Jill Sobule dead: I Kissed a Girl singer-songwriter dies in house fire at 66
Sobule rose to fame in the 1990s with her 1995 self-titled album, which featured two standout hits: Supermodel, which became was featured in Clueless, and I Kissed a Girl, a charting single that was one of the first openly LGBTQ-themed tracks to break into the Billboard Top 20, reaching No. 20 that year.
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The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
My unexpected Pride icon: Fast & Furious is my favourite camp classic
I am a 42-year-old lesbian who can't drive. And, since I'm baring all, I will add that I loathe people who drive extremely fast in obnoxiously large cars. Which, unfortunately, seems to be every third person in the US. In short, I'd wager I'm probably not the target audience for the Fast & Furious films. I'm sure I don't need to explain the blockbuster franchise to you: the first instalment came out in 2001 and the series has generated billions. But if you are somehow unfamiliar with them, the basic premise is that a ragtag team of misfits and street racers travel around the world, driving cars fast and furiously, beating up baddies. Target demographic or not, I'm a big fan. Ever since I watched The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) on a plane I've been obsessed with the films. Which, I will concede, are very stupid (my four-year-old could come up with the 'plot' for a typical F&F movie). But they are also great fun. And extraordinarily gay. First, there's the fact that they are completely over-the-top. As camp as they come; the drag queens of the cinematic world. In F9 they send a Pontiac Fiero to space for God's sake: the film is so gay it defies gravity. F7, meanwhile, features one of my favourite super-camp scenes (don't judge): Dwayne 'the Rock' Johnson is in hospital with his arm in a cast but realises he has to drive fast cars and beat people up so busts open the cast by flexing his huge biceps while announcing, 'Daddy has to go to work.' I mean, come on, talk about the performance of gender. Speaking of performance, there's also the Rock's name. There is something just a tinge lavender about a man called Dwayne Douglas deciding to go by 'the Rock' instead. And then you've got Mark Sinclair, who plays Dominic 'Dom' Toretto in the franchise. Mark's stage name, of course, is Vin Diesel. I would absolutely give myself a name like that if I was going to be a drag king. Vin Diesel, Von Biceps, Tommy Testosterone – something along those lines. As any fan will know, ultimately Fast & Furious is about family. Dom Toretto says the word 'family' about 100 times in each movie and he doesn't mean his nuclear family. Rather the word refers to his ride or die crew of friends – who happen to be a very diverse bunch. It's cheesy, yes, but this emphasis on a chosen family is also quietly radical and queer-coded. I came out more than 20 years ago, when the world was a lot more homophobic than it is now. My family has always been supportive but I know plenty of people who haven't been so lucky. A 2013 Pew study found that about 39% of LGBT Americans have been rejected by a family member or close friend because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Finding your chosen family, and redefining what 'family' means, has always been part of queer culture. I feel particularly conscious of what 'family' means at the moment, as my wife and I raise a four-year-old. She is our only child but she has a number of half-siblings through the sperm donor, and we are in contact with these families: we are all woven together now. We spend a lot of time talking to our child about how every family is different, and try to expose her to different types of families. Still, looking at the world through her eyes, I have become hyperaware of how ingrained the idea of the heterosexual nuclear family is in society. According to a 2023 study, only 47% of Americans see a married gay or lesbian couple raising children together as completely acceptable. The idea that a proper family consists of a married mum and dad with two kids (preferably one of each gender), is reinforced in everything from cartoons to commercials. Fast & Furious would never be described by anyone as 'woke'. And yet it has always had diverse talent in front of and behind the scenes – one reason it's been so popular across many demographics. In 2015 Vin Diesel noted that: 'It doesn't matter what nationality you are. As a member of the audience, you realise you can be a member of that 'family'.' This is the beauty of F&F: it doesn't try to hit you over the head with political messaging, but it does constantly reinforce the idea that love is love.
