Pop Culture Fix: Queen Latifah Says Loving “Living Single” Is For Every Generation
I hope you’re all doing as well as you can be after this weekend’s tragic news out of Colorado Springs. Our post about it has been updated with details about places you can donate. In the meantime, here’s a Pop Culture Fix to help take your mind off of things for a minute.
+ The Cut interviewed Queen Latifah about everything from staying young, to bouncing back, to younger generations discovering Living Single. (Also, she hates being waked up with loud panicked noises and phone calls! Me too, Queen Latifah! Me too!)
I think it’s great and so cool that Gen Z is rediscovering the ’90s and my work from that time — including Living Single. We put so much effort into being creative, and I think Gen Z does that as well, so they connect with being imaginative and coming up with new things. People are building their own brands and defining their own identities, which was important to us in the ’90s. With hip-hop being a burgeoning form of music, we just had to prove it wasn’t a fad first. We knew it wasn’t, but we had to prove that to the world.
+ Debbie Millman reminding Winston Duke that Roxane Gay is her WIFE is the most fun I’ve had on Twitter in a minute.
— debbie millman (@debbiemillman) November 20, 2022
Yes …
𝐁𝐔𝐓 …
I’m saving myself for @rgay! https://t.co/3qQuPzn5FL
— Winston Duke (@Winston_Duke) November 20, 2022
+ No surprise here: Evangelical Christian Conservatives are flipping out over the lesbian polar bear moms on Peppa Pig. They’ve started a petition talking about BEWARE! CARTOON PIG GLORIFYING SIN!
+ After Gentleman Jack, Halifax has become a “pilgrimage for lesbians.
+ The Lesbian Bar Project showcases three of America’s greatest — and last — lesbian bars.
+ Dove Cameron, Wayne Brady, and Kim Petras honored the victims of the Colorado Springs shooting at last night’s AMA Awards. “Every award that I ever win will always first and foremost be dedicated to the queer community at large,” Dove Cameron said, while accepting the award for new artist of the year.
+ Reneé Rapp, who plays Leighton on The Sex Lives of College Girls, is profiled in Vogue this month talking about the similarities between her queer journey and her character’s queer journey. The whole interview is great, and I especially loved this answer.
So much of Leighton is me, and so much of Leighton has helped me understand myself. I don’t think that I had an amazing relationship to my queerness, but through playing Leighton, I feel like I’m being much more openly queer, because it is a public part of who I am, and I’m very proud of that. I definitely realized that I have a lot of little things I need to fucking get over; like, I have a lot of internalized homophobia. I was raised in the South, and I don’t want to use that as an excuse, but like queerness was not something that was celebrated, right? In high school, I had already sort of built up my own mental walls about what queerness was to me, so I was busy judging myself and probably other people in the process. Leighton has helped me a lot; don’t get me wrong, it’s also been a mind-fuck, because sometimes I’m like, “You know, I really do spend a lot of time talking about being gay,” but you know what? I love it.
+ Julia Fox comes out as having a “gay bone.”
+ Well you know I love this: In defense of The L Word’s best character, Jenny Schecter.
+ Bel-Air will be back on Peacock on February 23rd.
https://youtu.be/bHs0xYD1ZAE
Pop Culture Fix: JoJo Siwa Calls Candace Cameron Bure’s Traditional Marriage TV “Embarrassing” & “Rude”
Feature image photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage
I have the hiccups so bad! Someone please jump out from behind a wall and scare them out of me! And then please enjoy your mid-week Pop Culture Fix.
+ Full House actor Candace Cameron Bure has left Hallmark for some network called Great American Family. With a name like that, you know its main goal is to UPHOLD THE VALUES OF TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE, which is apparently a phrase people are still using to describe straight marriage. She says she doesn’t want to tell gay stories because she wants to focus on TV and movies that “have more meaning and purpose and depth behind them.” Also she wanted to work with people who “love the Lord” and “promote faith programming.” JoJo Siwa has chimed in on her nemesis’ latest homophobic baloney, calling it “hurtful and rude”; and, later, on her Stories, “embarrassing.” Hilarie Burton had a feeling about her little declaration too.
Bigot.
I don’t remember Jesus liking hypocrites like Candy.
But sure. Make your money, honey. You ride that prejudice wave all the way to the bank. https://t.co/X70aO4WIcB— Hilarie Burton Morgan (@HilarieBurton) November 15, 2022
+ How Keke Palmer invented Keke Palmer.
+ We’ve got another nonbinary robot amongst us! It’s Nightshade, in the new Transformers series. Optimus Prime is obviously just fine with it!
+ The P-Valley team talks about how they approached Black stories of the pandemic.
+ Hem hem.
Janelle Monáe wows the crowd at the premiere for #GlassOnion pic.twitter.com/yGTvAemUEa
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) November 15, 2022
+ Candace Parker will be back for at least one more WNBA season! (DT too.)
+ Related: Sue Bird and Sylvia Fowles cover AdWeek this week. Plus! A double interview!
+ A queer writer asked to borrow Lizzo’s dress on TikTok. Here’s what happened next.
+ Princess Diaries 3 is in the works. You’re probably wondering how this is gay, and okay, I will tell you. #1) Raven was in the sequel. 2) Chris Pine ruined this sequel the same way he ruined the bisexual Wonder Woman sequel. And that’s math!
+ Melissa King’s new series, Tasting Wild, has landed on Hulu!
+ Okay this is the best thing I’ve listened to in a long time. In the second chapter of NPR’s documentary series, Screening Ourselves, host Aisha Harris talks queer villains, erotic noir, and 90s pulp. Yes, it’s Basic Instinct and the backlash!
Pop Culture Fix: Lesbian Jewel Thief Alert! On Peacock’s “Leopard Skin!”
It’s Monday and here’s your first Pop Culture Fix of the week!
+ Natalie has, once again, spotted sapphics in only ten quick frames in the trailer for Peacock’s new series, Leopard Skin. Her BiVision™️ remains unmatched! The official description of the series is: “Fleeing a botched diamond heist, a criminal gang takes hostages captive in a remote Mexican paradise; secrets, betrayals, and desires surface.” Totally relatable. Nothing reveals my own personal hidden desires like the adrenaline of a failed jewel robbery. I’m like Catwoman in that way. We have no info about the gays yet, but I am working on it!
