From filmmaker and World of Wonder co-founder, Fenton Bailey…

“Recently I read two long Playboy interviews with Trump. One from 1990 and one from 2004. Excerpts below. They reveal, I think, how cunning, vengeful, paranoid and potentially mad he is. Most chilling is his yearning for apocalyptic annihilation. Although what follows are just extracts and so out of context to a degree, I don’t feel that what they imply and reveal is misleading.”

1990 PLAYBOY INTERVIEW EXCERPT:

With so much poverty on the city streets, isn’t it embarrassing for you to flaunt your wealth?
“A display is a good thing. It shows people that you can be successful. It can show you a way of life. Dynasty did it on TV. It’s very important that people aspire to be successful. The only way you can do it is if you look at somebody who is.

… I believe I’ve added show business to the real-estate business, and that’s been a positive for my properties and in my life.

Then what does all this–the yacht, the bronze tower, the casinos–really mean to you?
Props for the show.

And what is the show?
The show is “Trump” and it is sold-out performances everywhere. I’ve had fun doing it and will continue to have fun, and I think most people enjoy it.

Your older brother, Fred, who died from heart failure brought on by acute alcoholism, had a more difficult time with him, didn’t he?
…Our family environment, the competitiveness, was a negative for Fred. It wasn’t easy for him being cast in a very tough environment, and I think it played havoc on him.
…I was very close to him and it was very sad when he died … toughest situation I’ve had…

What did you learn from his experience?
[Pauses] Nobody has ever asked me that. But his death affected everything that has come after it…. I think constantly that I never really gave him thanks for it. He was the first Trump boy out there, and I subconsciously watched his moves.

And the lesson?
I saw people really taking advantage of Fred and the lesson I learned was always to keep up my guard one hundred percent, whereas he didn’t. He didn’t feel that there was really reason for that, which is a fatal mistake in life. People are too trusting. I’m a very untrusting guy. I study people all the time, automatically; it’s my way of life, for better or worse.

Why?
I am very skeptical about people; that’s self-preservation at work. I believe that, unfortunately, people are out for themselves.

…Everything in life to me is a psychological game, a series of challenges you either meet or don’t. I am always testing people who work for me.

… I owe him a lot…. He could have ultimately been a happy guy, but things just went the unhappy way.

How large a role does pure ego play in your deal making and enjoyment of publicity?
Every successful person has a very large ego.

Every successful person? Mother Teresa? Jesus Christ?
Far greater egos than you will ever understand.

And the Pope?
Absolutely. Nothing wrong with ego. People need ego, whole nations need ego. I think our country needs more ego, because it is being ripped off so badly by our so-called allies; i.e., Japan, West Germany, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, etc. They have literally outegotized this country.

…We Americans are laughed at around the world for losing a hundred and fifty billion dollars year after year, for defending wealthy nations for nothing, nations that would be wiped off the face of the earth in about fifteen minutes if it weren’t for us. Our “allies” are making billions screwing us.

…When the students poured into Tiananmen Square, the Chinese government almost blew it. Then they were vicious, they were horrible, but they put it down with strength. That shows you the power of strength. Our country is right now perceived as weak.

A favorite word of yours, tough. How do you define it?
Tough is being mentally capable of winning battles against an opponent and doing it with a smile. Tough is winning systematically.

Sometimes you sound like a Presidential candidate stirring up the voters.
I don’t want the Presidency.

Do you think George Bush is soft?
…I disagree with him when he talks of a kinder, gentler America. I think if this country gets any kinder or gentler, it’s literally going to cease to exist.

What would President Trump’s position on crime be?
…I see the values of this country in the way crime is tolerated, where people are virtually afraid to say ‘“I want the death penalty.’ Well, I want it.

What would be some of President Trump’s longer-term views of the future?
…I often think of nuclear war.

Nuclear war?
I’ve always thought about the issue of nuclear war; it’s a very important element in my thought process. It’s the ultimate, the ultimate catastrophe, the biggest problem this world has, and nobody’s focusing on the nuts and bolts of it. It’s a little like sickness. People don’t believe they’re going to get sick until they do. Nobody wants to talk about it. I believe the greatest of all stupidities is people’s believing it will never happen, because everybody knows how destructive it will be, so nobody uses weapons. What bullshit.

You categorically don’t want to be President?
I don’t want to be President. I’m one hundred percent sure. I’d change my mind only if I saw this country continue to go down the tubes.

Are you ever satisfied with what you’ve accomplished?
I’m too superstitious to be satisfied… I’m never self-satisfied. Life is what you do while you’re waiting to die. You know, it is all a rather sad situation.

…Some of my friends are unbelievably successful and miserable people. I truly believe that someone successful is never really happy, because dissatisfaction is what drives him. I’ve never met a successful person who wasn’t neurotic. It’s not a terrible thing … it’s controlled neuroses.

What do you mean?
Controlled neuroses means having a tremendous energy level, an abundance of discontent that often isn’t visible. It’s also not oversleeping. I don’t sleep more than four hours a night.”

2004 PLAYBOY INTERVIEW EXCERPT:

Why does everything come back to self-promotion for you? What’s the value in constantly telling people how great you are?
Because if you don’t, probably nobody else will.

Do you think Trump Tower and your other buildings will bear your name a hundred years from now?
No, I don’t think so.

