foundation - Em Chadwick (she/her)
— CMO, For Them & Autostraddle - Kylo Freeman (they/he)
— CEO, For Them & Autostraddle
LEGEND AWARDEES
- Sheila Alexander-Reid (she/her)
— Executive Director, PHL Diversity, Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau - Cassandra Cantave Burton (she/her)
— Interim Director of Thought Leadership & Senior Research Advisor, AARP - leigh h. mosley (she/her)
— Photographer / Educator, PhotoFlo Photography - Jenn M. Jackson, PhD (they/them)
— Assistant Professor of Political Science; Author & Columnist, Syracuse University - Jordyn White (she/her)
— COO, Washington Prodigy / VP of Leadership Development & Research, HRC Foundation - AJ Hikes (they/them)
— Deputy Executive Director, ACLU - RaeShanda Lias (she/her)
— Digital Creator, RL Lockhart - Donna Payne-Hardy (she/her)
— Educator, EEO Specialist, Founder of NBJC, Former Leader at the Human Rights Campaign - Courtney R. Snowden (she/her)
— Principal, Blueprint Strategy Group - Gaye Adegbalola (she/her)
— Musician & Activist, Musician / Inductee of the Blues Hall of Fame - Cheryl A. Head (she/her)
— Independent Author, Novelist (Crime Fiction) - Letitia Gomez (she/her)
— The American LGBTQ+ Museum, Board Chair - Lynne Brown (she/her)
— Publisher, Washington Blade - Shay Franco-Clausen (She/Her/Ella/Queen)
— Political Strategist and Organizer - Melissa L. Bradley (she/her)
— Founder & Managing Partner, New Majority Ventures - Meghann Burke (she/her)
— Executive Director, NWSL Players Association - Victoria Kirby York, MPA (she/they)
— Director of Public Policy & Programs, National Black Justice Collective - Joli Angel Robinson (she/her)
— CEO, Center on Halsted - Jeannine Frisby LaRue (she/her)
— CEO, Moxie Strategies - Alice Wu (she/her)
— Film Director (Saving Face, The Half of It) / Screenwriter - Storme Webber (she/her)
— Interdisciplinary Artist / Educator, University of Washington - Kim Stone
— CEO of the Washington Spirit, Washington Spirit - Mickalene Thomas
— American Visual Artist, Mickalene Thomas Studio - Erika Lorshbough (any/they/she)
— Executive Director, interACT - 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
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.
How Pepper the courthouse dog helps victims of abuse
Women’s FEST returns to Rehoboth Beach next week
Belarusian lawmakers approve bill to crackdown on LGBTQ rights
Calendar: April 3-9
How new barriers to health care coverage are hitting D.C.
‘Out for McDuffie’ event held at D.C. gay bar
Thousands attend ‘No Kings’ protests in D.C.
Ghanaian president welcomed to Philadelphia amid backlash over anti-LGBTQ bill
PHOTOS: ‘No Kings’ rally and march
