SENATE ADVANCES SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BILL

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday advanced a bill that seeks to protect same-sex marriage after the Supreme Court's ruling overturning federal abortion rights.

Twelve Republican Senators joined all 50 Democrats in voting for cloture on the Respect for Marriage Act.

The legislation would codify the Supreme Court's 2015 ruling in Obergefell that struck down laws and constitutional amendments that defined marriage as a heterosexual union, ushering in nationwide marriage equality. The Respect for Marriage Act would strengthen protections on a federal level and require states to recognize all legal out-of-state marriages.

A full vote in the Senate could take place as early as Thursday.

In a statement, President Joe Biden pledged to “promptly sign [the bill] into law.”

“The Respect for Marriage Act will ensure that LGBTQI+ couples and interracial couples are respected and protected equally under federal law, and provide more certainty to these families since the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs,” Biden said.

LGBTQ rights advocates cheered Wednesday's vote.

“Today’s strong bipartisan vote of 62-37 for cloture is an incredible victory that cannot be taken lightly – this vote was the bill’s biggest procedural roadblock, and now we steer our focus forward to the Senate’s final vote on this historic legislation,” Kelley Robinson, incoming president of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest LGBTQ rights advocate, said in a statement.

SOURCE: ON TOP MAG

CLEVELAND BANS 'EX-GAY' THERAPHY FOR MINORS

Cleveland on Tuesday became the latest Ohio city to ban therapies that attempt to alter the sexual orientation or gender identity of LGBTQ youth.

Such therapies go by names such as “conversion therapy,” “reparative therapy,” “sexual orientation change efforts” or “ex-gay therapy.”

Cleveland City Council unanimously advanced an ordinance that prohibits such therapies.

Mayor Justin Bibb, a Democrat, is expected to sign the measure.

Alana Jochum, executive director for LGBTQ rights group Equality Ohio, called such therapies “harmful” and “ineffective.”

“Practices of so-called conversion 'therapy' are not only immoral and ineffective, they are extremely harmful,” Jochum said in a statement. “Our precious youth deserve to feel seen, accepted and loved – and that's exactly what Cleveland has done by passing this ordinance.”

Cleveland has joined other large metro areas in the state in banning conversion therapy, including Cincinnati, Columbus, and Toledo.

In applauding Cleveland's move, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest LGBTQ rights advocate, noted that such therapies have “been rejected by every mainstream medical and mental health organization for decades. Yet, the practice has continued, leading to extremely dangerous mental health consequences for those who have experienced it.”

SOURCE: ON TOP MAG

BIDEN CALLS ONSLAUGHT OF ANTI-LGBTQ BILLS 'DANGEROUS' & 'CRUEL'

In his second Pride Month proclamation as president, Joe Biden called out the spate of anti-LGBTQ bills introduced and passed in Republican-led states.

President Biden called the measures “dangerous” and “cruel.”

“Today, the rights of LGBTQI+ Americans are under relentless attack. Members of the LGBTQI+ community – especially people of color and trans people – continue to face discrimination and cruel, persistent efforts to undermine their human rights,” Biden wrote.

“An onslaught of dangerous anti-LGBTQI+ legislation has been introduced and passed in States across the country, targeting transgender children and their parents and interfering with their access to health care.”

“These unconscionable attacks have left countless LGBTQI+ families in fear and pain. All of this compounded has been especially difficult on LGBTQI+ youth, 45 percent of whom seriously considered attempting suicide in the last year – a devastating reality that our Nation must work urgently to address.”

“This month, we remind the LGBTQI+ community that they are loved and cherished. My Administration sees you for who you are – deserving of dignity, respect, and support,” he said.

Biden also called on the US Senate to approve the Equality Act, a nationwide LGBTQ protections bill that stalled in the Senate after clearing the House.

