Most people — especially in 2026 — would agree that politics are far too serious to be joked about. Micah O’Konis, co-creator of the NRA-centered musical dark comedy, Good Guy with a Gun, is not one of those people. 

It’s clear in every one of this new musical’s songs; Good Guy with a Gun is set in the starkly divided world we’re currently living in, with viewers being introduced to diehard conservative Ron (Chris Sullivan) and his daughter, the passionate liberal Jenna (Kimiko Glenn). NRA lobbyist Ron wants nothing more than to turn Jenna and every other ‘bleeding heart’ over to his political side — and, luckily (for him at least), he finds something that lets him do just that: a magic gun that turns anyone he shoots into a DEI-hating conservative. 

It’s an endlessly catchy journey filled with as much dark humor as it is astute critiques of modern politics. That’s because Good Guy with a Gun is driven by personal experience, with the creative team researching the devastating impact of American gun laws and O’Konis non-binary identity meaning they’ve experienced unique brands of nastiness from all sides of the political spectrum. 

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Through music and jaw-dropping hilarity, Micah critiques the utter ridiculousness that American politics has largely become. They do so while somehow humanizing both sides of this political divide, all while Good Guy with a Gun makes one thing very clear: it doesn’t matter what political party you are. If your priority isn’t doing the real work of taking care of those in need, then you’re doing something wrong. 

“I think there’s a power in making a joke,” said O’Konis, when describing what led to their melodious takedown of modern politics. “You’re complicating things for people, and you’re showing them that it’s not just one thing. Yes, gun violence is an incredibly serious matter. But there are also serious things that are just so ridiculous that they’re worth laughing at.” That issue in particular is one that O’Konis and their writing partner, Philip Labes, know well; the duo had the idea for Good Guy with a Gun after Labes was held up at gunpoint on his way home. Roommates at the time, Micah was the first one to see the disheveled musician after the incident, who, amidst rambling about his experience, shared an idea: they should make a musical about the NRA. 

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And thus, Good Guy with a Gun was born, with this project being in development for more than a decade before its official premiere on August 14th, 2026. The years of effort show in each song, with this polished album featuring some of Broadway’s biggest voices like Yvette Nicole Brown, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Anthony Rapp, and more. 

“I think the reason why we were able to get such an amazing cast is because this message really resonates with people,” Micah explained. “The show — while it started off just talking about guns — is so much more now. We’re talking about this generational and political divide in America, and we’re using guns as our way into that.”

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Good Guy with a Gun never shirks the realities of how gun violence has deeply hurt the American populace, with Micah explaining how they and the entire creative team worked hard to respect the thousands of people who’ve been hurt by mass shootings. Micah became well-versed in the political actions that make these atrocities possible, learning about the NRA’s flawed beginnings and how its push for guns coupled with discrimination against LGBTQ+, immigrant, and most other marginalized communities. This flawed mindset is analyzed throughout the musical, with songs like ‘N-R-Amen’ showing how the fight against equality has become a national spectacle with millions of rapt audience members. 

Yet amidst this criticism, Good Guy with a Gun does something that may surprise (and infuriate) listeners: it humanizes Ron, a character meant to represent how hardcore conservatives think today. “We’re by no means excusing his beliefs,” stressed O’Konis. “We just wanted to make something that we know from experience resonates with people, and we’re willing to take on the risks that are associated with that.”

Because Good Guy with a Gun not only showcases how the far-right have gilded the political degradation of underserved communities, but it also calls out many liberals for focusing more on correcting others than actually doing the work necessary for societal equity. On that point especially, Micah said, “It’s impossible to get a perfect score in being progressive…I think progressives like myself will do better by lifting up people who are getting a ‘B plus’ [in political correctness] rather than just dunking on people who are getting a C.”

With the humorous allegory of a ‘magic conservative gun,’ Good Guy with a Gun spotlights how, no matter the party, anyone who thinks ripping away someone’s autonomy is okay as long as it makes them right is thoroughly wrong. And in exploring the countless people who think just like that today, this musical both humanizes these folks and calls out how this foolish arrogance has turned American politics into the laughably defunct system it is today. 

