Latest news with #PeachesChrist
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
International Pride Orchestra plays outside DC in rebuff to Trump snub at Kennedy Center
An event by the International Pride Orchestra this week swung from classical Gershwin favorites to choral patriotism to high drag in a rebuff to Donald Trump's takeover of the Kennedy Center and its subsequent snub of the LBGTQ+ ensemble. The spirited celebration of WorldPride, the peripatetic biennial international festival in support of LGBTQ+ rights which kicks off this month and is taking place in Washington DC, was staged instead at the Strathmore Music Center in Maryland, just north of the capital. Sequin-clad drag queen Peaches Christ acted as host and New York drag queen Thorgy Thor played a violin solo to Beyoncé's Crazy in Love to an audience of 1,166 people. The orchestra had hoped to play at the Kennedy Center, Washington's premier performing arts center, but not long after returning to the White House, Donald Trump pledged on social media that there would be, in all-caps: 'No more drag shows, or other anti-American propaganda' at the public-private arts space. The Trump administration has issued executive orders limiting transgender rights, banned transgender people from serving in the armed forces, and rescinded anti-discrimination policies for LGBTQ+ people as part of a campaign to repeal diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Michael Roest, conductor and founder of the International Pride Orchestra, a non-profit, reminded the audience that 'people don't feel safe to live and love openly'. 'That is the reason why we have this orchestra,' he said. During the event, the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington sang American the Beautiful, and a pianist, Sara Davis Buechner, who is transgender, dazzled while leading the orchestra on grand piano in the Gershwin favorite Rhapsody in Blue. Both Stars and Stripes and rainbow flags were hoisted at the close. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion Trump in February fired the leadership of the Kennedy Center, named himself chair and put a loyalist in charge. The center then sent Roest a message that said: 'We are not in a position at this time to advance a contract,' according to an email chain seen by Reuters, after months of prior negotiations. Considering themselves 'disinvited', event organizers began looking for alternative venues and the Strathmore offered its space, an orchestra spokesperson said. A Kennedy Center spokesperson referred Reuters to an X post from leadership saying it had not actually canceled any shows.
Reuters
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Reuters
Unwelcome at Kennedy Center, LGBTQ+ orchestra defiantly plays in Maryland
NORTH BETHESDA, Maryland, June 6 (Reuters) - The program contained American favorites: pieces by Aaron Copland and George Gershwin and a choral performance of "America the Beautiful" to celebrate WorldPride, a biennial international festival in support of LGBTQ+ rights that this year is taking place in Washington. The International Pride Orchestra had hoped to play at the Kennedy Center, the most prestigious venue in the United States, but that was before U.S. President Donald Trump pledged on social media that there would be "NO MORE DRAG SHOWS, OR OTHER ANTI-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA" at the public-private performing arts center. Instead, the orchestra took to the stage at the Strathmore Music Center in Maryland, just north of the capital, with sequin-clad drag queen Peaches Christ as host, and another drag queen, Thorgy Thor, playing a violin solo to Beyonce's "Crazy in Love" to an audience of 1,166 people. WorldPride events are taking place during a Trump administration that has issued executive orders limiting transgender rights, banned transgender people from serving in the armed forces, and rescinded anti-discrimination policies for LGBTQ+ people as part of a campaign, opens new tab to repeal diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Michael Roest, conductor and founder of the International Pride Orchestra, a nonprofit, reminded the audience that "people don't feel safe to live and love openly." "That is the reason why we have this orchestra," Roest said. The evening offered messages about equality and patriotic ideals as expressed in "America the Beautiful," sung by the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, which accompanied the orchestra in the second half of the show. A transgender pianist, Sara Davis Buechner, dazzled with her grand piano lead on "Rhapsody in Blue." U.S. and rainbow flags were hoisted at the close. Within weeks of taking office, Trump in February fired the leadership of the Kennedy Center and named himself chairman, complaining about what he said was the poor quality of performances. On February 10, he announced on social media that loyalist Richard Grenell would become interim director of the center and made the "NO MORE DRAG SHOWS" post. Two days later, the Kennedy Center sent Roest a message that said, "We are not in a position at this time to advance a contract," according to an email chain seen by Reuters. That message came after months of negotiations over securing the Kennedy Center, orchestra spokesperson David Perry said. Considering themselves "disinvited," event organizers began looking for alternative venues and the Strathmore offered its space, Perry said. Ryan Bos, executive director of the Capital Pride Alliance, which is leading the coordination of WorldPride, explained the move by saying, "We would not be allowed to have any official drag programming." "That defeats the purpose of Pride - in terms of creating a welcoming and safe environment for anybody to feel comfortable being their true, authentic self, which is what Pride's about," Bos said in comments to The Advocate, a magazine reporting LGBT+ news, that were confirmed by the alliance. Asked for a response, a Kennedy Center spokesperson referred Reuters to Bos' remarks and an X post by Grenell saying, "We didn't cancel a single show at the Kennedy Center. We simply ask that shows don't lose money and leave us with the bill." The three-year-old orchestra was created to give LGBTQ+ musicians an avenue to perform free of concerns about their sexual orientation or gender identity. "This performance is in and of itself a form of resistance," said Luke Spence, the orchestra's general manager and also a trumpet player. Jennifer Curtis, a violinist and concert master, welcomed the spotlight that came with the dispute. "That's what you want in the time of struggle, or if you're needing to make a statement," Curtis said. "We got extra publicity out of being at the butt end of Trump."
