For years, I’ve warned that when the government comes for trans people, they come for everyone. I’ve repeated how the relentless attacks on trans rights aren’t just about further marginalizing my community — they’re test runs for eroding everyone’s rights.

If lawmakers can strip a small, vulnerable group of their humanity — helped by a divided LGBTQ+ community and amplified by the media — they’ll also target other divided communities. In many instances, that’s how power works. That’s how oppression takes root and spreads. Another example of this issue is Roe v Wade — which is about what people do with their own bodies.

And then came the 2025 Oscars and Hollywood proved my point. 

What some might call the Super Bowl for performative allyship, not one winner acknowledged the unprecedented anti-trans rhetoric and legislation that is fueling democracy’s collapse. Everyone at the Oscars, but especially everyone involved in Emilia Peréz, had every reason — every responsibility — to say something. This does affect us all.  

As a professional trans media trainer, I can see how the PR agents and managers decided to downplay Karla Sofía Gascón’s existence entirely, even as she made history with her nomination as an out trans actress. Given the real harm of her comments, I almost understand it.

Almost. But not this year. 

This is the first year a U.S. president — on his first day — declared trans and intersex people nonexistent. This is the first year the federal government vowed to defund hospitals if families, under the private, expert, care of specialist doctors, medically treat their trans children. This is the first year a trans child isn’t legally allowed to play T-ball. The first year trans North Americans are forced to carry passports that endanger us. The first year states re-write civil rights laws making anti-trans discrimination not just legal, but endorsed.

The machinery of government has moved in lockstep to make it clear: trans people are not wanted, protected, or safe. 

If they are unhinged and ignorant enough to spend all those resources attacking .7 percent of the population — half of whom were literally ‘sissies’ on the playground — some part of you knows they won’t think twice to attack you.

This was the year to rise above past mistakes — to let a sincere apology start a new chapter, not perpetually punish for lack of purity. This was the year that ignoring trans people when you had the most-watched opportunity to rally for us — played into the hands of history’s villains and confirmed how they should continue mistreating trans people.

We need to see that clearly so we can change how we operate and save ourselves. You need to start believing the trans advocates like Erin in the Morning, Chase Strangio, and TransLash Media. 

Maybe celebrities will want to speak out at future Oscars when their own basic rights are threatened.

Or, maybe then they’ll understand how staying silent on trans people was actually them cutting their own mic.

This is the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion work the government wants erased, so every word is resistance.

Scott Turner Schofield is an actor, writer, producer, speaker, and trans activist who transitioned 25 years ago and followed their calling to become an advocate. Ten years ago, Schofield became the first out trans actor in daytime television and made it his mission to build a trans-inclusive Hollywood. They’ve had a front row seat in the transgender representation you’ve either loved or hated since Caitlyn Jenner showed up in lingerie.

First off, let’s congratulate the winners — and no, we are not including Emilia Peréz in the official winners category — though the cast and crew did snag a few ‘wins.’ The real winners were actors and actresses who graced the Red Carpet with dashing and smashing looks and those who stunned us with their acceptance speeches. 

The Wizard of Oz intro to this year’s awards ceremony dazzled us all, as we were swept off our feet by Erivo and Grande’s dreamy and stunning Defying Gravity duet. 

Let’s just say Cynthia Erivo and Arianna Grande blew us away so far into the sky with their performance, we defied gravity. 

Erivo’s partner Lena Waithe, creator of TV series The Chi, also made an appearance from the audience during many moments sprinkled throughout the Oscars broadcast. 

Though I’m sure Waithe looked at Erivo in awe and adoring admiration during her partner’s solo moment on stage, the way the cameras captured the adoring look Ari gave Erivo, just about melted our queer little hearts. 

It seems like this year we saw alarmingly low BIPOC and LGBTQ+ representation overall in nominees and winners.

This is painfully surprising considering that we are peaking nearly 100 years of Oscars Awards ceremonies. 

Still, the opening intro dazzled us all with Ari’s historically important Dorothy slippers clapping together in unison with the intro of the music.  

Before getting into the winners, can I also just quickly mention how cringe it was for the acceptance song, for the Emilia Peréz Academy Award for Best Original Song? I hope I’m someday able to wipe that from my memory.

Okay, now that I got that off my chest, let’s get into the awards. 

My biggest criticism about anyone at the Oscars this year is toward the Emilia Peréz cast and crew, whose silence spoke loudly when none of them thanked the trans community in any of their acceptance speeches.

They won Academy Awards for a storyline about the trans community and about the Mexican history of desaparecidos, but they did not acknowledge the community or the culture. Instead, I was expecting a shepherd’s cane to pull Camille Ducol backstage and off the mic. 

