Beauty And The Beat Boots by Todrick Hall

Patti Lupone And Sting Headline 'Uprising Of Love' Benefit Concert For Global Equality, In NYC On September 15th

On September 15th, producers Stephen Schwartz and Bruce Cohen will partner with the United Nations Foundation for "Uprising of Love: A Benefit Concert for Global Equality." The concert, headlined by Broadway diva Patti Lupone and international superstar Sting, falls strategically around the UN General Assembly and Clinton Gobal Initiative and aims to raise awareness about the unfortunate state of affairs for many LGBTI-identified communities around the world. Proceeds from the event will go to Fueling the Frontlines, Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice's 3-year, $20 million global LGBTI rights campaign.

The concert's website has more information:

At this unique moment in history, when we are seeing such rapid progress in the fight for equality in the West, we cannot be blind to appalling crimes against humanity elsewhere. Today in Russia, Uganda, Nigeria, and elsewhere, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) people are facing harassment, abuse, and violence. In some countries, recent laws have deemed homosexuality punishable by death and the situation appears to be getting worse, not better. 

THE MISSION:

1. To raise awareness among the international community of violence, discrimination, and atrocities committed against LGBTI people.

2. To support LGBTI people and communities in areas where safety and dignity is compromised through funds and solidarity.

3. To support and collaborate with LGBTI and human rights organizations concerned with these issues.

The concert will be scripted by Academy Award-winner Dustin Lance Black (of Milk and Tom Daley fame) and directed by Schele Williams (Motown the Musical). Among the members of the benefit's host committee are Julianne Moore, Lance Bass, Calpernia Addams, Chris Colfer, and Melissa Etheridge.

To learn more and buy tickets, check out the website.

‘Kidnapped for Christ’ Review: Come Because You’re Gay, Stay For Jesus

Kidnapped for Christ is a heart-wrenching story, both anger-inducing and redemptive, about ordinary teens abducted from home and sent to the Caribbean for pricey religious fixes.

The summer before David’s senior year of high school, two strangers showed up at his Colorado home, and as his parents declared their love for him, the two men wrapped a belt around the 17-year-old’s waist and shoved him into the backseat of a car. They drove David to an airport, dragged him through security, down the terminal, and boarded a flight to Miami.

Once there, the honors student learned where he was being taken, that his parents had signed him up for an undetermined length of stay at Escuela Caribe, a Dominican Republic-based Christian behavioral modification school for “troubled” teenagers started in 1971 by Gordon Blossom, a former “juvenile delinquent” who became a pastor. The reason David’s parents sent their son to the Caribbean for pricey offshore come-to-Jesus treatment was that he’d recently told them that he was gay.

David’s experience at Escuela Caribe, along with the experiences of Beth and Tai, two other American teenagers abducted from their homes and taken to the DR for religious fixes, is the focus of Kidnapped for Christ, an award-winning documentary directed by Kate Logan and executive-produced by Tom DeSanto, Lance Bass, and Mike Manning, that premiered Thursday on Showtime (available On Demand until September 3, 2014). Funded by online campaigns atKickstarter and IndieGogo, Kidnapped for Christ made its film festival debut in January at Park City, Utah’s Slamdance Film Festival and took home the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Much of Kidnapped for Christ was filmed in 2006. At the time, Logan was a film student at the evangelical liberal arts school, Biola University, and a self-professing devout Christian. After hearing about the New Horizons Youth Ministries campus (Gordon Blossom’s NHYM operated in four locations, including a campus in Canada, two campuses in the Dominican Republic, and a U.S. campus in Marion, Indiana), Logan was granted a six-week, almost-all-access pass to interview students, talk to staff, and film many of the daily activities at Escuela Caribe.

Initially, unaware that the school was considered by many to be dangerous and abusive (alleged offenses range from mental, emotional, and spiritual manipulations to sexual and physical abuses), the up-and-coming director says she had no intentions of filming an exposé. But soon, upon meeting and interviewing David and some of the other students, and witnessing the harsh tactics used by the counselors to control teenagers and maintain a fear-driven environment—some tactics that Logan believed were abusive—her filmmaking intentions began to change. In the beginning, the staff at Escuela Caribe trusted Logan, openly answering her inquiries about the ministry’s practices and goals and allowing her to film most on-campus activities; however, a week or two into her stay, when Logan’s camera started showing up at inopportune times—for instance, once her camera appeared while a staff member disciplined a student—her access on campus was limited, her interviews with students monitored, and her personal housing moved to an off-campus facility.

