Arts & Entertainment
Rebel Wilson insisted on casting a gay actor for gay character in ‘Isn’t It Romantic’
Brandon Scott Jones plays the stereotypical Donny in the rom-com
Rebel Wilson insisted on casting an openly gay actor for the role of a gay character in her new comedy “Isn’t It Romantic.”
In the film, Wilson’s character hits her head and finds her life has transformed into a romantic comedy. Her neighbor Donny, who often has women coming and going from his apartment, is transformed into her sassy “gay sidekick, who’s setting gay rights back, like, a hundred years.”
Wilson, who also serves as producer of the film, told the LA Times that she fought to have Donny’s character portrayed by an out actor.
“Being the producer of the film, it was really important to me that
“I think we make a really clever comment about how gay characters have been marginalized in the past few decades,” Wilson continued “It’s come a long way now like the work of Ryan Murphy, presenting such complex characters, but only 10 or 20 years ago that wasn’t represented.”
It’s later revealed in her real life that Donny is actually gay and the women stopping by are buying weed from him. The film attempts to show that a gay character doesn’t have to be stereotypical.
“So, we really make fun of that in our film, and we gave Brandon his first co-lead in a feature film with this movie,” Wilson went on. “I’m so proud of him. He just smashes it out of the park.”
Jones told the LA Times he was grateful for the film’s representation.
“It’s very cool that we’re getting a chance to see stories about queer people,” but added that “sometimes they’re played by queer people and sometimes they’re not.”
“But I think we’re moving in a direction where we’re realizing, ‘Oh wait, stories that aren’t about what we’ve always seen Hollywood do are universal at the end of the day,” Jones continued.
“Isn’t It Romantic” is currently in theaters.
The 2026 World Pride March was held on Saturday, Aug. 8 in Amsterdam. Tens of thousands of participants marched from Martin Luther Kingpark to the grounds of the Pride Village at Museumplein.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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The weekly drag show “Daddy Issues” was held at Kiki on Wednesday, Aug. 5. Performers included Evry Pleasure, Indiana Bones and Tiara Missou-Sidora.
(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)
Books
Something’s off about Dad. When is it time to step in?
‘When Memory Fades’ can help when families face dementia
‘When Memory Fades’
By Nathaniel Chin, MD
c.2026, St. Martin’s Essentials
$30/422 pages
Mom called you in a panic the other day.
She’d lost her keys and by the time you arrived to help, she’d found them. In the refrigerator.
These kinds of things keep happening, not often but often enough, and you don’t know quite what to worry about. But in the new book “When Memory Fades” by Nathaniel Chin, MD, you’ll learn about the journey ahead, for both of you.
You can’t remember why you walked into a room. You got lost last week, going to the bank. Popular wisdom says that things like that are normal as we age, but Chin says that’s not true – although the answer may not be a worst-case scenario, either. Yes, memory problems could just be signs of stress, dehydration, or lack of sleep – or is it time to see a doctor?
Chin says maybe, yes.
He was working his way through medical residency when his father, a geriatrician in Madison, Wisc., was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Chin, now a geriatrician, was blindsided, but that diagnosis also changed his life.
Here, he writes about the brain, and how Alzheimer’s and dementia are diagnosed, explaining that dementia has many faces and, depending on a doctor’s evaluation, memory problems might be slowed or improved. He shares his father’s illness with readers, but he also writes about his mother, a steadfast, steady caretaker.
Her story reminds reader-guardians to care for themselves, too.
Know how to talk the talk, so that you can have “a more productive” conversation with your doctor. Understand that there’s nothing “normal” about dementia or Alzheimer’s. Know the statistics – African Americans are affected with dementia twice as much as whites – and know how to lower your risks. Learn here what questions to ask, how to break the news to everyone, and any legal matters that will be important soon. And know how to tend to you.
Says Chin, “The best action you can take is to educate yourself… The more you understand, the better equipped you are to make sound judgments.”
Something’s off about Dad, just a lot of little things that don’t add up. When is it time to step in? “When Memory Fades” can help you decide.
Wise, wide-spread, comprehensive, and compassionately helpful, this is a book you can read and then take it to the doctor with your loved one. It’s a book that makes sense when nothing else does, and its biggest feature is that it smoothly transitions from easy-to-grasp science and charts, to gentle coaching for caregivers. Author Nathaniel Chin, MD writes with storytelling, humility, grace, and experience from both sides of the Alzheimer’s/dementia issue, and his words are reassuring but also urgent. Learn, but don’t wait, he says. Know how to safeguard yourself. See your doctor, and don’t fear testing. Watch for signs of depression. And never, ever stop asking for help.
Read those last seven words, and find “When Memory Fades” now. It’s a book to have on your shelf, whether you’re 45 or 95 because, as you’ll see, dementia happens and knowledge is key.
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