come-out

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Justice Smith Comes Out As Queer While Stressing That “All Black Lives Matter”


Actor Justice Smith came out as queer on an Instagram post in which he expressed his disappointment over the lack of support for Black queer and trans lives specifically.

Actor Justice Smith, known for his work in Pokemon: Detective Pikachu, The Get Down and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, came out as queer on an Instagram post regarding the recent protests against systemic racism and police brutality. In the post, Justice expresses his disappointment over how many Black Lives Matter supporters at these protests and in general do not show equal support for Black trans and queer individuals. He also reveals that he and Queen Sugar star Nicholas Ashe are a couple.

“@nckash and I protested today in New Orleans,” he begins. “We chanted ‘Black Trans Lives Matter’ ‘Black Queer Lives Matter’ ‘All Black Lives Matter’. As a black queer man myself, I was disappointed to see certain people eager to say Black Lives Matter, but hold their tongue when Trans/Queer was added. I want to reiterate this sentiment: if your revolution does not include Black Queer voices, it is anti-black.”

He goes on to highlight the death of Tony McDade, a Black trans man who was murdered by police in Tallahassee last week. “If your revolution is okay with letting black trans people like #TonyMcDade slip through the cracks in order to solely liberate black cishet men, it is anti-black. You are trying to push yourself through the door of a system designed against you, and then shut the door behind you. It is in our conditioning to get as close to whiteness, straightness, maleness as we can because that’s where the power is. And if we appeal to it, maybe it’ll give us a slice.”

Justice Smith Comes Out As Queer While Stressing That “All Black Lives Matter”Keith Tsuji/Getty Images

“But the revolution is not about appeal,” he stresses. “It is about demanding what should have been given to us from the beginning. What should have been given to black, queer, and trans individuals from the beginning. Which is the right to exist. To live and prosper in public. Without fear of persecution or threat of violence.”

“There is so much tragedy on the timeline these last couple of days,” he points out, “so I added some photos of me and Nic to show some #blackboyjoy #blacklove #blackqueerlove. You’ve been my rock and guiding light through all of this and I love you so much. I know that on the other side of this Is change, though the fight is far from over. #justicefortonymcdade #justiceforninapop #justiceforgeorgefloyd #justiceforahmaud #justiceforbreonna #sayhername #defundthepolice #endwhitesupremacy.” Congrats to Justice on finding love and speaking out!

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"Friday" Singer Rebecca Black Comes Out As Queer


Rebecca Black, who went viral almost ten years ago for her song, “Friday,” has come out as queer after ending a relationship with a woman.

Rebecca Black, the viral singer who was publicly mocked after releasing her song, “Friday,” almost ten years ago, has revealed that she identifies as queer. Rebecca was recently a guest on the podcast, Dating Straight, where she discussed aspects of her sexuality and disclosed that she had recently been in a relationship with a woman before ultimately breaking up. “I made a conscious decision to not, like, ‘come out,'” she told co-hosts, Jack Dodge and Amy Ordman. “People started asking and I stopped not responding. I’m still in the process, it feels like.” The co-hosts proceeded to ask her if she identifies with any label specifically.

"Friday" Singer Rebecca Black Comes Out As QueerJon Kopaloff/Getty Images

“Every day is different,” she notes. “It’s something that over the past few years I’ve obviously been having a lot of conversations with myself about. To me, the word ‘queer’ feels really nice. I have dated a lot of different types of people, and I just don’t really know what the future holds. Some days, I feel a little more on the ‘gay’ side than others.” However, she’s out of the dating circuit for the time being. “I don’t really want to date right now, but even if I did, I have no choice.” she said, laughing. “Unless I want to get on Raya and Skype date them? No.” Check out the full episode of Dating Straight below:

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Cardi B Defends Dwyane Wade’s Trans Daughter Zaya

Cardi B hopped on Instagram live to lend her support for Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union's transgendered daughter, Zaya, and shut down the transphobic opinions expressed by other public figures since Zaya came out.

Cardi B explained why people should keep their opinions to themselves about Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union's trans daughter, Zaya, on Instagram live, after various celebrities spoke on the subject since Zaya came out as trans earlier this month. A few weeks ago, Dwyane and Gabrielle revealed to the world that their 12-year-old child identifies as a girl, and would thus forth go by Zaya and be referred to with female pronouns. The proud parents have been nothing but supportive of their daughter, and various celebrities have reached out to express their support as well. However, others were much more hateful. Boosie Badazz went on a transphobic rant (which eventually got him kicked out of Planet Fitness) about Zaya, insisting that Dwyane and his family have "gone too f*cking far."Young Thug was also insensitive toward the 12-year-old, misgendering her just as Boosie did and claiming that "God don't make mistakes." Boosie and Thug received plenty of backlash for their comments, and now, Cardi has taken it upon herself to express how she feels about the whole situation. The rapper began explaining her stance by reminding everyone that Zaya is a child, and that we should all be more sensitive about how we speak about her.