“It’s about empathy,” explained O’Konis when discussing the central message of the show. “And that empathy is a practice. It’s something that you have to work at. You can’t get it with a click of a switch or pull of a trigger. You have to do the work to have conversations and understand where people are coming from.”

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Good Guy with a Gun recognizes that it’s easier to see people on a different side of the political spectrum as inhuman — and why nobody, no matter their party, should do that. It doesn’t excuse the pain politics has caused; while the show does call out liberals, it does spotlight that shallow commitment to equality is far different than conservative calls for the oppression of diverse communities. But the show urges listeners to empathize with those who oppose them and use that understanding to help them learn what it means to truly keep their loved ones safe. 

Through lyrical humor, Good Guy with a Gun delivers a message of radical empathy. One that it hopes viewers will carry long after the last song has ended, and that could lead to a political system that truly fights for the good of us all.

Good Guy with a Gun streams August 14th.

The 2026 World Pride March was held on Saturday, Aug. 8 in Amsterdam. Tens of thousands of participants marched from Martin Luther Kingpark to the grounds of the Pride Village at Museumplein.

(Blade photos by Michael Key)

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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.’” 

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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.

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 billboard with the original Queer Eye guys…it wasn’t even a dream come true, because it wasn’t a dream I had even fathomed.”

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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.”

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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. 

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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. 

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“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. 

‘When Memory Fades’
By Nathaniel Chin, MD
c.2026, St. Martin’s Essentials
$30/422 pages

Mom called you in a panic the other day.

She’d lost her keys and by the time you arrived to help, she’d found them. In the refrigerator.

These kinds of things keep happening, not often but often enough, and you don’t know quite what to worry about. But in the new book “When Memory Fades” by Nathaniel Chin, MD, you’ll learn about the journey ahead, for both of you.

You can’t remember why you walked into a room. You got lost last week, going to the bank. Popular wisdom says that things like that are normal as we age, but Chin says that’s not true – although the answer may not be a worst-case scenario, either. Yes, memory problems could just be signs of stress, dehydration, or lack of sleep – or is it time to see a doctor?

Chin says maybe, yes.

He was working his way through medical residency when his father, a geriatrician in Madison, Wisc., was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Chin, now a geriatrician, was blindsided, but that diagnosis also changed his life.

Here, he writes about the brain, and how Alzheimer’s and dementia are diagnosed, explaining that dementia has many faces and, depending on a doctor’s evaluation, memory problems might be slowed or improved. He shares his father’s illness with readers, but he also writes about his mother, a steadfast, steady caretaker.

Her story reminds reader-guardians to care for themselves, too.

Know how to talk the talk, so that you can have “a more productive” conversation with your doctor. Understand that there’s nothing “normal” about dementia or Alzheimer’s. Know the statistics – African Americans are affected with dementia twice as much as whites – and know how to lower your risks. Learn here what questions to ask, how to break the news to everyone, and any legal matters that will be important soon. And know how to tend to you.

Says Chin, “The best action you can take is to educate yourself… The more you understand, the better equipped you are to make sound judgments.”

Something’s off about Dad, just a lot of little things that don’t add up. When is it time to step in? “When Memory Fades” can help you decide.

Wise, wide-spread, comprehensive, and compassionately helpful, this is a book you can read and then take it to the doctor with your loved one. It’s a book that makes sense when nothing else does, and its biggest feature is that it smoothly transitions from easy-to-grasp science and charts, to gentle coaching for caregivers. Author Nathaniel Chin, MD writes with storytelling, humility, grace, and experience from both sides of the Alzheimer’s/dementia issue, and his words are reassuring but also urgent. Learn, but don’t wait, he says. Know how to safeguard yourself. See your doctor, and don’t fear testing. Watch for signs of depression. And never, ever stop asking for help.

Read those last seven words, and find “When Memory Fades” now. It’s a book to have on your shelf, whether you’re 45 or 95 because, as you’ll see, dementia happens and knowledge is key.

‘Qtopia: A Memoir of Love, Land and Liberation’
2026, University of Wisconsin Press
By Juda Bennett

Duffel packed, the new high school graduate could not fall asleep. “On the night before my departure, I stared at the duffel bag as if it were a body bag. We lived close to Dover, where the dead from Vietnam were shipped.” 

