Arts & Entertainment
California bakery blasted for making transgender Ken doll cake
A California bakery sent Facebook into a frenzy after posting a picture of a cake with a Ken doll in a dress.
According to FOX 40, a group of friends ordered a custom Ken doll cake from Freeport Bakery in Sacramento, Calif., for their monthly dice game. The cake was made with Ken wearing a dress made of buttercream, a sash, tiara and jewelry. FOX 40 reports the customer is not transgender and was not trying to make a political statement with the cake.
Co-owner Marlene Goetzeler decided to show off the handy work by posting a photo of the cake to the bakery’s Facebook page. But, not everyone was impressed with the cake.
Goetzeler noticed people began unliking the bakery’s page and negative comments came swarming in. The post received more than 1,000 reactions.
“Naively, I guess I just thought this is a really cool cake, and look at how great they did with the butter cream,” Goetzeler told FOX 40. “What’s wrong with a Ken cake?”
Goetzeler deleted the negative comments, but wasn’t swayed to take the picture down.
“In the beginning, I thought ‘What’s the big deal?’ but now I realize how important it is to take a stand if you believe in something,” Goetzeler told FOX 40.
Goetzeler posted the photo again and urged people to share. The post was captioned “Facebook Friends, After posting this we had a ton of people unliking our Facebook page. I deleted the rude remarks, thank goodness not too many. Our customer was thrilled. Share this for us!”
The Freddie’s Follies drag show was held at Freddie’s Beach Bar in Arlington, Va. on Saturday, Jan. 3. Performers included Monet Dupree, Michelle Livigne, Shirley Naytch, Gigi Paris Couture and Shenandoah.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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Queer highlights of the 2026 Critics Choice Awards: Aunt Gladys, that ‘Heated Rivalry’ shoutout and more
Amy Madigan’s win in the supporting actress category puts her in serious contention to win the Oscar for ‘Weapons’
From Chelsea Handler shouting out Heated Rivalry in her opening monologue to Amy Madigan proving that horror performances can (and should) be taken seriously, the Critics Choice Awards provided plenty of iconic moments for queer movie fans to celebrate on the long road to Oscar night.
Handler kicked off the ceremony by recapping the biggest moments in pop culture last year, from Wicked: For Good to Sinners. She also made room to joke about the surprise hit TV sensation on everyone’s minds: “Shoutout to Heated Rivalry. Everyone loves it! Gay men love it, women love it, straight men who say they aren’t gay but work out at Equinox love it!”
The back-to-back wins for Jacob Elordi in Frankenstein and Amy Madigan in Weapons are notable, given the horror bias that awards voters typically have. Aunt Gladys instantly became a pop culture phenomenon within the LGBTQ+ community when Zach Cregger’s hit horror comedy released in August, but the thought that Madigan could be a serious awards contender for such a fun, out-there performance seemed improbable to most months ago. Now, considering the sheer amount of critics’ attention she’s received over the past month, there’s no denying she’s in the running for the Oscar.
“I really wasn’t expecting all of this because I thought people would like the movie, and I thought people would dig Gladys, but you love Gladys! I mean, it’s crazy,” Madigan said during her acceptance speech. “I get [sent] makeup tutorials and paintings. I even got one weird thing about how she’s a sex icon also, which I didn’t go too deep into that one.”
Over on the TV side, Rhea Seehorn won in the incredibly competitive best actress in a drama series category for her acclaimed performance as Carol in Pluribus, beating out the likes of Emmy winner Britt Lower for Severance, Carrie Coon for The White Lotus, and Bella Ramsey for The Last of Us. Pluribus, which was created by Breaking Bad’s showrunner Vince Gilligan, has been celebrated by audiences for its rich exploration of queer trauma and conversion therapy.
Jean Smart was Hack’s only win of the night, as Hannah Einbinder couldn’t repeat her Emmy victory in the supporting actress in a comedy series category against Janelle James, who nabbed a trophy for Abbott Elementary. Hacks lost the best comedy series award to The Studio, as it did at the Emmys in September. And in the limited series category, Erin Doherty repeated her Emmy success in supporting actress, joining in yet another Adolescence awards sweep.
As Oscar fans speculate on what these Critics Choice wins mean for future ceremonies, we have next week’s Golden Globes ceremony to look forward to on Jan. 11.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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