Pop Culture Fix: Sandra Oh Really Wants You to Know Eve Polastri Is Not Straight
Feature image by Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic
Hey, friends, I hope you’re staying hydrated out there and taking a break when you need to. I’m thinking of you all the time, and making you these Pop Culture Fixes as a little respite.
+ Michelle Yeoh and Sandra Oh had an hour-long chat at the San Francisco International Film Festival last Friday. During the Q&A someone referred to Eve Polastri as “straight” and Sandra Oh interrupted to say, “No.” Which gave me a nice chuckle despite *waves hand*.
+ Ariana DeBose will host the 75th Tony Awards.
+ Netflix has greenlit Liz Feldman’s new series, No Good Deed, which was inspired by her late night Zillow scrolling early in the pandemic.
+ BBC launches a new “very gay, very trans” Doctor Who audio drama podcast.
+ Meet Heather, the Riverdale librarian who also happens to be Cheryl Blossom’s junior high sweetheart.
+ All Rise arrives for a third season on OWN this June!
+ Archie is introducing a new biracial pansexual character.
+ Kristen Kish, looking stunning as heck in this suit, is joining Iron Chef as co-host.
+ Grace and Frankie’s reign of terror is finally over (aka Slate interviewed Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin about the final season).
+ Queen Latifah’s Equalizer changes showrunners ahead of its likely third season.
+ If you’ve been wanting to watch The Owl House because it’s the most adorable gay thing happening on TV right now, but you don’t have the Disney Channel so you can’t watch it on TV or the Disney Now app, well! Great news! It’s on Disney Plus now, almost completely up to date! You can laugh your buns off without having to sit through a single Hatchimals commercial.
+ Watch Brandi Carlile sing “Love Can Build a Bridge” to honor Naomi Judd.
+ The story of this suspended Grey’s Anatomy writer who stole her ex-wife’s trauma for the show and also somehow now involves Anna Paquin is the wildest thing I have read in a long time.
+ Unsurprisingly, ESPN’s list of top 25 players currently in the WNBA is G A Y.
+ On queer-baiting, betrayal, and the quest for better representation.
+ Suranne Jones and Sophie Rundle play Mrs and Mrs on BBC.
Pop Culture Fix: Lovestruck High Looks Like Glee’s Gayest Fever Dream
Well I, for one, am still reeling about the Batwoman and Legends of Tomorrow cancellation news and probably will be for QUITE A WHILE. There’s still some good gay news, though, in today’s Pop Culture Fix but it doesn’t negate my fury!
+ Lovestruck High look like a gay Glee fever dream.
+ On Friday afternoon, Carmen brought us the news that the CW cancelled Batwoman. A few hours later we found out they’ve pulled the plug on Legends of Tomorrow too. It’s hard to overstate what an enormous blow this is for queer women on TV.
+ Openly gay Bridgerton star Golda Rosheuvel was told by a lesbian director to stay in the closet.
+ Reservation Dogs’ Devery Jacobs has joined Disney+’s new Marvel series, Echo.
+ Jen Richards has joined AMC’s new Anne Rice vampire series.
+ A Black Lady Sketch Show has the most exciting comics — and the silliest.
+ The Circle season four is on the way.
+ Nicola Coughlan on playing our favorite wee lesbian in Derry Girls.
+ Why Auli’i Cravalho is Hollywood’s bisexual queen.
+ Sheyla Baez at NBC chatted with breakout Crush star Isabella Ferreira.
+ Jeopardy! champ Mattea Roach on the TV quiz show’s queer representation.
Pop Culture Fix: Buffy’s Slayerverse Says Xander Is Queer Now? No, Thanks!
Hello and happy midweek to you, my friends! I’ve just been out at the little frame shop near my house getting my new cat peet arts matted and framed! What if I convince my wife that we should only have art in our house painted by animals? Am I a secret interior design genius?? Probably. What I definitely am is your humble servant and this is your Wednesday Pop Culture Fix!
+ Boom! Studios’ new Buffy the Vampire Slayer Slayerverse has made Xander queer. No thanks!
Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics have recently embraced the “Slayerverse,” Buffy’s answer to the multiverse, and the concept has unlocked bold new iterations of the classic characters. The newest version of Xander is very different to the classic one, with his most problematic elements removed for a simple reason; he’s interested in guys instead.
+ Freeform has renewed Single Drunk Female for a second season.
+ Harry Styles and Lizzo dueted on “I Will Survive” at Coachella, in case you missed it. I promised my bisexual sister I would make sure you knew this.
+ Welcome to Janelle Monáe’s dreamworld.
+ An energetic Hacks season two trailer for you!
https://youtu.be/QIg9MuEbpoM
+ Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin are just getting started.
+ The breezy bisexuality of Anaïs in Love.
+ 18 new queer songs that landed in April.
+ Does Taika Waititi’s involvement in the explicitly queer Our Flag Means Death spell a bright, rainbow-colored future for Thor: Love and Thunder? (I personally doubt it, not because of Taika Waititi but because of Disney.)
+ Here’s the first trailer for satirical queer slasher Bodies Bodies Bodies.
+ I sincerely cannot believe this movie exists.
