One of Haiti's most prominent LGBTQI activists, Jeudy Charlot, was found dead at his home in Pétion-Ville outside of the capital of Port-au-Prince on Nov. 25, an OutRight International press release noted. Charlot was the executive director of KOURAJ—one of the country's only LGBTIQ organizations and OutRight's partner in a multi-year project fighting sexual and gender-based violence in Haiti. OutRight Action International Executive Director Jessica Stern said, in part, "We call on the police to carry out an immediate, credible and transparent police investigation into the death of Jeudy Charlot. Haiti must protect LGBTIQ people from violence."
A New Zealand restaurant's business is booming after the owner of a neighboring business told a woman not to eat there because it was run by a same-sex couple, Queerty noted. Ken Miller and Jason Brumbaugh are the owners of Salute—a Mediterranean tapas restaurant located in Greytown, Wairarapa on New Zealand's North Island, that first opened in 2001. When Alexia Black ( who identifies as queer ) asked a neighboring shopkeeper for a restaurant recommendation, she said the woman encouraged her to go anywhere but Salute for the aformentioned reason. Black gave Salute a rave review, leading to a major increase in reservations.
In England, three teenage boys admitted threatening two women who refused to kiss each other on a bus, the BBC reported. Melania Geymonat and her date, Christine Hannigan, were pelted with coins in May by the boys, who will be sentenced Dec. 23. Highbury Corner Youth Court previously heard the two women were surrounded by the teens, hit with the aforementioned coins and subjected to sexual gestures after they refused to perform a sex act, The Independent added.
Daniel Foote, the U.S. ambassador to Zambia, said a high court ruling sentencing two men to 15 years in prison for homosexuality was horrifying, Yahoo! News noted. Foote urged the government to reconsider laws that punish minority groups, saying in an emailed statement, "Decisions like this oppressive sentencing do untold damage to Zambia's international reputation by demonstrating that human rights in Zambia" are "not a universal guarantee." However, Zambia's government was planning to officially protest Foote's remarks; Foreign Affairs Minister Joseph Malanji said Zambia has values and culture which must be followed by any person, whether citizen or through any other accreditation, Lusaka Times reported.
Anti-LGBTQ hate crimes in El Salvador have increased over the last two months, The Washington Blade reported. For example, unknown suspects in a vehicle on Oct. 27 stabbed Anahy Miranda Rivas, a 27-year-old transgender woman, with a knife on Los Héroes Boulevard in San Salvador and dragged her to death. The country's LGBTQ organizations remain on alert and they have not stopped their constant social media condemnations of the rise in the number of these cases against the LGBTQ community.
Forty-seven Nigerian men pled not guilty to a charge of public displays of affection with members of the same sex—an offense that carries a 10-year jail term, Reuters reported. The Nigerian men, who appeared at a court in the commercial capital of Lagos, were among 57 arrested in a police raid on a hotel in the impoverished Egbeda district of the city in 2018. Police said they were being "initiated" into a gay club, but the accused said they were attending a birthday party.
Gay homeowner Edgar Ng Hon-lam, who previously took the Hong Kong government to court over a rule that prevented him from living with his husband, has mounted a second legal challenge—this time over inheritance in case he dies without a will, The South China Morning Post reported. He applied for a judicial review over the marriage provisions in two ordinances on intestacy and financial provision for dependants upon learning the matrimonial home he bought may not be passed to his husband, Henry Li Yik-ho.
In Australia, the Coalition's legislative agenda has been derailed for the second time in days, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison announcing his government has pushed back its plans to outlaw religious discrimination until next year, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. The delay follows a high-powered intervention from religious leaders—including Morrison's Pentecostal movement—who threatened to withdraw support for the contentious religious discrimination bill unless greater freedoms were granted to Australians of faith.
British viewers fell in love with a gay man with Down's syndrome who began to explore his sexuality on the Channel 4 documentary Home Free, PinkNews reported. The documentary—described as "hugely life-affirming, warm and non-patronizing"—followed people with learning disabilities as they leave home for the first time. Viewers quickly warmed to London resident Curtis, 27, who won a legion of fans after his mother revealed his affinity for men with beards.
Caitlyn Jenner's partner, Sophia Hutchins, called Piers Morgan "a joke of a journalist" after he pestered her about her sex life live on Good Morning Britain, PinkNews noted. Hutchins appeared on the ITV breakfast show to discuss Jenner's stint on the show I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! At one point, Hutchins, 23, did say that she and Jenner, 70, consider themselves "partners in every sense of the word, adding, "I think we have a really special relationship, I don't think that we need to be an item to have a really special relationship."
In efforts to reportedly avoid aligning with the pro-LGBTQ presentation of Eurovision, Hungary will not participate in the annual continent-wide music contest for 2020, LGBTQ Nation noted, citing The Telegraph. The contest is a product of the European Broadcasting Union ( EBU ), which includes more than 50 countries on the European continent and Australia as well. It has been on air since 1956, and propels unknown talents into superstardom such as ABBA and Celine Dion.
Strictly Come Dancing judge Bruno Tonioli has spoken of his disappointment at the huge number of complaints sparked by the show's first-ever same-sex dance routine, PinkNews noted. The BBC's popular ballroom dancing show made history Nov. 3 by when best friends Johannes Radebe and Graziano di Prima danced to Emeli Sande's "Shine"—and garnered almost 200 complaints from people who deemed the same-sex routine "offensive." "I know I shouldn't let this upset me however it's just really sad to read this… What's everyones [sic] view on this? Do you care?" Tonioli, who is gay, tweeted to his fans. Tonioli is also a judge on the U.S. show Dancing with the Stars.
Leonardo DiCaprio responded to Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro's unfounded accusations that he's been bankrolling the Amazon rainforest fires, Deadline noted. DiCaprio responded on Instagram, "While worthy of support, we did not fund the organizations targeted. I remain committed to supporting the Brazilian indigenous communities, local governments, scientists, educators and general public who are working tirelessly to secure the Amazon for the future of all Brazilians."
With Catherine Deneuve still in the hospital in Paris, the filming of De Son Vivant—which the French screen icon was shooting when she had a mild stroke three weeks ago—has been suspended, Variety reported. The film is expected to resume shooting early next year, when Deneuve will be out of the hospital—but the actress could also be replaced. The 76-year-old actress suffered what her family called a "very limited" ischemic stroke ( an incident caused by reduced blood flow to the brain ) Nov. 6 while filming a scene in a hospital in Gonesse, near Paris.
In South Korea, two K-pop stars were sentenced to prison for raping drunken women at parties, with one sharing videos of his assaults online, Deadline noted. The Seoul Central District Court sentenced singer-songwriter Jung Joon-young, who recorded and shared the videos, to six years in prison. Choi Jong-hoon, a former boy band member, was sentenced to five years. Their sentencing continues a recent string of scandals in the K-pop industry: Two singer/actresses committed suicide in the last two months, and another K-pop star was accused of providing prostitutes to foreign businessmen in a nightclub.
