Arts & Entertainment
Queers clean up at 76th annual Emmy Awards
Jodie Foster, Richard Gadd, and Greg Berlanti among LGBTQ honorees
It was a banner night for queer performers and television creators at the 76th annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday, with Jodie Foster, Richard Gadd, and Greg Berlanti among the night’s big winners.
Lesbian icon Jodie Foster took home her first Emmy in the category Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for her role in “True Detective: Night Country.” Foster thanked her wife and kids in her acceptance speech, telling her kids to remember that “Love and work equals art.” Foster has previously been nominated for her work behind the camera, directing “Orange is the New Black,” and producing “The Baby Dance” and “AMC: Film Preservation Classics.”
The Netflix drama “Baby Reindeer,” Richard Gadd’s autobiographical miniseries about his experiences with sexual assault and a stalker, was a big winner at this year’s ceremony. The show took home the award for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, while Gadd took home awards for writing and lead actor, and his co-star Jessica Gunning took home the award for supporting actress in the category. The show also took home honors for casting and picture editing at the Creative Arts Emmys earlier in the week.
Peacock’s “The Traitors” won in the Outstanding Reality Competition category, earning an Emmy for producer and host Alan Cumming. Cumming also won Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality Competition Show at the Creative Arts Emmys, ending an 8-year streak of wins by “RuPaul’s Drag Race” host RuPaul. Cumming, who is openly bisexual, has been nominated four times before – three times for his role on “The Good Wife” and once as the host of the Tony Awards broadcast. He has also been nominated for a Daytime Emmy for his work on “Arthur: Show Off.”
Longtime writer and producer Greg Berlanti was honored with the Governor’s Award in recognition for his work depicting underrepresented communities on screen across his nearly 25-year-long career. Berlanti’s career has written, directed, and produced dozens of television shows, including such milestones as the first on-screen kiss between two gay characters on his first show, “Dawson’s Creek.”
He later achieved acclaim creating and producing shows like “Everwood,” “The Flight Attendant,” and the CW’s various “Arrowverse” shows, and set a record with producing 18 shows that were on air during the same television season in 2019-2020. His shows frequently broke ground in LGBTQ representation, including the first transgender recurring character on “Dirty Sexy Money” and shows that put gay characters in leading and title roles, like “Batwoman,” “Brilliant Minds,” and “Freedom Fighters: The Ray.”
In his acceptance speech, the 52-year-old Berlanti spoke of the impact of the lack of LGBTQ representation in television when he was a kid.
“There wasn’t a lot of gay characters on television back then, and I was a closeted gay kid, and it’s hard to describe how lonely that was at the time,” Berlanti continued. “There was no Internet to connect with other queer kids, no LGBTQ+ advocacy groups in schools. Back then, the only way to tell if another kid might be gay was if he also watched ’Dynasty,’ ‘Dallas’ and could name all four of the Golden Girls.”
He said it wasn’t until the AIDS crisis in the 1980s that he saw gay men on television “holding hands with other men, marching and fighting for their rights.”
“They gave me hope that I might one day have their courage to come out and share my truth with the world,” Berlanti said.
A queer creator also made history at the Creative Arts Emmys last weekend.
Benj Pasek, who is openly gay, together with his songwriting partner Justin Paul, who is straight, became the 20th and 21st people to achieve EGOT status – winning an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony – with their win for Best Original Song for “Which of the Pickwick Triplets Did It” from the Hulu series “Only Murders in the Building.” The pair have previously won the Grammy and Tony Awards for their musical “Dear Evan Hansen,” and the Oscar for writing the song “City of Stars” from the movie “La La Land.”
With only seven years between their first and most recent awards, the pair set a new record for shortest time span for competitive EGOT winners, beating previous record holder Robert Lopez’s 10-year span.
Several other queer-themed shows took home honors at this year’s Emmys.
Max’s “Hacks” took home the award for Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, and Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for star Jean Smart.
Netflix’s “Ripley” series took home the awards for directing, cinematography, and special visual effects in a single episode in the limited or anthology series category.
“Feud: Capote vs. The Swans” took home the award for period costumes in a limited or anthology series.
Sports
New IOC policy bans trans women from Olympics
New regulation to be in effect at 2028 summer games in Los Angeles
The International Olympic Committee on Thursday announced it will not allow transgender women from competing in female events at the Olympics.