It is 1971, and Charles was leaving home to join a hippie commune in rural Virginia. “I kept imagining bodies fitting into the bag and popping out in the middle of the night,” Juda Bennett writes in his memoir, “Qtopia: A Memoir of Love, Land and Liberation.” During Bennett’s high school years from 1968-1971 some 35,000 U.S. soldiers were killed in the Vietnam War, the vast majority processed at Dover Air Force Base. 

Young Bennett was clueless about what lay ahead but he had a commune’s brochure in his pocket, certain his destiny was not in the military. “My father was a walking recruitment center, and my mother could have worked for the USO. Uncle Sam and the Andrews Sisters had nothing on them.” Inspired to find his way out of suburban Wilmington, Del., he boarded a Greyhound bus to Lexington, Va., and communes yet unknown. “Qtopia” is a serious, sexy and joyous memoir about a young man who knows he’s different in search of chosen family and, over coming decades, his own queer Utopia.

“We are leaving; you don’t need us,” was the popular refrain in the day from the Crosby, Stills & Nash song “Wooden Ships.” Communards like young Charles (going by the moniker C.B. with a full beard covering his handsome, androgynous features) were living it. How far this is from urban queer stories of the ‘70s. For this reason alone, it is marvelous reading about hot naked hippies farming together in the country, living and loving in secluded teepees when everything seemed possible. Novels like “Drop City” by T.C. Boyle (2003) and “Arcadia” (2012) by Lauren Groff set in hippie communes had no gay characters, only free-love for straights. When C.B.’s parents arrive to visit his back-to-the-land commune North Mountain bearing gifts like the orange powder Tang and Frosted Flakes, he “maintained” as the saying went.  “It was a great time for visitors to see how hard we had worked—fields of sorghum swaying in the breeze, acres of vegetables in neat rows with beans, tomatoes and peppers hanging down….I was still thin as a matchstick, but I was a strong and muscular matchstick,” he tells the story of his development. By contrast, he had considered suicide before leaving home; this memoir fills in the pain, too.

There are times when C.B.’s voice as a teen communard with a secret is so authentic and rich, it is like reading fictional stories of American innocents on journeys of their own like J.D. Salinger’s character Holden Caulfield or Demon Copperhead from rural Virginia by Barbara Kingsolver. He tells us there was this guy Mark at North Mountain who had been pressuring him to sleep on the mattress next to his. C.B. was known as the only gay at North Mountain. One of the hippie women warned him Mark is “a square, the biggest downer.” Stepping out of the memoir, C.B. directly addresses the reader about the Mark issue, “I don’t want to write about Mark anymore because he’s not important to my story, and I didn’t even like him.” Got it. Hitchhiking with C.B. is like that, too.

“I got my best ride of the whole hike from a truck driver named TJ….If an eighteen wheeler…is willing to stop for you, it is because the driver wants something from you…I will forever remember this trucker as the most beautiful man I could have had sex with if I weren’t so innocent.”

North Mountain required the hippies work one week a month in Richmond to earn cash for the commune. For C.B., this translated into seven communards living in one small apartment on this cultish mission. It was in a Richmond park where he meets a stranger who would sexually abuse him over a month until C.B. ends it. Furious, the man threatens to shut down the commune if he does not obey. In a state of panic, C.B. attempts suicide by overdosing on every pill he can get his hands on. The memoir takes the reader through the author’s horror by deepening the shadows. What was the specific nature of the abuse?  How did this stranger have credible power to threaten the commune? Entitled “What It’s Like to Die,” the chapter is a skillfully told, expressionistic turning point from an innocent’s hell to salvation at the intentional queer Lavender Hill commune in Central New York. C.B. desperately needed to “find my people.” 

He’s a resilient young man after living in three communes by the time he hit San Francisco. His two gay neighbors on Ashbury Street—Crow and Moonsnake—pressure him to get a new “hippie name.” Walking home from Golden Gate Park he zeroes in on a passing streetcar, “North Judah.” Goodbye “Charles,” Judah will be his new hippie name. Crow and Moonsnake, approve: “If that’s what the Universe called out to you.” If you remember the Sixties…

 “Too often,” Bennett writes, “we think of dropouts as withdrawing from life, but in truth, I think they are in a heightened state of seeking their rightful path and purpose. Nothing stays the same.” Juda Bennett remains a believer to this day, “Always putting my faith in my journey to Utopia”.