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Peaches Christ says she's been 'retraumatized' by police investigating drag icon Heklina's death
Almost two years to the day after legendary drag queen Heklina was found dead, her close friend and fellow queen Peaches Christ still feels traumatized by her death and the lack of answers provided by the London Metropolitan Police Department, who she has accused of 'homophobic bias.' Peaches Christ, also known as Joshua Grannell, was the one who found Heklina's body in a flat the two were sharing together as they prepared for a two-week run of the musical parody 'Mommie Queerest' at the Soho Theatre. While finding her friend dead has left Peaches with emotional scars — for which she is still in therapy working to heal — it's the lack of real answers that continues to haunt her, Peaches Christ tells PRIDE. 'There's the trauma of finding her, which was — it was like a horror movie and I'll spare you specific details, but it was horrific,' she says. 'It was bad and then not to be listened to or to be communicated with by the people who are supposed to be giving you answers, who assured you that they would keep you in the loop and communicate with you. It just felt so retraumatizing and created a whole other layer of nightmare to the situation.' Heklina, born Stefan Grygelko, was a beloved drag star in San Francisco whose punk aesthetic influenced a generation of drag queens. She was also the co-founder of the 'Trannyshack' drag night at the iconic Stud bar in 1996 and helped transform Oasis into a drag and cabaret club. After years of working to keep Heklina's name in the headlines in the hopes of pressuring the police into action, investigators have finally released new information in the case, but Peaches Christ says she still doesn't have an official cause of death. She was beginning to lose hope that there would ever be progress made in the case — it took the police 21 months to release CCTV footage of three unnamed men leaving Heklina's apartment building on the night of her death — until a new team of five investigators traveled from London to San Francisco to get more statements. On March 17, London authorities visited Peaches Christ and dropped a bombshell about her friend's death. She was told that Heklina had a 'lethal combination of drugs in her system' when she died, but the police still refused to confirm her cause of death. The authorities reinterviewed Peaches Christ and asked for her cooperation in locating people Heklina had slept with and done drugs with who might have information that could help in their investigation. They also traveled to visit Heklina's next of kin and executor of her estate, Nancy French, to speak with her and retrieve Heklina's iPhone, which Peaches Christ alleges the police had in their possession two years ago, but never unlocked despite being told that Heklina had been setting up dates Grindr shortly before her death. 'Heklina had no shame about her casual sex life, it's something she talked about on stage,' she says. "I knew what was going on, it's why I went and stayed at a hotel [on the day of her death]. I didn't want to be there while my friend was hooking up.' Just a few days after the London police came to California, Peaches Christ, still determined to get more answers, was in London leading a protest against the police's alleged 'homophobic bias' in Heklina's case. 'The idea of the protest was to call attention to the case of Heklina, but just as important was to create change, institutional change, so that this sort of homophobic bias wasn't brought to other cases in the future,' she says. Peaches Christ has been told that drugs were found in Heklina's system and that there was 'no foul play,' but the fact that investigators have picked up the case again and feel strongly enough about it to fly to the U.S. leads her to believe there is more to the story. 'If she had a lethal combination of drugs in her system like they say she did,' she wonders aloud, 'then why not just wrap it up? Like why didn't we wrap it up immediately? You would have known that before you cremated her in 2023. So why, if that's how she died? What's going on? Why is there no death certificate?' Peaches Christ felt from the very beginning that Heklina being part of the LGBTQ+ community and a drag queen meant that her case was never taken seriously. It took '10 months of unanswered emails and phones calls' before an anonymous source from inside the Westminster morgue told her that there 'was a coverup taking place' and that there was still disagreement over Heklina's cause of death. Stranger still, Peaches Christ alleges that in a Zoom meeting, investigators told her and French that the police officer first assigned to the case had a 'conscious or unconscious negative bias.' 'So that was the point where I was like, 'Oh wow, they're saying it's homophobia,'' she says. While in London for the protest to demand more action in Heklina's case, where fellow drag queens and activists marched holding signs reading, 'We Deserve Justice, Not Discrimination,' 'Queer Safety Over Police Power,' and 'End Met Police Homophobia Now,' the police asked Peaches Christ to provide a new DNA sample (she previously provided one to rule her out of samples they collected from the scene) because the old one had 'expired.' Combine that with the fact that the CCTV footage was only released after the press contacted them, and she says it started to look like negligence on the part of the Metropolitan Police. 'So all of this stuff is just really angering me because it does feel intentional. It's either extremely sloppy or just truly intentional negligence,' Peaches Christ says, explaining that she thinks the police only started to act once they found out she is well known in the drag world. 'I think before they just thought I was just some trashy drag queen, who just should go away and leave them alone. And it probably was a mixture of homophobia and probably the fact that we're not there, we don't live there, we're all the way in California,' she says. Two years ago Peaches Christ would have settled for just being provided with a cause of death, but now she wants The Met to be overhauled and homophobic bias to be weeded out so that no other loved ones have to go through what she has. She explained that in her experience, being LGBTQ+, using drugs, and having casual sex means that the cops will treat your case like it doesn't matter. 'My hope is that maybe we can move the dial and change their viewpoint on us institutionally so that they see us as human beings and treat us like people in the future,' Peaches Christ says. 'My really big hope is that the terrible, terrible service that Heklina has received from these folks— by us blowing it up and getting angry — maybe it'll change the next time they get a case like this.'
