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- History’s 10 Gayest Yearners, According to Us

HISTORY | FEB 11, 2026, 3:31 PM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

History’s 10 Gayest Yearners, According to Us

From sword-fighting bisexuals to yearning writers who drafted 20 years-worth of love letters, we rounded up the most longing LGBTQ+ people.

There is nothing more biblically queer than to yearn with your entire heart.

We’re not talking about the yearning you might do over an unattainable celebrity crush or a long-distance partner you ride the Amtrak to see every other week. Not even fujoshing out over Heated Rivalry counts as true yearning in my book. No, dear readers, we’re talking about the kind of yearning they make sapphic period dramas about, the kind of yearning that’s still burning in your chest after decades; the kind of yearning queer people have had to do for centuries while having to keep their love hidden for safety.

As growing anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment and the global shift towards conservatism makes everything feel more dire, we here at Them find it important to also reflect on how queer love has survived time and time again, against all odds. Also, we just think that pining away after someone is really hot. That’s why we’ve gathered a list of history's most yearning queers; the star-crossed lovers who defied the odds for their paramours even when society at large didn’t support their connection. We hope the following list brings you softness amid it all, and most importantly shows that there is beauty in the bittersweet.

Julie d’Aubigny (1673-1707)

In 1600s France, This Sword-Fighting Opera Singer Burnt Down a Convent to Rescue Her Gay Lover

Chappell Roan burnt a castle down in her VMA performance. Was it a reference Julie d’Aubigny?

There’s something oh so poetic about a sapphic swordstress, cross-dressing as a knight, who sings opera and yearns for her beloved girlfriend — so much so that she burnt down an entire convent to free her. Julie d’Aubigny, the bisexual hottie from 1600s France, landed on everyone’s radar after fans speculated that Chappell Roan had referenced her during her 2024 VMAs performance of “Good Luck, Babe,” a track fittingly dedicated to yearning. If directors need to find their next sapphic period piece subject, look no further.

Chavela Vargas (1919-2012)

Costa Rican-born Mexican vocalist Chavela Vargas (born Isabel Vargas Lizano, 1919 - 2012) performs at Carnegie Hall, New York, New York, September 15, 2003. (Photo by Jack Vartoogian/Getty Images)Jack Vartoogian/Getty Images

An icon to yearning queer Latines everywhere, history literally wouldn’t be the same without singer Chavela Vargas. After the Costa Rica-born musician moved to Mexico at the age of 17, the country’s musical landscape was changed forever. She drank, smoked, cross-dressed, and carried a pistol on her hip, all while singing famous rancheras dedicated to women. Most importantly, she loved the women in her life. Her most famous relationship was with none other than Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. The pair exchanged torrid letters in the 1940s — all while Kahlo was married to painter Diego Rivera — but their relationship was short-lived. Some say that Vargas’ haunting rendition of “La Llorona” is dedicated to Kahlo, a song you can feel the yearning in.

Virginia Woolf (1882-1941)

Virginia Woolf - portrait of the English novelist and essayist. 25 January 1882 - 28 March 1941. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)Culture Club/Getty Images

Nothing screams yearning more than lesbian love letters from a literary titan. For over 20 years, famous English writer Virginia Woolf exchanged longing missives with Vita Sackville-West. The pen pal relationship has since been remembered as one of Woolf’s closest romantic connections. Beyond her deep ties with Sackville-West, Woolf had various Victorian high society trysts with women like Mary Hutchinson and at least flirtations with others such as Sibyl Colefax and Lady Ottoline Violet Anne Morrell, and . Next time you’re perusing the classic literature section of your independent bookstore, check out Love Letters: Vita and Virginia: Love Letters, (with a foreword by Alison Bechdel of Dykes to Watch Out For fame!) if you’re in the mood to have your heart burst.

Josephine Baker (1906-1975)

FRANCE - CIRCA 1926: Josephine Baker (1906-1975), American artist of music-hall. (Photo by Gaston Paris/Roger Viollet via Getty Images)Gaston Paris/Getty Images

Iconic dancer, singer, famed bisexual, and international spy Josephine Baker in many ways defined the jazz age, our modern conception of the “Roaring Twenties," and what it meant to be an international American star. Born in 1906 in St. Louis, Missouri, Baker quickly rose to fame in New York City, appearing in Broadway shows such as Shuffle Along. She rose to international stardom after performing in a revue of Black performers called La Revue Nègre, which toured across Europe and earned her a huge fanbase in Paris, where she would eventually make a home. But the intensity of her life never stopped her from yearning queerly. The jazz singer had several love affairs with prominent sapphic artists, like blues singer Clara Smith and even a rumored affair with Frida Kahlo. In addition to being a romantic, Baker yearned for a better tomorrow for Black Americans, advocating for Civil Rights throughout her life.

Gladys Bentley (1907-1960)

NEW YORK - CIRCA 1930: Blues singer and pianist Gladys Bentley poses for a portrait backstage at the Ubangi Club in Harlem circa 1930 in New York City, New York. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Blues singer Gladys Bentley didn’t just sing about yearning; she lived it. The Philadelphia-born artist made a name for herself during the 1920s Harlem Renaissance, where she rose to prominence by performing alongside drag queens at venues such as gay speakeasy Harry Hansberry’s Clam House. Out as a lesbian early in her career, Bentley often sported suits during her performances and sang unapologetically about loving women. There's nothing like yearning sapphically through singing the blues.

James Baldwin (1924-1987)

American Writer James Baldwin, 27th April 1972 (Photo by Sophie Bassouls/Sygma via Getty Images)Sophie Bassouls/Getty Images

Poet, essayist, writer, and cultural critic James Baldwin basically wrote the book on yearning. In fact, he wrote several. Love was a central theme the New York City-born writer explored in his extensive work, as well as belonging, home, and, yes, yearning. Baldwin’s work simultaneously unpacked the realities of being Black in America while complicating and criticizing existing representation such as Richard Wright’s Native Son, yearning for literature that was more accurate to people’s lived experiences; a more holistic portrait of Black humanity. There may be no more definitive queer statement on yearning than this quote from Baldwin’s Nothing Personal: “The longer I live, the more deeply I learn that love — whether we call it friendship or family or romance — is the work of mirroring and magnifying each other’s light.”

Labi Siffre (1945-)

Labi Siffre, britischer Dichter, Sänger, Liedermacher und Bürgerrechtler, Deutschland um 1979United Archives

Nothing says yearning like an anthem to love. English singer and songwriter Labi Siffre reinvented queer yearning when he wrote “It Must Be Love” in 1971, a soul-pop modern classic that topped the U.K. charts after its release. Born in London in 1945, Siffre worked as a taxi driver after finishing school to fund his musical beginnings. The openly gay musician was far ahead of his time, Siffre wrote hits like “Bless The Telephone” and “Love Song For Someone,” using non-gendered lyrics to make sure the yearning they embodied was accessible to every one, and every kind of love.

Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

Portrait of American poet Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892), late 19th century. (Photo by Stock Montage/Getty Images)Stock Montage/Getty Images

Oh, to look at a pond in New England and gaze into its translucent façade. American essayist, writer, and yearner Walt Whitman didn’t just love nature; he loved to yearn and to ponder gay love. While they don’t necessarily teach this portion of his vast body of work in high schools across America, his “Calamus” poems in particular focus on the beauty of gay love and desire.

Tracy Chapman (1964-)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 04: Tracy Chapman performs onstage during the 66th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 04, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

She’s a hero to lesbians everywhere as far as I’m concerned. While Chapman has never publicly come out, The Color Purple author Alice Walker has spoken about the pair’s past romantic relationship, making the singer an icon in sapphic circles. Chapman’s “Fast Car” isn’t just a bop; it’s a revelatory and intimate account of being broke, perhaps in love, and working so hard to get out of a bad situation and to the life you dream of. What’s more yearning-core than working at a convenience store to save up for an apartment or car to move out of your hometown with your boo?

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

Lover of Men

This might be a shock to some but this is well-established lore among queer folks: Abraham Lincoln wasn’t exactly giving straight. While words like “queer” and “gay” weren’t commonly used to describe same-sex attraction in the 1800s — especially not as labels the President of the U.S. would use — Lincoln yearned for men; trust us. At the very least, he wrote some especially romantic-sounding words to his rumored lover Joshua Speed, so much so that when Speed left for Kentucky following his father’s death, Lincoln was inconsolable for months. Any type of love capable of taking down the President qualifies as top-tier yearning.

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This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/historys-gayest-yearners-lgbtq-history on Feb 11, 2026 at 6:32 PM EST.

News

- NBC Apologizes Over Misgendering Trans Olympian Elis Lundholm

- Trump Administration Removes Pride Flag From Stonewall National Monument

- Gus Kenworthy Reports Receiving Violent Threats After Pissing Off ICE Supporters

- New Hampshire’s Republican Governor Vetoes Anti-Trans Bathroom Bill Yet Again

- Bisexual Olympian Breezy Johnson Broke Her Gold Medal 15 Minutes After Getting It

- Olympian Amber Glenn Says She Got “Scary” Threats for Supporting LGBTQ+ Rights

- Meet Sweden’s Elis Lundholm, the First Trans Skier in the Winter Olympics

- Emails Reveal Epstein Encouraged Controversial Scientist to Study “Transgender Biology”

- Imane Khelif Says She’d Take Sex Test to Qualify for 2028 Olympics: “Nothing to Hide”

- New Study Once Again Shows Trans Women Have No Physical Advantage Over Cis Athletes

- Grindr Is Testing a Premium AI Tier With a $500 Monthly Price Tag

- GOP Senator Accuses Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos of Promoting “Transgender Ideology”in Kids’ Shows

NEWS | FEB 11, 2026, 2:41 PM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

NBC Apologizes Over Misgendering Trans Olympian Elis Lundholm

“NBC Sports takes this matter seriously,” a representative for the network said in a statement.