Here's your look at Margot Robbie as #Barbie: https://t.co/jNxkFTjCiT pic.twitter.com/BUBN6kajUt
— Variety (@Variety) April 26, 2022
Pop Culture Fix: The Buzz Lightyear Movie Gets its Lesbian Kiss Back From Sad, Strange Little Disney
Guess what’s back tonight on HBO? IT’S GENTLEMAN JACK!!!! My recap will be here for you tomorrow! In the meantime, here’s a Pop Culture Fix!
+ The Buzz Lightyear Toy Story sequel has added back in the lesbian kiss Disney made it cut.
Yes. We have a kiss. You saw it in the version of the film that you all saw before this Q & A. We’ve always had the lesbian couple. They’ve always been a part of the film. Being able to put back the kiss was important to us. It’s a touching moment. It helps Buzz to see what it is that he’s… It’s the life that’s being lived in front of him by his best friend that he’s not having. He doesn’t have those kinds of relationships. He doesn’t have a child. He doesn’t have what she has. And so it was important for us to get that back in there. And we’re really excited about that.”
+ Jasmine Davis exits The Chi ahead of season five.
+ Why are lesbians still invisible in popular culture, wonders The Independent.
+ Saudi Arabia is censoring Doctor Strange because of lesbian hero America Chavez.
+ Lesbian Jeopardy! champ Mattea Roach just keeps winning.
+ 18 lesbian anime you can watch right now.
+ Gentleman Jack showrunner Sally Wainwright on bringing Anne Lister’s diaries to life.
+ How Selena became a queer Latinx classic.
+ Jonah Hill praises his sister Beanie Feldstein’s Funny Girl performance. (A lesbian friend of mine saw it on opening night and loved it.)
+ Janelle Monáe’s first fiction breaks open the literary space.
Pop Culture Fix: Tessa Thompson Is Suited Up for Thor: Love and Thunder JSYK
How is this week both flying by and dragging its feet as heavy as anvils??? The only way I even know it’s Wednesday is because it’s Pop Culture Fix day!
+ Carmen really wants you to know Tessa Thompson’s in a suit in Thor: Love and Thunder, cause no one told her and it took her 24 hours to find out and that is an unacceptable amount of time to not know that!
+ Hasbro has released their Love and Thunder action figure line-up and Valkyrie finally looks legit in hers, unlike her Endgame figure that had her holding a tiny blue dagger.
+ Look who’s on public radio talking about Sex Education!
Writer @draw_gregory was impressed by how @netflix show #SexEducation handled representation – like with the nonbinary character Cal. But she’s also been let down by the show at times. One thing she thinks the show nails? Incorporating feedback. More: https://t.co/OdQwfVKYdD pic.twitter.com/pntRVeSRtr
— Embodied (@embodiedWUNC) April 18, 2022
+ Megan Suri and Parminder Nagra will star in an LGBTQ+ adaptation of The Kiss List.
+ The Tribeca Film Festival has released its 2022 line-up and there’s lots of queer and trans stuff to get excited about — including a film on the New York Liberty!
+ The Chi will be back on Showtime in June.
+ Here’s GLAAD’s list of best un-produced LGBTQ+ screenplays of 2022.
+ A sneak peek of Alice on tonight’s all-new Good Trouble.
SNEAK PEEK: No more Miss Nice Alice!
_____
Watch #GoodTrouble tonight at 10p/9c on @FreeformTV. Stream tomorrow on @hulu. pic.twitter.com/dXHbL4CsGq— Good Trouble (@GoodTrouble) April 20, 2022
+ Janelle Monáe’s Dirty Computer comes alive in a new collection of stories.
+ Pedro Pascal compares HBO’s Last of Us series. to The Mandalorian.
+ The new Fantastic Beasts movie is flopping. :)
+ Jodie Whittaker’s final episode of Doctor Who wlll feature some big blasts from the past.
Pop Culture Fix: Ariana DeBose Is Making a Bisexual Rom-Com Like “My Best Friend’s Wedding”
Feature image photo by VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images
Okay wow I had no idea how interested y’all would be in my robot eyeball massager! I didn’t link it last time because I didn’t want to seem like your straight friends from high school who are peddling pyramid scheme supplements on Facebook! Okay and here it is. And also here is your first Pop Culture Fix of the week!
+ Ariana DeBose will star in and executive produce Two And Only, with a screenplay by Latina LGBTQ+ writer Jen Rivas-DeLoose. Deadline describes it as “My Best Friend’s Wedding with a bisexual Latinx POV.”
+ Looks like Prime’s rolling out the key art for the new (and gay!) A League of Their Own series with BASEBALL CARDS! We don’t know who all’s gonna be gay here yet, but we do know Rosie’s back and she owns a bar, and that there’s women named Carson, Max, and Jo, and that the series plans to “lean hard” into conversations about sexuality and racism.
Here's the first look at Abbi Jacobson and Chante Adams in Amazon's #ALeagueofTheirOwn series pic.twitter.com/jh5DKgEyi6
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) April 14, 2022
+ Jodi Balfour is joining Ted Lasso for season three! MAKE REBECCA GAY, JODI!