(Charles Francis is president of the Mattachine Society of Washington, D.C., and author of “Archive Activism:  Memoir of a ‘Uniquely Nasty’ Journey.”)

Greg Araki may not have been solely responsible for the “New Queer Cinema” movement of the 1990s, but he certainly gave it an edge.

From early low-budget groundbreakers like “The Living End” (1992) through his “Teen Apocalypse Trilogy” (1993-97) and beyond, his films have subverted cinematic tropes with queer characters and themes and co-opted them into his own unique brand of filmic storytelling — extreme, campy, and transgressive – in which his queer characters were usually framed as sexual outlaws, flawed and anti-heroic outsiders who disregard not only sexual conventions, but often the law and the social order itself.

In subsequent decades, he’s continued to bring that same fiercely counter-cultural swagger to a surprisingly diverse array of projects, from the melancholy and critically acclaimed “Mysterious Skin” (2004) to the first-ever Cannes Queer Palm winner “Kaboom” (2010). And though it’s been 12 years since his last feature film release (“White Bird in a Blizzard”), he’s brought his twisted talents under the radar to helm episodes of popular TV shows like “13 Reasons Why,” “Riverdale,” and “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.”

Now, he’s back to the big screen with “I Want Your Sex,” a new erotic comedy-thriller that proves he hasn’t lost that edge. In fact, he may have honed it to a sharpness that cuts deeper than ever — and he’s aimed it not only at the moralistic posturing of mainstream attitudes around carnality, but at the thinly veiled high end consumerism that drives the world of avant-garde art.

Structured with a nod to “Sunset Boulevard” – it begins with a shocking “face down in a swimming pool” moment that is then explained in flashback – and flavored with the kind of sexual anarchy that rarely manages to penetrate the cultural mainstream, it’s the quintessentially “L.A.” story of Elliot (Cooper Hoffman), a perennially down on his luck 23-year-old would-be podcaster who manages to land a job as an assistant to multi-media artist Erika Tracy (Olivia Wilde), known as much for her domineering personality as for her highly sexualized (and deliberately provocative) work. At first, he is just one of a small army of fellow assistants tasked with helping prepare for an exhibition of new work at her gallery, which ranges from writing emails and scheduling interviews to chewing gum for a conceptual artwork depicting her vagina; but something about him catches her eye, and he soon finds himself taking on the additional duty of being her sexual plaything. 

It’s strictly a business arrangement, of course, and all under cover of an NDA he signed before ever being hired; she needs the sexual outlet to keep her focused on her work, and he – thanks to his unsatisfying relationship with disinterested girlfriend Minerva (Charlie XCX) and his desire to finally pay his share of rent for the apartment he shares with BFF Apple (Chase Sui Wonders) – is happy to be of service. At first, it all feels like a dream come true, as he crosses his own boundaries to become enmeshed in a Dom/sub dynamic with an older woman on whom he’s long had a crush; she’s the Dom, of course, and he soon discovers he has more than just a mild taste for being submissive. But as things progress, he begins to “catch” the feelings he was never allowed to have, while Erika’s manipulation and humiliation of him starts to cross lines that threaten to undermine his tenuous sexual liberation, simultaneously eroding the comfortable relationships that have kept him feeling grounded, if perennially dIsappointed, up until now. Needless to say, things get progressively twisted, and Elliott finds himself ever more haplessly  exploited as the story winds back to that “swimming pool moment” with all the inevitability of a train wreck experienced in irresistibly delicious slow motion.

Yes, it’s all deliberately “shocking” in the sense that it takes us places – both sexually and psychosexually – that a lot of audiences might never have thought they’d be expected to go. There’s plenty of nudity, the kinky sex is “explicit” in the sense that we have no doubt about the physical logistics of what’s happening even if we don’t see it, and the overall sense of “ethics” is pretty much “who cares?” In today’s world of “purity politics,” that might actually be the most transgressive thing of all about Araki’s film.

