Local
D.C. responds to gay cop’s bias lawsuit
City denies all allegations
D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine filed a brief Oct. 12. (Photo courtesy of Racine)
D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine on Oct. 12 filed a court brief responding to a lawsuit filed last year by a gay former D.C. police officer accusing fellow officers and supervisors of subjecting him to discrimination, harassment and retaliation based on his sexual orientation.
Racine’s 17-page brief, filed on behalf of the city and the Metropolitan Police Department, states that his office either denies or lacks sufficient information to “admit or deny” a long list of allegations in the lawsuit filed by former MPD Officer Christopher Lilly.
Among the allegations Lilly makes in his lawsuit are that fellow officers at the department’s Fourth District repeatedly called him anti-gay names, subjected him to ridicule and a hostile work environment because of his sexual orientation, and attached 40 D.C. government AIDS awareness magnets to his locker.
At the time the magnets were affixed to his locker Lilly also discovered on the floor next to his locker “a large ‘spurt’ looking puddle of unknown white liquid meant to simulate ejaculation,” the lawsuit says.
The response by Racine came just over two weeks after U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan approved a motion by Racine calling for three of the lawsuit’s 11 counts to be dismissed. The motion said the three counts failed to state a valid claim that the alleged discrimination faced by Lilly violated his First and Fifth Amendment constitutional rights.
Both Racine’s office and Lilly’s attorney, Sameera Ali, have declined requests for comment on the case.
D.C. attorney Brian Markovitz, who specializes in employment rights law, said the fact that Racine’s brief responding to the lawsuit doesn’t disclose why the city denies Lilly’s specific allegations is a standard practice for responding to a lawsuit of this type at this stage in the litigation. He predicted it would take at least two years before the information gathering process known as discovery would be completed and the case would be ready for trial.
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PHOTOS: Helen Hayes Awards
Gay Men’s Chorus, local drag artists have featured performance at ceremony
The 41st Helen Hayes Awards were held at The Anthem on Monday, May 19. Felicia Curry and Mike Millan served as the hosts.
A performance featuring members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington and local drag artists was held at the end of the first act of the program to celebrate WorldPride 2025.
The annual awards ceremony honors achievement in D.C.-area theater productions and is produced by Theatre Washington.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
District of Columbia
Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals
Three LGBTQ icons to lead parade
WorldPride organizers announced Thursday that actress and trans activist Laverne Cox, powerhouse performer Reneé Rapp, and LGBTQ trailblazer Deacon Maccubbin will serve as grand marshals for this year’s WorldPride parade.
The Capital Pride Alliance, which is organizing WorldPride 2025 in Washington, D.C., revealed the honorees in a press release, noting that each has made a unique contribution to the fabric of the LGBTQ community.
Cox made history in 2014 as the first openly transgender person nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in an acting category for her role in Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black.” She went on to win a Daytime Emmy in 2015 for her documentary “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word,” which followed seven young trans people as they navigated coming out.
Rapp, a singer and actress who identifies as a lesbian, rose to prominence as Regina George in the Broadway musical “Mean Girls.” She reprised the role in the 2024 film adaptation and also stars in Max’s “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” portraying a character coming to terms with her sexuality. Rapp has released an EP, “Everything to Everyone,” and an album, “Snow Angel.” She announced her sophomore album, “Bite Me,” on May 21 and is slated to perform at the WorldPride Music Festival at the RFK Festival Grounds.
Deacon Maccubbin, widely regarded as a cornerstone of Washington’s LGBTQ+ history, helped organize D.C.’s first Gay Pride Party in 1975. The event took place outside Lambda Rising, one of the first LGBTQ bookstores in the nation, which Maccubbin founded. For his decades of advocacy and activism, he is often referred to as “the patriarch of D.C. Pride.”
“I am so honored to serve as one of the grand marshals for WorldPride this year. This has been one of the most difficult times in recent history for queer and trans people globally,” Cox said. “But in the face of all the rhetorical, legislative and physical attacks, we continue to have the courage to embrace who we truly are, to celebrate our beauty, resilience and bravery as a community. We refuse to allow fear to keep us from ourselves and each other. We remain out loud and proud.”
“Pride is everything. It is protection, it is visibility, it is intersectional. But most importantly, it is a celebration of existence and protest,” Rapp said.
The three will march down 14th Street for the WorldPride Parade in Washington on June 7.
2025 D.C. Trans Pride was held at Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library on Saturday, May 17. The day was filled with panel discussions, art, social events, speakers, a resource fair and the Engendered Spirit Awards. Awardees included Lyra McMillan, Pip Baitinger, Steph Niaupari and Hayden Gise. The keynote address was delivered by athlete and advocate Schuyler Bailar.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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