Why?
I don’t think any building will be here—and unless we have some very smart people ruling it, the world will not be the same place in a hundred years. The weapons are too powerful, too strong. Access to the weapons is getting too easy, so I think the landscape we’re looking at will not be the same unless we get smart people in office quickly.

That’s frightening.
You don’t agree?

It’s just surprising coming from you. Your whole world is bricks and mortar.
…The world is rocky, and some terrible things are going to happen. That’s why I lead the life I do. I enjoy it. I know life is fragile, and if the world looks like this a hundred years from now, we’ll either be very lucky or have found unbelievably good leaders somewhere down the line.“

The post In Playboy Interviews with Trump From ’90 & ’04 He Says–”I Often Think of Nuclear War…” appeared first on The WOW Report.

Adam Lambert
Andrew Keegan
Ann Jillian
Charlie Wilson
Edward Burns
Greg Louganis
Heather Graham
Isabel Lucas
Jason James Richter
Jonny Lang
Justin Hartley
Katharine Ross
Kelly Packard
Oprah Winfrey
Sam Trammell
Sara Gilbert
Tom Selleck
Tommy Ramone

The post January 29th: It’s YOUR Birthday, Bitch! appeared first on The WOW Report.

January 29, 1960– Greg Louganis:

“I guess you can tease me about being a drama queen, because that did heighten the drama.”

It takes tenacity to continue having a crush on someone for 40+ years, but here I am, still dreamy over Greg Louganis, who is still devastatingly handsome as he turns 57-years-old. He spends his mornings in spin class, followed by 90 minutes of yoga. He takes daily naps. His afternoons are devoted to his true passion, training dogs in obedience and agility. Louganis lives with his husband, in Malibu, along with their six dogs.

Louganis is simply the greatest diver in US athletic history. I first took note of him when he won a silver medal in the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics. Louganis was just 16-years-old and just a total cutie pie. It was difficult to take my eyes off him, and I began to especially look forward to his dives. He went on to win two back-to-back double Olympic gold medals and multiple world championships.

In early 1988, Louganis was diagnosed with HIV:

“We thought of HIV as a death sentence. It was six months prior to the Olympic Games, and I was like, ‘Well, I’m going to pack my bags and go home and lock myself in my house and wait to die’.”

If they had known that he was infected with HIV, Louganis would have never been allowed into Korea for the 1988 Summer Olympic Games. His doctor encouraged him that the healthiest thing would be for him to continue training. Luganis:

“The diving was much more of a positive thing to focus on. I did suffer from depression; if we had a day off, I couldn’t get out of bed. I would just pull the covers over my head. But if I had something on the calendar, I showed up. Whether that was to work out, an interview or speaking or appearances, I’d show up. I’ve long suffered from chronic depression, so even when I was younger, I didn’t think I’d see 30.”

Louganis’ greatest moments came, ironically, after his worst dive. Working hard towards another gold medal in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Louganis attempted a very difficult reverse 2 1/2 Pike Dive in the preliminary round. During that dive, he struck the board and suffered a large laceration on his pretty head. The Husband and I watched in horror as it happened, and it was shocking because Louganis was true diving perfection. We are big on the Olympic Games and The Husband had just said to me: “I just love to watch Louganis. He just pierces the water like a dart”.

Amazingly, despite having a concussion, he finished that preliminary round and repeated the dive in the finals, receiving record-setting scores that brought him another gold medal.

The accident caused a controversy over the blood he spilled after the injury, with critics acting hysterical even when it was pointed out that no other athletes were in any danger of exposure to the HIV (chlorine kills the virus). But it was 1988, an era when many people called on those with HIV to be tattooed or quarantined.

“I felt so isolated because of the secrets at that time. I was out to friends and family, and everybody in the diving world knew about my sexual identity, but very few people knew about my HIV status. I felt like I was living on an island.”

The performance at the Olympics earned him the ABC Television Sports Athlete Of The Year in 1988. Louganis has written about the embarrassment and fear that he felt after the accident:

“My first feeling was embarrassment. I was embarrassed. I was thinking, ‘How do I get out of this pool without anyone seeing me?’ It’s the Olympic Games and I’m supposed to be a pretty good diver and good divers don’t do that. But then I got angry with myself, to have allowed that to happen. And then after my coach got my head sewn up, he said, ‘Do you want to continue? I’ll support you 100 percent in whatever you decide’. I turned to him with kind of a knee-jerk reaction and said, ‘We’ve worked too long and hard to get here, and I don’t want to give up without a fight’. But when something like that happens, it just totally deflates any confidence that you have, and he did turn to me and say, ‘Look, I know you don’t believe in yourself right now, but believe in me because I believe in you’.”

“I knew I had a responsibility to tell the doctor about my HIV status as he sewed my head up.”

In 1994, Louganis announced to the world that he was gay. In his well-written memoir Breaking The Surface (1995) he confesses in detail about living in a relationship of domestic abuse and rape. His boyfriend/partner threatened to blackmail him if he ever tried to leave.

“I boxed myself into the relationship with my feelings about my HIV status. I thought, ‘who will touch me?’ But I knew that to survive, I had to get out. It was a big step for me to build the self-esteem I needed to have the confidence to leave.”

In the memoir, Louganis told the world that he was HIV positive. Afterwards, most of his corporate sponsors dropped Louganis as a client when they got the news of his HIV status. Famous swimsuit manufacturer Speedo was the only exception and they stayed with Louganis as spokesperson and model for their swimwear until 2007. As if we didn’t love Speedo enough already, we have got to give the company props for their loyalty.

