Latest news with #LGBTQrights
The Guardian
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘Everything here is just better': Ellen DeGeneres confirms she moved to the UK because of Donald Trump
Ellen DeGeneres has confirmed that she moved to the UK because of Donald Trump, saying, 'Everything here is just better'. At a conversation event on Sunday at Cheltenham's Everyman theatre – the comedian's first public appearance since leaving the US – broadcaster Richard Bacon asked DeGeneres if it was true Trump had spurred her decision to relocate. 'Yes,' she said. 'We got here the day before the election and woke up to lots of texts from our friends with crying emojis, and I was like, 'He got in.' And we're like, 'We're staying here.'' DeGeneres moved with her wife, Portia de Rossi, to a house in the Cotswolds in 2024 after her long-running talkshow ended and she embarked on a 'final comedy tour' around the US. At the time, her move was described as permanent. A source told industry publication The Wrap that DeGeneres was 'never coming back' and was motivated by Trump, though DeGeneres herself had not confirmed the reasoning until now. DeGeneres told Bacon that her new home was 'beautiful'. 'It's clean,' she raved. 'Everything here is just better – the way animals are treated, people are polite. I just love it here.' She also expressed concern for LGBTQ+ rights in the US, hinting that she and De Rossi may get married again in the UK. 'The Baptist Church in America is trying to reverse gay marriage,' DeGeneres said, referencing an overwhelming vote by southern Baptists in June to endorse a resolution that would seek to overturn same-sex marriage in the US. 'They're trying to literally stop it from happening in the future and possibly reverse it,' DeGeneres continued. 'Portia and I are already looking into it, and if they do that, we're going to get married here.' Later in the talk, she added, 'I wish we were at a place where it was not scary for people to be who they are. I wish that we lived in a society where everybody could accept other people and their differences. So until we're there, I think there's a hard place to say we have huge progress.' At the event, DeGeneres also addressed the scandal that had dogged the end of her daytime talkshow Ellen after 19 seasons in 2022. In 2020, former employees accused DeGeneres of fostering a toxic work environment. She apologised to her staff and to the audience, and an internal investigation by parent company Warner led to the departure of three executives – but the show never quite recovered and ended amid declining ratings. DeGeneres had previously commented on the controversy in her 2024 US tour, saying she was 'kicked out of show business' for being 'mean'. On Sunday, she made similar comments on stage. 'No matter what, any article that came up, it was like, 'She's mean',' DeGeneres said. 'How do I deal with this without sounding like a victim or 'poor me' or complaining? But I wanted to address it.' She said she had been misconstrued. 'I'm a direct person, and I'm very blunt, and I guess sometimes that means that ... I'm mean?' DeGeneres concluded that it was 'certainly an unpleasant way to end' her talkshow.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘Everything here is just better': Ellen DeGeneres confirms she moved to the UK because of Donald Trump
Ellen DeGeneres has confirmed that she moved to the UK because of Donald Trump, saying, 'Everything here is just better'. At a conversation event on Sunday at Cheltenham's Everyman theatre – the comedian's first public appearance since leaving the US – broadcaster Richard Bacon asked DeGeneres if it was true Trump had spurred her decision to relocate. 'Yes,' she said. 'We got here the day before the election and woke up to lots of texts from our friends with crying emojis, and I was like, 'He got in.' And we're like, 'We're staying here.'' DeGeneres moved with her wife, Portia de Rossi, to a house in the Cotswolds in 2024 after her long-running talkshow ended and she embarked on a 'final comedy tour' around the US. At the time, her move was described as permanent. A source told industry publication The Wrap that DeGeneres was 'never coming back' and was motivated by Trump, though DeGeneres herself had not confirmed the reasoning until now. DeGeneres told Bacon that her new home was 'beautiful'. 'It's clean,' she raved. 'Everything here is just better – the way animals are treated, people are polite. I just love it here.' She also expressed concern for LGBTQ+ rights in the US, hinting that she and De Rossi may get married again in the UK. 'The Baptist Church in America is trying to reverse gay marriage,' DeGeneres said, referencing an overwhelming vote by southern Baptists in June to endorse a resolution that would seek to overturn same-sex marriage in the US. 'They're trying to literally stop it from happening in the future and possibly reverse it,' DeGeneres continued. 'Portia and I are already looking into it, and if they do that, we're going to get married here.' Later in the talk, she added, 'I wish we were at a place where it was not scary for people to be who they are. I wish that we lived in a society where everybody could accept other people and their differences. So until we're there, I think there's a hard place to say we have huge progress.' At the event, DeGeneres also addressed the scandal that had dogged the end of her daytime talkshow Ellen after 19 seasons in 2022. In 2020, former employees accused DeGeneres of fostering a toxic work environment. She apologised to her staff and to the audience, and an internal investigation by parent company Warner led to the departure of three executives – but the show never quite recovered and ended amid declining ratings. DeGeneres had previously commented on the controversy in her 2024 US tour, saying she was 'kicked out of show business' for being 'mean'. On Sunday, she made similar comments on stage. 'No matter what, any article that came up, it was like, 'She's mean',' DeGeneres said. 'How do I deal with this without sounding like a victim or 'poor me' or complaining? But I wanted to address it.' She said she had been misconstrued. 'I'm a direct person, and I'm very blunt, and I guess sometimes that means that ... I'm mean?' DeGeneres concluded that it was 'certainly an unpleasant way to end' her talkshow.
CBC
2 days ago
- Politics
- CBC
‘We can't stop there': Marking 20 years since same-sex marriage was legalized
Twenty years after same-sex marriage became legal in Canada, couples who fought for that right and other advocates are celebrating the milestone while also acknowledging that there's a long way to go before reaching full equality.
