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(Blade photo by Michael Key)

World Pride Recap Thousands take part in Amsterdam celebration, PAGE 06

AUGUST 14, 2026 • VOLUME 10 • ISSUE 15 • AMERICA’S LGBTQ NEWS SOURCE • LOSANGELESBLADE.COM

LOCAL

Housing rights groups slam Mayor Karen Bass over increase in LA homeless count Reactions to the 2026 homeless count highlight ‘Inside Safe’ issues By VICTORIA IVIE The 2026 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count release in late July showed an increase in the unhoused population, disproportionately increasing in the city of Los Angeles. A 3.4 percent increase in homelessness was seen in the city, a sharp increase compared to 1.2 percent in other areas of LA County, according to Housing is a Human Right, a division of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF). AHF has purchased many buildings throughout Los Angeles County, usually renovating older hotels and charging low and affordable rent. AHF has also been investigated for the conditions and safety of these low-cost units. Unsheltered homelessness was up 7.9 percent in the city — over 45,000 people, Housing is a Human Right leaders said. Bass has been criticized for years for her $300 million “Inside Safe” program, whose purpose is to clear homeless encampments by giving temporary and longterm shelter to people experiencing homelessness. Nearly 6,000 Angelenos have been moved indoors through this program, with 1,431 permanently housed, according to the Inside Safe website. Criticisms of Bass’ program range from the high cost and lower-than-expected results, lack of sustainability and structure, and mismanagement of funds. In August 2024, a fraud investigation opened on one of the program providers who was allegedly not providing nutritious meals as it was contractually obligated to, despite a $110 allowance of taxpayer money per day and per person. In March 2025, a court-ordered audit couldn’t find how much was actually spent and whether invoices were accurate, according to the Santa Monica Daily Press. Forty percent of unhoused people who utilized the program returned to the streets, according to a Los Angeles Times report in April of this year. “The 2026 Los Angeles Homeless Count has shown, once again, that the City’s policies on homelessness are a complete failure,” Susie Shannon, policy director for Housing is a Human Right, said in a press release. “The only way to solve this crisis, as our organization has pointed out for years, is to provide a permanent home for those experiencing homelessness.” Housing and fluctuating homelessness numbers continue to plague Los Angeles City and County. For two years, the numbers were decreasing, but still higher than expected. “People moving from encampments to temporary shelters, bridge housing or transitional housing are still homeless,” Shannon said. “The mayor has no other choice 02 • AUGUST 14, 2026 • LOSANGELESBLADE.COM

but to change course and embrace Housing First policies that have proven to work in other cities and states.” Housing First called the program “temporary band-aid programs” that are a “costly revolving door for the unhoused.” Housing leaders said that the root causes of homelessness are high rents, lack of housing, and lack of affordable housing, among other issues. “You cannot address homelessness without addressing high rents,” Shannon said. She said that to effectively address homelessness, Bass and the city would need to support rent control legislation. She also urged officials to lobby the state to repeal a state law, Costa-Hawkins, which “limits rent control to buildings constructed in 1978 or earlier.” “Lots of people who have been brought inside under Inside Safe, and that’s great,” John Maceri, chief executive officer of The People Concern, a nonprofit that runs two Inside Safe hotels, told CalMatters in Oct. 2024. “We still struggle with the exit strategy: Where are people going to move to?” Bass attributed last year’s increase to the Trump administration’s policies and funding cuts at federal and state levels, saying these have “pushed more people onto the streets,” in a press release. “The Trump Administration has driven up the cost of gas, groceries, and rent — pushing more families to the edge — and slashed critical safety net funding,” Bass said in the press release. “Last year’s 50% cut in state Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Program funding from $1 billion to $500 million — resulting in a $70 million hit to L.A. city alone — severely impacted our work to keep people housed and get more Angelenos off the streets.” “We raised philanthropic dollars to help supplement the cuts, and this year I fought alongside other mayors to reverse these cuts, restoring it to $900 million,” Bass added. Lack of adequate services by the county continues to contribute to people going in and out of homelessness, Bass said. “I’m not going to defend a broken system,” Bass said in her statement. “The City must build something better — results-driven, transparent, and centered around the people we’re trying to help, not the bureaucracy.” “This crisis was ignored by city leaders for decades; it’s only now that we’ve seen a historic decline,” she added. “I will never stop fighting until we end street homelessness, because no Angeleno should be sleeping on the street.”