It’s not all just thumb to the nose at 21^st century morality, however; nor is it merely a chance to undermine our faith in concepts like “consent” or suggest that inappropriate sexual dynamics in the workplace are anything other than toxic. Erika is most definitely a kind of beautiful monster – all the more because her angle, from the beginning, is all about increasing the value of her “brand” – but to frame her as a villain is missing a crucial point in what is essentially, despite its coy pretense at being a thriller, a coming-of-age story wrapped in a dark and de-romanticized rom-com.

Central to Araki’s story is the oft-cited observation that Gen Z people, having come of age in a time of social isolation in which private indiscretion can frequently lead to public shame, are afraid of sex. Elliot himself discusses this generational trope, yet he exposes himself to betrayal and humiliation anyway – and while that choice may take him down a rocky road, it also takes him on the journey of sexual self-discovery that he’s always wanted to have. Erika facilitates this, however unethically she may go about it, and even makes some discoveries about herself along the way; and despite the fact the journey ends up with police interrogations, tabloid scandal, and reversals of fortune not even she can see coming, the sex itself is never really to blame. After all, it’s only sex.

Maybe that’s the main point of “I Want Your Sex,” if there is one: all the stigma, all the prudish judgments and standards of moral “decency” become absurd in the face of the act itself, which – for most humans, at least – only comes naturally and, when stripped of unnecessary shame, can be a joyful experience, no matter how “kinky” it gets.

In fact, it’s not so much the sexual “deviance” or betrayals that Araki positions as the driving force in his movie, but the pretensions of a commercialized art world in which notoriety, controversy, and even tragedy can boost fame and fortune overnight – something that savvy artists, like Erika (and perhaps Araki himself) understand and exploit without qualm. One can make judgments about that, too, but in the end, isn’t that just part of how capitalism works?

In any case, “I Want Your Sex” doesn’t make judgments about any of it, just observations – with wit, slyness, and a refreshingly sex-positive attitude. Wilde and Hoffman deliver superb performances, as does the entire cast – which, apart from others previously mentioned, includes Mason Gooding as Elliot’s super-gay co-worker, Daveed Diggs as Erika’s haughty business manager, and Margaret Cho and Johnny Knoxville in admirably deadpan roles as a pair of police detectives. Shrewd, sexy, and all in good fun, it might well be the most fun you’ll have at the movies this summer.

Fans were shocked to witness former celebrity blogger Mario Lavandeira a.k.a. Perez Hilton’s epic crashout on social media. While on TikTok Live, he was harming himself with what appears to be a metal chef-grade spreader. There was blood, gore, and a cry for help that broke the internet. 

Police from Miami-Dade County were called to the scene; he has been hospitalized. The fact that this traumatic incident was broadcast on TikTok brought up the topic of moderation. Hilton’s account has since been banned from TikTok, but by now the cat is out of the bag, and the clip is circulating online. 

It’s hard not to reflect on how Hilton both represents a major turning point in Internet culture, and this incident may be a warning of its potential end. A statement on his blog from his representatives confirms that his family was on the scene minutes before the incident but quickly fled to protect his children and niece from any future trauma. 

Hilton’s agent, Dante Rusciolelli, told Us Weekly in a statement. “Our focus remains on Perez’s health, recovery, and the privacy of both him and his family during this incredibly difficult time…We respectfully ask that everyone continue to honor his privacy while he receives the care he needs.”

A recurring theme on social media is that Hilton, at the height of his fame and media reach, would not respect the privacy of any celebrity. After all, he was one of the regular outlets covering Britney Spears’s famous shaved-head meltdown and part of the “Leave Britney Alone” mythos. 

A Bit of Background

Before Hilton, there were celebrities famous for being famous like Angelyne and Paris Hilton. However, some may say he was the first to monetize it. From his laptop at a coffee shop, he galvanized the Internet by skewering celebrities. 

Nothing was off limits. He outed celebrities like Neil Patrick Harris, Clay Aiken, and Lance Bass. He spoiled the finale of season 3 of RuPaul’s Drag Race, and he posted celebrity nudes, including up-skirt photos of teen starlets like Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, and Lindsay Lohan, the same young women he also cyber-bullied.

Times have changed, and despite his many attempts to rehab his image, including having children, publicly apologizing, and even finding God, nothing brought him back to the public eye. He was recently hospitalized for sepsis and claims to have reflected on his behavior in the past. 

