Connect with us

Arts & Entertainment

Behind the scenes at the Emmys

Alan Cumming ‘very happy’ this year’s ceremony was so LGBTQ-inclusive

Published

on

Greg Berlanti accepts the Governor’s Award at the 76th annual Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 15, 2024. (Los Angeles Blade photo by Susan Hornik)

At the Creative Arts Emmy awards last weekend, actor/LGBTQ activist Alan Cumming won the award for Outstanding Host of a Reality Series for the much-loved Peacock series, “The Traitors.” While at the Primetime Emmys on Sunday night, the series also won for Outstanding Competition Series.

Thanking the audience, Cumming said: “We are so grateful because we are a new show, and you guys, when you like something, you tend to stick to it, which is a good quality, so we appreciate it all the more.” 

During Emmys night, Cumming wore a Trans Pride pin on the lapel of his jacket, which featured the colors of the transgender Pride flag–blue, pink and white. Attached to the ribbon was a medal, which read, “For Military Merit.”

Speaking to him Saturday at the GBK Brand Bar event, Cumming said he was “very happy” the Emmys were so very LGBTQ-friendly this year.

“There are lots and lots of queer people being celebrated, and that is a very positive thing,”  Cumming told the Los Angeles Blade. “Especially because we are at a time in America’s history where queer people are under threat and there is a lot of violence around. So I think it’s very beautiful that the entertainment industry is showing their love and support for us.”

There were many stylish LGBTQ couples on the Emmys red carpet. Caroline Joyner, who is the director and co-head of inclusion at William Morris, was with Brittani Nichols, a writer and producer for “Abbott Elementary,” which was nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series this year. Looking lovely as well was Sarah Paulson, who was right by Emmy nominee Holland Taylor’s side. Singer Jessica Betts accompanied her wife, Niecy Nash-Betts, who was part of a fun segment about television cops. 

Other well dressed celebrities were queer actor Devery Jacobs, who stars in “Reservation Dogs,” which was up for Best Comedy; Ayo Edebiri, nominated for “The Bear,” Kirsten Kish was nominated for “Top Chef” and Kali Reis, who was nominated for acting in “True Detective: Night Country.” 

LGBTQ “Baby Reindeer” stars Jessica Gunning — nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series — and Richard Gadd, who also wrote/created the series, both received accolades for their fascinating Netflix series, which won four Emmys. 

“This is the stuff of dreams,” Gadd said after winning his first Emmy in writing, as well as outstanding limited or anthology series and lead actor. 

JUSTIN Vineyards & Winery honored writer/actor/creator Richard Gadd at the 76th annual Emmy Awards. His Netflix series, “Baby Reindeer” won four Emmys. (Los Angeles Blade photo Courtesy Justin Vineyards)

In the pressroom, Gunning complimented Gadd’s writing, saying that her character was “so unique and unusual” in the dialogue she read. “It was all really there in the script for me and I just connected with her. I never saw her as a villain. I saw her as a kind of a complicated, lonely character, as was Richard’s character Donny. It was all there in the work. I was just very lucky to be able to play the part.” 

Gunning said that she was unable to put the script down once she received it.

“I read all the seven episodes in one go and I just kind of fell in love with the story and the writing and the character of Martha,” she noted. “When we were filming, I just was so proud of Richard and this story. And so when we made it, I think we just all thought it was gonna be this kind of indie slow-burning hit that people might watch.”

Trans Latina “Baby Reindeer” actress Nava Mau was also nominated in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie category, making her the fourth trans person nominated at the award show and the first in the category.

“I think that what we’ve been fighting for as a community is to be able to tell stories that come from the heart and that are based from a human foundation,” Mau told “Live from E!” host Laverne Cox, who was the first trans actress to be nominated for an Emmy. “Because that’s who we are as trans people, we are humans first and foremost.”

Among the numerous other LGBTQ talent present during television’s biggest night were queer and Indigenous nominees Lily Gladstone and Reis, both of whom were nominated for “Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie.” This was the first time Native women have ever been nominated.

Greg berlanti accepts the governors award (emmy awards video)

Around town

Publicist Tad Hamilton handles both the GBK Brand Bar and Affinity Nightlife’s “Dream in Gold” Post Awards Gala.

