Latest news with #DragQueen
RNZ News
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- RNZ News
Drag Queen Spankie Jackzon selling winners sceptre to raise funds for arts project
money media 19 minutes ago The winner of season two of the 'Drag Race Down Under' television show has her sights set on a new sparkle - but at a great sacrifice. Drag Queen Spankie Jackzon spoke to Charlotte Cook.
ABC News
07-06-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
WorldPride Washington DC strikes a protest note on Donald Trump's doorstep
About a mile from the home of a president who has been rolling back LGBT rights, popular drag queen Gottmik is firing up a crowd of fans in Washington. "Sometimes it feels like a lot," she tells the crowd at the 'Drag is Not a Crime' event, part of the WorldPride festival. "Every day you wake up and your own government is trying to shut you the f--- down and tell you that you're not a person. "WorldPride being in DC could not have come at a better time. Now it's our time to fight." Washington DC was chosen as host city for the biennial festival — a cluster of LGBT+ parties, conferences and parades — well before last year's re-election of Donald Trump. But his presence in the White House has sent a strong fight-the-government theme running through all its events. On day one of his presidency, Mr Trump ordered government agencies to start recognising only two unchangeable sexes, including on official documents like visas and passports. Subsequent orders have sought to ban trans people from the military, block funds for gender-affirming care for people under 19, and shut down diversity and inclusion programs across all arms of government. Many Republican states have taken the policies further. The president even effectively installed himself as the chair of Washington's Kennedy Centre, known as the nation's premier performing arts venue, and declared an end to drag performances "targeting our youth". The political backdrop has generated a very different vibe to the previous WorldPride event in Sydney in 2023, which the Australian government used to announce millions of dollars in funding for LGBT+ organisations. "It couldn't be a starker contrast," said Monash University human rights law professor Paula Gerber, who attended both events. "Sydney was a celebration. We were really rejoicing in how far we'd come with human rights protection "Here, there's no celebration. This is a call to action. This is realisation of how quickly our rights can be wound back." The political environment has also discouraged corporate sponsors from continuing to back pride events in the US. Several big ones have pulled out of WorldPride this year, and others have asked for their logos to be removed from signage. The Marriott Hotel group asked for banners to be changed so they no longer said "presented by Marriott", according to a report in the Washington Post. But the Marriott has continued to host the festival's human rights conference, just 500 metres from the White House, with keynote speeches and panels examining the state of play for LGBT rights around the world. The administration said it was defending women's rights and protecting "freedom of conscience" with its changes to transgender policy. "Efforts to eradicate the biological reality of sex fundamentally attack women by depriving them of their dignity, safety, and well-being," the White House order said. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt this week said there were "no plans" for it to recognise Pride Month. Illinois Republican Mary Miller introduced a resolution to Congress to instead recognise June as "Family Month" to "reject the lie of 'Pride' and instead honour God's timeless and perfect design". Some speakers at WorldPride voiced fears the political rhetoric around LGBT rights was spurring hate crimes against the community. Media advocacy group GLAAD said it had tracked more than 900 anti-LGBTQ incidents in the US between May last year and March this year, and said many more incidents have likely gone unreported. They included violent attacks resulting in 84 injuries and 10 deaths. "For so many of us in this time right now, there's this very real sense of fear," GLAAD's senior manager of news and research, Sarah Moore, said. "This sense of distress, this sense of worry, is really heightened right now around Pride with that attention on our community." The three-week festival is wrapping up this weekend with a street parade, a party on the National Mall and a two-day music festival headlined by Melbourne pop star Troye Sivan and US singer Jennifer Lopez. Attendance numbers are not yet available, but hotel bookings for the opening and closing weekends were down compared to the same time last year. The city had initially expected 3 million people to visit for WorldPride, but organisers later halved that estimate. "We anticipated bookings to be much higher at this time for WorldPride and do know that the climate, the concern for folks internationally to travel to the United States is real," Ryan Bos, the executive director of organising body Capital Pride Alliance, told NPR. Professor Gerber told conference attendees they should consider "boomerang advocacy" to keep up the fight for rights in the US. That is where local human rights advocates harness overseas groups and global institutions to increase pressure on repressive regimes. "It's a strategy that's used when the government in a country is too hostile for local LGBTI activists to safely advocate for reform," she told the ABC. "I never in a million years thought that I'd be coming to America to talk to Americans about using boomerang advocacy."