Russia Today
3 days ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
EU applicant's top MP compares bloc to USSR
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili has accused the EU of interfering in his counry's domestic affairs and imposing false political choices, comparing the bloc's actions to Soviet-style tactics. The comments follow the European Commission's warning this week that Georgia's EU integration could be suspended unless the government returns to what Brussels calls a democratic path by the end of summer. The EU also threatened to revoke visa-free travel for Georgian citizens if the authorities fail to meet key conditions, including repealing the 'foreign agents' law and strengthening LGBTQ+ rights. 'We see direct interference in the Georgian elections,' Papuashvili said on Friday, as quoted by local media. 'It seems that some of the political elite [in Brussels] have taken some skills from the Soviet Union.' Georgia – once part of the Soviet Union – applied for EU membership in March 2022, shortly after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict. It was granted candidate status in December 2023 but has since suspended accession talks, citing Brussels' increasingly coercive tone. The government, however, insists that it remains committed to eventual EU membership. The ruling Georgian Dream party, which secured a strong majority in last October's vote, has repeatedly accused Western powers of meddling under the guise of promoting democracy. Officials in Tbilisi have drawn parallels to the 2014 Maidan uprising in Ukraine and said similar tactics are being used to destabilize Georgia for refusing to adopt a confrontational stance against Russia in the Ukraine conflict. Moscow, which has denied any involvement in Georgia's internal affairs, has also drawn a parallel between the events in Georgia and the 2014 coup in Ukraine. Following Georgian Dream's victory, a coalition of pro-Western parties alleged fraud and launched protests to force the government's resignation. The EU and US voiced support for the opposition, which the Georgian leadership denounced as foreign interference. Papuashvili also criticized the EU's earlier decision to revoke visa privileges for diplomatic and service passport holders, calling it a breach of international law and the 2010 visa agreement. Georgia has enjoyed visa-free travel to the bloc since 2017.
SBS Australia
14-07-2025
- Health
- SBS Australia
After decades of being banned, Chris hopes his liquid gold is 'a step forward for equality'
Chris Steel hasn't sat in a donor lounge chair for decades. He compared his last phone call from Red Cross Australia asking him to donate, "effectively having to come out again". "I had to say, look, I know I can't donate. I'm gay. I'm sorry," he told SBS News. "And you know, it is one of those things that you don't want to have to necessarily confront. It's a difficult conversation to have." Steel, who is the ACT treasurer, has been advocating for blood donation services to include donations from gay and bisexual men for years. He says he is now happy to see the source of angst removed for many. From Monday, most gay and bisexual men, those using pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and transgender women will be able to donate plasma nationwide, even if they'd had sex with men in the previous three months, as long as they meet all other eligibility criteria. Lifeblood Australia estimates the change affects 600,000 Australians and anticipates an extra 24,000 donors or 95,000 extra plasma donations as a result. Ban rooted in HIV transmission fears Skye McGregor, an epidemiologist whose work focuses on surveillance and prevention of sexually transmissible infections and blood-borne viruses at the Kirby Institute at the University of NSW, said the ban stems from the 1980s. She said fears over transmitting HIV through blood transfusions prompted an urgent health response from Australia and many other countries around the world. "Australia introduced an indefinite deferral for men who have sex with men, and this because they're the population who've historically been most impacted by HIV," she told SBS News. "There was a three-month or more delay between someone acquiring HIV and a test being able to detect it. "And so as HIV testing improved over time, the deferral for men who have sex with men decreased from indefinite to 12 months … then in 2021 this was reduced to three months." First-time donor Johannes felt frustrated that he was unable to donate for years. Source: SBS News / Rania Yallop Steel is excited to witness the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) provide a safe pathway for donating the liquid gold and hopes to encourage thousands to donate. "Gay men are just as altruistic as anyone else," Steel said. "They want to help others, and they've been prevented from doing so; that changes today, and it's really great to see this step forward for equality." The service is also working on changes to eligibility for blood and platelet donations after the TGA approved a submission to remove gender-based sexual activity rules. Under those changes, all donors will be asked the same questions about their sexual activity, regardless of their gender or sexuality. All donors with new or multiple partners will be prohibited from proceeding if they've had anal sex in the last three months. Rolling up their sleeves a 'step towards equity' Since hearing about the rules update, 26-year-old Canberran Ben, who did not give his last name, has been recruiting friends to roll up their sleeves. Ben arrived before 9am to be one of the first donors at the launch event on Monday. He said he found the previous guidelines "a little bit unfair". "It's a step towards equity and I think it's a reasonable sacrifice to make," he told SBS News. Following the rule change, Ben (right) has already enlisted six of his friends to donate plasma. Source: SBS News / Rania Yallop Ben was accompanied by Johannes, who works in a Canberra hospital and was motivated to add to the plasma supply after seeing the impact on recipients first-hand. "I'm at the giving side of blood products, and I know how life-saving it can be to have them, whether that's plasma or red blood cells," Johannes said. 'Felt braver': Life-changing plasma Hayley Teasdale cannot put into words the impact of two small vials of plasma. For years, a rare primary immune deficiency left her unwell, bedridden and frequently visiting the hospital. Hayley Teasdale uses two vials of plasma a week, the equivalent of 100 plasma donations, to boost her immunocompromised body. Source: SBS News / Rania Yallop Now, the equivalent of 100 plasma donations a year, has meant she can live a full and active lifestyle and keep up with her three-year-old daughter. Teasdale received her first dose of plasma at the age of 24 and described it as "life-changing". "I felt braver to go out in public spaces. "I could deal with getting sick now, because I had the support of someone else's immune system, essentially, and that was very powerful."
