Beyoncé and Jay-Z with their GLAAD Media Awards — Photo: Beyoncé / Instagram
Beyoncé has revealed that losing her ‘Uncle Johnny’ to HIV was one of the “most painful experiences” of her life.
The music icon gave an emotional speech alongside husband Jay-Z while the pair accepted the Vanguard Award during the 30th Annual GLAAD Media Awards on Thursday.
Beyoncé dedicated the award to “Uncle Johnny, the most fabulous gay man I’ve ever known who helped raise me and my sister.”
She continued: “‘Witnessing his battle with HIV was one of the most painful experiences I’ve ever lived. I’m hopeful that his struggles served to open pathways for other young people to live more freely.”
Noting that “LGBTQI rights are human rights,” the singer and actress then spoke about the support she’s received from her LGBTQ fans.
“Whether it’s our fans or our family, the LGBTQI community has always supported us and lifted us up. And we thank you for that,” she said. “We are here to promote love for every human being, and change starts with supporting the people closest to you. So let’s tell them they are loved, let’s remind them they are beautiful, and parents, let’s love our kids in their truest form.”
Beyoncé again reiterated her commitment to LGBTQ rights at the end of her speech, saying, “To choose who you love is your human right. How you identify and see yourself is your human right, who you make love to and take that ass to Red Lobster is your human right!”
During his speech, Jay-Z paid tribute to his mother, Gloria Carter, who is lesbian. He thanked Carter for teaching him strong values, saying, “I’m following in her footsteps of spreading love and acceptance.”
The weatherman said it would be hot Monday night, and he wasn’t lying. The torrid D.C. heat had the cowboys, gals, and dolls sweating out of their boots on night two of Beyoncé’s record-breaking Cowboy Carter Tour at Northwest Stadium, in Landover, Maryland.
Even the ever-cool Mrs. Carter must have been feeling the ninety-plus degrees. Bey and her dancers broke out boxer briefs and sports bras -- new custom crystal-beaded Calvin Klein, of course -- midway through her set and in plenty of time for a red-hot “Heated,” part of the show’s glorious return to Renaissance.
But Bey began, bless her, draped in a full feather cape by Elie Saab over a red, white, and blue spangled Saab bodysuit. Entering to the sound of a galloping horse and the crowd screaming her name, the head cowgirl in charge lit into “Ameriican Requiem,” a rock-and-soul call for the nation to live up to its ideals, off the singer’s Grammy-winning Cowboy Carter album.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a highly effective HIV prevention drug that outperforms oral medications in stopping HIV transmission.
Developed by Gilead Sciences, the drug lenacapavir -- marketed as Yeztugo -- requires just one injection every six months.
An injectable form of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), it works by blocking HIV from infecting immune cells and replicating inside the body.
Like other PrEP drugs, if enough of the medication is present when a person is exposed to HIV, it can prevent the virus from taking hold and causing a lifelong infection. Because lenacapavir is long-acting, it requires only two injections per year.
Police in Bogor, Indonesia, say they arrested 75 people for attending what they called a "gay party" at a villa in the Puncak area on June 22.
According to Amnesty International, 74 of those arrested were men and one was a woman.
Teguh Kumura, head of the Bogor Police's Criminal Investigation Unit, told the Jakarta Globe that a joint task force of Bogor and Megamendung police raided the villa after receiving public reports of “suspicious activity” at the gathering.
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