Arts & Entertainment
Series based on RuPaul’s life in the works
the show will be produced by Bad Robot and World of Wonder
(Screenshot courtesy of YouTube)
RuPaul’s life will be documented in a dramedy series produced by J.J. Abrams, Deadline reports.
Set in New York City in the ’80s, the show will chronicle RuPaul’s journey from a club kid to a celebrity drag queen and television host. Bad Robot, Abrams’ production company, and World of Wonder will produce the show. RuPaul is also on board as an executive producer.
Gary Lennon, whose writing credits include “Orange is the New Black” and “Justified,” will pen the script.
The “Drag Race’ host originally hails from San Diego and went to school in Atlanta to study the performing arts. He later moved to New York City where he frequently went clubbing and was in a punk band. He worked the nightlife scene alongside fellow drag icon Lady Bunny and crossed paths with celebrities like Andy Warhol and Madonna. Some of the drag star’s early adventures were recorded by his friend Nelson Sullivan who documented gay nightlife and eccentric characters in New York in the late ’70s and ’80s. Many of these videos have been uploaded to YouTube.
In the meantime, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” season nine premieres on VH1 on Friday at 8 p.m.
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PHOTOS: Fredericksburg Pride March and Festival
LGBTQ celebration held in historic Virginia town
The sixth annual Fredericksburg Pride March was held in downtown Fredericksburg, Va. on Saturday, June 27. Stafford County Board of Supervisors Chair Deuntay Diggs led the march alongside Fredericksburg City Council Member Jannan W. Holmes. The Fredericksburg Pride Festival took place at Riverfront Park after the march. Bree Fram was the featured speaker.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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Iran and Egypt on Friday faced off during the World Cup’s “Pride Match” in Seattle.
Iran is among the handful of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death. Discrimination and persecution based on sexual orientation and gender identity is commonplace in Egypt.
Friday’s match coincided with Pride weekend in Seattle. The Egyptian Football Association and the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran both objected to playing in the “Pride Match.”
Egypt and Iran tied 1-1.
FIFA, for its part, allowed Pride flags inside the stadium during the match.
“The FIFA World Cup 2026 is an inclusive event that welcomes people from all backgrounds,” a FIFA spokesperson told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Fans of all sexual orientations and gender identities are welcome at matches and events. General statements of human rights, including rainbow flags and other flags representing sexual orientation and gender identity, are permitted under the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Stadium Code of Conduct and may be displayed inside stadiums provided they are used in a manner consistent with the code.”
Human Rights Watch welcomed FIFA’s decision to allow Pride flags inside the stadium. Outright International, a global LGBTQ and intersex rights group, distributed Pride flags in Seattle on Friday, which was Pride Match Day.
“Visibility matters,” said Outright International Executive Director Maria Sjödin. “Pride is now being celebrated in more than 100 countries, including this weekend in Seattle. For many LGBTIQ people, seeing a Pride flag in public is a reminder that they are not alone, and that their rights and dignity are recognized.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino earlier this year told Die Weltwoche, a Swiss magazine, that “there will be no ‘Pride Match’ at the (FIFA) World Cup.”
“There will be a FIFA World Cup match in Seattle, and on the same day, events organized by external organizations will be taking place in the city,” said Infantino. “But that has nothing to do with the match itself.”
Peter Tatchell, a long-time LGBTQ activist from the U.K. who is director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, was among those who traveled to Seattle for Friday’s match. Tatchell accused FIFA of not vetting World Cup teams — specifically Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Senegal, Qatar, Tunisia, Morocco, Iraq, Uzbekistan, and Algeria — over whether they would allow gay players.
“FIFA is protecting LGBT+ visibility in the stands while failing to protect LGBT+ players on the pitch,” said Tatchell.
The second annual Frederick Pride Parade was held in the streets of downtown Frederick, Md. on Friday, June 26.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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