Celebrity colorist Erick Orellana (Photo courtesy of Orellana)

“As a publicist working in the entertainment industry with some of the industry’s top talent and events, we are always excited to include, and work with, the LGBTQIA+ community. Diversity and Inclusion is a core principle of Mosaic PR and this year’s GBK & MEND Television Awards Luxury Lounge and Affinity Nightlife’s ‘Dream in Gold’ Post Awards Gala is no exception. Both events had some of the most recognizable LGBTQIA+ stars in attendance.”

Hollywood hairstylist Erick Orellana loved seeing classic Hollywood glam all over the red carpet this year, with hairstyles ranging from “soft Veronica Lake waves to the side” to “vixen starlet looks” with blowouts that complement almost anyone with long hair. 

“It was nice to see a beautiful homage to old Hollywood glamor and beauty as we are transitioning out of beach waves or to done up hairstyles,” he noted.

Advertisement
FUND LGBTQ JOURNALISM
SIGN UP FOR E-BLAST

Photos

PHOTOS: Denali at Pitchers

‘Drag Race’ alum performs at Thirst Trap

Published

on

Denali performs at the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show at Pitchers DC on April 9. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

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)

Continue Reading

Arts & Entertainment

In an act of artistic defiance, Baltimore Center Stage stays focused on DEI

‘Maybe it’s a triple-down’

Published

on

Last year, Baltimore Center Stage refused to give up its DEI focus in the face of losing federal funding. They've tripled down. (Photo by Ulysses Muñoz of the Baltimore Banner)

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.

Continue Reading

Books

Susan Lucci on love, loss, and ‘All My Children’

New book chronicles life of iconic soap star

Published

on

(Book cover image courtesy of Blackstone Publishing)

‘La Lucci’
By Susan Lucci with Laura Morton
c.2026, Blackstone Publishing
$29.99/196 pages

They’re among the world’s greatest love stories.

You know them well: Marc Antony and Cleopatra. Abelard and Heloise. Phoebe and Langley. Cliff and Nina. Jesse and Angie, Opal and Palmer, Palmer and Daisy, Tad and Dixie. Now read “La Lucci” by Susan Lucci, with Laura Morton, and you might also think of Susan and Helmut.

When she was a very small girl, Susan Lucci loved to perform. Also when she was young, she learned that words have power. She vowed to use them for good for the rest of her life.

Her parents, she says, were supportive and her family, loving. Because of her Italian heritage, she was “ethnic looking” but Lucci’s mother was careful to point out dark-haired beauties on TV and elsewhere, giving Lucci a foundation of confidence.

That’s just one of the things for which Lucci says she’s grateful. In fact, she says, “Prayers of gratitude are how I begin and end each day.”

She is particularly grateful for becoming a mother to her two adult children, and to the doctors who saved her son’s life when he was a newborn.

Lucci writes about gratitude for her long career. She was a keystone character on TV’s “All My Children,” and she learned a lot from older actors on the show, and from Agnes Nixon, the creator of it. She says she still keeps in touch with many of her former costars.

She is thankful for her mother’s caretakers, who stepped in when dementia struck. Grateful for more doctors, who did heart-saving work when Lucci had a clogged artery. Grateful for friends, opportunities, life, grandchildren, and a career that continues.

And she’s grateful for the love she shared with her husband, Helmut Huber, who died nearly four years ago. Grateful for the chance to grieve, to heal, and to continue.

And yet, she says of her husband: “He was never timid, but I know he was afraid at the end, and that kills me down to my soul.”

“It’s been 15 years since Erica Kane and I parted ways,” says author Susan Lucci (with Laura Morton), and she says that people still approach her to confirm or deny rumors of the show’s resurrection. There’s still no answer to that here (sorry, fans), but what you’ll find inside “La Lucci” is still exceptionally generous.

If this book were just filled with stories, you’d like it just fine. If it was only about Lucci’s faith and her gratitude – words that happen to appear very frequently here – you’d still like reading it. But Lucci tells her stories of family, children and “All My Children,” while also offering help to couples who’ve endured miscarriage, women who’ve had heart problems, and widow(ers) who are spinning and need the kindness of someone who’s lived loss, too.

These are the other things you’ll find in “La Lucci,” in a voice you’ll hear in your head, if you spent your lunch hours glued to the TV back in the day. It’s a comfortable, fun read for fans. It’s a story you’ll love.

The Blade may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via this post.

Continue Reading

Popular