SOURCE: ON TOP MAG

CARL NASSIB SAYS COMING OUT WAS 'STRESSFUL'; THANKS NFL FOR TREVOR PROJECT DONATION

In a video posted to social media, Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib talks about the reasons he decided to come out last year.

Nassib came out gay in June, making him the first active NFL player to do so.

Nassib's video announcement on social media last year was straightforward: “What's up people. I'm at my house in West Chester, Pennsylvania. I just wanted to take a quick moment to say that I'm gay. I've been meaning to do this for a while now but finally feel comfortable getting it off my chest. I really have the best life, the best family, friends, and a job a guy can ask for.”

He added that he had donated $100,000 to The Trevor Project, which provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ youth.

In Wednesday's video, Nassib reflected on coming out and thanked the Raiders for matching his donation.

“That was a really exciting day for me,” Nassib said. “I had wanted to do it for a really long time. I wanted to be in a place where I felt totally comfortable, totally confident to really give a voice to people that needed it the most.”

“I was with my friends and family and it was definitely a stressful thing to do but we were really excited to spread the message of The Trevor Project, to bring visibility and representation to the NFL, to sports. And we did it for the youth, for the kids that are really struggling the most. And that's who I'm most passionate about. And to be able to say that I helped them is absolutely incredible.”

Nassib called the NFL's $100,000 matching donation to The Trevor Project “incredible.”

“I never expected them to match it and I think it's beautiful for them to take that step, to support me, support The Trevor Project,” he said.

SOURCE: ON TOP MAG

MORE THAN 500 COMPANIES CALL ON SENATE TO APPROVE LGBTQ PROTECTIONS BILL EQUALITY ACT

More than 500 U.S. corporations have joined the Human Rights Campaign's (HRC) Business Coalition for the Equality Act.

HRC announced the milestone last week, saying that the Business Coalition is “the largest business coalition to ever come together in support of legal LGBTQ+ equality.”

The Equality Act, which seeks to add sexual orientation and gender identity to current civil rights laws, stalled out in the Senate after clearing the House. President Joe Biden has endorsed the legislation.

According to HRC, more than 160 Fortune 500 companies have joined its Business Coalition.

“The 503 member companies of HRC’s Business Coalition for the Equality Act represent a major swath of America’s economic engine, with member companies overseeing business operations in all 50 states, company headquarters spanning 33 states and a combined $7.2 trillion in annual revenue,” the group said. “The 503 members of the coalition collectively employ more than 15.3 million people in the United States.”

HRC added that the largest previous business effort in support of legal LGBTQ equality was an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in support of same-sex marriage, which included 379 businesses.

The Business Coalition for the Equality Act surpassed 400 members in April 2021.

According to recent polling, 70 percent of Americans, including 50 percent of Republicans, support the Equality Act.

SOURCE: ON TOP MAG

LIL NAS X REVEALS COVID-19 DIAGNOSIS: 'COVID REALLY SUCKS'

Out rapper and singer Lil Nas X revealed on social media that he tested positive for COVID-19.

Last week, the 22-year-old entertainer withdrew from the Capital FM “Jingle Ball” concert tour after several close staffers tested positive for the virus.

In a since-deleted tweet, Lil Nas X reacted with excitement to the inclusion of his song “Montero (Call Me by Your Name)” on former President Barack Obama's playlist of favorite tracks of 2021.

Lil Nas X said that he “started running around the house in excitement” when he learned about the inclusion, then remembered he has COVID-19.

In other tweets, which have also been deleted, Lil Nas X suggested that he was feeling better. “[N]ow that I'm sure I won't die from covid, I will now begin mildly funny jokes about having it.”

In one such joke, Lil Nas X said he only talks to people who have had COVID-19. “U non-covid bitches need to stfu. Us coviders run this shit!”

“Covid really sucks,” he also said. “Last night I was tryna watch porn then I sneezed snot all over [my] penis lmao.”

Cases of COVID-19 have increased in recent weeks as the Omicron variant takes hold in the United States. Doctors are recommending a vaccine booster shot as the best defense against the new strain.

