Connect with us

Arts & Entertainment

Deborah Cox set to perform at Sin City Classic Sports Festival

The event is the largest LGBT sports gathering in the world

Published

on

Deborah Cox. (Photo via Wikimedia Commons)

Deborah Cox will close out the 12th annual Sin City Classic Sports Festival, the largest LGBT sports festival in the world, with a special performance.

The festival, hosted by The Greater Los Angeles Softball Association, takes place Jan. 17-20, 2019, in Las Vegas. Cox will perform at the Toyota Sin City Classic Closing Party on Jan. 20 at the Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas.

Cox has been a longtime LGBT ally and advocate. She performed at Capital Pride in 2012. In 2015 Cox was honored by the Harvey Milk Foundation for her work fighting HIV/AIDS in the LGBT community. Her accolades also include being honored with the Out Music Piller Award and being recognized by the New York and California State Senates for her efforts fighting for human equality.

“We are thrilled to have Deborah Cox performing at this year’s closing party during the Sin City Classic. She has been a strong ally for the LGBTQ community for decades, and we can’t wait to hear her dazzle the crowd with all our favorite songs on Sunday night at the Brooklyn Bowl,” Sin City Classic Tournament Director Ken Scearce said in a statement.

Advertisement
FUND LGBTQ JOURNALISM
SIGN UP FOR E-BLAST

Online Culture

Clavicular charged in alleged rape of teenage influencer

Online personality’s real name is Braden Peters

Published

on

Braden Peters a.k.a. "Clavicular" (Screen capture via NBC News/YouTube)

Online personality Clavicular, whose real name is Braden Peters, has been accused of rape.

According to NBC, Aleksandra Vasilevna Mendoza, an 18-year-old influencer known online as Alorah or Alorah Ziva, accused Peters of sexual assault, and the case is making its way through the court system.

The alleged incident occurred on May 23, 2025, when Mendoza was 17.

According to a criminal complaint from the Chatham (Mass.) Police Department, Peters called her an Uber to his family’s home. Once there, he allegedly got her drunk on vodka while they livestreamed on Twitch and then raped her. His mother and grandmother were allegedly in the house.

The documents allege Clavicular committed rape, drugging a person for sexual intercourse, and procuring and providing liquor to a person under 21.

According to court documents acquired by NPR, Mendoza began communicating with Peters on Instagram, where he paid her to appear on his livestreams to help her “make her name known on social media.”

According to those documents, Peters arranged for the minor to come to Cape Cod home to participate in a videostream for his 437,000 followers on Kick, 1.2 million followers on TikTok, and more than 1 million followers on Instagram.

At his home, Peters allegedly instructed Mendoza to say she was 18 on his videostream and to claim the alcohol on camera was water instead of vodka. Mendoza said she felt peer-pressured to drink the spirit and that she became noticeably intoxicated after a couple of drinks.

The allegations go on to state that after stopping the stream, Peters and Mendoza kissed on a couch and then had sex in his bed without her consent. Mendoza said she did not receive a sexual assault forensic exam after the incident. NPR does not name alleged victims of sexual assault.

The charges come months after Mendoza sued Peters in Miami, accusing him of sexual battery in connection with the events of May 2025. The civil lawsuit also separately alleges that he injected her face with a non-FDA-approved fat-dissolving substance during a November livestream in Florida.

Peters is known for his “looksmaxxing” concept of vanity, which is at the core of his online presence. The “looksmaxxing” culture he has helped cultivate combines elements of incel culture and heterosexuality, with the stated goal of attracting the opposite sex. He has gone as far as to say he has undergone “bonesmashing,” or hitting his own face with a hammer; taken anabolic steroids to more rapidly grow muscle; and used crystal meth as an appetite suppressant.

At the same time, looksmaxxing has been described as having elements of homoeroticism, with “looksmaxxers” appearing more concerned with impressing other men than women. Peters has multiple times pointed to openly gay actor Matt Bomer as the gold standard for male facial aesthetics.

Peters’s arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 14.

Continue Reading

Photos

PHOTOS: Shenandoah Valley Pride

LGBTQ celebration held at Turner Pavilion in Harrisonburg, Va.

Published

on

A scene from the 2026 Shenandoah Valley Pride Festival. (Washington Blade photo by Landon Shackelford)

The 2026 Shenandoah Valley Pride Festival was held at Turner Pavilion in Harrisonburg, Va. on Sunday, Sept. 20.

(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)

Continue Reading

Photos

PHOTOS: Walk and 5K to End HIV

Whitman-Walker Health holds 40th annual event

Published

on

A scene from the 2026 Walk and 5K to End HIV on Saturday. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Whitman-Walker Health held the 40th annual Walk and 5K to End HIV at Anacostia Park on Saturday, Sept. 19.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

Continue Reading

Popular