+ Lily Tomlin on insult comedy, the Oscars and her upcoming Tom Brady movie (wut??)
+ Alexandra Billings is redefining what’s possible for trans actors.
+ Annette Benning and Jodie Foster are playing lesbian long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad and her partner Bonnie in the upcoming movie NYAD and wow wow wow this on-set photo is gaaaay.
+ Kiernan Shipka wants to make a Sally Draper spin-off which isn’t really gay news but also is definitely gay news ’cause there’s no way Sally Draper didn’t figure out she’s queer.
+ Have we lost patience for prestige TV?
+ Related: This is one of the best things I’ve read about the Killing Eve finale, the ending of which I truly just hated, but have mostly kept quiet about because I didn’t want to get whipped up into a frenzy like some meringue, so I needed some time to really process it all. Anyway: Killing Eve chose cruelty, by Angelica Jade Bastién over at Vulture.
+ Legacies, Legends, and Batwoman are the bubble shows fans want renewed.
Oh ho ho and here’s so many trailers.
+ Too little Tessa, but HELLO ALSO!
+ Hulu’s new series, A Conversation With Friends, is about “relationships that can’t be defined” — so obviously it’s gay, and there’s a new Phoebe Bridgers song attached to it, so it’s sad and longing too, which is also G A Y.
+ The final trailer of the final season of Grace and Frankie. 😭
+ Want a trailer for Hacks season two? Of course you do!
https://youtu.be/E_vejwSYhpk
+ Meet the queens of All-Stars 7!
Pop Culture Fix: A Lesbian Cheerleader Movie Named “Bottoms” Is a Real Thing That’s Happening
Y’all I have purchased the weirdest thing for myself and I know it sounds unhinged, but it’s amazing. It’s this space-age looking goggle-mask you put on your head, and it heats up and also does pressure and even vibration of you want. Kind of like an eyeball massager? My neurologist recommended it for my migraines, and I was like, “If I’m going to spend 60 dollars on something I don’t need, it’s going to be a new video game.” But then I got it anyway because I’m a sucker but it is actually so cool. Anyway I’m wearing it on my head right now and typing. I wonder how many words I typed correctly? Here’s your Pop Culture Fix!
+ Director Emma Seligman, of Shiva Baby fame, is making a new movie called Bottoms about “two teenage girls who start a fight club at school for the purpose of winning over cheerleaders.” And! It will be queer! Like Bring It On! But: “fun, more raunchy depictions of queer women”
+ The inside story of provocative lesbian nun thriller Benedetta.
+ As a bisexual woman, Derry Girls gave me the LGBTQ+ representation I never had.
+ We need the queerness of Sailor Moon now more than ever (also this article teaser made me laugh out loud for real: “In the name of the moon, I punish anyone who won’t say gay!”)
+ Tomb Raider needs to hurry up and give Lara Croft a girlfriend already.
+ Lilly Singh on coming out as bisexual in her 30s, mental health and defining success. (Warning: auto-play video here in 2022 somehow.)
+ Nicola Coughlan is going to miss playing Derry Girls wee lesbian as much as we’re going to miss watching her. (Supposedly. I have my doubts. Derry Girls is consistently the funniest thing I’ve ever seen besides maybe Golden Girls. I am very sad it’s ending!)
There was one aspect of the movie’s impact that Daniels did want to guide along, and it involved the plot point surrounding the sexuality of the teen character, who is gay. While Everything Everywhere All at Once had yet to secure a distributor in China, the pair were adamant that it could only do so with censors allowed her sexuality to remain a part of the story. “It’s not up to us if the movie is released in China, but all we said was that you can’t cut the gay storyline,” Scheinert said… “The movie doesn’t work without it.”
+ The Ultimatum star Rae Williams comes out as bisexual during emotional show reunion.
+ Every theory about who will be Valkyerie’s queen in Thor: Love and Thunder. (Carmen will be happy to see Carol Danvers on that list, even though she’s so supportive of my Carol/Maria shipping that she sent me their pair of Funkos!)
+ Awesome list! 11 queer animated shows to stream right now. ‘
+ Netflix has saved another queer thing, this time it’s CW’s Glamorous. Still will never forgive them for cancelling One Day at a Time, though. :)
+ Suranne Jones and Sophie Rundle on Gentleman Jack’s radical queerness in season two.
Pop Culture Fix: Derry Girls’ Wee Lesbian Is Getting a Joyful Love Story
Gooood Monday to you, friends, and welcome to WNBA Draft Day — or, as I like to call it Merry Natalie and Heather Christmas! The latest ESPN mock draft has Nyara Sabally going to my Liberty. I’ve always wanted a Sabally of my own to cheer for! But right now I am cheering for you, as I am every Monday, simply because you’re you.
+ Well here’s some delightful news! Derry Girls boss teases romance for Nicola Coughlan’s Clare in season three! Our wee lesbian! In love! It’s going to be “joyful” and “lovely,” and thank forkin’ gord for that because I’ve had enough crying over fictional lesbians to last a lifetime thank you very much.
+ The Rookie’s working out a backdoor pilot for a Niecy Nash show!