+ Missy Elliott reminisces about the early aughts over at The Cut.
+ Wakanda Forever had the second biggest debut of 2022, behind Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. (Related: 9 Black female action heroes and villains everyone should look up.)
+ Sriracha or Tabasco? Rice or noodles? Stylecaster played This or That with Melissa King.
+ Raven-Symoné breaks down her queer journey, That’s So Raven, and Cheetah Girls for Them.
+ Nicole Pacent has joined Criminal Minds: Evolution. According to Deadline, “she will portray Rebecca, a lawyer with the DOJ who reveals disturbing news about the fate of the BAU.”
+ Freeform has cancelled Everything’s Trash after only one season.
+ Bob the Drag Queen is walking “purse first” Into Craig of the Creek.
+ Former Velma Linda Cardellini thinks lesbian Velma is “great.”
+ Everything to remember about Dead to Me before season three premieres.
+ Lizzo is ready 2 be loved in trailer for new documentary Love, Lizzo.
+ Cara Delevingne is getting in touch with her sexual nature in Planet Sex trailer.
+ Amy Schneider’s back in Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions.
Pop Culture Fix: Ryan Murphy Wants to Reboot “Glee,” Maybe Bring it to Broadway
Anybody else got election hangover today? My head is so sore! It didn’t get any less sore when this Glee news popped up on my timeline, I’ll tell you that right now. But! There is some tasty stuff in this Pop Culture Fix!
+ ScreenRant caught Ryan Murphy’s appearance on Jenna Ushkowitz and Kevin McHale’s new Glee podcast, And That’s What You REALLY Missed. Apparently he’s got bees in his brains because he talked seriously about rebooting the series, or bringing it to Broadway: “I’m at the phase now with that show, you know, where it’s like, well, there’s been enough time. Like, maybe we should really re-examine it as a brand. You know, should we do a reboot of it in some way? Should we do a Broadway musical of it in some way? Like, it’s sort of like an interesting legacy that I’m interested in doing in a positive way after sort of pausing for a while.” Our entire Autostraddle TV Team agrees we’d rather be tossed out to sea than have to sit through another episode of Glee, ever again, for the rest of our lives.
+ Cuddle up to the sweet, soft sounds of Sapphic Pop.
+ Rebel Wilson has welcomed a baby daughter into the world.
+ How sci-fi changed who gets to go to space.
+ The 2017 TIFF short film, We Forgot to Break Up, is becoming a “queer, indie music feature film.” That’s maybe the gayest film title I’ve ever heard.
+ June and Serena’s “complicated” relationship on The Handmaid’s Tale.
It is important that we are critical of the choices being made pertaining to Serena’s story because of how closely The Handmaid’s Tale resembles our lived reality as Black women. Framing June and Serena’s investment in white feminist values as truth pays a disservice to historical memory. Formerly enslaved Black women did not maintain human connection with white masters, and the pain of enslavement was not remedied by a change of setting. June and Serena create a counter narrative of healing and camaraderie that never existed for the women whom this story is based on.
+ Shelli Nicole’s new favorite TV show, Bad Sisters, has been renewed for a second season on Apple TV+!
+ In her new Glamour Women of the Year Awards profile, Cynthia Erivo say she’s really proud she came out as bisexual, that she feels more like herself than she ever has before.
+ We failed Kit Connor. Let’s make sure it doesn’t happen again.
+ FINALLY. VIOLA DAVIS WILL BE PRESIDENT!
+ Janelle Monáe always travels with suitcases full of elaborate costumes.
+ SNL is getting slammed for its upcoming Dave Chappell hosting gig.
Pop Culture Fix: It’s Been Aubrey Plaza All Along in Wandavision Spin-Off Agatha: Coven of Chaos
Feature image via The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
It’s a new week and here’s your first Pop Culture Fix inside of it!
+ I had no idea this was a thing, and yet? It feels like destiny! Aubrey Plaza has joined the Wandavision spin-off, Agatha: Coven of Chaos. Plot details are nonexistent. The only thing we have is tidbits of casting news. Kathryn Hahn is reprising her role, of course. And, according to Variety, “Emma Caulfield Ford… is also set to reprise the role of Dottie… and Heartstopper star Joe Locke will also star.” Aubrey Plaza is probably a witch for real, right? If not, she sure does look good as one! PM UPDATE: Sasheer Zamata has joined Coven of Chaos too! Autostraddle EIC Carmen Phillips is now officially calling it as Best Comedy of 2023.
+ HBO has cancelled Westworld after four seasons, due to the high cost of production and the fact that people stopped watching because it was too convoluted to follow. Also Tuca & Bertie has been cancelled for reasons I DO NOT UNDERSTAND!!!
+ ESPN is making a Candace Parker documentary! See you there!
+ Lauren Ashley Smith has a new comedy in the works at ABC! It’s called Moore & More! I will also see you there!
+ Lilly Singh wil host a new quiz show called Battle of the Generations, which, according to THR, is a “one-hour unscripted series sees four contestants from different generations battling to answer nostalgia-packed pop culture questions.”
+ Hey! Sort Of season two trailer!
+ Lena Waithe has been named Ambassador of the 2023 American Black Film Fest.
+ Netflix is bringing The Sandman back for a second season.
+ grown-ish is on its way baaaaack.
it's giving "we're back" energy 🔥 #grownish returns january 18 on @FreeformTV. pic.twitter.com/OxW9MHxuSk
— grown-ish (@grownish) November 3, 2022
+ Sex, death, and apocalypse meet in season 2 of The White Lotus.
+ New DC Studios Boss James Gunn addresses the calls to save Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman.
+ Awesome profile in The Atlantic: Tig Notaro is still being vulnerable.