In my humble opinion, this film is not getting nearly enough criticism as it should be getting for being called a Mexican film — yet not starring a single Mexican actor. The film also just about the worst musical numbers I have ever heard. Zoe Saldaña won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, for her role as a singing lawyer who helps the cartel leader played by Karla Sofía Gascón, undergo gender-affirming care and begin the process of transitioning. 

The film featured a terribly choppy syntax not normally used in Spanish language, as well as accents and pronunciation that completely butchered the melody behind what maybe could have otherwise been somewhat palatable songs. 

I’m just going to say it one more time for those in the back — we could have done without that embarrassing sing-along for one of the few wins Emilia Peréz snagged. 

Many people across social media channels have tuned in to give their two cents on Emília Peréz. Most are calling for more disapproval of the film — and we couldn’t agree more. 

And no, we’re not even going to waste precious time going over every single controversy currently plaguing the Emília Peréz cast and crew. There just isn’t enough time. 

At the 97th Oscars ceremony, Paul Tazewell became the first out gay, Black man to win the Oscar for Best Costume Design for his work on the box-office hit, Wicked. In my humble opinion, it was a well-deserved win, but it’s also safe to say that it was tough competition as the other nominees designed the costumes for The Complete Unknown, Conclave, Gladiator II and Nosferatu.

Paul Tazewell, the celebrated costume designer who is renowned across Broadway, regional theatres and the big screen got his second nomination and his first win for his work and we are just over-the-moon about it. Wicked also took home the award for Best Production Design. Production designer Nathan Crowley and set decorator Lee Sandales, accepted the award and in Sandales’ acceptance speech, he thanked his husband. 

Queen Latifah made a grand appearance and stunned the audience with her tribute to the late Quincy Jones, who passed away in November and who left behind an immense legacy in the music industry. 

All in all, only two queer nominees took home awards. 

Now, let’s get into Conan’s non-funny jokes.

This isn’t necessarily a queer recap moment, but we as we queers at LA Blade, did have some queer thoughts about this issue. Conan hosted the 97th Academy Awards and we’re going to make a guestimation that 97 percent of his jokes did not hit. 

I think most of us were definitely expecting a joke or two about Garcón, but the two that Conan delivered, were at best mediocre. “Anora uses the F word 479 times, that’s only three more than the record set by Karla Sofía Gascón’s publicist,” said Conan on stage.  “And if you are going to tweet about the Oscars, remember, my name is Jimmy Kimmel.” 

At this point, I’m not even sure if it was really the audience laughing, or if it was some sort of button that plays 90s canned laughter when pressed by the show producers when the jokes aren’t funny and no one is actually laughing. 

So, who slayed with their fits and who didn’t at the Red Carpet and afterparty? 

It’s safe to say that Colman Domingo, Erivo and Grande were among the best dressed at this year’s Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Every single one of their looks, ATE. 

What were some of your favorite looks? What were others who didn’t deliver? 

Unicorns and mermaids and mutants, oh my.

As I float back down into my theater seat from the rocket-speed broomstick ride, which did far more than defy gravity in the new cinematic spectacular that is Wicked, my soul feels bolstered. I’m inspired and encouraged.

The film is beautiful, full of marvelous sets, enchanting songs, courageous characters and a moving story laced together with brilliance. Oh yeah, and it’s got lots of magic. High fantasy of the magic academy kind, a la its parallels in media: Brakebills Academy of The Magicians, Alfea College of The Winx Saga, The Academy of Unseen Arts in The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and the original, Miss Cackle’s Academy of Witchcraft in The Worst Witch.

Shiz University, the school in Wicked, has its own unique flavor of cool on the subject and has a very diversely expressive body of students, a sure nod to its predecessor, the Broadway hit. It’s a very inclusive movie and a joy to experience. It’s no wonder it’s been so strongly embraced by so many queer fans. Sure, Wicked is high fantasy filmmaking at pique levels, but is there some real, further connection between fantasy art and cinema, and queer culture?

This is really a two-fold thing for queer people; a gemstone inlaid, magically glowing double-edged sword, if you will. Life, generally speaking, comes with quite a bit of restrictions: Financial restrictions, legal restrictions, gender restrictions, etc, and the younger you are, the greater those restrictions. Growing up as queer young people these restrictions felt even heavier and more pronounced.