Daily Mail
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
FIVE Celebrity Big Brother stars are at risk after face-to-face nominations ahead of brutal triple eviction as JoJo Siwa saves herself in huge twist
Celebrity Big Brother saw five housemates put forward for eviction during Monday night's brutal face-to-face nominations ahead of a brutal triple eviction. The stars shared their real feelings about two of their housemates as they nominated one another but one celebrity managed to save herself and swap places with another. The housemates were given two Easter eggs each and had to place an egg into the basket of the housemate they would like to nominate. After a tense round of nominations, it was Patsy Palmer, Chris Hughes, Ella Rae Wise, Angellica Bell and JoJo Siwa who had the most votes. Angellica nominated Patsy and Jack, while Chesney Hawkes went for Patsy and Ella. It was then Chris' turn, and his eggs went in Ella and Danny's baskets while Danny picked Chris and JoJo, blaming their bond on excluding others. Donna chose Angellica and JoJo, while Ella opted for Chesney and Chris. JoJo was up next and nominated both Patsy and Ella, which caused the TOWIE star to break down in tears and storm out of the nominations room. When she returned, it was Patsy's time in the hot seat, and she gave her two eggs to Ella and Angellica. In a savage plot twist, one of the nominated housemates was given a chance to save themselves if they found the golden egg hidden in a basket in the middle of the room. And lucky for dancer JoJo she was the first to find the egg but in a dramatic twist she then had to replace herself by giving someone else the chop who was not nominated. The Dance Moms star chose Danny Beard to swap places with her as she claimed he didn't always 'read the room'. The Drag Queen star was left less than impressed and hit back, 'I always read the room, that's my job'. That means Danny joins Patsy, Angellica, Chris and Ella, who are all at risk of being dumped - and only two of the five will survive Triple Tuesday. It comes after Ella predicted she and Chris Hughes would bond during their time on Celebrity Big Brother, before their arrival into the house. The TOWIE star has been embroiled in recent drama after repeatedly accusing Chris and JoJo Siwa of 'playing a game', with the pair then accusing her of being 'jealous' of their close friendship. But prior to going onto the show, Ella voiced her excitement to meet the Love Island star, 32, and even hinted that the pair could get into 'trouble' if they fancied each other. Speaking to The Sun about Chris ahead of the launch, she said: 'I've never met him. 'I'm really looking forward to meeting him because apparently he's a laugh. All my friends think we'll get on really well.' She went on: 'Just lock me up if he fancies me. Just put me in the closet or something. I don't know. Put me in jail outside — there could be trouble.' However, Ella admitted that she was worried about showing interest in anyone because cruel trolls have called her 'the bike of TOWIE'. She said: 'They say I'm the local bike of Towie. It's sad. I'm not that person. I don't want my mum to think that her daughter's the local bike, because I'm not.' It comes after Chris backed claims Ella is 'jealous' of JoJo during Sunday's chaotic shopping task amid tension between the trio. The TOWIE star has been embroiled in recent drama after repeatedly accusing Chris and JoJo Siwa (pictured) of 'playing a game', with the pair then accusing her of being 'jealous' of their close friendship Ella has frequently voiced her dislike of her rivals incredibly close friendship blossoming in the house with tensions slowly boiling. In the task, which saw the housemates become a family, fans branded her 'two faced' as she chose JoJo as her least favourite housemate and the biggest game player. Taking to the diary room, a furious Chris was quick to stick up for his new friend as he accused Ella of being 'jealous' of his and JoJo's 'matching energies'. He said: 'She isn't sweet on JoJo so there might be a jealously thing there I don't know, she likes to have her two pence worth