Pop Culture Fix: Tig Notaro and Emma Watson to Play Pickleball Together on TV
It’s a beautiful fall day! Y’all got us to our fundraiser goal in less than a week! And I was able to get one of the cats in my feral colony in for some much needed vet care this morning! It’s shaping up to be a good Wednesday! Here’s your mid-week Pop Culture Fix!
+ The other day Tig Notaro posted a photo of herself in a whole pickleball get-up, including a green 80s headband! I just thought she was doing a bit — but no! She has joined this whole entire pickleball tournament of celebrities that’s going to air on CBS and be hosted by Stephen Colbert. Also playing? Emma Watson, Aisha Tyler, June Diane Raphael, and Kelly Rowland. (Plus a whole lotta boys, boring.) I, for one, will be watching this thing like it’s the World Series! Here’s CBS’ official description: “‘We laid down the Thunderdome of pickleball and made the biggest deal of the smallest sport we could find,’ says exec producer K.P. Anderson. Colbert sings the national anthem with Kenny Loggins (they rehearsed harmonies at a cantina the night before), then eight teams of two battle it out for the Colbert Cup.”
+ Netflix’s The Ultimatum: Queer Love is a thing that exists! It’s a spin-off of a reality show that’s hosted by Nick and Vanessa Lachey — but the queer version will be hosted by JoAnna Garcia Swisher (who is straight, as far as I can tell from the Personal Life section of her Wikipedia). Huge missed opportunity to have Niecy Nash-Betts and Jessica Betts host a reality show imo!
+ Keke Palmer and Javicia Leslie’s X-Men cosplay was legendary this Halloween.
+ Even The Weather Channel was impressed. (Natalie: “Aww cute. But get in line, Weather Channel!)
Can we have your autograph? We're your biggest fans!💙⚡
— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) October 31, 2022
+ Apparently the role of Mr. Schue on Glee was written for Justin Timberlake? Is this show going to keep haunting us until the day we die??? (Related: Ryan Murphy is mad Netflix removed the “LGBTQ tag” from Dahmer.)
+ Alia Shawkat has joined the cast of Severance for season two.
+ Apex Legends set to release Catalyst, game’s first playable transgender woman.
+ The AV Club has ranked the 20 best Arrowverse characters. I can’t wait to see what y’all think of this list.
+ Danielle Radcliffe says that speaking out against JK Rowling was important to him because he wants queer and trans people to know that everyone in the franchise does NOT agree with her horrifying slide into an anti-trans radicalism. He says he wouldn’t have been able to look at himself in the mirror if he’d stayed quiet.
+ Vulture chatted with Sue Perkins about her new travel special.
Pop Culture Fix: ALOTO’s Chanté Adams and Abbi Jacobson Adorably Accept LGBTQ Visibility Award
Feature image photo by Shannon Finney/WireImage
Happy Halloween! If your pet is wearing a costume, you know I want to see it in these Pop Culture Fix comments!
+ Chante Adams and Abbi Jacobson accepted the Visibility Award from the Human Rights Campaign on behalf of A League of Their Own this weekend!
“We made this show for you, for us, for our communities. For every person that has ever lived outside the boring box of normalcy. You don’t just deserve to be seen. You deserve to lead, to be the center of the storyline.” – @chanteadams of @LeagueOnPrime #HRCNationalDinner pic.twitter.com/PjVYYLpdl8
— HRC (@HRC) October 30, 2022
+ Here’s the full speech:
+ GLAAD’s got a really nice list of asexual characters on TV and in video games! I hope it doubles by this time next year!
+ Girls5Eva is coming back for a third season… on Netflix!
+ Women and people of color receive smaller budgets for TV shows, according to a new study.
+ How Doctor Who failed the unspoken queer relationship between Thirteen and Yaz.
+ Why Sigourney Weaver decided her character would be a lesbian in Call Jane.
+ Queer goths who fire up our dark souls.
+ How Sam Smith, Kim Petras and Steve Lacy Are are dispelling the “queer quota” myth.
+ The new Hulu/Onyx series The Other Black Girl is going to be gay. Our eagle-eyed Natalie spotted it: “[Brittany] Adebumola will take over as Malaika, an old lady at heart who is queer and constantly comparing notes on life goals.”
+ The CW will pull the plug on Nancy Drew after season four.
Pop Culture Fix: Batwoman’s Javicia Leslie Will be Back… on The Flash
Here you go! One pipin’ hot Pop Culture Fix for your Wednesday!
+ Okay so! Javicia Leslie, our Batwoman, is coming back to the Arrowverse for the final season of The Flash to play a “mystery role.” Entertainment Weekly says that “details about her role and how many episodes Leslie will appear in are being kept top secret for now” — but our super sleuths Carmen and Valerie figured out exactly who she’ll be playing. It’s going to be — SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER — Red Death, which, um, should be interesting? I swear to Beebo they better not tarnish Ryan Wilder’s legacy IN ANY WAY. Also, though, I will be so so glad to see Javicia back on my TV where she belongs.
+ Country singer Chely Wright reveals the advice Leslie Jordan gave her the night before she came out. Related: Queer fans mourn Leslie Jordan, a symbol of a ‘lost generation’ of gay men.
+ Los Espookys is perfect for Halloween — and all year round.
+ Drag Race star Eureka O’Hara opens up about her mental health and her sexuality.
+ Phoebe Bridgers is on the cover of Teen Vogue talking about abortion, Me Too, the misogyny of the music industry, and the importance of queer representation. This is an excellent quote: “Bridgers has spoken to many outlets about her affection for her fans, many of whom are young and queer. She told the Tampa crowd, ‘I like going to places with an especially f**ked-up government, because the youth is so angry and cool.'”
+ Sam Smith is speechless and overwhelmed as Unholy becomes their first #1 hit.
+ Listening in at the New York Film Festival.
+ Midori Francis covers In Style this week, talking about her role on Grey’s Anatomy, Sandra Oh’s influence, and queer rep on-screen.
“I think that the more that we can show all different types of people falling in love, making mistakes, being attached to the plot — when they become the main character, you’re forced to empathize with them,” she explains. “If it’s placing somebody in a corner into this small role, like a queer person and an Asian person, it’s very easy to keep whatever idea or bias you have against them in your head. I think it’s [about] just building these strong bonds of empathy between all of us.”
