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Leslie Jordan dies in Hollywood car crash

Accident took place after reported medical emergency

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Leslie Jordan attends the Night Out at the Nationals on June 15, 2016. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Beloved Out actor and comedian Leslie Jordan has died in a single-car crash Monday morning in Hollywood after suffering an unspecified medical emergency, a Los Angeles Police Department source said. The news of his death was first broken by entertainment gossip news website TMZ.

The 67-year-old saw a resurgence of fame with his viral and hilarious videos on social media during the lengthy coronavirus pandemic. Jordan was best known for his roles as Lonnie Garr in “Hearts Afire” (1993ā€“1995), Beverly Leslie in “Will and Grace” (2001ā€“2006, 2017ā€“2020), and several characters in the American Horror Story franchise (2011ā€“present.)

Jordan, an accomplished stage actor and playwright, was also devoted as an advocate for LGBTQ rights. Early in during AIDS crisis, Jordan, a Los Angeles resident, became involved in AIDS Project Los Angeles as a buddy and as a food delivery person for Project Angel Food, a non-profit founded during the HIV/AIDS pandemic which to this day prepares and delivers healthy meals to feed people impacted by serious illness.

In statement to the Washington Blade after learning of Jordan’s death, Project Angel Food CEO Richard Ayoub said:

ā€œLeslie was more than just a supporter of Project Angel Food, he was family. When Leslie first moved to LA in the 90s he wanted to help people with AIDS so he volunteered as a driver for Project Angel Food. Leslie presented Project Angel Food with the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerceā€™s Creative Business Award in 2019, and was such a joy to be around. Our hearts ache.ā€

Two years ago in a lengthy interview with Page Six, Jordan revealed he once hated himself for being gay. The star and social media phenom told Page Six that homophobia and self-loathing were planted deep inside him growing up in a church-going family in 1950s Tennessee.

ā€œIf youā€™re born homosexual, itā€™s not a choice,ā€ said Jordan, who has released a book of essays called ā€œHow Yā€™All Doing?ā€

ā€œI think for myself when you know something in your heart and youā€™re [told] thatā€™s just wrong ā€¦ I talk to a lot of my gay friends and I say itā€™s a wonder weā€™re even alive!ā€

In a 2018 interview with the Blade, Jordan spoke about his career: 

“It feels amazing. Iā€™ve always been the funny guy that came in with a zinger. That was my job from the day I got here in 1982, with $1,200 that my mother pinned into my underpants on a Greyhound bus,ā€ he quipped during a panel at the Television Critics Press Tour.

ā€œI got off at the corner of Vine Street and De Longpre and I realized that was my job ā€¦ 30 years I did that. ‘Will & Graceā€™ (which he guest starred in) won an Emmy for it. And I thought, ā€˜you know what? Itā€™s time.ā€™ Just the way itā€™s unfolded has been amazing.ā€

Leslie Jordan was the Grand Marshal of the Capital Pride Parade in 2016. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
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Kevin Spacey wonā€™t leave Baltimore mansion yet, buyer says

Actor has yet to move out

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Kevin Spacey (Photo by Vonora via Bigstock)

BY TIM PRUDENTE | A Bethesda real estate investor nabbed Kevin Spaceyā€™s waterfront Baltimore mansion at auction last month for a bargain, only now he has a problem.

Spacey, he said, has not given up the house.

The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

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Adele shuts down ‘Pride sucks’ heckler at Las Vegas show

British singer is a long-time LGBTQ ally

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Adele (Screen capture via "I Drink Wine" music video on YouTube)

British pop megastar and longtime LGBTQ ally Adele reacted to a member of the audience who repeatedly yelled “Pride Sucks” in between songs during her show Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Adele, who is continuing her iconic residency,Ā Weekends with Adele, at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, has been a strong LGBTQ supporter. Last year, she celebrated Pride Month during her Las Vegas residency wearing a black dress with a rainbow flag train and Pride-themed confetti.Ā 

Sitting down on the piano bench next to her pianist bantering with the audience which is routine, the singer eviscerated the unseen audience member:

ā€œDid you come to my fucking show to say Pride sucks? Are you fucking stupid?ā€ Adele angrily said reacting. ā€œDonā€™t be so fucking ridiculous. If you have nothing nice to say, shut up, alright?ā€

