Arts & Entertainment
Gay teacher’s fan photo with Trump goes viral
the picture has been shared more than 5,000 times
A Rhode Island teacher’s LGBT pride-filled photo with President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump has gone viral.
Nikos Giannopoulos, 29, was named the 2017 Rhode Island Teacher of the Year for his work as a special education teacher at the Beacon Charter High School for the Arts in Woonsocket, R.I. In April, he joined other state teachers on a trip to the White House to meet President Trump and the first lady.
In what appears to be a nod to Pride month, Giannopoulos shared the photo he took with the Trumps. Giannopoulos is seen holding a black, lace fan with his head cocked to the side. The teacher also proudly wore a rainbow pin on his jacket. Right next to him, the Trumps smile brightly at the camera.
Speaking with NPR, the teacher said the fan, which belongs to his partner, is an accessory he takes with him whenever he travels.
In a Facebook post from April, Giannopoulos explained why he decided to showcase LGBT pride for his photo with the president.
“I wore a rainbow pin to represent my gratitude for the LGBTQ community that has taught me to be proud, bold, and empowered by my identity ā even when circumstances make that difficult,” Giannopoulos writes. “I wore a blue jacket with a bold print and carried a black lace fan to celebrate the joy and freedom of gender nonconformity.”
Giannopoulos also explains that he wished he could have spoken with Trump about the needs of the LGBT community.
“I would have told him that queer lives matter and anti-LGBTQ policies have a body count. Taking pride in queer identity means rejecting the shame imposed upon us by a harsh society. It means opening yourself up to a lifetime of criticism and misunderstanding, but knowing that itās worth it to be able to live authentically,” Giannopoulos writes.
Celebrity News
More than 1 million people attend Madonna concert in Rio
Free event took place on Copacabana Beach on Saturday
An estimated 1.6 million people on Saturday attended Madonna’s free concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach.
The concert, which was the last one as part of Madonna’s Celebration Tour, included a tribute to people lost to AIDS.
Bob the Drag Queen introduced Madonna before the concert began. Pabllo Vittar, a Brazilian drag queen and singer, and Anitta, a bisexual pop star who was born in Rio’s HonĆ³rio Gurgel neighborhood, also joined Madonna on stage.
Congresswoman Erika Hilton, a Black travesti and former sex worker, and Rio Municipal Councilwoman MĆ“nica BenĆcio, the widow of Marielle Franco, a bisexual Rio Municipal Councilwoman who was assassinated in 2018, are among those who attended the concert.
“Madonna showed that we fight important fights for the human rights of Black (people), young (people), women and LGBTQIA+ people, and against all injustice, discrimination, and violence,” saidĀ AssociaƧao Nacional de Travestis e Transexuais (National Association ofĀ TravestisĀ and Transsexuals), a Brazilian trans rights group known by the acronym ANTRA, on itsĀ X account.Ā “What they call identitarianism’ is our subversion to the retrograde and conservative tackiness that plagues the country.”
The Associated Press reported the concert was Madonna’s biggest ever.
The DC Center for the LGBTQ Community, SMYAL and Rainbow Families sponsored Gay Day at the Zoo on Sunday at the Smithsonian National Zoo. The Smithsonian observed International Family Equality Day with special exhibits and an event space.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Covering Gay Day at the Zoo for @WashBlade . Here at @NationalZooDC pic.twitter.com/LqgGNOOAiM
— Michael Patrick Key (@MichaelKeyWB) May 5, 2024
Photos
PHOTOS: Taste of Point
Annual fundraiser held for LGBTQ youth scholarship, mentorship organization
The Point Foundation held its annual Taste of Point fundraiser at Room & Board on May 2.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)