Many queer kids can’t openly explore their true gender expressions, nor are most queer youth allowed to express romantic interest in those of the same perceived gender. Queer young people are mostly forced to bottle these things up, and lock them away, then go about living with the chip of a lie on our shoulders at all times; A huge elephant that, no matter how we try to hide it, and hope it goes away, follows us in every room and everywhere we go.

Omitting these parts of us comes at an emotional price, and only those blessed or lucky enough will ever find their way out of that dire shame, and into the light of loving who they are, queer or not, really.

Fantasy and sci-fi films on the other hand, don’t impose restrictions at all. No-holds-barred imaginative storytelling on the page and big screen let us glimpse visions of freedom, power, and justice that are often more than we might have thought possible within our restrictive routines as young people. Superheroes, comics and most fantasy worlds have often been places of diverse gender expression, outside of acceptable timely norms.

Most guys in the 20th and 21st centuries don’t go around wearing muscle-bulging leotards, but it seems one of the only available options in the superhero world. Female characters often break away from dainty demure stereotypes and might smash your face in if you don’t show proper respect. Not to mention they’re all usually fighting some seriously monumental evil, and the whole world is in some kind of dire trouble, so who has any time to worry about whether Susan was a hoe last Tuesday, with who, wearing what? She-Ra would tell you to mind your damn business. She’s got a world to save.

Okay so She-Ra needs no prince to save her, but if that is what you prefer, with fantasy, even if you were half fish it was still possible for you to find a hot human prince hubby. Exploring fantasy worlds opens us up and challenges our imagination, which leads to inspiration. And if you set your mind to it… you know.

This brings us to the second part of the queer fantasy connection. The story in Wicked, at its heart, is one of an outsider who others think is odd because of her unique green skin. All eventually come to hold her in esteem when they finally give her a chance and she demonstrates her great abilities. Who hasn’t felt like an outsider at one point or another?

It’s a classic, sort of like the golden rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

This asks the other characters in the story and the viewing audience to put themselves into the perspective of the outsider and to have empathy. We see this theme over and over again throughout fantasy storytelling and it’s always a means of conveying an understanding where there was tension of acceptance of people or things that are different if they are benevolent. It’s a universal theme that transcends creed, class, ethnicity and gender, where all in existence strive for a kinder, better world for everyone.

This is a good ideal, one would think.

Unfortunately, I also have to acknowledge the bigoted elephant in the Sorcerer’s Academy assembly room.

The powerhouse of the magic school genre, the beloved, and now tainted, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. No one can deny the impact of this book and film series. I own all of each and have watched the films many times over. They were worthy of keen rewatching, and distant background play. A mammoth addition to the world of fantasy on the greatest scale.

Yet the same themes mentioned in Wicked permeate the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

How the hell did J.K. Terfling come up with such a wizarding world, with such character struggles and somehow turn out to be so bigoted? Did she always maintain these hateful exclusions while writing?

Seemingly swept up into the extremist outlook attempting to rationalize hate against transgender people, a marginalized group that makes up less than one percent of the US population, she has been a loud and persistent voice in the movement against transgender rights, and her sentiments have been echoed by powerful extremist politicians. Does she not see the irony of herself becoming the evil bigoted villain in her own story?

Did she actually sympathize with Voldemort?

As a transgender woman, I am enemy number one as far as J.K. Repugling is concerned.

Her comments have crossed over into what appears to be a hateful, misguided obsession. I honestly hope she finds some peace and starts adding some Gryffindor energy back into the world, leaving the miserable death-eating behind. But, God Jo, did you have to ruin it for everyone?

The Harry Potter films haven’t played at my house for years. I’m not sure they ever will again. I won’t be watching the new series either.

I know many queer people have found their own ways of dealing with their relationships to the material, and to each their own. J.K. Rotlings vitriol stands in contrast to the magic that those stories have brought to so many queer people.  

Unbridled, mind-broadening visions of galaxies far, far away, the human hope for something more, the courage to do what’s right.

There are lessons in these beloved fantastical tales. The Lord of the Rings showed us sacrifice for the greater good, The Never Ending Story conveyed connectivity and how important a single human can be, the X-Men were on the front lines early, battling bigotry, and Beauty and the Beast showed us the power of love. From A Trip to the Moon in 1902 to the modern wonders of Disney and the unlimited Wicked, the themes of these imaginative stories that soar without boundaries, encouraging us to reach for truth, stand for justice and search for magic, resonate with so many – regardless of our background.

They are human stories, told through unique perspectives that ask us to take a walk in the footsteps of others, all while experiencing limitless bewitching landscapes. It’s this wonderful ideal of greater possibilities, of opening your imagination, of dreaming of worlds where things can be better for everyone, where magic is real and love wins.