+ Lots of queer faves leading the nominations for both the Gotham Awards and the People’s Choice Awards.
+ And finally, some Brittani Nichols links! First, an interview over at Shondaland about writing on Abbott Elementary. And second, an appearance on June Thomas’ Working podcast!
https://twitter.com/BisHilarious/status/1584720373215477760?utm_source=pocket_mylist
Pop Culture Fix: Natalie Morales Joins Fellow Queer Tig Notaro for “The Morning Show” Season 3
Feature image photos by Amy Sussman/Getty Images + Rodin Eckenroth/FilmMagic
I’ve got cornbread in the oven and chili in the crockpot; come on over for some lunch, why don’t ya? Or simply enjoy your meal with this Pop Culture Fix!
+ More queer rep on The Morning Show? Looks like it: Natalie Morales has joined up for season three. According to TV Line, “Morales will played Kate Danton, Stella’s (Greta Lee) best friend from Stanford, where they were part of a start-up incubator run by Paul Marks (Jon Hamm).” Morales is the second openly queer woman to snag a part in Apple TV+’s soapy prestige-ish drama. Tig Notaro will play Amanda Robinson, Paul Marks’ chief of staff.
+ The best queer horror and thriller films for your spooky marathon.
+ Sabrina the Teenage Witch‘s Halloween episodes are the perfect spooky ’90s nostalgia hit.
+ People magazine has Mary Lambert’s wedding photos and they are so dang swoony.
+ Grey’s Anatomy‘s E.R. Fightmaster is on Queerycast with Cameron Esposito this week talking about being your professional TV boyfriend. They are such a dang heartthrob, and I’m not just saying that because they’re a huge WNBA fan and supporter and showed up at games at least a dozen times during the regular season this year (though it doesn’t hurt). They’re also on The Juice with Solomon Georgio this week. I haven’t listened yet, but everyone I’ve heard from says it’s absolutely hilarious.
+ Netflix has renewed Heartbreak High for a second season.
+ In American Horror Story: NYC Ryan Murphy is out here murdering gays again.
+ Collider’s list of ten best lesbian comedians and where to watch them.
+ Apex Legend has introduced an “inescapably trans” character.
+ Brandi Carlile covering Joni Mitchell on The Daily Show is just as stunning as you think it’s going to be.
Pop Culture Fix: Is Rebel Wilson Engayged to Her Disney Princess?
Feature image photo by Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images
You know the best feeling in the world, friends? I know you’re thinking like “being hugged by someone you love” or “smelling a puppy’s breath/human baby’s head” or “the inside of a new sweatshirt.” But actually it’s: when your migraine medicine kicks in! Which it just did for me, and now I am going to take a nap! Here’s your mid-week Pop Culture Fix!
+ Rebel Wilson fuels engagement rumors after wearing massive diamond ring to various events. This write up is such a hoot: “Rebel Wilson has continued to fuel speculation that she is engaged to girlfriend Ramona Agruma after sporting a large diamond ring on her left hand. The latest outing for the sparkler came at the 2nd Annual Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles on Saturday. The Pitch Perfect star’s ring bling on the notable finger was hard to miss as she posed for photos at the glitzy event.” RING BLING ON THE NOTABLE FINGER.
+ Let’s go down the rabbit hole of Taylor Swift conspiracy theories: “The Lavender Haze debacle isn’t the first time Swift has gotten Gaylors’ hopes up only to dash them at the last minute. In the lead-up to announcing her 2019 album Lover, Swift took to dressing in rainbows (the symbol of gay pride!) and declared she had a big announcement to come on April 26 (Lesbian Visibility Day!). She announced the album in an interview with Robin Roberts (known lesbian!). In the music video for the album’s second single, ‘You Need to Calm Down,’ she donned a wig in the colors of the bisexual flag and sang about gay pride.”
+ Ashley Nicole Black is leaving A Black Lady Sketch Show. We will, of course, be following her wherever she goes!
+ Days of Our Lives features first threesome scene since moving from broadcast TV.
+ Sister Wives: Kody and Christine’s daughter Gwendlyn Brown comes out as bisexual.
+ Hayley Kiyoko is releasing a YA novel to go along with her gay anthem, “Girls Like Girls.”
+ Megan, the creepy robot from the M3GAN trailer, is an instant queer icon.
+ Queer lives are not side quests. Okay this is THE best breakdown I have ever seen about LGBTQ representation in video games and its effects on The Culture. There’s even charts! If my brain and Riese’s brain made a whole new brain, this is what it would create and publish.
+ Animated shows are leading the way for LGBTQ+ representation—but will that continue?
+ Queer actor Emma Corrin, who plays Princess Diana in The Crown, says Diana “was queer in many ways.”
+ The Sex Lives of College Girls‘ season two trailer is here!
https://youtu.be/pvmpxxEleQs
+ Blue Jean, the searing lesbian drama exploring life under Thatcher.
+ Neil Gaiman has confirmed those Velma/Hot Dog Water theories from the 2010 Scooby-Doos!
+ 11 queer villain costumes to channel this Halloween.
Pop Culture Fix: Keke Palmer and Lizzo in “Sister Act 3”? Yes, Please!
Feature image Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Michael Kors // Momodu Mansaray/Getty Images for Watch Out For Keke Touring
Here’s your first Pop Culture Fix of the week, friends!
+ Whoopi Goldeberg says a script for Sister Act 3 is eminent and also that she is ready to have some damn fun. That means asking KeKe Palmer, Lizzo, and “the girl with the chest” to join the film. (That means Nicki Minaj, whose name she forgot for a second. I understand. Last week my Long Covid brain fog made my aphasia go berserk and I couldn’t remember Thanos’ name. I kept calling him Mr. Snappy until my wife could figure out what I was talking about.) I’m not sure about Lizzo, though I feel pretty confident she’ll say yes, but when Keke was on The View last year, she told Whoopi she was available for any job with her, any time.
