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Lez Dish It Out! AfterEllen’s LGBT Weekly Round-Up

Photo: Instagram

Congrats on making it to Friday, LDIO readers! As usual, this week is chock full of lady lovin’ news. From St. Vincent announcing her fall tour to Amber Heard reuniting with her ex-girlfriend, there’s a lot to discuss. Lez get to it!

Gif: Giphy

St. Vincent Announces Fall Tour

Photo: Instagram

If you’re an LGBTQ artist like St. Vincent, there’s no better time than Pride Month to announce your upcoming tour. On Thursday, the queer musician revealed the dates of her fall 2017 tour, Fear The Future. Let’s just say Cara Delevingne’s former (?) lover will be very busy from August to December.

Check out St. Vincent’s theatrical announcement below:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVmrebHDiZB/?taken-by=st_vincent&hl=en

If that isn’t enough good news for you, Stereogum reports it’s a possibility St. Vincent will release her first single from the album on June 30. The track is allegedly titled “New York.” I’ll keep you guys posted!

Amber Heard Hangs Out With Ex-Girlfriend Tasya Van Ree

Photo: Instagram

Remember those glorious four years when Amber dated Tasya? I don’t know about you guys, but I really liked them together. Van Ree, who is a really talented artist, would often photograph Heard and the results were always gorgeous. Not to mention Amber first came out as bisexual after she was spotted with Tasya at an LGBTQ rights rally in 2010.

One of Tasya’s photos of Amber:

Photo: Tasya Van Ree

Anyways, the exes were spotted out on a “shopping trip” on June 16:

Although I’d like to say this a romantic reconciliation, I believe these two are just good friends. Heard is currently in a serious relationship with billionaire Elon Musk, so it’s safe to say there’s probably nothing going on. That being said, it’s cool when exes can stay friends and hang out together. It’s also cool to not stay friends with your exes, as AE discussed HERE. Whatever floats your boat!

Samira Wiley Talks To The Los Angeles Times About Lauren Morrelli & The Handmaid’s Tale

Photo: Instagram

On Lauren: “She gave me my life. She gave me a career. I met my wife on ‘Orange.’ I felt like from the moment I got that role, I was doing what I was supposed to be doing. And now it’s gone – which is fine. I’m on to the next thing … Being married to a writer is crazy. You have no control. Anything you do or say can end up in a script. That thing in the first season of “Orange” with Piper and Alex where they would say, “I heart you” literally came from something I said to her. Literally. I wasn’t emotionally available to say “I love you” yet. Now it’s an “Orange Is the New Black” thing … You want to hear another one? One time, we were having this conversation where she used the word “normalacy.” I told her that wasn’t a word. It’s normalcy. And she fought me on it until she realized, “OK. I’m wrong.” Then she goes and writes, I think in Season 3, a scene where me and Big Cindy are having the same conversation but she makes me the wrong one!”

On Moira’s Future In Season 2 Of The Handmaid’s Tale:

“We had a screening of the finale and at the panel afterward, the showrunner [Bruce Miller] talked about things we could explore, like Moira and Luke in Canada. They found each other. They’re family now. I don’t know much. But even just to hear those few things made me really excited. Let’s go find [Offred’s daughter] Hannah!”

On Lauren Fangirling Over Margaret Atwood:

“I mean, I didn’t even read the book until after I was cast, which was interesting because Margaret Atwood happens to be my wife’s favorite author. I had no clue. She freaked out when I got the audition, which was good because I was a little wary of playing another gay character. I didn’t want to be typecast. And she was like, “Absolutely not!”

Ellen DeGeneres & Portia De Rossi Enjoy Some PDA In West Hollywood

Photo: Instagram

Over the past few months (and years even), the tabloids have claimed Ellen and Portia’s marriage is falling apart. The lesbian power couple has consistently had to dodge rumors that they’re always fighting and on the brink of divorce, for whatever reason that may be. It’s just the nature of the industry, I guess? The good news is, not only have sources come forward to deny the allegations of discord to Gossip Cop, but the two were also spotted out in West Hollywood on June 20 enjoying some good ole fashioned PDA.

Check out the action below:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVnc2SfDh3f/?tagged=ellendegeneres

Looks like all is well in paradise!

12-Year-Old Mormon Girl Comes Out To Her Church

CNN News Day/YouTube

This past week, a video of a 12-year-old Mormon girl coming out as a lesbian made national news. In the video, a brave girl named Savannah testifies before her congregation, speaking beautiful truths about her sexuality. Savannah, whose last name has been kept private at the request of her parents, had planned the speech ever since she came out to her family in June 2016. As one might expect, Savannah was incredibly nervous to share the news to her congregation given The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ unwelcoming stance on homosexuality. Despite Savannah’s trepidation, she delivered a speech (with her parents upmost support and permission) that has since moved countless people across the country.