and if she's out of a conversation she wants to be in it.' Chris also took a swipe at Ella earlier in the task when he told her to 'use her brain' while they tried to memorise a dance as toddlers in Big Brother's nursery. Later fans claimed Ella was showing her true colours as she chose JoJo as her least favourite housemate, leaving the Dance Moms star stunned as she believed the pair to be friends. Taking to X they fumed: 'JoJo finally seeing that Ella is two faced!!!': 'Ella is so two faced bc why she sucking up to jojo but talks s*** about her behind her back': 'Ella is a two faced person!! Yesterday she said she doesn't get on with Jojo tonight she's laughing and talking with her': 'ella is definitely a mean girl and tries to get ppl to gang up on any girl she's jealous of for w/e reason it may be'. 'Chris isn't wrong - Ella is definitely jealous and definitely not a JoJo fan': '& the public can read that you are JEALOUS Ella': 'yeh the public can read that you're jealous and weirdly obsessed Ella'. Viewers also branded Ella a 'hypocrite' she slammed JoJo and Chris for their reality TV pasts despite rising to fame on TOWIE herself. Ella said the pair were 'professional reality stars and social climbers' who were 'playing a game' despite her own career in the field, which has also featured stints on Celebrity Ex on the Beach and The Challenge UK. Daley Thompson, 66, also dubbed Chris and JoJo 's incredibly close friendship as 'performative', ahead of his eviction, and said they were both reality stars who did 'reality every single day'. Commenting on his remarks, Ella told Donna Preston: 'He said "They know what their doing, they know they are doing, they know if they pair up they will get more airtime".' Taking a swipe at Chris, Ella then said: 'I just feel, and this is my personal opinion, that there are social climbers in this industry and I think he would benefit a hell of a lot.' However, many viewers took issue with her remarks as they pointed out that she is also known for reality TV. Taking to X, fans fumed: 'Is Ella forgetting she is also from a reality show and hasn't done anything else apart from that?': 'Find it ironic that Ella is saying about people being reality stars, when she is literally from TOWIE and would benefit the most from social climbing': 'Isn't Ella Literally in TOWIE? a reality TV show??'. 'Isn't Ella literally a reality TV star too?': 'Ella replaying Delay's 'There's two reality every single day' when she does reality every single day on TOWIE... the call is coming from inside the house'. Chris found fame on Love Island in 2017 and has gone on to appear Celebrity Hunted and Pointless Celebrities, meanwhile JoJo was catapulted to superstardom as a youngster on Dance Moms. Chris and JoJo have raised eyebrows with their close friendship and were seen stripping down to their bathing suits for a dip in the hot tub during Saturday's livestream. During their time in the tub, the pair appeared to get even closer as JoJo touched Chris's thigh before he later went on to give her a foot rub. Taking to X they fumed: 'JoJo finally seeing that Ella is two faced!!!': 'Ella is so two faced bc why she sucking up to jojo but talks s*** about her behind her back' After watching JoJo, who is dating Kath Ebbs outside the house, and Chris continue to touch one another, viewers were left in frenzy over the pair's 'chemistry'. One show penned: 'Chris and JoJo's chemistry in the hot tub is on fire.' 'Everyone's cleared out of the hot tub, and now Chris is giving JoJo a foot massage'.; 'It's just Chris and JoJo in the hot tub now, he's giving her a leg massage...'; 'Ouhhh they went there omggg,' Other scenes in the show over the last week have also baffled fans as Chris has previously tried to kiss her and offered to be the father of her children. During Friday's episode, the former TV star made the shocking comment when housemates dressed up as cats for a task, as he told JoJo he has 'good swimmers'. Chris has continued to make baffling comments to the performer as he also previously referred to her as his girlfriend in the house. JoJo revealed to her fellow housemate, Donna