A group of professional soccer players from the German Football League (Deutsche Fußball Liga) will reportedly announce that they are gay on the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia on May 17, per The Washington Blade, citing German media outlet Preussische Allgemeine Zeitung. PinkNewsUK reported the German outlet quoted Marcus Urban as a source; Urban is a former soccer player in Germany who came out after retiring.
Gay dating app Grindr is facing a mass data-protection lawsuit in London from hundreds of users who allegedly had their private information, including HIV status, shared with third parties without permission, NBC News reported. Grindr said in a statement provided to the Guardian that it planned to "respond vigorously to this claim, which appears to be based on a mischaracterization of practices from more than four years ago." The firm Austen Hayes, which said the lawsuit is being filed at London's High Court, said thousands of Grindr users in the United Kingdom may have been affected.
In South Korea, the conservative People's Power party recently suffered big losses as a rejuvenated liberal opposition took a majority of seats in the legislature—which could mean a restructuring of progress for the country's embattled LGBTQ+ community, LGBTQ Nation noted. That prospect, however, has ignited a fiery response from South Korea's radical Christians, who warn of a "homosexual dictatorship" if proposed equality legislation passes with the help of the resurgent Democratic Party of Korea, per The New York Times. Despite South Korea's portrayal in its global entertainment industry as modern and gay-friendly (like with K-pop groups), the country has long tolerated LGBTQ+ discrimination and is ranked among the least gay-inclusive countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe made a rare comment about author JK Rowling's views on trans people after she suggested she would not forgive Radcliffe's support of the community, PinkNews noted. Speaking with The Atlantic, Radcliffe—who just received his first Tony Award nomination for his turn in the Broadway musical Merrily We Roll Along—said he would "continue to support the rights of all LGBTQ people." The actor continued by stating that he has not had any direct contact with Rowling, but reiterated that her views on the trans community make him "sad."
When Japanese book publisher Kadokawa announced last year it would publish a translation of Abigail Shrier's Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters, it launched a culture-war conflict rarely seen in Japan, AlJazeera reported. Trans-rights activists organized a protest in front of Kadokawa's Tokyo offices, while social-media users accused the publisher of bigotry; within days, Kadokawa had cancelled the planned publication and apologized for causing concern. However, rival publisher Sankei Shimbun has released Shrier's book under the revised title Girls Who Want to Be Transgender: The Tragedy of a Fad Fueled by Social Networking, Schools, and Medicine. Although Japan has a history of trans people in the public eye, including elected officials Aya Kawakami and Tomoya Hosoda, the country is not widely considered a bastion of LGBTQ rights.
New Zealand-British singer/songwriter Daniel Bedingfield recently opened up about his sexuality and loving a man—the first time he had done it publicly, per Instinct Magazine. During his gig at the London Palladium, he talked about writing a song, reportedly titled "Borderline," with an unnamed man. "'In my era, you had to be gay or straight, or f*ck you. I wrote this song with a man I loved about a girl we both loved," he said. Bedingfield also talked about his autism and not having friends until he was about 16. The "If You're Not the One" singer also admitted that he "wanted to die" growing up, but was thankfully saved by music and friends he later had.
WorldCrunch profiled Casa Venus—the first hotel founded and managed by trans people in San Cristobal de Las Casas, the second-most touristic city in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. It employs 12 people who identify as nonbinary, gay, lesbian, trans or allies. Since opening, it has been described as a pioneering local space for inclusive employment.The hotel's founder, a trans man named Pen, said the project arose as an alternative given "the lack of opportunities for trans and queer people"—groups that experience discrimination on a regular basis.
International singer Anitta, who identifies as bisexual, released her new album, Funk Generation, via Republic Records/Universal Music Latin Entertainment, a press release noted. The album includes songs such as "Grip", "Fria" and "Ahi"—the latter featuring Sam Smith. About the record, Anitta said, "Funk Generation embodies every nuance of this 100% Brazilian musical genre that has shaped my journey as both a person and an artist. Funk is ingrained in the culture of those who live in Brazilian favelas, where I come from, and has often been unfairly judged as lacking artistic value, even associated with organized crime. It reflects the classism and racism that haunt our society."
Acting U.S. World Bank Executive Director L. Felice Gorordo recently told the Washington Blade that he is committed to the advancement of LGBTQI+ rights within the organization. "LGBTQI+ rights are human rights and human rights are LGBTQI+ rights. Period. Hard stop," he said. Gorordo co-founded Roots of Hope, an organization that seeks to empower young Cubans on the island through entrepreneurship and increased access to technology. "We take a critical lens at each [project] that it lives up to the values that we want to promote, and that includes looking at it through the lens of LGBTQI+ rights," he added.
TikTok is in the crosshairs of authorities in the United States, where new legislation threatens a nationwide ban unless its China-based parent ByteDance divests. However, a PBS/AP article listed countries where the platform is already banned to some extent, including Afghanistan, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, the European Union, France, India, Indonesia, Latvia, the Netherlands, Nepal, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Somalia, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.
The Cannes Film Festival named the eight members of its main Competition jury who will join previously announced president Greta Gerwig in deciding the Palme d'Or and other key prizes at the 77th edition that will run May 14-25, Deadline noted. They include Turkish screenwriter/photographer Ebru Ceylan, U.S. actress Lily Gladstone, French actress Eva Green, Lebanese director/screenwriter Nadine Labaki, Spanish director/screenwriter J.A. Bayona, Italian actor Pierfrancesco Favino, Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda and French actor/producer Omar Sy. Gladstone and Bayona are both members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Deborah Williams, the head of the UK's Creative Diversity Network (CDN), has resigned after eight years, Deadline noted. Williams joined the network in 2016 and has since led the Diamond initiative—a data-reporting project with buy-in from all the UK broadcasters that has analyzed the diverse make-up of thousands of TV shows. Williams' exit happened a few months after she was forced to deny "liking" allegedly antisemitic LinkedIn posts about openly gay actor Stephen Fry's Christmas speech.
Charithra Chandran—known for playing Edwina Sharma in the Netflix series Bridgerton—spoke out against an entertainment industry mentality that she feels pits people of color against each other, Deadline noted. "It's not a zero-sum game," she said. "You're so focused on fighting your own that you become distracted from the people doing the oppressing. The oppressors have imposed the idea that there's only one seat at the table, when what other people of color are doing is just pulling up more chairs." Actors such as Dev Patel (The Green Knight; Slumdog Millionaire), Brooklyn Nine-Nine's Melissa Fumero and Aubrey Plaza have spoken out in the past about their being limited spaces for people of color in TV and movies.
Pro-LGBTQ+ Spanish President Pedro Sanchez said he will stay on as Spain's leader after days of speculation over his future, the BBC noted. Recently, Sanchez, of the Socialist Party, announced he was cancelling all official engagements after a court opened an initial inquiry into his wife over corruption claims. He has called the allegations a harassment campaign organized by right-wing media. The accusations against Sanchez's wife, Begona Gomez, were brought against her by the organization Manos Limpias (Clean Hands), led by Miguel Bernad—a man linked to the far right. Thousands recently rallied in Madrid to urge Sanchez not to resign, the AP reported.
