The Daily Queer
June 19, 2026
Heated Rivalry stars go for cheeky corporate sponsorship with YouTube videos. Washington Blade sees backlash to queer progress. And conversion therapy meets horror in Leviticus.
NEWS & CULTURE
Heated Rivalry Stars Score Cheeky Ads in a Tougher Environment for LGBTQ+ Visibility
As corporate Pride sponsorship retreats amid political pressure — with a Gravity Research survey finding 39% of executives planning to scale back this year — advertisers are leaning on what columnist Michael Wilke calls “gay vague” marketing: openly queer celebrities cast in spots that never acknowledge their queerness. The strategy lets brands signal inclusion with less risk, but Wilke warns it could become the new normal rather than a temporary retreat.
Watch: Verizon Presents: Look Behind You. A Film by Nia DaCosta featuring Connor Storrie.
Watch: Hudson Williams – Peloton AD
Global Acceptance of Gay and Lesbian People
A new Gallup analysis spanning two decades of polling across 140-plus countries finds that countries which have legalized same-sex marriage have seen acceptance climb by at least 30 percentage points across every age group since the laws passed. In 2025, a median of 40% of adults across 120 countries said their local area was a good place for gay and lesbian people to live — up substantially from most years between 2006 and 2019, though still short of the 45% peak recorded in 2020.
‘Level of Abuse We’ve Received for Being Gay Dads Is Pretty Disturbing’
Adam Frisby and Jamie Corbett, two dads who welcomed daughter Leven via surrogate in January, say they’ve received more than a thousand homophobic messages in 24 hours after a tragic child abuse case involving a same-sex couple was used online to smear all gay parents. “You would never have a heterosexual person do something like this and compare every heterosexual family to that same person,” Frisby said, calling the conflation “outright homophobia.”
America 250: After Years of Progress, 21st Century Brings Backlash, Roll Backs
As the nation marks its 250th anniversary, the Washington Blade traces the cyclical history of LGBTQ rights in America — and unveils its new commemorative magazine, “Queering America 250,” chronicling queer contributions to the country from Colonial times to the present. The piece argues that Trump’s return to power has exposed just how fragile the legal and cultural victories of the past three decades really are, even as LGBTQ history remains absent from most home, school, and religious education.
At DNC Meeting, Democrats Reaffirm Support for LGBTQ People
The Democratic National Committee passed new rules expanding the definition of gender in its delegate-selection and caucus-participation processes to explicitly include gender non-conforming Democrats, while also adopting a resolution condemning anti-LGBTQ discrimination carried out in the name of religious freedom. “Republicans at every level of government continue to push forward an anti-LGBTQ agenda completely out of step with the American people,” said DNC Chair Tom Perez.
LGBTQ Pride in a Time of Backlash: How You Can Help
Even as more Americans than ever identify as LGBTQ — 1 in 10 adults overall, and 1 in 5 Gen Z adults — the community is experiencing a measurable decline in social and political acceptance, write Raymond E. Crossman and Justin Ian Sia of the Chicago Community Trust LGBTQ Community Fund. The op-ed catalogs hundreds of anti-LGBTQ legislative efforts nationwide and the erosion of governmental and philanthropic support for the community’s most vulnerable members, closing with concrete suggestions for how allies can help.
How the Leviticus Director Made a Queer Horror-Romance That’ll Have You Screaming and Swooning
Writer-director Adrian Chiarella discusses turning the trauma of conversion therapy into a genuinely terrifying shape-shifting monster in his Sundance breakout debut, which follows two Australian teenage boys whose forbidden attraction unleashes a supernatural entity that takes the form of whoever they desire most. “I think it’s about homophobia in all shades,” Chiarella says, describing the film as exploring internalized, externalized, and institutionalized prejudice all at once.
From Dirty Dudes, Gay Boy Boogie and Big Balls: GayC/DC Keeps Outrageous Show on the Road
GayC/DC — “The World’s First and Only All-Gay Tribute” to AC/DC, founded in 2013 by drummer Brian Welch and Pansy Division bassist Chris Freeman — is still touring the country with gleefully filthy parody song titles and a mostly straight fan base. “We sort of were making a message just by existing,” Welch says, noting the band has watched LGBTQ rights erode over the past decade even as their crowds keep growing; upcoming June dates include Seattle, Portland, and Santa Cruz, with Australia on the horizon.
Hayley Kiyoko’s Girls Like Girls Finally Hits Theaters After a Decade-Long Fight
Kiyoko’s directorial debut — expanding her 2015 sapphic-anthem music video into a full coming-of-age feature starring Maya da Costa and Myra Molloy — opens nationwide today after a ten-year campaign to get it made. “Being a queer woman of color is not niche, it is mainstream,” Kiyoko told Variety, calling for more sapphic-led films to follow in its wake.
Colman Domingo to Receive Frameline50’s Variety Creative Conscience Award Tonight
The Emmy-winning actor and filmmaker will be honored tonight at the 50th San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival, followed by a conversation with Variety’s Jazz Tangcay. “I lived in San Francisco from 1991-2001 and went to Frameline every year to see films that told our stories,” Domingo said. “I think I found a part of myself as I was becoming a man in the Bay Area.”