Tag: LGBTQ+

Egypt and Iran complain about planned World Cup ‘Pride’ match in Seattle

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Egypt and Iran, two Middle East nations that target gays and lesbians, have complained to FIFA over a World Cup soccer match in Seattle that is planned to celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride.

Leaders in the nation’s soccer federations publicly rebuked the idea of playing the match June 26 at Seattle Stadium, which local organizers say will include a “once-in-a-lifetime moment to showcase and celebrate LGBTQIA+ communities in Washington.”

In Egypt, the soccer federation issued a statement late Tuesday saying it sent a letter to FIFA “categorically rejecting any activities related to supporting homosexuality during the match.”

Seattle PrideFest has been organized in the city since 2007 by a nonprofit which designated the June 26 game for celebration before FIFA made the World Cup draw Friday.

FIFA chose Saturday to allocate the Egypt-Iran game to Seattle instead of Vancouver, where the teams’ group rivals Belgium and New Zealand will play at the same time.

Already, organizers in Seattle have promoted an art contest for the game, including one entry of a rainbow-flagged sun rising over Mount Rainier as a crab goalie goes for a soccer ball while holding a cup of coffee in its pinchers.

“With matches on Juneteenth and pride, we get to show the world that in Seattle, everyone is welcome,” Seattle’s Mayor-elect Kate Wilson wrote on social media. “What an incredible honor!”

FIFA controls only stadiums and official fan zones in World Cup host cities and should have no formal authority over community events like Seattle PrideFest.

FIFA declined comment Tuesday to the Associated Press, and did not address a question if it would consider switching the Belgium-New Zealand game to Seattle.

Angry response in Iran, Egypt

In Iran, where gays and lesbians can face the death penalty, the president of Iran’s Football Federation Mehdi Taj criticized scheduling the match during an interview aired on state television late Monday.

Taj said Iran would bring up the issue during a FIFA Council meeting in Qatar next week. The longest-serving member of the 37-person council chaired by FIFA President Gianni Infantino is Egypt’s Hany Abo Rida.

“Both Egypt and we have objected, because this is an unreasonable and illogical move that essentially signals support for a particular group, and we must definitely address this point,” Taj said. State TV on Tuesday confirmed a complaint would be sent to FIFA.

The Egypt soccer federation led by Ado Rida said of the pride celebration it “completely rejects such activities, which directly contradict the cultural, religious and social values in the region, especially in Arab and Islamic societies.”

It urged FIFA to stop the celebration to “avoid activities that may trigger cultural and religious sensitivity between the presented spectators of both countries, Egypt and Iran, especially as such activities contradict the cultures and religions of the two countries.”

Iran had threatened to boycott the World Cup draw in Washington, D.C. over complaints about five of its nine-person delegation, including Taj, not getting visas to enter the United States.

Iranians are subject to a travel ban imposed by President Donald Trump’s administration and the U.S. in the past has denied visas for those with ties to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, like Taj. Iran ended up sending a smaller delegation including the team’s coach.

Tensions remain high between Tehran and Washington over Iran’s nuclear program, particularly after American warplanes bombed atomic sites in the country during Israel’s 12-day war with the Islamic Republic in June. Unlike the 2022 World Cup, however, Iran is not scheduled to play the United States in the World Cup’s opening matches.

Seattle’s response

Asked about the complaint Wednesday, Seattle’s organizing committee said it was “moving forward as planned with our community programming outside the stadium during Pride weekend and throughout the tournament.”

“The Pacific Northwest is home to one of the nation’s largest Iranian-American communities, a thriving Egyptian diaspora and rich communities representing all nations we’re hosting in Seattle,” spokesperson Hana Tadesse said in a statement. “We’re committed to ensuring all residents and visitors experience the warmth, respect and dignity that defines our region.”

Iran, Egypt target LGBTQ+ community

For years, Egyptian police have targeted gays and lesbians, sparking warnings even from the app Grindr in the past. Though Egypt technically does not outlaw homosexuality, authorities frequently prosecute members of the LGBTQ+ community on the grounds of “debauchery,” or “violating public decency.”

Iran also has targeted the LGBTQ community and its theocracy is believed to have executed thousands of people for their sexuality since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Hard-line former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad once famously went as far as to claim during a 2007 visit to the United States: “We don’t have homosexuals like in your country.” A crowd at Columbia University responded by laughing and heckling the leader.

FIFA dilemma

FIFA risks being accused of a double standard if it sides with World Cup teams’ federations over the city of Seattle.

At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, FIFA fiercely defended the right of the host nation’s cultural norms to be respected in full by visiting teams.

A group of European federations wanted their team captains to wear a “One Love” armband with some rainbow colors that symbolized human rights and diversity, which FIFA and Qatari officials viewed in part as criticism of the emirate criminalizing same-sex relations. Some Wales fans had rainbow hats removed before entering the stadium.

Qatar also will play in Seattle at the World Cup, on June 24 against a European opponent which could be Italy or Wales.

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AP Sports Writer Graham Dunbar in Geneva contributed to this report

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

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December 12, 2025
‘Heated Rivalry’ Stars Respond To Jordan Firstman’s Criticism Of Show’s Sex Scenes

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Although Heated Rivalry has quickly become an international hit with a Season 2 renewal, not everyone is a fan of the steamy gay hockey romance.

Following Jordan Firstman‘s criticism of the Crave/HBO Max show’s sex scenes, stars Hudson Williams and François Arnaud responded to the I Love LA actor’s comment that their depiction of gay intimacy is “not how gay people f*ck.”

“Is there only one way to have ‘authentic’ gay sex on tv?” asked Arnaud in an Instagram comment. “Should the sex that closeted hockey players have look like the sex that sceney LA gay guys have?”

Williams took the high road on his Instagram Story. “But truly go watch I Love LA! Jordan and the cast are great!!” he wrote.

The stars’ posts come after Firstman compared them to the sex scenes on his own HBO Max show, which he said a “straight guy could not write,” despite the fact that Heated Rivalry creator, writer and director Jacob Tierney being openly gay.

“Yeah, we’re going for it. It’s gay,” he told Vulture. “I’m sorry, I watched those first two episodes of Heated Rivalry, and it’s just not gay. It’s not how gay people f*ck. There’s so few things that actually show gay sex.”

Firstman later added that “a lot of people just want entertainment or to see two straight hockey players pretending to be gay and f*cking.”

After Heated Rivalry‘s two-episode premiere last month, LGBTQ fans have passionately taken to the show’s depiction of gay intimacy in the adaptation of Rachel Reid’s Game Changers novel series.

