Arts & Entertainment
Gay YouTuber Tai Couture dies by suicide
Popular gay YouTuber and LGBTQ influencer Tai Couture has passed away from suicide.
Couture, whose real name was Tyree Williams, was primarily known for his work as a hairstylist and makeup artist, but he had also been vocal about his battle with depression. His death was reported on Friday of last week.
When 15-year-old ninth-grader Nigel Shelby took his own life earlier this year after being bullied for being gay, an emotional Couture shared a Facebook post discussing an earlier suicide attempt of his own.
He wrote, āMy heart mourns for the pain, torment, and loneliness this baby felt preceding his suicide. My suicide attempt was only a little over a year ago when I cut my wrist with a knife and was hospitalized.ā
āAlthough bullying wasnāt my trigger I know firsthand how it feels to be desperate for the hurt to end. I pray for Nigelās family, friends, and the LGBTQ community. May the world continue to spread more unconditional love and not hate.ā
In 2016, Couture said in a video he posted that he was in a near-fatal car crash that may have caused his depression. He also talked about how he made it through that difficult period in his life.
After hearing of his death, fans and followers have gone on social media to share their disbelief and sorrow.
One poster on Instagram said, āHere you have a man who seemed to have it all from love, success, and beauty.Who shared a lot of himself publicly with us. Yet, he suffered in silence enough so that his only resolve was to take his own life.ā
The poster, who goes by the name @celestialhandsatl, went on to add that Couture āwas a man that many of us in the LGBTQ community held in high regardā before adding that he āshowed us what he wanted us to see. I, like many of us will never understand why he decided to end his life. Only him and God knows that now.ā
The Williamsā family has set up a GoFundMe page to help cover the costs of his funeral. It has raised over $5,500, so far.
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)