*Small note, readers: Savannah turned 13 on Wednesday, shortly after the speech was given. I think this tidbit is important to include for context.

An excerpt from Savannah’s speech:

“I believe I was made the way I am, all parts of me, by my heavenly parents. They did not mess up when they gave me brown eyes, or when I was born bald. They did not mess up when they gave me freckles or when they made me to be gay,” she said. “No part of me is a mistake. I do not choose to be this way, and it is not a fad. I cannot make someone else gay and being around me won’t make anyone else this way. I believe that God wants us to treat each other with kindness, even if people are different.”
Unfortunately, the teen’s mic cut off during her testimony… because of course. As heartbreaking as this is, Savannah first thought her mic was cut off due to technical issues. Savannah’s innocence in this whole thing is what makes the story especially emotional, compelling, and important. Now that the lesbian teen has had time to reflect on what happened, she told the New York Times:

I think they did that because they didn’t want my message. I don’t want to be mean to them if this isn’t true, but I felt like they were scared of me and what I was saying.”

Yes, Savannah is a good egg. In spite of the church’s oppression, she’s still concerned about hurting their feelings. The congregation could learn a thing or two from her compassion.

Anywho… you can catch the portion of Savannah’s speech below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U89LnISqd8k

Congrats on your bravery, Savannah! It’s clear you’ll do amazing things.

Tegan Quin Discusses Politics & The Tegan & Sara Foundation

Photo: Instagram

Tegan and Sara are making concerted efforts to exact change in the world. Following the 2016 election, the musicians decided to start the Tegan & Sara Foundation, a non-profit created to “fight for economic justice, health, and representation for LGBTQ girls and women.” Tegan Quin recently took to NME Magazine to discuss the foundation and America’s current political climate.

On The Foundation: “We started a foundation to fight for LGBTQ women and girls, The Tegan and Sara Foundation. And we are working closely with social justice organisations and political organisations to ensure we are giving back to our community but also using our platform to elevate important causes and ideas. We are very motivated right now to do more than just tweet. We want to inspire people to action. So. As an artist I feel like I want to continue to play live to give people an escape and a place to feel connected and see their community, but I don’t necessarily want to write or create anything right now.”

Tegan On Creating Music In A Dark Political Landscape: “I think for me music is and has been an escape. So, I don’t know if I were sitting down to write a record today if I would write about the “dystopian nightmare” but, I do think my emotions and feelings around life, relationships, love, the future are coloured by the “dystopian nightmare” so in theory I would kind of be writing about it even if I weren’t actually writing about it…… As for what music should or should not be for – I think every artist has to define that for themselves. You should write what you know, what you are moved by and inspired by. And that doesn’t always have to be reality or current affairs. So I think in times like this we get both. Reality and escape. Which is good. Balance is good.”

P.S. T&G are doing a 10th anniversary tour in honor of their 2007 album The Con. Considering this is one of Tegan and Sara’s most classic and beloved works, you can imagine fans are going NUTS. The lesbians will donate some proceeds of the tour to their Tegan & Sara Foundation and they also promise to perform acoustic versions of the 14 tracks. Better yet, the duo hint there’s a bigger project in the works to celebrate the special anniversary.

Tegan and Sara 2017 Tour Dates:

06/24 — New York, NY @ Pride Island, Pier 26, Hudson River Park 06/30 — Victoria, BC @ Spirit of 150 Victoria 07/01 — Calgary, AB @ City of Calgary Canada Day Festival 07/06 — Milwaukee, WI @ SummerFest 07/08 — Ottawa, ON @ RBC Bluesfest 07/27 — Halifax, NS @ Rebecca Cohn Auditorium * 07/28 — Portland, ME @ State Theatre * 07/29 — Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom * 07/30 — Oro-Medonte, ON @ WayHome Music and Arts Festival 07/31 — Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues * 08/02 — Covington, KY @ Madison Theater * 08/03 — Chicago, IL @ Park West (Official Lollapalooza Aftershow) ^ 08/04 — Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza 08/05 — Saint John, NB @ Area 506 Festival 08/06 — Montreal, QC @ Osheaga Music and Arts Festival 08/12 — Regina, SK @ Regina Folk Festival 08/17 — Grand Rapids, MI @ Frederik Meijer Gardens Amphitheater 08/18 — Columbus, OH @ Fashion Meets Music Festival 09/09 — San Bernadino, CA @ High and Low Festival 09/15 — Flushing, NY @ The Meadows Music and Arts Festival 10/20 — San Diego, CA @ Balboa Theatre # 10/21 — Las Vegas, CA @ The Pearl at The Palms # 10/23 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Theatre at Ace Hotel # 10/25 — San Francisco, CA @ The Masonic # 10/26 — Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall # 10/27 — Seattle, WA @ The Moore # 10/28 — Vancouver, BC @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre # 10/30 — Calgary, AB @ Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium # 10/31 — Edmonton, AB @ Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium # 11/03 — Minneapolis, MN @ State Theatre # 11/05 — Detroit, MI @ Masonic Temple # 11/08 — Brooklyn, NY @ Kings Theatre # 11/09 — Boston, MA @ Orpheum Theatre # 11/10 — Upper Darby, PA @ Tower Theatre # 11/13 — Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle # 11/15 — Austin, TX @ Paramount Theatre #