Patrick Smith/Getty Images

NBCUniversal has issued an apology after Olympic commentators repeatedly misgendered transgender skier Elis Lundholm during a livestream this week.

Lundholm, a trans man and the first trans skier to compete in the Winter Olympics, competed in the women’s moguls first qualifying round on February 10. International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) rules currently require trans athletes to participate in events corresponding to their “registered sex” with the governing body, as Newsweek noted.

During a live stream of the qualifiers on NBC’s platform Peacock, one of the two commentators — whose name was not stated during the broadcast — repeatedly referred to Lundholm as “she” during his first run, Outsports first reported on Tuesday. The other member of the team, identified as professional skier Sam Smoothy, used “they” rather than “he” in reference to Lundholm throughout the run. Lundholm uses he/him pronouns, rather than “they,” in English. (The announcer at the moguls event itself gendered Lundholm correctly, per Attitude.)

“She’s going to hop up and go around to make sure she does not DNF [Did Not Finish] as she continues down the line here,” the unidentified member of the commentary team said of Lundholm, after the Swedish skier skidded out near a gate early in his run.

An NBCUniversal representative apologized for streaming the misgendering comments in a statement to Outsports on Tuesday.

“NBC Sports takes this matter seriously,” the representative said. “Today we streamed an international feed with non-NBCUniversal commentators who misgendered Olympian Elis Lundholm. We apologize to Elis and our viewers, and we have removed the replay of that feed.” (The feed was still available to view directly through NBC’s website on Wednesday, but has been removed from the network’s Olympic replay lineup.)

NBC’s 2026 Olympic commentary team for women’s moguls includes former Olympians Trace Worthington and Hannah Kearney, neither of whom appear to have been involved in the commentary streamed on Peacock. The stream may have been produced by Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), which handles international broadcasting on behalf of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). During the 2021 Olympics, NBC issued a similar apology after commentators repeatedly misgendered nonbinary skater Alana Smith during an OBS-produced commentary stream. Them emailed NBC Sports for further clarification, but did not immediately receive a reply.

This year’s Winter Olympics take place in the midst of international conflict over rules for trans athletes in elite competition. IOC president Kirsty Coventry, who took charge of the organization last year, has signaled that she will move to ban trans women from women’s competitions across the board, and will likely re-adopt “sex testing” for future Olympic events nearly three decades after the practice was phased out.

Lundholm finished 25th in the qualifiers and did not advance to the moguls’ final round. “I’m happy to put down a run today. It wasn’t the best run,” he told reporters in Milan, per the Associated Press. “There are some things to fix, but I’m happy.” Regarding eligibility rules, Lundholm said only that he wants “everyone to be able to compete fairly against each other.”

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This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/nbc-apologizes-misgendering-elis-lundholm-trans-olympian on Feb 11, 2026 at 6:32 PM EST.

NEWS | FEB 10, 2026, 11:52 AM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

Trump Administration Removes Pride Flag From Stonewall National Monument

The enduring symbol of LGBTQ+ liberation has been taken down from the historic site.

Epics/Getty Images

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The Trump Administration has removed a large Pride flag from the Stonewall Monument in New York City, seen as the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement.

Just weeks after announcing new federal standards on how National Parks can display “non-agency flags” — which state that “only the U.S. flag and other congressionally or departmentally authorized flags” can be flown on National Parks flag poles — the large Pride flag was taken down on Tuesday, February 10.

Manhattan borough president Brad Hoylman-Sigal told the New York Times that the directive to remove the Pride flag came from the Trump administration. The monument itself was designated in 2016 to honor the origin of Pride in the United States, and was also the first U.S. national monument dedicated to LGTBTQ+ rights.

But like the 1969 rebellion that cemented Stonewall into history books, queer and trans people are not taking it without a fight. While the park and monument across from the original Stonewall Inn is now a federal park, the business itself is private property.

“Bad news for the Trump Administration: these colors don’t run,” Human Rights Campaign Press Secretary Brandon Wolf said in a statement. “The Stonewall Inn & Visitor’s Center is still privately owned, their flags are still flying high, and that community is just as queer as it was yesterday. While their policy agenda throws the country into chaos, the Trump administration is obsessed with trying to suffocate the joy and pride that Americans have for their communities.”

This marks the latest escalation in the Trump administration’s censorious actions against the historic Stonewall Inn. Last February, the National Park Service (NPS) removed the word “transgender” from its website about the Stonewall National Monument, in addition to replacing the acronym “LGBTQ+” with “LGB.”

In a statement given to Them at the time, representatives for The Stonewall Inn and the Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative said, “This decision to erase the word ‘transgender’ is a deliberate attempt to erase our history and marginalize the very people who paved the way for many victories we have achieved as a community,” calling it “a direct attack on transgender people, especially transgender women of color, who continue to face violence, discrimination, and erasure at every turn.”

In July 2025, the NPS additionally removed mentions of bisexuality from the Stonewall National Monument website, in favor of the term “gay or lesbian person” and the euphemism “the Stonewall community.” Additionally, last June, activist Steven Love Menendez, who has been installing hundreds of Pride flags, including trans flags, to encircle Christopher Park (which is adjacent to the Stonewall Inn and is part of the monument) for years, was instructed to only use rainbow flags. The NPS, which had been helping Menendez cover the cost of the flags since 2023, said that it would not cover the cost of any flags other than rainbow Pride flags.

“For over a year, they’ve been on a witch hunt, targeting rainbow crosswalks, pride flags, Black Lives Matter murals, and throwing a tantrum about a Super Bowl performance they couldn’t control,” Wolf continued. “But they will fail. We will keep showing up at Stonewall, for each other, and being out and proud. There’s nothing the White House can do about that.”

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This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/trump-administration-removes-stonewall-national-monument-pride-flag on Feb 11, 2026 at 6:32 PM EST.

POLITICS | FEB 10, 2026, 11:14 AM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

Gus Kenworthy Reports Receiving Violent Threats After Pissing Off ICE Supporters

Kenworthy says that his viral message has led to a slew of slurs and death threats.

Roy Rochlin/Getty Images

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Gus Kenworthy has spoken out about the hate he received after posting an anti-ICE message that appeared to have been written in urine in the snow.

The Olympic skier, who is openly gay, posted a photo to Instagram last week consisting of the words “f**k ice” written in yellow liquid in the snow, framed by a pair of skis. In the caption, Kenworthy also included a script for calling one’s Senator to ask them to refuse to support additional funding for ICE.

Instagram content

On Monday, the athlete posted a video to Instagram, in which he both detailed some of the backlash he received and doubled down on his opposition to ICE. Kenworthy said that while most of the messages he’s received have been “supportive and encouraging,” he has also received messages of “people telling me to kill myself, threatening me, wishing that they’ll get to see me blow my knee or break my neck during my event, calling me slurs.” (Comments on Kenworthy’s original post are now limited.) Even so, the athlete said he was inspired by other athletes who have similarly used their platforms to express opposition to the U.S.’s actions, including fellow skiers Hunter Hess and Mikaela Shifrin.

Instagram content

“I just want to remind everyone that you can love the U.S. and be proud to be an American — I am — and still think it can be better, and still think that the country can improve,” Kenworthy said in his video, adding that loving the U.S. doesn’t mean standing with the Trump administration. He went on to reinforce that he does not support ICE, and that “it’s absolutely evil and awful and terrifying,”

ICE has been facing increasing national blowback as the Trump Administration continues to ramp up its operations, with nearly $200 billion allocated in additional funding for the agency last year, thanks to the passage of the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill.” A January report from the American Immigration Council found that the number of people held in ICE detention on any given day has has increased by over 75% over the course of one year, with a 2,450% increase in the number of people with no criminal record held in ICE detention.

“There have been U.S. citizens that have been murdered in the street, executed in the street, and the officers are essentially acting with impunity because their identities are covered,” the athlete continued. Kenworthy’s message refers in part to the killings of Renée Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, both of whom were shot by federal agents in the Minneapolis area amid an ICE surge.

“They’re racially profiling people, rounding up Black and brown folks and kidnapping them, putting them in unmarked vehicles with no arrest warrant, no probable cause,” Kenworthy added. “They’re being held without any sort of due process. It’s crazy, it’s scary, and people are being sent to countries that they’re not even from, and U.S. citizens are being caught in this.”

Kenworthy concluded his video by expressing his belief that “the majority of the people being targeted are good people, hardworking people that are non-violent and have no criminal history and just came to the U.S. seeking a better life.”

“That is literally the foundation story of the U.S.,” he said. “We are a country of immigrants, and that’s the American dream. And I think people forget that sometimes.”

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This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/gus-kenworthy-anti-ice-message-violent-threats on Feb 11, 2026 at 6:32 PM EST.

POLITICS | FEB 10, 2026, 10:40 AM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

New Hampshire’s Republican Governor Vetoes Anti-Trans Bathroom Bill Yet Again

Kelly Ayotte has said that the legislation would be “overly broad and impractical to enforce.”

Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

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On February 6, New Hampshire’s Republican governor Kelly Ayotte vetoed a bill that would have banned trans people from bathrooms, sporting events, and other spaces that align with their gender identity.

Sponsored by Republican state senators Kevin Avard and Tim Lang, Senate Bill 268 sought to create exceptions to New Hampshire’s nondiscrimination laws, which were updated to prohibit housing, employment, and public space discrimination against trans people in 2018. SB 268 would have redefined “biological sex” as male or female as assigned at birth, allowing both public and private entities to bar trans people from accessing bathrooms, locker rooms, athletic events, and detention facilities under this definition. The legislation is virtually identical to HB 148, another anti-trans bill that Ayotte vetoed in 2025.

