Arts & Entertainment
Actor Malik Yoba shares that he’s attracted to transgender women
The ‘Empire’ star will host a workshop at the National Transgender March
Actor Malik Yoba revealed that he is attracted to transgender women in a passionate Instagram post.
Yoba posted a video clip of Maurice āReeseā Willoughby, a 20-year-old Philadelphia man being bullied on camera for dating a transgender woman. Willoughby reportedly died of a drug overdose after his girlfriend left him shortly after the incident.
āATTENTION BLACK AND ALL MEN!!! THIS IS NOT OK!!!!! This video is another heartbreaking example of the homophobia, transphobia hatred and hypocrisy WE as black folks, BLACK MEN in particular have to NAME , FACE and CALL OUT and do the work to heal!!!ā Yoba writes.”I love ALL women AND count MYSELF among those that find themselves trans attracted and I too have felt the self imposed shame that comes with that truth but itās time to speak up.It is NOT about GENITALIA OR SEX but about attraction to the soul and humanity of an individual.”
Yoba thanked his fans for their support on Instagram. He also says he will continue to support the transgender community at the National Trans March in D.C. by hosting “Love and Trauma workshop: The Trans Experience.”
“I want to say thank you all. All the good folks who’ve reached out in the last 24 hours,” Yoba says. “Seeing my name, talking about ‘trans attraction: Malik Yoba.’ So, here’s the thing. We’re human beings, and we’re all part of the guide body, and so, unfortunately, part of our mechanism is that we need to judge and characterize and ostracize and vilify and demonize the things we don’t understand.”
Yoba has appeared on “Empire” and had roles in the films “Why Did I Get Married?” and “Why Did I Get Married Too?”
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)