FEATURES

Jason DePuy dishes on his time on ‘Big Brother’ and how the community came out to support Known as a messy player in the house, DePuy often had to ﬁght to stay positive and stand up for himself By SUSAN HORNIK One week after Jason DePuy (known as Salina EsTitties on RuPaul’s Drag Race) was bullied and eventually evicted from CBS’s Big Brother house, the queer drag performer is still emotionally processing his feelings. During his 24 days in the reality TV competition, De Puy often had a rough time, with fellow cast member Kamuela “Kamu” Kirk making homophobic comments and feeling isolated. In a conversation with Head of Household Rick Devens, Kirk left viewers upset when he said, “Bro, miss me with the drag stuﬀ. Miss me. I’m still an MMA guy, and I have an image to uphold.” Former Big Brother contestant Frankie Grande called his words ‘homophobic’ and ‘gross.’ Another comment, where Kirk said he wanted to end DePuy’s career, also received strong backlash online. Now that he is out of the house, DePuy has been shocked and deeply touched by the love from Big Brother fans and former contestants. We chatted with DePuy for this Blade exclusive. “To know that my community was rallying for me outside the house was the most wonderful thing. Seeing how much people were just wanting to shower me with love was incredible. Even my friends, I went to say hi and give them a hug, and they’re like, ‘Uh, uh, come here.’ They had to hold me and let me know America was feeling for me in a way that I had no idea.” He added: “To see that reality was just overwhelming, and I couldn’t ask for more.”

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Known as a messy player in the house, DePuy often had to fight to stay positive and stand up for himself. “No one was coming to my rescue. In real life, it’s easy to block people, but in the house, I didn’t have that luxury, so I had to find it within myself to learn how to speak up for myself in a way that wasn’t nasty or biting. I didn’t attack anyone personally, which is what I was the most proud of.” DePuy acknowledged he has had a history of putting his foot in his mouth when it came to certain Drag Race moments, being in the public eye, and making a fool of himself. “I’ve learned my lessons; to see how I handled myself in the Big Brother house was amazing.” While DePuy has been sober for 14 and a half years and has a strong spiritual foundation, in the Big Brother house, he often felt like he couldn’t communicate what he was feeling. “As a queer person, a person of color, a drag queen, I have to be very careful about how I move. I don’t have the luxury or privilege to just act a certain way or say a certain thing. I have to be very careful; I’m representing me. But who I am is a Latino, a person of recovery, a drag queen, a queer person in the community. I know that there’s a lot of pressure that comes with that. I felt it was safer for me to sit there and just breathe than try to do anything crazy.” He continued: “I couldn’t speak to the personal attack that was happening in the house, because in my mind I was like, ‘no, this is a game, and I have to play it, put that aside.’” Not only can viewers watch the episodes, but they can also watch the live feeds of what’s happening. Seeing the fans’ social media posts from people who had watched the episodes and the live feeds also contributed to DePuy realizing that his feelings of discomfort were valid. “To know that I wasn’t delusional in those moments, that others could see what was happening, has been a lot to take in. Fans and friends let me know the comments made went beyond the game…I’m like, ‘Oh, so my instincts were correct.” One of the most poignant moments on the live feeds occurred when DePuy was crying, alone in his room, and said how he missed his gay community. “I really missed my friends. I missed my queer community. We’re so colorful. We’re so loud. We’re so vibrant. We speak off the cuff, and we’re very truthful and honest with how we speak, and it’s fun. We have fun lingo.” DePuy had to censor his expressions in the house. “Because I can say one thing, but it can mean something different to straight people than it does with my queer brothers and sisters. So, there was a sense of code-switching that I had to do. I had to even put aside some of my queerness in a way sometimes to fit in.” DePuy was thrilled to be the very first drag queen to ever be cast on the show. “I’m honored to have been chosen. There’s a million drag queens out there, and to know that I was a contender to come in the house and not even be in drag was like a wow for me. I’m over here in Hollywood, running around these streets with a wig and heels just to make a dollar to survive, and I have to rely on drag to do that. And then to be offered this opportunity and be given the privilege to say, ‘hey, you don’t have to put on the wig for you to be valuable here,’ is just insane to me.” Prior to his shows, DePuy has been hustling for 15 years, flipping burgers and doing drag at night. “That has been my life these past since I was 17. So it’s been a long journey; the opportunity to do this out of drag is a very big blessing. I’m honored and grateful to be the representation of my community.” If you missed Jason on Big Brother: Unlocked, the episode can be seen on CBS.com. He will be back on the show for the finale.

NATIONAL

TransCanWork helping the trans community thrive in the workplace Dr. Toni Newman explains the state of trans employment and how Trans Can Work is helping By CHRISTIAN CINTRON The trans community continues to be a political scapegoat used by conservatives to detract from pressing political issues. Whether it’s trans athletes or parents giving their children hormone blockers, everyone has an opinion, but this is impacting a community just trying to live and thrive. Thankfully, we’ve come a decent way where many trans folks can avoid unemployment and pursue a myriad of careers. Despite that progress, the current climate is impacting the sustainability and progress of trans individuals in their careers. Dr. Toni Newman, the Chair of the Board of Directors of TransCanWork, took some time to give us a picture of the current state of trans employment protections and where there is room to grow. Newman is a celebrated professional who has served as the Interim CEO of the Black AIDS Institute and the LYRIC Youth Foundation, and CEO of St. James Inﬁrmary. She is the ﬁrst trans woman of color to receive an Honorary Doctorate in the United States. This year she’ll receive the 2026 Transgender History Month Legacy Award. Newman is committed to helping her community reach the same level of professional acclaim that she has. TransCanWork is committed to bridging the employment gap for transgender and gender nonconforming individuals. While to cis people we may gauge progress by Elliot Page in The Odyssey or having trans coworkers, the on-the-ground experience of trans people in the workplace has a ways to go.

