Arts & Entertainment
Miley Cyrus says she left Christian church over ‘anti-LGBTQ’ beliefs
Miley Cyrus has revealed that she turned away from her Christian church as a teen because of its anti-LGBTQ beliefs.
The 27-year-old singer, who came out as pansexual in 2015, made the disclosure during her new Instagram Live talk show, “Bright Minded,” as part of an interview with model Hailey Beiber, who is the daughter of actor (and conservative Christian activist) Stephen Baldwin and the wife of pop star Justin Beiber. When the conversation turned to the subject of religion, Beiber told Cyrus she had found her own relationship with God had changed as an adult, becoming a personal one in which she was free to find a spirituality and a church “that worked for me.”
At this point, Cyrus spoke up to share from her own experience of being raised in a conservative Christian environment.
“I was also brought up in the church in Tennessee – at a time in the ’90s, so it was a less accepting time,” she told her guest.
“I had some gay friends in school,” she continued. “The reason why I left my church is that they weren’t being accepted. They were being sent to conversion therapies. And I had a really hard time with that – and I had a hard time with me finding my sexuality too.”
She concluded, “So, I think now you telling me that I’m allowed to redesign my relationship with God as an adult, and make it how it feels most accepting to me, would make me feel so less turned off by spirituality.”
Beiber and her husband are devout Christians who belong to Hillsong church, an Australian Pentecostal denomination that has 80 churches internationally. It presents a contemporary, hip image, and espouses the concept of “prosperity theology,” in which followers believe that wealth is a sign of favor from God.
According to its website, the church “does not affirm all lifestyles,” and former gay members have claimed that it had tried to push them toward conversion therapy. Another celebrity member, actor Chris Pratt, was called out on social media by out actress Ellen Page for attending the church, which she described as “infamously anti-LGBTQ.”
For her part, Beiber told Cyrus that she believes “Jesus is about loving people no matter where they’re at in life,” and that she has always had a hard time with “church making people feel excluded and not accepted” because of “who they love, or who they don’t love.”
It’s worth noting that Cyrus’ next guest on the hour-long episode was “RuPaul’s Drag Race” legend Trixie Mattel.
You can watch the episode on YouTube.
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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