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Demi Lovato helps Shane Bitney Crone and Rayvon Owen get engaged

the couple made their relationship public in 2016

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Demi Lovato, Rayvon Owen and Shane Bitney Crone (Screenshot courtesy of Instagram)

Demi Lovato helped her friends Shane Bitney Crone and Rayvon Owen get engaged on stage during the Los Angeles stop of her “Tell Me You Love Me” tour on Friday.

Lovato invites Owen, 26, and Crone, 32, on stage with her but Owen finds himself standing alone next to Lovato. While Owen tries to find where his boyfriend went Crone pops on stage through a trap door.

Owen appears shocked as Crone proposes and Owen says yes.

“Something you don’t know is that these are two of my really close friends. I’ve gotten to watch Shane go through so much and come out on the other side. Such a strong person who has now found the love of his life,” Lovato tells the crowd. “Now I’m going to sing you a song while I cry.”

She then proceeds to sing her song “Yes” as a video montage of the couple’s love story plays behind her.

Crone, who is an LGBT activist, chronicled the legal challenges he faced after his partner Tom Bridegroom’s sudden death in the documentary “Bridegroom.” Owen, who was a finalist on season 14 of “American Idol” came out as gay in his music video “Can’t Fight It,” which starred Crone as his love interest, in 2016.

“I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you, and I am beyond thrilled to officially call you my fiancé! You’ve made me a better man and I’ll forever be grateful to you for loving me unconditionally. I know with all of my heart that Tom would be so happy for us, and I thank you for honoring and respecting the fact that he will always be a part of my life,” Crone captioned photos and video of the special moment.

@RayvonOwen, I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you, and I am beyond thrilled to officially call you my fiancé! You’ve made me a better man and I’ll forever be grateful to you for loving me unconditionally. I know with all of my heart that Tom would be so happy for us, and I thank you for honoring and respecting the fact that he will always be a part of my life. —————————————————- I have to give a huge thank you to @ddlovato for being a supportive friend and for helping make last night possible. It was one of the greatest moments of my life! I also want to thank you for all that you have done and continue to do for young people, and particularly the LGBT community. Your heart, your voice, and your activism make everyone feel accepted, less alone, more empowered and more hopeful. ❤️ —————————————————- Thank you to @matthew_scott_montgomery, @sirahsays, @adreeneyc, @kelseykershner and Demi’s team for helping pull last night off and thank you to everyone out there who has supported me, as well as my relationship with Rayvon. Your support through the years has not gone unnoticed and I would not be where I am without all of you. ❤️?️‍?#LoveIsLouder #LoveWins #TellMeYouLoveMeTour

A post shared by Shane Bitney Crone (@shanebitneycrone) on

Owen posted his own memory of the night with photos and video of the proposal and Lovato’s performance.

“I said yes…hands down the happiest night of my entire life. @shanebitneycrone, i am beyond excited and honored to spend the rest of my life with you. thank you @ddlovato for making this a moment that i will absolutely never ever forget,” Owen writes.

 

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PHOTOS: Capital Pride Honors

Annual awards ceremony held at National Building Museum

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From left, Raven-Symoné presents Kriston Pumphrey with the Capital Pride Breaking Barriers Award at the 2025 Capital Pride Honors on Thursday, June 5. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The 2025 Capital Pride Honors awards ceremony and gala reception was held at the National Building Museum on Thursday, June 5. Honorees included Cathy Renna, Jerry St. Louis, Ernest Hopkins, Lamar Braithwaite, Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, Kriston Pumphrey, Gia Martinez, Kraig Williams and SMYAL. Presenters and speakers included U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Amber Ruffin, Raven-Symoné and Paul Wharton.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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PHOTOS: Latinx Pride Party

‘La Fiesta’ held at Bunker

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'La Fiesta' was held at Bunker on May 29. (Washington Blade photo by Robert Rapanut)

La Fiesta: The Official Latinx Pride Party was held at Bunker on Thursday, May 29. The event was hosted by Lady J Monroe and featured performances by Mia Carlisle, Stefon Royce, Evry Pleasure and Alexis Carter St. James.

(Washington Blade photos by Robert Rapanut)

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Eugene Levy: Every queer character is ‘steppingstone to a better place’

Equality PAC honored actor on Wednesday

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Eugene Levy speaks at the Equality PAC Gala on June 4, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Equality PAC)

Award winning actor and comedian Eugene Levy was in Washington as the city’s WorldPride festivities kicked into high gear on Wednesday, joining members of Congress in the Mellon Auditorium to receive the 2025 Nancy Pelosi Equality Ally Award from the Equality PAC.

Co-chaired by U.S. Reps. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) and Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), who also serve as the chair and a co-chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, the PAC works to elect LGBTQ candidates and allies to public office.

With his son, Dan, who is openly gay, Levy created and starred in the enormously popular series “Schitt’s Creek.” The show has been celebrated for centering a queer love story that was not marred by tragedy or slapstick — just joy.

The Washington Blade spoke with the actor briefly before he accepted the award on Wednesday. The conversation below has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

BLADE: Here you are accepting an award from the Equality PAC named for Nancy Pelosi. I wonder if you might be leaning into the politics a bit more than usual. Is there something, maybe, about this new administration that has made you more vocal?

LEVY: I’m actually not leaning into the politics of it. I am Canadian. I wasn’t that familiar with the organization. Though I learned about it. And I know the cause. And then when this came up, I went, ‘Wow, this is really quite an honor. ‘

As an actor, I sometimes find it hard when actors speak out — necessarily about, you know, issues that sometimes are over their heads in terms of exactly what they know and how much information they have, and how qualified they are to make certain statements. I’m not that guy.

In the work that we did, in what the show has done for the cause, I think you couldn’t have made a stronger statement in support of what this is, other than what we did on the show. And my son gets a lot of credit in that regard, it goes without saying. That did more to stir things up and make people in the LGBTQ+ community feel like somebody’s looking out for them and understanding what they’re going through.

BLADE: I loved a film that you starred in about 20 years ago, “Best in Show.” Do you have thoughts about the evolution of queer characters on screen in projects that you’ve been involved in, from that movie to “Schitt’s Creek”?

LEVY: Every appearance by a gay character is a steppingstone to a to a better place. I mean, you have to keep it alive. You can’t stop writing for gay characters. The more you put out there, and the more people see, the more they’re able to digest it and see that, ‘Oh, I guess this is okay.’ I’m talking about those people. [On the other hand] there are some people you’re probably never going to get.

BLADE: Your and Dan’s show explored that dynamic between a dad and his gay son more deeply than we’re used to seeing on television. Do you have a Pride month message for the fathers out there?

LEVY: Just accept your kid for who he is. That’s it. And just support him as a father. You should support your kids. You should support your kids. My God, I’ve heard parents try to support their kids when they’ve, you know, gone to prison for 38 years. ‘Well, he didn’t mean that, it’s the first time he’s ever shot anybody,’ you know, so that — I mean, really, that’s what it is. Just, he’s your kid. He’s your own flesh and blood. You gotta support. There’s no other way you can go outside of be supportive, you know, of your own kids — and respect who they are.

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