GOSSIP: (22yo Black Gay Athlete) Derrick Gordon Dating Gerald McCullouch (47yo White TV Star)

An update on the Derrick Gordon, who came to our attention last month when he became the first NCAA Division 1 Basketball player to come out as gay, is now making waves because he is dating a television actor, Gerald McCullouch, who is best known for appearing on the television show C.S.I. and the independent film Bear City.

The two were photographed together at the recent GLAAD awards. Gerald is 47 (and white) and Derrick is 22 (and Black) so some people are FREAKING OUT about the age and race differences.


What do you all think, Gentle Readers? Personally, I think people should let people be people and chill the **** out! The two make a cute couple. Though, I must caution people to remember, the boy has been out for literally a month...

hat/tip to Wonder Man

TV Star Wentworth Miller Comes Out, Rejects Russian Invite

Wentworth Miller is best known as the smouldering sexy star of the Fox hit television series Prison Break from a few years ago (2005-2009). Now 41, Miller is making headlines this week for coming out as a gay man as he publicizes his declination of an invitation to visit Russia in protest of its notoriously homophobic and unwelcome atmosphere for openly LGBT individuals.

Miller wrote a letter which GLAAD publicized on its blog:

August 21, 2013

Re: St. Petersburg International Film Festival / "Guest of Honor" Invitation

Dear Ms. Averbakh:

Thank you for your kind invitation. As someone who has enjoyed visiting Russia in the past and can also claim a degree of Russian ancestry, it would make me happy to say yes.

However, as a gay man, I must decline.

I am deeply troubled by the current attitude toward and treatment of gay men and women by the Russian government. The situation is in no way acceptable, and I cannot in good conscience participate in a celebratory occasion hosted by a country where people like myself are being systematically denied their basic right to live and love openly.

Perhaps, when and if circumstances improve, I'll be free to make a different choice.

Until then.

Wentworth Miller

Member, HRC
Member, GLAAD
Member, The ManKind Project

It will be interesting to see if this move by Miller will encourage other closeted celebrities to come out of the closet to publicize the extreme homophobia being exhibited in Russia.

Celebrity Friday: Wilson Cruz Joins GLAAD Staff

This is great news. Actor/activist Wilson Cruz has joined the staff of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) as Strategic Giving Officer. Cruz is well-known in the minds of gay men as one of the many attractive members of the cast of the ground-breaking cable television series created by Patrik-Ian Polk called Noah's Arc which portrayed the lives of Black gay men living in Los Angeles. Those of a certain age will remember his landmark portrayal of a gay teen named Ricky in the high school drama My So-Called Life decades ago opposite Claire Danes and Jared Leto.

Cruz issued a statement as his appointment was announced:

"For more than two decades GLAAD has combatted anti-LGBT images in the media and changed the national conversation about LGBT people,” said Cruz. “Today, GLAAD is also using its media expertise to create a culture that is accepting and safe for all young people. From Spanish-language media to sports, Hollywood to the newsroom, GLAAD shares the stories and sparks the discussions that make the world a better place for LGBT people everywhere. I am proud and excited to grow this culture-changing work.”

Congratulations to Wilson!

Facebook and Same-Sex Marriage: Happy Together

Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes (left) and former Freedom to Marry
political director Sean Eldridge were married this weekend at home in Garrison, NY

Lots of news combining Facebook and gay marriage today. First comes the news that one of Facebook's founders, Chris Hughes, got married to his longtime boyfriend Sean Eldridge at their home in Garrison, NY.

From the marriage announcement in yesterday's New York Times:

Mr. Hughes (left), 28, works from New York, Garrison and Washington as the publisher and editor in chief of The New Republic magazine. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard. He founded Facebook with Mark Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz and Eduardo Saverin. Mr. Hughes also led the online organizing for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. He is the son of Brenda Hughes and Arlyn Ray Hughes of Wilmington, N.C. His mother retired as a mathematics teacher at Newton-Conover High School in Newton, N.C. His father retired as a sales manager at the Snyder Paper Company in Hickory, N.C. 

