Arts & Entertainment
Watch: Taylor Swift’s new music video celebrates LGBTQ pride
Local drag queens Tatianna and Riley Knoxx land cameos
Katy Perry and Taylor Swift in ‘You Need to Calm Down’ music video. (Screenshot via YouTube)
Taylor Swift released the music video for her new single “You Need to Calm Down” which features plenty of LGBTQ pride and a slew of celebrities.
Ellen DeGeneres, Adam Rippon, Todrick Hall, Billy Porter, Hannah Hart, Dexter Mayfield , Chester Lockhart, Laverne Cox, Adam Lambert, Ciara, Ryan Reynolds, Hayley Kiyoko, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and his husband Justin Mikita and the cast of Netflix’s “Queer Eye” — Antoni Porowski, Bobby Berk, Jonathan Van Ness, Karamo Brown and Tan France, all make cameo appearances in the video.
In one scene, RuPaul walks by a line of drag queens holding up a crown.
“And we see you over there on the internet. Comparing all the girls who are killing it
But we figured you out. We all know now we all got crowns. You need to calm down,” Swift sings.
The queens are all impersonating popular female singers and rappers. They include local queens Tatianna as Ariana Grande and Riley Knoxx as Beyoncé. Trinity The Tuck appears as Lady Gaga, Delta Work as Adele, Trinity K Bonet as Cardi B, Jade Jolie as Taylor Swift, Adore Delano as Katy Perry and A’keria C Davenport as Nicki Minaj.
All of the drag queens start fighting and Swift, dressed as french fries, finds Katy Perry, dressed as a hamburger, in the crowd. The two pop stars embrace with a hug symbolically calling an end to their famous feud.
At the end of the video, Swift urges fans to sign a petition for Senate support of the Equality Act.
Swift has been showing her support for the LGBTQ community all month. At the start of June, Swift wrote an open later to Sen. Lamar Alexander from her home state of Tennessee to support the Equality Act. She also gave a surprise performance at Stonewall Inn along with Ferguson.
Since the release of “You Need to Calm Down, which name drops LGBT media watchdog organization GLAAD, donations to GLAAD have increased. Fans have been showing their support by donating $13 to the organization, a nod to Swift’s favorite number.
Watch below.
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PHOTOS: Fredericksburg Pride March and Festival
LGBTQ celebration held in historic Virginia town
The sixth annual Fredericksburg Pride March was held in downtown Fredericksburg, Va. on Saturday, June 27. Stafford County Board of Supervisors Chair Deuntay Diggs led the march alongside Fredericksburg City Council Member Jannan W. Holmes. The Fredericksburg Pride Festival took place at Riverfront Park after the march. Bree Fram was the featured speaker.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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Iran and Egypt on Friday faced off during the World Cup’s “Pride Match” in Seattle.
Iran is among the handful of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death. Discrimination and persecution based on sexual orientation and gender identity is commonplace in Egypt.
Friday’s match coincided with Pride weekend in Seattle. The Egyptian Football Association and the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran both objected to playing in the “Pride Match.”
Egypt and Iran tied 1-1.
FIFA, for its part, allowed Pride flags inside the stadium during the match.
“The FIFA World Cup 2026 is an inclusive event that welcomes people from all backgrounds,” a FIFA spokesperson told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Fans of all sexual orientations and gender identities are welcome at matches and events. General statements of human rights, including rainbow flags and other flags representing sexual orientation and gender identity, are permitted under the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Stadium Code of Conduct and may be displayed inside stadiums provided they are used in a manner consistent with the code.”
Human Rights Watch welcomed FIFA’s decision to allow Pride flags inside the stadium. Outright International, a global LGBTQ and intersex rights group, distributed Pride flags in Seattle on Friday, which was Pride Match Day.
“Visibility matters,” said Outright International Executive Director Maria Sjödin. “Pride is now being celebrated in more than 100 countries, including this weekend in Seattle. For many LGBTIQ people, seeing a Pride flag in public is a reminder that they are not alone, and that their rights and dignity are recognized.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino earlier this year told Die Weltwoche, a Swiss magazine, that “there will be no ‘Pride Match’ at the (FIFA) World Cup.”
“There will be a FIFA World Cup match in Seattle, and on the same day, events organized by external organizations will be taking place in the city,” said Infantino. “But that has nothing to do with the match itself.”
Peter Tatchell, a long-time LGBTQ activist from the U.K. who is director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, was among those who traveled to Seattle for Friday’s match. Tatchell accused FIFA of not vetting World Cup teams — specifically Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Senegal, Qatar, Tunisia, Morocco, Iraq, Uzbekistan, and Algeria — over whether they would allow gay players.
“FIFA is protecting LGBT+ visibility in the stands while failing to protect LGBT+ players on the pitch,” said Tatchell.
The second annual Frederick Pride Parade was held in the streets of downtown Frederick, Md. on Friday, June 26.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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