I think we can all relate to that.

Ericka Page is a Los Angeles trans writer and musician, author of A Marvel of Magick

If the largest local Democratic Party entity in the U.S. can rewrite the rules to silence dissent, what’s stopping every other Democratic organization from doing the same? If Democrats in LA are willing to borrow from Trump’s playbook—changing the rules, consolidating power, and steamrolling opposition—then let’s not pretend this won’t spread. Best believe others are watching, and if they can get away with it here, they’ll try it everywhere.

Power grabs don’t always happen in grand, theatrical takeovers. Sometimes, they come disguised as simple bureaucratic tweaks—like lowering the threshold to change bylaws in the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, from two-thirds majority consent to 60 percent to quell ‘the obstructionists.’

Why it matters

Let’s be clear: ‘obstructionists’ is just a convenient label for people who refuse to rubber-stamp leadership agenda. More and more delegates are showing up informed, asking real questions, reading the fine print and—heaven forbid—pushing back when things don’t sit right. Instead of engaging, instead of organizing, instead of actually making the case for their ideas, leadership wants to change the rules so they don’t have to.

This isn’t just about efficiency. It’s about control. If they get away with it here, expect to see this playbook used across the state, and eventually, across the country. The fight for democracy doesn’t just happen at the ballot box in November—it starts in rooms like these, in party meetings where the rules of engagement are being rewritten in real-time.

If the status quo worked so well for Democrats, we wouldn’t be staring down another four years of Trump in the White House. Clinging to outdated strategies and leadership has cost us dearly. It’s time to face the music: doing the same old thing isn’t cutting it. 

If we want different results in 2026, it starts right here.

This is the battleground.

This is where the fight for the future of the Democratic Party is happening. If folks don’t start paying attention, they’ll wake up to a Party where their voices—and their votes—matter even less than they do now.

Democrats can’t fight the White House’s power grabs while copying them

In a functioning democracy, disagreement is not obstruction. It’s discourse. It’s debate. It’s the foundation of representative decision-making. But instead of doing the hard work of organizing, persuading, and building consensus, it feels like some in the Democratic Party want to change the rules so they don’t have to.

If this sounds familiar, it should. It’s the same strategy we’re seeing at the highest levels of government. Rules and norms are treated as inconvenient obstacles to unchecked power. When persuasion fails, the solution isn’t better arguments—it’s rigging the game.

The California Democratic Party bylaws require a two-thirds threshold for amending the bylaws as do the Ventura County Democrats, the Riverside County Democrats, the Orange County Democrats and the San Diego County Democrats. Most labor unions also require a two-thirds vote of members to change their rules.

We don’t need weaker rules for democracy—we need stronger organizing, better arguments, and a leadership willing to do the work of winning people over. Democracy was never meant to be easy, convenient, or a guarantee that the people in charge get their way every time. It requires debate, persuasion, and sometimes even the discomfort of compromise.

What we should not be doing is moving the goalposts after the game has already started just because leadership doesn’t like who’s playing. Changing the rules midstream to silence those who dare to question, challenge, or push for something different isn’t about efficiency—it’s about control. If leadership truly believes in their vision, they should be able to defend it on its merits, not rewrite the process to force it through. Because once we start making democracy more “manageable” by cutting out dissent, what we’re left with isn’t democracy at all—it’s just power protecting itself.

When Democrats start adopting the same playbook as President Trump—silencing dissent, changing rules to quash debate—how are we any different? It’s hypocritical to condemn such tactics in the White House while employing them within our own party. If we truly stand for democratic values, we must practice what we preach, even when it’s inconvenient.

We can’t claim to be the party of democracy while strong-arming internal rule changes to silence voices that don’t fall in line with the status quo.

If the Democratic Party truly believes in free speech, transparency, and accountability, that commitment has to start within our own ranks. Otherwise, it’s just hypocrisy wrapped in blue branding. We can’t fight authoritarianism with more authoritarianism. If Democrats don’t stop rigging the rules to suppress internal dissent, we’ll lose the moral high ground to call it out anywhere else and we’ll see a repeat of 2024 in 2026 and 2028.

Side eye with a side note

Every four years during the Presidential Primary, voters in California are asked to elect their delegates—but after that? Crickets. There’s little follow-up, or transparency, and it starts feeling like some secret society situation. Los Angeles County Democratic voters should be able to go to the LACDP website, enter their Assembly District, and instantly see the names and email addresses of the people representing them in the Party. That way, you can actually reach out to them on key votes and issues that matter to you. But guess what? That resource doesn’t exist–yet.