+ For All Mankind’s coming back to Apple TV+ on June 10.
+ Who else picked up Earth-Prime: Batwoman #1 last week?
Justice means standing up for everyone. 🦇 Share what you liked best about EARTH-PRIME: BATWOMAN #1! pic.twitter.com/eUJtIBGZN0
— DC (@DCOfficial) April 9, 2022
+ Disney heir Charlee comes out as trans, slams “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
+ Broadway-bound 1776 musical revival announces female, non-binary, and trans cast.
+ P-Valley’s back on June 3rd!
+ Sleater-Kinney announce Dig Me Out covers album for 25th anniversary.
Pop Culture Fix: Queer Romance Is the Heart of Doctor Who’s Easter Special
I’ve spent the last few days getting caught up on The Owl House, and dang, cartoons really continue to do queerness best of all! I’ve got a reviewing coming for you soon! And also I have a Pop Culture Fix for you!
+ Well color me shocked: We’re actually getting more of the Yaz/Thirteen romance before Jodie Whittaker passes the TARDIS torch. In fact, their relationship will be the HEART of the upcoming Doctor Who Easter special.
+ Here’s a sneak peek at this week’s Good Trouble and Malika’s queer drama!
SNEAK PEEK: Malika's keeping secrets from both of her partners. 👀
_____
Watch #GoodTrouble tomorrow on @FreeformTV. Stream on @hulu Thursday. pic.twitter.com/PzLZdc89s0— Good Trouble (@GoodTrouble) April 5, 2022
+ JoJo Siwa is joining the judging panel on So You Think You Can Dance.
+ Cynthia Erivo is the “woman who found bite marks on her skin” in Roar.
+ Here’s the trailer for season two of The Wilds! Bad news: there’s boys. Good news: there’s still girls kissing!
+ Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda share heartfelt moments in the final promo images for Grace & Frankie.
+ Related: Channel 4 has given LGBTQ+ people a voice, now fans are fighting to save it.
+ Stephanie Beatriz offers insight on representation and personal authenticity at ULS.
+ Oregon basketball star Sedona Prince inspired a 14-year-old girl to come out as gay.
+ Well, that rumored Orphan Black spin-off is a go. It better be gaaaay!
Orphan Black: Echoes, a new series set in the world of #OrphanBlack, will premiere in 2023 on @AMCPlus. pic.twitter.com/GiUughS9cb
— Orphan Black: Echoes (@OrphanBlack) April 6, 2022
Pop Culture Fix: Brandi Carlile Kissing Her Wife in a Technicolor Dreamcoat on the Grammys Red Carpet
Feature image by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
It’s not even lunchtime on Monday and I already feel like I have lived three weeks since I woke up! If anyone has access to the hard reboot button, I’d love to start this day from scratch and with EXTRA COFFEE. In the meantime, here’s your Monday Pop Culture Fix.
+ Brandi Carlile crushed her performance at the Grammys in a technicolor dreamcoat.
+ Kacey Musgraves says she’d jump in front of a moving train for the gays.
+ The absolute power of this declaration: Gillian Anderson also hated The X-Files ending and says she’d only consider playing Dana Scully again with brand new writers.
+ Why does it make me uneasy when straight women write TV shows about lesbians?
+ The first look at the final (sniffle!) season of Grace & Frankie.
+ Candace Parker and National Champion / Player of the Year Aliyah Boston after last night’s game.
Aliyah Boston meets her idol, Candace Parker pic.twitter.com/dQAd8Y8ixW
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) April 4, 2022
+ Inside the trans sex revolution on TV (with a special guest appearance by Drew Gregory!).
+ Sandra Oh and Stephanie Beatriz will be honored at Outfest.
+ Ethan Coen’s new movie is a lesbian roadtrip film.
+ Here’s your monthly gay streaming guide, curated lovingly by Riese Bernard.
+ How a video game about unpacking gets the bisexual experience spot on.
+ How LGBTQ+ actors are pushing positive rep in Hollywood forward.
+ It’s not every day you get Euphoria, Taylor Swift, and Spike Lee in the same headline.
+ It’s not every day you get a gay op-ed from the Smithsonian Air & Space museum, but here you go! Star Trek and queer identity.
Pop Culture Fix: Get Ready for “Crush,” Hulu’s New “Very Gay” Rom-Com
Well, Birder King TV has overtaken Bird Bonanza TV at our house, and Socks loves it so much — especially the ones where chipmunks squabble over peanuts — that he got some new accessibility stairs so he can get close to his new wildlife pals, safely. (He has an accessibility ramp, but it’s better as a transition aid to get up and down; the stairs allow him to really lounge around and enjoy his shows!)
And now onto your favorite TV in your mid-week Pop Culture Fix!
+ I’m ready, are you ready? Here’s Hulu’s official description of it’s new gay rom-com, Crush: “When an aspiring young artist is forced to join her high school track team, she uses it as an opportunity to pursue the girl she’s been harboring a long-time crush on. But she soon finds herself falling for an unexpected teammate and discovers what real love feels like.”
