the pride
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10.01.2023 – 10.31.2023 March 2024
LOS ANGELES 1
WWW.THEPRIDELA.COM
THE LOS ANGELES LGBT NEWSPAPER
Non-Binary Student Dies After Over Playful Burbank Mayor Faces Backlash Violent Bathroom Fight at Video, Cites Critics Anti-LGBTQ+ Bias Mayor KonstantineHigh School in Oklahoma Owasso Anthony Defends High School Faces Actions Amid Questions After Controversy Over They Video Fail to Call First Responders By Dolores Quintana orBurbank Report to Police Mayor Konstantine Anthony is
facing conservatives following Nex criticism Benedict,from a non-binary 16-year-old the circulation of a video showing him being student at Owasso High School in Owasso, spanked by a drag queen during an Oklahoma, has died after a fight inevent the on the weekend of September 10. coverage Anthony school’s bathroom. Local news has responded that some of his critics are of the death refers only to the student’s motivated by anti-LGBTQ+ bias and that the “unexpected death,” yet the article reports incident was harmless. testimony from a friend’s parent that details In the video, posted by the Wisenuts podcast, a savage beating by multiple students. Mayor Anthony is seen being spanked by a drag artist, backed by the Village People’s “Macho Man.” Anthony described the events as “shenanigans” and emphasized that it was
all in good fun. He went on to reveal that a secretly recorded video was made during the event and subsequently shared with a The article from KJRH.com quotes the prominent hate group. mother of the victim’s friend, who states, In a post on his Instagram account, Anthony “I think complications from brain trauma, stated, “For several days, extremist right-wing head trauma, is what caused it.” She went organizations, including Fox News, have on to say that three older girls were beating spread misleading information to fuel fear, the victim and her daughter in the girl’s discrimination, and hate. I will always be a bathroom, and eventually, a teacher entered proud supporter of the LGBTQ+ community the bathroom and broke the fight up. and drag performers.” The woman goes on to say, as quoted He added, “On a busy Saturday filled with by KJRH, “I know at one point, one of the various independent gatherings, I attended girls was pretty much repeatedly beating the Santa Clarita Valley Democrats’ private her head across the floor. She couldn’t fundraiser for their organization. Notably, walk to the nurses’ station on her own, and there were no officially endorsed candidates the staff didn’t call the ambulance, which or state and federal political figures present. amazes me.” The event was open to young adults ages 15 Not only did the staff at Owasso High and above. However, there were no attendees fail to call an ambulance, but they also did below 18. Additionally, no children were not report the violence to the local police. present.” It was only after the child was taken to While not specifying the particular hate group in question, it is possible that Anthony was referring to the Twitter account, now known as X, called “Libs of TikTok,” which
reposted the video and garnered over 8 million views. In response to the video, the Libs of TikTok the hospital that the police were informed account claimed that children were present about the beating. Nex Benedict was taken at the event. Mayor Anthony disputed this to the hospital on the day of the fight, assertion, stating that “actually, there weren’t February 7, by a grandparent, who was the any children at this private 21+ event. But of child’s primary guardian. Released from course, lying is totally on brand for you.” the hospital that night, Benedict was taken While the account correctly pointed out that back to the hospital the next day and died individuals aged 15 and older were permitted on February 8. to attend, the event’s organizer, the Santa No mention of an ongoing investigation Clarita Valley Democrats, released a statement is stated on the local police department’s clarifying that no individuals under the age of website or social media, and the Owasso 18 were in attendance. High School website and social media Mayor Anthony reiterated this point during are silent on the subject as well. The only a City Council meeting and expressed his tangentially connected communication concern that the video’s circulation had led to from the Owasso Public Schools was a city officials receiving “some of the most vile letter sent to parents eight days later that hate speech that I have ever seen.” “addresses school safety measures.” that Anthony encouraged those with concerns have “been on the minds of many parents about his actions to communicate with him and students lately.” as reported by Fox directly via email at kanthony@burbankca. gov. He stated, “If you want to talk to me about what happened over the weekend, send me an email. Send me an email. I will talk to
News 23. The news report says that Tiffani Cooper, principal of Owasso High School, says, “The safety of students and staff is, and always will be, our top priority.” However, no mention of the death of a student was mentioned in the news report about the you about it. There is no reason to involve all letter. Attempts by local news outlets to of the other people who were not at a public get comment were turned away by the event, not at a government-sponsored event. It school, which said there was an active wasn’t even in the city of Burbank.” police investigation, and the police, who In a statement released on Tuesday, the said theyValley wereDemocrats “consumed with their the Santathat Clarita voiced investigation.” support for Mayor Anthony and strongly Nex Benedict was laid to restand oninaccurate February denounced the sensationalized 15, and the teenager’s deadname is used in portrayal of their event for political purposes local news reports and in the GoFundMe that promoted fear, homophobia, transphobia, set to payThe burial costs. reaffirmed their andup bigotry. Democrats
West Hollywood Launches 2024 Drag Story Hour Season with Miss Barbie-Q
commitment to the LGBTQ+ community and drag performers, refusing to engage with what they referred to as “fake outrage.”
Bomb The City’s Threat Temporarily Halts “Lil Nas Glamorous X: Long Live Montero” Premiere at TIFF Storytime Spectacle ReturnsPremiere of World The City of West Hollywood invites Documentary Was families to the 2024 season opener of Drag Story Hour on Saturday, February 10, at Screened After 11:00 a.m. The event, held at the West Hollywood Library Community Meeting Room (625 N. San Vicente Boulevard), will 20-Minute Delay
showcase drag performer Miss Barbie-Q. Admission is free, Quintana and RSVPs are not By Dolores required. Dragpremiere Story Hour, a recurring seriesLive of The of “Lil Nas X: Long Saturday atmorning storytelling sessions Montero” the Toronto International Film by drag(TIFF) performers, caters tosetback children Festival faced a momentary on of all ages. of West Hollywood Saturday nightThe due City to a bomb threat. collaborates with Vice the President West Hollywood Judy Lung, TIFF’s of Public Library andto Communications, create an inclusive Affairs confirmedand to welcoming space for CTV News Toronto viafamilies, a writtenpromoting statement the the values of was diversity, acceptance, and that festival alerted to an investigation self-expression. “in the vicinity of the red carpet” at Roy
The 2024 Drag Story Hour season will continue with events scheduled for Saturday mornings at 11 a.m. on the following dates: April 13, June 29, August 10, October 5, and December 7. For updates, refer to the LA County Public Library calendar of Thomson Hall, where the documentary was set events. to be screened. Established by Lung stated,in San “OurFrancisco standardin 2015 security Michelle remained Tea andinRADAR Productions, measures place during this time, DragtheStory Hour commenced received City West and screening with ofa slight Hollywood in this 2017. West delay. To ourfunding knowledge, wasThe a general Hollywood Houror the series is threat and not Drag directedStory at the film artist.” produced by Pickle the Drag Queen, the recently appointed Drag Laureate, making history as one of only two Drag Laureates in the United States. The City of West Hollywood actively supports various arts programs, including Art on the Outside, Arts Grants, City Poet Laureate, Free Theatre in the Parks, Library Exhibits, Summer and Winter Sounds, WeHo Reads, WeHo Pride Arts Festival, and the Urban Art Program. For more information, visit www.weho.org/arts.
A spokesperson for the Toronto police informed CTV News Toronto that the threat had been conveyed to the festival’s private security by a passerby. “Out of an abundance of caution, the Toronto police and the private
security swept the scene and cleared it within 20 minutes,” noted Constable Victor Kwong. Toronto police also clarified that the threat had a general nature and did not specifically target any individual or entity.
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