Lez Dish It Out: AfterEllen’s Les/Bi Roundup
Hello my lady loving ladies! I hope the first couple weeks of 2018 have been phenomenal. It’s been a crazy January so far in lesbian land. Demi Lovato played a game with Ellen, Black Lightning premiered, One Mississippi broke our hearts, and our favorite YouTubers won the year already. Lez get started!
Chrissy and Bria are Engaged!
Chrissy Chambers celebrated her legal win in a landmark UK revenge porn case this week by proposing to her girlfriend, Bria Kam! Back in 2013 when Chrissy and Bria’s YouTube channel was reaching a fever pitch in popularity, Chrissy discovered her ex-boyfriend had posted videos of the two of them having sex on multiple pornography websites. The videos were made without her awareness back in 2009, when she and her ex had just broken up and he convinced her to get drunk and spend one final night with him. She was only 18 years old at the time.
Two years later, once Chambers came out and broke the news to him that she had found someone new, a woman, he began uploading videos of the two of them (without his face in the shots of course) to RedTube. The videos had been circulating online for nearly two years before someone she knew was sent a link and told her about them. By that time the videos were on nearly 40 different sites.
Since Chambers’ ex is from the UK and uploaded the videos over seas, the legal battle went there. What followed was four years of a brutal, laborious climb through the British legal system. The revenge porn distributed of Chrissy Chambers not only damaged her emotionally and mentally, degrading her as a woman in ways most of us can’t even fathom, it almost destroyed her career with Bria Kam as a professional YouTube couple. People were slut-shaming her and their videos were called out as being insincere since the the revenge porn featured Chambers with a man.
According to the longform piece done on this story by “The Guardian”, The “revenge porn law’ that was passed back in England in 2015 is full of grey areas, because it comes down to the issues of the intent behind the distribution. The incident with Chambers predates that passing of that law, so she and her attorney Ann Oliverius had to pull the parts of the law that could support their case, but they couldn’t rely on it fully.
In 2015, Chambers uploaded her own video to her YouTube channel to spread awareness about her situation and revenge porn. You can watch it here:
Chambers and her ex reached a settlement last year, but they couldn’t reveal their victory until the settlement was approved in court. She got a tattoo to commemorate the occasion back then, and two days ago, to celebrate the official approval and settlement, Chambers celebrated by proposing to Kam. We couldn’t be happier for these two or prouder to be fans of their YouTube channel and their impenetrable relationship. Congratulations, Chrissy and Bria!
https://twitter.com/BriaandChrissy/status/953638363977994241 Amazon Has Cancelled One Mississippi Streaming services like Hulu, Amazon, Netflix, and most recently YouTube have been a welcome home for everything, from mainstream dramas to offbeat shows and some seriously stellar LGBT representation. However, Variety reported on Wednesday that Amazon has canceled some of its smaller, original series in favor of focusing more heavily on bigger shows that have the potential to perform better internationally.
Tig Notaro’s One Mississippi, along with two other shows, were green lit under Roy Price, the previous president of Amazon Studios who parted ways with the company after sexual assault accusations were brought forward.
I think I speak for everyone when I say this was a big, bad decision on the part of Amazon. Season 2 of One Mississippi was just released on Amazon back in September, and it was a thoughtful, refreshing commentary on a blend of family dynamic and the current political climate. This is why we can’t have nice things. Here are some tweets in response to the cancellation:
A million reasons it was dumb to cancel One Mississippi. But this is among them: After a sexual harassment scandal at Amazon, why cancel a series that received major acclaim for exploring that topic with deftness and nuance? Also it’s the rare TV show created by a queer woman. 🌋
— Mo Ryan (@moryan) January 18, 2018
https://twitter.com/MotionToStrike/status/953834002510688256
#OneMississippi was amazing, @TigNotaro is brilliant and this is a travesty https://t.co/H6s3bfSnTH
— Jessica Taylor (@JessicaTaylor) January 18, 2018
Still so mad ONE MISSISSIPPI was cancelled. It was the most prescient show about all of the #metoo moment, without being preachy. And it was so much more too! Humane, funny, specific, fresh characters. Grr.
— Emily Nussbaum (@emilynussbaum) January 18, 2018
And below is an excerpt from Tig’s statement she made on her personal Facebook page. The entire post can be found here.
(…) We expressed ourselves so honestly and unwaveringly in the face of very powerful figures in the middle of a very ugly, yet exciting time- a time of necessary conversations that must continue. Thank you- each and every single one of you who watched the show with your whole heart and soul there to take it all in- laughing, crying and even laugh-crying through it all. And I must say, the one positive for me personally is to now be free from any dark shadows that attached themselves to this beautiful show. It is time to move on and surround myself once again with positive, brilliant, kind people in the next chapter of life. I hope to see you there. Tig.I’m not crying, you’re crying. Dammit Amazon.
Demi Lovato Played “Who’d You Rather” with Ellen
Our favorite newly out bisexual is making her rounds on the circuit, and she popped in to see Ellen and play a little game of “Who’d You Rather?” I know what you’re wondering. How did Ellen choose to handle this now that Demi is being open with her sexuality? Flawlessly, that’s how. Ellen threw up a mix of hotties, both men and women, and Demi had to decide, well, who she’d rather. Watch it here:
Rihanna and Kristen Stewart both won pretty big in this round, with Rihanna ultimately coming out on top. Demi does take that time to ask K-Stew to call her though. Who know’s maybe Demi Lovato will have to be taken off of our “Most Eligible Celesbians” list after this. You do your thing, girl. Black Lightning is Here And it’s as gay as we’d hoped. The hotly anticipated new DC superhero series on The CW premiered this week, and we are all officially in love with Anissa Pierce. Rumor has it that her lesbian sexuality will be out, loud and proud, in the second episode of the series, which will air next week.