This incident really shines a light on the intersection of mental health and fame in this country. In a post-Kardashian world, being a celebrity is not about talent or professional accolades. It has become about how you can increase your follower count. Whether it is stretching out Marilyn Monroe’s dress, becoming a black Nazi like Kanye West, or even becoming President, it’s about how you can shock, awe, and find your base. 

Los Angeles is a city that lives and dies by television and movies, but social media has shifted how this business works. People are cast from large social media followings. People who do manage to build a following face some of the darker aspects of fame. Whether it’s Chappell Roan’s beef with paparazzi and fans, or Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie having to ask for privacy and respect for their humanity, even if you reach the level of fame, it’s not all roses. 

Add to this the fact that this is all tied to social media. Your fame is quantified by the number of followers, likes, and page views, while people are found in a negative feedback loop of dopamine addiction, clout chasing, and pushing themselves further to find more followers. 

On August 1, Floridian influencer Whitney Lynn was thrown off a flight claiming spiritual warfare when she was disrupting the flight by proselytizing. Was she doing this for social media follows? The Internet is now rampant with people causing scenes in planes, staging pranks and scenarios, and violating people’s privacy all in the pursuit of attention. 

Hopefully Hilton finds the help he needs. This entire incident has called into question the entirety of internet culture. Who is responsible for the trauma that people inflict on other people? At what point do we intercede in Internet use before people have no other recourse but to harm themselves on live? And at what point does the toxic energy we put onto the net bounce back to us? 

Similar to Hilton, Wendy Williams faced her own crisis, and maybe she put it best: “I would ask you to respect our privacy, but please, I don’t respect people’s privacy; that’s why I do the Hot Topics. So turnabout is fair game.”

If you know anyone struggling with self-harm, text CONNECT to 741741 for free confidential support or dial 988 for the suicide and crisis helpline.

Eliot Glazer is a self-proclaimed ‘very bad gay guy.’ It’s a title the man wears with pride; he got his start writing for hit shows like The Boys and New Girl, imbuing every series with the dry, constantly dark humor that has come to define him as a creator. It’s a style of comedy that he carried into his career as a comedian, with the past few years seeing Glazer alternate between writing on hit shows and making audiences laugh through his stand-up. He uses each platform to hilariously describe his many mistakes, commenting on the chaotic gay community while emphasizing how bad he is at fitting in with the rest of his homosexual species. 

While his many fans have heard Glazer speak about this, these observations are often packaged through TV writing or punchlines, rarely getting to the heart of what it means to feel like you’re bad at being yourself. His audience has never gotten the chance to know the moments that forged Eliot as a ‘bad gay’ and what he truly means with this label — until now. 

In his new book, The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Gay, Eliot Glazer writes a collection of essays that show a side audiences have never seen before. In his own words, it is “a documentation of gay failures” and a “catalog of wrongs and misses,” a vulnerable exposé on the artist that audiences have loved for years. He humorously describes the lessons that built him and the moments that left him feeling distanced from his own community. And, throughout all the laughs (and occasional tears), Glazer makes readers question if maybe they’re a ‘bad gay’ too — and would that really be such a bad thing?

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“[Comedy] is the only language that I speak,” laughed Glazer, as he discussed what made him pursue a career in the genre. “Clearly it’s a defense mechanism…but I also feel like it’s the only way I can communicate with other people.” And he certainly does communicate; each of the book’s essays provides an almost too-relatable anecdote from the man’s life. Whether it’s almost getting outed by a ruthless high school drama teacher or dealing with ‘demon twinks’ on Fire Island, Eliot’s exploits will resonate with most gay men who grew up in the closet and have dabbled in their city’s local nightlife. 

Yet while funny, readers may be shocked at the amount of vulnerability that Glazer offers within each page. Readers quickly learn that his self-prescribed status as a ‘bad gay’ comes from a lack of easy connection with the other gay men around him. Living in larger cities means that he is constantly thrust into loud parties, drug-fueled exchanges, and otherwise boisterous outings that those around him seem to love. He emphasizes that he in no way judges that lifestyle, but that he’s never felt at ease in these bombastic settings, causing the anxiety in these essays…as well as some of the funniest jokes. Because, as Glazer explains, “I just kind of have to find a way to joke about it to keep it from being more uncomfortable than it might already be…it’s just a way to survive.”