The workaround

Head over to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s website, look up the election results for the Presidential Primary, and scroll down to member, county central committee, for your assembly district and county. The top seven voter getters on that list are your representatives. From there; you can Google them, find them on social media, and let them know exactly where you stand on this issue and how you would like them to vote on your behalf on March 11th. Because representation should actually mean something—not just a title on a ballot every four years.

Jasmyne Cannick is a delegate in the L.A. County Democratic Party representing the 55th Assembly District.

by Eric Restivo (@ericcrestivo)

The Super Bowl LIX halftime show took place on February 9, 2025, at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. It featured Pulitzer prize-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar as the headline performer, with guest appearances from R&B artist SZA, actor Samuel L. Jackson, tennis player Serena Williams, and DJ and record producer Mustard. The reviews were mixed but not for the right or should I say “white” reasons.

Lamar’s performance was dripping in subtle messages and not-so-subtle camera angles and featured an entire company of Black excellence, from his background dancers to highlights like Serena Williams doing a crip walk during “Not Like Us.”

Samuel L. Jackson appeared multiple times as Uncle Sam and it was for good reason, providing proof with his statements in between song sets of the obvious political and cultural divide we are facing. Lamar’s dancers, all Black men and women, featured a fit of red, white, and blue, which created a moving picture of the American flag. The choreography was seamless, subtle, and tight, with Lamar in the middle of his dancers showing even more of the blatant rebuttal of our nation. Surely, this went over many people’s heads, but it was an obvious ‘f*** you’ moment shared on the largest stage of the night earning 133 million viewers worldwide.

Not to mention, President Trump was in attendance. Kendrick topped off his performance with his well-known Drake diss track (hence Serena Williams – Drake’s ex) and even took time to stare into the camera while stating the rapper’s name “Drake” with a bright, bushy-tailed smile.

A moment everyone is still talking about occurred when the majority of the crowd in the Superdome repeated back the lyric “A MINOR” when referencing rapper Drake – a moment that went viral on every social media platform available.

Many Americans–mostly white–had complaints about Lamar’s 13-minute performance, saying it lacked production value, big energy, and not enough diversity within the rap genre.

Choosing to create a negative narrative as opposed to focusing on the fact that this was a first, and hopefully not last, for the Superbowl Halftime show featuring the rap genre.

Some say it was obvious and some say it was the worst thing to ever hit our television screens. Regardless of the mixed reviews, it has been over a week and we are still talking about the performance at the same volume as we were a week ago.

Did I pass the vibe check?

How does one even attempt to give an honest review of a new TV show executive-produced by the late Norman Lear – a pioneer in entertainment – also starring Laverne Cox, a trailblazer for trans representation? Given the current political climate towards the queer community, approaching Clean Slate should be done with kid gloves. Still, the show struggles to find its footing and generally misfires.

The show, now streaming on Prime, was originally pitched to Lear by comedian and co-star of Clean Slate, George Wallace as a Sanford & Sons reboot. Lear told him to go back to the drawing board and come back with something new. Ultimately, Wallace, together with Laverne Cox and Dan Ewen, created a show that is a throwback to the family sitcom era and to Lear’s earlier shows like All in the Family and The Jeffersons.

What’s missing here is a live audience and a stage.

The writing doesn’t seem to get that. One-liners fall flat, and preachy character orations clunk away with their heavy-handedness. Some of the actors are able to make something of a dated and unimaginative script, and some do not. Some of the jokes and situations are very stale, we’ve heard and seen them before. Though new to the scene, this show does not seem fresh, which is odd for a Lear project. We wish Clean Slate was as fast-paced and fun as the show’s trailer.

Always one to push the envelope, Lear’s projects have addressed class, racism, abortion, women’s rights and queer issues, many times way before mainstream audiences were prepared to discuss them. In Clean Slate, trans and gay issues are in the spotlight.

Laverne Cox’s Desiree returns to her small hometown in Alabama and surprises her father, Wallace’s Henry Slate, after being gone for 17 years. Not only does she surprise her father by coming back, but she also surprises him by showing uo as his daughter and not the son he knew.

Having lost her money running an art gallery in New York, she moves back in with her father to figure out her next steps. The show centers on the bond she creates with her father and the friendships she builds in small-town living, including the family that works for Henry’s car wash, her best friend Louis who is dealing with being in the closet, Louis’ mother, and the local church community.

Ultimately, she also connects with the local queer contingent. The usual themes and situations you would expect unfold. Henry must also now get used to using different pronouns with his daughter and having to put money into a pronoun jar each time he makes a mistake. He helps Desiree deal with her relationship to church and spirituality, when the local pastor shuns her new identity and she falls in love with the town’s hot guy.