Connor Storrie as Ilya Rozanov and Hudson Williams as Shane Hollander in ‘Heated Rivalry’ (Sabrina Lantos)

Williams previously told Deadline, “The sex scenes, we rehearse them so heavily and we knew what we were gonna do going in, that they’re also a lot of fun.”

“Yeah, it’s a dance, added his romantic lead Connor Storrie.

Arnaud explained to Deadline, “They chose people who believed in the usefulness of these scenes to tell that story. … I liked that our scenes with Kip [played by Robbie GK] were showing another side of sexuality, which is tentative and repressed and like role-play almost, and it’s just two people who are actually just giving in, and the joy of that.”

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Glenn Garner

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December 12, 2025
‘Heated Rivalry’ Stars On Why Sex Scenes Are Easier To Film Than Hockey, Fan Speculation On Sexuality: “Just The Nature Of Celebrity”

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SPOILERS: This post contains details about the Heated Rivalry episode ‘Rose’

Never has hockey been more important to LGBTQ audiences than in the wake of Heated Rivalry‘s meteoric success, presenting many physical demands for the show’s stars—on and off the ice.

Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, who star in the Crave/HBO Max show as closeted hockey pros Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander, recently explained to Deadline why they would “rather [film] the sex scenes” than hockey sequences.

“Because the hockey scenes—my feet hurt and then I cramp and I’m not that good, so I have to be very diligent with making sure I don’t look like a phony,” explained Williams. “But with the sex scenes, we rehearse them so heavily and we knew what we were gonna do going in, that they’re also a lot of fun.”

Storrie echoed his co-star’s sentiment, noting, “The hockey stuff is not easy. I mean, it’s hard to believe yourself as an NHL player at the top of your craft. … It’s very physically demanding. It’s also, being on the ice for so long is almost nauseating. I don’t know, just the lights, it’s cold. It’s so not easy.”

Fortunately for the show’s devoted fans, this week’s episode ‘Rose’ features multiple intimate moments between Ilya and Shane. Meanwhile, the stars are aware of the fan speculation that’s grown around their own sexual orientations, which Williams notes is “just the nature of celebrity.”

‘Heated Rivalry’s Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams

Glenn Garner/Deadline

Williams said, “I think there’s never a question for me, when I would dream of becoming in the public eye, that I would want just a level of privacy. But of course, I agree. I want queer people telling queer stories, but also, there’s the element of Connor and I—we’re best friends, and we love expressing that physically.”

For Storrie, with “so much energy coming at us,” he explained, “It’s important for me to have a little bit of separation from the character in the show.”

Based on Rachel Reid’s Game Changers novels, the Jacob Tierney-created series follows the affair between Ilya and Shane as they begin to fall in love over several years, sneaking away to see each other when their teams are playing.

Connor Storrie as Ilya Rozanov and Hudson Williams as Shane Hollander in ‘Heated Rivalry’

Sabrina Lantos

The episode ‘Rose’, now available to stream, sees Ilya and Shane trading in their usual discreet hotel rendezvous for Ilya’s mansion. Despite the casual nature of their dynamic, the pair sticks around after their latest hookup for some cuddling and tuna melts. But when things start getting a little too real for Shane, he bolts, only to spark romance with famous actress Rose Landry (Sophie Nélisse).

Read on about the latest episode of Heated Rivalry.

DEADLINE: I know everybody on social media is loving Heated Rivalry, and I also saw that you guys went to Hi Tops last night. What was it like seeing the fan reaction in person?

CONNOR STORRIE: It’s so overwhelming. We did some fan events before the show came out, and that felt a little easier because it wasn’t so much about us. It was more about the story, but that was so weird to be around people, because it became not just about, “I love this story, I love these characters,” but like, “I love you on the show,” and it’s like, oh, I can’t accept that.

HUDSON WILLIAMS: Yeah, I almost just wish they didn’t give us mics and they just sent us into the crowd, because I can do person-to-person, but when they’re like, “say something,” and it’s like “What do you want me to say in front of everyone? Everyone’s looking at you and filming you, but it’s still grea. After the mics went down, we just got to meet these people, taking selfies, and they’re just saying how much it means to them. That is really special.

Connor Storrie as Ilya Rozanov in ‘Heated Rivalry’

Sabrina Lantos

DEADLINE: And obviously, the sex scenes have been incredibly popular. But I have to wonder what is more physically demanding, the intimate scenes or the hockey scenes? which would you rather spend the day filming?

WILLIAMS: I’d rather do the sex scenes because the hockey scenes—my feet hurt and then I cramp and I’m not that good, so I have to be very diligent with making sure I don’t look like a phony. But with the sex scenes, we rehearse them so heavily and we knew what we were gonna do going in, that they’re also a lot of fun.

STORRIE: Yeah, it’s a dance. I totally agree with that. The hockey stuff is not easy. I mean, it’s hard to believe yourself as an NHL player at the top of your craft. I mean, those people, they work their entire lives for that. So, getting in those skates, being next to these guys who have been doing this for like 20 years, you’re like, “I’m OK.” It’s very physically demanding. It’s also, being on the ice for so long is almost nauseating. I don’t know, just the lights, it’s cold. It’s so not easy.

DEADLINE: I loved this episode because we’ve seen Shane just really putting his heart on his sleeve, but now we’re starting to see Ilya kind of give in a little bit. But then on top of that, we’re seeing Shane pull away. Tell me about tug of war and how you guys brought that to the screen.

STORRIE: For me, it’s always just moment to moment. I don’t really think of things in like arcs or plot or, “Oh this is so different from what we’ve done before.” I think we just kind of know these characters really well, and then it’s easy to kind of take that bass and plug and play it. I always look at Ilya as his own thing, and then I think if I’m really solid on that, then it naturally will provide whatever needs to be happening in the plot of the story. And then we have someone like Jacob who knows the story like the back of his hand and is willing to be like, “No, I think at this point, we need a little more of this, we need a little less that.” So, it’s just really knowing the person, and then you can plug that into any element of the story.

Hudson Williams as Shane Hollander in ‘Heated Rivalry’

Sabrina Lantos

WILLIAMS: Yes. To that point, knowing Shane, it felt like, of course he’s running. This is almost like when you go to pick up something you think is heavy and then it goes light, it’s almost like that moment where it’s like, “Oh my God.” He is like it, it looks like boyfriends. It looks like a partner, and it hasn’t up to this point. And that’s sort of terrifying. And [calling him by] the first name, it’s a lot of things that are just sort of scaring him in that moment, that it’s hard just to take that.

STORRIE: Right. There’s so many new things that you can’t help but feel altered or different.