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Justice for Heklina' rally and march in London and San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO - It's been nearly two years since the death of Heklina, a beloved San Francisco drag queen who left her mark on not only the Bay Area, but on drag culture at large. While many questions remain about her death, a rally in London, the city where she died, and a march in San Francisco on Monday, demanded more action into the investigation of her death from officials. Nearly 100 people rallied across the pond for Heklina. It's a case where no official cause of death has been announced by the police. Fellow drag performer Peaches Christ, who co-starred with Heklina in a production that was on tour in London at the time of her death, posted about the rally and march on social media. Heklina died in April 2023. The prolific drag queen helped open the popular nightlife cabaret venue, Oasis, in 2014. "The JUSTICE FOR HEKLINA march and rally in London was so powerful. Thank you so much to everyone who came out to support the cause. If you can attend the San Francisco sister march tonight, please do!" Peaches Christ, also known as Joshua Grannell, wrote. Grannell has told media outlets he suspects homophobia, on the part of London's Metropolitan Police, tainted the investigation of Heklina's death. Signs at the rally read: "Queer People Are People. No More Police Hate" and "No Justice, No Peace. Stop Met Police Homophobia." A Justice for Heklina rally and march was scheduled to begin at legendary LGBTQ+ bar The Stud and end at Oasis on Monday evening.
The Guardian
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Scotland Yard protesters demand justice for drag artist found dead in Soho in 2023
Nearly two years after the American drag artist Heklina was found dead in London, her friends and fans gathered outside Scotland Yard's headquarters to protest against the force's handling of the case. Heklina, whose real name was Steven Grygelko, was found at a flat in Soho, central London, on 3 April 2023, by a friend and fellow drag performer, Peaches Christ, real name Joshua Grannell. It was not until 21 months later that the Metropolitan police issued a public appeal, releasing CCTV of three men who were at the 55-year-old's flat on the night she died. On Monday the performer's loved ones organised protests in London and San Francisco, where Heklina co-founded the legendary drag night Trannyshack in 1996, to demand answers. They alleged the investigation into her death had been marred by delays, a lack of communication and institutional homophobia. More than 100 people joined Peaches Christ, the Scissor Sisters' Ana Matronic, and the former RuPaul's Drag Race contestants Cheddar Gorgeous and Crystal outside New Scotland Yard in central London with placards reading 'Justice for Heklina', 'Pride not prejudice, hold the Met accountable' and 'End Met police homophobia now!' Peaches Christ said: 'Heklina was one of my oldest and closest friends. We were family and finding her dead in London was truly traumatising, but it has only been made worse by the complete lack of attention from the London Met police. 'For nearly two years, myself and Heklina's next of kin have been ignored. Only when I went to the media was there a response.' She added in a speech: 'Heklina deserves better service and justice and every queer person and every minority deserves to be treated fairly.' Crystal, a British-Canadian drag artist whose real name is Colin Seymour, told the crowd: 'Are our lives worth less? One of us has died. Our institutions shrugged and moved on.' She said the group demanded change as she highlighted the Met's failings in the case of the serial killer Stephen Port and the 2023 report by Louise Casey, which said the force was guilty of institutional racism, misogyny and homophobia. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion She urged the Met to release Heklina's cause of death, offer a formal apology to her family and friends, and conduct an internal investigation of the case. Paul Fleming, the general secretary of the union Equity who was at the protest, has written to the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, calling on him to 'raise as a matter of urgency' the investigation into Heklina's death in meetings with senior Met officers and 'ask what is being done to remedy the litany of failings in this investigation'. DCI Christina Jessah, who leads policing in the local area, said a full review of the investigation was under way to establish any missed opportunities. She said: 'We know that many feel deep distress following Steven's death and some feel frustration with the pace of the police investigation. 'We are also aware of the concerns of Steven's next of kin and have apologised to them directly. 'A full review of the investigation is ongoing to establish any missed opportunities. We continue to examine all lines of inquiry in relation to Steven's death and remain steadfast in our determination to establish the facts.'
