Source: WENN

Back in January, controversial rapper Azealia Banks got into a heated word exchange with celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, during which she called him the derogatory F-word that is hurtfully used to describe gays. It seems that since then, the rapper has been catching much heat over her comments, which were not well received by her gay fans. She recently took to her Twitter page to defend her use of the word.

“Everyone pretending to be so shocked and moved by the word (fa***t)… It’s like society is so bored with itself it needs to hold on to these outdated rules of what you can say and cannot say… Why has society accepted ‘ni**er’ As a colloquialism … But will not accept ‘(fa***t)’?” she tweeted.

“Everyones always acting like its f**king 1905 in this b****. What is your definition of the word foolio? (Fa***t) means coward, liar, backstabber…… Energy stealer, blood sucker. Perez tries to get every gay person all riled up when the only (fa***t) I see …….. is him. It’s really time for a cultural shift. All these leftover old world social themes we’re all still trying to hold on to are BOOORRIIING”

Back in January, GLAAD’s Associate Director of Entertainment released a statement regarding the lyricist’s comments to Perez.

“Banks’ claim that the word “fa**ot” doesn’t mean a gay male is not true. Regardless of her intent or her personal definition, what matters is the meaning given to that word by those who hear it, and the damage it causes when they do. Undoubtedly there are gay kids who follow her on Twitter who hear this word in an entirely different context. This word is used almost universally by bullies, often as part of a larger verbal or physical assault. This word hurts those kids, no matter what Banks meant by it.”

Banks has since come out publicly questioning the validity of the organization during an interview with Australian music site, Themusic.com.

“There are such bigger problems… and then you’ve got organisations like GLAAD, which are f**king complete bulls**t.”

“I mean let’s look at it, it’s gay and lesbian alliance against defamation, or whatever…. that’s what it stands for, right? I mean would you agree that homosexuals, and the homosexual community, have bigger problems than the word (fa***t), you know what I mean?”

What do you think of her defense?

Source: WENN

Antoine Ashley, better known as Sahara Davenport from Season 2 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” has passed away suddenly at the age of 27, NewNowNext is reporting. Logo, the network behind the drag show also confirmed the news in a statement, saying:

“Logo is profoundly saddened by the passing of Antoine Ashley who fans around the world knew and loved as Sahara Davenport. He was an amazing artist and entertainer who’ll be deeply missed by his Logo family. Our hearts and prayers go out to his family, especially his boyfriend Karl, in their time of need.”

GLAAD spokesperson Rich Ferraro also made a statement on Sahara’s passing, saying:

“In addition to being a talented performer, we also remember the great work of Antoine Ashley, known to many fans as Sahara Davenport, in support of LGBT youth organizations and GLAAD. This is a saddening loss and our thoughts are with Sahara’s friends, partner and family.”

According to Queerty.com, Sahara was born and raised in Dallas, TX, and attended Southern Methodist University, where he earned a BFA in dance. When he moved to New York, he landed gigs on One Life to Live, Judge Karen, and appeared in videos for David Guetta and Chris Willis. Sahara was also an artist himself, landing at number 50 on the Billboard dance charts with the single “Go Off”  earlier this year. His boyfriend, Karl, better known as Manila Luzon was also a contestant on “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”

So far, no details on the cause of death have been revealed, but several members of the LGBT and drag community have expressed their condolences online, including RuPaul who tweeted:

We’re definitely keeping the entertainer’s family and friends in our thoughts.

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Source: Strangecosmos.com

Today Miss Universe pageant officials announced that transgender women will be allowed to compete for the crown in next year’s competition. The announcement comes just in time for trials which begin this summer, and one week after the committee made the decision to allow transgender contestant  Jenna Talackova to compete this year.

The 23-year-old Vancouver resident underwent a sex change four years ago and was initially disqualified from the Miss Universe Canada pageant citing a rule that said she must be “naturally born” a woman. Jenna plead for her right to compete, saying:

“I am a woman. I was devastated, and I felt that excluding me for the reason that they gave was unjust. I have never asked for any special consideration. I only wanted to compete.”

GLAAD pushed for the competition to extend acceptance to transgender women in the competition and now both organizations are working together to revise the current policy.

“We want to give credit where credit is due, and the decision to include transgender women in our beauty competitions is a result of our ongoing discussions with GLAAD,” said Paula Shugart, president of the Miss Universe Organization.

“We have a long history of supporting equality for all women, and this was something we took very seriously.”

Donald Trump, who runs the Miss Universe organization, will have to approve the final written rules along with NBC, which co-owns the competition, but the Donald has already said he wishes Jenna the best of luck in this year’s pageant.

Do you think transgender women should compete in the Miss Universe pageant?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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Source: Rnbphilly.com

Once GLAAD called for Roland Martin to be fired for sending “homophobic tweets” during the Super Bowl, it seemed the political commentator would never see the light of day again on CNN. But after a brief suspension, the network has decided to bring Roland back.

Only a few days after the Super Bowl, CNN said they were suspending Roland indefinitely and that his tweets during the game were “regrettable and offensive.” While suspended, Roland met with leaders of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, who seemed to be satisfied with the gesture, citing the meeting as the “beginning of an open and honest dialogue.”

Yesterday, Roland issued a formal apology for his comments, but maintained that they were not at all homophobic, and he was truly joking about soccer. Either way, CNN had decided to support him on this issue and bring him back on-air.

