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Va. gay police officer slays Beyoncé’s ‘Formation’ dance routine

dancing video has gone viral

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A photo posted by Deuntay Diggs (@diggsdt) on

Police officer Deuntay Diggs proved he is a Beyoncé’ stan by recreating the “Formation” choreography during a pep rally at North Stafford High School. The video has since gone viral. 

Diggs, 31, is the second lieutenant for the county sheriff’s office in Stafford, Va. and says he is the first openly gay deputy to serve at the Stafford County sheriff’s office, according to his website.

He told BuzzFeed he originally learned the choreography for a lip-synching contest for a children’s benefit in August.

“I basically learned the choreography the night before I performed it for the first time. I’m a huge Beyoncé fan. So the night before, I just watched her video on Youtube over and over again, and then I memorized it, practiced it, and the next day I did it,” Diggs told Buzzfeed.

Diggs was scheduled to perform the same routine at the pep rally but had canceled after learning his birth mother had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

“We’re sitting there talking and I said, ‘Well, I want you at my wedding because we’re supposed to dance together.’ And she hasn’t seen any of my dancing videos. So we sat and laughed for a little bit and watched the videos, and she said, ‘Well, I want you to keep on dancing.’ So I came back and I told them I wasn’t going to cancel,” Diggs says.

Diggs is engaged to his partner of seven years Benjamin Leitnerm. The couple plan to get married in July in Fredericksburg, Va.

A photo posted by Deuntay Diggs (@diggsdt) on

 

However, Diggs says things were hard when he first came out to his foster family.

“The first thing I did was tell my foster family, and after I told them they disowned me,” Diggs says. “I told one person at the school, and I asked her not to tell anybody, and then it spread like wildfire. I spent roughly the next year in isolation. That was the worst year of my life, but also the best. I had to figure out how to love myself, and what I wanted to be.”

Ultimately, Diggs wants to inspire others.

“The reason I’m doing this is to show kids that they can make it, that they can survive, that they can be successful,” Diggs told BuzzFeed. “I’ve been very fortunate, at this time when people look negatively upon law enforcement, that I’m able to change that narrative and open up some conversations and engage with people.”

Watch his performances below.

When you’re a police officer but a Beyonce Stan too so you have to get in Formation, literally.

A video posted by Him Kardashian, Famous Person (@mrldavis) on

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Photos

PHOTOS: World Pride March

LGBTQ rights demonstration held in Amsterdam

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A scene from the 2026 World Pride March in Amsterdam. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The 2026 World Pride March was held on Saturday, Aug. 8 in Amsterdam. Tens of thousands of participants marched from Martin Luther Kingpark to the grounds of the Pride Village at Museumplein.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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PHOTOS: Daddy Issues at Kiki

Evry Pleasure, Tiara Missou-Sidora, Indiana Bones perform

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Evry Pleasure performs at the 'Daddy Issues' drag show at Kiki on Wednesday. (Washington Blade photo by Landon Shackelford)

The weekly drag show “Daddy Issues” was held at Kiki on Wednesday, Aug. 5. Performers included Evry Pleasure, Indiana Bones and Tiara Missou-Sidora.

(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)

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Books

Something’s off about Dad. When is it time to step in?

‘When Memory Fades’ can help when families face dementia

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(Book cover image courtesy of St. Martin's Essentials)

‘When Memory Fades’
By Nathaniel Chin, MD
c.2026, St. Martin’s Essentials
$30/422 pages

Mom called you in a panic the other day.

She’d lost her keys and by the time you arrived to help, she’d found them. In the refrigerator.

These kinds of things keep happening, not often but often enough, and you don’t know quite what to worry about. But in the new book “When Memory Fades” by Nathaniel Chin, MD, you’ll learn about the journey ahead, for both of you.

You can’t remember why you walked into a room. You got lost last week, going to the bank. Popular wisdom says that things like that are normal as we age, but Chin says that’s not true – although the answer may not be a worst-case scenario, either. Yes, memory problems could just be signs of stress, dehydration, or lack of sleep – or is it time to see a doctor?

Chin says maybe, yes.

He was working his way through medical residency when his father, a geriatrician in Madison, Wisc., was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Chin, now a geriatrician, was blindsided, but that diagnosis also changed his life.

Here, he writes about the brain, and how Alzheimer’s and dementia are diagnosed, explaining that dementia has many faces and, depending on a doctor’s evaluation, memory problems might be slowed or improved. He shares his father’s illness with readers, but he also writes about his mother, a steadfast, steady caretaker.

Her story reminds reader-guardians to care for themselves, too.

Know how to talk the talk, so that you can have “a more productive” conversation with your doctor. Understand that there’s nothing “normal” about dementia or Alzheimer’s. Know the statistics – African Americans are affected with dementia twice as much as whites – and know how to lower your risks. Learn here what questions to ask, how to break the news to everyone, and any legal matters that will be important soon. And know how to tend to you.

Says Chin, “The best action you can take is to educate yourself… The more you understand, the better equipped you are to make sound judgments.”

Something’s off about Dad, just a lot of little things that don’t add up. When is it time to step in? “When Memory Fades” can help you decide.

Wise, wide-spread, comprehensive, and compassionately helpful, this is a book you can read and then take it to the doctor with your loved one. It’s a book that makes sense when nothing else does, and its biggest feature is that it smoothly transitions from easy-to-grasp science and charts, to gentle coaching for caregivers. Author Nathaniel Chin, MD writes with storytelling, humility, grace, and experience from both sides of the Alzheimer’s/dementia issue, and his words are reassuring but also urgent. Learn, but don’t wait, he says. Know how to safeguard yourself. See your doctor, and don’t fear testing. Watch for signs of depression. And never, ever stop asking for help.

Read those last seven words, and find “When Memory Fades” now. It’s a book to have on your shelf, whether you’re 45 or 95 because, as you’ll see, dementia happens and knowledge is key.

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