According to the Movement Advancement Project, nearly all of the United States’ anti-trans bathroom bans apply to government and other publicly-owned facilities. Only a few states, such as Montana and Florida, permit private establishments to enforce these bans. If passed, SB 268 would have enacted one of the country’s most expansive anti-trans bans.

“I made it clear that this issue needed to be addressed in a thoughtful, narrow way that protects the privacy, safety, and rights of all Granite Staters,” Ayotte said in a statement. “Unfortunately, there is minimal difference between Senate Bill 268 and the bill I vetoed last year, which [previous New Hampshire] Governor [Chris] Sununu vetoed the year prior.”

Ayotte agreed with some of HB 148’s provisions when she vetoed the bill in July 2025, writing, “I believe there are important and legitimate privacy and safety concerns raised by biological males using places such as female locker rooms and being placed in female correctional facilities.”

However, the governor ultimately concluded that the bill was too “overly broad and impractical to enforce,” and could lead to “an exclusionary environment for some of our citizens.”

In December, Republicans failed to get the votes necessary to override Ayotte’s veto.

Aimee Terravechia, Executive Director of the New Hampshire LGBTQ+ advocacy group 603 Equality, praised Ayotte’s veto of SB 268 in a February 6 statement to GLAD Law.

“This is a huge relief for every transgender or nonconforming person in New Hampshire,” Terravechia said. “In a time of unrelenting legislative attacks and misinformation campaigns around transgender people and their rights, Gov. Ayotte’s veto affirms the basic rights and dignity for all Granite Staters… Bathroom bans simply have no place in New Hampshire.”

Meanwhile, Ayotte’s veto is already drawing ire from the right wing. The Daily Caller, for instance, framed the story as the governor “sid[ing] with trans activists.”

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This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/new-hampshire-kelly-ayotte-bathroom-bill-veto on Feb 11, 2026 at 6:32 PM EST.

NEWS | FEB 9, 2026, 1:02 PM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

Bisexual Olympian Breezy Johnson Broke Her Gold Medal 15 Minutes After Getting It

A new world record for a bisexual disaster.

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

In what must be a new world record for the “bisexual disaster” event, Olympic skier Breezy Johnson says her brand-new gold medal broke just 15 minutes after she received it.

“This is gold medal number two,” Johnson told NBC Sports on Sunday, holding her (second) prize for finishing first in Alpine skiing at the 2026 Olympic Games. “I was jumping and the whole ribbon came off of the medal. And then they tried to fix it, but they couldn’t, so they gave me this one instead and I have to go get it engraved.”

Johnson, who came out as bi in 2022, said that her medal broke “within the first 15 minutes” after receiving it. “I don’t have many Olympic records, but I might have the shortest-lived Olympic medal record,” she joked. “Personally, I would say that any future Olympians at this Games need to be careful about heading to the club with their medals, because they might break them.”

Johnson and her teammate Keely Cashman agreed that the medal’s weight may have been a contributing factor, causing the ribbon clasp to break when Johnson jumped in celebration. “I wasn't super surprised. I felt the weight of it, so I was like, ‘That better be a hefty string or whatever was holding it,’” Cashman said Monday, per USA Today.

Thankfully, Johnson isn’t the only member of Club Broken Medal 2026. On Instagram, Alysa Liu (one member of the gold medal-winning U.S. figure skating team) posted a video of herself on Sunday holding her medal in her left hand and its detached ribbon in her right. “My medal don’t need the ribbon,” Liu wrote in text over the video.

Instagram content

German TV footage also managed to capture the exact moment biathlete (though not to our knowledge a Bi Athlete) Justus Strelow’s bronze medal broke during his team’s celebrations on Sunday, ABC reported. Chief games operations officer Andrea Francisi said in a statement Monday that the Milan Cortina organizers were “working on it.”

“We are aware of the situation, we have seen the images. Obviously we are trying to understand in detail if there is a problem,” Francisi said, per ABC. “But obviously we are paying maximum attention to this matter, as the medal is the dream of the athletes, so we want that obviously in the moment they are given it that everything is absolutely perfect, because we really consider it to be the most important moment.”

Johnson’s medal win on Sunday came in the shadow of a devastating crash by fellow U.S. skier Lindsey Vonn, who was hospitalized with a broken leg after hooking one of the gates at the start of her run. Vonn was in stable condition following surgery on Monday, per CNN.

“My heart goes out to her. It’s particularly difficult because we all love this track so much,” Johnson told The TODAY Show on Monday. “We race here at World Cup level every year. We call it a ‘classic track,’ so we come here all the time. It’s like your favorite dog biting you. It really hurts that much worse.”

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This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/breezy-johnson-gold-medal-broken on Feb 11, 2026 at 6:32 PM EST.

NEWS | FEB 9, 2026, 11:38 AM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

Olympian Amber Glenn Says She Got “Scary” Threats for Supporting LGBTQ+ Rights

“I did anticipate this but I am disappointed by it,” Glenn wrote on Instagram.

Tim Clayton/Getty Images

U.S. Olympic figure skater Amber Glenn says she has “never had so many people wish me harm before,” after her comments supporting LGBTQ+ rights touched a nerve with conservatives.

After the U.S. squad won a team gold medal in figure skating, Glenn wrote in a post to her Instagram stories on Sunday that she would be taking a social media break for her mental health after the “outlandish” backlash, the New York Times reported.

“When I chose to utilize one of the amazing things about the United States of America (Freedom of speech) to convey how I feel as an athlete competing for Team USA in a troubling time for many Americans I am now receiving a scary amount of hate/threats for simply using my voice WHEN ASKED about how I feel,” Glenn wrote on Instagram, per USA Today. “I did anticipate this but I am disappointed by it.”

During a February 4 press conference, Glenn, who publicly came out as pansexual in 2019, was asked about her take on President Donald Trump’s “approach toward the LGBT community.”

“It isn't the first time that we've had to come together as a community and try and fight for our human rights,” Glenn responded. “Now especially, it's not just affecting the queer community, but many other communities, and I think that we are able to support each other in a way that we didn't have to before, and because of that, it's made us a lot stronger.”

Glenn went on to say that she wouldn’t “shut up about politics” just because she is an athlete. “It is something that I will not just be quiet about, because it is something that affects us in our everyday lives,” she said. “So, of course, there are things that I disagree with, but as a community, we are strong and we support each other, and brighter days are ahead.”

Those comments were, allegedly, enough to send an avalanche of hate mail Glenn’s way. “I couldn't believe the outlandish backlash I received for just supporting people,” Glenn later wrote on her Instagram story. “Of course, I have people supporting me, and I'm not online right now because of it, but I'm gonna keep speaking my truth. I'm gonna keep representing what I believe in and what I think all Americans believe in, which is freedom and being able to love and do what you want. So, I just I hope we can keep going forward and be positive.”

Glenn placed third in the women’s free skate over the weekend, earning just enough points to keep the U.S. in contention for the team gold, which men’s singles skater Ilia Malinin clinched in a dramatic head-to-head final. She will skate next in the women’s singles competition, scheduled to begin February 17.

The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) said they would report all “credible” threats against athletes to authorities. “It's a sad reality that over the last several games, we've seen an uptick in abusive and harmful messages directed at the athletes during competition,” a USOPC representative told NPR.

Since taking office last year, Trump has made sports a significant concern of his second presidential term, seeking to bar transgender athletes from organized sports in general — a demand to which the USOPC gave in last summer. Trump responded to comments from other Olympians over the weekend on his personal social media website Truth Social, calling skier Hunter Hess a “loser” after Hess said he did not claim to “represent everything that’s going on in the U.S.”

The 2028 Olympics are scheduled to be held in Los Angeles, which Trump has reportedly claimed he will make the “greatest games.”

On Monday, Glenn followed up on her earlier posts with a more comical take on the entire affair. She shared a screenshot of a post by popular menswear writer Derek Guy to her Instagram stories. “kind of funny that an olympian said they are here to represent ‘compassion, respect, love for others’ and some people automatically know that's a statement against them,” Guy wrote.

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This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/amber-glenn-scary-threats-lgbtq-rights on Feb 11, 2026 at 6:32 PM EST.

NEWS | ABBY MONTEIL | FEB 6, 2026, 1:05 PM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

Meet Sweden’s Elis Lundholm, the First Trans Skier in the Winter Olympics

Lundholm says that he has “always been treated well” within the skiing world.

Instagram/@skiteamswedenmoguls

The 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics are shaping up to be extremely gay. Amber Glenn became the first out Olympic women’s figure skater, and sapphic athlete couples like hockey stars Anna Kjellbin and Ronja Savolainen or skeleton pros Kim Meylemans and Nicole Silveira are preparing to face off on the world stage, Heated Rivalry-style.

But this year’s Olympics also mark a major milestone in trans sports with 23-year-old Swedish skier Elis Lundholm set to make history as the first openly trans athlete to compete at a Winter Olympics event. The athlete’s big moment comes during a tenuous time for trans Olympian inclusion, as the International Olympics Committee (IOC) considers banning trans women from women’s sports under the leadership of president Kirsty Coventry. Still, we’re seated for Lundholm’s Olympic journey and so should you. Here’s everything you need to know.

Who Is Elis Lundholm?

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Elis Lundholm is a Swedish skier who competes in moguls, a freestyle competition in which skiers navigate a course filled with a series of bumps, executing aerial tricks and jumps in the process.

Which Events Will Elis Lundholm Compete In?

Although Lundholm is a trans man, he will represent Sweden in the women’s moguls and women’s dual mogul events at the Milan Olympics in adherence to the current anti-trans restrictions of the IOC. He officially joined the team just a few weeks ago, on January 22.

How Can I Watch Elis Lundholm’s Events?

The first women’s moguls qualifying event will take place on Tuesday, February 10 at 8:15 a.m. EST, while the women’s dual moguls competition will kick off at 4:30 a.m. EST on Saturday, February 14. U.S. viewers can watch Olympic events on NBC, as well as the network’s streaming service, Peacock.

