Blythe del Kuzio

When the 2023 Academy Awards nominations were announced on January 24, one name in the Best Actress in a Leading Role category drew some attention. Many casual observers were likely surprised to see Andrea Riseborough’s name alongside Cate Blanchett, Michelle Yeoh, Ana de Armas, and Michelle Williams. And those who had been following this year’s Oscar campaigns likely raised an eyebrow. Now, The New York Times reports that questions raised by Riseborough’s unexpected nomination have led the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to scrutinize the campaign that preceded it. The Academy will reportedly take up the issue at a previously scheduled meeting today. Riseborough is nominated for her starring role in To Leslie , an indie film in which she plays a single mother struggling with addiction. The film was on almost no one’s Oscar radar until a few weeks ago, when A-list stars began posting about it on social media seemingly out of nowhere, just as voting on nominations bega...

A trans passenger has accused the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) of severe mistreatment and is calling on TSA to provide better training to staff. “One of the worst things about traveling as trans is going through TSA,” said photographer and activist NV Gay in a video posted to Instagram describing their experience. Gay said they were going through security at the Orlando International Airport when they were flagged by the body scanner. “Of course, if you’ve got boobs and a bottom part, well it’s gonna flag you, and ya know I’m ready for that, I’m expecting that…The problem is that the TSA continually does not train their employees on how to respectfully pat down and talk to trans people.” Gay said the person patting them down “continually decided to rub ‘down there’ multiple times all over me and then very loudly put it out there to everyone in the crowd that I was trans with a penis and with boobs and that she had no idea and she didn’t know if she could clear me a...

When Gad Yola hit the red carpet on December 20th, 2022, the 34-year-old Peruvian drag queen wanted to make a statement. Nearly 6,000 miles away from her home, Yola was far from the political crisis unfolding across Peru. So on her white dress, she bedazzled the words “25 Peruvians killed by the state”—a reference to the number of people who had died since protests erupted across the Andean nation.  Her dress quickly went viral on Twitter, and she received both messages of support and hate from Peruvians around the globe. Her artistic gesture is just one example of how LGBTQ+ Peruvians are making their voices heard in a political crisis that has persisted for nearly two months. On December 7, 2022, former President Pedro Castillo rocked Peru’s democracy. Facing a vote for his impeachment, Castillo attempted a “self-coup”—a complete power grab by someone already in power. With trembling hands , the embattled president announced to the nation that he was unilaterally dissolving Co...

Rep. George Santos (R-NY) is temporarily stepping down from his committee assignments. The controversial openly gay freshman congressman informed House Republicans of the decision on Tuesday amid reports of an active criminal investigation into his campaign finances. Despite admitting to fabricating much of his biography ahead of his election in November, House Republicans seated Santos on the House Small Business Committee and the Science, Space and Technology Committee. But The Washington Post reports that during a closed-door meeting with fellow Republicans, Santos said that he is stepping down because “he’s a distraction.” “I think you should talk to leadership if you want details pertaining to committees,” Santos told reporters Tuesday. Santos reportedly met with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on Monday, ahead of Tuesday’s meeting. McCarthy has continued to back Santos , despite calls from House Republicans for Santos to resign. But McCarthy said last week that if San...

On Sunday afternoon, New Yorker writer Michael Schulman posted a tweet promising “a wild & crazy story coming out in tomorrow’s New Yorker.” The piece, he wrote, involved “the 1970s San Francisco leather scene, Robert Mapplethorpe, gay liberation, sex, drugs, murder, and—naturally—the Oscars.” Heads up! I've got a wild & crazy story coming out in tomorrow's New Yorker that I started work on in 2019. It involves: the 1970s San Francisco leather scene, Robert Mapplethorpe, gay liberation, sex, drugs, murder, and—naturally—the Oscars. — Michael Schulman (@MJSchulman) January 29, 2023 On Monday morning, Schulman’s in-depth chronicle of Oscars streaker Robert Opel — detailing his life, his 15 minutes of fame, and his brief subsequent odyssey through the worlds of 1970s art, sex, and politics — went live on the magazine’s website. It’s a fascinating, rollicking read, and an essential bit of queer history. Here are just a few of the juiciest bits. Opel, of cour...

A newly formed far-right wing group in Michigan is taking a page out of the election-denial playbook with a plan to flood Michigan school boards with false documents akin to the fake electors scheme in 2020, which sought to award made-up electoral votes to Donald Trump and hand him the presidency. In this case, the goal is to erase all references to LGBTQ+ identity from Michigan public schools. The scheme, concocted by a new group posing as a state-sponsored education initiative, was first reported by Judd Legum with Popular Information and revolves around a fake “opt-out” form the group plans to distribute to Michigan parents in February. That paperwork, which organizers have crafted to appear “official”, purports to give parents the option to opt their children out of any instruction, policy, program, event or discussion that references LGBTQ+ identity, from traditional sex education classes and gender-neutral bathrooms to non-heterosexual storylines in novels and proximity to ...