In 1996, Breaking The Surface was made into a good film for Showtime with the delicious Mario Lopez playing the lead and with Louganis narrating.

Last summer I watched the new, excellent documentary Back On Board: Greg Louganis on HBO, with Louganis speaking candidly about his complex, often difficult life.

The especially gifted actor Michael Fassbender based his movements and mannerisms for his portrayal of an advanced humanoid robot in film Prometheus (2012) on Louganis diving career, stating:

“Louganis was my first inspiration. I figured that I’d sort of base my physicality roughly around him, and then it kind of went from there.”

After leaving sports, Louganis has dabbled in acting. He also coaches divers of all ages and abilities. He mentored the US diving team at the 2012 London Summer Olympics. In summer 2015, Louganis was a World Games Special Olympics torch bearer in LA. He tours the country speaking about issues that affected him throughout his life: HIV, chronic depression, learning disabilitiesm and diversity (he is Samoan and Scandinavian). Louganis also has joined with other Olympians including Peggy Fleming, Caitlyn Jenner and Jackie Joyner-Kersee, talking about living with a long-term illness.

“HIV taught me not to take anything for granted. I didn’t think I would see 30, and here I am at 57.”

But mostly, Louganis uses his considerable talents working with dogs, and that is just fine by me. I prefer canines to humans. He published a book, For The Life of Your Dog (2014). Louganis:

“I’m still here, and I’m married. It’s unbelievable. I never dreamed this day would be possible. People always ask ‘How are you doing? How are you doing really?’ But, my viral load’s undetectable, my T-cells are higher than they’ve ever been. I do acupuncture and Eastern treatments as well.”

Last summer, Louganis went to the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio as an official athlete mentor for the US swim team.

He claims that he wants to be remembered as more than an athlete:

“I want to be remembered as a strong and graceful diver, but as a person, I want to be remembered as someone who made a difference.”

The post #BornThisDay: Actor / Activist, Greg Louganis appeared first on The WOW Report.

Actor John Hurt, who garnered Oscar nominations for his roles in Midnight Express and The Elephant Man, died on Friday.

Hurt was known for playing tortured characters, and died on-screen in Alien, when a creature exploded from his chest. CNN ranked it among the top 10 movie deaths of all time.

Working more than six decades in television, movies and voice work in England and the U.S., he most recently played a priest who counsels Jackie Kennedy in Jackie.

“I’m very much of the opinion that to work is better than not to work. There are others who’d say, ‘No, wait around for the right thing’ – and they will finish up a purer animal than me. … Of course, I don’t do everything by any means: I do turn lots of stuff down, because it’s absolute crap. But I usually find something interesting enough to do.“

Hurt, left, with Crisp in the 70s

Some of his other top television shows were roles in I, Claudius, Watership Down & Doctor Who.

He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2004 Queen’s Birthday Honours List for his services to Drama.

“I’ve just been whipped along by the waves I’m sitting in. I don’t make plans at all. Plans are what make God laugh. You can make plans, you can make so many plans, but they never go right, do they?“

John Hurt was 77.

(via CNN)

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Messages of unity with Muslim Americans + some Donald Trump zingers were all around at he 23rd annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Just about everyone who took the stage Sunday night to collect an award had something to say about the #MuslimBan — starting with the red carpet and lasting all the way to the final speech. The SAG Awards don’t have an emcee but Ashton Kutcher jumped right on it:

“Good evening fellow SAG/AFTRA members, and everyone at home, and everyone in airports that belong in my America. You are a part of the fabric of who we are, and we love you and we welcome you.” –Ashton Kutcher

Julia Louis-Dryfus won Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series for Veep and started with a joke but ended tough.

“Whether the Russians did or did not hack the voting of tonight’s SAG awards, I look out on the million — or million and a half people — in this room and I say, this award is legitimate and I won. I am the winner. The winner is me. Landslide!

To a less insane note … I want you all to know that I am the daughter of an immigrant. My father fled religious persecution in Nazi occupied France … and I love this country. … This immigrant ban is a blemish, and it is un-American.” –Julia Louis-Dryfus

William H. Macy won Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series for playing a terrible, terrible person in Shameless.

“I would like to go against the stream this evening and thank President Trump … for making Frank Gallagher seem so normal.” –William H. Macy

Taylor Schilling took the mic for OITNB’s win for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series:

“We’d like to say that we stand up here representing a diverse group of people, representing generations of families who have sought a better life here, from places like Nigeria, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Ireland (Brooklyn!) yes. And we know that it’s gonna be up to all of us, and probably you, too, to keep telling stories that show what unites us is stronger than the forces that seek to divide us.” –Taylor Schilling

Viggo Mortensen and Kathryn Hahn, stars of Captain Fantastic, used a bit from their film (about a big family that lives off the grid) while presenting an award. Viggo threw his fist in the air, saying

“Power to the people!“

And right on cue, the rest of the cast, all sitting together, jumped to their feet and cried,

“STICK IT TO THE MAN!“

Mahershala Ali won Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role for Moonlight, then launched into an emotional plea,

“What I’ve learned from working on Moonlight is, uh, we see what happens when we persecute people. They fold into themselves. And what was so great about having the opportunity to play Juan was playing a gentleman folding into himself as a result of persecution by his community, and taking that opportunity to uplift him and tell him that he mattered, and that he was OK, and accept him. … I hope we do a better job of that. We kinda get caught up in the minutiae, the details that make us all different; I think there’s two ways of seeing that.

