Arts & Entertainment
‘Queer Eye’s Jonathan Van Ness slammed for saying ‘not all Republicans are racist’
The reality star’s political tweets cause Twitter meltdown
“Queer Eye” star Jonathan Van Ness is under fire with some fans for saying that not all Republicans are racist and urging both political parties to compromise.
After the primary elections on Tuesday, Van Ness spoke out on Twitter about the results.
“Luckily a lot to extreme right people won yesterday, meaning that if we can come up w center left candidates we can take back the house & senate, not to mention many state legislatures. It is so important for the left to not go too left or we are done for,” Van Ness tweeted.
Luckily a lot to extreme right people won yesterday, meaning that if we can come up w center left candidates we can take back the house & senate, not to mention many state legislatures. It is so important for the left to not go too left or we are done for.
— Jonathan Van Ness (@jvn) August 15, 2018
“Not all republicans are racist. Just like not all democrars are evil, we have to stop demonizing eachother. Unless you’re actually racist then you suck, Trump is Racist – not all his voters are necessarily we gotta remember we are all in this together,” he added.
Not all republicans are racist. Just like not all democrars are evil, we have to stop demonizing eachother. Unless you’re actually racist then you suck, Trump is Racist – not all his voters are necessarily we gotta remember we are all in this together.
— Jonathan Van Ness (@jvn) August 15, 2018
His tweets sparked criticism from some people on Twitter who didn’t agree.
jvn, i really admire you, but we’re not all in this together. if we were, trump would never be in office. republicans don’t want to compromise. they don’t care about us. they never have.
— abolish ICE (ง’̀-‘́)ง (@dariaosaurus) August 16, 2018
I’m not saying Clinton, but I’m saying conservative America will NEVER EVER vote for this, Obamacare is a great start and our best shot, yet demanding all or nothing is what got us Trump, Not Hillary.
— Jonathan Van Ness (@jvn) August 15, 2018
Im not left punching – I’m just born and raised in Trump country and I know what it takes to calm that type of person and it’s not this.
— Jonathan Van Ness (@jvn) August 15, 2018
take it from a fellow white gay person; we still have a LOT of privilege here, and there are a lot of people we need to be listening to. and telling your fans, who are largely minorities, that they need to recognize the very fine people on both sides is not the way.
— hannah moskowitz? (@hannahmosk) August 15, 2018
Van Ness defended himself against the critics saying that “compromise is what’s missing” from Democrats and Republicans.
“Also if you’re upset at a tweet I made leave gurl bai! Being able to compromise is what’s missing from both sides of the American political situation & the sooner we all get to a place of mutual understanding the sooner we will get out of this mess,” he tweeted.
Also if you’re upset at a tweet I made leave gurl bai! Being able to compromise is what’s missing from both sides of the American political situation & the sooner we all get to a place of mutual understanding the sooner we will get out of this mess.
— Jonathan Van Ness (@jvn) August 15, 2018
Van Ness later posted a video clarifying his earlier tweets.
“I decided to tweet political things today and you know that can go one of two ways. Left people are not necessarily inherently evil and right people are not necessarily inherently evil and our ability to notice gray area and to notice what compromise means and how much compromise has led us to where we are is important,” Van Ness says.”We have to be able to not demonize the right.”
— Jonathan Van Ness (@jvn) August 15, 2018
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 Honório Gurgel neighborhood, also joined Madonna on stage.
Congresswoman Erika Hilton, a Black travesti and former sex worker, and Rio Municipal Councilwoman Mônica Benício, 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,” said Associaçao Nacional de Travestis e Transexuais (National Association of Travestis and Transsexuals), a Brazilian trans rights group known by the acronym ANTRA, on its X account. “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)