DEADLINE: I also love the addition of Rose in this episode. What was it like bringing her into the fold? Because it’s kind of giving Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift.

WILLIAMS: Right. I’m not too familiar with them, so I can’t speak to that. But working with Sophie, it was fantastic, and the Rose character is also very interesting because, obviously Shane is in love with Ilya, but Rose, her character in a way adds pressure to who he’s meant to be or what he thinks he should look like. But then again, she’s a confidant and she’s someone who’s open and accepting and makes him feel really safe. And up to that point, it was really only Ilya who could provide that, and his emotions weren’t always handled with care, so it’s a super interesting connection.

STORRIE: Yes, another true connection.=-=[]aq

DEADLINE: And just being able to step out in public and have paparazzi take pictures of them—

WILLIAMS: Yeah, I think that’s the sort of tragic element for Shane is, because he’s able to do this with someone who he doesn’t feel truthful that this person he’s in love with in that same way, but it’s being celebrated in a way that he feels they never would be.

DEADLINE: GLAAD recently released a report that nearly half of LGBTQ characters are disappearing from television this year. What does it feel like to be part of a show that’s just so unapologetically queer and a lot of people are seeing themselves represented?

STORRIE: Yeah, it feels great. I think that this community that it really speaks to, is so culturally impactful, now more than ever, and I think that this is really showing people just how much this does resonate with the world, in and outside of that community. I just want people to know that we’re so enthusiastic about these people and we relate to them so much, and we love this form of love.

WILLIAMS: And we love this story.

DEADLINE: And I feel like anytime there’s a big queer project like this, it seems inevitable that people are going to be speculating about your sexuality.

WILLIAMS: Of course, it’s just the nature of celebrity as well too.

DEADLINE: Or just accusing you of gay baiting. How does it feel having to separate your personal from the professional?

WILLIAMS: I think there’s never a question for me, when I would dream of becoming in the public eye, that I would want just a level of privacy. But of course, I agree. I want queer people telling queer stories, but also, there’s the element of Connor and I—we’re best friends, and we love expressing that physically. You see people who infer or assume, and you kind of have to let that go. But then again, I never wanna stop expressing the love I have for Connor physically, and I’m never really going to, and I think multiple things can be true at once. We want queer people telling queer stories. There’s an element of, also you can’t ask that in an audition room. But I think what Jacob said really sums it up the best, which is, you have to gauge how enthusiastic they are about the story. And they could have paid me $10 and just fed me, and I’m doing the story. I really thought I was gonna get nothing for this, and I just loved the story so much, and I want to be a part of that. And Connor as well, I’m sure feels the same. So, I think that’s the only thing you can gauge.

STORRIE: Totally. I think there’s so much energy that is coming at us with the rise of this show, and for me, at least, I think it’s important for me to have a little bit of separation from the character in the show. All I can really say is that I love Ilya, I love the community that this is a part of and that this caters to. I think that’s so much more interesting and valuable than doing just another run-of-the-mill, straight story. Who I date, who I sleep with, who this, that, whatever, I’m gonna keep that to myself. But regardless, I think this is super important, and I think also on top of that, it’s just really cool.

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Glenn Garner

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December 11, 2025
U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers builds team of religious bigots, election deniers – Detroit Metro Times

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U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers has assembled a campaign team of extremist pastors and activists who have long opposed LGBTQ+ rights and promoted false claims about election fraud, a Metro Times review shows.

Rogers, a former FBI agent and Republican congressman who narrowly lost the 2024 Senate race to Democrat Elissa Slotkin, launched his 2026 Senate bid in April. As part of his campaign, he created a “Faith Coalition Leadership Team” whose members include hard-right conservatives with well-documented histories of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and attempts to overturn or undermine past election results. The team includes members who openly opposed gay marriage and LGBTQ+ rights, encouraged the practice of conversion therapy on minors, and shared extreme anti-gay rhetoric that included calling LGBTQ+ rights “demonic, satanic, and wicked.”

The makeup of the council aligns with Rogers’s own record of voting against LGBTQ+ protections during his time in Congress. During his 14 years in the U.S. House, he consistently opposed expanding federal protections for LGBTQ+ people, including voting against efforts to add sexual orientation or gender identity to federal civil rights statutes. More recently, he has criticized Title IX protections for transgender students and has spoken out against transgender athletes participating in school sports.

One of the most prominent members of the coalition is former Michigan Civil Rights Commissioner Linda Lee Tarver, who repeatedly fought efforts to extend basic protections to LGBTQ+ residents while serving on the commission. In 2017, when Equality Michigan asked the commission to interpret the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act as covering sexual orientation and gender identity, Tarver pushed for an outright rejection, saying, “We’re not here to expand law; it is not within our purview.”

Tarver’s public statements went even further. On Facebook in February 2021, when President Joe Biden wanted to add sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes, she wrote that “God designed the husband to be a MAN and the wife to be a WOMAN” and called federal LGBTQ+ protections a “godless, demonic, satanic and wicked agenda of the devil.”

Another coalition member, Pastor Lorenzo Sewell, has preached that LGBTQ+ civil rights undermine Christian teachings. In June, he insisted that extending civil rights to LGBTQ+ residents will “superimpose your sexuality on our culture,” urging congregants to pray against what he described as an “abomination.”

Pastor Brian Ford, another coalition member, leads a church that labelled homosexuality as a “sexual perversion” and opposed gay marriage on the grounds that it was unacceptable “in the eyes of god.” The Living Word Church considers homosexuality “unbiblical” and a “sexual perversion.”

Rogers’s advisory council also includes religious figures and others who tried to overturn or delegitimize past election results.

Tarver was a vocal supporter of efforts to overturn the 2020 election, petitioning the Michigan Supreme Court to seize ballots, ballot boxes, and poll books in Detroit and to block certification of Biden’s victory. The court rejected her claims. She later joined a failed national Republican-backed lawsuit that sought to stop Michigan’s electors from certifying Biden’s win.

Another coalition member, attorney Alexandria Taylor, is an election conspiracy theorist who was sanctioned by a Wayne County judge for filing a baseless 2022 lawsuit claiming widespread wrongdoing in Detroit’s election. The judge found the case “devoid of arguable legal merit” and “rife with speculation.”

Taylor’s lawsuit cited the debunked conspiracy film 2000 Mules as evidence of ballot fraud, despite the movie offering no proof of wrongdoing in Michigan.

Sewell, a key surrogate for Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign, has also peddled discredited conspiracy theories, claiming during the state House Election Integrity Committee that “systemic voter fraud” occurred during the 2024 Detroit election. He also told the committee that “we don’t have fair elections; we’re like China.”