There’s an opportunity to see the texture of that person, to see the characteristics that make them unique. And then there’s the opportunity to go to war about it. And to say that person is different form me and I don’t like you. Let’s battle. My mother is an ordained minister. I’m a Muslim. She didn’t do backflips when I called to tell her I converted 17 years ago. But I tell you now: We put things to the side. And I’m able to see her, and she’s able to see me. We love each other, the love is grown.” –Mahershala Ali

Sarah Paulson with the real Marcia Clark

Sarah Paulson‘s plea was simple and yesterday the ACLU broke all records. They usually get around $3 million a year. Yesterday alone, nearly $25 million!

“Any spare money that anyone may have they should donate to the ACLU … to protect the rights and liberties of people across the country. It’s a vital organization that relies entirely on our support. So please, if you can — thank you very much.” –Sarah Paulson

Bryan Cranston won Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series for All the Way, in which he played President Lyndon Johnson,

“How would Lyndon Johnson think about Donald Trump? And I honestly feel that 36 would put his arm around 45 and earnestly wish him success. And he would whisper in his ear something he said often, as a form of encouragement — and a cautionary tale —

‘Just don’t piss in the soup that all of us gotta eat.‘” –Bryan Cranston

Lily Tomlin had one of the night’s lighter speeches, but got to the point eventually,

“The Doomsday Clock has been moved up to 2 1/2 minutes to midnight. And this awards, it came just in the nick of time…. Live your life so that when you are being honored for your achievements … the people called upon to make laudatory remarks can be reasonably honest. In these times, all their words might be perceived as alternative facts, or worse yet, fake news. … What sign should I make for the next march? So much to do, global warming, Standing Rock, LBGT issues, Chinese missiles …” –Lily Tomlin

Taraji P. Henson spoke of her film beautifully,

“Hidden Figures story is of unity. This story is about what happens when we put our differences aside. And we come together as a human race, we win. Love wins. Every time. Thank you so much for appreciating the work we’ve done, thank you so much for appreciating these women.” –Taraji P. Henson

But the best of the night was the win for Stranger Things and David Harbour‘s rousing speech featuring Winona Ryder‘s emotional display of every face an actor has ever made.

Watch.

(via Mashable)

The post #SAGAwards: 11 Inspiring Messages That Give Us Hope In the Face of Trump’s #MuslimBan appeared first on The WOW Report.

Olympic diver Tom Daly has teamed up with the fitness YouTube sensations, The Lean Machines, for a shirtless home workout you need no equipment for at all. John and Leon popped over to Tom’s for a sweaty session, and also got handsy with their balls. Wait?! What?!

Just watch.

(via Gay Times)

The post #ManCrushMonday: Diver Tom Daly Teams Up with “The Lean Machines” To Get You Fit (No Equipment Necessary) appeared first on The WOW Report.

We could use a little positivity these days. Here’s Joan Jett performing Love Is All Around, the theme song to The Mary Tyler Moore Show. The Rock N Roll Hall of Fame inductee snarls her way through the line

“who could turn the world on with her smile.“

Jett told Billboard how she felt about Moore’s passing,

“I grew up watching The Mary Tyler Moore Show. I was inspired that women were shown as being equal to men and it had an influence on me as I became a musician. The show was groundbreaking, important and funny. I will miss Mary Tyler Moore.”

It’s a perfect tribute. Watch.

(T/Y Beth; via Diffuser)

The post #RIPMTM: Joan Jett Plays the “Mary Tyler Moore” Theme Like You’ve Never Heard It. Watch appeared first on The WOW Report.

This letter was sent to the Washington Blade and expresses a lot of fears and anxiety the LGBTQ community is feeling since Trump took office,

“I’m 16 years old, gay, a junior in high school and scared about what is going to happen to us under this new government.

I’ve lived in a red state my whole life, not the most gay-positive atmosphere even in my hometown but my public school has a gay-straight alliance that has been a lifesaver. It gave me a safe and protected place to come out. Having other kids to talk to and also our advisor (a teacher) helped me feel I’m just fine. I got a lot of support from them that helped me come out to my parents, who have been supportive.

Even if some people in town are homophobic, for as long as I’ve known I’m gay (five years) I’ve known it’s really fine to be gay from TV and from our government, starting with the President. Of course I’ve heard stories of the old days when people had to be in the closet and faced all kinds of discrimination. I’m grateful to have been growing up in a time when we’ve gotten equal rights.

My phone screensaver is a picture of the White House lit up in rainbow colors for the legalization of gay marriage.

Since Trump won I feel like we are getting sucked back in time. It’s so scary to hear about all these homophobic people he is appointing to run the government. If the federal government is against gays, I’m afraid that America will turn against us again and we will no longer be able to live openly in peace. I’m thinking they’d definitely shut down our group at school.

I can’t really focus and I’m not sure what to do.“

The letter was written to Michael Radkowsky, Psy.D. who is a licensed psychologist who works with gay couples and individuals in D.C. To read his response, go here. (T/Y Tad; via Washington Blade)

The post #LGBTQ: Worried & Scared Gay Teen Pens Letter Expressing Fears of Trump’s Administration appeared first on The WOW Report.