A Picture of Progress Newman, in true professional fashion, outlined the stats with bulleted lists. In her words: “Thirty years ago in much of the country, a transgender person could be fired simply for being trans, with little or no legal recourse. Few employers had gender identity protections. Trans people were often excluded from workplace diversity initiatives, health benefits, and leadership opportunities.” Meanwhile, today, “The biggest milestone was the Supreme Court’s 2020 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, which held that discrimination against transgender employees is discrimination “because of sex” under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. That created nationwide protection against being fired, refused employment, or otherwise discriminated against for being transgender. Many major employers now have gender identity nondiscrimination policies, transition guidelines, inclusive benefits, and employee resource groups.” While trans professionals are working across industries, the focus has shifted from guaranteeing employ-

ment protections to setting these employees up for success. Newman adds, “We’ve moved from ﬁghting for the right to enter the workplace to ﬁghting for the right to thrive in it.” She outlines, “The next challenge is not simply access to jobs, but economic equity: • better hiring outcomes, • career advancement, • leadership representation, • wage equity, • and ensuring that legal protections are actually enforced.”

After all, it’s great to be able to get a job, but if you cannot progress or face disproportionate work stress, scrutiny, and workplace toxicity, how can you possibly thrive? That’s where TransCanWork comes in. Newman adds, “Organizations such as TransCanWork have helped shift the conversation from merely preventing discrimination to actively creating pathways to employment and advancement.” Newman is quick to point out a pressing issue that can get lost amidst the constant political back and forth and companies virtue signaling: the day-to-day life of trans workers. She adds, “Legal rights and lived reality are still not the same thing. Research consistently shows that trans people continue to experience: • Higher unemployment and underemployment. • Hiring discrimination. • Workplace harassment and misgendering. • Barriers to promotion and career advancement. • Disproportionate poverty compared with the general population.” Additionally, trans individuals can face discrimination that they can struggle to prove. She elaborates: “Many trans applicants report: • Being rejected after an interview once they are perceived as trans

• Experiencing bias when legal documents don’t match their gender identity • Facing concerns from employers about customer or coworker reactions • Being screened out despite meeting qualifications” Additionally, rising conservatism is impacting the status of legal protections. Newman adds, “There have been efforts to narrow how protections are interpreted and enforced. Some EEOC guidance related to gender identity was struck down by a federal court in 2025, and enforcement priorities have shifted under the current administration.” Luckily, Newman continues, “Many state and local protections remain in place and, in some areas, provide stronger protections than federal law.” Newman is quick to point out the gap in the general understanding of success. She adds, “A lot of trans employment initiatives have focused on helping people get their first job after transition, after homelessness, or after discrimination. That’s important work, but we need equal attention on management pipelines, Executive leadership, entrepreneurship, and growth sectors like technology, healthcare, finance, and clean energy.” She adds, “Success shouldn’t be measured only by how many trans people are hired, but by how many are promoted.” If not, you end up with what she calls a “glass ceiling with an inclusion policy.” Trans employees can be overlooked for leadership roles, not receive the same mentorship opportunities, or not deemed “’”fit’ for management roles.” Luckily, Newman and TransCanWork are doing their part to spread visibility and offer mentorship to trans professionals. Newman had some words of wisdom for the community. She shares, “Your existence is not the debate. Your future is the work. For many years, so much energy was spent fighting for basic recognition, safety, and survival. Those fights matter and, in many places, they continue. But don’t let anyone convince you that your highest aspiration should be merely to survive.” Not one to hold back, she offers these goals to her community: “Build careers. Build businesses. Buy homes. Create art. Run for office. Become executives. Become mentors. Build wealth. Build community institutions that outlast any political moment. Don’t measure your life solely by how much adversity you’ve overcome. Measure it by what you’ve created.” You can check out TransCanWork.org for helpful resources, including webinars and other resources. You can also make a donation to help support their work.

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INTERNATIONAL

Dutch prime minister opens World Pride Human Rights Conference Rob Jetten is country’s first openly gay head of government By MICHAEL K. LAVERS Editor’s note: International News Editor Michael K. Lavers and Photo Editor Michael Key are on assignment in Amsterdam through Aug. 10. AMSTERDAM — Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten on Wednesday opened the World Pride Human Rights Conference in Amsterdam. Jetten — who in February became the country’s first openly gay prime minister — began his remarks with an acknowledgment that the July 25 terrorist attack at Berlin’s Christopher Street Day that left one person dead and more than two dozen others injured “filled me with anger and sorrow.” He started to speak after a group of activists began to shout at him over his government’s position on Palestine — the International Criminal Court, which is based in The Hague, has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leaders in connection with crimes against humanity it says they committed in the Gaza Strip and Israel after Oct. 7. Jetten stood silently and allowed them to protest before security personnel removed them from the room. Jetten in his speech acknowledged this year marks 25 years since the Netherlands became the first country to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples. He also pointed out 2025 marks Amsterdam Pride’s Canal Parade’s 30th year. “More and more in recent years, we’ve seen hard won progress being eroded,” conceded Jetten. “We’ve seen countries backsliding in equal rights legislation. We’ve seen homophobic hate speech becoming more overt and aggressive, and not only out in the real world, but online as well.”