Meerman, who was also appointed to the coalition, was involved in efforts to undermine the 2020 election and was named an “election denier” by States United Action, a nonpartisan group “with a mission to protect elections.”

State House Rep. Luke Meerman, R-Coopersville, opposed state legislation in June 2023 that banned Michigan health officials from performing conversion therapy, a harmful and widely discredited practice that purports to be able to change minors’ sexual orientation or gender identity. Later that year, Meerman opposed a bill to extend civil rights protections to LGBTQ+ residents.

Coalition member John Damoose, a Republican state senator from Harbor Springs, also opposed both bills.

When Rogers announced his coalition last month, he said the members will “lead grassroots outreach to faith communities, building important relationships, sharing Mike’s America First vision, and mobilizing people of faith across Michigan.”

“This campaign is built on faith, family, and freedom, and I will fight as your next U.S. Senator to defend those values every single day,” Rogers said in a statement at the time. “We look forward to working with this all-star team of faith leaders to protect and defend the religious freedoms that make our state and country the ‘shining city on a hill.’”

In a statement to Metro Times, Rogers’s campaign downplayed the extreme positions of the coalition members, suggesting Rogers couldn’t possibly know the views of all of them.

“Mike has had thousands of volunteers for his campaigns. There’s no way for him to know every view of every volunteer—no candidate does,” the campaign said. “These volunteers get involved not because they agree 100% of the time but because they know Mike is the only candidate who can get Michigan working again and deliver for working families.”

Responding to Metro Times‘s story, the Michigan Democratic Party denounced Rogers for surrounding himself with divisive figures at a time when residents are already divided.

“Mike Rogers is surrounding himself with election deniers and extremists who want to ban marriage equality and force conversion therapy on minors—all while championing policies that make life more expensive and rip away health care,” Michigan Democratic Party spokesperson Joey Hannum said. “Instead of focusing on how to make Michigan more welcoming and affordable for everyone, Rogers is running a hateful, out-of-touch campaign that pits neighbors against each other and makes everybody worse off.”

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Steve Neavling

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December 10, 2025
29 “Wicked: For Good” Easter Eggs And Very Clever Details You Might’ve Missed The First Time

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The door scene during “For Good” has SO MANY parallels to Elphaba and Glinda in the first “Wicked” movie.

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November 25, 2025
For Trump, “Fostering the Future” Looks a Lot Like the Past

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By putting the religious rights of potential foster parents above the civil rights of L.G.B.T.Q. youth, a new executive order reënacts the original sin of the child-welfare system.

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Kristen Martin

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November 23, 2025
Covenant House Georgia hosts Sleep Out to raise awareness of youth homelessness awareness

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Sleep Out is a participatory event where Covenant House Georgia supporters give up their beds for one night to sleep outdoors on CHGA’s campus, in support of young people experiencing homelessness and escaping trafficking. Photo by Isaiah Singleton/The Atlanta Voice

Sleep Out is a participatory event where Covenant House Georgia supporters give up their beds for one night to sleep outdoors on CHGA’s campus, in support of young people experiencing homelessness and escaping trafficking.

Imagine turning 18 years old and not having a warm bed or a place to call home. This is the case for many youths, not just in Atlanta, but all over the nation. On Thursday, Nov. 20, Covenant House Georgia held their annual Sleep Out event to raise awareness to youth homelessness in Atlanta and around the nation.

Covenant House Georgia is a non-profit organization that provides emergency shelter and support services for young people, ages 18-24, who are experiencing homelessness or escaping human trafficking in the Atlanta area. Covenant House Georgia is also an LGBTQ+ safe space.

Sleep Out is a participatory event where Covenant House Georgia supporters give up their beds for one night to sleep outdoors on CHGA’s campus, in support of young people experiencing homelessness and escaping trafficking.

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Photo by Isaiah Singleton/The Atlanta Voice

When you Sleep Out, participants join a worldwide movement to end youth homelessness! As part of the larger Covenant House International federation of shelters, Covenant House Georgia works in partnership with our peers to plan the best possible event, combining Sleep Out best practices with the unique needs of our Atlanta community

Some services they offer are Drop-in & emergency shelter, transitional housing, healthcare, educational support, job training.

According to the Covenant House Georgia, over 3,300 youth experience homelessness in Atlanta. 49% of youth experiencing homelessness have been sexually exploited. 40% of youth experiencing homelessness are LGBTQ+, despite only 7% of the general population of youth identifying as LGBTQ+. Moreover, LGBTQ+ youth are more likely to be victimized than non-LGBTQ+ youth on the streets.

Photo by Tabius McCoy/The Atlanta Voice

Additionally, 16-19-year-olds have the highest unemployment rate of any age group, at 12.6% (more than 3x the national average) and higher for at-risk youth. This leaves many without options to escape homelessness.

Board Chair of Covenant House Georgia, Ben Deutsch, said every child deserves to have a place they call home and a haven.

“Every child should have a place that they feel safe in,” he said. “Our young people are not invisible or forgotten. This is why the Covenant House Georgia was created and why we continue to sleep out every year to highlight such a critical issue. We will do this in solidarity with 100 young people who will be sleeping inside because of all the arduous work, and all the goodness that you have all done tonight with donations.”

Covenant House International Director of Programming Kedren Jackson said the sleep-out is not a reenactment of homelessness nor a performance.

“This is not just for fun; this is not simply to hang out. This is an invitation to move through this space with humility and to see our young people with a different level of clarity and respect,” she said. “Tonight, we may see their humor, leadership, vulnerability, creativity, hesitation, raw emotions, and uncertainty. None of this is random, and it all comes from somewhere.”

Throughout the event program, participants were able to experience a talent show displayed by former and current youths in the program, a candlelight vigil to remember youths who were lost this year due to homelessness, a tour of the campus, and then the sleep-out event.

The night ended with everyone camped outside in their sleeping bags by fire pits, mingling until they fell asleep.

What was thought of as just a sleep-out event to some turned into not only a transformational but also an in-depth, hands-on experience for people. Between hearing from the youths and everyone sitting around the pit fires and sleeping, it turned into more than just sleeping outside; It became a purposeful movement.

First-timer participant of the sleep out, Vanessa Wright, and her friends said they wanted to find ways to give back to the community.

“This was something I’ve always wanted to do but never knew where, and one of my friends told me about this and brought me along,” she said. “I am so glad we are doing this, and I’m also grateful it’s not too cold as I thought it might be. This type of thing is important, and more people should know about it and be willing to do things that can be uncomfortable.”

