Arts & Entertainment
Halsey slams Victoria’s Secret for transphobic comments
The bisexual singer performed at the brand’s annual show
Halsey performing at the 2018 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. (Screenshot via YouTube)
Halsey performed at the 2018 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, which aired on Sunday night, but the 24-year-old singer followed up her performance by criticizing the brand’s transphobic controversy in an Instagram post.
The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was filmed in November in New York City. Ed Razek, chief marketing officer for Victoria’s Secret’s parent company L Brands, made some controversial comments about diversity among the underwear label’s models in a November interview with Vogue.
“If you’re asking if we’ve considered putting a transgender model in the show or looked at putting a plus-size model in the show, we have. So it’s like, why don’t you do 50? Why don’t you do 60? Why don’t you do 24? It’s like, why doesn’t your show do this? Shouldn’t you have transsexuals in the show? No. No, I don’t think we should. Well, why not? Because the show is a fantasy,” Razek said at the time.
After facing backlash, Razek apologized for his “insensitive comments.”
Halsey took to Instagram to explain that the controversy occurred after she filmed her performance.
“I have adored the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show since I was young,” Haley writes. “Performing this year alongside other amazing artists and hard-working models/friends was supposed to be the best night of my year. However, after I filmed the performance, some comments were made regarding the show that I simply cannot ignore.”
Halsey, who is bisexual, made mention of her support for the LGBT community and says she has donated to LGBT youth organization, GLSEN.
“As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I have no tolerance for a lack of inclusivity.”
“Especially not one motivated by stereotype,” she wrote. “If you’re on my page because you watched my performance tonight, please allow me instead to direct your attention to GLSEN: An organization that offers services aimed at protecting LGBTQ+ youth. And with respect to those youth targeted by these comments in a world where they have been made to feel ‘other,’ I have made a sizeable donation in their honor.”
“If you are a trans person reading this, and these comments have made you feel alienated or invalidated please know that you have allies,” she continued. “We stand in solidarity,” Halsey wrote. “And complete and total acceptance is the only ‘fantasy’ that I support.”
The 13th annual Frederick Pride Festival was held at Carroll Creek Park in Frederick, Md. on Saturday, June 27.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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PHOTOS: Fredericksburg Pride March and Festival
LGBTQ celebration held in historic Virginia town
The sixth annual Fredericksburg Pride March was held in downtown Fredericksburg, Va. on Saturday, June 27. Stafford County Board of Supervisors Chair Deuntay Diggs led the march alongside Fredericksburg City Council Member Jannan W. Holmes. The Fredericksburg Pride Festival took place at Riverfront Park after the march. Bree Fram was the featured speaker.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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Iran and Egypt on Friday faced off during the World Cup’s “Pride Match” in Seattle.
Iran is among the handful of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death. Discrimination and persecution based on sexual orientation and gender identity is commonplace in Egypt.
Friday’s match coincided with Pride weekend in Seattle. The Egyptian Football Association and the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran both objected to playing in the “Pride Match.”
Egypt and Iran tied 1-1.
FIFA, for its part, allowed Pride flags inside the stadium during the match.
“The FIFA World Cup 2026 is an inclusive event that welcomes people from all backgrounds,” a FIFA spokesperson told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Fans of all sexual orientations and gender identities are welcome at matches and events. General statements of human rights, including rainbow flags and other flags representing sexual orientation and gender identity, are permitted under the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Stadium Code of Conduct and may be displayed inside stadiums provided they are used in a manner consistent with the code.”
Human Rights Watch welcomed FIFA’s decision to allow Pride flags inside the stadium. Outright International, a global LGBTQ and intersex rights group, distributed Pride flags in Seattle on Friday, which was Pride Match Day.
“Visibility matters,” said Outright International Executive Director Maria Sjödin. “Pride is now being celebrated in more than 100 countries, including this weekend in Seattle. For many LGBTIQ people, seeing a Pride flag in public is a reminder that they are not alone, and that their rights and dignity are recognized.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino earlier this year told Die Weltwoche, a Swiss magazine, that “there will be no ‘Pride Match’ at the (FIFA) World Cup.”
“There will be a FIFA World Cup match in Seattle, and on the same day, events organized by external organizations will be taking place in the city,” said Infantino. “But that has nothing to do with the match itself.”
Peter Tatchell, a long-time LGBTQ activist from the U.K. who is director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, was among those who traveled to Seattle for Friday’s match. Tatchell accused FIFA of not vetting World Cup teams — specifically Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Senegal, Qatar, Tunisia, Morocco, Iraq, Uzbekistan, and Algeria — over whether they would allow gay players.
“FIFA is protecting LGBT+ visibility in the stands while failing to protect LGBT+ players on the pitch,” said Tatchell.
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