Arts & Entertainment
Ellen DeGeneres receives Presidential Medal of Freedom
(President Barack Obama presented Ellen DeGeneres with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Screenshot via ABC News.)
Comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in a ceremony at the White House on Tuesday.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the nation’s highest civilian honor and awarded to 21 of the U.S.’s top activists, artists and athletes. In a press release Obama says these honorees, “helped push America forward, inspiring millions of people around the world along the way.”
Obama noted how courageous it was for DeGeneres to come out 20 years ago and reminded everyone that the comedian did face backlash for her decision resulting in the cancellation of her sitcom “Ellen.”
“And she did pay a price. We don’t remember this, I hadn’t remembered it. She did, for a pretty long stretch of time even in Hollywood,” Obama says.
“And yet today, every day in every way Ellen counters what too often divides us with the countless things that bind us together and inspires us to be better, one joke, one dance at a time,” Obama continued.
Obama speaks about Ellen DeGeneres at Medals of Freedom ceremony: “Ellen counters what too often divides us.” https://t.co/IrDGoTiWkt
— NBC News (@NBCNews) November 22, 2016
Before DeGeneres was presented with the medal the announcer said of the comedian,”Again and again, Ellen DeGeneres has shown us that a single individual can make the world a more fun, more open, more loving place, so long as we just keep swimming.”
DeGeneres visibly teared up as Obama places the medal around her neck.
While the day culminated in happy tears, DeGeneres almost wasn’t present to receive the medal. Earlier in the day, DeGeneres tweeted from Lafayette Square, “They haven’t let me into the White House yet because I forgot my ID. Not joking.”
They haven’t let me in to the White House yet because I forgot my ID. #NotJoking#PresidentialMedalOfFreedom pic.twitter.com/sHocwqChKV
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) November 22, 2016
Eventually, she was able to enter the White House tweeting a video of a mannequin challenge, which included fellow honoree Diana Ross, captioned “I’m in.”
I’m in. pic.twitter.com/oU344pnYsH
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) November 22, 2016
Other honorees include Bruce Springsteen,Tom Hanks, Robert De Niro, Robert Redford, Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, among others.
Watch DeGeneres accept the honor below.
Celebrity News
Madonna announces release date for new album
‘Confessions II’ marks return to the dance floor
Pop icon Madonna on Wednesday announced that her 15th studio album will be released on July 3.
Titled “Confessions II,” the new album is a sequel to 2005’s “Confessions on a Dance Floor,” an Abba and disco-infused hit.
The new album reunites Madonna with producer Stuart Price, who also helmed the original “Confessions” album. It’s her first album of new material since 2019’s “Madame X.”
“We must dance, celebrate, and pray with our bodies,” Madonna said in a press release. “These are things that we’ve been doing for thousands of years — they really are spiritual practices. After all, the dance floor is a ritualistic space. It’s a place where you connect — with your wounds, with your fragility. To rave is an art. It’s about pushing your limits and connecting to a community of like-minded people,” continued the statement. “Sound, light, and vibration reshape our perceptions. Pulling us into a trance-like state. The repetition of the bass, we don’t just hear it but we feel it. Altering our consciousness and dissolving ego and time.”
Denali (@denalifoxx) of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” performed at Pitchers DC on April 9 for the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show. Other performers included Cake Pop!, Brooke N Hymen, Stacy Monique-Max and Silver Ware Sidora.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
In an act of artistic defiance, Baltimore Center Stage stays focused on DEI
‘Maybe it’s a triple-down’
By LESLIE GRAY STREETER | I’m always tickled when people complain about artists “going political.” The inherent nature of art, of creation and free expression, is political. This becomes obvious when entire governments try to threaten it out of existence, like in 2025, when the brand-new presidential administration demanded organizations halt so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming or risk federal funding.
Baltimore Center Stage’s response? A resounding and hearty “Nah.” A year later, they’re still doubling down on diversity.
“Maybe it’s a triple-down,” said Ken-Matt Martin, the theater’s producing director, chuckling.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
Gay D.C. police lieutenant arrested on child porn charges
Demonstrators disrupt OMB director hearing over PEPFAR
HIV/AIDS group NMAC is ‘destabilized’ and in financial crisis: sources
Madonna announces release date for new album
Senegalese court issues first conviction under new anti-LGBTQ law
An effort to increase the number of psychiatrists of color
Comings & Goings
Trump budget targets ‘gender extremism’
Minimal version of ‘Streetcar Named Desire’ heading to Dupont Underground