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Kendall Jenner soaks up the sun in tiny black bikini after her healthy diet was revealed
Kendall Jenner used Instagram on Wednesday to showcase her 5'11" frame in a tiny black bikini. The 29-year-old supermodel soaked up the sun in a desert scene as she captioned the carousel post, 'strawberry moon.' Jenner put her washboard abs on display in the stringy swimsuit, which featured a racerback design and high-cut bottoms with minimal coverage. The fashionista added a straw hat as she stretched out poolside. It comes after a nutritionist weighed in on her low-calorie diet, which the star had previously teased on social media. In the idyllic post, Jenner also shared a snippet showing her wearing a green tank top while leaning out of a car window. She was surrounded by mountains and desert sand in the selection of flawless images, which has so far collected more than one million likes from her 287 million followers. Earlier this month the reality television personality gave her fans a glimpse at her ultra-healthy breakfast. The spread included parfait bowls with raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, and yogurt. There was also a helping of nuts, a Golden Milk Latte, grapefruit, and a thin-sliced bagel. 'The whole plate is about 200 calories, and it's full of healthy fats that help keep her thin,' functional nutritionist Monica Partier told 'The meal consists of fresh berries like raspberries, strawberries and blackberries that have fiber and vitamins in them. It looks like Kendall added Matcha green tea powder, which is an antioxidant and contains vitamin C, chromium, magnesium, selenium and zinc,' added Partier. The expert noted, 'There are also a few small nuts, which contain healthy fats, and a splash of Greek yogurt which is high in calcium and protein, and supports gut health, and also is a healthy fat.' She captioned the carousel post, 'strawberry moon' Weeks ago Kendall attended an NBA playoffs game with Kylie and her boyfriend Timothée Chalamet. But ahead of the sporting event, the brunette bombshell suffered a dental mishap. She chipped one of her front teeth while en route to New York City on her sibling's Kylie Air private jet. The Kylie Cosmetics billionaire shared a clip on Instagram at the time, showing the women laughing hysterically over the ordeal. In the clip a makeup-free Kendall asked, 'Did my nail come off, or was it my tooth?' while a small white fragment rested on the pad of her finger. By the next evening Kendall was back in Los Angeles, where she spent time with longtime friend Hailey Bieber.
Daily Mail
12 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Brian Austin Green's ex defends their gay son from troll who condemned his homosexuality as a 'sin'
Brian Austin Green's ex-fiancée Vanessa Marcil has defended their gay son Kassius from an online troll who condemned his homosexuality as a 'sin.' Vanessa and Brian co-starred in Beverly Hills, 90210 and struck up their romantic relationship in 1999 before splitting in 2003. Over the course of their involvement, they welcomed Kassius, who is now 23 years old and has entered showbiz himself as an actor and writer. Firing up her Instagram page, Vanessa, 56, posted a screen-grab of a message by a woman called Liz who denounced Kassius' sexual orientation. In response, Vanessa blocked the woman and wrote a furious statement aimed at her and 'every other so called 'Christian' bible thumper coming to MY PAGE to tell me that my son is going to hell.' She added: 'First of all I'm so sorry that you are so lonely & unhappy that you have to involve children in your self hatred, projection spirals but I promise you that my kid just feels sorry for you. He's happy.' The General Hospital alumna went on: 'We all see clearly Liz that you are miserable. I'd say I feel bad for you but I'm not that mature.' Vanessa continued: My kid however is the most decent, forgiving, kind, educated, talented, FREE, committed (with the same boyfriend for 8 years), self reflective, non judgmental, philanthropic (look it up Liz), Intellect…' She added that Kassius 'has actually studied the Bible and Judaism along with other religions, languages, cultures, and he would fight for your freedoms and your rights just like my man did in the Iraq war.' Vanessa is currently engaged to her longtime love MC Martin, whom she wrote fought abroad 'For you Liz. Both of my men have fought for you. I can take a guess about what any of the men in your life have done for society Liz. 'YOU unfortunately are going to have a real hard time getting into heaven, babe. But, don't worry….. my son just said he will put in a good word for you with God!' After welcoming Kassius with Vanessa, Brian was married to Megan Fox, with whom he welcomed three children, Noah, 12, Bodhi, 11, and Journey, eight. Since 2022 he has been engaged to Dancing With The Stars pro Sharna Burgess, with whom he shares a two-year-old son called Zane. A couple of years ago, Brian candidly discussed the 'fascinating' experience of raising Kassius, who at that point was 21 years old. He chatted frankly about his son's sexual orientation on the podcast Frosted Tips hosted by NSYNC alum Lance Bass, who is also gay. During a freewheeling conversation, Brian shared that 'my son being gay' was initially a 'challenge' on account of being a venture into the 'unknown.' In order to bridge the knowledge gap, he initiated 'conversations' with his son to 'understand the things that seemed so different to me' at the time. Lance showered praise on Brian for being 'so open-minded,' and described Kassius as having been 'so lucky to be able to be in your family.' He noted that 'so many kids out there don't get that, and even if their parents accept them, there's a lot of times where the kid still knows that they still disagree with it.' Shortly afterwards, Brian confessed: 'It's been a challenge, just because honestly, it was – my son being gay, it was just unknown for me.' He then clarified: 'But I'm not – I think a lot of people are afraid of the unknown, whereas I'm not. To me it's intriguing and I wanna learn about it.' Brian recalled: 'So it was like, we would, I would get into these conversations with Kash where it was like, I really wanted to understand the things that seemed so different to me at first and then you realize like: "Oh, this isn't different at all. Like, it's just your choice of partner and your - it doesn't affect me at all."' The Beverly Hills, 90210 actor declared: 'And that's the thing I'm always trying to beat into people now. It's like, it doesn't – it does not affect you.'