What Are the International Olympic Committee’s Current Trans Athlete Policies?

Until recently, each sport within the IOC’s international federation was permitted to set its own trans inclusion guidelines. However, in June 2025, IOC president Kirsty Coventry signaled that trans athletes could be banned from women’s categories at the 2028 Olympics when she announced that the IOC will come up with an updated gender eligibility policy to “protect the female category, first and foremost.”

Coventry also announced plans to reintroduce chromosomal “sex testing” at this year’s Olympics to determine female athletes’ eligibility. The IOC previously stopped performing sex testing following the 1996 Olympics, after medical researchers found that these tests were likely to block intersex women from competing rather than enforce fairness.

According to Outsports, because Lundholm competes in the skiing category that matches his sex as assigned at birth, “he is good to compete per the trans athlete rules in any sport.”

What Has Elis Lundholm Said About Competing in the Olympics?

During a January 22 interview with the Swedish outlet Aftonbladet, Lundholm said that he has “always been treated well” within the skiing world. When asked whether he’s thought about the online hate he might receive while competing in the Olympics, the 23-year-old replied, “Of course, it’s something I[‘ve] thought about. You can hear the voices out there. But then, I do my thing and don’t give a damn.”

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This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/elis-lundholm-trans-swedish-skier-winter-olympics-2026 on Feb 11, 2026 at 6:32 PM EST.

NEWS | FEB 6, 2026, 12:10 PM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

Emails Reveal Epstein Encouraged Controversial Scientist to Study “Transgender Biology”

Correspondence in the Epstein files reveals more information about the billionaire’s ties to Robert Trivers.

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Jeffrey Epstein and a controversial evolutionary biologist exchanged dehumanizing emails about transgender people, according to newly released correspondence reviewed by STEM researcher Ev L. Nichols.

Nichols posted to her website, Queer Science Lab, on February 3, detailing her findings from searching the word “transsexual” in the Department of Justice’s latest release of the Epstein files, a tranche of documents consisting of personal correspondence, flight logs, court documents, and more detailing the disgraced billionaire’s activities and his personal relationships.

Specifically, Nichols found correspondence between Epstein and biologist Robert Trivers dating back to 2009; notably, this was after Epstein had pled guilty to one count of solicitation of prostitution with a minor under the age of 18 and one count of solicitation of prostitution in 2008, and was sentenced to 18 months in a minimum-security facility. That first email saw Epstein inviting Trivers to Florida “to discuss what youare [sic] doing,” and offering to pay for Trivers’ tickets and accommodations.

Though it’s unclear when Epstein and Trivers established a financial relationship, by 2015, he had emailed Noam Chomsky claiming that he was Trivers’ “major funder,” after the biologist had been “thrown out of ru=gers [sic] for good this time.” That refers to Rutgers University in New Jersey, where Trivers was suspended from teaching in 2015 after refusing to teach a class.

Nichols located an email in which Trivers thanked Epstein for “extra money and appointment as an advisor to your Foundation.” Epstein responded, “i want to see you [sic] piece on transgender in the bio world.” Two months later, Trivers responded and said he was “getting to the end of ‘transsexuality.’”

Trivers continued to make dehumanizing comments about trans women, including, “if you as a heterosexual male and have a minor desire to suck a dick then what better organism to do it with than a transsexual? ‘she’ will smell like a woman, be softer and more hairless like a woman and may, to some degree, actually resemble one morphologically — leaving the dick for you to enjoy in a feminine setting.”

In 2018, Trivers and Epstein once again corresponded about trans people in dehumanizing ways, “comparing” trans women and trans men, with Trivers calling the latter “unhappy and lonely — they are men with mum-pums, the worst of both worlds.”

In 2019, Epstein once again encouraged Nichols “to focus on transgender biology.” A year later, and months before Epstein’s death, Trivers published his co-authored research on “transgendered belief,” focusing specifically on ratio of finger length as a supposed predictor for gender identity. (As Nichols notes, this theory is easily “disproven by anyone whose digit ratio does not predict their gender identity,” such as herself.)

Many researchers have criticized the idea that the ratio between the lengths of the second and fourth fingers — known as the 2D:4D ratio — can forecast health predictors; in a 2019 article published on Science.org, University of Vienna psychologist Martin Voracek compared research based on finger ratios to phrenology or physiognomy, calling such research “a house of cards built on an unknown and uncertain base.”

Notably, in 2015, Trivers was interviewed by Reuters about his financial relationship with Epstein, saying that the financier remained a friend even despite his allegations of sexual abuse of a minor. “Did he get an easy deal? Did he buy himself a light sentence? Well, yes, probably, compared to what you or I would get, but he did get locked up,” Trivers told the publication at the time, adding, “By the time they’re 14 or 15, they’re like grown women were 60 years ago, so I don’t see these acts as so heinous,” he said.

In that same Reuters interview, as NJ.com noted in its own review of this correspondence, Trivers said he had received approximately $40,000 from Epstein.

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This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/jeffrey-epstein-robert-trivers-transgender-research-emails on Feb 11, 2026 at 6:32 PM EST.

NEWS | FEB 5, 2026, 1:43 PM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

Imane Khelif Says She’d Take Sex Test to Qualify for 2028 Olympics: “Nothing to Hide”

The Algerian boxer said the 2024 campaign against her caused “psychological trauma, for me, and for my family.”

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Algerian boxer Imane Khelif says she would “accept” genetic testing in order to qualify for the 2028 Olympics, after suffering “psychological trauma” from an international campaign against her nearly two years ago.

Khelif told CNN in a rare interview this week that she has “nothing to hide” and would submit to genetic testing in order to box in 2028. “Of course, I would accept doing anything I’m required to do to participate in competitions,” she said. “They [the IOC] should protect women, but they need to pay attention that while protecting women, they shouldn’t hurt other women.”

During the 2024 Olympics, Italian boxer Angela Carini forfeited her match with Khelif after less than a minute, saying she was unable to fight through the pain of Khelif’s initial blows. Anti-transgender activists quickly leapt in, alleging — based on a disputed report of Khelif’s chromosomes — that Khelif was secretly trans and should be removed from the competition. On social media, J.K. Rowling accused Khelif of being “a male who’s [sic] knows he’s protected by a misogynist sporting establishment enjoying the distress of a woman he’s just punched in the head.” Khelif went on to take home the gold medal.

Khelif again denied that she is secretly trans in her interview with CNN and said the campaign against her caused “psychological trauma, for me, and for my family.” Although her testosterone levels differ from those of most cisgender women, Khelif acknowledged, she had begun lowering them based on medical advice long before the Paris Olympics began.

“I was born like this. Of course, I have hormonal differences. But I decrease my testosterone levels based on my doctor’s recommendations,” Khelif said. “Boxing does not rely on the level of testosterone. Boxing relies on intelligence, on experience, and on discipline.”

But the International Olympic Committee (IOC), under the stewardship of its new president Kirsty Coventry, has indicated it may introduce new restrictions for the 2028 Games that would bar trans and intersex women alike from women’s competitions based on testosterone levels. The IOC performed chromosomal tests on women to determine their eligibility decades ago, but has not done so since the 1996 Olympics, after medical researchers found that such tests were more likely to block intersex women from competing than to reliably enforce fairness.

President Donald Trump, who smeared Khelif in one of his final campaign ads of 2024, said last year he would push for genetic testing at the 2028 Games, which are scheduled to take place in Los Angeles. Last August, U.S. immigration officials also announced intentions to deny visas for trans athletes during the Olympics.

The 26-year-old Olympian is currently fighting a legal battle against World Boxing, which replaced the International Boxing Association (IBA) as the sport’s Olympic-sanctioned governing body last year. (The IBA was the source of the controversial report on Khelif’s chromosomes, which Khelif told CNN was inaccurate and had been “modified.”) When World Boxing announced last August that it would institute genetic testing for its 2025 championship tournament, it originally mentioned Khelif by name, saying she would specifically be barred from competition if she did not submit to testing. The organization later apologized, but Khelif told CNN this week the apology didn’t negate the impact, adding she believes far-right activists influenced the statement. She has filed a complaint against World Boxing with the international Court of Arbitration for Sport.

“I will not surrender until I have justice because I know justice is on my side above all else,” Khelif told the network.

Amid the ongoing international debate over trans and intersex athletes, research continues to show that blanket participation bans in sports are not justified. A meta-analysis of 52 studies published last month found that adult trans women do not have inherent advantages over cis women in athletics after undergoing hormone therapy. One 2024 study — funded in part by the IOC — indicated that trans women may face some disadvantages compared to cis women, contrary to frequent assertions by opponents of trans athletes.

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This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/imane-khelif-sex-test-qualify-2028-olympics on Feb 11, 2026 at 6:32 PM EST.

NEWS | FEB 5, 2026, 12:01 PM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

New Study Once Again Shows Trans Women Have No Physical Advantage Over Cis Athletes

Researchers analyzed data from almost 3,000 trans women.

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Transgender women likely do not retain athletic advantages over cisgender women after undergoing hormone therapy, according to the results of a new meta-analysis published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

The report, conducted by a team of eight researchers in Brazil, analyzed 52 previous studies of trans athletes’ physical performance compared to groups of their cis peers. In total, the research team looked at data from 2,943 trans women and 2,309 trans men in relation to results from 568 cis women and 665 cis men.

Overall, the team found that trans women’s physical performance generally tended to match that of cis women after a year or more of hormone therapy. Although trans women showed higher levels of absolute lean mass than cis women, the two groups were roughly equivalent in key metrics of physical fitness such as upper and lower body strength and maximal oxygen consumption.

Those findings contradict common assertions that testosterone-dominant puberty confers irreversible advantages in sports, the authors noted in the study — claims which conservative politicians frequently use to justify banning trans people in general from athletic leagues and competitions.