Another participant, who also happened to have experienced homelessness as a youth, Kenneth Dwight, said he has been doing the sleep-out for a few years now and is happy to be able to contribute.

“What’s crazy is I was once in some of these guys’ positions. Going home from home, living out on the streets not having a stable home or resources. It was tough for a while, but I was able to find some stability through my uncle, who took me in,” he said. “Programs like the Covenant House Georgia are crucial because youths not only in Atlanta but all over the country are on the streets being exposed to all kinds of bad things that aren’t growing them, so I’m just happy to help in any way I can because I was once one of them.”

Before the end of the night, everyone bundled up in their sleeping bags and drifted off to sleep to the sounds of crickets and fire cracking.

For more information about Covenant House, resources, or to donate, visit https://www.sleepout.org/georgia.

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November 21, 2025
Salem honors Transgender Day of Remembrance & Resilience

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SALEM — In honor of Transgender Day of Remembrance & Resilience, elected officials and community members gathered at City Hall on Thursday to remember the lives of the 64 transgender people in the U.S. who have died in the past year.

Transgender Day of Resilience, celebrated annually during Transgender Awareness Week Nov. 13-19, was established in 2014 with the Audre Lord Project and created by transgender people of color as a visionary and creative act of defiance to transform grief into love, hope, and strength.

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By Michael McHugh | Staff Writer

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November 21, 2025
Veteran FBI employee files lawsuit claiming he was fired for displaying Pride flag

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A 16-year FBI employee has filed a lawsuit alleging he was fired last month because he had a Pride flag draped near his desk.

David Maltinsky, who was weeks away from being elevated to the position of agent, claims the firing was unlawful and sent a ripple of fear through the LGBT employees at the FBI.

“We’re not the enemy and we’re not some political mob. We’re proud members of the FBI, and we have a mission to do. We go to work every day to do it,” Maltinsky told CBS News in his first interview.

In a civil complaint filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Maltinsky seeks a court order to restore his job.

The suit makes several allegations, including an argument that the FBI has violated Maltinsky’s First Amendment rights and retaliated against him for protected expression.

According to the lawsuit, the First Amendment “forbids government officials from firing government employees, or otherwise retaliating against them, simply for engaging in expressive conduct concerning a matter of public concern.”

David Maltinsky

CBS News

The lawsuit states that Maltinsky was fired in a letter signed by FBI Director Kash Patel in October. A copy of the letter was provided by Maltinsky to CBS News. In it, Patel writes: “I have determined that you exercised poor judgment with an inappropriate display of political signage in your work area during your previous assignment at the Los Angeles Field Office. Pursuant to Article II of the United States Constitution and the laws of the United States, your employment with the Federal Bureau of Investigation is hereby terminated.”

The FBI had no comment regarding Maltinsky’s lawsuit.

Maltinsky, who began working at the FBI in 2008, was in the midst of a training program for future agents at the FBI’s facility in Quantico, Virginia, when he was fired, according to the lawsuit.

The rainbow flag that Maltinsky displayed at his workspace in the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office was presented to him after it had previously been displayed outside the Bureau’s federal office complex there, according to the lawsuit.

Maltinsky said the federal government approved the display of Pride flags at federal office complexes in June 2021. His lawsuit alleges that a colleague filed a complaint with a supervisor about Maltinsky’s flag on Jan. 20, 2025, the day of President Trump’s second Inaugural.

In an hourlong interview with CBS News, Maltinsky said his firing has had a chilling impact inside the Bureau.

“The ripple effect of fear has been felt. Many gay colleagues have removed Pride flags from their desks, allies have removed Pride flags from their desk,” he said.

David Maltinsky holding a Pride flag. He is suing the FBI over his termination.

CBS News

“David’s dream was to serve our country as an FBI Special Agent,” said Christopher M. Mattei, counsel for Maltinsky and a partner at Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder, PC. “When that dream was cruelly taken from him, he stayed true to his oath and is now fighting to protect the rights of all Americans.”

“This case is about far more than one man’s career—it’s about whether the government can punish Americans simply for saying who they are,” Mattei said.

Under questioning at a congressional hearing in September, Patel told senators he was not taking action against any “enemies list,” including among FBI employees.

“The only actions we take, generally speaking, for personnel at the FBI, are ones based on merit and qualification and your ability to uphold your constitutional duty,” Patel said.

“You fall short, you don’t work there anymore.”

Maltinsky’s firing is part of a large and growing wave of terminations, resignations and retirements inside the Justice Department since Jan. 20. Justice Connection, an organization that supports the ex-employees, told CBS News more than 5,000 employees have left or been fired from the agency this year.

The purge includes agents and prosecutors who handled the U.S. Capitol riot prosecutions and the special counsel criminal probes of President Trump, which were dropped after Mr. Trump won the election in November 2024.

“It’s very sad that it’s happening,” Maltinsky told CBS News. “But part of this filing is that: I’m not intimidated. We’re not intimidated.”

“Diversity means so much to so many different people,” he added. “There is no one definition that everyone will agree on. What I believe is diversity brings strength.”

More from CBS News

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November 19, 2025
Veteran FBI employee sues bureau after being fired over displaying a pride flag

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WASHINGTON — A veteran FBI employee training to become a special agent was fired last month for displaying at his workspace an LGBTQ+ flag, which had previously flown outside a field office, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court.

David Maltinsky had worked at the FBI for 16 years and was nearly finished with special agent training in Quantico, Virginia, when he was called into a meeting last month with FBI officials, given a letter from Director Kash Patel and told he was being “summarily dismissed” over the inappropriate display of political signage, Maltinsky’s lawsuit said.

The suit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District court in Washington, said Maltinsky had been a decorated intelligence specialist working in the Los Angeles field office and most recently was pursuing a longtime dream of becoming a special agent.

In June 2021, the Los Angeles field office displayed a “Progress Pride” flag, which consists of a rainbow-colored horizontal stripes and a chevron with black, brown, pink, light blue, and white colors. It’s meant to represent people of color, as well as the LGBTQ+ community. Maltinsky was given that flag after it had come down and was then displayed at his Los Angeles field office workstation with the support and permission of his supervisors, according to the lawsuit.

In April, he began training at the FBI Academy to become a special agent and had successfully completed 16 of the 19 weeks of training at the time of his firing, the lawsuit stated.

Maltinsky said in the suit he helped lead diversity initiatives during his time at the bureau as well. President Donald Trump issued an exeuctive order in January ending all diversity, equity and inclusion programs within the government.

The suit names Patel, the FBI, Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Justice Department as defendants.

