Arts & Entertainment
Maya Hawke reveals she suggested Robin should be a lesbian in ‘Stranger Things’
The character was originally meant to date Steve
Actress Maya Hawke revealed that her character Robin coming out as a lesbian wasn’t in the original script.
In “Stranger Things 3,” Steve admits that he has feelings for his Scoops Ahoy! co-worker, Robin. Instead of telling Steve she reciprocates his feelings, Robin comes out as a lesbian and shares that she once had a crush on his ex-girlfriend Nancy (Natalia Danielle Dyer).
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Hawke says the script actually called for Robin and Steve to begin a romantic relationship. However, while filming Hawke and Keery felt that their characters’ chemistry was more friendly than romantic.
“Throughout filming, we started to feel like she and [Steve] shouldn’t get together, and that she’s gay,” Hawke says. “Even when I go back and watch earlier episodes, it just seems like the most obvious decision ever.”
Hawke brought her suggestion up to the showrunners and Robin became the first LGBTQ character on “Stranger Things.”
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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