Arts & Entertainment
INTO apologizes for publishing ‘anti-queer’ Ariana Grande critique
The publication says it has cut ties with the writer
LGBT website INTO, which is owned by the app Grindr, has apologized for publishing a think-piece on Ariana Grande’s “thank u, next” music video which deemed the video “surprisingly anti-queer.”
“thank u, next” became a viral sensation with the biggest debut ever on YouTube. People were clicking to see the references to Grande’s exes and to watch nostalgic recreations of the popular rom-com flicks “13 Going on 30,” “Bring It On,” “Legally Blonde” and “Mean Girls.”
Writer and transgender activist Eli Erlick wasn’t impressed by the video. In an op-ed penned for INTO, Erlick claims that the story is ultimately an “anti-queer/transmisogynistic video.”
“Her music video failed to support the basic dignity of queer and trans people,” the story reads. “Laden with transmisogyny, anti-queer jokes, and blackface, the video follows Ariana’s white feminist awakening through a celebrity-laden nod to several cult classics.”
Erlick cites moments from the video to validate these points. In one scene, Erlick says that a man in drag was meant to mock transgender women. In another scene singer Troye Sivan says of Grande “I heard she’s a lesbian now and dating some chick called Aubrey. It’s fucking sick.” The quote is a homage to a similar scene from “Mean Girls.” Erlick believed that the line was homophobic.
The end scene with Kris Jenner yelling “Thank you, next, bitch” was also criticized as a call out to Caitlyn Jenner.
“She simply shouts ‘Thank you, next, bitch!’ while holding a camera — the final line of the music video. As ‘bitch’ is generally directed at women and ‘thank you, next’ is in reference to relationships, this is likely aimed at Caitlyn Jenner… Perhaps this is in reference to Caitlyn’s far-right politics. Perhaps it’s a jab at her trans identity. We can’t be sure unless Kris Jenner speaks out about the line,” Erlick writes.
The take was confusing for many people including Sivan.
This literally can’t be real I’m scream
— troye (@troyesivan) December 3, 2018
I’m sorry but this is the farthest reaching article I’ve read in my whole entire life. Like realllllly trying to make something from absolutely nothing. Wild ?
— TATIANNA (@TATIANNANOW) December 4, 2018
I’m sorry but claiming that Kris Jenner was referring to Caitlin Jenner when she said thank u, next is the biggggggest reach.
— CAnnedy Cane HOHOHO’Hara ??? (@annelizaohara) December 4, 2018
This article is completely absurd… and should be removed immediately… ???? @ArianaGrande is nothing but respectful to the LGBT community. And to try to save this writer’s take is awful.
— La Princesa de Chapultepec (@Ricardo_Peralta) December 4, 2018
After the negative backlash, INTO removed the author’s name from the op-ed saying that the author had received “numerous death threats.”
“While I could go into the HOW/WHY of why the piece missed the mark and should not have been published as is, what I am going to focus on is this: We as editors failed the writer by not working with her to ensure the piece met our standards,” INTO Editor-in-Chief Zach Stafford wrote in a post.“We have decided to remove the author’s name from this piece after the editorial team was alerted that a high number of death threats were being made against the writer as a result of the opinions presented in this piece,” reads the editor’s note.“These opinions never warrant violence, and when a writer’s own life could potentially be at stake, we must take necessary steps to ensure their safety.”
On Tuesday, Stafford posted another update that the publication had cut ties with the writer over “concerning allegations.”
“Given the seriousness of these allegations, I personally spoke with the writer and immediately launched an internal investigation,” Stafford writes. “INTO was not aware of these until Monday after publishing. And the writer will not be contributing to INTO for the time being.
Stafford did not specify what the allegations are.
The Ariana Grande story is still currently published on INTO’s website.