I’m sorry but it’s going to take a lot for me to stop tweeting about CRUSH, the very gay rom-com I wrote with @caseyrackham coming HULU April 29th. Y’all are not ready for this CHEMISTRY. pic.twitter.com/QZldlGtre0
— Kirsten King (@KirstenKing_) March 30, 2022
+ Here’s the Elite season five trailer with some of your favorite gays.
+ Did you see Elliott Page’s new trans character in Umbrella Academy?
+ Dianna Agron remembers Naya Rivera, her “first friend” on the Glee set.
+ Disney calls for the repeal of the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law it helped fund.
+ The trailer for season three of A Black Lady Sketch Show is just what I needed for a mid-week boost in my morale!
https://twitter.com/ashleyn1cole/status/1508490250225545218?s=21&t=_cF1sIO9HrcrRCdfqb8d6Q
+ Anno: Mutationem apparently has a “simmering lesbian romance.”
+ Ratchet & Clank: A Rift Apart’s lead writer confirms that Rivet is a lesbian.
+ How to watch Benedetta, the lesbian nun movie that people can’t stop talking about.
+ Where [the fuck] is Brittney Griner?
+ Lady Gaga does not want to get coffee with Caitlyn Jenner.
+ Hey and also a trailer for Only Murders in the Building, now with 100% more
Cara Delevingne.
https://youtu.be/cMIdScgVZSM
+ Batwoman’s third season is heading to HBO Max which gives me hope that’s why we haven’t heard about season four on the CW. Move it to HBO and let‘s go! Tell me my news I need to hear!
+ And finally, this isn’t gay, but I am, so what am I going to do? NOT swoon over it? Psh.
Can we just … 😍✨ pic.twitter.com/lHntpuXMmy
— espnW (@espnW) March 28, 2022
Pop Culture Fix: Ariana DeBose Is the First Queer Person of Color, First Afro-Latina to Win an Oscar
Feature image by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images
Good morning, my friends! I’ve got loads of links below about last night’s Academy Awards, all lovingly curated for you by Autostraddle Editor in Chief Carmen Phillips who stayed up until 5am working on them. She does it all, and all the time! Below that, some regular Pop Culture Fix links!
+ Ariana DeBose became the first openly queer woman of color (and the first openly queer person of color to win in an acting category) and the first Afro-Latina to win an Academy Award last night, which will look really nice in her trophy case with her BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award. So far. That Tony is definitely coming, so I hope she saves room! Her acceptance speech was so moving I still have chills from it. Here’s the quote that’s making everyone listen up.
“You see a queer, openly queer woman of color, an Afro Latina who found her strength in life through art. And that’s what I believe we’re here to celebrate. To anybody who has ever questioned your identity ever, ever, ever, or you find yourself living in the gray spaces, I promise you this: There is indeed a place for us.”
Congratulations, Ariana DeBose!
+ Carmen counted four wlw couples on the red carpet last night — Wanda Sykes and Alex Niedbalski, Kristen Stewart and Dylan Meyer, Queen Latifah and Eboni Nichols, Niecy Nash and Jessica Betts. Carmen says Ariana DeBose appears to be single, which is odd because half the team was calling her their wife in Slack last night.
Update: Sapphic Sleuth Shelli Nicole has let us know that Ariana DeBose was holding hands on the red carpet with Sue Makkoo and also they were pressing their little gay noozles together, so.
The two were seen canoodling at the Vanity Fair after party.
Photo by Rich Fury/VF22/Getty Images for Vanity Fair
Yeah, that’s Queen Latifah with her partner Eboni Nicols ON THE RED CARPET TOGETHER.
Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images
Niecy Nash’s purse said “wifey for lifey.” 😂
Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Wanda Sykes and her wife Alex Niedbalski. I wonder what Alex thinks about the portrayal of French lesbians on Killing Eve this season.
Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Kristen Stewart in a British schoolboy shorts tux and and Dylan Meyer in a just regular gay suit.
Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
+ Ben Proudfoot won Best Documentary Short for The Queen of Basketball, which is awesome and you should absolutely watch it if you want to feel amazing. In his acceptance speech he called on President Biden to bring Brittney Griner home and also said: “If there’s anyone out there who still doubts whether there’s an audience for female athletes, let this Academy Award be the answer.” Here’s his full speech.
+ Elliot Page attended last night’s Academy Awards to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Juno. He looked so handsome and very happy and that makes me happy! (Juno, you will of course remember, made Drew’s list of Elliot Page Movies Ranked by Transness in the number four spot.)
Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images
+ Wanda Sykes made a Don’t Say Gay joke in her opening monologue with Regina Hall and Amy Schumer.
+ Tessa Thompson at the Vanity Fair afterparty.
Tessa Thompson arrives to the #VanityFairOscarParty.pic.twitter.com/iYERlk49EG
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) March 28, 2022
+ And then, finally, Stephanie Beatriz, Diane Guerrero, and Mauro Castillo performed some Encanto!
Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images
Okay and now some non-Oscars news.
+ 33 LGBTQ+ contestants who competed on Top Chef.
+ Russian Doll’s Rebecca Henderson on being the go-to lesbian after 40.
+ Margaret Cho joins Disney Plus’ teen rom-com Prom Pact.