+ Here’s a hilarious gossipy twist about that TikTok last week where Madonna said she’s gay. Apparently she tried to STEAL ELVIRA’S GIRLFRIEND? We just are who we are as a people.
+ Elliot Page will executive produce the cheerleading drama Backspot.
+ Eagle-eyed EIC Carmen Phillips spotted Lena Waithe in the House Party red band trailer.
+ Aubrey Plaza wishes she didn’t care what you think about her (but she does).
+ Every day is a good day to celebrate Cheryl Dunye.
Let’s celebrate @cdunye, director of various #QUEENSUGAR episodes in seasons 2 and 4, as she speaks about her journey from film director and professor to working in television and what Queen Sugar has meant to her and her career. pic.twitter.com/jkoUrDRaOW
— Queen Sugar (@QueenSugarOWN) October 13, 2022
+ Destiny Rogers on coming out and living her truth.
+ Missy Higgins chatted with the Sydney Morning Herald about the media’s attempts to out her.
+ How She-Hulk taught online trolls a lesson.
+ I absolutely love this: Danielle Perez came out to her parents during her comedy special.
Came out to my parents during my @ComedyCentral taping! pic.twitter.com/C6BTPWtjz6
— Danielle Perez she/her (@DivaDelux) October 13, 2022
+ When Natalie read this TVLine scoop on 9-1-1, she said, “Uh oh.” And I agree. “I am hearing that the sixth episode of Season 6, airing in late October, will be a flashback-heavy episode a la “When Hen Met Karen” — interspersed with the 118 racing to the rescue when Karen’s lab suffers an massive explosion on the day Denny tags along to work with her.”
Pop Culture Fix: Emily Ratajkowski Joins Shay Mitchell and Madonna’s Bisexual TikTok Tornado
Feature image photo by Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
It’s a beautiful autumn day outside, I’ve got some soup in the crock pot and a cat on my lap. I also made you this mid-week Pop Culture Fix!
+ Emily Ratajkowski has joined the trend of coming out on TikTok. She’s got one of those green velvet couches in her house, like Dani and Shay Mitchell, which she smirked about to the same bisexual stitchery as those queer pals who came before her. Most people probably know Emily Ratajkowski best as being a supermodel or Brad Pitt’s rumored girlfriend, or some kind of publishing industry drama that i did not follow because book Twitter is terrifying — but I personally know her as Gibby’s girlfriend, Tasha, on iCarly. I’m so excited to see how many other celebrities have copied Dani in purchasing a green gay couch! It’s like we’re caught up in a bisexual TikTok tornado! I love it even though I still don’t know how to use TikTok!
@emrata #stitch with @shaymitchell ♬ original sound – Emrata
+ Candace Parker will join Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller and Stephanie Ready for Clippers vs. Lakers during MNBA Opening Week this Thursday, marking her first time on the call for live regular season! She’ll also be providing Select Live TNT Telecasts throughout throughout the season. Don’t yell at me for calling it the MNBA or me AND Natalie will become your enemies!
+ Aubrey Plaza discusses producing more, freaking out Robert De Niro.
+ Last night, Jessica Betts arrived on The Rookie: Feds to woo her real life wife Niecy Nash.
+ Wakanda Forever character posters are here! One month away!
+ From Ruth Etiesit Samuel over at HuffPo: Why doesn’t Hollywood care about Latino stories?
+ RuPaul’s Drag Race reunites 7 trans queens for LGBTQ History Month photo.
+ 15 celebs who came out in 2022 so far.
+ Queer pop star Betty Who on inspirations, coming out, and new music.
+ 7 Films and TV Shows that capture the queer Latinx experience.
+ Why it matters that Velma has come out, and how she’s no Dumbledore.
+ Derry Girls could have been a dramedy — thank god it was funny instead.
+ Tár demands — and deserves — your full attention.
+ The trailer for the third season of Mythic Quest is here! Our nerdy gays are working for different companies this year and they both seem equally terrible/hilarious!
Pop Culture Fix: Is Aubrey Plaza Plotting Man-Murder in This “White Lotus” Trailer?
A happy Monday to you, my friends! I’d love to stay and talk, but I guess Madonna came out on TikTok, so I gotta go write it up. Didn’t have THAT Mad Lib on my lesbian BINGO card today, but am happy for it anyway. Anyhoodle, here’s your Pop Culture Fix.
+ Here’s the first trailer for White Lotus‘ second season. This year we’re in Sicily with Aubrey Plaza and a whole bunch of people she hates, maybe even her husband? (What I mean is she is there with him and maybe she hates him. Probably.) I don’t know about you, but I am getting serious man murdery vibes from her the whole time. Like maybe she’s gonna push her husband off that cliff? Or her husband’s new terrible friends? Her character’s name is Harper Spiller, and if that isn’t just classic femme fatale. The main thing is: she stays on brand dressed like Marceline the Vampire Queen the entire time. Jennifer Coolidge is back, of course. Eagle-eyed queer viewers will also spot Meghann Fahy aka Sutton Brady from The Bold Type.
+ JoJo Siwa’s gay awakening story begins with Demi Lovato.
+ Oh well this surely won’t go wrong: The new season of American Horror Story features a threatening figure stalking the NYC queer club scene.
+ Missy Higgins talks bisexuality and dating her first girlfriend on tour.
+ AMC’s Interview with the Vampire surpasses the 1994 film in all the queer ways.
+ Apple put the trans rights-focused season premiere of The Problem With Jon Stewart online for free.
+ She-Hulk gets very real about the rage-inducing horror of revenge porn.
+ The new Gundam show is here, queer, and we’re already used to it.
+ Tennis star Nadia Podoroska comes out, announces she’s dating fellow WTA player Guillermina Naya.
+ Okayokayokay! Ay NYCC the Critical Role team announced another season of The Legend of Vox Machina.
From soaring victory to bitter defeat. How quickly the tables turn for our protectors of the realm. #TheLegendofVoxMachina #tlovm @CriticalRole pic.twitter.com/zzNleZCX7D
— The Legend of Vox Machina (@LVMandM9onPrime) October 7, 2022
+ New Star Trek: Picard trailer!!! (Plus a first look at Discovery’s fifth season.)