In the humor, Glazer offers an uncomfortably relatable image of queer anxiety. He recounts moments most would try to forget, like one heartbreaking scene where of being so nervous about being judged at a party that he suffers a panic attack and never even goes in, leaving before anyone even has the chance to judge him. Eliot expressed how uncomfortable it was to transcribe moments like this — a far cry from his usual comedic writing — but knew that it was because they were so uncomfortable that he had to include them in his book. 

“The more vulnerable you are, the more you connect to people, the more they relate to you,” he said. “I like the idea of reaching other queer people and gay men who don’t necessarily feel the opportunity to share that sense of social anxiety or whatever feelings might bring shame to them, because I do feel like we as a community self-impose a level of pressure that I’m just yearning to break through.”

It’s an unfortunate truth of many gay circles; in the age of social media, countless groups in society have become fixated on appearing perfect, with many gay men desperately evading any chance of appearing ‘cringe’ to their judgmental peers. This is not everyone, of course, but it’s an issue pervasive enough that countless men just like Glazer feel uncomfortable being their genuine selves in gay spaces, not even finding the freedom of authenticity within their own community.

Glazer has faced this issue all his life, but through each essay of The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Gay, readers watch as the man comes to love himself beyond some pre-set image he’s been told to fit into. It’s a realization that only came from years of self-work, time that Eliot hopes to spare readers by being so vulnerable and inviting them into his own journey through his writing. 

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Eliot lives in Los Angeles and is actually hosting a discussion of the book at BookSoup — moderated by renowned Drag Queen and LA local, Trixie Mattel —on Tuesday, August 11th. He raved about how excited he was, and how he hopes this event will help connect him with anyone else who thinks they’re a ‘bad gay,’ saying, “I want other people to feel the comfort to acknowledge what makes them feel awkward or weird in the world…I do really hope, very selfishly, that I can meet other people who need to express and have catharsis in just also being like me too, me too.”

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And that is the core message of The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Gay: there is no wrong way to be queer. Eliot Glazer invites you to laugh at his many fumbles while reminding you that if you connect with him, that doesn’t mean you’re wrong! Rather, it means you’re not alone. And that for however isolated you may ever feel in the queer community, there are always people like Eliot out there, ready to relate to all of your mishaps and show you you’re not a ‘bad gay’ — you’re just a different kind of queer.

For his second book, local author Rasheed Newson showcases LA queer history, steamy cruising spots of yesteryear, and what it meant to be gay and Black during the golden age of Hollywood.

After a lifelong love of old Hollywood and two decades working in the entertainment industry, “There’s Only One Sin in Hollywood” is a story Newson always wanted to tell. Newson’s writing work includes shows like “Lie to Me,” “Narcos,” “Bel-Air,” and others.

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Following the fictional life of backlot fixer Aaron Toissant, Newson’s most recent novel showcases the glimmering facade of what it means to be successful in Hollywood during this time. 

The novel’s journey follows Toissant’s life and eventual investigation into the suspicious death of fictional closeted Black actor Xavier C. Barlow. The narrative of their intertwining lives is told through Toissant, where he chronicles their journey for the ONE Archives in Los Angeles. 

The novel is set during a pivotal time for the LGBTQ+ rights movement, years before the Stonewall riots and marriage equality, and under the Hays Code era of Hollywood.

The Hays Code governed the U.S. film industry from 1934 to 1968 with a list of restricted topics movies couldn’t include in their subject matter, leading to censorship. During the same time, the Cold War’s Red Scare also contributed to blacklisting and censorship.

These strict guidelines were made after a wave of conservative religious critics threatened to boycott films and values they claimed were “immoral,” according to the 1995 documentary “The Celluloid Closet,” which critiques 100 years of LGBTQ+ depictions in film.

The guidelines were made by a federal motion picture commission, and the code was named after the Republican political operative who helped shape it, Will H. Hays, according to the encyclopedia site Britannica.

A list of things prohibited, according to the film, includes: profanity, sex perversion, open-mouthed kissing, lustful embraces,  seduction, rape, abortion, white slavery (which included prostitution and sex trafficking), nudity, and obscenity.

