The “Bridgerton” universe was already diverse and inclusive, but now, it just got a whole lot gayer.
26.04.2023 - 16:07 / ok.co.uk
Harry Potter author JK Rowling has accused Ireland’s Eurovision act of “preening, self-satisfied misogyny” after they cut ties with their creative director over comments he reportedly made on social media about transgender people. On Tuesday, Wild Youth said they were parting ways with Ian Banham and would no longer let him “near our team” after a screenshot circulated on Twitter appearing to be from his account.
Frontman Conor O’Donohoe later said reading the tweet had made him “feel sick”.The post referred to an article about Zara Jade, a transgender woman who stabbed her partner before tying her up and leaving with her bank card, which featured a headline referring to Jade as a “woman”. According to his website, Mr Banham has worked with artists such as Lily Allen, Kylie Minogue and Cheryl and on TV series including Dancing On Ice and Strictly Come Dancing.
On Wednesday, Rowling posted a defence of the creative director alongside the hashtag #IStandWithIanBanham. She said: “The re-traumatisation of female rape survivors, including this man’s victims, on seeing him called a woman by the press counts for nothing, naturally.
“The so-called kindness and inclusivity of @bandwildyouth is preening, self-satisfied misogyny. “For those confused as to why Ian Banham was fired and publicly lambasted by @bandwildyouth, here’s one of his ‘horrifying’ tweets.
“His crime is standing against the insanity of pretending knife-wielding rapists are women if they say they are.” In March, Jade was jailed for nine years with an additional three years on licence after pleading guilty to six offences including false imprisonment, assault and robbery, to serve the time in a male prison. Dublin band Wild Youth will perform their song We Are
.The “Bridgerton” universe was already diverse and inclusive, but now, it just got a whole lot gayer.
Following an admittedly disappointing result at last night’s Eurovision Song Contest, the UK has got behind our entry, with Mae Muller’s I Wrote A Song heading for the Top 10 for the first time.
Mae Miller delighted Eurovision fans as she took to the stage as United Kingdom's official entry into the annual singing competition. Closing the show in a stylish all-black ensemble at the M&S Bank Arena on Saturday, the 25 year old gave a highly energised performance with the tune, I Wrote A Song.
Yard Act took to the stage in their Leeds hometown last night (May 9), and were joined by the likes of Nish Kumar, CMAT and Phill Jupitus. Check out footage from the show and the full setlist below.The show came as part of the ongoing five-night residency slots at the Brudenell Social Club, in the band’s hometown of Leeds — set to take place from May 8 until May 12.At last night’s show (May 9), fans were thrilled to see the four-piece joined onstage by some famous faces from the world of comedy.
Passed in 2022, the law is an expansion of a 2013 law prohibiting the dissemination of LGBTQ content in media or in places where such content may be viewed by children, especially with respect to portraying “non-traditional sexual relationships” as normal. Suspected violations can result in fines of up to 400,000 rubles for individuals and up to 5 million rubles for organizations, such as media outlets, that are merely accused of disseminating pro-LGBTQ “propaganda” — regardless of whether they actually did.According to Radio Svoboda, Russian government guardianship authorities brought a complaint against Dvorkin, the head of the Center T assistance group for transgender and nonbinary people and who is raising a foster child, in March for posts on his Telegram social media channel in which he mentioned living with a partner.According to the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, which has frequently clashed with Russia’s Putin-led government, Dvorkin was flagged for commenting on a statement by Vitaly Milonov, a member of parliament who became infamous a few years ago for hosting a reality TV show focused around the idea of “outing” a gay man living among straight men in a house.Milonov, who has a history of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, reportedly claimed that all people who had left Russia voluntarily should be labeled “active homosexuals.”Dvorkin allegedly responded, in one of the Telegram posts flagged by state authorities, that that must mean that only “passive homosexuals” remained in the country, lacking “their partners and sex.”During the trial, lawyers pointed out errors in the case and noted that screenshots of the offending posts had been cut off and taken out of context.The defense also demanded that the trial be halted
Emmerdale viewers were left reeling during Friday’s episode, when new mum Chloe Harris accused the father of her child Mackenzie Boyd of wanting their newborn son Reuben to die. As regular fans will know, this week the new mum was rocked by every parent’s worst nightmare as her two week old son was rushed to hospital and diagnosed with bacterial meningitis. Placed on a ventilator to help him breathe, Reuben was left fighting for his life in intensive care as medics worked around the clock to stabilise his condition.