David Harbour accepts for “Stranger Things”

Best female actor in a TV comedy series
Uzo Aduba, Orange is the New Black
Jane Fonda, Grace and Frankie
Ellie Kemper, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie

Best male actor in a TV comedy series
Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
William H Macy, Shameless
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent

Best cast in a TV comedy series
The Big Bang Theory
Black-ish
Modern Family
Orange is the New Black
Veep

Best female supporting actor
Viola Davis, Fences
Naomie Harris, Moonlight
Nicole Kidman, Lion
Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea

Best male supporting actor
Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water
Hugh Grant, Florence Foster Jenkins
Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea
Dev Patel, Lion

Best female actor in a TV movie or miniseries
Bryce Dallas Howard, Black Mirror
Felicity Huffman, American Crime
Audra McDonald, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill
Sarah Paulson, The People v OJ Simpson: American Crime Story
Kerry Washington, Confirmation

Best male actor in a TV movie or miniseries
Riz Ahmed, The Night Of
Sterling K Brown, The People v OJ Simpson: American Crime Story
Bryan Cranston, All the Way
John Turturro, The Night Of
Courtney B Vance, The People v OJ Simpson: American Crime Story

Best male actor in a TV drama series
Sterling K Brown, This Is Us
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
John Lithgow, The Crown
Rami Malek, Mr Robot
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

Best female actor in a TV drama series
Millie Bobby Brown, Stranger Things
Claire Foy, The Crown
Thandie Newton, Westworld
Winona Ryder, Stranger Things
Robin Wright, House of Cards

Best cast in a TV drama series
The Crown
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
Stranger Things
Westworld

Best female actor
Amy Adams, Arrival
Emily Blunt, The Girl on the Train
Natalie Portman, Jackie
Emma Stone, La La Land
Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins

Best male actor
Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge
Ryan Gosling, La La Land
Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic
Denzel Washington, Fences

Best ensemble performance
Captain Fantastic
Fences
Hidden Figures
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight

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Kids, are you ready for the latest beauty trend? Want to make your face great again! It’s called #Trumping. It stars Crazy Ex-Girlfriend‘s Tess Paras. You’ll get lots of valuable techniques like dusting with crushed Cheetos…

“Remember, it’s not what you look like that makes you ugly.“

Watch.

THIS POST WAS NOT APPROVED BY

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Musician, activist and LGBTQI advocate JD Samson has been a leader and an outspoken voice in our community ever since joining ‘underground electro-feminist performance artists’ Le Tigre in 200o. She subsequently started her own band and production company MEN in 2007 with bandmate Johanna Fateman, after Le Tigre took an extended break. The sociopolitical trio recently reunited to release single I’m With Her, in support of Hillary Clinton’s run for president, a track that Samson says was highly criticized by individuals whom they thought would be supportive of their efforts, and Clinton. I spoke with Samson about her thoughts on the election, Donald Trump’s patently offensive first week in office, the misogynistic divide in the queer “community”, and how we can begin to mend a country that is seemingly being torn apart politically, and on the verge of civil war. (photo by Tyler Joe)

Paisley Dalton: Were you surprised that Donald Trump won the election?

JD Samson: It’s hard for me to separate my own understanding of what happened with the election and everybody else’s. That might be because I’m completely co-dependent with my community. Within my immediate family and friendship group there was some surprise at the level of support Donald Trump got from people all over the world. With that surprise, we keep getting slapped in the face. In the beginning, it was ‘He’s never gonna get passed the primaries…he’s never gonna win’. There was that hope that we all somehow maintained. To me, that’s completely insane! This is exactly what I thought was gonna happen. It was hard to rally people around that idea when we were rallying ourselves so hard. I blame internet bullying and misogyny, our own internalized misogyny within the queer and feminist community.

Were we too arrogant as a community…thinking that every one of us is prepared and willing to address the exigencies of the current political climate?

There’s a selfish apathy that we all caught. It’s a Western problem that has to do with capitalism. It has to do with the internet. I’ve been bullied on the internet a lot. I felt legitimized in a certain way when I watched Hillary Clinton being bashed online by liberals, and then seeing how that affected the election and will affect the future of our country for people mostly from our community. I understand how she feels. I’m not hopeful at all; but, I do think that this shows us that the two-party system is antiquated. In order to make change, we need to stop being apathetic and get into office. That should be our goal. If we care so much, we need to make the changes ourselves.

Can we, as a community, be effective in the fight if we can’t get our own shit together? Don’t we need to address our own moralistic issues first…our own internalized homophobia, our own misogyny…our own constant supplication to exploitation?

Entitled people are entitled people. There is a lack of empathy. There’s a lack of interest in supporting people that aren’t like you. I’m happy that in the last year more people have shown up for more communities that don’t necessarily reflect who they see in the mirror. For me personally, as someone who promotes queer events, I had a party that I moved to a queer space that is owned by women and no men came! It was heartbreaking! It was a political decision. I felt that if I did the right thing, people would come. It didn’t work. That was so sad for me. My community wasn’t supportive of women’s spaces. My community wasn’t interested in that political decision. It’s like nothing has changed. There were so many articles in queer and gay magazines last year about tech house and house music parties, not one of those articles included an even put on by women! And there are women’s parties…there’s Pat in NYC, Smartbar in Chicago. It’s depressing!

All of my hopes and dreams have been shattered this year. A lot of feminists feel that way. That’s why there was a Women’s March. In the beginning, I felt that calling it a women’s march was terrible, and that it shouldn’t be just for women. But it wasn’t just for women. It spoke to the idea of feminism, which is an umbrella term that encompasses a lot of other things. They did a great job!