The latest wave of infection has shuttered Broadway shows and forced several artists to bow out from Jingle Ball concerts.

SOURCE: ON TOP MAG

AMANDLA STENBERG TO LEAD DISNEY+ 'STAR WARS' SERIES 'THE ACOLYTE'

Out actor Amandla Stenberg has been cast in the lead role for Disney+'s upcoming Star Wars series The Acolyte.

According to Variety, the series will begin production in 2022.

In announcing the series last year, Disney+ described The Acolyte as “a mystery-thriller that will take viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era.”

Deadline previously reported that the series would be an “action thriller with martial arts elements.”

Not much is known about Stenberg's character.

Stenberg, 23, is best known for playing Rue in The Hunger Games and Starr Carter in The Hate U Give. She came out as gay in a 2018 interview with Wonderland magazine. She is non-binary and uses both “she/her/hers” and “they/them/theirs” pronouns.

Leslye Headland (Russian Doll) will serve as the series' writer and showrunner.

SOURCE: ON TOP MAG

FLORIDA DEMOCRATS INTRODUCE BILLS TO BAN GAY, TRANSGENDER 'PANIC DEFENSE'

Two Florida Democrats on Tuesday introduced bills that seek to ban the use of the co-called gay and transgender panic defense in criminal trials.

Criminal defendants who use the controversial defense claim that a violent act was triggered by the revelation of a victim's actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.

Representative Carlos Guillermo Smith, who is openly gay, and Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book are sponsoring the bills (House Bill 205 and Senate Bill 374).

Smith, who represents Orlando, told Florida Politics that the legal strategy “shifts blame onto the victims of violent crimes rather than their perpetrators.”

“As a survivor of hate violence, I understand how gay or trans ‘panic defense’ can be used as a legal strategy to justify or excuse violence against the LGBTQ community,” said Smith. “It happened to me. The continued use of panic defense in legal proceedings perpetuates anti-LGBTQ bias and shifts blame onto the victims of violent crimes rather than their perpetrators, which is why Florida must follow the lead of several states who passed laws prohibiting its use in court.”

California was the first state to ban the defense in 2014. Fourteen states, including New York, Illinois and Nevada, have followed California's lead.

SOURCE: ON TOP MAG

HRC PRESIDENT ALPHONSO DAVID TERMINATED OVER CUOMO LINK

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest LGBT rights advocate, on Monday terminated its president, Alphonso David, over the role he played in allegations against former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

While Cuomo has denied the charge that he sexually harassed 11 women employees, he stepped down after New York Attorney General Letitia James released her report on the accusations.

David, the group's first Black president, is mentioned several times in James' report.

HRC co-chairs Jodie Patterson and Morgan Cox explained in a statement that David was terminated under the “for cause” provision of his contract.

“At HRC, we are fighting to bring full equality and liberation to LGBTQ+ people everywhere. That includes fighting on behalf of all victims of sexual harassment and assault,” Patterson and Cox said. “As outlined in the New York Attorney General report, Mr. David engaged in a number of activities in December 2020, while HRC President, to assist Gov. Cuomo’s team in responding to allegations by Ms. Boylan of sexual harassment. This conduct in assisting Governor Cuomo’s team, while president of HRC, was in violation of HRC’s Conflict of Interest policy and the mission of HRC.”

Joni Madison, the group's current chief operating officer, was named interim president.

David worked in New York state government for 12 years and was appointed by Cuomo to serve as Counsel to the Governor.

In her report, James discusses David's role in providing personnel files on a former Cuomo advisor, Lindsey Boylan. The files were leaked to the press in an attempt to discredit her. David also helped draft a letter that questioned Boylan's motivations for coming forward. The letter was never published.

David has said that he was “legally obligated” to provide the files on Boylan and “was not involved” in their release. He also has said that he refused to sign the letter questioning Boylan's motives and “never agreed to circulate it.”