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a lawsuit brought by three families of transgender minors.In the complaint, the Justice Department argues that the law prohibiting access to gender-affirming care discriminates against transgender individuals under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.As such, the complaint asks the court to issue an order blocking the law from going into effect on July 1.Under the bill, SB 1, which easily passed on a largely party-line vote in the Republican-dominated state legislature, healthcare providers are prohibited from providing puberty blockers, hormone therapy, or surgical interventions to minors diagnosed with gender dysphoria.Those who do, as well as the parents of any minors who allow their children to receive such treatments, can be sued for up to 30 years afterwards if the patient later experiences “regret,” and medical providers can potentially lose their license to practice.In its complaint, the Justice Department argues that the law’s blanket ban on all types of medical interventions to treat gender dysphoria prohibits patients from receiving the most up-to-date, scientifically accurate, and best-recommended treatments, and forces doctors to decide between keeping their licenses or providing the best available care to their patients.The complaint also notes that the blanket ban discriminates against transgender people on the basis of both sex and transgender identity, denying them certain types of treatments, such as hormone therapy, that would otherwise be offered to cisgender individuals experiencing various ailments or conditions where hormonal interventions might be a recommended course of treatment.“SB 1 violates the constitutional rights of some of Tennessee’s most vulnerable citizens,” U.S.
Harry Potter star Bonnie Wright, 32, has announced she is expecting her first child with husband Andrew Lococo. The star took to Instagram this afternoon to reveal her blossoming baby bump, as she shares some sweet pregnancy snaps with her 3. 9 million followers.
Microsoft president Brad Smith has described yesterday (April 26) as the company’s “darkest day in our four decades in Britain,” after its proposed £55billion purchase of Activision Blizzard was blocked in the UK.Yesterday, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that it was blocking Microsoft’s proposed acquisition, over concerns that ownership of Activision Blizzard‘s catalogue — which includes the likes of Call Of Duty, Overwatch and World Of Warcraft — would harm competition in the cloud gaming market.Speaking on the BBC‘s Wake Up To Money podcast (via GamesIndustry.biz), Brad Smith accused the decision of being “bad for Britain,” and claimed it will “discourage innovation and investment in the UK”.“Microsoft has been in the United Kingdom for 40 years and we play a vital role, not just supporting businesses and non-profits but even defending the nation from cyber-security threats,” said Smith. “But this decision, I have to say, is probably the darkest day in our four decades in Britain.
J.K. Rowling after the Harry Potter author doubled down on her feelings about the transgender community.Broadbent, who played Horace Slughorn in the film adaptations of Rowling’s books, described the current backlash against the author as “really sad”.“I think J.K.
Zack Sharf Digital News Director J.K. Rowling is well aware many “Harry Potter” fans intend to boycott Max’s upcoming television series adaptation due to her involvement as an executive producer on the show. The Warner Bros. Discovery streamer officially announced the series on April 12, confirming each book in Rowling’s series will be adapted into a full season of television. A new cast of actors will be assembled to take on the roles of Harry, Ron, Hermione and more. Rowling has been embroiled in controversy for several years now due to her controversial statements on gender, many of which have been slammed for being anti-trans. “Dreadful news, which I feel duty bound to share,” Rowling wrote on Twitter in reaction to backlash against the new “Harry Potter” television series. “Activists in my mentions are trying to organize yet another boycott of my work, this time of the ‘Harry Potter’ TV show. As forewarned is forearmed, I’ve taken the precaution of laying in a large stock of champagne.”
