Penny Taylor calls for Brittney Griner’s release, Rebel Wilson comes out before being outed, Jennifer Hudson EGOTs with Tony Win – Tuesday, June 14, 2022

Turns out Rebel Wilson only came out to avoid being forcefully outed by Australian newspaper, the 75th Tony Awards celebrates queerness in theatre, & Jennifer Hudson wins Tony Award for producing “A Strange Loop” making her the newest EGOT inductee. Penny Taylor calls for Brittney Griner’s release at her induction into Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.

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Sign the Petition – Secure Brittney Griner’s Swift and Safe Return to the U​.​S.

https://www.change.org/p/secure-brittney-griner-s-swift-and-safe-return-to-the-u-s

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Transcript

Family this is your favorite queer radio personality Anna Deshawn with our queer news for today. Are you loving what you hear? Then please consider joining the QCrew. The QCrew is our monthly membership program we just launched to help us grow the podcast. With your generosity, I’m able to bring on a producer, an editor, and travel around the country to tell our stories. If you’re down with it check the link in the show notes for more information. Now for the news.

Penny Taylor calls for her former teammate Brittney Griner’s release at her Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame induction. Yesterday we reported on Rebel Wilson coming out, well turns out Rebel only came out to avoid being outed by an Australian newspaper. This year’s 75th Annual Tony Awards centers black & queer theatre highlighting LGBT productions. & J Hud does it again! Her latest Tony win for her role in producing “A Strange Loop” makes her the newest member of the EGOT club.

So, family, we have a few updates on our Brittney Griner coverage. Today marks day 116 that Brittney has been wrongfully detained by Russia. Penny Taylor, the Australian women’s basketball player, has called on President Biden’s help in freeing Brittney. Penny Taylor is friends and former teammates with Brittney and had this to say on Saturday at her induction into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame: “BG is our family, She’s yours too. The entire global sport community needs to come together to insist that she be a priority.”

State Department officials met with members of the Phoenix Mercury on Monday about Brittney Griner’s monthslong detention. After the meeting, Diana Taurasi of the Mercury team said “there is a lot involved in getting her back home and safe; they’re working relentlessly.” Adding, “we want BG to come home as soon as possible; it’s number one on our list.” Family, this story is and will be number 1 on our list as well until Brittney comes home. Stay tuned for more updates.

If you tuned in to yesterday’s show, we learned that Rebel Wilson posted about finding her Disney princess on Instagram. Rebel essentially came out for the first time in a captioned selfie with her girlfriend Romana Argruma. Well reports have surfaced that she came out only because she was confronted by an Australian newspaper preparing to run a story about the pair, outing the couple’s relationship. The Sydney Morning Herald gave Rebel only two days to comment on their story before releasing the exposé. Columnist Andrew Hornery has apologized after being accused of forcing Wilson into coming out.

This next story is for my Chicago family! Our very own Jennifer Hudson has another feather to add to her hat. Over the course of j-hud’s entertainment career, she has won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and most recently a Tony at this year’s 75th Tony Awards for producing “A Strange Loop.” Jennifer Hudson has achieved the esteemed status of EGOT with her Tony win for producing The play and only the 17th person in history to do so! Gone head with yo’ bad self!

Coincidentally, this year’s ceremony was hosted by fellow supporting actress & Oscar winner Ariana DeBose, whose pride was on full display in her opening performance. She kicked off Sunday night’s ceremony with a magnificent opening number featuring song, dance, same-sex kisses, and salutes to many of Broadway’s hits. Ariana is not the only thing black and queer about this year’s Tony Awards however. Stage productions with Black and gay narratives took center stage. “A Strange Loop” was nominated for 11 awards, including best musical, and original score, while “Take Me Out” garnered four nods, including best revival of a play.

Critic Emil Wilbekin says “the beauty of this Black queer theater revolution is that it creates representation of Black gay and queer men as human beings with full lives, emotional depth and stories that touch your soul,” The New York theatre community has lacked stories that represent the narratives of black and queer folks, so you know we have to celebrate the amazing talent being recognized this year.

Let’s close out with a word for today. Today’s word is a quote from Bell Hooks that says, “Whether we’re talking about race or gender or class, popular culture is where the pedagogy is, it’s where the learning is.” Tune in daily for our top stories in pop culture with a queer flare and leave with a little knowledge. Till tomorrow family, peace.

Sources

We are BG

https://wearebg.org/

Taylor Calls for Griner’s release at HOF induction

https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/34076636/penny-taylor-calls-brittney-griner-release-women-basketball-hall-fame-induction

Rebel Wilson Being Pushed to Come Out Sparks Ire on Social Media

https://www.advocate.com/people/2022/6/12/rebel-wilson-was-given-heads-coming-out-aussie-paper-claims

Jennifer Hudson EGOTs With Tony Win for Producing ‘A Strange Loop’

https://variety.com/2022/theater/news/jennifer-hudson-egot-tony-a-strange-loop-1235292057/

‘A Strange Loop’ Broadway Darling Michael R. Jackson Feels Pride — For Himself

https://variety.com/2022/legit/features/a-strange-loop-michael-r-jackson-1235282508/