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Michelle Obama snuck out the White House to celebrate marriage equality

The former first lady and daughter Malia hatched an escape route

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Michelle Obama and Ellen DeGeneres on ‘Ellen.’ (Screenshot via EllenTube)

Michelle Obama revealed she once snuck out the White House in order to celebrate the U.S. Supreme Court legalizing same-sex marriage.

The former first lady recounted the venture in her new memoir “Becoming” but told the story to Ellen DeGeneres on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”

“When you’re in the residence, there’s so much bulletproof glass that sometimes you don’t hear what’s going on outside,” Obama says. “And we were having dinner and we know there was a celebration happening but we didn’t realize that thousands of people were gathering in front of the White House at that time to celebrate. And my staff was calling me, everybody was celebrating, people were crying, and I thought, I want to be in that. Also, we had worked to make sure that the White House was lit up in the LGBT colors. It was beautiful.”

She says she tried to recruit President Barack Obama and their daughter Sasha into joining the celebration outside but both weren’t interested. Instead, the Obamas’ eldest daughter Malia decided to join. Obama says that due to high security it took them 15 minutes to get outside but eventually they were able to witness history in front of them.

“We stood along with all the cheering crowd, off to the side, mind you, so no one would see us, with security surrounding us, and we tried to have our tender mother-daughter moment. But we just took it in. I held her tight and my feeling was, we are moving forward. Change is happening,” Obama says.

Watch below.

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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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