Jetten pointed out “online hatred is one of the biggest threats facing the LGBTQIA+ people today.” “All around the world ... misinformation and disinformation can be spread in the blink of an eye with a single mouse click, reaching much further and much faster than NGOs, youth workers and health organizations can,” he said. “This is always how hatred takes hold. First in the shadows, outside the spotlight of society, underestimated by everyone, until, having grown into a many headed monster, it crawls out of the darkness.” Jetten said his government this fall will launch “a social dialog on online discrimination and oﬀering speciﬁc guidance on action to take.” This will include “training courses for municipalities and civil society organizations to help them deal with online hate speech.” His government over the next three years will invest €7.5 million each year “in improving the safety of the queer community in our cities with an alliance of organizations committed to safety, both in the public space and in the workspace for LGBTQI+ people, and with a public information campaign to combat discrimination and disinformation.” Jetten also said the government will promote a campaign in Dutch schools that encourages students and teachers to wear purple as a way to show their support for the LGBTQ+ community.

’Equal rights are not a Western agenda’ Jetten in his speech also singled out “conservative forces” in Uganda, Senegal, and in other countries who are framing LGBTQ+ rights “developments as a neocolonial Western agenda.” “Under the pretense of resisting so-called Western mor-

Dutch Prime Minister ROB JETTEN speaks at the World Pride Human Rights Conference in Amsterdam on Aug. 5, 2026. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

al decadence, horrendous laws are enacted and promoted, laws that put the rights of free people under severe pressure,” he said. “But in reality, many communities in these countries have a long history of diversity and freedom, and the laws that impose the restrictions were in fact put in place by the colonial powers.” “No matter how hard those conservative forces try to pull the wool over people’s eyes, queer communities around the world know that equal rights are not a Western agenda,” added Jetten. “They are ﬁrst and foremost a human agenda.” Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema and Nayyab Ali, co-chair of the Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Alliance Pakistan, are among those who also spoke on Wednesday. Lady Phyll, co-founder of UK Black Pride, and Camiel Welling, supervisor of the Amsterdam Trans Clinic, are co-hosting the conference that ends Friday.

Tens of thousands take part in World Pride March Event capped off two weeks of celebrations in Amsterdam By MICHAEL K. LAVERS AMSTERDAM — Tens of thousands of people on Saturday participated in the World Pride March in Amsterdam. Outright International Executive Director Maria Sjödin and Paolo Rondelli, who in 2022 became the world’s first openly gay head of state when he became Captain Regent of San Marino, are among those who participated alongside Massachusetts state Rep. Jack Lewis and Olena Shevchenko, chair of Insight, an LGBTQ advocacy group in Ukraine, and others. Members of D66, the centrist Dutch political party that Prime Minister Rob Jetten heads, also marched. Jetten in February became the Netherlands’ first openly gay prime minister. He participated in the opening of the World Pride Human Rights Conference on Aug. 5 and 06 • AUGUST 14, 2026 • LOSANGELESBLADE.COM

(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

spoke on a panel with Rondelli, former Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, and other gay and lesbian current and former heads of government. The march took place a week after hundreds of thousands of people lined Amsterdam’s canals for the city’s annual Amsterdam Pride Canal Parade. A terrorist attack at Berlin’s Christopher Street Day on July 25 left one person dead and more than two dozen others injured. The incident overshadowed World Pride, which began hours earlier and ended on Saturday. Dutch authorities increased security measures in the aftermath of the July 25 attack. No incidents were reported during World Pride.

VIEWPOINT

A Michigan Muslim shakes up American politics while WorldPride 2026 makes counter-culture history VO L U M E 10 IS S U E 15 PHONE 310-230-5266 E-MAIL arodriguez@losangelesblade.com INTERNET losangelesblade.com PUBLISHED BY Los Angeles Blade, LLC PUBLISHER ALEXANDER RODRIGUEZ arodriguez@losangelesblade.com, 310-230-5266 x 8080 EDITORIAL NATIONAL EDITOR KEVIN NAFF knaff@washblade.com, 202-747-2077 x 8088 LOCAL NEWS REPORTER KRISTIE SONG ksong@losangelesblade.com CONTRIBUTING WRITER KAREN OCAMB karenocamb@losangelesblade.com CONTRIBUTORS

MICHAEL K. LAVERS, TINASHE CHINGARANDE, JOHN PAUL KING, LOU CHIBBARO JR., SUSAN HORNIK, JOE REBERKENNY, DANIEL ITAI, ISAAC AMEND, PETER ROSENSTEIN, TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER, JOE PHILLIPS, ANKUSH KUMAR, ESTEBAN RIOSECO, SAM KISIKA, ELVIS KAWEDO, HENRY CARNELL, DAWN ENNIS, AJ SLOAN