The FBI declined to comment. A message seeking comment on behalf of the Justice Department wasn’t immediately returned Wednesday.

Among other things, Maltinsky is seeking reinstatement to his position along with an order declaring that the defendants violated his First Amendment rights to speech and Fifth Amendment rights to equal protection under the law.

Maltinsky’s attorney Christopher M. Mattei called the firing an unlawful attack.

“This case is about far more than one man’s career — it’s about whether the government can punish Americans simply for saying who they are,” Mattei said in a statement.

Other lawsuits challenging the bureau’s personnel moves have been filed since President Donald Trump’s second term began. In September, three high-ranking FBI officials said in a lawsuit they were fired in a “campaign of retribution” carried out by a director who knew better but caved to political pressure from the Trump administration.

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November 19, 2025
The “Critical Role” Cast Competed Against Each Other In A Trivia Game About Themselves

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Critical Role Cast Wars The Mighty Nein

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By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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November 6, 2025
Gym chain at center of Tish Hyman dispute flooded with negative reviews

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A gym has been flooded with negative online reviews after a woman said her membership was revoked when she complained about a transgender woman in the women’s locker room.

Singer Tish Hyman took to social media to say she had the “worst experience” at a Gold’s Gym in Los Angeles.

The gym—which was recently acquired by EoS Fitness, according to local media—has received more than two dozen one-star Google reviews in the past 24 hours, several of which explicitly mentioned the locker-room dispute.

Newsweek contacted the Beverly Center branch of Gold’s Gym for comment via a contact form on its website.

Why It Matters

Since returning to office in January, President Donald Trump has issued several anti-transgender executive orders—such as “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which threatens to “rescind all funds from educational programs” that allow transgender athletes to compete in women’s and girls’ sports.

The incident at Gold’s Gym touches on a broader national debate over transgender rights and women’s privacy in public spaces, which continues to be a deeply contentious issue in the United States.

What To Know

Hyman said the Beverly Center Gold’s Gym revoked her membership after she complained about a transgender woman being in the women’s dressing room.

“Today I was naked in the locker room. I turned around, and there was a man there. Boy clothes, lip gloss, standing there looking at me, and I’m butt naked,” Hyman said in a video posted on TikTok.

She said that when she questioned the individual’s presence in the changing room, they said, “I am a woman and have a right to be in here.” Hyman added that the incident made her feel “violated” and “weird.”

Hyman also posted a video that showed her filming the individual as they argued and gym employees attempted to intervene.

She said the person then followed her into the locker room and called her an expletive, leading to her leaving the locker room crying.

Hyman wrote on X: “#goldsgym terminated my membership after the MAN was escorted out by police. Then had me escorted out by officers afterwards. It was EMBARRASSING! I left but not before making sure everyone KNEW that they were allowing MEN in the locker room!!!!!”

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On Instagram, she said other women had previously made several written reports about the individual “coming into our women’s locker room harassing us” and that “the gym staff has done absolutely nothing.”

Hyman shared another video of herself shouting about the incident in what appeared to be a cafe attached to the gym.

The gym, which comes up under the name EoS Fitness on Google, has since been flooded with negative reviews, with people saying they were canceling their membership over the incident.

“Unsafe for women. Please get a membership elsewhere that will protect you as a woman, where you don’t have to worry about grown men in the restroom/locker room/shower area,” one reviewer wrote.

“What an absolute joke of a gym. Allowing men into women’s locker rooms. SHAME ON YOU! How can any of us WOMEN feel safe when there are MEN in the locker rooms with us??!?!” another added.

Hyman has also been supported by several prominent conservative commentators on X.

What People Are Saying

Paul A. Szypula, a conservative commenter, wrote on X: “Black woman who was kicked out of a Gold’s Gym in Los Angeles because she complained about a man using the women’s locker room. Good for this woman and shame on Gold’s Gym. She should sue both the man and the gym.”

Riley Gaines, a former swimmer and prominent advocate against transgender women in sports, wrote on X: “If we saw boldness like this back in 2020, this insanity would’ve never been allowed to fester like it has. God bless you for speaking the truth loudly, @listen2tish.”

What Happens Next

As of writing, Gold’s Gym had not commented publicly on the incident. It remains to be seen whether the incident will affect locker-room policies.

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November 4, 2025
‘Boots’ Creator Andy Parker Didn’t Set Out to Make “Woke Garbage”—or Military Propaganda

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“I guess we have to give some credit to the Pentagon there, don’t we?” says Andy Parker, cheekily. His Netflix series Boots—which follows a closeted teen in the 1990s as he enlists in the Marines—has surged to the top of the streamer’s charts since its release on October 9, peaking earlier this week as the No. 2 most-watched series on the platform. That might have something to do with the fact that the Pentagon released a statement on October 16 shading Boots, calling it “woke garbage.”

“Under President [Donald] Trump and Secretary [Pete] Hegseth, the US military is getting back to restoring the warrior ethos. Our standards across the board are elite, uniform, and sex neutral because the weight of a rucksack or a human being doesn’t care if you’re a man, a woman, gay, or straight,” said Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson. “We will not compromise our standards to satisfy an ideological agenda, unlike Netflix whose leadership consistently produces and feeds woke garbage to their audience and children.”

Andy Parker attends a “Boots” screening and conversation at SAG-AFTRA Foundation Robin Williams Center on October 06, 2025 in New York City.

Dominik Bindl/Getty Images.

“I would be very surprised if the Pentagon actually watched the show,” Parker says in response. But whether or not Trump or Hegseth have streamed the queer-boot-camp series, perhaps after a long day of very heterosexual activities like remodeling the White House and trying to make the military more buff, the administration slamming Boots has apparently only made it more popular. (Spoilers below.)

“The premise itself instigates or incites some kind of reaction or assumptions,” says Parker of Boots. “What I would invite people to do is to watch the show, and see how they feel about the questions the show is trying to provoke.”

The irony is that in an alternate universe, Parker might have been a drill instructor reporting to Hegseth. “I had been this closeted gay high school kid, and had invited a Marine Corps recruiter to my house to talk with my parents about why I should go join the Marines,” Parker tells me over Zoom. “I was very actively seeking that.” He ultimately decided not to enlist—“I was running away from myself”—but with Boots, he’s getting to experience what might have been.

“There was a personal connection to the idea of a gay kid running off to join the Marines and not really understanding what that was going to do for him, or where that was going to ultimately lead him,” Parker says. “It felt like this was the road not taken. This is a path I could have gone on. How would I have done?”