+ Vico Ortiz on playing non-binary pirate Jim in Our Flag Means Death.
+ The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo will be a feature film adapted by Liz Tigelaar.
+ Atlanta season three opens with a white lesbian house of horrors.
+ Bridgerton queen Golda Rosheuvel was warned being openly gay would ruin her career.
Pop Culture Fix: You Can Wear Whatever You Want to Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe’s Lesbian Wedding
Gooooood Wednesday to you, pals! Thank you so much for your interest in Bird Bonanza TV, which I introduced in Monday’s Pop Culture Fix. Here is an update!
Socks injured his back and was paralyzed last summer. He learned to walk again but can’t jump. Or, well, *couldn’t* jump — until five seconds ago when he leapt up on the credenza to fight the squirrels on Bird Bonanza TV. pic.twitter.com/6mizg7wO14
— Heather Hogan (@theheatherhogan) March 23, 2022
And here is your queer pop culture news link round-up!
+ Sue Bird chatted with People about Corona (the beer, not the virus), her personal style, wedding planning, and her final season in the WNBA. This is really just a Corona advertisement disguised as an interview, and frankly, I don’t care. If I’m have to see the damn Mannings everywhere with their national sports endorsements, at least I can see Sue Bird too. Anyway, for their wedding, Sue and Megan will be having Corona and you will be wearing whatever makes you comfortable. I hope Ashlyn Harris wears one of those shorts tuxes again.
+ So the CW has announced a whole lot of renewals, including Nancy Drew, but SUSPICIOUSLY ABSENT from the list is: Batwoman, Naomi, All American Homecoming, Legends of Tomorrow, and Legacies.
+ Grace and Frankie will be back for one last season on April 29th. (With DOLLY PARTON GUEST STARRING.)
+ HBO has renewed Che Diaz in the City for a second season.
+ A love letter to Gentleman Jack.
+ Marvelous Mrs. Maisel creators address Susie’s lesbian bar reactions.
+ Here’s the real reason why Amber Benson declined a Buffy comeback.
+ Apex Legends’ unmissable queer love triangle is a triumph.
+ Melissa Etheridge says the songs on her new album were written before coming out.
+ Underrated queer cinema and where to watch it.
+ Another day, another Disney character who was supposed to be gay.
+ I’m always trying to think of some way to make Beyonce news gay so I can put it in Pop Culture Fixes, but whatever, she’s Beyonce, she can go wherever she wants — including to this year’s Oscars to perform.
+ Lizzo’s SXSW performance will stream as part of Prime Video Women’s History Month.
Pop Culture Fix: Meet The TikTok Twins Playing Tegan and Sara on Their New TV Show
Feature images via Tegan and Sara’s Instagram and Railey and Seazynn Gilliland’s Instagram
Once spring has sprung, our cats want the windows open ALL THE TIME. They don’t understand that it can be sunny and thirty degrees in March! They’ve been screaming at me all morning about how they can’t smell or feel the outside — and that’s what led me to this thing called the Bird Bonanza for Cats channel on YouTube. It’s maybe the best thing that’s ever happened to them. They’ve been watching TV for hours. Just like their moms. :)
You probably don’t want the gift of Bird Bonanza, so I made you a Pop Culture Fix instead.
+ Production starts today on Tegan and Sara’s new TV series, based on their memoir, High School, and co-created by Clea DuVall. Twins Railey and Seazynn Gilliland will portray Tegan and Sara; they actually discovered the duo themselves on TikTok!
+ Bustle’s got a feature on Keke Palmer’s new movie, new album, and plan for becoming even more famous.
+ This is the weirdest thing: A Grey’s Anatomy writer was placed on leave after accusations that she fabricated her medical history. (Natalie wants you to know this story features the bonus of an acrimonious lesbian divorce.)
+ Stacey Abrams on Star Trek, yes indeed!
+ The trailer for the final season of Derry Girls is here. I both cannot wait and also am so sad it’s ending!
+ The last episode of Ellen’s talkshow is May 26th.
+ Vulture’s deep dive on why Netflix canned The Baby-Sitter’s Club is a must-read.
+ Disney seriously cannot stop punching its own self in the face. After facing backlash for a gay kiss in the Toy Story prequel, they’ve supposedly added it back in.
+ Related: Guess why Disney canned ND Stevenson’s Nimona adaption? (Cause it’s gay! Which SURELY they knew going in????)
+ Related again: Gabrielle Union has HAD IT with Disney dropping the ball on LGBTQ+ stuff.
+ Kind of related, but the opposite: The year that queer animated characters made history.
+ I don’t know why this is so funny to me, but Camille Cottin based her Killing Eve character, Hélène, on Portia de Rossi.
Pop Culture Fix: Generation Q’s Arienne Mandi (Dani!) Is Gaying Up Hallmark Movies Now
Happy mid-week, my friends and foes! Did you know it’s March Madness time in the NCAA and also here at Autostraddle? If you’re an A+ member, Natalie’s even going to let you help seed the brackets with your favorite couples! And then when you return from doing that, I have made a Pop Culture Fix just for you!
