Arts & Entertainment
Samira Wiley, Gloria Carter, ‘CMBYN,’ honored at GLAAD Media Awards
Halsey, Ava DuVernay also received recognition
Samira Wiley accepting the Vito Russo Award at the GLAAD Media Awards (Screenshot via YouTube)
The 29th annual GLAAD Media Awards continued in New York City on Saturday hosted by Ross Matthews.
D.C. native Samira Wiley was presented the Vito Russo Award by her “The Handmaid’s Tale” co-star Alexis Bledel. Wiley recounted when she first came out to her parents in 2008 while accepting the speech.
“I heard the words, ‘I like girls’ come out of my mouth,” Wiley says. “When I was finished I looked up and I said, ‘OK, I’m done.’ I waited, and my father looked at me and said, ‘Cool.’”
Jay-Z was honored with the Special Recognition Award for the track “Smile,” included on his latest album “4:44,” which features his mother Gloria Carter coming out. Carter accepted the award on her son’s behalf.
“‘Smile’ became a reality, because I shared with my son who I am. Not that people didn’t know. It was someone that they didn’t talk about but they loved me anyway.” Carter explained in her speech. “But to me, this was the first time that I spoke to anyone about who I really am.”
“Call Me By Your Name” won Outstanding Film which was accepted by screenwriter James Ivory and producer Peter Spears. Outstanding Music Artist was awarded to Halsey for her album, “Hopeless Fountain Kingdom.”
Ava DuVernay was also presented the Excellence in Media Award by Sen. Cory Booker.
“We were never meant to survive,” DuVernay says in her speech.“I thank my LGBTQ comrades for your fight, for your resilience, for your daring, for your dignity, for your declaration of self, and I dedicate this award tonight to those of every pronoun.”
Read the complete list of winners below.
Outstanding Documentary: “Gender Revolution: A Journey With Katie Couric” (National Geographic)
Outstanding Music Artist: Halsey, “Hopeless Fountain Kingdom”
Outstanding Talk Show Episode: “Australian Marriage Equality,” “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” (HBO)
Outstanding TV Journalism — Newsmagazine: “The Pulse of Orlando: Terror at the Nightclub,” “Anderson Cooper 360” (CNN)
Outstanding TV Journalism Segment: “Murders Raise Alarm for Transgender Community,” “NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt” (NBC)
Outstanding Newspaper Article: “The Silent Epidemic: Black Gay Men and HIV” by Gracie Bonds Staples (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Outstanding Magazine Article: “Forbidden Lives: The Gay Men Who Fled Chechnya’s Purge” by Masha Gessen (The New Yorker)
Outstanding Magazine Overall Coverage: Billboard
Outstanding Digital Journalism — Multimedia: This Is How We Win’: Inside Danica Roem’s Historic Victory,” by Diana Tourjée (Broadly.Vice.com)
Outstanding TV Journalism — Newsmagazine (Spanish Language): “Pulse, Huellas de la Masacre,” “Docufilms” (CNN en Español)
Outstanding TV Journalism Segment (Spanish Language): “Comunidad LGBTQ Vulnerable Bajo Nuevo Gobierno,” “Perspectiva Nacional” (Entravision)
The fourth annual Equality Prince William Pride was held at the Harris Pavilion in Manassas, Va. on Saturday, May 17.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
The Washington Blade held its 18th annual Summer Kickoff Party in Rehoboth Beach, Del., on Friday, May 16. Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer spoke along with State Sen. Russ Huxtable, CAMP Rehoboth Executive Director Kim Leisey, Blade Editor Kevin Naff, and Clear Space Theatre Managing Director Joe Gfaller. The event raises funds for the Steve Elkins Memorial Fellowship in Journalism, which was awarded to AU student Abigail Hatting.
(Washington Blade photos by Daniel Truitt)
In some fowl fiction foreshadowing, a gay-owned chicken joint has come home to roost on U Street, taking a page from the chicken window subplot on the HBO show “Looking.”
Last Friday, Lucky Pollo – much more than just a takeout window – stretched its wings atop the busy nightlife corner of 14th and U Streets NW.
Behind the poultry production place is Zach Renovátes, a D.C.-based nightlife operator and managing partner of LGBTQ venues Bunker and District Eagle, as well as the LGBTQ event production company KINETIC Presents.
Renovátes opened Bunker in February 2023 and District Eagle in January of this year. Lucky Pollo is the third in his growing gay empire, though this time there are noshes.
“Lucky Pollo was meant to be fun and a little provocative,” Renovátes said.
Based around its Peruvian-style rotisserie chicken, Lucky Pollo is a quick-service restaurant boasting a small menu of poultry and sides. Renovátes says that the dishes are deeply rooted in Peruvian culinary tradition, “a playful experience alongside seriously good food.”
Lucky Pollo’s signature chicken is steeped in a dozen-plus-spice marinade for 24 hours. The meat is then slow-roasted, rotisserie-style, over oak-wood charcoal. Chicken options include quarter, half, and whole.
Helming the kitchen at Lucky Pollo is Chef Luis Herrera, who brings Peruvian recipes passed down through three generations, including his grandmother Laura’s original creations.
Beyond the full bird, the menu features Peruvian-inspired sides like yuca fries (“I personally love these,” says Renovátes) and fried plantains, as well as comfort classics such as mac and cheese and mashed potatoes, and bowls, wraps, and salads. Herrera oversees development of the multiple sauces (including staff favorite, the “secret green sauce”), crafted in-house using traditional Peruvian ingredients.
Lucky Pollo, in its streetside perch, is an independent concept from District Eagle, open to the public and staying open late (3 a.m. on weekends) to serve both nightlife guests and the wider U Street crowd hungry for late-night bites. However, just beyond the kitchen, tucked in the back lies a vintage 1950s candy machine—labeled “Out of Order,” which serves as the door leading to subterranean District Eagle.
Renovátes notes that when District Eagle is open, security staff will maintain a strict two-line policy, ensuring that those seeking meat to eat will not get entwined with those looking to gain access to District Eagle.
Lucky Pollo unites the need for sustenance with the idea of a bit of fortune, given its motto, “Get Lucky” and the whimsical brand mascot: a leather-booted chicken perched on a horseshoe. Renovátes and his District Eagle business partner had always been interested in opening a restaurant, and the Lucky Pollo space was indeed lucky: It already came with a functional kitchen. Plus, he says, the nearby fast-casual places around 14th and U streets “don’t offer a lot of quality options,” so opening the chicken spot “was a no-brainer.”
The space, designed by NYC creative Jasin Cadic, blends theatrical street-art-style vibes with Keith Haring-inspired wall prints, neon signs, and ceiling-hung chicken figurines —”some edgy, some sweet,” says Renovátes —creating an immersive, playful atmosphere. Lucky Pollo and District Eagle maintain separate amenities for their respective customers.
Lucky Pollo opened last week with a competition to devour a whole rotisserie chicken in the fastest time, with the winner earning $1,000 and a framed spot on the restaurant’s “Wall of Fame.” The opening also featured other games and prizes, and a full crowd spilling out the door.
“We want it to be a great place to eat, but also serve as a playful front for something completely unexpected.” Renovátes says.
On weekends especially, he jokes, the motto will be, ‘Come for the chicken, stay for the cock.’”
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