In a Twitter post, David vowed to fight his termination, calling it “unjust.”

“After I demanded truth and transparency, the HRC board co-chairs who should stand for human rights elected to hide in darkness,” David wrote. “They unjustly provided notice of termination to me in order to end my fight for the integrity of the review process and for what is right.”

“As a Black, gay man who has spent his whole life fighting for civil and human rights, they cannot shut me up. Expect a legal challenge,” he added.

HRC said it would begin a search to find David's replacement.

SOURCE: ON TOP MAG

CW ORDERS 'NANCY DREW' SPINOFF 'TOM SWIFT' STARRING TIAN RICHARDS & LEVAR BURTON

The CW has ordered a spinoff of Nancy Drew, its supernatural mystery drama series based on the novels by Edward Stratemeyer.

Tom Swift, also based on novels by Stratemeyer, will star out actor Tian Richards in the title role.

According to Deadline, the series will premiere in the 2021-2022 season.

The order comes after Richards played Tom Swift in the Nancy Drew episode titled “The Celestial Visitor,” which aired in May. In the episode, LeVar Burton voiced Barclay, Swift's AI companion. Burton is expected to continue the role in the series.

Deadline described the series as following the “serialized adventures of its titular Black, gay, billionaire inventor (Richards) who is thrust into a world of sci-fi conspiracy and unexplained phenomena after the shocking disappearance of his father. Tom takes to the road on a quest to unravel the truth, leaving behind the comforts of his usual moneyed lifestyle, all while fighting to stay one step ahead of an Illuminati-scale group hell-bent on stopping him. Tom’s missions will require his genius and flair for innovation guided by love, romance, friendship and the mysteries of the universe yet-unsolved.”

Nancy Drew co-creators/executive producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage will also produce Tom Swift with co-creators Melinda Hsu Taylor, Noga Landau, and Cameron Johnson. Lis Rowinski, an executive producer on Nancy Drew, is also on the production team.

SOURCE: ON TOP MAG

ANOTHER TRANSGENDER FIRST: LEYNA BLOOM COVERS SPORTS ILLUSTRATED'S SWIMSUIT ISSUE

Actress-model Leyna Bloom appears on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, making her the first transgender woman to do so.

“This moment heals a lot of pain in the world,” Bloom wrote on Instagram. “We deserve this moment; we have waited millions of years to show up as survivors and be seen as full humans filled with wonder.”

“I'm so happy, honored, and humbled to share that I'm the 1^st trans woman to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated!” she added.

Actress-model Leyna Bloom appears on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, making her the first transgender woman to do so.

“This moment heals a lot of pain in the world,” Bloom wrote on Instagram. “We deserve this moment; we have waited millions of years to show up as survivors and be seen as full humans filled with wonder.”

“I'm so happy, honored, and humbled to share that I'm the 1^st trans woman to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated!” she added.

SOURCE: ON TOP MAG

RICKY MARTIN RESPONDS TO NEGATIVE REACTION TO PHOTOS OF HIMSELF WITH HUSBAND

Singer Ricky Martin has responded to criticism he received after posting photos of himself with his husband Jwan Yosef.

The 49-year-old Martin and his husband cover the latest issue of CAP 74024 magazine.

The cover photo is a shirtless image of the men in an embrace.

In a lengthy post, Martin, who came out gay in 2010 after dodging rumors about his sexuality for years, said that the negative reaction he received transported him back to the closet.

“Today I want to speak to you from my most vulnerable side…,” Martin wrote.

“A week ago, I uploaded some photos with my husband for a special edition of @capogether4024 magazine. For both of us it was a wonderful experience and a way to celebrate our pride.”

“What I didn’t expect, especially after all the work that has been done for so many years, is that a large number of people decided to unfollow or comment derogatory.”

