Arts & Entertainment
Patricia Arquette honors late sister Alexis at GLAAD Media Awards
the actress paid tribute to her transgender sibling at the ceremony
(Screenshot via YouTube.)
Patricia Arquette paid tribute to her late sister Alexis and voiced her support for the transgender community while accepting the Vanguard award at the GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles on Saturday night.
“Visibility matters. And right now, trans visibility really matters,” Patricia said in her speech. “It is not an easy life to be trans in America today. Alexis challenged the movie industry at its core. She had a very successful career as an actor. Alexis knew she was risking losing work by living her truth. That she would lose parts by living as a trans woman. She risked it all because she couldn’t live a lie. Whatever mark I have made in this life in activism will always pale in the light of Alexis’s bravery. She did not knock on the door of progress. She kicked the door open.”
Alexis died from a heart attack at the age of 47 in September. After the Academy Awards left out Alexis in the In Memoriam segment, Patricia called out the academy for not honoring her sister. Alexis appeared in films such as “Pulp Fiction,” “The Bride of Chucky” and “The Wedding Singer.” She had a combined total of more than 70 credits on screen and on stage.
“She wanted to help move the world forward to a time when they [transgender community] could be seen as complete, whole and equal human beings,” Patricia continued.
Patricia also noted the lack of a response from Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Department of Justice when called upon by members of the Democratic party to launch a federal hate crime investigation into the murders of transgender women.
“The response from Sessions? Silence. We – LGBTQ people and allies – don’t do silence. We are raising our voices, all of our voices together. Can you hear us, Jeff Sessions? You don’t need to have a trans family member, or a gay friend, or a questioning kid for this to affect you,” Arquette concluded.
The GLAAD Media Awards air on Thursday, April 6 at 10 p.m. on Logo. Watch Patricia’s acceptance speech below.
Celebrity News
Madonna announces release date for new album
‘Confessions II’ marks return to the dance floor
Pop icon Madonna on Wednesday announced that her 15th studio album will be released on July 3.
Titled “Confessions II,” the new album is a sequel to 2005’s “Confessions on a Dance Floor,” an Abba and disco-infused hit.
The new album reunites Madonna with producer Stuart Price, who also helmed the original “Confessions” album. It’s her first album of new material since 2019’s “Madame X.”
“We must dance, celebrate, and pray with our bodies,” Madonna said in a press release. “These are things that we’ve been doing for thousands of years — they really are spiritual practices. After all, the dance floor is a ritualistic space. It’s a place where you connect — with your wounds, with your fragility. To rave is an art. It’s about pushing your limits and connecting to a community of like-minded people,” continued the statement. “Sound, light, and vibration reshape our perceptions. Pulling us into a trance-like state. The repetition of the bass, we don’t just hear it but we feel it. Altering our consciousness and dissolving ego and time.”
Denali (@denalifoxx) of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” performed at Pitchers DC on April 9 for the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show. Other performers included Cake Pop!, Brooke N Hymen, Stacy Monique-Max and Silver Ware Sidora.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
In an act of artistic defiance, Baltimore Center Stage stays focused on DEI
‘Maybe it’s a triple-down’
By LESLIE GRAY STREETER | I’m always tickled when people complain about artists “going political.” The inherent nature of art, of creation and free expression, is political. This becomes obvious when entire governments try to threaten it out of existence, like in 2025, when the brand-new presidential administration demanded organizations halt so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming or risk federal funding.
Baltimore Center Stage’s response? A resounding and hearty “Nah.” A year later, they’re still doubling down on diversity.
“Maybe it’s a triple-down,” said Ken-Matt Martin, the theater’s producing director, chuckling.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
HIV/AIDS group NMAC is ‘destabilized’ and in financial crisis: sources
Madonna announces release date for new album
Senegalese court issues first conviction under new anti-LGBTQ law
Evan Glass is leaning on his record. Is that enough for Montgomery County’s top job?
D.C. bar, LGBTQ+ Community Center to mark Lesbian Visibility Week
An effort to increase the number of psychiatrists of color
Comings & Goings
Trump budget targets ‘gender extremism’
Minimal version of ‘Streetcar Named Desire’ heading to Dupont Underground