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Chris Murphy

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October 24, 2025
At Moms for Liberty summit, parents urged to turn their grievances into lawsuits

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KISSIMMEE, Fla. — It’s not a rebrand. But the Moms for Liberty group that introduced itself three years ago as a band of female “joyful warriors” shedding domestic modesty to make raucous public challenges to masks, books and curriculum, is trying to glow up.

The group’s national summit this past weekend at a convention center outside Orlando leaned into family (read: parental rights), faith — and youth. The latter appeared to be a bid to join the cool kids who are the new face of conservatism in America (hint: young, Christian, very male), as well as a recognition of the group’s “diversity,” which includes grandparents, men and kids.

But even as the youth — including 20- and 30-something podcasters and social media influencers, as well as student members of the late Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA — brought a high-energy vibe, stalwart members got a new assignment. Where past Moms for Liberty attendees were urged to run for school board, this year they were encouraged to turn their grievances into legal challenges.

Moms for Liberty CEO and co-founder Tina Descovich acknowledged that while many of them had experienced backlashes as a result of running for school board or publicly challenging books, curricula and policies, they needed to continue the fight. (The more pugnacious co-founder, Tiffany Justice, is now at Heritage Action, an arm of right-wing think tank The Heritage Foundation.)

“You have lost family, you have lost friends, you have lost neighbors, you’ve lost jobs, you’ve lost whole careers,” she said. Yet she insisted that it was vital that they “shake off the shackles of fear and stand for truth or we are going to lose Western civilization as a whole.”

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The gathering held up “the free state of Florida” as an example of Republican policies to be emulated, including around school choice and parental rights. The state’s attorney general, James Uthmeier, boasted of having created a state Office of Parental Rights last spring, describing it as “a law firm for parents.”

He trumpeted the state’s lawsuit against Target over the “market risks” of LGBTQ+ pride-themed merchandise and encouraged parents to reach out with potential legal actions. “If you’re identifying one of these wrongs that’s violating your rights and then subjecting our kids to danger and evil, then we want to know about it,” he said. “And we’re going to bring the heat in court to shut it down.”

Tina Descovich, CEO and co-founder of Moms for Liberty, was interviewed on Real America’s Voice, a conservative news and entertainment network that set up a remote studio outside of the Sun Ballroom at the Moms for Liberty national summit. Credit: Laura Pappano for The Hechinger Report

The shifting legal landscape, not just in Florida but nationally, had speakers gushing about the opportunity to file new challenges, particularly in the wake of the Supreme Court decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor in June. It gives parents broad power to object to school materials, including with LGBTQ+ themes, and the right to remove their children from public school on days when such materials are discussed.

“This is where we need to take that big Supreme Court victory and start fleshing it out,” said Matt Sharp, senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian law firm. He added that they were “needing warriors, joyful warriors, to file cases to start putting meat on the bones of what that does.”

The directive to file suit was not just around opt-out policies, which were the basis for the Mahmoud case. (Moms for Liberty has opt-out forms and instructions on its website.) Rather, attendees were also urged to file lawsuits in support of school prayer; against school policies that let students use different names and pronouns without parental consent (what Moms for Liberty terms “secret transitions”); and to give parents access to surveys students take at school, including around mental health.

“We need people willing to stand up legally and be, you know, named plaintiffs,” Kimberly S. Hermann, president of the Southeastern Legal Foundation, a conservative policy group, said on a panel featuring two moms who sued their school districts. Winning a lawsuit or even just bringing one in one state, said Hermann, can get other school districts and states to adopt policies, presumably to avoid lawsuits themselves.

“One offensive litigation can have this amazing ripple effect,” she said. She and others made clear that there is staff to provide support. The legal groups will “stand with you,” said Sharp, “whether you’re passing the law or passing the local policy all the way to litigating these cases.”

Even as speakers criticized public schools particularly around LGBTQ+ issues, not as a form of inclusion but as foisting views into classrooms, they relished the chance to infuse their values into schools.

Filing these lawsuits is more than “just fighting for your role as parents,” Sharp told parents in a breakout session. “You’re ultimately fighting for your kids’ ability to be in their schools and make a difference, to be the salt and light in those classrooms with their friends and to take our message of freedom, of faith, of justice and to really spread it all across the schools.”

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Overall, this year’s Moms for Liberty event lacked the obvious drama of recent years. The flood of protesters in 2023 in Philadelphia required a large police presence and barricades around the hotel, along with warnings not to wear Moms for Liberty lanyards on the streets.

This year, there were no protests. That was partly because the event was held in a secluded resort convention center that could accommodate 800 (larger than the 500-ish of past hotels). But the group failed to fill the venue or attract much media attention. There was on-location broadcast by Real America’s Voice, a conservative news and entertainment network, from a set outside the Sun Ballroom. (Steve Bannon interviewed Descovich on his show, “The War Room.”)

It also didn’t draw opposition because protesters had a bigger target. Saturday saw “No Kings” rallies across the country, with thousands decrying what they see as President Donald Trump’s authoritarianism. “I forgot it was happening since they’re mostly ignored these days,” state Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, (D-Orlando) and a senior advisor to LGBTQ+ rights group Equality Florida, said in a text message about the Moms for Liberty event. Liz Mikitarian, founder of the national group, Stop Moms for Liberty, which is based in Florida, said the moms “are still a threat” but not worth organizing a protest against.

It was also a quieter affair than last year’s in Washington, D.C. There, Trump’s appearance fed a party atmosphere with Southern rock, sequined MAGA outfits and a cash bar. (This year, Trump appeared, but only in a prerecorded video message.)

Sequined merchandise for sale at the Moms for Liberty gathering by the company Make America Sparkle Again included tops and jackets that paid tribute to Charlie Kirk, the slain founder of Turning Point USA. Credit: Laura Pappano for The Hechinger Report

The three-day event, of course, aired familiar grievances in familiarly florid language — conservative school choice activist Corey DeAngelis railed against teacher unions over the “far-left radical agenda that they’re trying to push down children’s throats in the classroom.” Other sessions covered the expected — the alleged dangers of LGBTQ+ policies, in sports, restrooms, school curricula and books — but there was also discussion of concerns (shared on left and right) over youth screen use, online predators and artificial intelligence.

The event made room for MAHA, the Make America Healthy Again movement led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of Health and Human Services. Descovich interviewed Dr. Joseph Ladapo, the Florida surgeon general who is working to eliminate all vaccine mandates for the state’s schoolchildren.

But the move by Moms for Liberty to attract young conservatives elevated the energy in the room. It was apparent not only in a tribute to Kirk, the slain founder of Turning Point USA, which trains young conservatives on high school and college campuses. About 40 Florida TPUSA members took the ballroom stage to accept the “Liberty Sword,” the group’s highest honor, posthumously awarded to Kirk.