“A lot of people have been giving opinions about this little kid wanting to transition and everything," Cardi said. "And I feel like a lot of people are forgetting that this is a 12-year-old kid, that before you say your opinions and everything, let’s not forget that this is a kid. Let’s not forget that this kid could be very, very sensitive." She went on to explain how nobody is "too young" to know who they are. "People are saying that this kid is too young to transition but it’s like…if you were born thinking that you are a girl in a boy’s body, how old do you have to be to keep knowing that that’s who you are? That’s who you are, that’s your identity. If that’s who you feel that you are, what is the age limit for you to know that that’s what you want to be?"

Cardi B Defends Dwyane Wade's Trans Daughter ZayaDia Dipasupil/Getty Images

Cardi then refers to a video she watched that gave her some perspective on trans issues. “I've seen a long, 18-minute video on Youtube—way before this Zaya situation—about this 5-year-old little girl," she explains. "At 5 years old, she transitioned to be a girl and she knew that that’s what she wanted to be because…she knew that! She likes to wear dresses, she likes to play with Barbies. If you’re born like that you’re forever going to be like that. Whether the age that you pick it to be, it’s your choice."

She also relates Zaya's struggles growing up trans to her struggles growing up poor, indicating that children should be able to find their happiness now if they have the resources instead of waiting until they're older. “There’s certain things that I always wanted to do when I was younger, right?" she says. "And I’ve started to do [them] now, now that I have money. I be like, ‘Wow, I wish I would’ve been learned how to do this. I wish I would’ve been knowing this and that.’ I would’ve been happy. What’s the point of you being older, and then transitioning, and then being like, ‘Damn, I should’ve been doing this. I could have found my happiness.’ Let people find their happiness, especially kids. Let them feel comfortable doing what they want to be."

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Jameela Jamil Comes Out As Queer

Jameela Jamil comes out after being criticized for her role as a judge on HBO's new voguing competition show, "Legendary."

On Wednesday, actress Jameela Jamil came out as queer on Twitter, after receiving plenty of backlash following the announcement that she would serve as a judge on HBO's new voguing competition show, Legendary. Jameela shared a statement to her Twitter account, revealing that she identifies as queer but that this is "not how I wanted it to come out."

Jameela Jamil Comes Out As QueerFrazer Harrison/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

"Twitter is brutal. This is why I never officially came out as queer," Jameela wrote. "I added a rainbow to my name when I felt ready a few years ago, as it’s not easy within the south Asian community to be accepted, and I always answered honestly if ever straight-up asked about it on Twitter. But I kept it low because I was scared of the pain of being accused of performative bandwagon jumping, over something that caused me a lot of confusion, fear and turmoil when I was a kid. I didn't come from a family with *anyone* openly out. It's also scary as an actor openly admit your sexuality, especially when you're already a brown female in your thirties."

Jameela, who is well-known for her outspoken views on body positivity, goes on to note that she will be taking a break from Twitter. "I'm jumping off this hell app for a while because I don't want to read mean comments dismissing this. You can keep your thoughts." However, she wanted to first acknowledge the criticism she's received over her gig on Legendary, in which she will be judging eight different ballroom houses as they compete for a trophy and a cash prize. Many expressed their concerns that she was taking up undeserved space by getting hired on the show, as the ballroom scene is a predominately black and Latino subculture of the LGBTQ community. Many felt that her role should have been given to a person with a background in voguing, or at least someone within the LGBTQ community.

"I know that my being queer doesn't qualify me as ballroom. But I have privilege and power and a large following to bring to this show, (as does the absolutely iconic Megan Thee Stallion,) and it's beautiful contestants and ballroom hosts," Jameela explained. "Sometimes it takes those with more power to help a show get off the ground so we can elevate marginalized stars that deserve the limelight and give them a chance. I'm not the MC. I'm not the main host. I'm just a lead judge due to my 11 years of hosting experience, being fully impartial, a newcomer to ballroom (like much of the audience will be) and therefore a window in for people who are just discovering it now, and being a long time ally of the lgbtq community."

Legendary starts shooting on Thursday, and will air on HBO Max later this year. As Jameela mentioned, Megan Thee Stallion will also serve as a judge on the panel, along with stylist and former America’s Next Top Model judge Law Roach, and ballroom legend Leiomy Maldonado. Ballroom veteran Dashaun Wesley will provide commentary and DJ MikeQ will handle the turntable. "I hope you don't let a few castings designed to help the show get off the ground stop you from supporting the talent from Ballroom on this show," Jameela concluded. "They really are f*cking amazing and I'm really honoured to work with them."