Turkish authorities have refused to allow a gay cruise to dock in the country.

The Scarlet Lady, a Virgin Voyages ship that Atlantis Events chartered, departed Athens on Sunday. The 10-day cruise is scheduled to end in Trieste, Italy, on July 15.

The ship had been scheduled to dock in Kusadasi, a Turkish resort town on the Aegean Sea, on Tuesday. It was then slated to sail to Istanbul on Wednesday.

Officials in Aydin Province in which Kusadasi is located on June 28 posted a statement on X that confirmed the decision not to allow the Scarlet Lady to dock in Turkey.

Authorities noted the “groups” behind the cruise are “known for behaviors that do not align with the structure of our society and our moral values.” The June 28 statement also says the scheduled docking “caused great discomfort in various segments of our society.”

BASIN AÇIKLAMASI

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Atlantis Events in a statement on its website said the company has “been informed by the Turkish authorities that Atlantis will not be permitted to dock in Kusadasi or Istanbul during this voyage.”

“As a result, we have had to alter our sailing itinerary somewhat,” it reads.

The statement notes the cruise will now stop in Alexandria, Egypt, and Crete.

“Both ports have excellent opportunities for exploration and enjoyment and have been favorites of ours for years,” it reads.

(Discrimination and persecution based on sexual orientation and gender identity is commonplace in Egypt. The Egyptian Football Association, along with the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran, objected to playing in the World Cup’s “Pride Match” that took place in Seattle on June 26.)

Patti LuPone, who is performing on the cruise, sharply criticized the Turkish government over its decision.

“The Atlantis cruise I am performing on next week, has been banned from entering Turkey,” she said on her Facebook page on July 2. “A ship — a magnificent ship — full of well-heeled gay men. And me. Denied entry to Turkey simply because of who is on board. I am furious, but I am sailing, as the ship will make other ports of call. I am ready to perform for all the wonderful men on this Atlantis cruise, who deserve so much better than this.”

Atlantis Events CEO Rich Campbell told the Washington Post that his company’s cruises have visited Turkey more than a dozen times over the last two decades.

“We’re there to shop, be great tourists, spend money,” he said. “It’s always a culturally respectful group.”

Campbell further noted Turkey could lose at least $1 million in tourism revenue over its decision.

“The bigger damage to Turkey is when you start picking and choosing who’s allowed to enter, and your economy depends on tourism, you’re creating a standoff between tourists and yourself,” he told the Post. “And you run the risk of alienating a lot of potential tourists.”

The Washington Blade on Monday reached out to Campbell for additional comment.

Patrons enjoyed a night out at the popular LGBTQ venue Crush Dance Bar on Friday, July 3.

(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)

As the United States of America acknowledges her 250^th birthday, too many Americans are partying with fewer family and friends because their wallets and their patriotic hearts just aren’t in it. Meanwhile, the president is using taxpayer dollars to finance ugly pet projects, and a war of choice with Iran that no one wants, and Congress didn’t authorize, while We the People just watch an uncontrolled Trump train speeding through American lives.

Theoretically, this is nothing new. Since the nation’s founding in 1776, individuals have struggled with where to place their allegiance to best uphold their personal freedom and protect the collective unity of the country.

But now the simple democracy-project premise “of the people, by the people, and for the people” has been upended and subverted by Donald Trump, the amoral corrupt 47^th president who is using the once independent Justice Department to bypass “due process” and pursue retribution against his enemies — especially around his baseless 2020 election claims — while rewarding his Jan. 6 army of criminal loyalists with pardons and a proposed $1.8 billion “anti-Weaponization” slush fund, now temporarily blocked by a federal judge.

There have been amoral and ineffectual presidents in the past, as well as arrogant presidents who wielded power inhumanely, such as Andrew Jackson, who defied the Supreme Court and oversaw the Indian Removal Act, and Rutherford B. Hayes, who pulled troops out of the South, effectively ending the post-Civil War Reconstruction era. And there have been dangerous, outright liars like Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, and Warren G. Harding, whose Teapot Dome Scandal in his administration may have killed him.

But American history has never seen such a profoundly corrupt con artist who has taken over the federal government, installing ideological autocratic loyalists intent on expanding Trump’s power in the Supreme Court and Congress — the second and third branches of government intended to provide checks and balances to an overreaching Executive.

And now, in allegiance to White Supremacy and Christian Nationalism, Trump is trying to claim the right and power to decide who gets to claim citizenship, how he can pre-determine the outcome of elections through gaslighting and disinformation, and how he can make American residents afraid and silently complicit by not challenging his blatant racism, sexism, and transphobia.

New York Times columnist M. Gessen writes: “Read the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on transgender athletes — the majority’s decision, written by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and the dissent, written by Justice Sonia Sotomayor — and you will see the members of the court arguing about something more fundamental than the law. They are arguing about who should be seen, whose story ought to be heard, and who deserves to be protected.”

AIDS Healthcare Foundation co-founder and President Michael Weinstein might add that deciding who lives and dies is fundamental, too. The nonprofit is the world’s largest provider of HIV medical care, cutting-edge medicine, and advocacy regardless of ability to pay with 3 million in care and 50 countries served.

AHF has a history of acting quickly with coalitions when there is a need. For that, Weinstein was honored by the Los Angeles Urban League on June 24 with the John W. Mack Legacy Award during the annual Whitney M. Young Jr. Awards Celebration.