The final voyage.#StarTrekPicard Season 3 premieres February 16. pic.twitter.com/EkbtIXOBRT
— Star Trek on Paramount+ (@StarTrekOnPPlus) October 8, 2022
Pop Culture Fix: Hayley Kiyoko Made Velma Gay With the Power of Her Own Lesbianism
Feature image middle photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for Pride in London
+ Yesterday I told you about how Velma is finally, fully, canonically gay in the new Trick or Treat, Scooby-Doo! Not just a hint of it, but the whole movie is basically a lesbian rom-com about her and the bad girl falling for each other. The news was all over the place yesterday, especially Twitter, which led Hayley Kiyoko to point out that she’s the lesbian who lesbian-ed Velma in the first place! Kiyoko played Velma in Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins and its 2010 sequel Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster. Such power! I’d like to believe my gayness is strong enough to make a character gay too! Maybe I’ll dress up like She-Hulk this Halloween and test it out!
I remember booking Velma in 2008. It was my first big role in a movie. I also remember thinking ‘I wonder if they know they hired a lesbian as Velma’ here we are, 14 years later……😂 love you all so much
— Hayley Kiyoko (@HayleyKiyoko) October 4, 2022
+ Vel Sartha and Cinta Kaz are in a lesbian relationship on Andor? I’d like to ACTUALLY SEE IT.
+ Here’s our first look at Emma Corrin in Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Anne Shirley would be so proud of them and us!
+ How Legally Blonde made me want to be an LGBTQ lawyer.
+ The Witch From Mercury finally gives Gundam its first queer and female protagonist.
+ The Bros and cons of being a huge, gay Hollywood rom-com.
+ Don’t question the magic of Hocus Pocus.
+ Megan Rapinoe backs Becky Sauerbrunn’s powerful message about NWSL abuse.
+ Niecy Nash-Betts never disappoints, from The Rookie: Feds to Dahmer and beyond.
+ Derry Girls: How an incredible real-life feat gave a TV show about the Troubles its happy ending. Season three finally lands on Netflix this weekend!
Pop Culture Fix: Here’s Your First Peep at Krysten Ritter in “Orphan Black: Echoes”
Feature image photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/Getty Images
Well hello and welcome to your first Pop Culture Fix of 2022 SPOOPY SEASON! How long do you wait before buying Halloween candy? I saw Walgreen’s was stacked to the ceiling with treats this morning!
+ I honestly don’t know if this is going to be gay, but it feels like it will absolutely be gay? AMC is fully aware that Delphine and Cosima were — and remain! — one of Orphan Black‘s biggest draws. Anyhoodle, here’s our first look at Krysten Ritter as Lucy in Orphan Black: Echoes. According to CBR: ” The series, which will be set in the near future and explore the scientific manipulation of human existence, follows a group of women as they weave their way into each other’s lives and embark on a thrilling journey, unraveling the mystery of their identity and uncovering a wrenching story of love and betrayal.”
+ Also, I just want to say that there are her photos of her looking LITERALLY like Marceline the Vampire Queen on Getty.
Photo by BG026/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
+ Well, um. Here’s an intergenerational headline from the New York Times: The Lesbian Perez Hilton of TikTok.
+ Anna Silk and Rachel Skarsten are making a Lost Girl podcast!!!
+ Lauren Ludwig’s FX comedy pilot sounds right up our alley: “The project is described as a metaphysical comedy about a group of queer twenty-somethings forced by the most unlikely source to confront their generational anxieties and unpack their emotional baggage.”
+ Bros star Ts Madison on acting, the future of trans cinema, and Marvel. Related: Bros tanked at the box office.
+ Levearge is back for season two on November 16th.
+ Bryan Fuller’s list of queer horror films everyone should see. Related: The ten best queer characters from horror TV shows, movies, and games.
+ House of the Dragon fans want the show to be more queer, and that’s a good thing.
+ Please make a movie or TV show about a cool dude who uses a wheelchair. That’s it. That’s the request. One cool dude who uses a wheelchair.
+ Sophie Turner’s line-reading from Do Revenge makes me wonder if I know what cocaine even looks like.
+ WAKANDA FOREVER!
“Show them who we are.” Watch the brand-new trailer for Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: #WakandaForever, only in theaters November 11.
Get tickets now: https://t.co/XGLcVknhzs pic.twitter.com/VZC5x1zern
— Marvel Studios* (@MarvelStudios) October 3, 2022
+ Jayde Adams blows fans away with phenomenal tango filled with queer drama on Strictly Come Dancing.
+ Queer storytelling is front and center at the 60th annual New York Film Festival.
+ Queer icon Janelle Monáe to receive Trailblazer Award at 2022 Outfest Legacy Awards.
+ How to be queer in country music / the story of Mya Byrne.
+ Marvel’s queer, disabled Spider-Hero is its most relatable new character in years.
+ Community cast (and Gillian Anderson) celebrate the forthcoming movie news.
+ She hasn’t seen Gen Q, but Guinevere Turner would be interested in bringing back ol’ Gabby Deveaux.
+ OKAY KEKE PALMER!
Introducing @KeyTVNetwork, a new digital network from me, for you. #keystotheculture #keytvnetwork pic.twitter.com/CtOtLwNg30
— Keke Palmer (@KekePalmer) September 30, 2022
Pop Culture Fix: Beth Ditto Is Proud to be Your Queer Feminist Punk Country Music Queen
Feature image photo by Dominik Bindl/Getty Images
Thinking of everyone in Ian’s path today and sending you love and protection. And here’s your midweek Pop Culture Fix.
+ Earlier this week, I asked my wife if she knew about “this new country music soap Monarch on Fox”? and she was like, “Yes, sweetheart, because you talk about it ALL THE TIME.” And yeah, I guess I do. It’s just. that this show is so nuts! It captivates me even though it’s not very good representation! The best part, of course, is Beth Ditto as GiGi Roman — and I was so happy to see this interview with her in NBC Out about her brilliant performances and LGBTQ rep on TV. About auditioning for the role, she said: “I was like, ‘Well, that’s me. I know this person. I’m actually Southern. I grew up with country music. I grew up going to the honky-tonks surrounded by music. I think all of the parts that I’ve done have been for pretty much Southern women, and I know Southern women — these are my grandparents, my aunts.”