JK Rowling has offered a sarcastic response towards those planning to boycott the upcoming Harry Potter TV series.The upcoming television reboot of the fantasy franchise was confirmed by HBO earlier this month (April 12), and will be the first-ever series based on the iconic books. As reported by Bloomberg, each season of the series is set to be based on one of Rowling’s seven main entries in the Harry Potter series.However, while some fans rejoiced at the forthcoming show, others were quick to speak out against the project due to the author’s previous remarks aimed at the transgender community.The comments were first made public in 2020 when the author took to Twitter to write a series of “anti-trans” tweets, which called out an article’s use of the phrase “men who menstruate”.
J. K. Rowling had a nonchalant response to criticism about her involvement on the upcoming Harry Potter TV series.
tweeted the sarcastic comment after saying that several people were already threatening to boycott the new series over her involvement. “Dreadful news, which I feel duty bound to share.
WMAR.In response to an inquiry from WMAR, the department declined to comment specifically on Gilliam’s allegations but expressed its commitment to ensuring transgender inmates are treated with respect.“While DPSCS cannot comment specifically on a pending lawsuit, we can say that the Department takes very seriously — and treats with urgency — the protection of every single incarcerated person’s dignity and safety,” the department said in a statement. “The Department has met with advocacy groups and has tirelessly worked on the complex issues related to the transgender incarcerated population, and is committed to updating its policies as necessary based on correctional and medical professionals’ recommendations to ensure the safety of everyone in our facilities,” the statement continues. It notes that all correctional facilities are regularly audited by federal authorities to ensure they are complying with provisions in the Prison Rape Elimination Act, a federal law designed to cut down on sexual assault incidents involving incarcerated individuals. “PREA standards prohibit the placement of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or intersex incarcerated individuals in dedicated facilities, units, or wings solely on the basis of such identifications or status,” the department added.
Deadline reported. Koko was “not alert, conscious or breathing” and was subsequently pronounced dead at the scene, per the report. As of yet, authorities haven’t named any suspects in the shooting.
arguing that their misgendering of transgender individuals — or just merely refusing to acknowledge transgender identity — was a form of free speech, which, when punished, forced other users to curb their own speech for fear of being banned or having their accounts suspended.As part of the changes to its hateful conduct policy, Twitter will now only put warning labels on tweets that “potentially” violate its rules against hateful conduct, instead of removing them from the platform.It also claims that offending tweets will be made less visible by being removed from search results or home timelines.According to The Associated Press, the social media giant appears to have deleted a reference to misgendering and deadnaming transgender individuals from a policy prohibiting “targeting” through “repeated slurs, tropes or other content that intends to degrade or reinforce negative or harmful stereotypes about a protected category.”The deletion of the references to deadnaming has been cheered by social conservatives and so-called “gender skeptics” as a victory for free speech, with supporters claiming it now allows transgender identity, and trans-related issues, to be “debated” in the public square without one side being silenced.The argument they employ — which aligns with Twitter CEO Musk’s attempt to rebrand the service as a “free speech” zone — is that those supportive of transgender identity and rights must now argue effectively in order to sway the public to their side, rather than having Twitter censors influencing the parameters of the “debate.”LGBTQ advocates have condemned the erasure of the language that — at least, in theory — should have helped protect transgender people from unwarranted harassment and deliberate
Activision Blizzard have accused the company of losing workers and “creating crisis maps” of what it can release, due to issues with the company’s remote working policy.In a series of tweets posted yesterday, World Of Warcraft game producer Adam ‘Glaxigrav’ claimed he has lost “yet another” employee this week.“Blizzard is losing amazing talent because someone in power doesn’t listen to the game directors who make his products,” wrote Adam, who said Blizzard can’t “make better Dragonflights […] If we get rid of everyone who made it”.“‘Some talent’ is undermining the point,” he continued. “We are creating crisis maps of what we can or cannot ship.
the Sunday Times. She was discussing her long career and the upcoming adaptation of her book, “Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret,” starring Rachel McAdams. Reporter Hadley Freeman also asked Blume about fellow popular children’s book author J.K. Rowling, 57, who has become a controversial figure for her views on the transgender community, for which Rowling has received death threats.