“Of course, it’s not the number of followers I’m concerned about, it’s the message behind your decision that has caused me the same feeling I had years ago before sharing publicly about my sexual orientation. That same fear that paralyzed me, tormented me and wouldn’t let me be.”

“Today I see the pictures and what that I feel is a full peace of being able to celebrate my family as they deserve, all the high. To celebrate me as I am no matter what they will say.”

“And that fear I just spoke of, no longer paralyzes me, on the contrary, gives me much more strength and pushes me to continue to work for the well-being of millions of people suffering every day because of the lack of acceptance.”

“The most I wish in this life is that we can all feel free, proud of ourselves, happy, that we are loved, respected and accepted. May we express ourselves how we are born without retaliation or being punished.

“It’s not fair to continue losing valuable lives due to prejudice and lack of education.”

“To all those who feel lost or not valued for being who they are and want to be, are not alone, there is a great community waiting for you with open arms. They are worth a lot, don’t forget it please. #pride #pridemonth,” Martin said.

Martin is currently promoting his latest single “Que Rico Fuera.”

SOURCE: ON TOP MAG

MATH TEACHER BEATS INCUMBENT TO BECOME FIRST GAY BLACK MAN ELECTED IN TEXAS

A high school math teacher won a runoff race for the San Antonio City Council, making him the first out gay black man elected in Texas.

Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, also a graduate student, once worked for the councilwoman he will be replacing. He left City Councilwoman Jada Andrews-Sullivan's office in 2019 amid allegations of anti-gay discrimination and harassment.

The LGBTQ Victory Fund, which helps elect LGBT candidates, had endorsed McKee-Rodriguez's campaign.

“Jalen shattered a lavender ceiling in Texas, and it came as right-wing state legislators target LGBTQ people and people of color with bigoted policies aimed at rallying their extremist political base,” said former Houston Mayor Annise Parker, president & CEO of the LGBTQ Victory Fund. “We need more people of color, young people and LGBTQ people in state and local government who will ensure politicians look to improve the lives of Texans, not further marginalize them. Jalen’s victory is a rejection of the homophobic and racist politicking so fashionable in Austin and it will inspire more LGBTQ Black leaders to run and win.”

McKee-Rodriguez will graduate with a Masters in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies this summer from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

McKee-Rodriguez and his husband Nathan live in the suburban San Antonio Northeast Crossing neighborhood.

SOURCE: ON TOP MAG

ONE MILLION MOMS CLAIMS PBS PRIDELAND PROMOTES UNBIBLICAL SEXUALITY

One Million Moms is calling for the defunding of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) over its airing of Prideland.

In the docuseries, out actor Dyllón Burnside (FX's Pose) talks with LGBT Americans living in the modern South, including lesbian moms in Alabama and Jessica Gonzalez, an openly queer Texas state representative. The series consists of six short-form episodes aired throughout June and a one-hour special broadcast on June 12.

In an email to supporters, One Million Moms' Monica Cole said that PBS must be defunded because its programming promotes “an ideology of sexual deviancy” and attacks “religious liberty.”

“PBS has been airing a TV and an online series called Prideland to promote and normalize unbiblical sexuality,” Cole wrote. “By distributing and promoting Prideland, PBS is furthering attacks on Christianity and is making a mockery of the Bible and God's design for human sexuality.”

Cole called on supporters to support a bill introduced by Colorado Representative Doug Lamborn, a Republican, which seeks to defund public broadcasting.

One Million Moms has a history of calling for boycotts against companies or organizations that support LGBT rights.

SOURCE: ON TOP MAG

LAVERNE COX'S DOCUMENTARY DISCLOSURE LOOKS @ TRANSGENDER REPRESENTATION ON FILM

Laverne Cox serves as executive producer in the Netflix documentary Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen.

The documentary takes a look at transgender representation in film.

According to Indiewire, the film's creative team, cast, and crew were “almost exclusively transgender.”