“For all disciplines on the Sports Program of an IOC event, including individual and team sports, eligibility for any Female Category is limited to biological females,” reads the new policy.
The policy states “eligibility for the Female Category is to be determined in the first instance by SRY Gene screening to detect the absence or presence of the SRY Gene.”
“On the basis of the scientific evidence, the IOC considers that the SRY (sex-determining Region Y) Gene is fixed throughout life and represents highly accurate evidence that an athlete has experienced or will experience male sex development,” it reads. “Furthermore, the IOC considers that SRY Gene screening via saliva, cheek swab or blood sample is unintrusive compared to other possible methods. Athletes who screen negative for the SRY gene permanently satisfy this policy’s eligibility criteria for competition in the Female Category.”
The policy states the test “will be a once-in-a-lifetime test” unless “there is reason to believe a negative reading is in error.”
The new regulation will be in place for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
“I understand that this a very sensitive topic,” said IOC President Kirsty Coventry on Thursday in a video. “As a former athlete, I passionately believe in the rights of all Olympians to take part in fair competition.”
“The policy that we have announced is based on science and it has been led by medical experts with the best interests of athletes at its heart. The scientific evidence is very clear: male chromosomes give performance advances in sport that rely on strength, power, or endurance,” she added. “At the Olympic Games, even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat. So, it is absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category. In addition, in some sports it would simply not be safe.”
(Video courtesy of the IOC)
Laurel Hubbard, a weightlifter from New Zealand, in 2021 became the first trans woman to compete at the Olympics.
Imane Khelif, an Algerian boxer, won a gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Khelif later sued JK Rowling and Elon Musk for cyberstalking after they questioned her gender identity.
Ellis Lundholm, a mogul skier from Sweden, this year became the first openly trans athlete to compete in any Winter Olympics when he participated in Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in Italy.
President Donald Trump in February 2025 issued an executive order that bans trans women and girls from female sports teams in the U.S.
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee last July banned trans women from competing in female sporting events. Republican lawmakers have demanded the IOC ban trans athletes from women’s athletic competitions.
“I’m grateful the Olympics finally embraced the common sense policy that women’s sports are for women, not for men,” said U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on X.
An IOC spokesperson on Thursday referred the Washington Blade to the press release that announced the new policy.
a&e features
Introducing the Torchbearers Awards honoring queer, trans women and nonbinary people
Meet the Legends and Illuminators lighting new paths
The Torchbearers Awards are more than recognition—they are a continuation of legacy. They honor the quiet architects of progress in our community: those who organize, advocate, build, and protect, often without fanfare but always with purpose. Rooted in a belief in intentional recognition, this honor names those who carry our movements forward—those who make room for others, who remind us that change is both generational and generative. In a time marked by uncertainty and challenge, these leaders push forward with courage, clarity, and an unwavering commitment to expanding opportunity and equity.
This year’s honorees reflect the full breadth of our community, spanning generations, backgrounds, identities, and industries. From Legends, with decades of leadership and having created pathways for others, to Illuminators, who are lighting new paths with creativity and innovation, each Torchbearer represents the power of intergenerational leadership and the strength found in our diversity. They are organizers, advocates, artists, policy leaders, healers, and changemakers whose lived experiences shape a shared vision for equity and liberation.
This award is our love letter to queer and trans women and nonbinary people who carry the flame when it would be easier to let it dim. To those who consistently show up, who use their voice and visibility and stand firm, often without recognition, so that others may live more freely and fully. The Torchbearers Awards celebrates not just what has been done, but the enduring spirit, responsibility, and collective care that ensure the work continues, and that the flame is always passed forward.