The misogyny surrounding Clinton’s campaign was devastating. My bandmates [from Le Tigre] Kathleen Hanna and Johanna Fateman suggested that we do a song for her, and I was terrified about what would happen when we did that. I knew we were gonna get so much shit. We ended up doing I’m With Her. It was the most punk rock thing we could do..and we got stoned by our community again. I was hurt! I couldn’t believe all these people who supported us for so long were saying all this horrible things about Clinton. She’s the most qualified person to run for president ever!

Should there be a rebranding of queerness…a neo-queer movement for this millennium? What does it even mean to be queer today?

It’s important for me because it’s part of my identity. My feminism, my radical politics and my queerness go hand-in-hand. But right now, I’m not thinking of each one of those things specifically. I’m thinking about other people. Right now, we’re talking about immigration, a wall going up between Mexico and the United States, and us having to pay for it. That doesn’t really affect me that much, but that is where I am. I’m not thinking about queerness. I think that’s how a lot of my friends have changed their way of fighting for freedom right now. People were thinking, ‘What exactly can Donald Trump do in the first three days?’ This is exactly what we knew he could do! So we tried to figure out what we could do to help these people that would be affected. Those were the presents I gave for the holidays…supporting groups that advocate for groups of people affected by Trump’s impending policies.

Is it daunting to be a woman in today’s patriarchal society, one that subscribes primarily to heterosexual hegemony?

Of course it’s daunting! That just means that women don’t want men to exist, rather than lose power to them.

Is that the utopian future…an all women’s world?

…and transgender people…and non-gender conforming people. That’s my dream! It’s not about a person’s body. It’s about a person’s socialization. We all exist on a binary of gender expression. Some people want to fit into the roles and expectations of their families and their history, and the history of gender expression. Some people don’t. The real future is that we don’t give a shit about those words anymore. It sounds like wishful thinking…but I don’t think it is anymore. I don’t give a shit what you are! I don’t give a shit what I am! I identify as a woman and a feminist. I consider myself trans too, because I’m not following the binary system.

What can we do now, on the ground, to move forward as a community, as individuals, as a queer-identified person?

Each person needs to figure out what their focus is in protest, whether it be immigration, abortion rights, etc. They should spend time researching and knowing the facts. The most important thing is that we find leaders within this new movement. It’s not just about marching. It’s about changing the laws. It’s about impeaching Donald Trump!

The president is suppose to reflect the people…and he does! He’s narcissistic, apathetic, a fame monger. Isn’t that what most people want now? Everybody wants to be seen. Everybody wants to be famous. Why is everybody surprised that they created a self-aggrandizing effigy of themselves?

Our selfish apathy is the greater issue. It’s our current societal standard. This is why he won. We need to re-teach…starting with kindergarten. A lot of children don’t know how to have emotions anymore.

JD Samson is currently working an a book- an experimental memoir, with a mix of fiction an non-fiction. She also continues to DJ and produce music. I’m With Her single available now on iTunes.

UPDATE:

I contacted JD Samson once more, regarding Donald Trump’s recent immigration ban. She had only this to say: “I’m sitting here crying my eyes out! This is a crisis. I agree about the civil war you mentioned. I’m angry and scared.

The post WOW Exclusive Interview: LGBTQI Activist JD Samson (Le Tigre, MEN) Says Queers’ & Feminists’ Misogyny Elected Donald Trump appeared first on The WOW Report.

Hey, hunties! We’re big (YUGE, rather) fans of FutureClown. We posted her on lip sync for your life to Trump’s inaugural speech that was live streamed on LACE and was broadcast on LACE’s storefront. She has vowed to make a weekly dispatch of the nightmarish things Trump says. This week it’s all about Torture! Mexico! Healthcare! How Many People Were Actually At The Inauguration (according to President Trump).

Check it out:

FutureClown’s weekly playlist dispatches a selection of the most recent comments made byPresident Donald J. Trump as lip synched by Rachel Mason, aka FutureClown.’

The post FutureClown’s Weekly Dispatch: “I Can Be The Most Presidential Person Ever.” appeared first on The WOW Report.

After a successful grand opening of “Surviving Trump: The Art of Resistance,”  two Wednesdays ago, WOW Co-Founder Fenton Bailey jetted off to Sundance Film Festival and has been making the rounds at all films resistance! We shared his riveting review of the moving An Inconvenient Sequel and Joshua: Teenager Vs. Superpower last week  and he just attended the screening for Trumped which feels more timely than ever in these dismal times.

Check ou his riveting review:

Last night “Trumped” was the final film I saw at Sundance. Fitting, since everything this week has been seen through a Trump lens. Subtitled “Inside the greatest political upset of all time” it actually gave me a nightmare in which I am interviewing Trump. And he seems nice. Chatty. Self-deprecating. Then there’s a huge earthquake and we look out of Trump tower as New York’s skyscrapers fall all around us.

Waking up this morning confirmed that rewatching Trump’s path to victory was an incredibly depressing experience. Over a year of horror squashed into an hour-and-a-half was a toxic shock to the system. It’s incredibly timely, of course, and an incredible achievement to whip it up so quickly. But through no fault of its own “Trumped” seemed dated because just one week of Trump’s presidency makes the campaign look almost quaint.

It’s not just the policy and executive orders – shameful and hateful though they are – it’s the complete and literal insanity of the president and his men.