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2023 GLAAD Media Awards

“My commitment to Jewish safety is the same as my commitment to the safety of my own kids.” – Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed By KAREN OCAMB The Communists Are Coming! The Communists Are Coming! No, this isn’t an anniversary tribute to the 1966 Cold War comedy The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming. It’s actually the best Red Scare McCarthyism addled 80-year-old Donald Trump could imagine to demonize his enemies. But even young people celebrating WorldPride 2026 in Amsterdam can spot the fatal flaw in Trump’s latest Big Whine: Trump loves Russian Communist Vladimir Putin! Nonetheless, the MAGA faithful are parroting Trump’s prattle. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz flaunted his ignorance with Fox News host Jesse Watters, dissecting Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary. Progressive candidate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed consistently led moderate establishment candidate Rep. Haley Stevens in an intensely competitive race to challenge Trump-endorsed Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers for a critical open Senate seat in the Nov. midterm elections. “Is that where the energy is at? They want to cancel Thanksgiving?” Watters asked Cruz. Cruz nodded. “They’re crazy enough, yes. They want to cancel Thanksgiving; they want to cancel Christmas. Look, these communists hate America; they hate capitalism,” he said. “You see the green-red convergence,” Cruz said, “where the communists and the Islamists - they want Sharia Law. They hate Jews, they hate Christians, they hate capitalism, they hate America. All of this is coming together in a way that is really a toxic stew.” El-Sayed, 41, an epidemiologist and former health director for Detroit who won LGBTQ+ support last Oct., is a Michi“The Kissing Couple” featured at WorldPride 2026 gan-born son of (Photo courtesy Michael Lavers/Washington Blade) Egyptian immigrants who identifies as a capitalist, not a socialist, though he holds similar positions as the Democratic Socialists of America, such as Medicare for All, getting money out of politics, having a democracy powered by the people and abolishing an unaccountable ICE. But the Michigan race – which could also determine control of the Senate and thus confirm Supreme Court nominees - is also brightly illuminating the role money plays in politics. “Abdul’s victory was, in my opinion, the most extraordinary victory that I can think of in modern American politics,” Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an early El-Sayed supporter, said after El-Sayed’s incredibly narrow victory. Sanders predicted that the race would “show the nation whether AIPAC and other billionaire-funded Super PACs can buy a U.S. Senate seat or whether the people of Michigan can prevail.” “Money out of politics/money in your pockets” became a central tenet of El-Sayed’s campaign. “What we’re doing is building a movement of the many against the money,” El-Sayed said on the campaign trail. He overcame more than $60 million in outside spending for his opponent – much from

establishment Democrats plus $32 million from the ardently pro-Israel American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, which has now pledged to fund Rogers, who already holds $45 million in reserves for the midterms. After the UN-backed International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former defense minister Yoav Gallant and a former Hamas commander, citing allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Gaza Strip and Israel after Oct. 7, lawmakers started backing away from AIPAC. “The victory in Michigan is a political earthquake,” said Beth Miller, Political Director at Jewish Voice for Peace Action. “Voters in one of the most consequential states for the 2028 Presidential race have just sent a clear message: they want candidates who will fight for working families at home while unapologetically speaking out for Palestinian freedom. This cycle, AIPAC is being relegated to the dustbin of history.” “AIPAC never runs on AIPAC. They never even talk about Israel and Palestine,” former Rep. Andy Levin told AP. AIPAC spent millions opposing Levin, who is Jewish. “If you’re just a voter and you see a million ads, you don’t know who paid for it.” Some of AIPAC’s money went specifically into disinformation ads and mailers asserting that El-Sayed is disrespectful to women. Sarah Jukaku, El-Sayed’s wife, suggested that he was being targeted because he is running to be the first Muslim in the Senate. “There’s such a subtle way of otherizing someone. When you’re like a brown guy or Muslim guy, you know, the easiest thing to tack on to you is sexism, right?” Juaku told the Washington Post. “That’s not how he is…It feels so unfair.” El-Sayed’s blunt critique of Israel deserves a second look, Jay Michaelson wrote Aug. 5 in the Jewish Independent outlet Forward. “Yes, like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, El-Sayed is a young, Muslim progressive. But his views are markedly different — and, to my mind, more sophisticated and more nuanced. In fact, I agree with them,” Michaelson wrote. The columnist cites El-Sayed’s interview with New Yorker editor-in-chief David Remnick, who asked: “Does Israel have a right to exist?...[W]hat is your hope for a resolution in the Middle East?... What underlies your sense of the situation there?” Michaelson was taken with El-Sayed’s response, “which, itself, should inspire confidence….After noting that in Michigan, ‘there are communities where the median income is fourteen thousand dollars a year. And those kids go without good schools, and those kids go without functional infrastructure,’ El-Sayed continued: ‘I believe in equal rights to peace, dignity, and self-determination, for Palestinians and Jewish Israelis alike. And I believe that it is not my job as an American policymaker to decide what the ultimate peace should be. But it is my job to make sure that our resources are stewarded correctly for the people I’m responsible for: those kids going to those broken schools.’” El-Sayed continued, noting the “kind of hypocrisy” of how the “very same people who tell you you have to believe in a two-state solution are constantly aiding, arming, and abetting an Israeli government that has been dead set on foreclosing on the possibility of a Palestinian state since we’ve been funding them.” CONTINUES AT LOSANGELESBLADE.COM LOSANGELESBLADE.COM • AUGUST 14, 2026 • 07