Former professional rugby star Campbell Johnstone recently came out, making him the first player ever to come out from New Zealand’s national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks because of their black uniforms. Johnstone played as number 1056, one of the team’s “prop” positions in 2005. He publicly came out in a recent TV interview with Hilary Barry on the national current affair show Seven Sharp . Although he told Barry that he had come out to his friends and family “a long time ago,” he said he wanted to come out publicly now to encourage other closeted individuals. “If I can be the first All Black that comes out as gay and take away the pressure and stigma surrounding the issue it can actually help other people,” Johnstone said. He said that it was “hard living a double life” while on the team, but he “was never really comfortable with the concept” that he could be a strong rugby player and also a member of the LGBTQ+ community. “My view of an All Black was manly, strong...

Last week, the Recording Academy announced the first group of performers scheduled to take the stage at this year’s 65th Annual Grammy Awards on February 5. Bad Bunny, Mary J. Blige, Brandi Carlile , Luke Combs, Steve Lacy, Lizzo , Sam Smith , and Kim Petras will all perform live at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles for the ceremony, which will air on CBS and stream live on Paramount+. On Sunday, Harry Styles was also confirmed to be performing at this year’s Grammys. The roster is notable not just for including some of the biggest names in pop music, but being almost 50 percent LGBTQ+ . Four of the nine performers announced so far identify as part of the queer community. Smith and Petras, whose groundbreaking hit single “Unholy” is nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, identify as non-binary and trans respectively. “Unholy” reached the top of Billboard ’s Hot 100 in October, making it the first single by out non-binary and trans artists to earn the No. 1 spot on the ch...

On Saturday, Governor Spencer Cox of Utah (R) signed a bill banning gender-affirming care for minors in the state. Utah joins Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona and Tennessee in outlawing gender-affirming health care for trans youth. The new law bans gender transition surgery and prohibits the use of hormone therapy, except in limited cases. “While we understand our words will be of little comfort to those who disagree with us, we sincerely hope that we can treat our transgender families with more love and respect as we work to better understand the science and consequences behind these procedures,” the governor said in a statement. Cox claimed the science behind the treatments was in dispute. The  American Medical Association , the  American Psychiatric Association  and the  American Academy of Pediatrics disagree and have all rejected claims that gender-affirming care is harmful to transgender children or adults. The bill’s sponsor, State Senator Michael Kennedy (R)...

In a sign that federal prosecutors are investigating gay Rep. George Santos’s (R-NY) campaign finances, the Justice Department (DOJ) has reportedly asked the Federal Election Commission to hold off on any enforcement actions against the freshman member of congress who has become notorious for fabricating much of his resume prior to his election last November. The Washington Post reports that two anonymous sources familiar with the DOJ request confirmed that prosecutors are conducting a parallel criminal probe into Santos’s campaign finances and that the FEC has been asked to hand over any relevant documents. Earlier this month, the campaign watchdog group Campaign Legal Center asked the FEC to investigate the $705,000 that Santos said he loaned to his campaign. Considering he declared an income of $55,000 in 2020, the group wants the FEC to find out “how he could have done so with his own funds.” More recently, the Santos campaign submitted paperwork to the FEC last week listi...

During an exhibit honoring LGBTQ+ servicemembers in Ukraine, one servicemember speaking on video reportedly had to abruptly sign off to seek shelter when a Russian missile attack occurred. According to the Los Angeles Blade, the moment occurred during a photography exhibit in the United States to honor LGBTQ+ and intersex servicemembers in Ukraine, where the Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, emphasized the importance of advancing LGBTQ+ equality. The exhibit was organized by a group of Ukrainian LGBTQ+ organizations: the Ukrainian Union of the LBGT Military, KyivPride, and LGBTQ Ukrainians in America (QUA). Russia’s war with Ukraine rages on, and in a speech at the photo exhibit, Markarova thanked LGBTQ+ servicemembers and declared , “It’s unbelievable and [the] ultimate sacrifice to be there in harm’s way,” The Blade reported. “[The] LGBTQ+ community is an inseparable community of us, whether it’s here or in Ukraine,” Markarova also said. “The faster we can st...

Jen Richards knows all about witches and the occult. Even before she was cast in AMC’s latest Anne Rice series, Mayfair Witches , she had a special connection to the late horror writer’s work. But we’ll get to that. In Mayfair Witches , Richards plays Jojo, a member of the powerful, sprawling, and supernaturally gifted family at the show’s center. In its most recent episode, prodigal daughter Rowan (Alexandra Daddario) has finally made her way to New Orleans for the funeral of her birth mother, Dierdre (Annabeth Gish), and is confronted with more long-lost relatives than she could have ever imagined. That includes Jojo and her father, Cortland (Harry Hamlin), a smooth-talking dandy who may have a dark agenda of his own. Thrown into that seething cauldron of family intrigue and otherworldly forces, Jojo seems to be a grounding, welcoming presence. But when it comes to witchy women, can you ever tell? LGBTQ Nation recently spoke to Richards to better understand her character’s motivat...