Welcome to the Watering Hole

From Gigi Hadid’s hairspray scandal (Vogue, read the room!) to RuPaul casually launching Drag Race season #573, queer culture is doing the absolute most. Meanwhile, iconic safe spaces vanish overnight (RIP, This Is It!) and queer families literally flee America because Trump can’t mind his business. Rosie O’Donnell dipped to Ireland (smart queen), Dylan Mulvaney got painfully real, and Ian McKellen reminded us all that closets are strictly for coats.

• Greta Gerwig directing Narnia and Charli XCX being involved in the soundtrack? This is the kind of chaotic, culture-shifting crossover event that could alter the fabric of reality. Imagine stepping through the wardrobe only to hear Vroom Vroom blasting in the background while Mr. Tumnus serves high-fashion camp. C.S. Lewis could never have predicted the level of slay we’re about to witness.

• Ru’s empire isn’t slowing down anytime soon—Drag Race Season 18 is on the way, UK Season 7 is wrapped, and UK vs. The World 3 is in the vault. The dolls are booked, blessed, and ready to battle. If the last UK vs. The World taught us anything, it’s that the eliminations will be messy, the alliances shaky, and the Twitter meltdowns inevitable.

• Trixie Mattel’s gay bar This Is It! just got the chop after 50+ years, thanks to money woes and a construction nightmare. Another queer safe space bites the dust, and honestly? It hurts. Gutted for the community, but legend status is forever.

• Karla Sofía Gascón’s apology is here, and it’s giving damage control realness. After backlash over past comments, she’s trying to clear the air, but the internet never forgets. Accountability or just PR cleanup? You decide.

• Ayo Edebiri joked about Elon Musk years ago, and now his fanboys are acting like she personally sank the Titanic. Death threats? Over a Pirates of the Caribbean reference? The internet remains unserious.

• Rosie O’Donnell said girl, bye to America and moved to Ireland, and honestly? We all should’ve gone with her. With Trump lurking again, we can’t blame her for wanting some peaceful countryside over whatever chaos 2024 has in store.

• A lesbian reality dating show called You Hauled? Finally, TV is catching up to the U-Haul stereotype. Expect messy ex drama and at least one pair of queers adopting a cat by episode three. I’m honestly hoping for the 2025 version of gay MTV’s Next.

• Legendary thespian Ian McKellen has one message for queer actors still in the closet: come out—life’s better on the other side. Reflecting on his own 1988 coming-out moment, he said being openly gay only improved his career (and let’s be real, Gandalf’s career is iconic). Hollywood, maybe take notes and stop acting like being queer is a liability in 2025.

• Keith Self tried it with some tired transphobia, and Sarah McBride clocked him on sight. Imagine losing an argument and basic human decency in one go. Embarrassing.

• A trans family is literally fleeing the U.S. for safety because Trump and his cult won’t let queer people exist in peace. If that’s not dystopian, I don’t know what is.

• Nicola Sturgeon is officially out as an MSP, and the UK’s trans rights fight just lost a major ally. The timing? Sus. The future? Even messier.

• Gay rep on TV? Love it. Gay incest on TV? Girl, what are we doing?? Writers are out here acting like queers don’t have enough problems already. We asked for more sapphic yearning and messy ex drama, not House of the Dragon but make it homo. Pack it up! White Lotus and Monsters… I’m looking at you!

• Turns out, doomscrolling in bed alone isn’t the community-building experience we thought it was—who knew? After years of queer bars shutting down, gentrifiers raising the rent, and the pandemic forcing us all to become main characters in our own sad indie films, the LGBTQ+ bar scene is finally making a comeback. And not just any comeback—a full-on resurrection.

• Illinois said not on our watch and hired a DEI clerk despite Trump’s attempts to erase progress. Imagine fighting this hard just to make the world a little less terrible—exhausting, but necessary. Stay mad, conservatives.

