Arts & Entertainment
49 celebrities honor Orlando victims in HRC tribute video
Laverne Cox, Lady Gaga make appearances
(Screenshot via YouTube)
49 celebrities eulogized the 49 Orlando victims in a video produced by Ryan Murphy in partnership with the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) “Stop the Hate” movement.
The famous faces say the names and tell the stories of each victim in the 18-minute long video.
Celebrities include Lady Gaga, Laverne Cox, Jane Fonda, Demi Lovato, Lee Daniels, Colton Haynes, Tyler Oakley and Sofia Vergara. “American Horror Story” cast members both past and present also appear including Sarah Paulson, Connie Britton, Evan Peters, Angela Bassett, Emma Roberts, Matt Bomer and Denis O’Hare.
“For too long, a toxic combination of anti-LGBTQ hate and easy access to guns has put LGBTQ people at disproportionate risk of violence and murder,” HRC said in a statement.
The video ends urging for action on gun safety legislation and against laws that harm LGBT people.
“Since the massacre, Congress has voted down common sense gun safety laws … four times. Meanwhile, more than 200 bills targeting the LGBTQ community have been introduced in states this year. It will take all of us to change that,” the video concludes.
HRC’s “Stop the Hate” campaign website includes a link to donate to the Orlando victims’ families and survivors. Supporters can also email Congress to “tell them to support common sense laws to protect all people in the U.S. from hate violence.”
Baltimore
This John Waters interview has been edited for readability — but perhaps not human decency
Pope of Trash dishes on Trump, plane etiquette, last meal, and more
By WESLEY CASE | At 80 years old, John Waters is still the ideal dinner guest — incisively sharp, quick-witted and funny as hell.
The chic Baltimore native proved it again and again in a recent Zoom interview, calling from his summer home in Provincetown, Mass.
The occasion was the Blu-ray releases of two of his movies — the 1977 dark comedy “Desperate Living” and his enduring 1988 musical “Hairspray” — on June 23 by the Criterion Collection, which publishes restorations of films it deems culturally important. The Criterion stamp of approval has become the gold standard among cinephiles.
“It’s like getting an award,” said Waters, who wrote and directed both films.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
The Washington Blade held the seventh annual Pride on the Pier at The Wharf DC on Saturday, June 13.
(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)
The 2026 Lost River Pride Festival was held on the scenic grounds of the Lost River Farmers Market in Lost City, W.Va. on Saturday, June 13. Headliner Tom Goss performed at the festival and gave a second performance at the nearby Guesthouse Lost River.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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