Arts & Entertainment
GLAAD extols LGBTQ ads, trolls One Million Moms on eve of Super Bowl
With the news that this weekend’s live broadcast of Super Bowl LIV will feature at least eight LGBTQ-inclusive ads, it’s fitting to pause and take a moment to appreciate how far we’ve come in the struggle for LGBTQ acceptance – even if it’s only to remind ourselves that, no matter how disheartening the political tides may be, there is still reason to hope that support for the community continues to grow within the culture at large.
On Friday, GLAAD issued a statement marking what they called “an unprecedented level of LGBTQ inclusion” scheduled for Sunday’s FOX airing of the NFL championship game, as well as the milestone represented by San Francisco 49ers coach Katie Sowers, who is the first out LGBTQ woman to serve as a coach in a Super Bowl game. They also took the opportunity to give the homophobic conservative advocacy group One Million Moms a taste of their own medicine, announcing they had launched petition a calling for the organization to “call it quits.”
The statement included comments from GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis, who said, “The level of diverse LGBTQ inclusion from at least seven brands during advertising’s biggest night, coupled with Katie Sowers’ trailblazing role on the field as Offensive Assistant Coach of the 49ers, mark a rainbow wave at the Super Bowl this year.”
GLAAD went on to chart some of the progress that has been made in LGBTQ representation by advertisers on the Super Bowl broadcast, citing a 2007 Snickers ad depicting two men who become disgusted when they accidentally kiss, a Coca-Cola ad from was celebrated for an ad featuring a diverse collection of American families, a Coca-Cola ad from 2014 that featured a family with two dads, and another from 2018 that used gender-neutral pronouns.
In addition, the LGBTQ media advocacy organization noted several out LGBTQ celebrities who have appeared in Super Bowl commercials over the years, such as RuPaul (who was the first drag queen to do so, twenty years ahead of this year’s ad featuring “Drag Race” alumni Kim Chi and Miz Cracker), Ellen DeGeneres, Neil Patrick Harris (who has appeared twice), and Carson Kressley, who co-starred with Cindy Crawford in a 2005 Diet Pepsi ad.
The brands offering this year’s eight LGBTQ inclusive ads, as noted by GLAAD, are:
Pop Tarts (with Jonathan Van Ness)
Sabra (with Kim Chi and Miz Cracker, former contestants on “RuPaul’s Drag Race”)
Microsoft (with 49ers coach Katie Sowers)
TurboTax (with Trace Lysette and Isis King, as well as other LGBTQ members of the ballroom community)
Doritos (with out Grammy-winner Lil Nas X)
Olay (with Lilly Singh, out bisexual host of NBC’s “A Lilly Late with Lilly Singh,” and the host of the GLAAD Media Awards in New York on March 19)
Amazon Alexa (with Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi
Budweiser (with married World Cup champs officially designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an anti-LGBTQ hate group. In the petition, OMM raises issue to the commercial’s inclusion of drag queens Kim Chi and Miz Cracker, saying, “Normalizing this lifestyle is contrary to what conservative, Christian parents are teaching their children about God’s design for sexuality.”
In response to OMM’s latest in a long history of failed campaigns against brands that have taken steps toward LGBTQ inclusion, GLAAD announced that it has launched its own petition, blasting the organization for claiming a mission to “stop the exploitation of children” when “nearly all of their public work and actions center on targeting brands/networks that include LGBTQ people in programming or ads,” and calling on them “to pack it up and go home.”
Ellis commented, “Leading brands have learned that fringe anti-LGBTQ organizations like Monica Cole and so-called One Million Moms project of the AFA, are not a reflection of where Americans are. Family-friendly brands today include all families, including LGBTQ ones.”
When the eight scheduled LGBTQ-friendly commercials air during Sunday’s game between the 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs, it will mark a record level of inclusivity for ads airing during the Super Bowl.
As Ellis puts it, “Now, American families will see and cheer on LGBTQ icons…
it’s about time.”
Below, you can watch Little Nas X star opposite movie icon Sam Elliott in his Doritos ad, which will air during the Super Bowl LIV broadcast on Sunday, February 2, at 6:30pm ET.
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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