Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Jussie Smollett Makes Powerful Marriage Equality Speech at BET Awards

"No one is free until we are all free."

jussie smollett marriage equality speech
Cory Fernandez
Cory Fernandez Jun 29, 2015
Cory Fernandez
See Full Bio

Empire breakout star and openly gay actor Jussie Smollett delivered a succint yet powerful speech mid-performance about marriage equality at last night's BET Awards.

During his performance of "You're So Beautiful," Smollett took a minute to make a few commanding comments about the Supreme Court's recent ruling on same-sex marriage. Shedding light on how far our nation has come in regards to LGBT equality, Smollet reminded us that there is still progress to be made.

We live in a nation where freedom is what we represent, yet we are still fighting every day for the basic freedoms of all of our people. Let the Supreme Court ruling be proof of how far we have come. Let the deaths of our sisters and brothers be proof of how far we have to go. No one is free until we are all free.

Check out the performance below:

FROM OUR SPONSORS

The Latest

Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie on Heated Rivalry​
Sports

Heated Rivalry: Sexy hockey players fans should be following

These real-life NHL athletes are just as hot as the stars of Heated Rivalry.

Ashley Bowen and Chantel Everett, two Black women smile at the camera and dhow off an engagement ring.
Celebrities

90 Day Fiancé star Chantel Everett engaged to girlfriend, Ashley Bowen

Everett came out as queer on '90 Day: Hunt for Love' earlier this year.

Billy Porter posing on a red carpet
Celebrities

Billy Porter is set to make a 'full recovery' from sepsis

The actor stepped away from the public and a Broadway role earlier this year after his diagnosis in September.

Erika Jayne & Amanda Frances.
Television

Erika Jayne says Amanda Frances upsets everyone on 'RHOBH' season 15

The drama is heating up as a fresh face joins the tight group of women.

More For You

What Are The Stars Telling You?

Out297_horoscopes_cr

Halsey Wants to Star in a Gay Twilight Reboot

Halsey Wants to Star in a Gay 'Twilight' Reboot

How Did I Not Know Brandi Carlile Was in A Star Is Born?

How Did I Not Know Brandi Carlile Was in ‘A Star Is Born’?
Hello LGBT community, I need to call myself out. It's time for an accountability process, honey. Did we all know that acclaimed lesbian folk singer Brandi Carlile, who took home three Grammys last weekend, was in A Star Is Born? Excuse me? Keep Reading →

Gia Gunn Calls RuPaul's 'All Stars' Runway Looks 'Hideous'

Gia Gunn Calls RuPaul’s ‘All Stars’ Runway Looks ‘Hideous’
Gia Gunn is really keeping that "fuck Miss RuPaul" energy alive. The trans drag queen, who was eliminated not once but twice from the fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars, made it clear that she's still feeling some kind of way about her former TV mentor while savagely reading Ru's All Stars runway looks during an interview on Canadian entertainment show eTalk, which was shared to their Twitter account on Tuesday. Keep Reading →

Andy Cohen's Baby Just Got His First Magazine Cover

Andy Cohen’s Baby Just Got His First Magazine Cover
In case you hadn't heard, Andy Cohen is a new dad. And if you were expecting the Bravo head honcho to demand that we respect his new heir's privacy and shroud the infant in mystery -- girl, have you never watched a Real HousewivesRepisode? Keep Reading →

Chelsea Manning Says the US Has Gotten Worse Since WikiLeaks

Chelsea Manning Says the US Has Gotten Worse Since WikiLeaks
Chelsea Manning is the star and guest editor of Dazed's spring 2019 Infinite Identities issue, and in her cover story interview, Manning describes how her life has changed since her release from military incarceration in 2017 -- although she explains she's no longer interested in discussing what led to her imprisonment. "These parts of my life are over," she says. "This is definitely something I share with a lot of former prisoners; we don't like to bring up our time in prison and the things that got us in there. It's really hard." Keep Reading →

How This Male Cheerleader Went from Getting Bullied to the Super Bowl

How This Male Cheerleader Went from Getting Bullied to the Super Bowl
Earlier this month, Napoleon Jinnies made history as one of the Super Bowl's first male cheerleaders, alongside his Los Angeles Rams teammate Quinton Peron and New Orleans Saints' Jose Hernandez. Jinnies, a former Disney dancer, described his path to the Super Bowl in an interview with Refinery 29, saying it was "overwhelming announcing who you are to the entire world" after making the team. Keep Reading →

Torraine Futurum Finds the Beauty in Destruction on New Album

Brooklyn musician Torraine Futurum releases new album Miles from Heaven, which samples Janet Mock's Women's March speech.
courtesy of Torraine Futurum
Last year, Brooklyn musician and model Torraine Futurum told them. that whatever time she has to spend on this Earth, she wants to spend it doing "whatever the fuck I want." This week, that includes releasing her second album, Miles from Heaven, out now on all major streaming platforms and available to purchase on Bandcamp and iTunes. It also includes deciding that it's now her first album, explaining that "the last one doesn't count." Keep Reading →

Grammy Nominee SOPHIE Was Misgendered on the Red Carpet

Grammy Nominee SOPHIE Was Misgendered on the Red Carpet
Enigmatic pop artist SOPHIE's Grammy nomination was a huge moment not just for the artist herself but for transgender visibility in the music industry. SOPHIE's fans, many of whom are queer, were excited to see their queen walk the red carpet at music's biggest night. But they certainly weren't anticipating that a bumbling red carpet correspondent would misgender SOPHIE while interviewing her. Keep Reading →

Grammy Nominee Teddy Geiger Talks Trans Visibility on the Red Carpet

Grammy Nominee Teddy Geiger Talks Trans Visibility on the Red Carpet
Songwriter Teddy Geiger, who is nominated for her work on Shawn Mendes' smash hits "Stitches" and "In My Blood" at tonight's Grammys, got candid on the red carpet about the power of her visibility as a trans woman in the music industry. Keep Reading →

Ariana Grande Just Clapped Back at the Grammys

Ariana Grande Just Clapped Back at the Grammys
If you come for Ariana Grande, you'd best be ready for her to come right back, sis. After Grammys producer Ken Ehrlich spoke with the Associated Press about Grande pulling out of this Sunday's ceremony, Grande clapped back on Twitter, calling Ehrlich out for "lying about" her. Keep Reading →

Friends Lesbian Wedding Was 'Blocked Out' by Certain Affiliaties

‘Friends’ Lesbian Wedding Was ‘Blocked Out’ by Certain Affiliaties
Friends is straight culture, that's not something we're arguing, but it did feature a few queer characters -- however problematically they were portrayed. Remember Kathleen Turner as Chandler's trans dad? Or the time Ross assumed Rachel's male nanny was gay? Or the time Ross preempted Kevin Hart by yelling at his son for playing with a Barbie doll? Yikes, Friends would have been cancelled if it had aired those episodes today. Keep Reading →
@2025 PUBLISHING INC
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED