Joe.My.God. LGBT News

This just in: “Dear Joe, Rent-A-Center has joined other companies in tasteless advertising. Its latest commercial begins with a man and woman walking into their store wearing nothing (their fronts and backs are pixelated) but obvious they are both n*ked. The commercial ends with a n*de man lying on a sofa with one leg propped up exposing a pixelated cr*tch. …

Citing an anonymous source, Mediaite claims tonight that Alec Baldwin will host a weekly show on MSNBC. According to our source, the so far untitled show will air Fridays at 10 p.m. ET and will feature a large dose of Baldwin’s outspoken liberal politics. The gig would make sense, considering Baldwin’s long history with the NBC family. He starred on …

Oscar nominated actress Karen Black, best known for her roles in Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, and Nashville, has died after a long battle with cancer. She was 74. Her husband Steven Eckleberry, who had been chronicling her cancer fight on Black’s blog, announced the news on Facebook on Thursday. “Thank you all for all your prayers and love, they …

NOM will be investigated for cloaking its donors during the successful campaign to unseat three Iowa state Supreme Court justices who backed same-sex marriage. The Iowa Ethics & Campaign Disclosure Board voted unanimously to investigate the National Organization for Marriage, saying that if the allegations against it are proven true, the marriage group’s actions would violate state law. The decision …

A breakthrough in the search for a malaria vaccine was announced today. A malaria vaccine has become the first to provide 100% protection against the disease, confounding critics and far surpassing any other experimental malaria vaccine tested. It will now be tested further in clinical trials in Africa. “The results are important because they demonstrate for the first time the …

Civil rights pioneer (and gay man) Bayard Rustin, who organized the 1963 March On Washington, and astronaut Sally Ride, who (at her request) was outed after her death of cancer last year, will be among the recipients of this year’s Presidential Medal Of Freedom awards, the highest honor given to any civilian. Via press release from the White House: This …

Vogue reports: Athlete Ally and All Out are searching for a high profile, international designer to create an anti-homophobia motif for Olympians to wear during Russia’s Winter 2014 Olympics. The move challenges Russia’s new laws against “gay propaganda”, which were introduced in June and make it illegal to equate gay and heterosexual relationships, or to distribute information about gay rights. …

Basement Jaxx landed seven singles in the top five of Billboard’s dance chart from 1999 to 2004, included three number ones. I think they’ll be back with this track. Great clip, too.

Four-time Olympic gold medalist Greg Louganis has penned a lengthy column in which he objects to any boycott of the Sochi Olympics.  An excerpt: Boycotting sends the wrong message and will only harm the hard-working athletes set to compete in the 2014 Olympics, not the Russian government itself. I know from personal experience. My first Olympics I won Silver at …

From the Facebook page of NBC Los Angeles comes the above photo of students rallying in support of former Catholic high school teacher Ken Bencomo, who was fired after seventeen years when his same-sex wedding photo was featured in the local press. A petition that demands Bencomo’s reinstatement has gotten more than 49,000 signatures. (Tipped by JMG reader Brandy)