Latest news with #nonbinary
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Rosie O'Donnell reveals shock reaction to child Clay, 12, coming out as non-binary
Rosie O'Donnell has revealed her shock reaction to her youngest child Clay, 12, coming out as non-binary. And Just Like That star O'Donnell, 63, adopted Clay with late ex-wife Michelle Rounds in 2013. Rounds died by suicide in 2017 aged 46. Speaking to Variety Magazine, O'Donnell detailed the moment her child made the big revelation, saying: 'They said to me, "Mommy, I'm non-binary. I'm not a boy and I'm not a girl." I said, "Okay, fantastic." 'They go, "My pronouns are they/them, and I'd like them respected." I will do my very best, right? Who are they, Harvey Milk reincarnated?' The comedian said Clay had asked her if she was also non-binary, adding: 'I said, "Well, you know what, honey, I'm an O.G. lesbian. I'm a girl who knew I was a girl, who liked being a girl, but didn't feel like a real girl. But I never wanted to be a boy. I never thought about boys. I was only always thinking about girls." And then they said, 'What did your class say when you told them?' From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. 'Can you imagine? They have no understanding of what it was like when I was 10 in 1972 and nobody mentioned it. The word was not said — you would never admit it. 'You'd go to church and hear horrible things about people like you, and Billie Jean [King] and Martina [Navratilova] had to disclaim their lesbianism and pretend they were not gay in order to continue working on the tennis circuit, and that was so painful for me when I was a 10-year-old. They didn't understand. I've been trying to explain to them what it was like when I was a kid, and they are stunned.' O'Donnell is mom to four other children, Vivienne, 22, Blake, 25, Chelsea, 27, and Parker, 30. O'Donnell came out in February 2002 as part of her act at the Ovarian Cancer Research benefit at Caroline's Comedy Club in New York City. The announcement came two months before the end of her talk show. The Rosie O'Donnell Show ran for six seasons and won her five Daytime Emmys before she stepped back to spend more time with her children. Last month O'Donnell insisted she has 'no regrets' after fleeing the United States for Ireland to escape Donald Trump 's second term in the White House. The liberal comedian and actress told CNN that she blames 'Project 2025' for making her and her non-binary child Clay feel unsafe in the US, but said that she is happy with her new life in Ireland. 'I have no regrets. Not a day has gone by that I thought it was the wrong decision,' she said. 'I was welcomed with open arms. O'Donnell recently insisted she has 'no regrets' after fleeing the United States for Ireland to escape Donald Trump 's second term in the White House, and blamed 'Project 2025' for motivating her to move across the Atlantic 'I knew that after reading Project 2025 that if Trump got in it was time for me and my non-binary child to leave the country.' O'Donnell noted that she was not among the A-listers like Ellen DeGeneres and America Ferrera who publicly threatened to leave the US before the election, and said she 'made the decision with my family and my therapist.' 'When (Trump) won, we made the plan into action and we were gone before he was inaugurated.' The comedian has been an outspoken critic of Trump for years, and said she has been 'heartbroken' to see what actions Trump has taken in his first months back in office. O'Donnell said while she is happy with her move across the Atlantic, she has struggled to watch from afar how Trump has rapidly reshaped the United States in only a few months. 'It's been heartbreaking,' she said. 'I knew that if I was in the United States and watched him destroy the country and the constitution, and really pay no mind to the laws that the Founders stood by and that our country stands for as a beacon of shining light and freedom for the rest of the world. 'That should he do what the Heritage Foundation said he was going to do, in that Project 2025, that we were going to be in big trouble. 'It's as bad as they promised, and even a little bit worse, it's been heartbreaking and very, very sad to watch.'