+ Okay so Melora Hardin is in this new Hallmark movie called Love, Classified, which seems like it’s going to be gay due to the gay promo photos and also this description: “Romance novelist, Emilia, returns home after a long absence, to reconnect with her children who also are finding their own paths to love… Taylor (Katherine McNamara) matches with a woman that changes the way she’s always thought about love.” That woman is Arienne Mandi, who you know as Dani from Gen Q! GAAAAY.
+ It is impossible to believe it’s been a decade since we lost Whitney. CBS is planning a special about it.
+ Season three of A Black Lady Sketch Show premieres on April 8th.
+ This copy for this casting news for season two of P-Valley is so good it gave me chills. Shamika Cotton and Miracle Watts are joining the cast as Farrah and Big Bone, respectively. Looks like Farrah and Mercedes will “strike up an unlikely connection.” Big Bone? Well: She’s “a fighter and a biter with sky-high ambitions. She is a rambunctious new presence at The Pynk blessed with a molasses-thick body, knees of steel, and a tongue more lethal than a draco.” 😳
+ HELLO HERE IS THE FULL TRAILER FOR MS. MARVEL!
The future is in her hands.
Ms. Marvel, an Original series from Marvel Studios, starts streaming June 8 on @DisneyPlus. #MsMarvel pic.twitter.com/k1s7HWOtaV
— Marvel Studios* (@MarvelStudios) March 15, 2022
+ Kristen Stewart almost took the First Dead Girl role in Scream 4??? That’s my main takeaway from this most recent interview on her Oscars campaign tour.
+ Stephanie Beatriz recorded Encanto’s “Waiting on a Miracle” while she was in labor!
+ Stef and Lena and Stef and Lena and Stef and Lena and Stef and Lena!
+ Abbott Elementary has been renewed for a second season! Best news of the week! (“Don’t tell me what kind of day to have!”) And here’s Principle Ava’s announcement!
+ Mary Lambert crying while covering Melissa Etheridge is for sure the gayest thing you will see today.
Learned this gorgeous song by @metheridge from a patreon request and I basically just cried for 20 minutes which I guess is just my brand??? Anyway, this is such a beautiful song that will absolutely be played at our wedding!! pic.twitter.com/mKYjGPNVYD
— Mary Lambert (@marylambertsing) March 16, 2022
+ How Arthur became TV’s longest-running animated show.
+ Tegan and Sara are so excited about the New York Post’s declaration that lesbian fashion is a “sexy and powerful” trend. (Carmen reported this first in the AAA yesterday!)
Pop Culture Fix: Here’s Elvira in Rob Zombie’s The Munsters Reboot
Happy Pi Day, pals! Are you going to have some pie today? Savory or sweet? I’m going to have KEY LIME! But first, your Monday Pop Culture Fix!
+ Here’s your first look at Elvira in Rob Zombie’s reboot of The Munsters.
+ Netflix has cancelled The Baby-Sitter’s Club, say goodbye to your friends.
+ Élite season five will be here in April.
+ LET’S GO LADIES!
+ ESPN Daily on what we know about the Brittney Griner situation as of right now.
+ 11 LGBTQ+ creators who made Disney what it is today.
+ 25 years after Ellen (ha!), is it easier to be gay in Hollywood.
+ Abby Wambach and Glennon Doyle presented Brandi Carlile with the HRC Visibility Award at 2022 Human Rights Campaign LA Dinner this weekend; she performed and told a very lovely story about marriage and love not being a lie.
+ The “sapphic pop boom” has been a long time coming.
+ The Power Rangers’ road to queer representation.
+ How Katie Mitchell became queer in The Mitchells vs. The Machines.
+ And finally, this isn’t gay, but it feels gay, and is a piece of pop culture news that exists at the exact center of the venn diagram of me and Autostraddle EIC Carmen Phillips.
Dolly Parton wants Beyoncé to cover “Jolene”:
“I think she’s fantastic & beautiful, & I love her music. I would just love to hear ‘Jolene’ done in just a big way, like how Whitney did my ‘I Will Always Love You’ just someone that can take my little songs & make them powerhouses” pic.twitter.com/roB1cirliL
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) March 12, 2022
Pop Culture Fix: CW’s New “Gotham Knights” Is Gifting Us a Blue-Haired Bisexual
When I read this headline this morning, I thought at first it was talking about a whole new movie called Encanto: No Time to Die, and I was like, “Oh wow Lin-Manuel Miranda is really branching out.” Alas, it’s just the name of two different movies. ANYWAY, here is your mid-week Pop Culture Fix!
+ The CW’s new superhero show, Gotham Knights, by CW’s favorite lesbian writer Natalie Abrams will have a bisexual character OBVIOUSLY: “Harper Row … [a] streetwise, acerbic and often underestimated, the blue-haired bisexual is a gifted engineer who can fix anything.”] It lands on October 25th! Harper will be played by Fallon Smythe.
+ Watching Euphoria makes Jodie Comer feel like she’s a hundred years old too.
+ How Jeopardy! star Amy Schneider fell in love with her new fiancee Genevieve Davis.
+ Inventing Anna’s lazy girlboss revenge fantasy.