The incident, which was caught on cell phone footage and posted to X, has since gone viral:

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Actor Richard Dreyfuss mocks transgender people in misogynistic rant

ā€˜Jawsā€™ star appeared at suburban Boston theater

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Richard Dreyfuss walked onto the stage wearing a blue floral pattern house dress, pausing to turn away from the audience and shake his hips suggestively, actions that were caught on multiple mobile phone video footage posted online. (YouTube screenshot)

Patrons at The Cabot theater in the suburban Boston town of Beverly were all set to celebrate the 49th anniversary viewing of the classic 1975 Steven Spielberg horror film “Jaws,” along with a question and answer with one of the film’s stars actor Richard Dreyfuss, when from the minute Dreyfuss appeared on stage, the event derailed.

Dreyfuss walked onto the stage wearing a blue floral pattern house dress, pausing to turn away from the audience and shake his hips suggestively, actions that were caught on multiple mobile phone video footage posted online. Then two stage hands appeared and tore the dress off the actor who then took his seat opposite the event’s moderator.

According to Variety and the Boston Globe’s reporting, Dreyfuss ranted about subjects reported to include transgender people, Barbra Streisand, the #MeToo movement, and women in general. As attendee Diane Wolfe described it toĀ the Boston Globe, ā€œ[Dreyfuss] said that the parents of trans youth, allowing them to transition, was bad parenting and that someday those kids might change their minds.ā€

Facebook/social media advertisement for the ‘Jaws’ screening by The Cabot.

A number of members of the audience took offense and left the venue. On The Cabot’s Facebook page one attendee wrote: ā€œThis was disgusting. How could The Cabot not have vetted his act better. Apparently (I found out too late), he has a reputation for spewing this kind of racist, homophobic, misogynistic bull crap.ā€

The Cabot has since limited commenting on its page.

The Cabot Executive Director J. Casey Soward on Sunday apologized in a statement that read:

ā€œWe regret that an event that was meant to be a conversation to celebrate an iconic movie instead became a platform for political views. We take full responsibility for the oversight in not anticipating the direction of the conversation and for the discomfort it caused to many patrons,ā€ Soward said. ā€œWe are in active dialogue with our patrons about their experience and are committed to learning from this event how to better enact our mission of entertaining, educating and inspiring our community.ā€

WBSM News Talk Sports Radio in New Bedfordā€“Fall RiverĀ reported that The Cabot also sent an email, that the station had been forwarded, to those who purchased tickets apologizing.

ā€œDear Cabot Patrons,

I am writing to address an important matter concerning last nightā€™s event with Richard Dreyfuss at The Cabot.

We deeply regret that Mr. Dreyfussā€™s comments during the event were not in line with the values of inclusivity and respect that we uphold at The Cabot. We understand that his remarks were distressing and offensive to many of our community members, and for that, we sincerely apologize.

At The Cabot, we are committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment for all members of our community. The views expressed by Mr. Dreyfuss do not reflect our beliefs, and we do not endorse them in any way.

We take full responsibility for the oversight in not anticipating the direction of the conversation and for any discomfort it caused.

We are taking immediate steps to ensure that such an incident does not happen again. This includes more rigorous vetting of our event participants and more proactive communication strategies to keep our audience informed.

Thank you for your understanding and continued support of The Cabot.

We value your feedback and are dedicated to learning from this experience to better serve our community.ā€

The actor has a lengthy record of anti-trans remarks and bigotry. He has directed transphobic rants about trans youth affirming their gender and has taken aim at the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences calling out the Academy’s diversity efforts in a 2023 PBSā€™ Firing Line broadcast saying that the Academy’s focus on diversity ā€œmakes me vomit.ā€

ā€œWeā€™re so fragile that we canā€™t have our feelings hurt,ā€ he also said. ā€œWe donā€™t know how to stand up and bop the bully in the face.ā€

Deadline reported that Dreyfuss apparently made similar comments at a Friday nightĀ “Jaws”Ā screening at the Music Hall in Portsmouth, N.H. ā€œI live in Mass, but The Cabot showing was all booked so I saw him in N.H. on May 24,ā€ a Facebook commenter wrote. ā€œHe made anti-gay remarks that night too.ā€

The actor has not responded to requests by multiple media outlets for comment.

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