Posted 10 months, 2 weeks ago at 7:55 am. 0 comments
Nick Griffin, chairman of the extreme right wing whites-only British National Party, has confirmed that when he was 16 he was propositioned for gay sex by Martin Webster, who was then one of the leaders of the extreme far-right National Front. Griffin has denied the long-running sexual affair alleged by Webster, pointing out that if true then “we could put him [Webster] on the paedophile register.” Still, memories of 30 years ago seem to haunt Griffin, who says, “I don’t hate gay people at all. But I find the sight of grown men kissing in the street repulsive.” The BNP has dropped its former position that homosexuality should be outlawed.
Webster was drummed out of the NF in 1983, partly due to rumours of his homosexuality.
Major protests erupted earlier this week when Griffin appeared on the BBC show Question Time.
Posted 10 months, 3 weeks ago at 8:12 am. 0 comments
Gary Stewart, 37, has been charged with attempting to poison his lesbian neighbors in Denton, Manchester, England. They allege he stole their three-legged cat and dumped her in another village. The cat has been rescued after a successful poster campaign. Investigators are examining the death of Stewart’s partner, Paul Kleiser, 43, last summer after he became “seriously ill.” Read more.
Posted 10 months, 3 weeks ago at 12:17 am. 1 comment
Singer Stephen Gateley has died while on vacation in Majorca with his partner Andrew Coles. No further details about his death are available at this time.
Gateley was one fifth of boyband Boyzone, who scored six number one singles and four number one albums in the U.K. between 1994 and 2000. In 1999, he learned that one of his former security guards might be preparing to sell him out to the tabloids. Rather than trying to suppress the story, Gateley beat him to it, dominating the June 16, 1999 issue of The Sun with the headline “Boyzone Stephen: I’m Gay and in Love.” The man he was in love with was Eloy de Jong (b. 1971) of the Dutch boyband Caught in the Act.
Coming out was a very brave move for a young man whose career depended on the support of hordes of star-struck teenaged girls. He’s continued to enjoy success as a solo artist, as well as in musicals on tour and in the West End. In 2008 he joined the re-formed Boyzone for a tour.
In 2006, Gateley entered into a civil partnership with Internet entrepeneur Andrew Cowles. They had first been introduced three years earlier by Sir Elton John and his partner David Furnish.
According to Pink News, Kevin McGee was found dead in his Edinburgh flat after police forced entry yesterday. Authorities were responding to friends’ concerns after McGee apparently posted messages to his Facebook wall including, “Kevin McGee thinks death is much better than life.” McGee and Little Britain actor Matt Lucas formed a civil partnership in December 2006, celebrating with an elaborate fancy dress party. Their split in 2008 was accompanied by elaborate disputes and legal actions regarding business and financial arrangements. Lucas has dropped out of his recently opened stage show, Prick Up Your Ears.
Matt Lucas (Little Britain) takes on the role of Kenneth Halliwell, playwright Joe Orton’s lover/killer, in Prick Up Your Ears, now at the Comedy Theatre in London. First a book by John Lahr, then a screenplay by Alan Bennett for a film directed by Stephen Frears, now it’s on stage in a new play by Simon Bent, directed by Daniel Kramer. The Guardian takes a scathing look at the (mostly) scathing reviews. Read More.
A cache of 71 pages of letters from bisexual Lord Byron to a lifelong friend, the Reverend Francis Hodgson, some of which have never been published, are to be auctioned off by Sotheby’s on October 29. The series of letters to the conservative Victorian clergyman include Byron’s frank observations as he traveled to exotic locales, including Portugal where, “the inhabitants have few vices other than lice and sodomy.” Of the Ali Pasha, whom he encountered in Constantinople, Byron noted he had “two hundred women and as many boys, many of the last I saw and very pretty creatures they were.”
The letters were acquired in 1885 by British prime minister, Lord Rosebery, and are being sold by his family. After the death of Rosebery’s heiress wife in 1890, while Oscar Wilde was having an affair with Lord Alfred Douglas, Roseberry was carrying on with Douglas’s brother, Viscount Drumlanring. It’s believed by some historians that Oscar Wilde’s prosecution was meant in part to serve as a warning to Rosebery. Drumlanring’s mysterious death in 1894, at age 27, instigated rumors that he might have been killed to prevent exposure of his affair with Rosebery.
Posted 11 months, 1 week ago at 4:15 pm. 0 comments
The BBC has upheld a complaint against TV host Graham Norton for “potentially offensive stereotypes” of lesbians. One person complained, resulting in a review by the BBC editorial board, which swung into action against the producers of the gay TV host’s chat show. The episode aired 6 months ago.
The offending joke occurred during a conversation with Ruth Jones, the star and co-writer of Gavin and Stacey.
Referring to a sketch that accompanied a patent application for a jumpsuit, Norton remarked, “I don’t know why they’ve got some strange lesbian to be the model.” Jones pointed out that, “She may not be a lesbian, come on now. What does a lesbian look like?” Pointing at the photo, Norton said, “That.”
In its indictment, the BBC noted, “Although the initial references might have been inoffensive if considered on their own, they prompted an exchange with one of the programme’s guests which gave the references the appearance of perpetuating or reinforcing a potentially offensive stereotype. The programme team were reminded of the need to avoid any possibility of being seen to endorse offensive sexual stereotypes.”
For those who are not so easily offended, the video is below — bad joke at about 1:20.
Posted 11 months, 2 weeks ago at 8:51 am. 0 comments
Magician Derren Brown continues to amaze audiences in Britain, successfully predicting the National Lottery results live on Channel 4 last week. This week he managed to “suggest” to at least 50,000 viewers that they were immobilized in their living rooms. Following a short film including “safety instructions,” Brown told the audience in the studio and at home to sit back in their chairs, put their feet flat on the floor, and put their hands on their legs. The result left many unable to stand until he played a “clearing tone.” A Channel 4 spokesperson announced that within 3 minutes they had received phone calls from over 50,000 people who succumbed to the suggestion. As one viewer said, “It’s just very bizarre. I’m trying hard to get up but I can’t.’”
Various theories have been proposed for the effect, with “sumbliminal images” in the film being a prime candidate.
Posted 11 months, 3 weeks ago at 9:30 am. 0 comments
As noted in previous articles on GND, the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) in Glasgow, Scotland, has been getting a lot of attention for its “major social justice exhibition” called sh[OUT] which “raises the awareness of issues faced by lesbians, gay men, bisexual, transgender, and intersex people.” National media, including the Daily Mail, have branded the exhibition “gay pornography.” GOMA responded by removing or restricting access to exhibits, and banning schoolchildren from attending. The controversial Made in God’s Image show has ended. A new set of sh[OUT] of artwork was being prepared to take its place in the gallery, but has now been shuffled offsite to the “Tramway,” a less accessible venue. Read More.
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