Seen at Sundance: Serious Cause for Bass

Lance Bass is hoping his new documentary, "Kidnapped for Christ," will put the spotlight on unscrupulous boarding schools that abuse children in the name of rehabilitating them.

"Kidnapped for Christ" debuted at the Slamdance Film Festival, an alternative film festival running at the same time as the Sundance Film Festival, last week. The film explores a Christian school in the Dominican Republic where frustrated parents sent their children to shape up. The documentary shows abuse the kids suffer, and controversial behavior-modification methods, including attempting to convert gay children to straight.

"I get a lot of things across my desk that I don't attach myself to, but I saw the footage and was like 'Oh, my gosh,'" the former 'N Sync member said. "My jaw dropped. I can't believe that this even existed, and I knew I was called to do something."

Bass, the executive producer of the film, spoke about it at Sunday's Human Rights Campaign party; the HRC is dedicated to advancing the rights and causes of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people.

Bass said the reaction to the film at Slamdance has been overwhelming.

"People have walked out because they are so mad that they actually had to walk out the theater," he said.

Bass is pushing for Congress to regulate these schools and raise awareness of the issue. Besides the documentary, which does not yet have a distributor, there is also the website for the film, kidnappedforchrist.com.

"No one knows about it — and that's really scary to me. I didn't know about it. I've heard of these places, but I really didn't think too much about it," Bass said.

"The big thing is the awareness. We want people to know this is happening, and, yes, some of these schools are good and they do good for kids. But the majority of them are just abusing them, and all we want is regulation."

The First Thing My Mom Did When She Learned I Was Gay... and the 'Miracle' That Occurred After

Growing up as a gay kid in the south was not easy. The constant fear of people discovering who you really were and the inevitable shame that would fall upon you and your family dictated how you lived your life everyday. Luckily for me, I was fortunate enough to move to places where it wasn't a constant daily reminder that I was an abomination. For my family, however, they still live in ground zero of intolerance for the LGBT community and have the unique pressure of having a well known gay relative. When I came out, they came out. 

For years they have had to deal with the judgmental looks and constant condolences from friends and strangers as if I had died. "I'm so sorry, you are in our thoughts."

Now, my parents aren't very outspoken and shy away from any type of attention. For years they have quietly educated themselves about their son and the LGBT community like responsible adults. My mom read the Bible four times in a row and bought every book written about Christianity and the subject of homosexuality. When she saw things were not getting any easier at her church regarding this issue, she decided to go against her passive character and let her community know exactly how they were making her feel. 

In a very open and honest letter to the church, she suggested how true Christians should act towards the LGBT community. Her letter was so well received that another local church invited her to speak to their congregation, as it believed it was finally time to start a dialogue within the church. The following is the transcript from that speech. I am extremely proud of my family and especially my mother for the way she has handled herself in this confusing time in her life. To me, she represents a true Christian and what the majority of Christians believe today in the country.

Lance Bass Might Televise His Wedding

Lance Bass, who got engaged to boyfriend Michael Turchin this September, has opened up to ABC News about his plans for his upcoming nuptials. The former 'N Sync-er, SiriusXM radio host and newly minted director said he and Turchin plan to marry next fall. According to Bass, "I've always dreamt of having an outside wedding, or at least the reception outdoors, that's why [next] fall." Readers curious to know all about the wedding -- plans for the ceremony, the reception, the guest list, etc. -- may be pleased to know that the couple may share the experience with the entire world, broadcasting it on “a particular network":

"I love a party. It's going to be nice and big and over the top," he said. "The network offered us a big wedding special. Knowing myself in the 1980s growing up a gay kid in Mississippi, I would loved to have seen something on TV I could relate to and go, 'Oh, my gosh, I could do that!'"

As for the wedding itself, Bass said there's no tradition to follow and they plan on doing things "our own way."

"I don't know if we will even have groomsmen or bridesmaids," he added. "Since there's no wedding dress and half the excitement of a wedding is to see the wedding dress and what it looks like ... we're wanting all of our guests to come completely over the top, high fashion like you're heading to the MET Ball or the Royal Wedding."

As for the couple’s honeymoon (which will probably not be broadcast on television), Bass says, “There's lots of places we've wanted to go together, but have not found the time...One of those is Paris, one of my favorite places in the world. It would be nice to be able to experience that with Michael."