+ Tegan and Sara on their best and worst songs.
+ Aunjanue Ellis channels Fannie Lou Hamer in a preview for the upcoming project Fannie.
+ Meet the 42 women directors of Queen Sugar — and see how they’re taking over Hollywood.
+ Lizzo may now be the only person to play crystal flute that belonged to James Madison.
+ Cate Blanchett gives the performance of her Career in TÁR, here’s the final trailer.
+ How the creative minds behind Los Espookys made season two even weirder.
+ After fans dismiss it as ‘pretty gross,’ Netflix drops LGBTQ tag for Dahmer series.
+ Comedian Hannah Gadsby to host genderqueer Netflix special following Dave Chappelle transphobia row.
+ Oh man, this is gonna be something.
Kevin McHale and Jenna Ushkowitz announce new ‘Glee’ recap podcast, ‘And That’s What You Really Missed,’ in partnership with @iHeartRadio.
Starting October 31. pic.twitter.com/TzHfTgIxqg
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) September 23, 2022
+ The White Lotus season two premieres October 30.
+ Leslie Grace is still working through the stages of bat-grief.
+ Chloë Grace Moretz became a recluse after developing body dysmorphia from Family Guy memes.
+ A long time Autostraddle reader who’s also a casting agent let us know about this new docu-series that’s currently looking for single queer people over 40, click here to submit.
Pop Culture Fix: IRL Wives Niecy Nash and Jessica Betts Will Gay Up “The Rookie: Feds” Together
I just leaned this morning that my generation is the last one to learn how to read and write cursive! I have spent the last 30 minutes trying to get my wife to write something — anything! — in cursive, and she can’t! I AM THE KEEPER OF PENMANSHIP SECRETS! MY JOURNALS WILL BE AS CODED AS ANNE LISTER’S! Anyhoodle, here’s your Monday Pop Culture Fix, in an easy-to-read typed font.
+ The Rookie: Feds is bringing Niecy Nash and Jessica Betts together on-screen. According to TV LIne, “Jessica Betts, wife of series star Niecy Nash-Betts, will guest-star on the ABC drama as a love interest for Nash-Betts’ character Simone Clark.” I wish this wasn’t another cop show! But I also cannot pass by the irresistible call of the The Bettses looking at each other in that way they do. ACAB and love is not a lie. Just a few universal truths.
+ We got our first look at the upcoming final season of The Owl House yesterday. Look at Luz’s baby bi pin!
+ In a cover story with Harper’s Bazar, Charlize Theron said financiers behind Monster wanted “a hot lesbian movie with me and Christina Ricci.” Which is… of course they did. I was never upset at Patty Jenkins about that, though. Monster won a million Oscars. I simply wanted Wonder Woman to be a hot lesbian movie between Wonder Woman and Cheetah.
+ Fans are sharing the meaningful impact Heartbreak High had on them. Speaking of Heartbreak High, don’t miss Kayla’s glowing review!
+ Just 39 memes that prove Do Revenge is the best Netflix movie of all time.
+ Queer For Fear delivers a deliciously unapologetic dive into horror’s queerness.
+ Cynthia Erivo shares why she came out as bisexual later in life.
+ The queer cartoon My Superhero Husband made its debut at Cartoon Forum last week, to much hype and many cheers. I don’t know much about it beyond Variety’s write-up, but I have never seen a cartoon character for 12-year-olds who has visible top surgery scars, and that makes me SO EXCITED.
+ Welp. Another day, another gay TV show cancellation. This time it’s Peacock and Queer As Folk.
+ Sue Bird raised the flag at the Seahawks game yesterday.
+ Leslie Grace shared some behind-the-scenes Batgirl footage on social media.
+ Natalie said it was gonna happen and it happened: Lauren and Leyla are over on New Amsterdam.
+ May I interest you in a new clip from WEDNESDAY?
+ And may I also interest you in the full Last of Us trailer finally!!!! (Spoilers if you haven’t yet played the game but still plan to before the series starts.)
https://youtu.be/rBRRDpQ0yc0
Pop Culture Fix: Sarah Paulson to Play Cult Leader Gwen Shamblin, Wigs WILL Escalate
Feature image by Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images
Hey did you see us and Dani on Late Night With Seth Meyers last night? That’s the best Pop Culture Fix thing happening today, but here’s the rest!
+ Nobody loves a wig like Sarah Paulson, which is surely at least one reason she’s signed on to play diet coach/cult leader Gwen Shamblin in a new HBO Max biopic series. It will be based on Marina Zenovich’s wildly popular docuseries, The Way Down, which documents the “profound control” Shamblin had over the congregants of the church she founded as an offshoot of her The Weigh Down diet program. Prior to the documentary being released, a couple from the church was arrested for murdering their son, and Shamblin died in a plane crash. This one’s not a Ryan Murphy project — but doesn’t it sound exactly like one? He’s looking at this hair right now and squirming with envy!
+ Indigo Girls discuss their musical history, lesbian roots of women’s music.
+ 15 films from Black creatives to watch out for after TIFF 2022.
+ Billy Eichner, Paul Rudd and wild lesbians hit the street for Bros.
+ Sophie Turner’s wild Do Revenge cameo is comedy perfection.
+ May I interest you in some lesbian catnip aka The Women Over 50 Film Festival.
+ Real Housewives of Orange County’s Meghan King says she falls “somewhere on the lesbian spectrum.”
+ House of the Dragon’s queer mistake is even worse than you think.
+ Lea Salonga celebrates queer strides on TV with Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin.
+ ESPN will be airing the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup starting today and running through October 1st! Great news if you’re a women’s basketball fan who needs a stop gap between the WNBA season and women’s college basketball season!