What ‘Queer Eye for the Straight Guy’ can still teach us today

‘Queer Eye’ and ‘House of Stassi’ producer David Collins on the lasting impact of the hit series By JOEL MEDINA

It’s hard to imagine where LGBTQ+ television would be without Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, the trailblazing reality series that premiered in 2003. Each episode of this Emmy-winning show saw a group of gays converge on a struggling man — the titular straight guy — and offer nonstop wit while organizing his endlessly messy life. This program about a group of homosexual helpers took the world by storm, furthering the love of gay television begun by shows like Will and Grace but bringing it into the growing medium of reality TV. Of course, it wasn’t perfect; Queer Eye for the Straight Guy often cast its experts less as multi-faceted queer folks and more as sources of early 2000s gay jokes. But despite these pitfalls, it’s undeniable that the original program explored the realities of being gay in a way audiences had never seen before. It was a monumental piece of LGBTQ+ representation, and its success is largely owed to the man who fought to get this show made: producer David Collins. Collins spoke with the LA Blade from his Los Angeles home, where he’s spent the past few years living with his husband and his two daughters. David spoke fondly of his many years in this industry, detailing how it feels to be such a huge part of LGBTQ+ history. He explained, however, that he didn’t initially set out to alter how queer people were seen on television. “I never went out to make gay television,” said the producer. “I went out to tell great stories.” “I’m a hillbilly from Ohio, and I thought I was going to be an editor,” David laughed, looking back on his career. “I interned at the Cincinnati Film Office, and I showed up to work my very first day, and the film commissioner was like, ‘Get to the airport right now and pick [someone] up. Don’t talk to them.’ Well, I ended up picking up Jodie Foster!” Collins raved about this car ride that changed his life, with the pair becoming friends and Foster pushing him to become a producer who puts their own media out into the world. Eventually, he did just that, and after learning about the wild new genre that was reality TV, he pitched a series to Bravo: Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. “I was obsessed with Esquire magazine, and they had five categories: fashion, grooming, interior design, culture, food, and wine. So I gave them each a gay, and the Fab Five were born!” Collins said, describing how viewers quickly fell in love with the concept and earned the program four seasons and an Emmy for Outstanding Reality Program. He spoke about how proud he felt creating a show that centered real gay people, not characters in a story, remembering, “To stand in the middle of Times Square and look up and see this massive bill-

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board with the original Queer Eye guys…it wasn’t even a dream come true, because it wasn’t a dream I had even fathomed.” With his series, people were watching actual gay men and learning the realities of a queer culture that had always been portrayed as a danger to society. Collins tearfully recounted hearing about queer people using the show as a way to connect with their family, saying, “What I’m most proud of that’s come out of Queer Eye [are] the conversations that that series has allowed to have people around their kitchen tables with little boys in Ohio like me who were scared to death that they were going to burn in hell because their pastor was telling them that they were a sinner.” Now, for all of its trailblazing, the program wasn’t wholly positive; the show’s focus on the central ‘straight guy’ meant it rarely delved into the lives of its Fab Five. Collins regretted that lack of depth but understood that earlier audiences weren’t accustomed to such a nuanced look into queerness — that would have to wait til the reboot. When Queer Eye came out in 2018, audiences were introduced to not only a new Fab Five, but a whole new format (that didn’t rely on a straight person). Now, the series would assist queer folks and allies alike, spotlighting these individuals as well as the queer experts helping them improve their lives. The show has been applauded for its amazing makeovers, but where it truly stands out is its representation, offering a look into individuals across the country and the struggles — along with the immense joys — of being queer in America today. Fans were disappointed to hear that Queer Eye would be ending after its tenth season, but David stressed that they wouldn’t have to be sad for long. “What I will say to you is this: hang tight,” he teased. “There’s yet another version of Queer Eye to come, and we’re working on that now.” In the meantime, Collins is continuing his work with new shows like the House of Stassi, a series centered on Vanderpump Rules’ prolific waitress. He’s excited about these new projects, but emphasized that his heart will always belong to Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and all that it continues to do for viewers 19 years after its finale. “It’s not about your new outfit or your new couch or your new whatever. It’s about your humanity,” said Collins, speaking about the core lesson he hopes people take away from the Queer Eye franchise. “It’s about seeing yourself. It’s about dignity. It’s about how confidence breeds success.” A valuable message that queer folks can benefit from even more now than they did in 2003. And, while it’s unclear just what lies ahead for this franchise, one thing is for sure: Queer Eye for the Straight Guy helped people everywhere understand the power that exists within our queerness. It’s a truth that has impacted countless pieces of LGBTQ+ television today, and it’s one that Collins promises to keep alive through whatever hit show he creates next.