Co-Creators of the Torchbearers Awards: Shannon Alston, June Crenshaw, Heidi Ellis
Torchbearers Awards Advisory Board: Aditi Hardikar, Lesley Bryant, Jasmine Wilson-Bryant, Stephen Rutgers
ILLUMINATOR AWARDEES
- Representative Sharice Davids (she/her), (D, KS-03)
— U.S. House of Representatives - Greisa Martinez Rosas (she/her/ella)
— Executive Director, United We Dream - Paola Ramos (she/her)
— Journalist & Correspondent - Meagan A. Fitzgerald (she/her)
— Journalist & Correspondent - Jessica L. Lewis (she/her)
— Founder / Producer, Play Play DC - Savannah Wade (she/her)
— Founder, OAR Agency - Suhad Babaa (she/her)
— Filmmaker/ Former Executive Director of Just Vision - Ashlee Davis (she/her)
— Global Head of Inclusive Outcomes, Ancestry - Jazmine Hughes (she/her)
— Journalist and Former Editor at New York Times Magazine - Queen Adesuyi (she/they)
— Policy Advisor & Organizer, ReFrame Health & Justice - Michele Rayner, Esq. (she/her)
— Civil Rights Attorney, State Representative (Florida House of Representatives) - Gaby Vincent (she/her)
— Sports/Cultural Commentator and Community Leader - Jenny Nguyen (she/her)
— Founder & Owner, The Sports Bra - Denice Frohman (she/her)
— Independent Artist, Poet / Performer - Vida Rangel (she/her)
— Founder, Our Trans Capital - Roxanne Anderson (they/them)
— Executive Director, Our Space - Ann Marie Gothard (she/her)
— Co-Founder & President, Pride Live (Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center) - Diana Rodriques (she/her)
— Co-Founder & CEO, Pride Live (Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center) - Wendi Cooper (she/her)
— Founder / Executive Director, Transcending Women - Toya Matthews (she/her)
— City of San Antonio, Texas - Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones (she/her)
— Sports/Cultural Commentator and Community Leader - Charity Blackwell (she/her)
— Poet, LGBTQ Advocate & Community Leader - Wilhelmina Indermaur (she/her)
— Director of Communications, Tyler Clementi Foundation - Em Chadwick (she/her)
— CMO, For Them & Autostraddle - Kylo Freeman (they/he)
— CEO, For Them & Autostraddle
LEGEND AWARDEES
- Sheila Alexander-Reid (she/her)
— Executive Director, PHL Diversity, Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau - Cassandra Cantave Burton (she/her)
— Interim Director of Thought Leadership & Senior Research Advisor, AARP - leigh h. mosley (she/her)
— Photographer / Educator, PhotoFlo Photography - Jenn M. Jackson, PhD (they/them)
— Assistant Professor of Political Science; Author & Columnist, Syracuse University - Jordyn White (she/her)
— COO, Washington Prodigy / VP of Leadership Development & Research, HRC Foundation - AJ Hikes (they/them)
— Deputy Executive Director, ACLU - RaeShanda Lias (she/her)
— Digital Creator, RL Lockhart - Donna Payne-Hardy (she/her)
— Educator, EEO Specialist, Former Leader at the Human Rights Campaign - Courtney R. Snowden (she/her)
— Principal, Blueprint Strategy Group - Gaye Adegbalola (she/her)
— Musician & Activist, Musician / Inductee of the Blues Hall of Fame - Cheryl A. Head (she/her)
— Independent Author, Novelist (Crime Fiction) - Letitia Gomez (she/her)
— The American LGBTQ+ Museum, Formerly of Voto Latino - Lynne Brown (she/her)
— Publisher, Washington Blade - Shay Franco-Clausen (She/Her/Ella/Queen)
— Political Strategist and Organizer - Melissa L. Bradley (she/her)
— Founder & Managing Partner, New Majority Ventures - Meghann Burke (she/her)
— Executive Director, NWSL Players Association - Victoria Kirby York, MPA (she/they)
— Director of Public Policy & Programs, National Black Justice Coalition - Joli Angel Robinson (she/her)
— CEO, Center on Halsted - Jeannine Frisby LaRue (she/her)
— CEO, Moxie Strategies - Alice Wu (she/her)
— Film Director (Saving Face, The Half of It) / Screenwriter - Storme Webber (she/her)
— Interdisciplinary Artist / Educator, University of Washington - Kim Stone
— CEO of the Washington Spirit, Washington Spirit - Mickalene Thomas
— American Visual Artist, Mickalene Thomas Studio - Erika Lorshbough (any/they/she)
— Executive Director, interACT - J. Gia Loving (she/ella)
— Co-Executive Director, GSA Network
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Lady Gaga this week took D.C. by storm.
The bisexual icon and LGBTQ rights champion brought “The Mayhem Ball” tour to Capital One Arena on Monday and Tuesday.
“Abracadabra,” “Paparazzi,” “Applause,” and “Bad Romance” are among the songs Lady Gaga performed during the 2 1/2-hour long concert. Lady Gaga also celebrated her many queer fans.
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