Preston, that she wanted to have children to 'take on holiday'. Donna said: 'You have to take these holidays, take these dreams, do what you want to do as well.' To which JoJo replied: 'I wanna have babies and take them on holiday.' MICKEY ROURKE - REMOVED AGE: 72 FAMOUS FOR: The actor and former pro boxer is one of the show's biggest ever signings and after public feuds with Robert De Niro, two marriages and a string of high profile relationships, he will be bringing plenty of drama. DALEY THOMPSON - EVICTED AGE: 66 FAMOUS FOR: The double Olympic gold-medallist is considered one of Britain's greatest athletes. He broke the decathlon world record four times. PATSY PALMER AGE: 52 FAMOUS FOR: It's an open secret that Patsy is leaving EastEnders, with the actress enjoying a wild leaving party this month. The Bianca Jackson star posted a snap of her character on Instagram with the caption: 'Bye bye B, always grateful to see her again.' DONNA PRESTON AGE: 38 FAMOUS FOR: While Donna has featured in several TV shows and movies, the comedy star is known for hosting Apocalypse and for the role of a circus Compere in 2018's Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald. She plays Den in Coronation Street, has featured in Pants On Fire in 2019 and even wrote and co-produced BBC Three's Comedy Threesomes. CHESNEY HAWKES AGE: 53 FAMOUS FOR: The singer topped the charts for five weeks in 1991 with his hit The One And Only, before making a string of acting and TV appearances. His arrival on CBB has been described by a TV source as 'perfect timing', as he's just released a comeback album ANGELLICA BELL AGE: 49 FAMOUS FOR: The TV presenter is said to have landed a staggering five-figure deal to appear on Celebrity Big Brother. Fans will be keen to see if the CBBC legend spills all on her untimely exit from The Martin Lewis Show - which left fans baffled back in 2023. Angellica currently co-presents Hits Radio while Fleur East is on maternity leave. DANNY BEARD AGE: 32 FAMOUS FOR: The RuPaul's Drag Race UK winner - whose real name is Daniel Curtis - has signed up as a late entry. Danny previously made headlines after swearing on Big Brother's Late & Live last March whilst doing an impression of housemate Louis Walsh. The incident saw the guest say the word 'c***' before immediately apologising after being informed they weren't allowed to say that on the show. CHRIS HUGHES AGE: 32 FAMOUS FOR: After shooting to fame on Love Island in 2017, Chris went on to become a sports presenter and regularly hosts the horse racing coverage on ITV. JOJO SIWA AGE: 21 FAMOUS FOR: The American singer, who shot to stardom on reality show Dance Moms, is expected to draw a big American audience. The hitmaker has made a name for herself in the U.S. pop charts and is known for her outlandish looks and being a vocal member of the LGBTQ+ community. TRISHA GODDARD - EVICTED AGE: 67 FAMOUS FOR: The talk show host regularly presented on ITV from 1998 to 2004 and then shifted to Channel 5 from 2004 to 2010. Trisha has been suffering horrible side effects of her chemotherapy - but has bravely battled on. JACK P. SHEPHERD AGE: 37 FAMOUS FOR: The actor has played David Platt in Corrie since 2000 and is following in his pal Colson Smith's footsteps by taking part in the popular reality show. He has won a string of awards for the role including Best Actor at the British Soap Awards. ELLA RAE WISE AGE: 24 FAMOUS FOR: Producers have been keen to land the TV personality, who previously dated Pete Wicks and has had an on-off romance with Dan Edgar. Bosses are hoping the TOWIE star might reveal all about some of her other famous exes. MICHAEL FABRICANT - EVICTED AGE: 74 FAMOUS FOR: The former Conservative politician is understood to have signed a lucrative six-figure deal to take part after political stars were banned from the broadcaster's other reality show, I'm A Celeb. He served as MP for Lichfield in Staffordshire from 1992 until his defeat in 2024 as well as vice-chairman of the party under David Cameron. But he is perhaps best known for his blond mop for which he has been widely ridiculed but previously denied is a wig.
