Arts & Entertainment
GLAAD to host livestream event featuring Kesha, Melissa Etheridge
GLAAD may have cancelled its annual Media Awards for 2020 in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, but that doesn’t mean they’re sidelining themselves for the duration.
This week, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization announced that it will host “Together in Pride: You are Not Alone,” a livestream event on Sunday, April 26 at 8pm ET on GLAAD’s YouTube channel and Facebook Live.
Highlighting the LGBTQ response to COVID-19 and amplifying messages of acceptance and affirmation to the LGBTQ community and people living with HIV during this unprecedented time, the livestream will raise funds for LGBTQ community centers that are members of CenterLink.
CenterLink is a coalition of more than 250 LGBTQ community centers from 45 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia, as well as Canada, China, Mexico, and Australia. By strengthening, supporting, and connecting its participating organizations, it serves over 2 million people each year.
Slated to perform in the livestream will be Kesha and Melissa Etheridge, with special guests including Billy Eichner, Matt Bomer, Lilly Singh, Adam Lambert, Bebe Rexha, Dan Levy, MJ Rodriguez, Wilson Cruz, Kathy Griffin, Gigi Gorgeous, Nats Getty, Michelle Visage, Javier Muñoz, Sean Hayes, Sharon Stone, and Tatiana Maslany. The event – which is created with GLAAD by actor and producer Erich Bergen, will feature performances, interviews, and video messages, with more guests to be announced soon.
In a statement, GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said, “At a time when some LGBTQ people could be isolating in homes that are not affirming, GLAAD is bringing together the biggest LGBTQ stars and allies to send messages of love, support and acceptance. So many LGBTQ people, especially our youth, depend on support from local community centers around the country, and during this time of financial distress, we must come together as a community to ensure that all LGBTQ organizations can continue their life-saving work.”
Denise Spivak, Interim CEO of CenterLink, further commented, “LGBTQ centers are the heart of the community, and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic these centers have continued to provide vital connectivity and services, pivoting to virtual programming, modifying in-person services when possible, and ensuring that their communities have resources and support when they need it the most.”
Ellis will serve as an Executive Producer of “Together in Pride: You are Not Alone,” along with Erich Bergen, and GLAAD Media Award producers and staff members Anthony Ramos, Bill McDermott, Mark Hartnett, and Rich Ferraro.
Follow GLAAD on Twitter and Facebook for links to watch the event. Participating community centers will also share the livestream on their social platforms.
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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