National
Catholic priest sues Grindr for alleged outing
Lawsuit says app sold personal information, resulting in forced resignation
A Catholic priest in Wisconsin has filed a lawsuit against the popular gay dating app Grindr on grounds that it allegedly sold his “sensitive” personal information to commercial vendors that enabled a conservative Catholic publication to obtain the information and publish an article in July 2021 disclosing that the priest patronized gay bars and was “only a step away from sexual predation.”
The lawsuit, filed by attorneys for Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill, says the article published by the publication The Pillar resulted in Burrill being forced to resign from his job as General Secretary for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and caused him to suffer “severe emotional and mental distress,” and loss of earnings and future earning capacity among other damages.
According to the lawsuit, between 2017 and 2021, an organization called Catholic Laity and Clergy for Renewal (CLCR), described as a private foundation, “purchased Burrill’s Grindr personal data and forwarded his information to the publication known as The Pillar.”
It states that in July 2021, “armed with the Grindr data that CLCR purchased, The Pillar published an article in which Burrill was ‘outed,’ and smeared with false and lurid claims, including a strong suggestion that Burrill, by using Grindr, was ‘only a step away from sexual predation,’ and falsely suggesting Burrill might have been involved with minors.”
The lawsuit adds, “The news article was picked up and reported around the globe.” It further states, “Consequently, Burrill’s reputation has been destroyed. He was forced out of his position as the General Secretary of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and has been subjected to significant financial damages and emotional and psychological devastation.”
Court records show that the lawsuit was filed in the Superior Court for the State of California in Los Angeles County on July 18 because Grindr’s corporate headquarters is in that county in West Hollywood. The online court records do not show that Grindr has filed an official response to the lawsuit.
But the Washington Post reports that Grindr said in a statement that the company “intends to respond vigorously to these allegations, which are based on mischaracterizations of practices relating to user data.”
In its 14-page complaint, the lawsuit states that Burrill would never have signed on as a Grindr user if he had known that his personal information could be released.
“At the time that Burrill commenced using Grindr’s services, and throughout, Grindr deceived Burrill by concealing from him that his personal information and data could be sold and, in fact, was sold, and that Grindr received revenue, and hoped to achieve profit margins, as a result of the sale of user personal information,” the complaint states. “Grindr concealed from Burrill and others that their private and personal information would be made commercially available,” it says
The Washington Post reports that one of Burrill’s attorneys said the decision by Burrill to file the lawsuit was made after Grindr refused a request by Burrill’s attorney that Grindr compensate Burrill for the damages he suffered with a payment of $5 million.
National
Queen Jean is Tony’s first transgender winner
Designer/activist wins for work on ‘Cats: The Jellicle Ball’
It was a historic night at the 79th annual Tony Awards on Sunday as Queen Jean won the award for Best Costume Design of a Musical, making her the first out transgender person to win a Tony.
“This experience has been monumental. We are here for the legacy of queer people, trans people,” she said. “We are taking up space in ways we have to take up space. We have to shift the paradigm. So I just want to say, thank you all so much for this incredible honor. The world right now is deeply, deeply combating so many ailments, and we know as a society that when we come together, we can make real, permanent change.”
She won the award for her work on “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” and was also nominated for best costume design of a play for “Liberation.”
In addition to her stage work, Queen Jean is the founder of Black Trans Liberation, an organization that supports trans and gender-nonconforming people in New York City.
National
Madonna turns Times Square into massive dance floor
Pop icon celebrates Pride month with surprise performance
Pop icon Madonna celebrated Pride month with a pop-up performance in New York City’s Times Square on Thursday to the delight of 50,000 fans.
She performed for about 15 minutes high above street level, including several songs from her new album “Confessions II” due on July 3, along with a trio of songs from the first “Confessions on a Dance Floor.”
In addition to the brand new “Love Sensation,” she performed “I Feel So Free” and “Bring Your Love,” plus “Hung Up,” “Get Together” and “I Love New York.” She wished the crowd a happy Pride season; the event was shared with audiences through Grindr’s first-ever livestream.
National
Gallup finds LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping
Marriage equality support lowest since 2016
Gallup, one of the leading organizations in public opinion polling, has found that LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping.
The poll, whose data was collected using Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs survey, was conducted in May and was published on Wednesday. The data was collected through telephone interviews from a sample of more than 1,000 adults living in all 50 states and D.C. using random digit dialing.
It highlights declining attitudes surrounding LGBTQ issues in multiple areas — from support for same-sex marriage to views on gender identity and the morality of one’s sexuality.
One of the most striking findings was that support for marriage equality fell six points from its 2022-2023 high.
The survey also found that 62 percent of Americans view gay and lesbian relations as morally acceptable, the lowest level since 2016 just after same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide by the U.S. Supreme Court.
One newer question on the poll found that the perceived morality of changing one’s gender has dropped eight points since 2021, indicating the American public is less supportive of transgender people.
The data attributes much of the decline to shifting Republican views alongside the party itself. Conservative leaders have pushed back against diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that were intended to foster greater acceptance of LGBTQ people and other historically disadvantaged groups.
President Donald Trump has been a guiding force behind waves of anti-LGBTQ sentiment, particularly when it comes to trans rights. The president has enacted multiple executive orders, including Executive Order 14168, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” which mandates that gender be defined by one’s sex assigned at birth. He also signed Executive Order 14183, “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness,” which barred qualified trans applicants from joining the military and led to the removal of trans service members already serving in the armed forces.
Additionally, he signed Executive Order 14201, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which prohibits trans female athletes from participating on women’s and girls’ sports teams.
In February, Gallup found that an estimated 9 percent of Americans identified as part of the LGBTQ community in some form.
The organization also found that 23 percent of adults under age 30 identify as LGBTQ, compared with 10 percent of those ages 30 to 49 and 3 percent or less among those ages 50 and older.
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