Connect with us

Arts & Entertainment

Equality Florida’s Pulse Victims Fund reaches $7 million

fundraiser’s initial goal was $100,000

Published

on

Pulse, Orlando, gay news, Washington Blade
Pulse, Orlando, gay news, Washington Blade

Pulse (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Equality Florida’s Pulse Victims campaign has exceeded $7 million, Equality Florida announced on Wednesday.

The GoFundMe fundraiser, which had an original goal of $100,00, was started shortly after the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando claimed 49 lives. Equality Florida reports $6.9 million has now been raised online. Additional offline fundraising makes the total contribution $7 million. The current goal is to reach $10 million.

Corporate donors who have contributed include GoFundMe, Hamburger Mary’s Restaurants, MGM Resorts International, Tamp Bay Rays and Tito’s Vodka. Public figures such as California’s Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom, Lena Dunham, Jeffree Star, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Philip DeFranco and Stuart Milk also donated to the fundraiser.

The Miami Herald reports many local businesses and restaurants contributed with their own fundraising efforts.

“The outpouring of love and support from across the globe has been overwhelming,” Equality Florida Executive Director Nadine Smith said in a statement. “We are grateful for the small-dollar gifts that comprise the bulk of this fund, and contributions from those who have used their positions of power to support the victims and families.”

 

 

Advertisement
FUND LGBTQ JOURNALISM
SIGN UP FOR E-BLAST

Online Culture

Clavicular charged in alleged rape of teenage influencer

Online personality’s real name is Braden Peters

Published

on

Braden Peters a.k.a. "Clavicular" (Screen capture via NBC News/YouTube)

Online personality Clavicular, whose real name is Braden Peters, has been accused of rape.

According to NBC, Aleksandra Vasilevna Mendoza, an 18-year-old influencer known online as Alorah or Alorah Ziva, accused Peters of sexual assault, and the case is making its way through the court system.

The alleged incident occurred on May 23, 2025, when Mendoza was 17.

According to a criminal complaint from the Chatham (Mass.) Police Department, Peters called her an Uber to his family’s home. Once there, he allegedly got her drunk on vodka while they livestreamed on Twitch and then raped her. His mother and grandmother were allegedly in the house.

The documents allege Clavicular committed rape, drugging a person for sexual intercourse, and procuring and providing liquor to a person under 21.

According to court documents acquired by NPR, Mendoza began communicating with Peters on Instagram, where he paid her to appear on his livestreams to help her “make her name known on social media.”

According to those documents, Peters arranged for the minor to come to Cape Cod home to participate in a videostream for his 437,000 followers on Kick, 1.2 million followers on TikTok, and more than 1 million followers on Instagram.

At his home, Peters allegedly instructed Mendoza to say she was 18 on his videostream and to claim the alcohol on camera was water instead of vodka. Mendoza said she felt peer-pressured to drink the spirit and that she became noticeably intoxicated after a couple of drinks.

The allegations go on to state that after stopping the stream, Peters and Mendoza kissed on a couch and then had sex in his bed without her consent. Mendoza said she did not receive a sexual assault forensic exam after the incident. NPR does not name alleged victims of sexual assault.

The charges come months after Mendoza sued Peters in Miami, accusing him of sexual battery in connection with the events of May 2025. The civil lawsuit also separately alleges that he injected her face with a non-FDA-approved fat-dissolving substance during a November livestream in Florida.

Peters is known for his “looksmaxxing” concept of vanity, which is at the core of his online presence. The “looksmaxxing” culture he has helped cultivate combines elements of incel culture and heterosexuality, with the stated goal of attracting the opposite sex. He has gone as far as to say he has undergone “bonesmashing,” or hitting his own face with a hammer; taken anabolic steroids to more rapidly grow muscle; and used crystal meth as an appetite suppressant.

At the same time, looksmaxxing has been described as having elements of homoeroticism, with “looksmaxxers” appearing more concerned with impressing other men than women. Peters has multiple times pointed to openly gay actor Matt Bomer as the gold standard for male facial aesthetics.

Peters’s arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 14.

Continue Reading

Photos

PHOTOS: Shenandoah Valley Pride

LGBTQ celebration held at Turner Pavilion in Harrisonburg, Va.

Published

on

A scene from the 2026 Shenandoah Valley Pride Festival. (Washington Blade photo by Landon Shackelford)

The 2026 Shenandoah Valley Pride Festival was held at Turner Pavilion in Harrisonburg, Va. on Sunday, Sept. 20.

(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)

Continue Reading

Photos

PHOTOS: Walk and 5K to End HIV

Whitman-Walker Health holds 40th annual event

Published

on

A scene from the 2026 Walk and 5K to End HIV on Saturday. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Whitman-Walker Health held the 40th annual Walk and 5K to End HIV at Anacostia Park on Saturday, Sept. 19.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

Continue Reading

Popular