“This refutes the logic behind blanket bans on transgender women in sports,” study co-author Bruno Gualano told El País this week. “Most of these policies are based on the assumption that transgender women retain inherent physical advantages and would therefore dominate women’s competitions. The data does not support this idea.”

Significant gaps remain in the existing research, Gualano told El País, which require further consideration. Many of the studies only followed participants for a few years, and most focused on adult subjects, leaving questions about long-term results for trans youth who receive puberty blockers. Some questions are still unanswerable, however: the meta-analysis found little data regarding trans athletes at the elite level, which researchers attributed to the scarcity of elite-level trans athletes in any sport. “That gap exists because, to begin with, there are hardly any trans women competing,” Gualano said.

Trans men reported upper and lower body strength levels lower than cis men, but higher than cis women, the study also found, demonstrating “intermediate body composition and strength metrics” between both groups after several years of hormone therapy.

In 2024, a study funded in part by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) found that not only do trans women not retain competitive advantages over cis women, face some athletic disadvantages compared to their cis counterparts in metrics such as oxygen consumption. But the IOC has since announced that it will consider banning trans women from women’s sports anyway, under the leadership of President Kirsty Coventry, who took over the organization last year. Coventry is also expected to soon revive “sex testing” at the Olympics, a practice the IOC abandoned in the 1990s.

The new study also comes amid the Trump administration’s campaign against trans athletes. Last year, Trump issued an executive order directing federal agencies to withhold funds from educational institutions that allow trans women and girls to play in women’s sports. The NCAA quickly folded to the administration’s demands, and other athletic organizations have followed suit; in November, USA Hockey quietly banned trans players from gender-separated leagues under its purview in guidelines that are set to take effect April 1, 2026.

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This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/new-study-trans-women-no-physical-advantage-over-cis-athletes on Feb 11, 2026 at 6:32 PM EST.

NEWS | FEB 5, 2026, 10:13 AM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

Grindr Is Testing a Premium AI Tier With a $500 Monthly Price Tag

The move is part of the app's plans to become “an AI-first company."

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

It’s highway robbery, right in the palm of your hand.

Grindr has begun early testing on a new subscription service called “Edge,” in select American cities; the service has a series of different price points that range from $80 a week to $500 a month based on the level of subscription chosen, per Business Insider. According to Insider, the pricing also changes from user to user.

The new premium service will be fully powered by Grindr’s AI, called gAI, after CEO George Arison promised in December that Grindr would be an “AI-first app.” Grindr’s Chief Product Officer AJ Balance echoed that sentiment in a blog post announcing Edge published on Tuesday.

“Grindr is becoming an AI-first company,” Balance wrote. “In practice, that means a faster, smarter, more personalized app that helps you connect with less effort and makes every conversation count.”

The blog post says that “Edge” isn’t a single feature, but rather baked into every aspect of the Grindr experience for an experience that “feels meaningfully better end to end.” Features include A-List, which gives you a recap of previous chats, Discover, which gives you personalized recommendations, and profile insights that help you determine whether you might be a match with someone.

“Together, these features are about outcomes, not novelty: connecting with greater confidence, better conversations, and more momentum,” the blog post reads. Ah yes, dating: all about outcomes!

The blog post does not mention pricing, though multiple outlets — as well as social media users — have already begun to point out that exorbitant price tag associated with the feature.

One viral screenshot promoting “Edge” showed a price tag of $350 a month, a savings of 60% given that the service was also available for $220 a week.

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Prior to “Edge,” Grindr’s highest-priced subscription tier was Grindr Unlimited, which cost between $28 and $45 a month, depending on the perks a user wanted, per Insider.

In December 2023, dating app Tinder launched a similarly priced tier called Tinder Select that cost $500 a month and was invite-only. However, premium content on most dating apps is available for $100 a month or less, per Insider.

Grindr has been highly criticized in the past year for its frustrating user experience, with many of its most basic features interrupted by ads that impede, rather than support, the process of connection. That dip in process is part of a larger tech trend that journalist Cory Doctorow has called “enshittification,” a term meant to describe the process by which tech shifts from trying to bring value to our own lives, such as Grindr’s promise of connection, to bringing value to investors’ pockets.

Grindr’s 2026 product roadmap included a bevy of ways for the company to make money, including expanding Woodwork, its erectile dysfunction medicine business.

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This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/grindr-premium-ai-tier-500-monthly-price-tag on Feb 11, 2026 at 6:32 PM EST.

POLITICS | FEB 5, 2026, 9:19 AM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

GOP Senator Accuses Netflix CEO of Promoting “Transgender Ideology”in Kids’ Shows

The confrontation came during a congressional hearing about the streamer’s pending merger with Warner Bros.

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Missouri Senator Josh Hawley derailed a congressional hearing on Tuesday regarding the pending Netflix-Warner Bros. merger to instead pepper Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos with questions, many based on incorrect presumptions, about why the streaming service’s content promotes “transgender ideology.”

After asking a series of questions about labor practices at Netflix, Hawley abruptly switched gears and asked the CEO about the content of children’s shows on the platform.

“Why is it that so much of Netflix content for children promotes a transgender ideology?” Hawley asked. “Almost half of your content for children — I’m talking about minor children now, I’m not talking about teenagers, minor children — promotes a transgender ideology agenda.” Hawley posted footage of the exchange on his official YouTube page.

Though Hawley went on to say that he was “just looking at the data,” he did not mention a source for his numbers.

Before giving Sarandos a chance to answer, Hawley went on to bring up the legal case of Fox Varian, a 22-year-old woman who, in a legal first, won a malpractice suit against the providers of her gender-affirming care, including her psychologist and plastic surgeon. Varian won $2 million after arguing that she was not adequately informed of the risks involved with her surgery. Hawley went on to cherry pick a few examples to paint gender-affirming care in a bad light, including the U.K.’s ban on puberty blockers under the National Healthcare Service (NHS). Hawley referenced trans care as “so-called gender-affirming care” during his rant-disguised-as-a-question.

“On Netflix, you’ll find that an enormous amount, and I say this as a parent with three young children, an enormous amount of your children’s programming has this ideology and agenda in it,” Hawley said. “Is this an advocacy position for Netflix? Is this an ideological commitment you have?”

“Netflix has no political agenda of any kind,” Sarandos responded, only to get railroaded by Hawley once again, who went on to ask why Netflix’s children’s library was “full of highly sexualized, highly controversial” content.

“Respectuflly, sir, it’s because it’s inaccurate,” Sarandos said. “We have millions of hours of children’s programming.”

Once again talking over Sarandos, Hawley moved the goalposts. Though his original line of questioning had been about percentages, the Missouri senator tried to catch Sarandos off guard and ask about the mere existence of trans characters. “You’re saying it’s not there?” he asked. “You don’t feature trans characters, trans storylines, trans themes?”

Hawley then went on to repeat his unsourced claim that “half” of Netflix’s children’s library featured “highly controversial” and “highly sexualized” shows.

“Senator, I don’t have any idea where that number would come from,” Sarandos replied. “I don’t believe that’s been your personal experience.”

Offended, Hawley went on to say that he doesn’t let his children watch anything on Netflix unless he first previews the content. “I don’t have confidence in what’s on your platform,” Hawley said.

Hawley’s information comes from a report from The Oversight Project, a part of the Heritage Foundation. Many of the report’s authors also worked on Project 2025, per Deadline. The report, titled “Fedflix: Netflix, The Federal Government, and the New Propaganda State,” paints the streamer — which has published multiple high-profile comedy specials featuring anti-trans jokes — as a left-wing propaganda machine. The authors wrote that Netflix holds “an outsized role in socially engineering millions of Americans into a predisposition to accept preferred leftwing ideological dogma.”

The report also claims that Netflix is dedicated to promoting “hyper-sexualized LGBTQ+ children’s programs, and Russia hoax documentaries,” per Deadline.

This is the second time in recent months that conservatives have set their sights on Netflix. In October, former DOGE head Elon Musk tried to lead a boycott of Netflix over a cartoon, Dead End: Paranormal Park, that had already been cancelled years ago.

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This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/netflix-hearing-josh-hawley-transgender-ideology-ted-sarandos on Feb 11, 2026 at 6:32 PM EST.

Entertainment

- Chappell Roan, Orville Peck, and More Leave Wasserman Agency Over Epstein Files Ties

- GOP Rep Wants Bad Bunny’s Halftime Show Investigated for “Gay Sexual Acts”

- Green Day Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong Tells ICE to “Quit Your Sh*tty A** Job”

- Newsmax Broadcaster Says the Super Bowl Logo Looks a Little Gay

- Kristen Stewart Is Reviving a Beloved Los Angeles Movie Theater

- A Guide to Super Bowl 2026 for Gay People

MUSIC | FEB 11, 2026, 11:50 AM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

Chappell Roan, Orville Peck, and More Leave Wasserman Agency Over Epstein Ties

Casey Wasserman's emails with Ghislaine Maxwell were made public last week.

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LGBTQ+ musicians including Chappell Roan and Orville Peck are cutting ties with the Wasserman Music talent agency, after its founder Casey Wasserman’s emails with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell were made public last week.

Wasserman’s emails with Maxwell were released in the ongoing federal dissemination of the “Epstein files,” the extensive correspondence of billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, for whom Maxwell acted as a recruiter. Per the documents, Wasserman, who at the time was married to fellow music professional Laura Ziffren, exchanged racy emails with Maxwell in 2002 and 2003, at one point asking to “see [her] in a tight leather outfit.”

After news of Wasserman’s correspondence broke last week, numerous artists announced they would immediately sever their relationships with Wasserman and his agency. In a post to her Instagram story this week, Chappell Roan said she was no longer represented by Wasserman, effective immediately.