Even with these storylines, the proceedings seem unimaginative and dated. At times, it seems like the show is an after-school special and not a progressive comedy. Henry and almost all of the small town embrace Desiree’s new identity with vigor and understanding which – although optimistic and hopeful – seems improbable in small town living in the South. The whole affair just comes across as saccharin in its sweetness.

Wallace as Henry Slate is charming and a great choice to help lead this story. He handles many of the cheezy lines with sincerity that makes it almost work. He is a gentle giant as a character, and quickly becomes lovable, even with his many missteps of grappling with the queer community. He loves his child unconditionally and would do anything for her, which is very believable from the get-go. D.K. Uzoukwu as the closeted Louis plays his role with sincerity and is a very welcome fresh face to big-time TV.

He plays the balance of presentational comedy and character honesty very well. Jay Wilkison as Mack – the town’s bad boy turned loving single father – really handles the material deftly and adds some much-needed craft to make the script and situations seem plausible. He’s also not hard on the eyes. Stealing practically every scene she is in is TV veteran Telma Hopkins, most known for her role in Family Matters, as Louis’ mom. She understands the nuance of sitcoms, single-camera closeups, and just the right amount of presentational acting to make it work. She is a delight to watch. We just want to hang out with her and gossip on the porch.  

We know Laverne Cox is a talented actor. She made history as the first trans actor to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy for her role in Orange Is the New Black. Oddly and we feel guilty by even writing it, but she misses the mark the most in Clean Slate.

She doesn’t seem to understand the material and comedic moments are overdone. Her emotional moments just don’t ring true. She seems to be overacting which, along with a weak script, doesn’t anchor the show properly. But, she is a consummate actor. What was it? The direction? The writing? Her performance just doesn’t cut it.

Here’s the thing.

All that being said, the show does have a lot of heart. But it seems lost, trying to find its footing, as to what it wants to be. A sitcom? A dra-medy? It does not succeed in any of those genres, but as a queer person watching the show, it is touching just because of its existence.

A comedy show led by trans and queer storylines is so much needed right now and just knowing this show is part of the Lear legacy, makes it that much more important.

Should we blindly support queer content just because it is out there? No.

Should we support the efforts and mission of a show? Yes.

And we also love the fact that this is a show the whole family can watch and discuss, which holds a lot of weight. There is a lot to explore if the show gets a season 2 and we do hope it is renewed so it has a chance to find its footing with stronger direction and writing.

Clean Slate season 1 is now streaming on Amazon Prime.

MEXICO CITY — Then-President Donald Trump on July 16, 2018, defended Russian President Vladimir Putin during a press conference that took place in Helsinki after they met. I watched it happen on live television while I was on assignment in Mexico City. This disgusting spectacle prompted me to write an op-ed about how the U.S. no longer stood for human rights around the world.

I am once again on assignment in Mexico City, 15 days after Trump returned to the White House. He is doing everything possible to ensure the U.S. will no longer stand for human rights — around the world and in our own country — and basic decency.

Trump’s executive orders have, among other things, threatened the lives of an untold number of LGBTQ+ people around the world who depend upon U.S. foreign aid to survive. These directives have systematically erased transgender, nonbinary, and intersex Americans. Trump has also antagonized Mexico, Canada, and other U.S. allies with his ridiculous tariff threats.

One may have naively thought that Trump would have shown an ounce of decency with his response to last week’s tragic midair collision near Reagan National Airport. Trump instead suggested, without evidence, that previous administrations’ diversity, equity, and inclusion policies could have caused it.

I thankfully did not watch Trump the comments and defense of them. I did, however, have a very undiplomatic response when I read them while I was at a coffee shop near my hotel in Tijuana.

“Shut the fuck up,” I said out loud.

I wrote after Trump defended Putin in Helsinki that American exceptionalism, however flawed, “teaches us the U.S. is the land of opportunity where people can build a better life for themselves and for their families.”

“Trump has turned his back on these ideals,” I concluded. “He has also proven himself to be a danger, not only to his country but to the world as a whole.”

History is sadly repeating itself.

The U.S. Senate on Monday confirmed Scott Bessent, President Trump’s pick for Treasury Secretary, in a rare bipartisan vote of 68-29.

Bessent, a billionaire hedge fund manager, becomes the first openly gay, Senate-confirmed Republican Cabinet member. He’s also the highest-ranking out gay government official ever, as Treasury Secretary is fifth in the line of presidential succession. 