FILM

‘Maddie’s Secret’ defies campy expectations An over-the-top, old-school melodrama combined with modern satire By JOHN PAUL KING Sometimes, when you think you know what to expect from a movie, it doesn’t match those expectations. What do you do then? I’m not talking about the unmet expectations of fans, like those who complain that Kubrick’s “The Shining” made sweeping changes from Stephen King’s novel, or start a social media campaign trashing the latest “Star Wars” or “Marvel” film because of a plot twist they don’t like. Those are complaints about content, about a story not going the way it is “supposed” to go. I’m referring to the expectations we have when we walk into a movie thinking that it’s going to have a particular tone, a specific style, a familiar formula – essentially that it is going to easily fit into a comfortable box, and stay there. What happens when it doesn’t? That’s the question I found myself asking as I watched “Maddie’s Secret,” the directorial debut from gay actor/comedian John Early, which is now screening in a limited theatrical release. It’s the story of a humble housewife whose doting husband persuades her to turn her love of cooking into a career as a virally popular “food influencer,” only to find that her sudden success triggers traumatic feelings from her childhood; clearly a contemporized hybrid of the melodramatic “woman’s pictures” of Old Hollywood and the “Afterschool Special” style cautionary dramas of ‘70s/’80s TV, it has all the earmarks of being an exercise in “camp” – especially since Early himself stars as Maddie. To put it plainly, it’s an over-the-top old-school melodrama combined with modern-day satire of online social media fame, with a gay man in a dress playing the lead. What could be campier than that?

JOHN EARLY in ‘Maddie’s Secret.’ (Image Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures)

And it is campy, make no mistake. Yet at the same time, somehow, it isn’t. From its opening scene (which shows us Maddie as she jogs to her dishwashing job at the headquarters of an LA test kitchen/content studio named “Gourmaybe”), we expect things to get wacky. The ingredients are definitely present for it, like her aggressively butch co-worker/BFF Deena (Kate Berlant), who is clearly nursing a serious “girl crush”; bitchy TikTok star Emily (Claudia O’Doherty), who demeans her and ridicules her ambitions of being a chef; and boss Zach (Connor O’Malley), a womanizing corporate “bro” who enthusiastically embraces all the toxic traits we associate with that description. As the story opens up beyond her workplace, there are more elements that feel ripe for the kind of histrionic humor we might expect from a film by John Waters, or the styl-

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ish old-school parody of Charles Busch, or even the radicalized sexual transgression of Bruce La Bruce: Maddie’s adorably bearish husband Jake (Eric Rahill) could be made into a goofy caricature with a food fetish, and her estranged, abusive mother Beverlee (Kristen Johnston in a deliciously grotesque performance) is easily monstrous enough to be at the campy center of any “hag horror” from the ‘60s. And when we finally discover her “secret” (spoiler alert: it’s an eating disorder that returns when the pressures of being a popular social media chef bring up old feelings about her relationship with food), it’s easy to imagine a different filmmaker taking the whole thing in a thoroughly savage direction; the potential for tasteless, excessive, and deliberately juvenile comedy might be limitless, in the hands of a director unafraid of being branded “offensive.” It’s hard not to see all these possibilities on hand as we watch Early’s film – which he also wrote – and (for myself, anyway) hard not to hope they all play out to maximum outrageous effect. They don’t. Instead, “Maggie’s Secret” does something so unexpected that it feels, at first, like a mistake: it decides to play things straight. It’s still a comedy, make no mistake, but it’s not the kind of comedy we think it’s going to be. It doesn’t go for over-the-top anarchy; it doesn’t go for the bitch-slapping catfight between rival divas, or for the running parade of filthy double-entendres, or for the absurd “gross-out” humor that might have emerged from its scenes of binge-and-purge overeating. Well, okay, maybe it does go for that last one, a little bit. What all this comes down to, perhaps, is that the film gets its laughs – and there are quite a lot of them – without making fun of itself or, more importantly, its characters. The comedy here is built into the story; it comes from its send-up of social media influencers, corporate content creation, media tie-ins, and all the other interlocked microcosms of our “new, now, next” digital culture; it comes from the foibles and fumbles of its characters as they pursue their objectives in the story, from the qualities and quirks of their personalities, from their simply being funny because they feel like being funny; and yes, it sometimes comes from the obvious cliches of form that we recognize, the plot formulas and sudden revelations and shocking twists that have emerged time and time again in these kinds of domestic melodramas, but it does so good-naturedly, in a way that feels like laughing “with” the movie than laughing “at” it. It also never diminishes or ridicules the seriousness of Maddie’s eating disorder, nor the experiences that come for her when she (spoiler alert, again) ends up going into an inpatient facility to be treated for it; though these later scenes come populated with their own set of stereotypical characters, ready to be exploited, the movie may poke gentle fun, but it humanizes them, too, helping build the film toward an emotional climax that leaves us with the kind of satisfying uncertainty we don’t quite expect from a movie like this one. Most significantly, perhaps, it never gets its laughs out of the fact that Maddie is being played by a man – and it’s this that makes Early’s film feel more profound than we expect it to be. It’s not a “drag” movie, or a cross-dressing comedy, or anything to do with Maddie’s gender at all. She is a woman, presented without exaggeration or irony, and she just happens to be portrayed by a male actor instead of a female one. There’s no joke involved, just an excellent performance. This is an apt approach, considering that Early cites Waters’ 1974 “Female Trouble” as his inspiration for “Maddie’s Secret.” Though he sets aside the extremes of that classic in favor of nuance and kindness, he takes his cue from its star – the incomparable Divine, who never called himself a drag queen but considered himself an actor playing a part. Early does the same, and it makes his film into a kind of full-circle moment in queer “underground” cinema (if a premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, where “Maddie’s Secret” screened to enthusiastic response, can be called “underground”) which pays homage to the legacy of a past icon while picking up the mantle and carrying it in a new – and unexpected – direction. That’s the thing about expectations: sometimes they are left unfulfilled – and in answer to my own question, as I watched this uniquely winning queer indie gem, what happens just might be something wonderful.