“I hold my teams to the highest standards and have a duty to protect them as well,” Roan wrote, per Variety. “No artist, agent or employee should ever be expected to defend or overlook actions that conflict so deeply with our own moral values.” Roan went on to say that her decision “reflects my belief that meaningful change in our industry requires accountability and leadership that earns trust.”

Masked country icon Orville Peck also announced he was leaving Wasserman on Tuesday. “My heartfelt thanks goes out to my personal team, some of whom I have respected, trusted and worked with for close to a decade,” Peck wrote in an Instagram post, adding that he retained “a huge amount of compassion” for agents at the company.

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Singer/songwriter Chelsea Cutler is another of the LGBTQ+ performers leaving the Wasserman agency, as Cutler likewise confirmed via Instagram on Monday, saying she was “grateful” for her team but that cutting ties was a moral choice.

“We are living through a pivotal moment in history where we are repeatedly expected to desensitize ourselves and to normalize things that are unequivocally wrong,” Cutler wrote. “I am deeply troubled by the idea of perpetuating this normalization and tolerance. [...] It is our responsibility as artists to take any possible opportunity to exercise our personal agency and stand for what we believe in.”

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Wasserman has reportedly declined calls to step down as the agency’s CEO, and is also facing demands for his resignation as chairman of the organizing committee for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, per Variety.

In a statement earlier this month, Wasserman said he “deeply regrets” his correspondence with Maxwell, but said he had no knowledge of her or Epstein’s crimes, and stated that he “never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.” (Epstein was convicted in 2008 for abuse that prosecutors allege began in 2002.)

“As is well documented, I went on a humanitarian trip as part of a delegation with the Clinton Foundation in 2002 on the Epstein plane,” Wasserman said, per the BBC. “I am terribly sorry for having any association with either of them.”

Epstein’s now-public emails have revealed his ties to influential people in numerous fields, including Steve Bannon and other far-right figures. Some emails in the Epstein files also indicate that Epstein may have provided funding for biologist Robert Trivers’ research into a pseudoscientific theory linking gender identity to finger length. Trivers used dehumanizing and belittling language to describe trans people throughout their correspondence.

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This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/chappell-roan-orville-peck-wasserman-agency-epstein-ties on Feb 11, 2026 at 6:32 PM EST.

ENTERTAINMENT | FEB 11, 2026, 8:59 AM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

GOP Rep Wants Bad Bunny’s Halftime Show Investigated for “Gay Sexual Acts”

Andy Ogles called the performance a “clear violation of FCC guidelines.”

Simon Bruty/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images

Debí Tirar Más Chill Pills, por favor.

House Republican Andy Ogles of Tennessee has requested a formal inquiry into Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny’s Halftime Show at Super Bowl LX, per a release on Ogles’ office.

Ogles has requested that the Energy and Commerce Committee launch a formal congressional inquiry into both the NFL and broadcaster NBC to prove whether either entity had “prior knowledge, deliberate approval and facilitation” of the Halftime Show which, according to Ogles, was sexually explicit and a “clear violation of FCC guidelines.”

Calling the Halftime Show “pure smut” — which like, yes, sign me up — Ogles went on to claim that show was not only sexual, but also gay.

“Children were forced to endure explicit displays of gay sexual acts, women gyrating provocatively, and Bad Bunny shamelessly grabbing his crotch while dry-humping the air,” Ogles said, and when someone describes a man crotch-grabbing in vivid detail, it doesn’t sound like they’re excited about it at all!. “And if that weren't outrageous enough, the performance's lyrics openly glorified sodomy and countless other unspeakable depravities. These flagrant, indecent acts are illegal to be displayed on public airways.”

Ogles’ formal letter to the Energy and Commerce Committee, the Congressional committee responsible for telecommunications, took umbrage with two of the tracks Bad Bunny featured in his setlist: “Safaera,” which Ogles said was “widely known for explicit sexual references and graphic lyrical content” as well as “Yo Perreo Sola,” which Ogles said was accompanied by a performance that included “widespread twerking, grinding, pelvic thrusts, and other sexually suggestive conduct.”

While both songs do feature sexually suggestive lyrics in Spanish — including two lines that say “My dick is being chased and I want you to hide it” and “If your boyfriend doesn’t eat your ass, He better fuck off,” — Bad Bunny didn’t perform the sections of the songs containing those lyrics, per Time.

It goes without saying that Bad Bunny’s performance did not feature any “explicit displays of gay sexual acts” whatsoever, though it did feature two male dancers grinding on each other for about two seconds.

In his letter, Ogles argues that both the NFL and NBC must have known about the contents of the show beforehand and failed to stop it.

“It is highly implausible that the NFL and NBCUniversal lacked advance knowledge of the performance’s content,” Ogles writes. “The failure to utilize these safeguards raises serious questions regarding whether adequate standards and practices review occurred and whether reasonable steps were taken to prevent explicit material from being broadcast to a nationwide family audience.”

Bunny’s performance has rankled many conservative feathers beyond Ogle’s. Shortly after the show, President Trump posted in disgust, calling the performance a “slap in the face” to the U.S., while Megyn Kelly went full meltdown, saying that the Super Bowl shouldn’t be “Spanish” or “Muslim.”

Ogles has previously hinted at a strong anti-LGBTQ+ streak in his platform. Shortly after winning his House seat, he said, “When I look at the Supreme Court and how they gave the state’s … purview over Roe. My guess is that, in time, they’ll have purview over marriage,” per WPLN.

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This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/andy-ogles-bad-bunny-gay-sexual-acts-halftime-show-investigation on Feb 11, 2026 at 6:32 PM EST.

MUSIC | FEB 9, 2026, 8:53 AM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

Green Day Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong Tells ICE to “Quit Your Sh*tty A** Job”

Armstrong delivered the remarks at a Spotify-sponsored Super Bowl party.

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

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While performing at a sponsored Super Bowl LX party on Friday, Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong sent a strong message to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents: time to hand in your resignation.

“To all the ICE agents out there, wherever you are, quit your shitty-ass job,” Armstrong said at the Spotify-sponsored event, per Variety. “Quit that shitty job you have. Because when this is over — and it will be over at some point in time — Kristi Noem, Stephen Miller, JD Vance, Donald Trump, they’re gonna drop you like a bad fucking habit. Come on this side of the line.”

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During the performance, Armstrong also altered some lyrics to some of the band’s songs, including a line from “Holiday,” which Armstrong changed from “the representative from California has the floor” to “the representative from Epstein Island has the floor.” Armstrong also changed another lyric in “American Idiot” to say “I’m not part of the MAGA agenda” instead of “part of a redneck agenda,” per Variety.

That Armstrong’s statement took place at a Spotify event perhaps reflects the history of the music streaming giant being called out for running ICE recruitment ads. The ads ran from April through December, when the recruiting campaign ended, per The Guardian.

Armstrong’s direct and fervent callout was in direct contrast to the band’s pre-Super Bowl performance on Sunday, in which most of the group’s political messaging was left on the cutting room floor. The band even cut some lyrics from “Holiday,” including “Sieg Heil to the President Gasman,” a dig at former president George W. Bush, per CNN.

Armstrong is the latest in a list of celebrities who have publicly come out against ICE, whether it be on stage or on social media. Earlier this month, while accepting a Grammy award on stage, singer Billie Eilish took a moment to say that “No one is illegal on stolen land,” as well as “fuck ICE.”

Lady Gaga, who appeared on stage at the Super Bowl during Bad Bunny’s half time performance, as well as Hacks stars Meg Stalter and Hannah Einbinder and comedian Matt Rogers have all made public anti-ICE statements, among other celebrities.

Armstrong has previously made efforts to keep Green Day’s lyrics timely. In early 2025, while performing in South Africa, he updated an “American Idiot” lyric to call out then-Trump buddy Elon Musk. “I’m not part of an Elon agenda,” Armstrong sang.

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This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/green-day-billie-joe-armstrong-super-bowl-party-ice-quit on Feb 11, 2026 at 6:32 PM EST.

ENTERTAINMENT | FEB 6, 2026, 1:39 PM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

Newsmax Broadcaster Says the Super Bowl Logo Looks a Little Gay

Some right-wingers see a conspiracy theory in the vibrant design of the Super Bowl LX logo.

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

In yet another edition of “conservatives losing their minds over this year’s Super Bowl,” they’re now claiming that the logo for this year’s game is “a little bit LGBT.”

That’s a quote from Newsmax’s Greg Kelly, who recently made that comment in a February 5 broadcast of Greg Kelly Reports, per Media Matters. The host stated that he would not be watching the February 8 game, and said of this year’s logo, “By the way, doesn't that look a little bit LGBT queer-ish, right? The colors, a little bit.” (The colors in the logo, notably, do not correspond to the six colors of the traditional rainbow flag, though it does prominently feature the Golden Gate Bridge, as this year’s game is being held at the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California in the Bay Area.)

“I think it has nothing to do with football,” Kelly continued. “Straight, gay, whatever. Why is that, kind of, in big ways, explicit ways and subliminal ways, it always seems to be a thing?” That’s right, Greg, you’ve cracked it — the secret gay agenda is… using multiple colors in graphic design.

As to be expected, Kelly is not the only person who’s caught onto our community’s covert mission. (And to be clear for any conservatives reading this — that’s a joke.) One X user posted on January 19, “Looks like the Super Bowl color this year is just the LGBT teams” — namely, Seattle, LA, New England, and Denver, which he called “4 of the 5 most LGBT cities in the NFL.” (New England is a region, not a city, but we digress.) Naturally, the quotes and replies are… pretty much exactly what you would expect, to be honest.

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Professional sports is a notoriously homophobic world; there has only been one out queer person, Carl Nassib, to ever be an active player for the NFL, and he retired in 2023. Still, that hasn’t stopped conservatives from being Big Mad about the supposed queerness of this year’s Super Bowl — to the point where Turning Point USA is hosting its own halftime show, headlined by none other than the (incredibly culturally relevant) Kid Rock. In all fairness, the gays love Bad Bunny and Green Day (and the latter’s frontman, Billie Joe Armstrong, is famously bisexual), so maybe they made points.