Are you glad Roland got his job back?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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GLAAD achieved it’s mission. Today, CNN announced that Roland Martin has been suspended indefinitely for the non-gay friendly Superbowl tweets that landed him in the hot seat with the Gay Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Sunday, and I think we all know that indefinite suspension is code for he will be fired—eventually.

Angry, I immediately took to Twitter, and was probably on my way to proving I learned nothing from this situation about Twitter restraint, when a tweet from Carolyn Edgar stopped me in tracks. She wrote:

“Instead of getting upset that GLAAD had the juice to get Roland Martin suspended, how about we figure out how to get some of that juice?”

As much as that’s not something Roland Martin supporter’s want to hear in this instance, the words are a dose of harsh reality. If people want Roland Martin to maintain his post at CNN, they’re going to have to figure out how to be just as clever, convincing, organized, and dedicated to the cause as GLAAD, because they’ve basically achieved their goal.

A lot of people say as a black person, if you are upset at Roland Martin’s suspension then you should disagree with Don Imus’ firing but I think there is a crucial difference there. Don made his racist remarks on-air with Fox, Roland tweeted homosexually insensitive comments from a personal Twitter account that are not reflective of CNN. When you look at those facts, black people have a right to be mad. Although this isn’t necessarily a race issue, it is interesting that neither CNN contributor’s Dana Loesch or Erik Erickson were fired for the controversial statements made on their radio shows, yet a Twitter comment gets this response.

But shouldn’t we do more than get angry? A lot of people liken the gay rights struggle to that of black civil rights activists, and while I don’t agree with that comparison, there are some things the black community can learn from the gay community because in an overly simplistic, two-worded summation of LGBTQ activism: they move.

That’s sort of the unspoken joke about gay activists—they have eyes and ears everywhere and they will make you pay for saying, doing, and possibly even thinking anything remotely anti-gay. Why can’t the black community do the same? In just the last few months, several racially insensitive situations have come to light. Newt Gingrich singled out black people as welfare hoarders, French Elle said we’re only stylish because we adopt white codes of fashion, Michelle Obama’s been blasted for her backside, likened to the Grinch and Marie Antoinette, and been labeled an angry black woman, Tea Party members have called for the lynching of the entire Obama family, and there are countless other instances that are too numerous to name. But every single one of those individuals still has his position and is free to offend the black community again while we go one writing open letters and waiting for change.

Commentors on this site say it best whenever suspect behavior is exposed: simply stop supporting it. But there’s another next step that has to go beyond not buying a rap CD, or watching reality TV, or purchasing a magazine—organized action. It’s not enough for a handful of people to make a personal decision about what they expose themselves too, the black community’s agenda has to be made known and be seen clearly. GLAAD didn’t hesitate to bring popular members of the gay community in on his efforts to get Roland Martin fired. They did their homework, they disseminated information, and they got results. Now it’s our turn.

Do you think Roland Martin and Don Imus’s suspension are equal? Do you think there are things the black community can learn about getting results from gay activists?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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The superbowl is a time for fun and ish talking both in person, and now thanks to social media like Twitter, online. But there’s always someone who takes on the role of inappropriate police, and this year that “someone” is the Gay Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).

The alliance is calling for CNN to fire political correspondent Roland Martin for tweets sent yesterday that they deem homophobic. The situation all started when Roland saw David Beckham’s H & M ad and tweeted:

“If a dude at your Super Bowl party is hyped about David Beckham’s H&M underwear ad, smack the ish out of him!”

GLAAD immediately responded with the tweet:

“@rolandsmartin Advocates of gay bashing have no place at @CNN #SuperBowl #LGBT”

Roland, a man who argues for a living, shot back, tweeting:

“@glaad @CNN well you’re clearly out of touch and clueless with what I tweeted. Way to assume, but you’re way off base.”

Roland then sent out tweets to his followers, letting them know his comment was really bashing soccer—which he does frequently—not gay men, but it didn’t help his cause when he later wrote:

“Who the hell was that New England Patriot they just showed in a head to toe pink suit? Oh, he needs a visit from #teamwhipdatass”

Unsurprisingly, GLAAD has now launched a full-fledged campaign to have Roland fired, saying “Advocates of anti-gay violence have no place at CNN or Time Warner.” They also reference Roland’s defense of Tracy Morgan’s controversial routine about what he would do if his son was gay, saying:

“Martin’s tweets today advocating violence against gay people weren’t an accident — they are a part of a larger pattern for Martin.”

Roland’s history of supporting conversion therapy is also being used to back up GLAAD’s stance. In 2006, he wrote on his website that his wife is an ordained Baptist minister who has counseled many men and women to walk away from the gay lifestyle, and to live a chaste life, seemingly encouraging others to do the same.

It doesn’t appear that CNN has made any comment on the situation just yet, but GLAAD likely won’t back down until the network does, or they get what they want.

Do you think GLAAD is being too sensitive or does Roland Martin seem to have a history of anti-gay/homophobic behavior? Should CNN fire him?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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(The Grio) — Last week Tracy Morgan was plagued with headlines of homophobia and anti-gay speech. In a June 3rd stand-up comedy routine in Nashville, TN, the 30 Rock star went on an offensive rant in which he suggested he would kill his son if he were gay that sparked outrage from gay rights groups, celebrities and even his bosses — Tina Fey and Chairman of NBC Entertainment, Bob Greenblatt.  Today, Morgan is singing a new tune. The actor has agreed to return to Tennessee withGLAAD to apologize to audience members who were directly offended by his remarks. Morgan will join with GLAAD in protest against the state’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which outlaws the discussion of homosexuality before the ninth grade in public schools.

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