BBC News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Jacob Alon: Free-spirited folk singer is one to watch
Jacob Alon's fingernails are something left hand is beautifully manicured in sparkling purple and royal blue. On their right, the nails are like talons, sharpened to a menacing Scottish singer-songwriter nurtured those claws as a teenager, after discovering a dusty nylon-stringed guitar in a cupboard at their grandmother's house."I was always very clumsy with a plectrum," they say. "Growing out my nails changed entirely how I played the guitar.""It probably started with trying to copy Nick Drake from YouTube. I suddenly felt intimately connected to the instrument."It feels like the guitar doesn't stop – it extends into my anatomy. That visceral connection is very special to me."If you haven't heard of Jacob yet, it won't be long. When they sing, time stops. Tremulous vocals curl around the music like smoke, as the 24-year-old, who identifies as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, traces poetic stories of romantic exploration and broken a writer, Jacob can be equally tender and ruthless. On Liquid Gold 25, named after a brand of poppers, they tackle the soul-crushing experience of queer dating apps like Grindr, singing: "This is where love comes to die."The fragile melody of Confession, meanwhile, captures the crushing confusion Jacob felt when an ex-boyfriend denied their relationship had ever happened."It was such a deep rejection," they recall. "I was so confused that [they] couldn't come to terms with how they'd felt once, under all the layers of tragic, tragic shame that are imposed on you by the world." That feeling of being trapped in limbo, controlled by a confusing dream-like logic, is a running theme of Jacob's debut titled In Limerence, referring to a state of romantic infatuation that the singer's often trying to escape."There can be a darker side to dreams as a prison of fantasy – especially within relationships," they explain."Sometimes you cling to dreams so tightly that you lose sight of the magic of the real world."On their debut single, Fairy In A Bottle, Jacob embodies that idea as a you idolise your partner, you can't really know them, "because you've trapped them in this mythical version of themselves," they explain."You look past all of their flaws, and reasons it would never work."The song is a realisation of that truth. "It's not your fault, it's my disease / And I must learn to set you free." University drop-out The musician learned those lessons the hard way – something that appears to have been a life-long in Fife, with its tawny beaches and sleepy fishing villages, a career in music was a distant dream."I remember a family member telling me, as a child, I'd be a poor fool to ever become a musician. And it stuck with me."Instead, they took the academic route out, enrolling to study theoretical physics and medicine at Edinburgh didn't go well."I was so miserable," they recall. "I'd always found school really fulfilling and satisfying but university was really stifling. I realised that a life within academia didn't foster the same sense of curiosity about the universe that I'd felt going in."It all came to a head when they crashed out on the floor of the university library, while desperately trying to cram for an exam."I remember sleeping between book shelves and the security guards kept waking me going, 'You can't sleep here, go home'."So I'd move to another room and they'd come and find me there too. I remember thinking, 'What am I doing with my life?'"On a whim, they dropped out and moved to London to make music."It was chaotic," they say, suggesting that then-undiagnosed ADHD prompted the move."I had a breakdown and called my mum from the middle of street outside John Lewis, crying, because I didn't know where I was or where to go."But even though London didn't work out, I realised I was going to make music regardless, because it was the only thing that consistently brought my life meaning." So they packed up their belongings, went back to Scotland, and started living in a van while touring the Edinburgh's folk circuit."I'd have to sneak into swimming pools to have a shower," they recall, "but that was really a time of gestation and discovering my voice."In the beginning, they mostly played covers – anything from Leonard Cohen to traditional Gaelic songs. But one night, in Edinburgh's cluttered and narrow Captain's Bar, a friend encouraged Jacob to play an original song they'd written for their younger sister, Stella."It's such a rowdy bar but people just stopped and fell silent and listened," Jacob recalls."Normally, I don't like it when everyone's looking at me – but it was such a powerful moment. It gave me a sense of self-belief that I'd never felt before."Soon, Jacob was consumed by writing new material, pouring their feelings onto the page while scraping a living in a local coffee and heartfelt, the songs charted a bumpy arrival into adulthood – forging a queer identity and figuring out what they wanted from life and relationships, while navigating a period where they were ostracised by their family."It was a very difficult time for my biological family," says Jacob, choosing their words carefully. "I was running away from a lot of pain. Fortunately, we're in a much better place now."The naked vulnerability of those songs set Jacob apart. Within months, they'd gained a manager and signed to Island Records. Last November, with only one single to their name, they were booked to appear on Jools Holland. On screen, they possessed a bewitching stillness, performing barefoot in a pair of golden feathered trousers like some sort of musical the surface, though, they were a bundle of nerves."I'd been playing a series of shows in the days before, and my voice had gone - but in the moment, something took over," they a moment that brought them back to childhood."I used to be a competitive swimmer when I was young, but I also have Tourette's."Sometimes, my tics would be unshakeable right up until the moment they said, 'On your marks'. Then, all of a sudden, this stillness would come over me.""I was really worried it would crop up on Jools – because sometimes when I'm playing live, something will start ticking in my hand. But again, that stillness came."It's hard to imagine a better metaphor for the way in which Jacob's music can soothe and heal. It possesses a magic that places them alongside folk nymphs like Nick Drake, Joni Mitchell, and Sandy is already incoming, and fast, but Jacob's learned the lesson of their own lyrics: This is a dream they won't get trapped in."A couple of billion years from now, the sun will expand, engulf the earth and maybe we'll be long gone – but there's a beautiful, optimistic nihilism in that," they explain."What's happening is happening now, so I just want to appreciate it, while I can feel the sun on my skin, and I can meet lovely people and converse and connect."