Between the election and inauguration pundits said he surely couldn’t preside as he had campaigned, and would have to become more presidential etc. But he has doubled – no – quadrupled down on his angry divisive behaviors. If there was any doubt he was a lunatic before the election, not a shred of doubt remains. Last week a call came from inside the White House when Steve Bannon called the New York Times. It was an ugly,  threatening call: “The media should be embarrassed and humiliated and keep its mouth shut and just listen for awhile… The media here is the opposition party. They don’t understand this country. They still do not understand why Donald Trump is the president of the United States.”

The worst thing about the call was that he was right about the media’s misapprehension, and “Trumped” ably makes this point – though not necessarily intentionally. The film’s hosts – John Heilemann and Mark Halperin – are commentators who know politics inside and out. They are able to speak and spin on the spot. But they missed the big picture of the reality right in front of their eyes.

And the reason why they miss it is in the film too. In a cosy green-room chat before one of the debates Megyn Kelly  – she’s the one Trump said had blood coming out of her “wherever” (he didn’t say pussy because he likes to grab those and being a germophobe doesn’t want to grab something all bloody much less name it) – was filled with excitement because whether Trump did well or did badly it was a win-win. To her their scrap was ratings gold and, as subsequent events made all too clear, a huge career boost and multi-million dollar pay day.

She might as well have said “The show is “Trump” and it is sold-out performances everywhere.” But in fact it was Donald Trump who said that, speaking about himself presciently in a 1990 Playboy interview.

At one point in the film Ben Carson (neuro-surgeon? Really?) gets up at a press conference and says: “There’s two Donald Trumps. There’s the Donald Trump that you see on television and who gets out in front of big audiences, and there’s the Donald Trump behind the scenes…They’re not the same person. One’s very much an entertainer, and one is actually a thinking individual”.  He even calls him “cerebral”. Then Trump gets up and professorially doubles down on his position about punching people in the face.

There’s another great behind the scenes moment with shady advisor Roger Stone. He was Richard Nixon’s dirty trickster and has been a longtime Trumpster. Resembling a cadaverous hypnotoad and sipping a martini he makes the chilling point that being boring in politics is worse than being wrong.

And Trump was often wrong but never boring. Stepping off his jet to greet crowds in an huge airport hanger he effortlessly chit-chatted with the bigly crowd as if they were old friends… the show is “Trump” and it’s sold out performances everywhere.

In the film Trump even shows us his hand: Remember at the convention when Ted Cruz was giving that speech refusing to endorse Trump,  when suddenly Trump appeared at the back of the arena completely shifting attention and upstaging poor Ted?  Afterwards one of our pundit hosts asks Trump if he did that deliberately: “I would never do that” says Trump almost outraged. And then – with perfect timing – gives a deadpan shrug “But, yes”.

But yes, he’s a liar. But yes, it’s entertaining. And so he gets a free pass. All the way to the White House.

I stuck around for the Q&A afterwards, hoping perhaps that John Heilemann would finally say Trump is a liar and a madman. But no. Instead he said something to the effect that he’s a complicated man who loves attention but hates the media, so he see-saws between being nice and nasty, but can’t help coming back for more. Seemed like a convoluted way of admitting to being in an abusive co-dependent relationship. Guess that pretty much sums it all up. We’ve been trumped. Now we must #resist and make our way towards the #trexit.

The post Sundance Film Festival Review: “Trumped: Inside The Greatest Political Upset Of All Time” appeared first on The WOW Report.

On the one hand, fashion is the last thing that should be on our minds when we are in the midst of a full-blown constitutional crisis. On the other hand, it is by its very nature a mindless distraction that can soothe our ragged nerves. Viktor & Rolf seem to be in full-blown fairy princess mode this season, albeit with a fractured, patchwork approach that speaks to the schizophrenia of our times. Think: Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas goes to Cinderella’s ball.

From Vogue:

For Spring 2017 , they’ve taken apart old, damaged party dresses from as far back as the ’40s. Read into the idea as they do, and all those disparate pieces in each look represent fragments of lives lived. The gold that encircles them borrows from Kintsugi, the Japanese practice of repairing pottery in a way that highlights the cracks. The title of the collection: Boulevard of Broken Dreams. Snoeren clarified, however, that their message of repair is meant to be hopeful, far-reaching even. “All the fragmented pieces can be put back together again.”

Measured against their concepts from the near past, this one isn’t as wildly original; reassembly is already a thing, versus the sculptural cubist polo shirts or the wearable framed paintings. But with its layers of substance and sensitivity coexisting with beautiful manipulations of dégradé tulle, the idea represents the highest form of upcycling. In technical terms, the designers noted how this posed a considerably greater challenge than last season. “It was so spontaneous, it took us months to do,” said Horsting, noting the precision of the pieces as each look expanded, treelike.

Seeing as three of the designs will be available for direct purchase from their website—a trial see-now-buy-now approach to couture, the question remains: Would you want to wear one? Perhaps the eccentricity would feel too overwhelming if you didn’t know the backstory. But since you do, none of the silhouettes aside from the supersize surrealist final gowns were fundamentally extreme, least of all the collaged pants. The black-ish dress with a green tulle neckline was realized with restraint. And for this march down memory lane, the Mary Janes (customized by Christian Louboutin) had timeless resonance.

Would I want to wear one? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Um, YESYESYES.

Check out some of my faves above and below.

The post Let Viktor & Rolf Spring/Summer 2017 Be Your Mindless, Fantasy Distraction for Just a Few Moments appeared first on The WOW Report.