The Hays Code plays a part in the novel, where Aaron witnesses Xavier and other closeted actors do subtle changes to make the film queer-coded to those in the know. This becomes a central plot point in the book, leading readers to the dark side of the industry.

During this time period, it was illegal to be gay or participate in gay sexual acts, and many states had legal restrictions on people wearing opposite gender clothing. It was unsafe and career-ruining to be an out gay person during this period.

Homosexuality wasn’t decriminalized in California until 1975, with the passing of AB 489, according to the California State Archives.

The heightened level of danger and secrecy plays out in the novel as studio leaders do whatever it takes to protect their investment and monetary returns.

“Hollywood has done a very good job of convincing everybody that we’re this town where anything goes, and we just want to tell your story,” Newson said. “We are actually a very cautious, rather conservative business.”

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Even today, LGBTQ+ representation and being out in the entertainment space remains an uphill battle. 

LGBTQ+ inclusion in film hit a three-year low in 2025, GLAAD’s annual Where We Are in Film study found. This decrease in LGBTQ+ characters disproportionately affects LGBTQ+ characters of color. “Of the 112 LGBTQ characters recorded, 34 (30%) are characters of color, a decrease from the 36% counted the previous year,” according to the report.

Much of the opulence and Hollywood parties featured in the novel are set in the backdrop of real-life Black and queer Hollywood hotspots like the Dunbar Hotel, the Biltmore, Central Avenue, and the Crown Jewel. 

Newson called Central Avenue the “heart of Black Hollywood in the 50s and 60s.”

Deed restrictions and discriminatory practices — like redlining — prevented Black families from living in or making a life in any other neighborhoods, according to the LA Conservancy website, leading to a prevalent Black arts scene in Central Avenue.

“I loved writing about the Crown Jewel (Cocktail Room) and how Black queers had a hard time sometimes getting into white gay spaces,” Newson said. “Even in gay spaces, racism is still a problem. Your average gay white man may not have been any more racially evolved than your average straight white man.”

“That there was segregation among queers is something we don’t like to talk about; it sort of just doesn’t come up in your average queer history,” he added.

Police targeting and discriminatory practices played a key part in the later portion of the novel.

Newson highlighted common practices of the time, including raids on suspected gay bars — which police called “fairy dusting,” according to Newson — and entrapment practices where undercover police posed as gay men to then arrest gay men they seduce or were propositioned by. 

Black and Latino gay men endured especially harsh treatment from police, and lesbians were also subjected to raids in addition to bogus charges, detentions and beatings during this time, according to Atavist Magazine.

Newson also called out Los Angeles Police Department’s then-chief Bill Parker by name in the novel (via Touissant’s character), highlighting his targeting of gay men during his run as chief from 1950 to 1966.

Newson wrote, “his police force operated like a band of slave catchers. They stalked, entrapped, beat, captured, and sometimes killed their targets. High on their list of enemies were sex perverts — namely, homosexuals.”

Additionally, a pivotal point of the book highlighted the Black Cat Tavern raid in Los Feliz.

Predating the Stonewall riots by two years, the Los Feliz raid took place in 1967 on New Year’s Day and was the site of violent enforcement of anti-homosexuality laws and sentiment during that time. 

The peaceful protest that followed a month after was one of the first forms of LGBTQ+ resistance for gay rights in the nation. The still-standing bar, now called The Black Cat, became California’s first LGBTQ+ historical landmark in October 2023.

“It was sort of fun because it rewards you (the reader) for knowing the history, but it doesn’t punish you for not knowing,” Newson said of the inclusion of the raid.

The novel’s local hotspot highlights don’t stop with historical significance. 

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Filled with a mix of deep, meaningful love connections and steamy one-time hookups, the book also highlights LA’s cruising scene. 

Popular cruising spots during this time that Newson wanted to highlight include: Pershing Square, LAX bathrooms, the Subway Terminal Building, Central Library, the Biltmore Hotel’s men’s bar, and Griffith Park.

Newson’s addition of real-life LGBTQ+ history into his fiction writing is not new. His first book, “My Government Means to Kill Me,” did the same while covering a young Black man coming into his identity during the AIDS epidemic in New York.

He is currently working on his third book, based on a Black gay serial killer in San Francisco during the 1970s. 

“There’s Only One Sin in Hollywood” is available now anywhere books are sold.