• Rising lesbian supreme Gabby Windey dragged Elon Musk on her podcast, and his fanboys are spiraling. Imagine caping this hard for a billionaire who wouldn’t even Venmo you $5. She gagged them effortlessly.

• Reality TV producers: it’s time for a reality check—literally. A gaggle of LGBTQ+ celebs, including Alan Cumming, Elliot Page, and Peppermint, just dropped an open letter critizing the industry for its lazy, one-token-queer-per-show approach. The message? Do better. Queer people aren’t sidekicks, sob stories, or the quirky best friend—we contain multitudes, and reality TV needs to catch up. Also, let’s retire the tired gendered categories while we’re at it — it’s 2025.

• While the UK’s Cass Review is out here trying to gaslight people about gender-affirming care, actual medical experts across Europe came through with the receipts. A new report fully supports gender-affirming treatment and clocks the Cass Review as misleading garbage. Turns out, trans people deserve healthcare—shocking, right?

• Sir Ian McKellen basically said, “Closets are for coats,” and he’s right. Queer actors shouldn’t have to play 4D chess with their careers just to exist. Hollywood, let’s not make being yourself a career risk in 2025.

• Pedro Pascal and Oscar Isaac shared a hug, and the internet is acting like they just announced their engagement. We get it, they’re hot, but let’s all take a deep breath and maybe touch some grass.

• Ryan Guzman is out here pointing fingers at Oliver Stark for the Eddie x Buck gay showmance, as if 9-1-1 didn’t milk that chemistry for all it’s worth. Just say you don’t wanna address the fandom and go.

• Jordan Firstman went full chaos for his debut album cover, and people have thoughts. Love it or hate it, at least he’s keeping things unhinged, which is exactly what we expect from him.

• Our Hottie of the Week is Dylan Mulvaney! She spilled major tea in her new memoir, Paper Doll, revealing how the horrific backlash from her Bud Light collab hit her mental health super hard—like, existential-crisis-level hard. From being dragged daily on conservative platforms to literally needing a bodyguard because haters were that unhinged, Dylan got super candid about her darkest moments, feeling abandoned by capitalism, targeted by trolls, and crushed by the immense pressure of representing an entire community — with no playbook. Honestly, shoutout to Dylan for getting vulnerable about something so heavy—it’s a real reminder that behind every meme, there’s a human being just trying to exist. Read more here.

• Okay, Vogue, let’s chat. Your latest “Hairspray” cover featuring Gigi Hadid and a cast that seems to have been plucked straight from the ‘no carbs ever’ club —it’s giving major disconnect vibes. The original “Hairspray” was all about celebrating diversity and challenging beauty norms, but this? This feels like a step back into the glossy pages of exclusion. In 2025, we should be amplifying all bodies, all stories, not just recycling the same old thin narratives. Do better, Vogue.

• CYKLAR’s Sacred Santal Vitamin C Body Oil is giving luxe skincare realness with that bougie, warm scent (bergamot, vanilla, amber—yes, please!). This stuff sinks into your skin faster than your ex slid into your DMs after Pride. No greasy drama here, just silky, glowy hydration and major brightening vibes from Vitamin C and squalane. Perfect post-shower moment.

• Biodance’s Collagen Cream for Pore Minimizing & Firming Care is the skincare equivalent of a glow-up. This lightweight moisturizer absorbs quickly, leaving your skin feeling smooth and hydrated without any greasy residue. Users have reported that it makes their skin feel smoother and firmer, providing a noticeable improvement in texture.  It’s like a filter for your face, but IRL.

Okay, bye.

That’s all for this week’s dive into the chaotic, campy, and culture-shifting world of queer news. Whether it’s Hollywood still fumbling LGBTQ+ representation, queer bars making a long-overdue comeback, or Dylan Mulvaney spilling the kind of tea that actually matters, one thing’s for sure: the girls, gays, and theys stay busy. Until next time, keep making noise, keep taking up space, and if all else fails—at least we’ll always have Drag Race.