“The Los Angeles Urban League is proud to present the John W. Mack Legacy Award to Michael Weinstein — transformative leader, fearless advocate, and champion for health equity and human rights,” they wrote in their announcement on Facebook.

“As founder and president of AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Michael Weinstein has led one of the largest global HIV/AIDS medical care providers in the world, expanding access to treatment, housing, prevention, and advocacy for underserved communities. His bold leadership has saved lives while challenging stigma and systemic inequities in healthcare,” they continued.

“For decades, he has stood at the intersection of public health and social justice — building systems of care that affirm dignity, expand access, and ensure that the most vulnerable are not left behind. His unwavering advocacy reflects the very principles that guide the Los Angeles Urban League’s mission: advancing equity, protecting opportunity, and strengthening communities,” they said. “In many ways, his work echoes the legacy of Whitney M. Young Jr. — courageous leadership rooted in policy, partnership, and a belief that justice must be both spoken and enacted.”

Interestingly, on June 24, the night the Urban League celebrated Weinstein as “a leader whose impact continues to shape a more just and compassionate future,” two consecutive 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes struck northern Venezuela, killing and injuring thousands.

Interim President Delcy Rodríguez later called the earthquakes the “most brutal natural catastrophe” in Venezuela’s history.

In a horrific twist of fate, the BBC reported that ICE had deported more than 140 Venezuelans back to their home country on June 24, where they were housed in a hotel near the coast. The massive quakes struck there hours later, killing at least 2,200 people, injuring more than 10,000, and, according to UN figures, leaving 50,000 missing.

On July 2, the Venezuelan government estimated that 2,295 people died in the earthquakes, with another 11,000 injured.

“However, that’s believed to be a vast undercount. Gianluca Rampolla del Tindaro, the United Nations’ humanitarian coordinator for Venezuela, said the organization was procuring 10,000 body bags. And U.N. emergency relief coordinator Tom Fletcher called an estimate of 50,000 missing people ‘terrifyingly plausible,’” PBS reported.

Remember when Trump said the U.S. will ‘run’ Venezuela after capturing Maduro in surprise military strike?

Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported that Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 10,000 people over a five-day period at the end of June — that’s roughly 2,000 arrests per day — continuing Trump’s mass deportations agenda. No news about where they might be sent.

But while Trump is wildly spinning about his Fourth of July plans, AHF is in Venezuela, actively helping those in desperate need.

“The number of fatalities continues to rise, and many shelters have been set up in public spaces to help those in need. Hospitals and morgues are working tirelessly beyond their capacity, demonstrating the community’s resilience. Fortunately, international rescue teams have arrived, offering much-needed assistance to recover those still trapped in the debris. Venezuela’s government response has been uncoordinated, poor, and delayed, influenced by political interests,” AIDS Healthcare Foundation Latin America Bureau Chief Patricia Campos wrote to Weinstein on June 29.

“Despite the communication challenges, our team from AHF Colombia has been communicating with 600 of the 1080 of our patients in care who live in Venezuela. We are continuing to search for the 480 others to be sure they are alive or to support them,” Campos concluded, noting that AHF´s Emergency Aid supplies arrived with 11/13 Foundation and distribution was underway.

In an hour-long Zoom interview, Weinstein talked about a number of issues, including his long association with U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a self-described Socialist, and the New York races that just yielded three Democratic Socialist candidates (Part 1) and his long, successful fight against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s HIV/AIDS cuts (Part 2).

Check out the video interview here.

“Well, as a native New Yorker,” Weinstein says, “the election in New York is a clash between the corporate Democrats and, particularly, a younger generation, with the exception of Bernie. It’s an epic change, right? And I would say that younger people who powered this (New York Mayor) Mamdani, AOC (New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez), and the rest of the movement do not feel that they have a stake in the system the way it is, right? And so, they’re willing to look at more radical answers.

“And this really is similar to the 1930s, you know, whereby when [President Franklin D.] Roosevelt came to office, who was a blue blood, right? He basically said, ‘in order to save the system, we have to move in the direction of socialism.’ He may not have called it that, but that’s essentially what it was,” Weinstein says.

“I mean, the model for democratic socialism is essentially Scandinavian and Northern European countries, right? Which is, essentially, a capitalist system that has a strong safety net, or basically says, ‘we’re going to tax the rich heavily in order to maintain a minimum level of existence for everyone.’

“So that’s basically what Bernie is espousing, and what Mamdani and others are espousing. And I don’t take too seriously … the characterizations that Trump has of them being Communist, et cetera, et cetera.”

Weinstein, longtime Latina activist Dolores Huerta, and an expected crowd of thousands in an AHF-created coalition are participating in a We The People March for Freedom in Trump’s Florida backyard on July 3.

“At a time in our nation when healthcare is being rationed, and rents are outpacing wages, teachers are working second jobs, and rural hospitals are closing, we must continue to stand up for what’s right for all Americans. July 4, 2026, marks 250 years since the Declaration of Independence. The We the People March for Freedom is not just an event to celebrate this document or its declaration of independence, but the night before the fireworks, to remind America what and who it’s for,” stated Esteban Wood, AHF director of advocacy and legislative affairs and March for Freedom coordinator.

This is a cross-post from Ocamb’s LGBTQ+ Freedom Fighters Substack.