Arts & Entertainment
‘Big Brother 19’ houseguests spark backlash with transphobic conversation
contestant Cody Nickson makes more anti-trans comments this season
(‘Big Brother 19’ houseguest Jason Dent. Screenshot via YouTube.)
“Big Brother 19” contestants Jason Dent and Cody Nickson sparked a fan debate after they made transphobic comments captured on Sunday’s live feeds.
Dent and Nickson were in the hot tub with fellow contestants Jessica Graf and Matt Clines discussing season 17 of “Big Brother.” Graf mentions Audrey Middleton, the first transgender contestant in the show’s history, causing Dent to become confused about what that means.
“She was the first transgendered cast member,” Graf says.
“What the fu*k does that mean? She was a she?” Dent asks. Nickson responds, “It was a dude dressed up as a woman.”
“Okay it was a dude,” Dent says before Graf cuts him off.
“You guys are walking such a thin line,” Graf says.
“What? That’s what it was,” Nickson replies.
Later Graf refers to Middleton as “she” causing Dent to say “Okay, but it was a he.” He then continues to ask, “Was it a he first, or a she first?”
Clines laughs and says the problem is Dent keep referring to Middleton as “it.”
Middleton responded to the foursome’s hot tub conversation with a Twitter post urging others not to send Dent and Nickson hate but to educate them.
“You are not born with emotional intelligence, you are conditioned to have it. The people who lack it are the one who are too afraid to try to understand what value it truly has. If you are someone who is radically opening yourself to things you will live the most purpose filled life of all,” Middleton writes.
My thoughts on what was said on the #BB19 live feeds about me ?️?? pic.twitter.com/A95x3AOYuh
— Audrey Middleton (@OddreyM) August 7, 2017
The conversation also started a lengthy debate on Reddit about if Dent’s comments should be taken to heart.
This isn’t the first time Nickson had found himself a part of a transphobic conversation. While speaking with Graf earlier this season, Nickson used the word “tranny” multiple times while discussing the transgender community.
Genuinely can’t wait till he’s (Cody) evicted i’ll have all the popcorn #BB19 pic.twitter.com/U6GMWALrMB
— Taylor Allen (@TaylorAllen133) August 7, 2017
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.
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