Arts & Entertainment
College football player recounts public coming out story on ‘Ellen’
Jake Bain and his boyfriend also receive a special gift
Jake Bain’s decision to come out at a school assembly, which was captured on video, at John Burroughs High School in Missouri was a personal achievement but he unexpectedly gained attention from more than just his classmates.
Bain’s story gained traction nationally and now, one year later, he is playing Division 1 football at Indiana State University. He appeared on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” to discuss what coming out so publicly was like.
DeGeneres notes that Bain looked nervous during his speech and Bain says he was.
“I had a lot of nerves coming out because, at that time, there weren’t very many out, openly gay football players,” he says.
Bain told DeGeneres that after coming out he decided to be open from the very beginning of college.
“Even before I committed there, I talked to the coach about my sexuality and that I wanted to be openly gay,” Bain said. “He assured me from the very beginning that I was gonna be accepted by the community at Indiana State and that my teammates were gonna treat me just like anybody else on the team.”
Bain’s boyfriend Hunter Sigmund was also in the audience. Bain says he and Sigmund clicked at a party and have been dating for two years. DeGeneres, who famously gives lavish donations and gifts to guests, wasn’t able to give Bain a gift as per NCAA rules. However, the show found a loophole and chose to give Sigmund a week-long vacation hinting that he should take Bain along.
Watch 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.
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