‘X-Men ‘97’: Is it a 9 or a 7? Has the sophomore season of the Disney series taken a dip? By CHRISTIAN CINTRON Disney had a moment of true magic by reviving X-Men: The Animated Series. It was a miracle for 90s kids, and the throngs of people dying to see the X-Men in media. It’s been so long that by the time the MCU has a new X-Men movie, we may be fighting real-life Sentinels. Regardless, that first season galvanized fans everywhere. Led by queer showrunner Beau DeMayo, the series managed to bring a more adult spin to the X-Men universe. It tackled major storylines including Inferno, Genosha, Fatal Attractions, and Operation: Zero Tolerance. It brought back that opening theme song that drove countless Saturday mornings for a generation. The series brought back all of the voice actors of the original series to deliver additional stories featuring villains like Mister Sinister, Bastion, and Madeline Pryor. Many people have anxiously awaited the return of the series, but the season has been met with mixed reviews. After the unexpected departure of DeMayo, there were concerns over how the show might end up in others’ hands. So how does this season measure up? There have been some complaints and issues with the pacing of this series. Even in season one, many of these long multiple-title comic book arcs were resolved in less than 30 minutes. This season has each episode capped at 30 minutes, and while there are a ton of cameos and worldbuilding, there is a question of whether this series sticks the landing. This season featured 3 episodes resolving the X-Men’s departure through time after last season’s cliffhanger, with Apocalypse serving as the season’s big bad. There’s been the introduction of teams like X-Factor and X-Force to really place us in the 1990s, Jim Lee era of the X-Men. There have also been allusions to later seasons in a way that was deftly handled in season one. Season 1 managed to zoom through storylines, but it all felt in service to an overall narrative, and it felt like it was under the helm of a true fan of the series. It’s unclear what meddling has happened since DeMayo was ousted, but there are definitely far fewer memeable moments. There have been some good bits. The iconic opening sequence was rebranded for X-Force was a welcome surprise. There also was an episode that was pitched as a Wolverine/Weapon X-centered episode but quickly became about queer nonbinary character Morph having to realize he’s in love with the wrong man. There’s even something for the ladies with queer-coded Polaris, returning to the X-Men and getting her own

central storyline. She’s also being presented as a potential love interest for bishop. A welcome addition to the cast includes Naoko Mori from Absolutely Fabulous, Torchwood, and a recent appearance in The Boys’ final season playing Psylocke. But are there too many characters? So far, there’s been a genocide in Genosha, the death of Gambit and another character this season, and the show is zooming through stories and shifting through characters in a way that feels less in service to the first season. So how is the show doing? Some of the mixed fan response could be the fact that X-Men content has been so rare and sparse that fans are precious to have to watch the same characters from the Bryan Singer-verse, which are getting their nachos reheated in Avengers: Doomsday. It’s also unclear what might have been changed after DeMayo’s departure. After all, quotes like Deathbird’s line “Earth is so ghetto” live on in social media. It’s great that the show has shifted from focusing on Professor X and Rogue to introduce Polaris, Colossus, and Nightcrawler and give them their own storylines. Regardless of how you may feel about the pacing or the shift to different characters, you may be lucky because, given its success, the series is likely to continue. Season 3 is already complete and due out in 2027, and Season 4 has begun pre-production. Creative Eric Lewald offers some insight into Marvel Executive Brad Winderbaum’s excitement, saying, “Brad’s bursting up and down and you know he wants to do 10 [seasons], and we want him to do 10. We want eight years from now to be having more conversations like this about season 10. With 60 years of comics and all these characters…there’s really no limit.” Time will tell if they deliver a satisfying ending, but here’s hoping that the creative team factor in the feedback and build something that truly delivers what fans have been aching for because one startling difference between the original animated series was the sheer number of episodes and the ability to explore storylines even if they did it in a more kid-friendly way. Even if we find the latest season mid, we can at least make peace with the fact that Disney is finally delivering on the X-Universe, which has countless characters and riveting storylines and couldn’t be any more relevant than to today’s political climate. X-Men ‘97 season 2 now streaming on Disney+. LOSANGELESBLADE.COM • AUGUST 14, 2026 • 11

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