New Florida Laws Spark Concern Among Organizers Of Gay Days Events At Walt Disney World And Other Sites

It was contentious yet cordial. Both parties were assertive but didn’t shout (well, maybe a little). Yes, there was some talking over each other as California Gov. Gavin Newsom sat down with Sean Hannity for an interview on Fox News’ Hannity, but it was almost a respite from the daily yelling heads on cable news.

not have had any writers on Sunday night due to the ongoing strike, but host Ariana DeBose and some presenters had some pretty quick jokes off the cuff — including Denée Benton. She brought the house down when she referred to Florida governor Ron DeSantis as “the current Grand Wizard” in the state.The moment came when Benton took the stage to present this year’s Excellence in Theatre Education Award from Carnegie Mellon University.

actress Denée Benton used her time at the 2023 Tony Awards to get in a particularly well-received dig on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.Benton took the stage to present a special award at this year's star-studded show and used the unscripted nature of the night — due to the WGA strike — to slam the controversial politician.«Hi. I'm Denée Benton, actor and proud [Carnegie Mellon University] alum. Earlier tonight, CMU and the Tony Awards presented the 2023 Excellence in Theater Education Award, and while I am certain that the current Grand Wizard — I'm sorry, excuse me, Governor of my home state of Florida...» Benton's well-timed faux-misspeak, comparing equating DeSantis with the Ku Klux Klan, received a resounding cheer and round of applause from the audience, and Benton couldn't keep from laughing at the response.Pushing on through the surprised by supportive cheers, Benton continued, «I am sure that he will be changing the name of this following town immediately, but we were honored to present this award to the truly incredible and life-changing Jason Zembuch Young, [for] enhancing the lives of students at South Plantation High School in Plantation, Florida.»Denée Benton WENT THERE and called out Ron DeSantis omg “While I’m certain that the current Grand Wizard — I’m sorry.

William Earl Actor Denée Benton took aim at Florida Governor Ron DeSantis during Sunday’s Tony Awards telecast, referring to the Republican presidential hopeful as a “Grand Wizard” as she presented an award for theater education. On CBS’ live telecast, Benton saluted the 2023 recipient of the excellence in theater education award, Jason Zembuch Young of South Plantation High School in Plantation, Florida. Benton noted that she is a Florida native and she made reference to DeSantis’ many controversial moves on civil rights in the state by connecting him to the Klu Klux Klan white supremacist organization. “I’m certain that the curent grand wizard — I’m sorry, excuse me, governor of my home state of Florida,” Benton said, to a roar of applause from the crowd at New York’s United Palace Theater. She seemed to nod to DeSantis’ legislative push in Florida to enact racist and discriminatory policies restricting school curriculums on American history, among other disturbing moves during his time in office.

Denee Benton got in a dig at Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis while presenting at the 2023 Tony Awards.

the mass exit of advertisers and users and a disturbing rise in hate speech. “I don’t think he’s dialed it in quite right, yet,” Williams told Chang.

California Governor Gavin Newsom attacked Florida Governor Ron DeSantis after a group of migrants were dropped off at a Sacramento church, likening the move to “kidnapping.”

Casey DeSantis is the Walmart Melania” was just too much for Kayleigh McEnany and the hosts of the Fox News show “Outnumbered,” who rose up to defend the besmirched honor of the beloved… retail giant.To be fair, McEnany and her colleagues did speak well of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ wife and briefly defended the first lady’s “Where Woke Goes to Die” leather biker jacket fashion choice that Daily Beast columnist Katie Baker took issue with Monday.