+ Ashly Burch will be streaming Ashly Burch as Aloy in Horizon Zero Dawn for Access Reproductive Justice this Friday!
https://twitter.com/ashly_burch/status/1571967412391792641
Pop Culture Fix: Make This “Warehouse 13” Reboot Gay or Don’t Make It at All
Well, my cat just tried to steal a piece of cheese from INSIDE MY MOUTH. Hope your Monday is going good too! Here’s your first Pop Culture Fix of the week!
+ Apparently at DragonCon last week, there was serious talk of a Warehouse 13 reboot. Eddie McClintock, who you might remember as Pete, says he’s actively pursing the reboot with creator and showrunner Jack Kenny, who you might remember as the world’s number one Pete and Myka shipper. Anyway, I am not opposed to a reboot, but if Myka Bering and Helena G. Wells are not in it, and together, I’m not interested! And probably they would be, right? McClintock is even on record saying he thinks they ended up together. Looks like there’s a marathon on Syfy next weekend if you’re interested in hyping it up on your socials.
+ The Las Vegas Aces won their first WNBA championship yesterday, and queer star Chelsea Gray was named the the Finals MVP after a record-breaking performance!
Chelsea Gray has been named the 2022 #WNBAFinals MVP.
◽️ 18.3 PPG
◽️ 6 APG
◽️ 58% FG
◽️ 45% 3-PT FGShe scored or assisted on 379 of Las Vegas' postseason points, the most in WNBA playoff history.
H/T @ESPNStatsInfo pic.twitter.com/I4zJBE5dsj
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) September 18, 2022
+ Mel C is glad everyone thought she was a lesbian, actually.
+ Five anime school uniforms we’d rock in real life.
+ How A League of Their Own explores the experiences of Black women in baseball.
+ One time Ellen said out loud on national TV that Rosie O’Donnell wasn’t her friend, and it hurt her feelings, and she never got over it and never went onto Ellen’s show because of it.
+ This piece from Adam Serwer over at the Atlantic called Fear of a Black Hobbit is one of the best things I read last week.
Although this may seem like an utterly silly and superficial dispute, representation shapes how people think of themselves and others, for good or for ill. And beneath the culture war nonsense are real questions not just of representation but of labor, of who gets to make a living in the entertainment industry as an artist or creator. These controversies and harassment campaigns seek to narrow not just the industry’s imagination, but also who can get paid to do this kind of work. People enraged by Black actors playing elves or mermaids are not any happier about Black writers or directors.
+ Why Jamie Babbit will always be a queer icon.
+ Queer people deserve trashy pop culture too.
+ Ginger Gonzaga says there’s more coming up on She-Hulk about Nikki’s bisexuality.
+ IT’S HAPPENING.
Hooty hoot we’re back, October 15. 🦉#TheOwlHouse #theowlhouseseason3 pic.twitter.com/vM6VfoAs5j
— Dana Terrace (@DanaTerrace) September 14, 2022
+ The trans Joker movie is a sight to see. Too bad it might never be seen again.
+ The faces that look back at us when we come out, again and again. This is an amazing multimedia piece by the NYT. Definitely click and scroll through if you have time!
Pop Culture Fix: Just Like You, Rosie O’Donnell Is Using TikTok as a Dating App
It’s cool enough outside to have the windows open today! I REPEAT: AUTUMN IS COMING! One of my living room windows won’t stay open on its own, and I couldn’t find what I needed at the hardware store this morning to fix it. Luckily, Harry Potter books now serve as bricks in my house, so I’ve got Order of the Phoenix and Goblet of Fire propping it open so the cats can enjoy some fresh air. (Deathly Hallows and Half-Blood Prince are holding down a tarp in the basement.) Anyhoodle, here’s your midweek Pop Culture Fix.
+ Like you, Rosie met her new girlfriend on TikTok. In the same interview with Howard Stern, she revealed that she personally had no problem cutting people like Woody Allen out of her life and career, long before #MeToo: “I had done an HBO special [in 1995] where I said everything about him. And then I got on my show. So it’s the first year of my show and I get a call and they said, ‘He wants you to be in Sweet And Lowdown.’ I said, ‘Please send him my HBO special.’ And the woman said, ‘Oh he’s already seen it.’ And I said, ‘Send it anyway with two words: Fuck and no.’ And I sent it to him.” Rosie, I still want to interview you so bad! Call me!
+ Bill Richardson, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and a frequent emissary in hostage negotiations visited Russia this week to work on negotiating the release of Brittney Griner. This apparently means details are being discussed, which is a good thing, but no guarantee of a deal. Praying for you and Cherelle every day, BG.
+ Finally some good renewal news: Issa Rae’s Rap Sh!t will be back for a second season on HBO Max.
+ Samira Wiley chatted with The Guardian about the upcoming season of The Handmaid’s Tale, being a Black gay woman in America, and how an OITNB co-star outed her on the internet in the show’s first season. Related: ALL 22 characters who have died on Handmaid’s Tale so far???
+ ABBOTT ELEMENTARY SEASON TWO TRAILER ALERT!
https://youtu.be/H9vWZQuAYfg
+ Yesterday’s Nintendo Direct had so much cool news for queer gamers, including Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life is getting a Switch remaster and rebrand as Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life — and it’s adding woman and nonbinary as gender options! And all genders of villagers will be marriage candidates for all genders of players!
+ Janelle Monáe and her Wondaland Pictures are partnering with non-profit SeriesFest on the ninth season of Storytellers, its script writing competition that highlights female-focused episodic stories.
+ The trailer for Freeform’s The Come Up — which follows Claude Shwartz as she gives insight into her life as a trans woman with aspirations of being an actress living in NYC — is finally here. It lands on Tuesday September 13 at 9p/8c.
+ Demi Lovato says Holy Fvck tour will be her permanent curtain call.
+ Paramount is considering shutting down Showtime and migrating Yellowjackets, The L Word: Generation Q, and whatever else is on Showtime to Paramount+ — or, as I like to call it, The Star Trek App.
+ And, finally, I can’t believe how emotional this made me??
We love to see it.😍 #Emmys2022 pic.twitter.com/pZWRsO4MAJ
— shondaland tv (@shondaland) September 13, 2022