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This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/super-bowl-lx-logo-colorful-design-lgbtq on Feb 11, 2026 at 6:32 PM EST.

ENTERTAINMENT | FEB 6, 2026, 12:48 PM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

Kristen Stewart Is Reviving a Beloved Los Angeles Movie Theater

How the actor-director is restoring the historic Highland Theatre as a community-centered home for adventurous cinema in LA

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 5: Kristen Stewart is seen on January 5, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by MEGA/GC Images)MEGA

This article was originally published on Architectural Digest.

“Making films is a political act,” says actor-director Kristen Stewart. “You have to decide how you want to wield your presence and your voice.” These days she is making hers heard at Highland Theatre—the 1925 Highland Park movie palace and onetime vaudeville performance space, designed by noted architect Lewis Arthur Smith, whose resume also includes the Vista theater in Los Feliz, the El Portal in North Hollywood, and the Rialto in Pasadena, all from the mid-1920s. Stewart recently purchased the noble yet dilapidated building, which closed its doors and dimmed its marquee in 2024.

“I didn’t realize I was looking for a theater until this place came to my attention. Then it was like a gunshot went off and the race was on. I ran toward it with everything I had,” she recalls. “I’m fascinated by broken-down old theaters. I always want to see what mysteries they hold.”

Stewart’s vision for the Highland goes beyond a straightforward restoration. “It’s an opportunity to make a space to gather and scheme and dream together. This project is about creating a new school and restructuring our processes, finding a better way forward. We want to make it a family affair, something for the community. It's not just for pretentious Hollywood cinephiles,” she explains. “I see it as an antidote to all the corporate bullshit, a place that takes movie culture away from just buying and selling. I think there’s a huge desire and craving for what this kind of space can offer.”

The original bones of the theater, including an extraordinary mezzanine and stage, remain partially intact, but the resurrection of the space will require a herculean effort. Nevertheless, Stewart is determined to recapture the glamour of Hollywood’s Golden Age while positing a new kind of social cinema experience: “There are so many beautiful details that need to be restored. I think there’s a way to bring the building back to life in a way that embraces its history but also brings something new to the neighborhood and something new to the whole LA film community. That’s the point—new ideas.”

A native Angeleno, Stewart grew up in the San Fernando Valley and moved to LA’s Eastside when she was 20. “I absolutely f**king love this city,” she insists. “There’s a kind of unified dissonance because it’s not really a city as much as a cluster of neighborhoods, but there’s unity in that. I like the spaciousness. You can decide how you want to fill it.” Asked if she’d ever consider abandoning Tinseltown for the mean streets of New York City, the actor demurs. “LA gets a bad rap for being unserious, but there’s so much art and culture here. I find something a little heavy about the East Coast. When I come back to LA, I can breathe.”

Still, Stewart has no illusions about the problems facing Los Angeles and indeed most major cities in our country. She is indefatigable in her championing of the Downtown Women’s Center, an organization founded in 1978 that was the first in the U.S. to provide permanent supportive housing to homeless women—a mission it continues to pursue to this day, in addition to a health clinic that exclusively serves women in LA’s Skid Row community and a drop-in day center, where women can receive three daily meals and access to showers, restrooms, mail, laundry, and telephones. “LA is drowning in inadequacy in our response to homelessness. The city is at odds with itself,” Stewart laments. “There has to be a way to unearth a tender, empathetic approach to getting people off the streets. I wanted to align myself with an organization and people who’ve been doing this work for decades at a grass roots level. Amy [Turk, Chief Executive Officer of DWC] spends every waking hour helping these women. I’ll do anything for her.”

Reflecting on the future of the Highland Theatre, the film industry, and the city at large, Stewart remains optimistic yet emphatic: “The narrow path that’s been forged has to be broadened, not by tokenized diversity but by doing things really differently. We can’t keep making the same movie over and over again. And we can’t turn our backs on the people who are most in need.”

This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/kristen-stewart-los-angeles-theater on Feb 11, 2026 at 6:32 PM EST.

MUSIC | FEB 5, 2026, 11:30 AM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

A Guide to Super Bowl 2026 for Gay People

From the Bad Bunny halftime show to a Brandi Carlile performance, even non-football queers have a lot to look forward to.

Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

I understand why the Super Bowl gets written off as a bacchanalian cishet affair; it is, primarily, just that. There isn’t much to misconstrue about half a century's worth of straight guy rituals, like unironic fist bumps and gathering around a television to berate grown men sprinting in tight little pants. However, loudly proclaiming oneself to be a non-sports gay has seemingly gone out of fashion. This past year was sweaty, chock-full of steamy competition in real life and on screen, and it got the community on the same page.

If the ongoing Heated Rivalry mania has taught us anything, it’s that straight allies find homoerotic displays of athleticism fabulously entertaining. Yes, it’s the fujoshis, but it’s also the straight men I hear about tuning in. And while I don’t necessarily find football or hockey to be the most thrilling of contact sports, Shane and Ilya proved that there’s an opportunity here for us to find some common ground — er, turf — with the broader culture. So maybe you’re considering watching the Super Bowl for the first time — or maybe you’re trying to persuade a queer friend to come along to a watch party. Lucky you, I crafted a field guide for how to enjoy the big game, especially if you don’t care that much about the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks.

This year’s lineup of performers is practically begging for LGBTQ+ viewership, between noted queer ally Bad Bunny, bisexual Green Day frontman Billy Joel Armstrong, and lesbian royalty Brandi Carlile all lending their talents to the program. In fact, the NFL, in partnership with Jay Z’s Roc Nation, curated such a gay (and Spanish-speaking) roster that Turning Point USA counterprogrammed an alternative “All-American Halftime Show” with Kid Rock headlining. It’s all the more reason to keep the broadcast on and share a “Baile Inolvidable” break with your pals.

Whether your viewing is tied to a social obligation, you’re solo spectating, or you’ll be using the broadcast as background white noise come Sunday, February 8, it’s important to remember that the Super Bowl is much more than a ball game. Advertisers will be fighting for your attention span and Bad Bunny will, I predict, be sticking it to the man through song. Read on for pointers on how to get the most out of your viewing experience.

Screech at the TV When Brandi Carlile Comes on Screen (Before 6:30 p.m. ET)

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for RRHOF

This one goes out to the sapphics. Consider this your sign to embrace the aforementioned catharsis of TV-screaming — as many football bros do — but reserve your excitement for when 11-time Grammy Award-winning Brandi Carlile takes center field to belt “America the Beautiful.” It may very well be transcendent, even for a patriotic ballad; she just tends to have that effect. If hearing her rich vocal tones puts you back on a Brandi kick, I’ll proactively suggest revisiting her 2017 hit “The Joke,” which would perhaps be a more poignant anthem for the night. “The song is just for people that feel under-represented, unloved or illegal,” she told NPR when the track came out.

Get to Know the Men Cheerleading on Both Teams

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The token boy who did all the stunt lifts on your high school spirit squad might still be at it — professionally, that is. As the 2010s drew to a close, some NFL teams added at least one non-woman cheerleader to their roster, including the two Super Bowl contenders, totaling to 12 co-ed squads this season. It’s safe to say you’ll be equal parts obsessed and impressed with these darling boys and their daring moves. The Seahawks Dancers (a gender-neutral rebrand from Seagals) boast three very flexible talents: Auggie, Christian, and Jaedin, whose mom was a Seagal in the early aughts. Meanwhile, the Patriots have Jeremy Greer, an openly queer cheerleader who went viral for a playoff routine so fabulous I was shaking air pom-poms by the end of the video.

Make Everyone Watch the Kristen Stewart “Totino’s” Parody Ad

No football gathering is complete without an array of ultra-savory handhelds that sit like a brick in your stomach after hours of couchsitting. And while Saturday Night Live references in 2026 feel cliché, I would be remiss not to call back to the legendary “Totino's with Kristen Stewart” Super Bowl ad parody that awakened a subsection of bisexuals nearly a decade ago. (Haven’t you heard? 2016 is back, apparently.) After publicly coming out as “so gay, dude” in her monologue, Stewart hammered home her message of pride by making cold pizza pockets look really hot and also super gay. Opening with Vanessa Bayer’s character preparing Totino’s for her “hungry guys” glued to the TV, time stands still and the atmosphere turns (literally) rose-tinted when Stewart enters the kitchen, before going full-on French-indie lesbian film. It’s an impressive ode to America’s game, the Hallmark channel, Blue Is the Warmest Color, and budget-friendly marinara bites — all packed into a three-minute pre-tape. In the spirit of sexy snacking, make sure everyone at the function has seen this clip.

Watch Bad Bunny’s Halftime Show, Obviously (Around 8 p.m. ET)

Alfredo Estrella/AFP via Getty Images

This man has given us many reasons over the years to adore him, so it is only right to offer our undivided attention for his star moment. In case you didn’t know, Bad Bunny is a model celebrity ally: he’s repeatedly spoken out about LGBTQ+ rights, danced in drag for his “YO PERREO SOLA” music video, and even played a gay luchador in 2023 film Cassandro. The global sensation has championed marginalized groups in the face of adversity tenfold this year, having encountered an onslaught of politically-charged backlash over his Super Bowl slot, as well as the rampant and violent targeting of Latinx immigrants by ICE. His resilience is a powerful statement in and of itself, so if he’s dancing amidst the chaos, you best follow his lead. And if his “No Me Quiero Ir De Aqui” residency in Puerto Rico was any indication of the kind of show we’re in for, buckle in. With a star-studded network behind him, he could bring out the likes of Ricky Martin, Rosalía, Becky G, among many other dream guests.

