Arts & Entertainment
Taylor Swift accepts Video of the Year at VMAs with local drag performers
Tatianna, Riley Knoxx joined the ‘You Need to Calm Down’ singer on stage
Taylor Swift opened MTV’s 2019 Video Music Awards on Monday with a performance of her pro-LGBTQ anthem “You Need to Calm Down” which ultimately won Video of the Year, the biggest award of the night.
Swift performed the song along with bestie Todrick Hall and a slew of drag performers who also performed with Miley Cyrus during her 2015 VMAs performance of “Dooo It.” Swift later slowed things down with her first live performance of the single “Lover.”
“You Need to Calm Down” won MTV’s Video for Good and Video of the Year. Swift brought up some familiar faces who appeared in the music video including Hall, local drag performer Tatianna and local Beyoncé impersonator Riley Knoxx.
Swift got political during her acceptance speech for Video of the Year urging fans to sign her petition for the Equality Act.
“I first want to say thank you to the fans because in this video, several points were made, so you voting for this video means that you want a world where we’re all treated equally under the law, regardless of who we are, regardless of how we identify,” Swift says.”At the end of this video there was a petition — and there still is a petition — for the Equality Act, which basically just says we all deserve equal rights under the law. I want to thank everyone who signed that petition because it now has half-a-million signatures, which is five times the amount that it would need to warrant a response from the White House.”
Another notable moment of the night included John Travolta who presented Video of the Year alongside Queen Latifah. His time on stage got attention when he mistakenly tried to hand the award to “RuPaul’s Drag Race” star Jade Jolie instead of Swift.
John Travolta mistook Jade Jolie for Taylor Swift when handing over the award for ‘Video of the Year.’ ? pic.twitter.com/z8MsJtcp1V
— Pop Crave (@PopCraveMusic) August 27, 2019
Out rapper Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus won Song of the Year for their hit single “Old Town Road (Remix).” This was Lil Nas X’s first award for the song.
Lil Nas X also gave a futuristic, heavily choreographed performance of his second single “Panini.”
Miley Cyrus performed her latest single “Slide Away,” her first live performance since her public separation from husband Liam Hemsworth. Cyrus was spotted getting intimate with blogger Kaitlynn Carter after the VMAs.
Missy Elliott also performed a medley of some of her greatest hits before accepting MTV’s Vanguard Award. The rapper entertained the crowd with her songs “The Rain,” “Hot Boyz,” “Get Ur Freak On,” “Work It,” “Pass That Dutch” and “Lose Control.”
The fourth annual Equality Prince William Pride was held at the Harris Pavilion in Manassas, Va. on Saturday, May 17.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
The Washington Blade held its 18th annual Summer Kickoff Party in Rehoboth Beach, Del., on Friday, May 16. Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer spoke along with State Sen. Russ Huxtable, CAMP Rehoboth Executive Director Kim Leisey, Blade Editor Kevin Naff, and Clear Space Theatre Managing Director Joe Gfaller. The event raises funds for the Steve Elkins Memorial Fellowship in Journalism, which was awarded to AU student Abigail Hatting.
(Washington Blade photos by Daniel Truitt)
In some fowl fiction foreshadowing, a gay-owned chicken joint has come home to roost on U Street, taking a page from the chicken window subplot on the HBO show “Looking.”
Last Friday, Lucky Pollo – much more than just a takeout window – stretched its wings atop the busy nightlife corner of 14th and U Streets NW.
Behind the poultry production place is Zach Renovátes, a D.C.-based nightlife operator and managing partner of LGBTQ venues Bunker and District Eagle, as well as the LGBTQ event production company KINETIC Presents.
Renovátes opened Bunker in February 2023 and District Eagle in January of this year. Lucky Pollo is the third in his growing gay empire, though this time there are noshes.
“Lucky Pollo was meant to be fun and a little provocative,” Renovátes said.
Based around its Peruvian-style rotisserie chicken, Lucky Pollo is a quick-service restaurant boasting a small menu of poultry and sides. Renovátes says that the dishes are deeply rooted in Peruvian culinary tradition, “a playful experience alongside seriously good food.”
Lucky Pollo’s signature chicken is steeped in a dozen-plus-spice marinade for 24 hours. The meat is then slow-roasted, rotisserie-style, over oak-wood charcoal. Chicken options include quarter, half, and whole.
Helming the kitchen at Lucky Pollo is Chef Luis Herrera, who brings Peruvian recipes passed down through three generations, including his grandmother Laura’s original creations.
Beyond the full bird, the menu features Peruvian-inspired sides like yuca fries (“I personally love these,” says Renovátes) and fried plantains, as well as comfort classics such as mac and cheese and mashed potatoes, and bowls, wraps, and salads. Herrera oversees development of the multiple sauces (including staff favorite, the “secret green sauce”), crafted in-house using traditional Peruvian ingredients.
Lucky Pollo, in its streetside perch, is an independent concept from District Eagle, open to the public and staying open late (3 a.m. on weekends) to serve both nightlife guests and the wider U Street crowd hungry for late-night bites. However, just beyond the kitchen, tucked in the back lies a vintage 1950s candy machine—labeled “Out of Order,” which serves as the door leading to subterranean District Eagle.
Renovátes notes that when District Eagle is open, security staff will maintain a strict two-line policy, ensuring that those seeking meat to eat will not get entwined with those looking to gain access to District Eagle.
Lucky Pollo unites the need for sustenance with the idea of a bit of fortune, given its motto, “Get Lucky” and the whimsical brand mascot: a leather-booted chicken perched on a horseshoe. Renovátes and his District Eagle business partner had always been interested in opening a restaurant, and the Lucky Pollo space was indeed lucky: It already came with a functional kitchen. Plus, he says, the nearby fast-casual places around 14th and U streets “don’t offer a lot of quality options,” so opening the chicken spot “was a no-brainer.”
The space, designed by NYC creative Jasin Cadic, blends theatrical street-art-style vibes with Keith Haring-inspired wall prints, neon signs, and ceiling-hung chicken figurines —”some edgy, some sweet,” says Renovátes —creating an immersive, playful atmosphere. Lucky Pollo and District Eagle maintain separate amenities for their respective customers.
Lucky Pollo opened last week with a competition to devour a whole rotisserie chicken in the fastest time, with the winner earning $1,000 and a framed spot on the restaurant’s “Wall of Fame.” The opening also featured other games and prizes, and a full crowd spilling out the door.
“We want it to be a great place to eat, but also serve as a playful front for something completely unexpected.” Renovátes says.
On weekends especially, he jokes, the motto will be, ‘Come for the chicken, stay for the cock.’”
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