* = w/ Japanese Breakfast ^ = w/ FRENSHIP # = The Con X: Tour Acoustic Show

Halsey Admits To Firing Her Friends

Photo: Instagram

I really like this interview with Halsey because it portrays the business side of her life. More often than not, interviews with female celebrities center around their bodies and/or relationships. Thanks to Business Insider for taking the time to talk to the bisexual artist about her work ethic, what it’s like to manage a team, and how it’s hard to fire her friends.

On The Pain Of Firing Friends: It’s definitely painful. The lines can get definitely crossed in the sense where you’re, like, not performing to the best of your ability, and you should not only as an employee, but also as my friend, you should want me to succeed, you should want us to succeed, you should be working harder.

On Why She Has Fired Friends: Most of the time it’s just people getting comfortable. Kind of like, you know, acclimated to the lifestyle. And it’s mostly people I brought on later. Anyone who has been with me from the beginning has worked from the trenches with me and they’ve worked really hard. People that I have brought in where I am now, they haven’t worked the way that we have, they haven’t lost the sleep, and you know, the blood, sweat, and tears.

Halsey’s Advice To Young Artists: Keep putting in the work. Keep putting in the hours…It doesn’t matter how many private jets you take, how much money you make, how famous you get, keep putting in the hours because when you’re in the back of a car and you have 30 minutes in between interviews, use that time to engage with the fans and use that time to put in the work. Because you will never have to stop putting in the same amount of hours that you did in the beginning.

Wise words.

Jane Lynch

Photo: Instagram

I often forget Jane hosts Hollywood Game Night. Now that the show is approaching its fifth season, the lesbian took to Parade Magazine to chat about what fans can expect this go around.

On Expanding The Show’s Set: “We have this huge area that’s ostensibly my backyard with a lot of beautiful AstroTurf and a beautiful patio, where we’re doing games that require more space. They’re more active. For example, we do a version of Slap the Buzzer in a pool of balls, like at Chucky Cheese when kids play around in those big pools full of balls. That’s a lot of fun because it’s a lot harder to move through a pool full of balls than it is regular air.

On Hosting: “The most fun is just standing back and watching people have fun. I can always count on the celebrities to jump in there. What makes each show unique and fun for me, is that it’s a whole new dynamic and they never let me down. I have never had a bad show where I had to pull teeth in order to get people to have fun. So it’s kind of a show that hosts itself, in a way.”

On The New Games: “We do this game called In My Pants, where we put the celebrities in these ridiculous, huge pants and they have to catch balls that are shot out of a cannon at them with the pants. We have a bunch of games that for any lesser person, they’d be embarrassed.”

The show’s fifth season premiered on June 22.

Tig Notaro Opens Up About Getting Married In the South

Photo: Instagram

In a recent episode of “Out Here in America,” Tig discussed what it was like to get hitched in her home state of Mississippi. Considering the state isn’t necessarily known for its progressive views, some considered it to be a bold move at the time. For those who’ve followed the lesbian comic for a while, however, it wasn’t a shock. Notaro has a deep connection to where she grew up, and it made sense she wanted to share that special bond with her now wife Stephanie Allynne. Luckily for the pair, gay marriage became legal in the United States the DAY after they mailed out their wedding invitations.

On Saying “I Do” In Mississippi: “So here we were, legally getting married in Mississippi. The joy and pride I felt to have our marriage certificate say the state of Mississippi – it was just like gosh, I can’t believe we are saying this. I have that hometown pride with the state, and I refuse to leave it behind and discard it.”

On Vacationing In The Deep South:”We took this trip to Jackson. We both felt scared, because we could be kicked out of a hotel. We could be kicked out of a restaurant. It was the first time I felt scared.”

You can listen to the full interview below:

https://soundcloud.com/outhereinamerica/bonus-episode-tig-notaro-on-season-2-of-one-mississippi

That’s a wrap. Live your best lives everybody!

Gif: Giphy

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