Mr. Eldridge, 25, is the founder and treasurer of Protect Our Democracy, an advocacy group based in Garrison that seeks campaign finance reform. He is also the president of Hudson River Ventures, an investment firm in Garrison. He was until July 2011, the political director of Freedom to Marry, a group that advocates same-sex marriage. He graduated from Brown.

Congratulations to Sean and Chris!

In other Facebook and gay marriage news today it was announced that the social media behemoth will include new icons that will allow users to indicate that their relationship status is that they are married to someone of the same sex. Last year Facebook made news when they added options like "in a civil union" and "in a domestic partnership" as possible relationship status selections.


GLAAD reports:

Facebook has rolled out a new feature providing additional recognition for its users who are married to a person of the same sex. Now these users who have indicated on their Facebook timeline that they are married will be recognized by new same-sex marriage icons, rather than the marriage icon used for straight married couples.

Of course, one of the first questions that comes to mind is "does anyone still use Facebook?" But besides that, this is an excellent demonstration that the good guys continue to win the ongoing kulturkampf over LGBT equality as one of the most visible companies in Silicon Valley (and really, the world). Facebook has previously demonstrated its bona fides on the side of LGBT equality by releasing an It Gets Better video by their employees, taken active steps to stop bullying and recognizing LGBT pride through a Facebook "hack."

Hat/tip to kenneth in the 212 and joe.my.god.

LGBT Groups Issue Joint Trayvon Martin Statement

Several national LGBT groups issued a joint statement on the Trayvon Martin case yesterday:

An Open Letter: Standing Alongside Trayvon Martin’s Family and Friends

The tragic killing of Trayvon Martin is a national call to action. Our hearts go out to Trayvon’s family and friends for the loss they have experienced. We stand in solidarity with them as they demand answers and justice. We represent organizations with diverse lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender constituencies.

Many in our community have been targets of bigotry and bias. We have a great deal of experience grappling with the role bias plays in violent crimes against our communities. We well know the stories of young people targeted for violence just because of who they are: Rashawn Brazell, Lawrence King, Ali Forney, Deoni Jones, Brandon White, Matthew Shepard, Angie Zapata, Sean Kennedy and countless others.

Trayvon’s killing is a wakeup call to the enduring cancer of racism and racial profiling. The pain his family continues to endure transcends communities and unites us all. Every person, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity, must be able to walk the streets without fear for their safety.

Trayvon’s killing is tragic and the stark reality that racial bias played a role in his death has alarmed our nation. Questions must be asked. Answers must be sought. And justice must be served. We join our voices to the chorus of so many others to demand that local and federal authorities find those answers. We stand in solidarity with Trayvon’s family and friends as they seek justice for his killing. In the timeless words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

The letter was signed by

CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers  

Equality Federation 

Family Equality Council 

Freedom to Marry 

GLAAD 

Human Rights Campaign 

Immigration EqualityInternational Federation of Black Prides

Lambda Legal 

LGBT Progress at the Center for American Progress 

National Black Justice Coalition 

National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) 

National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) 

National Coalition for LGBT Health 

National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

National Stonewall Democrats

Out & Equal Workplace Advocates

PFLAG National 

Pride at Work 

Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE)

Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN)

The Trevor Project 

UNID@S

Hat/tip to TowleRoad. It is good to see LGBT groups stepping up and responding to this tragic situation whihc has captured the nation's attention.

GLAAD Head Jarrett Barrios on CNN

Almost two decades ago Jarrett and I were involved in an organization called North East Lesbian Gay Bisexual Students Association and he let me sleep on his Harvard dorm floor with like three other guys.

Nice to see him at work now as the youngest executive director of a national LGBT organization, following a notable career as a State Senator in Massachusetts.