It’s hard to make sense of the disconnect here: On one hand Trump makes history with a senior gay appointment; on the other, he launches cruel attacks on the transgender community on day one. 

The Republican-led House last week passed a bill that would prohibit schools that receive federal education funding from allowing trans students to play girls’ and womens’ sports. Trump, meanwhile, has already banned Pride flags at U.S. embassies and eliminated the X gender marker on passports and other government documents. Trump’s executive order titled “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” would prohibit the federal government from recognizing people and populations whose birth sex does not match their gender identity. Additionally, the order directs the attorney general to allow “people to refuse to use a transgender or nonbinary person’s correct pronouns, and to claim a right to use single-sex bathrooms and other spaces based on sex assigned at birth at any workplace covered by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and federally funded spaces.”

Then on Monday, he issued an executive order banning transgender service members, a move that would impact more than 15,000 brave trans people serving in the military.

So far, Bessent is silent on those attacks. Trump likes his queer people gay, white, cis, rich, and obedient. Bessent has defended Trump’s self-serving tax cut plan for the wealthiest Americans as well as his misguided and destructive tariff obsession. 

Kelley J. Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, released a statement about Bessent’s nomination.

“We need pro-equality LGBTQ+ nominees and LGBTQ+ people at all levels of government. The LGBTQ+ community is counting on openly LGBTQ+ nominees like Scott Bessent to step up for the community,” Robinson wrote. “HRC has a long history of working across the aisle to advance equality and this appointment may be an opportunity to continue.”

We have entered a dangerous time that will require many of us to make decisions about how to respond to these attacks, not just on trans people, but immigrants who are already being arrested and deported in cities across the country. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott is making plans for how the city will operate in the event he is arrested and jailed for refusing to cooperate with these immigrant raids. That’s what courage looks like. 

Will Bessent find his backbone and work to convince his boss that the anti-trans hysteria must end? Does he have a trans person in his life who might inform his views? Trans people are human beings, fellow Americans, and family and friends and they deserve respect from their government. They deserve an advocate in the White House who sees their humanity and can articulate it while standing up to the powerful bigots in Trump’s orbit. I hope HRC’s Robinson is right and Bessent will find the courage to stand up for the full spectrum of the LGBTQ community but we haven’t seen any evidence of that yet. 

It’s not just senior gay officials who need to stand up; many of us will likely face a decision to resist or comply with the unconstitutional actions of this administration. Too many former progressive allies have already folded like cheap tents — including MSNBC hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough. We must look to the example of Mayor Scott and others who are refusing to capitulate to this madness. I hope Scott Bessent finds his voice and advocates for a more compassionate approach to trans humanity. 

Kevin Naff is editor of the Washington Blade. Reach him at [email protected].

What do Snoop Dogg and Caitlyn Jenner have in common? No, this isn’t the setup for a bad joke — it’s a tragic reality. They’ve become poster children for the misguided belief that cozying up to power structures that openly despise them will somehow buy them a permanent seat at the table — or at least a pat on the head from the same people pulling the strings. Spoiler alert: it won’t.

Take Caitlyn Jenner, for example. She’s been an active Trump supporter and continues to actively work to push legislation that threatens her very existence. While she’s off applauding his presidential win, the ink is barely dry on his executive orders mandating she be referred to by her dead name.

Rather than taking a stand against these policies, she’s leaned into her wealth and privilege, banking on it to shield her from the harm those same policies inflict on the trans community. Why? Because she’s rich and insulated from the struggles and discrimination most trans people face. She can retreat to her Malibu mansion and comfortably tune out everyone else’s reality.  Because as long as Trump is coming up with ways to keep her rich — that’s all that really matters.  

Newsflash: privilege isn’t bulletproof and proximity to power doesn’t erase the hate aimed in her direction.

Then there’s Snoop Dogg and his ilk, rappers who once stood as cultural titans now bending over backward to cozy up to the Trump tax bracket.  After years of using the community to build their stacks, they are perfectly content to throw the same people who put them in their comfy tax bracket under the bus for a front-row seat at a table that was never built for them. They’ve swapped authenticity and influence for the illusion of inclusion, all while pretending the check is worth it.  It’s not–they know it, we know it.  It’s the reason at the domino table we say, “All ain’t good money.”

What they don’t seem to realize — or flat-out refuse to — is that their proximity to whiteness (in the case of Snoop and company) or wealth and privilege (in Caitlyn’s case) doesn’t shield them from the systems they claim to have transcended. Those systems will gladly facilitate (and celebrate) their selling out while continuing to dehumanize and disenfranchise the very communities they come from and should be fighting for. It’s not respect they’re earning — it’s betrayal.  