Cox, who is best known for playing transgender inmate Sophia Burset on the Netflix dramedy Orange is the New Black, said that she identified with Barbra Streisand in Yentl.

“Here was Yentl, a woman, a girl, who had to pretend to be a boy or a man to become a Rabbi, and falls in love with this guy and wants him to see the woman that she is, but he only sees the man that she is presenting,” said Cox. “And that just felt like me, I was like – 'that’s me.’ I didn’t have words for it and I didn’t fully understand why, but that’s what it was.”

Director Sam Feder added: “That’s what’s so particular about a trans lens – when she told me that story, that just so crystallized a trans way of seeing, right? That we never look through. We never look through that lens as society.”

Disclosure premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.

In addition to Cox, the documentary features Jen Richards, Marquise Vilson, Tre'vell Anderson, Angelica Ross, Brian Michael Smith, Yance Ford, Zeke Smith, Lilly Wachowski, Mj Rodriguez, Michael D Cohen, Chaz Bono, Jamie Clayton, Alexandra Billings, Tiq Milan, Nick Adams, Trace Lysette, Rain Valdez, Zackary Drucker, Chase Strangio, Sandra Caldwell, Candis Cayne, Susan Stryker, Alexandra Grey, Jazzmun, Ser Anzoategui, Elliot Fletcher, Bianca Leigh, Leo Sheng, Mickey R. Mahoney, and Hailie Sahar.

“The ways in which trans people have been represented have suggested that we're mentally ill, that we don't exist. Yet, here we are. And we've always been here,” Cox said in the film's trailer.

SOURCE: ON TOP MAG

LGBT GROUPS CONDEMN RACIAL VIOLENCE

More than 75 LGBT and civil rights groups have issued a joint statement condemning racial violence.

The letter comes as civil unrest spreads across the nation following the death of George Floyd in Minnesota. Floyd, a black man, can be seen in a video gasping to breathe as a white officer is holding him down with his knee.

The statement was organized by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest LGBT rights advocate.

“The racial violence that has filled our television, computer and phone screens this spring is a stark reminder of how far we still must go to ensure that the promise of America is not dependent on the color of one’s skin,” said HRC President Alphonso David. 

“When we see injustice, we must speak out as strongly as we can. Otherwise, we are complicit in oppression. And we have seen a lot of injustice lately. From George Floyd, to Ahmaud Arbery, to Breonna Taylor, to Christian Cooper, to Nina Pop. The LGBTQ community is familiar with fighting against systems of power that are set up to serve the privileged few. And we are united to fight the systems that target our Black and brown siblings, today and always.”

The statement, released on Friday, calls for “explicit commitments to embrace anti-racism and end white supremacy.”

“The LGBTQ Movement’s work has earned significant victories in expanding the civil rights of LGBTQ people. But what good are civil rights without the freedom to enjoy them?” the groups ask.

“Many of our organizations have made progress in adopting intersectionality as a core value and have committed to be more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. But this moment requires that we go further – that we make explicit commitments to embrace anti-racism and end white supremacy, not as necessary corollaries to our mission, but as integral to the objective of full equality for LGBTQ people.”

“We, the undersigned, recognize we cannot remain neutral, nor will awareness substitute for action. The LGBTQ community knows about the work of resisting police brutality and violence. We celebrate June as Pride Month, because it commemorates, in part, our resisting police harassment and brutality at Stonewall in New York City, and earlier in California, when such violence was common and expected. We remember it as a breakthrough moment when we refused to accept humiliation and fear as the price of living fully, freely, and authentically.”

“We understand what it means to rise up and push back against a culture that tells us we are less than, that our lives don't matter. Today, we join together again to say #BlackLivesMatter and commit ourselves to the action those words require,” the statement reads.

Signatures include the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Trevor Project, Centerlink, which represent LGBT community centers, and state LGBT advocates such as Equality New York, Equality California, and Equality Florida.

