Madonna stirs debate with gay Muslim-Jewish photo
Madonna has stirred up controversy with an image of an intimate gay moment between a Muslim and a Jew. The star posted the picture of the two men about to kiss on Instagram and Facebook, along with comment: “This image is 100% ❤ #rebelhearts”. The post drew thousands of comments, some homophobic, for and against […]
Cate Blanchett denies lesbian romances
Actress Cate Blanchett has denied that she’s had affairs with other women. The 45-year-old star was recently quoted by Variety as saying she had relationships with women “many times” in the past. Blanchett, who is at the Cannes Film Festival promoting her new movie Carol, about two women who fall in love with each other, […]
Relief as Zambian court confirms activist’s acquittal
Zambian human rights activist Paul Kasonkomona will remain a free man after a court upheld his earlier acquittal. Kasonkomona was arrested in April 2013 as he left a Lusaka television studio after making comments live on-air supporting the rights of LGBT people and sex workers. He argued that these needed to be recognised in order […]
21 young men in “gay cult” arrest in Nigeria
Twenty-one youths have been arrested in Nigeria, apparently for belonging to a “gay cult”. According to The Nation, the men, all under the age of 25, were found with 122 condoms in a house in Ibadan, the third most populous city in the country. Police, who raided the house on 10 May, claimed that the […]
Obama marks International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia
President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, marked the annual International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT). In a statement issued by the White House on Saturday, Obama said that he remains committed to eradicating prejudice and discrimination against LGBT people in the USA and around the world. Below is his full statement: “Michelle and […]
Meet the first gay male head of state to marry in office
The Prime Minister of Luxembourg has become the first gay male leader of a country to enter into a same-sex marriage while in office. Xavier Bettel married his partner, architect Gauthier Destenay, on Friday in a private ceremony officiated by the mayor of the city of Luxembourg. The couple, dressed in dark suits, greeted well-wishers who […]
Toya Delazy fights with record label to release album for free
Toya Delazy, arguably South Africa’s most visible openly LGBT pop artist, is fighting to allow fans to enjoy her latest album for free. On Wednesday, Delazy posted on Facebook that she was fed up after frustrated fans weren’t able to find her 2015 SAMA (South African Music Award) nominated album Ascension in stores. She claimed […]
Ten years of slow progress for global gay rights
Ahead of Sunday’s International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT), a new report reveals that fewer countries now ban same-sex love compared to a decade ago. According to ILGA’s 10th annual report on state homophobia, authored this year by Aengus Carroll and Lucas Paoli Itaborahy, homosexuality is currently illegal in 76 countries. This is a […]
Khumbulani Pride comes to Khayelitsha
The Cape Town township of Khayelitsha will be hosting the third annual Khumbulani Pride this Saturday, 16 May. Khumbulani (which means “remember”) Pride was created in 2013 to raise community awareness about LGBTIQA rights, to celebrate sexual and gender diversity, and to remember the victims of hate crimes. It’s held every year in a different area around […]
Number of gay Christians increase in US
While Americans are increasingly moving away from Christianity, more members of the LGBT community appear to be embracing the faith. These surprising trends were revealed in the Pew Research Center report, America’s Changing Religious Landscape, released this week. According to the study of 35,000 American adults, the percentage of people who identify as Christian (the largest […]