Arts & Entertainment
Tumblr bans adult content upsetting users
The block starts Dec. 17
Tumblr logo (Photo via Wikimedia Commons)
Tumblr porn will soon be a thing of the past. The short-form blog site is officially banning adult content on Dec. 17.
Banned content includes multimedia (photos, videos and GIFs) of “sex acts, human genitalia and female-presenting nipples,” according to the Verge.
Tumblr CEO Jeff D’Onofrio detailed the ban in a blog post.
“Over the past several months, and inspired by our storied past, we’ve given serious thought to who we want to be to our community moving forward and have been hard at work laying the foundation for a better Tumblr,” D’Onofrio writes. “We’ve realized that in order to continue to fulfill our promise and place in culture, especially as it evolves, we must change … Today, we’re taking another step by no longer allowing adult content, including explicit sexual content and nudity (with some exceptions).”
D’Onofrio continues: “Community members with content that is no longer permitted on Tumblr will get a heads up from us in advance and steps they can take to appeal or preserve their content outside the community if they so choose.”
The ban comes a few weeks after the Tumblr app was removed from the Apple App Store following a crackdown on child pornography on the site. Although Tumblr screens for this content, there was still some child pornography found on the site.
Some users were alarmed at the adult content ban as the website was one of the few social media websites where porn was allowed. The social media community also had accumulated a large number of artists (many who identify as LGBT) who produced art that would now be deemed adult content.
.@tumblr please reconsider
— billy eichner (@billyeichner) December 3, 2018
What a lousy decision. Adult content is the only reason I use Tumblr https://t.co/sOYgyFWdkr
— roxane gay (@rgay) December 3, 2018
I deleted my @tumblr today due to their policy change but will not stop writing or posting adult content elsewhere. They can be on the wrong side of history but the kinky, the queer, the sex workers, the witches, the artists, the underground will always survive—and prevail. pic.twitter.com/YnOCPuhpRm
— Sophie Saint Thomas (@TheBowieCat) December 3, 2018
So @tumblr is deciding to ban “adult content” (which will harm NSFW artists and sex workers) on their website starting on International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. Cool. pic.twitter.com/jdSRkLfjFI
— Eliel Cruz (@elielcruz) December 3, 2018
They banning nipples on tumblr but im seeing people get murdered graphically every day on this app. Like real snuff videos, non related to police shootings. Wtf yo. That shit honestly terrible for my mental and fucking up how I value human life. Help? @TwitterSupport
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) December 3, 2018
Child pornography should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Tumblr should work with law enforcement to prosecute anyone circulating such horrifying material. But banning all adult content hurts many artists and sets a dangerous precedent. Sexuality is not a crime.
— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) December 3, 2018
Tumblr just signed it’s own death warrant ? Do they not know their niche in the social media landscape? The place served as a great site for underground artists of all content – including those who like SEX
What’s so bad about that? #tumblrisdead https://t.co/zndUitTB2b
— Brett Gleason (@BrettGleason) December 3, 2018
@tumblr honestly I spend so much time on tumblr. I get all the best fanfics and fan art there. It’s a shame, tumblr was the last place on the internet that wasn’t restrictive. Very sad loss for the internet on the 17th. #riptumblr #tumblrisdead
— Skylar (@ayeeeitsskylar) December 3, 2018
Sports
Jason Collins dies at 47
First openly gay man to actively play for major sports team battled brain cancer
Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to actively play for a major professional sports team, died on Tuesday after a battle with brain cancer. He was 47.
The California native had briefly played for the Washington Wizards in 2013 before coming out in a Sports Illustrated op-ed.
Collins in 2014 became the first openly gay man to play in a game for a major American professional sports league when he played 11 minutes during a Brooklyn Nets game. He wore jersey number 98 in honor of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student murdered outside of Laramie, Wyo., in 1998.
Collins told the Washington Blade in 2014 that his life was “exponentially better” since he came out. Collins the same year retired from the National Basketball Association after 13 seasons.
Collins married his husband, Brunson Green, in May 2025.
The NBA last September announced Collins had begun treatment for a brain tumor. Collins on Dec. 11, 2025, announced he had Stage 4 glioblastoma.
“We are heartbroken to share that Jason Collins, our beloved husband, son, brother and uncle, has died after a valiant fight with glioblastoma,” said Collins’s family in a statement the NBA released. “Jason changed lives in unexpected ways and was an inspiration to all who knew him and to those who admired him from afar. We are grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers over the past eight months and for the exceptional medical care Jason received from his doctors and nurses. Our family will miss him dearly.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Collins’s “impact and influence extended far beyond basketball as he helped make the NBA, WNBA, and larger sports community more inclusive and welcoming for future generations.”
“He exemplified outstanding leadership and professionalism throughout his 13-year NBA career and in his dedicated work as an NBA Cares Ambassador,” said Silver. “Jason will be remembered not only for breaking barriers, but also for the kindness and humanity that defined his life and touched so many others.”
“To call Jason Collins a groundbreaking figure for our community is simply inadequate. We truly lost a giant today,” added Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson in a statement. “He came out as gay — while still playing — at a time when men’s athletes simply did not do that. But as he powerfully demonstrated in his final years in the league and his post-NBA career, stepping forward as he did boldly changed the conversation.”
“He was and will always be a legend for the LGBTQ+ community, and we are heartbroken to hear of his passing at the young age of 47,” she said. “Our hearts go out to his family and loved ones. We will keep fighting on in his honor until the day everyone can be who they are on their terms.”
Glitterati Productions held the “Studio 69” party at Bunker on Friday, May 8.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
Washington Blade’s Pride on the Pier returns June 13 to kick off D.C. Pride week
Pride on the Pier officially launches Pride Week in D.C.
The Washington Blade’s annual Pride on the Pier celebration returns to The Wharf on Saturday, June 13, 2026 from 4-9 p.m., bringing thousands of LGBTQ community members and allies together for an unforgettable waterfront celebration to kick off Pride week in Washington, D.C.
Now in its eighth year, Washington Blade Pride on the Pier extends the city’s annual celebration of LGBTQ visibility to the bustling Wharf waterfront with an exciting array of activities and entertainment for all ages. The District Pier will offer DJs, dancing, drag, and other entertainment. Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase for those 21 and older.
“Pride on the Pier has become one of the signature moments of Pride in D.C.,” said Lynne Brown, publisher of the Washington Blade. “There’s nothing like watching our community come together on the waterfront with live music and incredible energy as we kick off Pride week.”
Pride on the Pier is free and open to the public, with VIP tickets available for exclusive pier access to the Dockmaster Building. To purchase VIP tickets visit www.prideonthepierdc.com/vip.
Additional entertainment announcements, sponsor activations, and event details will be released in the coming weeks.
Event Details:
📍 Location: District Pier at The Wharf (101 District Sq SW, Washington, DC)
📅 Dates: Friday, 13, 2026
⏱️ 4-9PM
🎟️ VIP Tickets: www.PrideOnThePierDC.com/VIP
Blade Foundation awards 9th journalism fellowship to AU student
Jason Collins dies at 47
Polish government to recognize same-sex marriages from EU countries
America’s broken pipeline of mental healthcare for trans youth
GLAA releases ratings for 18 candidates running for D.C. mayor, Council, AG
Comings & Goings
New Hungarian prime minister takes office
DJ Chanel Santini is bringing the heat and some gender-fluid diversity to XBIZ Miami
Senate Democrats press DOJ over anti-trans prison directives