Actress Nafessa Williams tweeted some extra excitement over the role when her character’s look was revealed two weeks ago:
Ready for a Black Lesbian Superhero?! #GetReady #GetLit #BlackLightning ⚡️⚡️⚡️
— Nafessa Williams (@NafessaWilliams) January 2, 2018
She also had the following to say in an interview with TheGrio about how seriously she takes this new role and the representation of a lesbian woman of color on television:
(…)You discover something about yourself and you have to figure out how to bring it out into the open. The thing about Anissa is she is bold as hell and she lives her life unapologetically and she has been out as a lesbian since she was a teenager and her parents accepted it.Image via DC ComicsI think it’s really important for parents of teens to watch that and see how Anissa’s parents are open and accepting of her sexuality. Hopefully parents of LGBT youth can be inspired by that. Suicide is a huge problem for gay and lesbian teens and I’m so glad to shine a light on something that people need to see.
We are so ready, Nafessa.
The GLAAD Media Awards Nominees Are Out Did you see that pun I made right there?The full list of nominees for the 2018 GLAAD Media Awards, which honors inclusive representation of LGBTQ characters and depiction of their lives, has been announced. Check out the site for all of the information on the awards. I’ve listed some of the categories and their nominees below for you. Look for the bolded in the signature AE purple nominees for AE’s personal picks.
Outstanding Film – Wide Release
Battle of the Sexes
Call Me by Your Name
Lady Bird
Professor Marston and the Wonder Women
The Shape of Water
Outstanding Film – Limited Release
BP
A Fantastic Woman
God’s Own Country
Thelma
The Wound
Outstanding Comedy Series
The Bold Type
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Modern Family
One Day at a Time
One Mississippi
Superstore
Survivor’s Remorse
Transparent
Will & Grace
Outstanding Drama Series
Billions
Doubt
The Handmaid’s Tale
Nashville
Sense8
Shadowhunters
Star
Star Trek: Discovery
This Is Us
Wynonna Earp
Outstanding Individual Episode (in a series without a regular LGBTQ character)
“Chapter 8” Legion
“Grace” Pure Genius
“Lady Cha Cha” Easy
“The Missionaries” Room 104
“Thanksgiving” Master of None
Outstanding TV Movie or Limited Series
American Horror Story: Cult
Feud: Bette and Joan
Godless
Queers
When We Rise
Outstanding Kids & Family Programming
Andi Mack
“Chosen Family” Danger & Eggs
“The Emergency Plan” Doc McStuffins
Steven Universe
The Loud House
Outstanding Documentary
Chavela
Gender Revolution: A Journey with Katie Couric
Kiki
“Real Boy” Independent Lens
This is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous
Outstanding Reality Program
Gaycation with Ellen Page
I Am Jazz
RuPaul’s Drag Race
Survivor: Game Changers
The Voice
Outstanding Music Artist
Miley Cyrus, Younger Now
Halsey, Hopeless Fountain Kingdom
Honey Dijon, The Best of Both Worlds
Kehlani, SweetSexySavage
Kelela, Take Me Apart
Perfume Genius, No Shape
Sam Smith, The Thrill of It All
St. Vincent, MASSEDUCTION
Wrabel, We Could Be Beautiful
Kesha, Rainbow
Outstanding Comic Book
America, by Gabby Rivera, Joe Quinones, Ming Doyle, Stacey Lee, Ramon Villalobos
The Backstagers, by James Tynion IV, Rian Sygh, Walter Baiamonte, Jim Campbell
Batwoman, by Marguerite Bennett, James Tynion IV, Steve Epting, Jeromy N. Cox, Stephanie Hans, Renato Arlem, Adriano Honorato Lucas, Fernando Blanco, John Rauch, Deron Bennett
Black Panther: World of Wakanda, by Roxane Gay, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Yona Harvey, Rembert Browne, Alitha E. Martinez, Manny Mederos, Joe Bennett, Afua Richardson, Roberto Poggi, Tamra Bonvillain, Rachelle Rosenberg, Virtual Calligraphy, Joe Sabino
Deadman: Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love, by Sarah Vaughn, Lan Medina, Phillip Hester, José Villarrubia, Janice Chiang
Goldie Vance, by Hope Larson, Jackie Ball, Brittney Williams, Noah Hayes, Sarah Stern, Jim Campbell
Iceman, by Sina Grace, Alessandro Vitti, Ibraim Roberson, Edgar Salazar, Edgar E. Tadeo, Robert Gill, Rachelle Rosenberg, Joe Sabino
Lumberjanes, by Kat Leyh, Shannon Watters, Carolyn Nowak, Ayme Sotuyo, Maarta Laiho, Aubrey Aiese
Quantum Teens are Go, by Magdalene Visaggio, Eryk Donovan, Claudia Aguirre, Zakk Saam
The Woods, by James Tynion IV, Michael Dialynas, Ed Dukeshire
That’s all I have for you ladies this week! Stay strong, stay sexy, and, most importantly, stay gay, gals.