On July 23, artist Chappell Roan took to Instagram to announce a trio of pop-up shows in support of her new single, “The Subway.” In the same post, the sapphic singer revealed that a portion of ticket proceeds would benefit organizations serving the transgender community.
“[W]e are giving $1 per ticket to organizations dedicated to supporting and providing resources for trans youth in each city <3,” wrote Roan.
Roan’s charitable gesture sparked mixed reactions on social media — and not solely from the usual anti-trans voices on the far right.
Many fans — and even some casual listeners — were quick to praise the singer for the gesture.
“Wowwwie I’m not a fan but that’s actually neat. That’s gotta [be] thousands of dollars every night considering she’ll be doing huge venues,” cheered one Redditor.
However, some critics argued that Roan’s pledge was merely a drop in the bucket given her estimated $10 million net worth — especially as transgender youth face mounting attacks across the country.
“a whole dollar? wow, how generous of her,” mocked another.
Still, fans were quick to come to her defense.
“‘Celebrity donates $100,000 to charity’ everyone cheers and calls them amazing. ‘Celebrity donates $1 per ticket sold to their tour. Expected ticket sales 100,000′ and all of a sudden its an issue. Are you all stupid? Can you not do math? What have YOU donated to charity today?” one user lampooned.
As the Internet continued dissecting her latest charitable move (as the Internet tends to do), the conversation drifted back to rehashed criticisms of the “Pink Pony Club” performer.
“It still infuriates me how Chappell Roan had the audacity to attack Democrats on trans rights even while the sitting Democratic administration was in court fighting an anti-trans law her own f***ing uncle wrote,” decried one Twitter user.
The viral tweet references two separate — but arguably intertwined — controversies surrounding Roan. The first centers on her comments about Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party during the 2024 election.
Amid calls to endorse Harris in a highly contentious presidential race, Roan broke her silence in two TikTok posts. She clarified, “I’m voting for f**king Kamala,” but also lambasted “f*** some of the s*** that has gone down in the Democratic party that has failed people like me and you.”
The second half of the post refers to Darin Chappell, Roan’s uncle and a Republican state representative in Missouri. Roan stayed silent as he backed a slew of anti-transgender legislation, including the “Missouri Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act.”
“I have family that are very Republican, and they love me and I love them,” she previously told Rolling Stone.
Ultimately, Chappell Roan finds herself caught in the usual Gen Z social media crossfire — the kind that flares up fast and fades just as quickly.
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams was targeted by online trolls after posting photos of himself on social media with his fingernails painted blue.
The photos, posted to Williams' Instagram account, also show him at a formal event wearing a black suit and T-shirt, with what appears to be a white flower tucked in his hair.
Most of the comments on Instagram were positive -- with followers writing things like "GQ," a reference to the men's fashion magazine, "NAUGHHHHHHTY," or simply dropping two flame emojis.
The Trump administration has filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) -- the body that oversees high school sports in the state -- over policies allowing transgender athletes to compete on teams matching their gender identity.
In the lawsuit, the Department of Justice claims California education officials and the CIF discriminated against female student-athletes by allowing athletes assigned male at birth to compete against them -- depriving girls of equal educational and athletic opportunities in violation of Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in education. (Under President Joe Biden, the federal government interpreted the law to also protect students from discrimination based on gender identity, not just biological sex.)
WorldPride participants share why Pride still matters, what issues drive them, and why visibility remains vital in today’s political climate.
By André Hereford, Ryan Leeds, and John Riley
June 21, 2025
WorldPride DC on Sunday, June 8, 2025 - Photo: Randy Shulman / Metro Weekly
Interviewed on Saturday and Sunday, June 7 and 8, 2025, at the WorldPride Street Festival, Parade, and March for Freedom.
Nic Ashe
Los Angeles, Ca.
Queer, He/Him
Why did you come to WorldPride?
I've been following WorldPride through the lens of Black queerness, namely with a focus on Christianity and religion. Early in my life, when I think about the first times that I was learning that queer may be a pejorative or that being gay was "not good," it was through my church upbringing. So I was very curious to find if there were examples in 2025 of those two oxymoronic opposing forces existing in harmony.
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