Paramore brought Florida congressman Maxwell Frost out for ‘Misery Business’ at their show in Washington DC last night (June 2) – check out footage below.The band traditionally bring a number of fans onto the stage to sing the last chorus of their 2007 hit. In Washington DC, it was the turn of Frost, who, at the age of just 25, became the first member of Generation Z to be elected to the US Congress.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer The Obama-appointed judge who was overseeing Disney’s lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recused himself on Thursday over a relative’s ownership of 30 shares of Disney stock. The case was transferred to Judge Allen C. Winsor, an appointee of President Trump who previously upheld the state’s Parental Rights in Education law. That law, known to its critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, is at the center of the Disney-DeSantis controversy. Disney sued DeSantis in April, alleging that the state had engaged in a campaign of retaliation against the company over its opposition to the bill. The state rescinded Disney’s special governing district in Orlando, and then reconstituted it under the control of five DeSantis appointees.

2ND UPDATE, 5:20 PM: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis today won a victory in his legal skirmishes with the Walt Disney Company — but not for the reasons he wanted to.

Governor Ron DeSantis insists his recent remarks attacking U.S. Senator Ted Cruz should not be viewed as an endorsement of the biblical call for gay people to be executed.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis promised to “destroy leftism in America” and leave woke ideology behind in his Memorial Day appearance on “Fox and Friends.”When asked why he chose to declare candidacy for the Republican Party in the 2024 presidential election now instead of waiting for former president Donald Trump to serve a second term and then run, the governor replied that everyone knows if he is nominated, he will beat Biden and then serve two terms.“I will be able to destroy leftism in this country and leave woke ideology on the dustbin of history. At the end of the day, I’ve shown in Florida an ability to win huge swaths of voters that Republicans typically can’t win — while also delivering the boldest agenda anywhere in the country,” DeSantis said.

Twitter Spaces launch of his presidential campaign, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has unwittingly walked right into another message-disrupting tech fail, this time on conservative cable news channel Newsmax.Appearing Thursday to promote his campaign, at one point DeSantis was on a tear about the travel advisory the NAACP issued for Florida that cited numerous DeSantis policies it says “erase Black history” and “restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.” And as he delivered a whataboutist spiel about gun violence in Baltimore, Maryland, the television video feed — and only the video feed — froze.The audio was unaffected, as was the newscrawl at the bottom of the screen.

Is it really a surprise to anyone that the same people who are trying to censor LGBT and Black history through the banning of books are the same ones PROMOTING white supremacy and Nazism? Because there seems to be a theme going here!

Well, this is infuriating!

wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. The request to ban “The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem for the Country,” which includes Gorman’s now-famous spoken word “The Hill We Climb” that she recited at the 2021 inauguration of Joe Biden was made in March, per a complaint Gorman also posted on Twitter. In the ban request the complainant claimed “The Hill We Climb” contains content that is “not educational,” and that it is “indirectly hate messages.” They also stated that the subject matter is “not for schools” and it can “cause confusion” and “indoctrinates students.” On the document, the complainant stated that Oprah Winfrey was the “author/publisher” of the book though the poem was written by Gorman. “Book bans aren’t new. But they have been on the rise—according to the ALA, 40% more books were challenged in 2022 compared to 2021,” Gorman continued.

Elon Musk basically confirmed today that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to announce his candidacy for the 2024 U.S. presidential election on Twitter tomorrow in an interview with the platform’s owner himself.

Tool‘s Maynard James Keenan protested Florida’s new anti-drag ban on stage at the band’s Daytona Beach gig last night (May 21).On Sunday, the band played the Welcome To Rockville festival, and Keenan appeared on stage in drag, protesting the new bill that became law this week.The law, signed by Governor Ron DeSantis, prohibits minors from attending drag shows amongst a number of other anti-trans policies.This year’s Welcome To Rockville was an all-ages festival, meaning that Keenan was technically in breach of the new law for his actions.See footage from the show, in which Keenan wore a blonde wig, red lipstick and fake breasts, below.Maynard of TooL (a perfect circle and puscifer also) is an absolute legend. Performing last night, in drag at their Florida show.

If the feud between Disney and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was going to be escalated yet again, parks chief Josh D’Amaro didn’t seem like he would be the one to do it.