WOWlebrity Katie Couric is going to be honored at the Human Right Campaign‘s annual Time to THRIVE conference for helping to bring LGBTQI issues to the public eye, including the WOW documentary Gender Revolution airing February 6 at 9PM on the National Geographic channel.

Vincent Pompei – the chair of Time to THRIVE and director of the HRC Foundation’s Youth Well-Being Project – said:

We are thrilled to honor Katie Couric with our Upstander Award for the sensitive and compelling work she has done to advance understanding of the LGBTQ community — and especially transgender youth — with her groundbreaking interviews and new documentary. Throughout the world, transgender and gender expansive people are striving to be who they are, often in the most difficult of circumstances. Katie’s work with National Geographic on this singular project  represents an enormous step in our journey to ensure the safety and inclusion of LGBTQ youth here and around the world and reflects her continuing commitment to telling our community’s important stories.

Congratulations, Katie!

The post Katie Couric Will Be Honored at HRC’s National Conference on LGBTQI Youth appeared first on The WOW Report.

National Geographic, Katie Couric, and World of Wonder Production’s collaborated on a moving new project “Gender Revolution” that premieres on February 6th at 9PM E.T. Highlighting the triumphs, struggles, and journeys of intersex, trans, and gender non-conforming, this documentary will reveal and relate the human condition: that we all want equal rights. National Geographic released a new trailer today ‘exploring the culture, politics, and biology behind gender’. National Geographic’s Instagram is going to be debuting snippets from the series and today’s is learning more about the many forms of gender with the “Gingerbread Person.”

Check it out:

Watch the full trailer here:

The post Learn More About The Many Forms Of Gender With The “Gingerbread Person” Method appeared first on The WOW Report.

Rigga Moris in the World of Wonder studio with Alyssa Edwards during the last taping of Alyssa’s Secret in December 2016.

New episodes of Alyssa’s Secret every Monday on WOWPresents!

The post ALYSSA’S SECRET: Bloopers part 10 with Laganja Estranja appeared first on The WOW Report.

52-year-old Charles William Raulerson of Pensacola, Florida (ALTOGETHER NOW: “OF COURSE”) was arrested for being naked at a car wash. Police responded to reports of “a man standing around without pants blaring music from his vehicle,” according to the Pensacola News Journal. When deputies asked Raulerson to put his clothes on, he said he couldn’t as “they took off running by themselves without me.”

Sounds legit.

From HuffPo:

Deputies, suspicious that Raulerson possessed pants that could defy the laws of physics, asked him to sit in his car, according to the Palm Beach Post.

Raulerson then threatened an officer with a screwdriver, police said. When he tried to get out of his car again, the officer shocked him with a Taser stun gun, according to police.

Paulerson was charged with aggravated assault on an officer, a second-degree felony, according to WTSP.com. Jail records show he was held at the Escambia County Jail on a $500 bond.

It’s unclear whether his pants got away.

The post Weird News OTD: Naked Man at Car Wash Blames “Runaway Pants” appeared first on The WOW Report.

Throw another log on the bonfire of our civil rights.

LGBTQ Nation is reporting that an executive order from President Trump opening up discrimination against the LGBTQ community on the basis of religious belief is expected sometime this week, possibly as soon as this week.

From what we’ve heard, the executive order could be far-reaching, and could include: making taxpayer funds available for discrimination against LGBTQ people in social services; allow federally funded adoption agencies to discriminate against LGBTQ parents; eliminate non-discrimination protections in order to make it possible to fire federal employers and contractors based on their sexual orientation or gender identity; and allow federal employees to refuse to serve people based on the belief that marriage should be between a man and a woman, and that gender is an immutable characteristic set at birth, which would impact a broad range of federal benefits.

The order is expected to come in the packaging of so-called “religious freedom,” which argues that someone’s religious beliefs should be enough to prevent them from having to provide goods and services to members of the LGBTQ community if doing so would conflict with said beliefs.

When asked about the order today, sputtering nincompoop Press Secretary Sean Spicer refused to answer the question. Of course.

Read more about the coming “religious freedom” bill and its ramifications here.

On the bright side, looks like the coup that topples Trump could come sooner than we thought.

VIVA LA RESISTANCE!

The post Brace Yourselves: Trump Executive Order Allowing Anti-LGBTQ Discrimination Could Be Next appeared first on The WOW Report.

National Geographic, Katie Couric, and World of Wonder Production’s collaborated on a moving new project “Gender Revolution” that premieres on February 6th at 9PM E.T. Highlighting the triumphs, struggles, and journeys of intersex, trans, and gender non-conforming, this documentary will reveal and relate the human condition: that we all want equal rights.

Meet the Ford Family:

Meet the Ford Family — JR, Vanessa, Ronnie and Ellie. Both of their children were born boys, but at age 3, Ellie told her parents “I’m a girl in my heart and my brain.” Here are JR and Vanessa in their own words: ————————————- “Our definition of gender has changed and evolved as we’ve learned more on this journey. Raising our children has shown us that gender identity, expression and roles can have many intersections and understanding them all can be complex. I want a world where my children can pursue what makes them happy and have access to what they need to achieve this.  In our family, the conversation around gender (both for our transgender and our cisgender child) are very important. I hope that the future allows for all people to express themselves how they truly are, and live that way.”

To hear the Ford’s story, watch #GenderRevolution on @NatGeoChannelon Feb. 6 at 9/8c.

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