Related: Red school boards in a blue state asked Trump for help — and got it

It also showed up in a breakout session of mostly conservative social media influencers and podcasters who offered tips on using humor and handling online trolls: Lydia Shaffer (aka the Conservative Barbie 2.0), Alex Stein, Gates Garcia, Kaitlin Bennett, Angela Belcamino (known as “The Bold Lib,” who said she was surprised to have been invited), and Jayme Franklin, who in addition to her podcast is the Gen Z founder of The Conservateur, a conservative lifestyle brand that The New Yorker called “Vogue, But for Trumpers.”

They have built huge followings based on their compulsion to provoke. “We need to go back to biblical values of what it means to be a real man and what it means to be a real woman,” urged Franklin. “People want that guidance, and that needs to begin at church. We need to push people back into the pews.”

Their inclusion, like that of conservative commentator Benny Johnson, who moderated a panel, “Fathers: The Defenders of the Family,” appeared to recognize a need to expand the base — and be edgier. Johnson charged out on stage and trumpeted that “God’s first commandment to us was, ‘Go, be fruitful, multiply.’ Go make babies!!!!” He quipped that “right-wing moms, they’re happier, right?” and asked the crowd, “Any trad wife moms out there?”

The phrase is shorthand for a woman who embraces a traditional domestic role, often with an emphasis on fashion and style. Johnson — who credited Kirk for prodding him to find Jesus, get married and become a father (he has four children) — argued that Republicans, especially those in Gen Z, should embrace the traditional nuclear family identity as a winning political move.

“We are the party of parents. We are the party of children,” he said, adding that traditional values were already dominating culture and politics. “We live in a center-right country. And I’m tired of pretending that we don’t,” he said, and showed a map of red and blue votes in the 2024 presidential election. “This is the shift. You live in a red kingdom.”

Contact editor Caroline Preston at 212-870-8965, via Signal at CarolineP.83 or on email at preston@hechingerreport.org.

This story about Moms for Liberty was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for the Hechinger newsletter.

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Laura Pappano

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October 20, 2025
Mural Arts seeks artist to depict Philly’s queer activists on Gayborhood nightclub

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Mural Arts is searching for a Philadelphia artist to honor the city’s queer history in a new installation in the Gayborhood.

Applications to design the mural on the exterior of the Voyeur nightclub, at 1221 St. James St., open Wednesday. The mural will include four to six trailblazers in Philly’s LGBTQ+ community, such as Unity co-founder Tyrone Smith, activist Jaci Adams and Gloria Casarez, the city’s first LGBT Affairs director. It also will depict the work of the people honored.

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The mural will be dedicated in June. In addition to being Pride Month, June also kicks off a busy summer in Philadelphia, including the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration on Independence.

“As people flock to Philadelphia in 2026, we want to make sure that even more of our LGBTQ+ histories are on the walls of our city,” said Conrad Benner, project manager and founder of street art organization Streets Dept. “In this, the ‘Mural Capital of the World,’ it’s important that our stories are told in our public space.”

Applicants must submit qualifications to Mural Arts, including general information and stylistic ideas. Once an artist has been selected, community members and the site owner will provide feedback on the design, which must be approved by an internal design review committee. The deadline to submit applications is Nov. 2.

Mural Arts said the mural will build on the success of the “Finally on 13th!” display at 306 S. 13th St. by Nilé Livingston. That piece, installed in November 2023, honors queer Black ballroom culture, the tradition of “walking” in competitions featuring dance, lip-syncing, modeling, voguing and other performances.

Community members can help paint the mural on two painting days ahead of the final installation. The mural is in partnership with the Washington Square West Civic Association and the office of Councilmember Rue Landau (D-At-Large).

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Michaela Althouse

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October 20, 2025
New LGBTQ+ nightclub opens in downtown Orlando in time for Pride

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A new LGBTQ+ nightclub has opened its doors in downtown Orlando, right in time for Pride celebrations during the city’s annual parade and festival.Anthem, located in the heart of downtown, is meant to be a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community and to add to the city’s nightlife scene.Owners Michael Vacirca and Emmanuel Quiñones, who are also fiancées, said it has been a years-long dream for the pair to open a LGBTQ+ nightclub after meeting at another Downtown nightclub.”The LGBT community has been losing spaces all over the city, and now we have a brand new one,” Vacirca said. Anthem is in the former “Saddle Up” space and had its grand opening on Pride weekend.Both said it was a journey getting to this point, obtaining the needed permits, etc. “Anthem is for you to feel free, be seen, dance like no one is around you, and you can express yourself,” Quiñones said.”It’s just bringing the heart back to Orlando.” Vacirca and Quiñones said they plan to hold community events and skills workshops.”We want to make sure we level up the community together. We want to make sure we’re bringing everybody to a better place, a better future,” Vacirca said.The hope is that Anthem is more than just a club, but also a home for Central Florida’s LGBTQ+ community.”It’s just our queer people, they need it. They sometimes feel they are alone, they don’t have a friend, they don’t have a home. When they walk through those doors, that’s what we want them to feel. We want them to feel that love and you’re welcome.”

ORLANDO, Fla. —

A new LGBTQ+ nightclub has opened its doors in downtown Orlando, right in time for Pride celebrations during the city’s annual parade and festival.

Anthem, located in the heart of downtown, is meant to be a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community and to add to the city’s nightlife scene.

Owners Michael Vacirca and Emmanuel Quiñones, who are also fiancées, said it has been a years-long dream for the pair to open a LGBTQ+ nightclub after meeting at another Downtown nightclub.

“The LGBT community has been losing spaces all over the city, and now we have a brand new one,” Vacirca said.

Anthem is in the former “Saddle Up” space and had its grand opening on Pride weekend.

Both said it was a journey getting to this point, obtaining the needed permits, etc.

“Anthem is for you to feel free, be seen, dance like no one is around you, and you can express yourself,” Quiñones said.

“It’s just bringing the heart back to Orlando.”

Vacirca and Quiñones said they plan to hold community events and skills workshops.

“We want to make sure we level up the community together. We want to make sure we’re bringing everybody to a better place, a better future,” Vacirca said.

The hope is that Anthem is more than just a club, but also a home for Central Florida’s LGBTQ+ community.

“It’s just our queer people, they need it. They sometimes feel they are alone, they don’t have a friend, they don’t have a home. When they walk through those doors, that’s what we want them to feel. We want them to feel that love and you’re welcome.”

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October 18, 2025