Arts & Entertainment

Jamie Lee Curtis says she supports outing closeted anti-gay lawmakers

Published

7 years ago

November 26, 2019

**Jamie Lee Curtis** at the ‘Knives Out’ premiere. (Photo courtesy of Lionsgate)

Actress Jamie Lee Curtis has told an interviewer she supports the outing of closeted lawmakers who advocate for anti-LGBTQ causes.

During an interview in support of her new film, “Knives Out,” the longtime LGBTQ ally told Chris Azzopardi of Pride Source that she normally views sexuality as a private matter, saying, ““I don’t think it’s anybody’s business what people’s sexuality is, to be perfectly honest.”

“I find it like a reverse discrimination,” she continued. ““People’s private lives are their private lives and whether I’ve ever kissed a girl – have not – is irrelevant to whatever advocacy I participate in.”

She was quick, however, to add a caveat.

Saying that although sexuality is normally “nobody’s business” and “doesn’t matter,” she went on to say that there was an exception if “you legislate anti-gay legislation but are gay.”

“I fully accept outing those people for the hypocrisy,” said the “Halloween” star.

Curtis, who has been married to actor and filmmaker Christopher Guest since 1984, identifies as straight, but has been a longtime ally and advocate for the queer community. Her LGBTQ activism dates back to her friendships with actor Rick Frank (with whom she co-starred in the 90s sitcom, “Anything but Love”) and his longtime boyfriend George Lowe, both of whom succumbed to AIDS in the 1990s.

“Rick became, honestly, one of my best friends,” said the actress. “That experience with both Rick and George was a galvanizing moment for me, and I have tried to honor him more than anything with trying to keep that focus.”

The actress also talked about what it means to be a queer ally, saying, “You don’t have to have your own experience in order to feel compassion and the need for justice and equality. In the LGBTQ world, certainly I have friends and family, but I don’t have to have the direct experience in order to feel the compassion that I truly feel for acceptance and equality in all areas.”

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Out & About

Equality Chamber hosts Pride in Business Expo and Profits & Pours

Entrepreneurs, business leaders, professionals to meet at Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs

Published

2 hours ago

October 4, 2026

Tinashe Chingarande

(Photo by auremar/Bigstock)

The Equality Chamber of Commerce is bringing together LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs, business leaders, professionals, advocates, and community partners on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 2:30 p.m. at the D.C. Mayor’s Office for LGBTQ Affairs (899 N. Capitol Street, NE).

This is an afternoon and evening focused on one essential question: How do we build businesses and a business community that can thrive? The Pride in Business Expo and Profits & Pours with Stephanie will create a powerful forum for connection, practical knowledge, and economic opportunity at the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs. The Pride in Business Expo, taking place from 4-7 p.m., brings the region’s LGBTQ+ business community together to showcase businesses, build relationships, discover resources, and create new opportunities.

Out & About

Learn more about Virginia’s queer history

‘The Remarkable Visibility of Hannah Nokes’ event scheduled for Wednesday

Published

2 hours ago

October 4, 2026

Tinashe Chingarande

(Image by larich/Bigstock)

Queer Virginia Contributor Amy Bertsch will host “The Remarkable Visibility of Hannah Nokes” on Wednesday, Oct. 14 at 6 p.m. at Sprouse Rare Book Room inside the Kate Waller Barrett Branch Library (717 Queen St., Alexandria, Va.).

Amy will share the story of Hannah Nokes, an African-American transgender woman who made headlines in 1933 when she testified in a high-profile murder trial. Learn about Nokes’s life, her place in history, and the broader social context of her remarkable story. Her story is among those featured in the book “Queer Virginia: New Stories in the Old Dominion.”

Out & About

Annapolis Pride arrives this weekend

Sixth annual LGBTQ celebration held in Maryland capital

Published

2 days ago

October 2, 2026

Tinashe Chingarande

Annapolis Pride is set for Saturday. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

The Sixth Annual Annapolis Pride Parade and Festival will be held on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 11 a.m. on the streets adjacent to St. John’s College.

The theme of this year’s Annapolis Pride Parade and Festival celebration is “United in Pride, Together We Thrive!” Saturday’s parade will begin on St. John’s Street adjacent to St. John’s College, continue along Calvert Street to Northwest Street, to Church Circle, and onto West Street. The parade route then turns onto Amos Garrett Boulevard and eventually ends on Constitution Avenue near Maryland Hall.

Those with disabilities will be able to watch the parade from a special viewing porch at the Graduate Hotel at 126 West St. An Annapolis Pride volunteer will be there and available to assist.

For more details, visit the festival’s website.