It’s not just disappointing — it’s dangerous when public figures like Snoop Dogg or Caitlyn Jenner trade their influence for proximity to power, they’re not just letting down their communities — they are actively legitimizing the systems that harm them. They are showing the next generation that progress is negotiable, everyone can be bought, and that fighting for equity can take a back seat to personal gain. 

There’s a gut-punch of disappointment we feel after building up people like Snoop, only to watch them back systems that harm their own. And the pity for someone like Caitlyn, who thinks her money outweighs her self-respect. We need to hold folks accountable — mark this date on your calendar. So when these celebs inevitably flip-flop and come crawling back for the community’s support — be it a new album, reality television series, film — whatever — we remember, decline the call, and leave them on read.

Selling out isn’t just a choice for them — it’s become their brand.

Singing the hook to Chris Brown’s Loyal, “Aww, these h*es ain’t loyal.”

A member of hip-hop generation, Jasmyne Cannick is based in Los Angeles and is an award-winning journalist and political commentator who speaks and writes to challenge, critique, and hold the culture accountable.

Thank you, President Biden, for the Israel/Hamas ceasefire agreement and for all you have done for the country.

I know President Felon will want to take all the credit for the Israel/Hamas ceasefire. The fact is, the blueprint for this ceasefire was announced by President Biden on May 31, and hailed by the UN. Clearly Trump’s threat to Hamas moved the needle, and I am sure his envoy, who President Biden invited to join the talks, was helpful. But as the Biden spokesperson told Craig Melvin on the “Today” show, there is more than enough credit to go around, and the hostages surely don’t care as long as they come home. I really think the media need to stop dealing with the minutia, and focus on what’s important. 

The nation needs to thank President Biden, and his team, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, and his deputy, Jon Finer along with all the other negotiators including Brett McGurk, part of the Biden team, and Steve Witkoff for Trump. Clearly strong roles were played by Egypt and Qatar, all working diligently to bring this day about. 

With the support of the United States, Israel remains strong. President Biden helped put together the coalition, which helped Israel defend itself against Iranian attacks. Now will come an even harder part, and it will fall to the Trump administration. We will see Trump’s true colors. Will he simply help his company build new hotels in Israel, which they are trying to do, or will he move to help in the rebuilding of Gaza, and give full support to the Palestinian people. We as a nation must be a big part of rebuilding Gaza. We must move to bring about a free and stable Palestinian state, one that can support itself. That may be a dream, but it is one the United States, and the rest of the world, should be working toward. It is the only way there will ever be a true, lasting, and fair peace, in the region.

I listened to President Biden’s last speech to the nation, and was really proud of him, and proud to be an American. History will view Joe Biden as one of our best presidents. He took office when the COVID pandemic was still in full swing, and people were debating how to start getting back to their lives as they knew them. Trump left the nation in a mess. The economy stalling, millions of jobs lost, and people suffering. More than one million people died of COVID. Our troops were still in Afghanistan and inflation was beginning to rise. President Biden signed the American Rescue Act, which among other things sent checks to millions of Americans. His mistake was that contrary to when Trump sent out checks, he didn’t sign his name to them. He followed that with the Inflation Reduction Act, making huge investments in the American economy, in the areas of energy and climate, among others. He followed that with the first gun control measure in decades, and then the infrastructure bill. He next signed the CHIPS Act, and more. While inflation rose to 9%, his administration worked hard, and with their effective economic policies, have brought it down. Trump will inherit the best economy in the world, with inflation at 2.9%. The stock market is booming, and Biden added nearly 16 million jobs during his term, more than any other one-term president in history. Manufacturing in the nation is booming.

President Biden stood strong against China and Russia. His efforts strengthened NATO and so far, seen that Ukraine remains a free and independent country. Our troops are not fighting anywhere on foreign soil. 

President Biden is right, and we must definitely fear the oligarchy that surrounds Trump. We must fear the likes of Musk, Zuckerberg, Bezos, and the other multi-billionaires who have attached themselves to Trump for their own greed and betterment. They don’t care about truth, and they don’t care about the rest of us. 

The next four years will be a time to join the resistance to prevent us from going backwards. We must resist legally, and without force, but for those of us who want our democracy to survive we need to keep speaking out. We must work to win elections in Virginia and New Jersey in 2025. Then focus on taking back the House of Representatives in 2026. We can do both, and we must, if we are to ensure the experiment that is the United States, survives and thrives, as we celebrate 250 years in existence. 

Peter Rosenstein is a longtime LGBTQ rights and Democratic Party activist.