SOURCE: ON TOP MAG

NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY LOOKS @ DEATH OF 8-YEAR-OLD GABRIEL FERNANDEZ SUSPECTED OF BEING GAY

Streaming giant Netflix on Thursday released a trailer for its upcoming documentary on Gabriel Fernandez.

Gabriel's mother, Pearl Fernandez, and her boyfriend, Isauro Aguirre, were found guilty of torturing the 8-year-old boy to death. Fernandez, 34, was sentenced to life in prison, while Aguirre, 37, received the death penalty.

Authorities in Southern California responding to a 911 call in 2013 found Gabriel naked in a bedroom. His skull was cracked, three ribs were broken and BB pellets were embedded in his lung and groin. He died two days later of his injuries in a hospital.

During Aguirre's trial, prosecutors told jurors that he hated Gabriel because he suspected the boy was gay. Text messages between the couple prove they conspired to kill Gabriel, prosecutors said.

The documentary The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez questions how the system failed a boy who had repeated signs of long-term abuse and neglect. Prosecutors took the extraordinary step of not only going after the abusers but also the four social workers involved in the case.

The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez begins streaming on Wednesday, February 26 on Netflix.

SOURCE: ON TOP MAG

FIRST LOOK: RuPaul STARS IN NETFLIX COMED 'AJ AND THE QUEEN'

Streaming giant Netflix on Wednesday released its first trailer for its upcoming comedy AJ and the Queen starring RuPaul Charles, host of VH1's RuPaul's Drag Race.

In the series, RuPaul plays Ruby Red, a hapless drag queen who lives in a rundown R/V with AJ, a recently orphaned 10-year-old. The pair are forced to travel from city to city, with Ruby performing each night in a different drag club, after Ruby's plan to start her own club falls apart when she is swindled out of her life savings.

“AJ and Ruby must find a way to navigate through tough times as they learn a few tricks from one another and roll on to brighter days,” the show's description states.

AJ and the Queen is written by RuPaul and Michael Patrick King, who co-created 2 Broke Girls and executive produced Sex and the City.

Netflix has reportedly ordered 10 episodes of the series, which will debut on January 10.

SOURCE: ON TOPMAG

HALLMARK HOLIDAY AD FEATURES GAY COUPLE

An early Christmas ad from greeting card giant Hallmark features a gay couple.

Hallmark posted the 15-second ad, titled Keepsake Ornaments, on Facebook.

“Just can't let go of … anything?” Hallmark wrote in unveiling the ad. “Unwrap, unpack and commemorate the moments that matter.”

In the ad, two men are busy moving into a new home.

One man finds the couple's first Christmas tree in a box.

“This was our first tree,” the man says.

“You know what it needs? An accessory,” his partner says before hanging a “New Home 2016” ornament.

“Mi casa es su casa,” the partner says as the couple admires the tree.

Hallmark has previously included same-sex couples in their advertising. In 2008, Christian conservative group American Family Association (AFA) protested Hallmark for selling wedding cards aimed at gay and lesbian couples.

SOURCE: ON TOP MAG

SADE ADUs CHILD MICKAILIA ADU COMES OUT TRANSGENDER ON INSTAGRAM

Singer Sade Adu's only child Mickailia “Ila” Adu came out as a transgender man last week on Instagram.

Speculation that Adu, 20, was transitioning first surfaced in the spring.

“Today is the first day of the rest of my life,” Adu captioned a black and white selfie along with a sun and needle emoji, the date 4/10/16 and the hashtags #shotday #firstshot #finally #ftm #selfmademan #transman #proud #yaaassss.

Prior to his transition, Adu openly identified as a lesbian.

Nigerian born British singer-songwriter Sade in the late 90s moved to the Caribbean to live with Jamaican music producer Bob Morgan. Prior to separating, Sade gave birth to her only child.

The singer reportedly took an 8-year break from music to raise her child.

SOURCE: ON TOP MAGAZINE