Team DC, the umbrella organization for LGBTQ-friendly sports teams and leagues in the D.C. area, held its annual Night of Champions Awards Gala on Saturday, April 20 at the Hilton National Mall. The organization gave out scholarships to area LGBTQ student athletes as well as awards to the Different Drummers, Kelly Laczko of Duplex Diner, Stacy Smith of the Edmund Burke School, Bryan Frank of Triout, JC Adams of DCG Basketball and the DC Gay Flag Football League.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
The 2024 National Cannabis Festival was held at the Fields at RFK Stadium on April 19-20.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Covering the @NatlCannaFest at RFK Stadium for @WashBlade . Stop by the LGBTQ+ booth and pick up a paper if you are here. pic.twitter.com/is7hnsaPns
— Michael Patrick Key (@MichaelKeyWB) April 20, 2024
Theater
‘Amm(i)gone’ explores family, queerness, and faith
A ‘fully autobiographical’ work from out artist Adil Mansoor
‘Amm(i)gone’
Thorough May 12
Woolly Mammoth Theatre
641 D St., N.W.
$60-$70
Woollymammoth.net
“Fully and utterly autobiographical.” That’s how Adil Mansoor describes “Amm(i)gone,” his one-man work currently playing at Woolly Mammoth Theatre.
Both created and performed by out artist Mansoor, it’s his story about inviting his Pakistani mother to translate Sophocles’s Greek tragedy “Antigone” into Urdu. Throughout the journey, there’s an exploration of family, queerness, and faith,as well as references to teachings from the Quran, and audio conversations with his Muslim mother.
Mansoor, 38, grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and is now based in Pittsburgh where he’s a busy theater maker. He’s also the founding member of Pittsburgh’s Hatch Arts Collective and the former artistic director of Dreams of Hope, an LGBTQ youth arts organization.
WASHINGTON BLADE: What spurred you to create “Amm(i)gone”?
ADIL MANSOOR: I was reading a translation of “Antigone” a few years back and found myself emotionally overwhelmed. A Theban princess buries her brother knowing it will cost her, her own life. It’s about a person for whom all aspirations are in the afterlife. And what does that do to the living when all of your hopes and dreams have to be reserved for the afterlife?
I found grant funding to pay my mom to do the translation. I wanted to engage in learning. I wanted to share theater but especially this ancient tragedy. My mother appreciated the characters were struggling between loving one another and their beliefs.
BLADE: Are you more director than actor?
MANSOOR: I’m primarily a director with an MFA in directing from Carnegie Mellon. I wrote, directed, and performed in this show, and had been working on it for four years. I’ve done different versions including Zoom. Woolly’s is a new production with the same team who’ve been involved since the beginning.
I love solo performance. I’ve produced and now teach solo performance and believe in its power. And I definitely lean toward “performance” and I haven’t “acted” since I was in college. I feel good on stage. I was a tour guide and do a lot of public speaking. I enjoy the attention.
BLADE: Describe your mom.
MANSOOR: My mom is a wonderfully devout Muslim, single mother, social worker who discovered my queerness on Google. And she prays for me.
She and I are similar, the way we look at things, the way we laugh. But different too. And those are among the questions I ask in this show. Our relationship is both beautiful and complicated.
BLADE: So, you weren’t exactly hiding your sexuality?
MANSOOR: In my mid-20s, I took time to talk with friends about our being queer with relation to our careers. My sexuality is essential to the work. As the artistic director at Dreams of Hope, part of the work was to model what it means to be public. If I’m in a room with queer and trans teenagers, part of what I’m doing is modeling queer adulthood. The way they see me in the world is part of what I’m putting out there. And I want that to be expansive and full.
So much of my work involves fundraising and being a face in schools. Being out is about making safe space for queer young folks.
BLADE: Have you encountered much Islamophobia?
MANSOOR: When 9/11 happened, I was a sophomore in high school, so yes. I faced a lot then and now. I’ve been egged on the street in the last four months. I see it in the classroom. It shows up in all sorts of ways.
BLADE: What prompted you to lead your creative life in Pittsburgh?
MANSOOR: I’ve been here for 14 years. I breathe with ease in Pittsburgh. The hills and the valleys and the rust of the city do something to me. It’s beautiful, it’ affordable, and there is support for local artists. There’s a lot of opportunity.
Still, the plan was to move to New York in September of 2020 but that was cancelled. Then the pandemic showed me that I could live in Pittsburgh and still have a nationally viable career.
BLADE: What are you trying to achieve with “Amm(i)gone”?
MANSOOR: What I’m sharing in the show is so very specific but I hear people from other backgrounds say I totally see my mom in that. My partner is Catholic and we share so much in relation to this.
I hope the work is embracing the fullness of queerness and how means so many things. And I hope the show makes audiences want to call their parents or squeeze their partners.
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