Fox News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fox News
'Lord of the Rings' star to introduce all-trans, non-binary rendition of Shakespeare play
Sir Ian McKellen will be introducing a UK performance of William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" featuring a cast entirely of transgender and non-binary performers this summer. The Trans What You Will theater group will soon be globally livestreaming their performance of a rehearsed reading of Shakespeare comedy "Twelfth Night" at The Space theater in London on July 25. The cast, as announced in their casting call, will consist of "12 – 14 trans and non-binary performers," noting, "We are particularly interested in hearing from those who are multiply marginalized as we want a wide representation of the trans community." The theater group announced on its official Instagram page that "iconic actor and LGBTQ+ activist, Sir Ian McKellen, will be introducing our show!" The post featured a statement from the famous film actor, declaring, "'Twelfth Night' is perhaps the funniest and most moving of Shakespeare's plays. This is achieved through the complexity of gender and sexuality from first to last. I'm really looking forward to the impact of this latest version of the play at The Space. I hope to see you there!" "Twelfth Night already toys with gender and performance – it feels like Shakespeare wrote it for us. This reading is about joy, solidarity and showing what's possible when trans and nonbinary artists are at the center of the story," director Phoebe Kemp told Attitude magazine. A representative for the Trans What You Will theater company offered a similar statement, declaring, "With mistaken identities, cross-dressing, and declarations of love across shifting gender roles, Twelfth Night has long explored the complexity of identity. This production makes that queerness explicit, reclaiming the story through the lived experiences of trans and nonbinary artists." According to its crowdfunding campaign, profits will be sent to trans charity Not a Phase. Not A Phase describes itself on its website as a "trans-led, nationwide charity committed to uplifting and improving the lives of trans+ adults, through awareness campaigning, social projects and funding trans+ lead initiatives."
CBC
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBC
Why is Bella Ramsey getting so much hate online?
The second season of HBO's hit series The Last of Us wrapped up on Sunday with a dramatic finale. But in recent weeks, the show's star Bella Ramsey, who plays Ellie, has become the target of a significant amount of online criticism and ridicule. Worse, a lot of it has been specifically directed at their non-binary identity. Today on Commotion, culture reporter Kat Tenbarge explains how the online hate campaign against Bella Ramsey got so bad.
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Sir Ian McKellen to open trans Shakespeare production
Sir Ian McKellen will support an all-transgender and non-binary version of Twelfth Night. The Shakespearean actor, 86, will introduce the one-night-only performance at the Space Theatre in London. It will consist of a reading of the play conducted entirely by those who identify as non-binary or transgender. The play will also be directed by Phoebe Kemp, who prefers they/them pronouns, in a new London production. The production will also include a trigger warning alerting viewers to the fact that the comedy contains 'Shakespearean humour'. Kemp said: 'Twelfth Night already toys with gender and performance – it feels like Shakespeare wrote it for us. This reading is about joy, solidarity and showing what's possible when trans and non-binary artists are at the centre of the story.' The performance will take place on July 25, on the eve of a scheduled Trans Pride march through London. The production will be the first staged by theatre company Trans What You Will, which is 'in the business of putting on Shakespeare with trans and non-binary performers'. The company has stated: 'We believe in the importance, now more than ever, to provide opportunities for those under the trans umbrella to come together and make us laugh and cry and show the world how precious and wonderful gender diversity can be.' Mistaken identity Twelfth Night is known for the comedic tropes of mistaken identity and gender-swapping disguises. Twins Viola and Sebastian are shipwrecked on an island, ruled by lovelorn duke Orsino. Viola, disguised as a boy, falls in love with Orsino, who is in love with countess Olivia. The countess, meanwhile, falls in love with Viola, whom she believes is a man. In the end, all cases of mistaken identity are resolved and the main characters are paired off for marriage. The play's new version will not be the first time that casting decisions on Shakespearean works have been used to aid diversity and boost minority representation. London's Globe theatre has consistently staged gender-fluid productions, in which famous roles are played by people of either gender. In 2022, the theatre made Joan of Arc non-binary. The Maid of Orleans, a saint who led the French fight against the English in the Hundred Years' War, was given the pronouns 'they/them' rather than 'she/her'. Women's rights campaigners raised concerns that the move was an example of female figures being 'erased' from history. The issue of racial representation has also caused controversy, with performances of Slave Play holding 'black out nights', to which only non-white people were invited. This was to ensure that the intended all-black audience would be free from the 'white gaze'. A spokesman for Rishi Sunak, the prime minister at the time, said it was 'concerning' that West End shows were seeking to racially segregate audiences.