+ We are living in a golden age of actors doing wild accents.
+ ESPN is launching a WNBA fantasy league!!!!!!
+ Disney employees are furious the company won’t denounce Florida’s Don’t Say1 Gay bill. (You will remember that Disney DID denounce Georgia’s homophobic legislation in 2016, which is a huge deal due to Marvel filming so much in Atlanta, and makes this Florida thing especially weird and gross!)
+ Never Have I Ever has been renewed for a fourth and final season.
+ And finally, a special message from Bette Porter.
https://twitter.com/jenniferbeals/status/1501271959157547011?utm_source=pocket_mylist
Pop Culture Fix: Russian Doll Is Back, Sweet Birthday Babies!
I just ordered a juice with carrots, kale, celery, and green apples, a little bit because it sounded tasty, but also because I can’t imagine what color it will be and I want to find out. I’ll let you know! In the meantime, here’s your first Pop Culture Fix of the week!
+ Look who’s back!
+ Supergirl’s Nicole Maines has joined Hulu’s Darby Parker Wants You to Know.
+ Which But I’m a Cheerleader character are you based on your sign?
+ In the era of ‘safe spaces,’ has comedy become any safer for queer comedians?
+ Discovery+’s The Book of Queer is LGBTQ history like you’ve never seen it before.
+ 4 times Kate McKinnon helped me embrace being bisexual and proud.
+ Phoebe Bridgers, Troye Sivan, Lil Nas X: How LGBTQ pop stars are thriving like never before.
Pop Culture Fix: Zoë Kravitz Says Her Catwoman Is Bisexual, Probably Can’t Sit Right in Chairs
I’ve had Hanson’s “MmmBop” stuck in my head for like ten days and if anyone knows how I can get it out of there, PLEASE DO SOMETHING! HELP ME, DIBBY BOP DOP MMM BOP OP HEELLP! In the meantime, here is your mid-week Pop Culture Fix.
+ Zoë Kravitz says her Catwoman is bisexual, which makes sense due to Catwoman being gay as hell. Also, it is very important to me that you see the cat dress she wore to The Batman premiere. Look at these cat boobs!
Photo by Cindy Ord/WireImage
+ This is the wildest headline I have read in a good minute. It’s like an SEO Mad Lib. Evan Rachel Wood Plays Madonna in Daniel Radcliffe’s Weird Al Roku Movie.
+ Ariana DeBose will star as Calypso in the Sony/Marvel movie, Kraven The Hunter.
+ Starz has renewed Hightown for a third season.
+ Why Ashley Banks is one of Bel-Air’s most important character updates. (Carmen wrote more about this in last week’s Boobs on Your Tube!)
+ Year Of The Vampire: Daughters Of Darkness And The Seduction Of Sadistic Sapphism
+ Javon Walton shares last-minute changes to Euphoria’s season two finale.
+ Elliot Page, Jamie Lee Curtis, Gabrielle Union slam Gov. Greg Abbott’s horrific new policy, which criminalizes caregiving for trans youth. (Here’s more on Texas’ attack on trans kids.)
+ Jessica Jones is moving to Disney+!
+ Black Girl Nerds has an exclusive featurette from The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder. And you can read Nic’s review right here on Autostraddle dot com.
Pop Culture Fix: Ariana DeBose Becomes the First Queer Woman of Color to Win a SAG Award
Well and March is almost here, my loves. The sun has shown its face four of the last seven days here in New York City. I missed it so much! (Watch this segue.) But what YOU won’t miss is any queer pop culture news ’cause I’ve rounded it all up for you below. (I know, I know: BOOO!!!)
+ At last night’s Screen Actors Guild Awards, Ariana DeBose became the first openly queer women of color and the first Afro-Latina to win! (Lots of outlets reporting she was the first queer woman to win, but Carmen points out that Angelina Jolie won in the ’90s when she was out already as bisexual.)
You have so much to be proud of, @ArianaDeBose ❤️ Congratulations on taking home the Actor® for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role #sagawards pic.twitter.com/aqvzk1jAkv
— SAG Awards® (@SAGawards) February 28, 2022
+ This is super weird: On the heels of the announcement that Jennifer Beals is joining the cast, and with just a few episodes left this season, Ilene Chaiken is out at the Law and Order: Organized Crime showrunner.
+ What actual drama teacher’s think about last week’s play on Euphoria.
+ Meagan Tandy’s been sneaking in Wildmoore stuff to Batwoman ALL SEASON.
+ Looks like Star Trek Picard’s “plotting lesbian adventure across time” on Paramount+.
+ Paget Brewster, are you bisexual?
I tried girls in the 90's. It didn't take. But I regret nothing.
— paget brewster (@pagetpaget) February 27, 2022
+ Speaking of the 90s, Madonna and Sandra Bernhard fell out as friends because of a love triangle???
+ Queer pop is continuously rising.
+ 10 cartoon characters who were allowed to be visibly queer.
+ Dear Evan Hansen star Jessica Phillips comes out as queer.
+ I love, love, love this Fiona Shaw profile. She talks about her wife in it and she hardly ever talks about her wife.