Arts & Entertainment
Out Magazine EIC Phillip Picardi considering exit over freelancers’ pay dispute
Freelancers are still awaiting compensation
Out Magazine editor-in-chief Phillip Picardi is considering resignation amid a massive pay dispute between Pride Media and its freelance contributors.
Freelancers have been awaiting compensation for months. In February, the New York Times reported that more than 40 writers, photographers and editors had not been paid more than $100,000 for their work. 42 freelancers wrote an open letter on Mediumdemanding Pride Media, the company that owns the LGBT publication, to “pay us now.” Contributors also took to social media to air their grievances with Pride Media under the hashtag #OutOwes.
The issues arose when Out magazine was outsourced to independent production company McCarthy LLC and Grand Editorial, a company created by former Out magazine editor-in-chief Aaron Hicklin, to manage payments. In 2017 Hicklin sold Grand Editorial to McCarthy making the production deal between McCarthy and Pride Media. McCarthy says Pride Media violated its contract resulting in the company owing McCarthy thousands of dollars. Pride Media countered back with a lawsuit claiming McCarthy’s owner Evanly Schindler’s criticisms led to a loss in advertisers.
Picardi, whose career blossomed under his mentor Anna Wintour, left Condé Nast Inc.’s LGBT publication Them and took over as Out’s editor-in-chief in August 2018. In January, Picardi stated that he was “unaware of the full extent of this situation” when he took over as editor-in-chief.
“I entered this position unaware of the full extent of this situation but remain optimistic about and committed to its resolution. My team and I stand together in rebuilding this brand on a foundation we can all be proud of,” Picardi wrote in a tweet.
According to the Daily Beast, Picardi has threatened to leave his position if freelancers aren’t compensated.
“Phillip told Adam [Levin Pride Media CEO] that he couldn’t continue to work for him when he was exploiting queer people for their labor,” a source told the Daily Beast.
Wintour reportedly suggested Picardi “hire a lawyer,” according to a source at the Daily Beast.
Pride Media recently went through another shakeup when its CEO Nathan Coyle resigned to become head of the Ford modeling agency in April.
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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