See What the Bay Area Gays Are up to on Super Bowl Sunday

Thanks to local LGBTQ+ journalism, we can see what our queer friends are up to in the Bay Area during the Super Bowl. San Francisco Bay Times provides free, 24/7 online access to its Castro Street Cam as an educational service. There are several views, including the Pride flag at Harvey Milk Plaza and the easily-recognizable Rainbow Crosswalks, so if you’re not in the Bay Area for the big day, it may be a fun click to observe queer joy from above. Playing God during peak bar hopping hour would be a fantastic way to pass the time between plays.

Support Local, Queer-Owned Businesses

The Super Bowl is more than a spectator event; it’s also a commercial beast. There are $10 million dollar ads running for all of 30 seconds, but there are also local businesses looking to benefit from the commotion. If you’re headed out for a bite or looking to shmy, check out one of San Francisco’s many queer-owned businesses. And if you’re not sunning yourself in Northern California, pay a visit to your favorite local queer-owned business — spread the love, and cash! Secret San Francisco has a guide to eateries for those in the area, but if you want to support from afar, maybe you can order yourself a Hot Cookie.

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This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/super-bowl-2026-bad-bunny-halftime-show-watch-guide on Feb 11, 2026 at 6:32 PM EST.

Culture

- Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu, and Isabeau Levito Are Inspiring Tons of TikTok Fancams

- We’re Obsessed With This TikTok Doll Who Works at Staples

CULTURE | FEB 10, 2026, 3:42 PM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

“Alt, Gay, and From New Jersey”: The “Babes of Glory” Are TikTok Fancam Fuel

All we need to know now is who’s going to play them in the movie.

Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

The U.S. figure skating team has already won gold at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. But perhaps even more importantly, Amber Glenn and her teammates’ already iconic “Blade Angels” trio are officially a part of athletic history.

This year’s Olympics already marked a major LGBTQ+ milestone within the event, with Glenn, who is pansexual, becoming the first openly queer Olympic women’s figure skater. Fellow athletes Alysa Liu and Isabeau Levito round out the 2026 U.S. Olympic women’s figure skating dream team. And while they’re dominating on the ice, their friendship is also the envy of young fans.

As TikToker @jessaugustyn perfectly explained in a recent video, the trio is so appealing because they represent three key subgroups: “alt, gay, and from New Jersey.”

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Once Glenn, Liu, and Levito were named to the U.S. team, they immediately did what any sane people would do: brainstorm an official name for their triple threat of a team in their group chat. They eventually settled on one of Liu’s suggestions, “Blade Angels,” announcing the name in a January 27 U.S. Figure Skating social media post.

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“Isabeau was really set on Powerpuff Girls,” Liu shared in a February 2 interview. “I came up with Blade Angels, but I had a ton of horrible ideas, too. It was a group decision.”

Another frontrunner? “Babes of Glory,” which Liu said was tossed out because, “Hello! Copyright!”

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While I’d like to believe that Blades of Glory star Will Ferrell and the eponymous Power Puff Girls would’ve let copyright issues slide, “Blade Angels” has become a pretty legendary moniker for the skaters all on its own. Look no further than your local TikTok “For You” page, where fan edits celebrating Glenn, Liu, and Levito’s team have been blowing up for the past few weeks. Is it too soon to start fancasting an Avengers-style team up movie about them?! (For the record, my money is on McKenna Grace, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, and Hannah Cheramy).

Between the “Blade Angels’” success and Bad Bunny’s recent Super Bowl halftime show, watching Americans perform on the global stage actually feels… good, somehow? What a concept!

As much of a palate cleanser as the “Blade Angels” have been these past few weeks, representing the U.S. hasn’t necessarily been easy on the skaters themselves. On Sunday, Glenn wrote in a post to her Instagram stories that she would be taking a social media break for mental health reasons after facing “outlandish” backlash for her comments supporting LGBTQ+ rights.

During a February 4 Olympic press conference, Glenn was asked about President Donald Trump’s “approach toward the LGBT community.” The second Trump term has made sports a cornerstone of its attacks on trans athletes, as the administration seeks to ban trans athletes from competing across the board.

“It isn’t the first time that we’ve had to come together as a community and try and fight for our human rights,” Glenn said. “Now, especially, it’s not just affecting the queer community, but many other communities, and I think that we are able to support each other in a way we didn’t have to before, and because of that, it’s made us a lot stronger.”

Glenn added that she won’t “shut up about politics,” because “it is something that affects us in our everyday lives.”

“Of course there are things that I disagree with, but as a community, we are strong and we support each other, and brighter days ahead,” she continued.

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This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/amber-glenn-alysa-liu-isabeau-levitio-babes-of-glory-figure-skating-trio-fancam on Feb 11, 2026 at 6:32 PM EST.

CULTURE | FEB 9, 2026, 2:20 PM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

We’re Obsessed With This TikTok Doll Who Works at Staples

Everything we need to know about paper, we learned from Oblivion.

TikTok/@blivxx

As a print media fanatic, I’ve been given a new lease on life, because the new face of paper is here and she’s a doll who works at Staples.

Known to her TikTok followers as Oblivion, username @blivxx, her videos first appeared on my For You Page a few weeks ago, and I was immediately hooked. As the “Staples Queen,” Oblivion shows us not just what the office supply chain has to offer, but also demonstrates how its multitudinous offerings can truly enrich your life for the better. As she ASMR-style clicks and clacks on her company lanyard with her bejeweled nails, silver accessories, and name tag — she also works as a nail tech, by the way! — she whisks us around the store.

Some videos explain how to make a mug or travel cup at Staples. Others inform us about the difference between various weights of paper, or explain how different printers have distinct personalities. (One is definitely a “clean girl” who loves oysters.) “You’re not gettin’ your shorty a 40% off mug from Staples? And men wonder why women cheat,” she says as she clacks her nails. In her downtime, she also posts some fun off-the-clock stories, like one about running into her old Scoutmaster after transition.

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She even knows about things you might have never figured you could get at the office supplier, like shelf-stable food to feed your employees better snacks, which as an office dweller myself, I appreciate! But most importantly, in a world that is constantly telling us print media is dying or already dead, she is single-handedly bringing the whimsy back to this important craft.

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“Y’all are really interested in the different types of paper we’ve got, which — valid,” she explains in a video captioned, “Here’s the tea on gloss.” “We’re gonna start out with some 8-point gloss, highly glossy. For high-definition photos, I do not recommend this. It’s not gonna be tea [...] What I recommend everyone gets for photos is 1-10 gloss.”

She isn’t just helpful — she’s imaginative! Of course she reaches her intended audience of “divas and print connoisseurs and print enthusiasts.” But I never thought I would see the day that someone could make the printing process so fun and accessible for the general public. Teaching us words of the trade like “sublimation paper,” “dry mount,” and “adhesive laminate,” she peels back the curtain and shows us exactly how the sausages — or in this case, posters — are made.

Even the more obscure or seemingly dull concepts like Staples’ Inside Sales Division gets to shine when Oblivion aims her spotlight at them. “They can do anything you can basically think of for your business,” she implores her audience. “You want a bunch of custom envelopes or something? They got you.”

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And if you’re worried about corporate, don’t be. Staples itself has left comments under her videos, “bogos binted queen.” Don’t know what that means? Don’t worry, the Paris Hilton of Staples herself will explain it.

Not to get too grandiose with it, but I think it’s safe to say her videos are the most innovative thing to happen to print media since the 1880s rotary press made large-scale newspapers possible or even — dare I say — since Johannes Gutenberg invented the mechanical printing press in 1439. If only he could see what his creation has led to today; I’m sure the German craftsman would shed tears of joy to witness such enthusiasm and creativity for his brain child, demonstrated by an innovative woman who also designs her own nail sets.

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Staples, you better give her a raise or let her run your marketing department because Oblivion’s star is on the rise and we’re ready to get a direct mail order of 1,000 flyers to announce it.

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This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/trans-tiktok-staples-creator-oblivion-blivy-blivxx on Feb 11, 2026 at 6:32 PM EST.

Table of Contents

Them.: 2026 Feb 11

Community

History’s 10 Gayest Yearners, According to Us

News

NBC Apologizes Over Misgendering Trans Olympian Elis Lundholm

Trump Administration Removes Pride Flag From Stonewall National Monument

Gus Kenworthy Reports Receiving Violent Threats After Pissing Off ICE Supporters

New Hampshire’s Republican Governor Vetoes Anti-Trans Bathroom Bill Yet Again

Bisexual Olympian Breezy Johnson Broke Her Gold Medal 15 Minutes After Getting It

Olympian Amber Glenn Says She Got “Scary” Threats for Supporting LGBTQ+ Rights

Meet Sweden’s Elis Lundholm, the First Trans Skier in the Winter Olympics

Emails Reveal Epstein Encouraged Controversial Scientist to Study “Transgender Biology”

Imane Khelif Says She’d Take Sex Test to Qualify for 2028 Olympics: “Nothing to Hide”

New Study Once Again Shows Trans Women Have No Physical Advantage Over Cis Athletes

Grindr Is Testing a Premium AI Tier With a $500 Monthly Price Tag

GOP Senator Accuses Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos of Promoting “Transgender Ideology”in Kids’ Shows

Entertainment

Chappell Roan, Orville Peck, and More Leave Wasserman Agency Over Epstein Files Ties

GOP Rep Wants Bad Bunny’s Halftime Show Investigated for “Gay Sexual Acts”

Green Day Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong Tells ICE to “Quit Your Sh*tty A** Job”

Newsmax Broadcaster Says the Super Bowl Logo Looks a Little Gay

Kristen Stewart Is Reviving a Beloved Los Angeles Movie Theater

A Guide to Super Bowl 2026 for Gay People

Culture

Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu, and Isabeau Levito Are Inspiring Tons of TikTok Fancams

We’re Obsessed With This TikTok Doll Who Works at Staples