How Do I Get on the Victoria Monét, Janelle Monaé, and Megan Thee Stallion Group Chat
The Power Bisexuals Friendship Circle We Deserve, left to right: Victoria Monét and Megan Thee Stallion at Halloween 2023, Victoria and Meg at a birthday party in 2024, Victoria and Janelle Monáe at a birthday party in 2023.
Oh, hello! If you were online this weekend, you perhaps noticed one of my favorite trends — Victoria Monét at it once again, doing gay shit in the club with her friends.
This time it was for celebrity stylist Bryon Javar’s birthday party in Los Angeles. Now a quick Google search tells me that Bryon styles a lot of your favorite celebrities, but for this tale we are specifically zeroing on Victoria Monét and Megan Thee Stallion. The party appears to have been “Byron’s Players Ball” which gave us the present of Megan Thee Stallion — in a matching white bra top, see through white pants, and white Afro wig — grinding on Victoria Monét in a three piece suit and cane to Victoria’s own song, “On My Mama.”
Megan Thee Stallion and Victoria Monét at a party in LA.
— Pop Base (@PopBase) January 28, 2024
Already there’s a lot to unpack. There’s a specific grind up that Victoria does once they almost hit the floor on “ladies is pimps tonight” that has short circuited something in my brain chemistry. There is the presence of the cane as a performance art prop piece. There’s the wig. There is the look back over Megan’s shoulder. Victoria’s laugh. Just many, many good things.
But it also reminded me of a recent foray that Victoria Monét had in the club last month for actress/singer/dancer Teyana Taylor’s birthday party, in which Teyana grinded on Victoria (sensing a theme here?) while Janelle Monáe rained down dollar bills on them both.
Victoria Monet, Teyana Taylor and Janelle Monae partying in Miami. 🎶💵🎉 pic.twitter.com/1rC3wlJVov
— The Crowd Updater (@TheCrowdUpdater) December 14, 2023
Janelle, it so happens, was also at Bryon Javar’s birthday party this past weekend. Though they’re not present in the video with Victoria and Meg, we can make a small leap here that where Black bisexual pansexual chaos ensues, Janelle Monáe is never far behind. Nipples Out and Age of Pleasure and all that.
But, back to Victoria Monét and Teyana Taylor for a quick second. Did I mention there’s a second video? Of course there’s a second video. Ahem. Did you know that Kehlani wrote “Hate the Club” about Victoria Monét, presumably after their break up? Once upon a time, I thought this was just an internet rumor, but oh no — “Monet” is explicitly in the lyrics. Having now seen these videos, we can all understand why.
There is something so satisfying about this little bisexual power clique forming of Victoria Monét, Megan Thee Stallion, and Janelle Monaé going to the club and going viral for being gay. And this brings us to our next and (for now) final chapter, which I will be calling “The Hottieween Chronicles.”
You see, Megan Thee Stallion deeply loves Halloween, which tracks because Halloween is just Gay Christmas. She also refers to herself and her fans as “hotties.” Every year Meg hosts an annual party called Hottieween, and in 2022 at said party, guess who was there? Janelle Monáe! Who gave Meg a serenade and a lil cheek kiss, which in and of itself isn’t news worthy, but even when covered in blue latex from head to toe somehow Janelle Monaé made thee Stallion blush?? A fact that I personally will never forget.
Megan Thee Stallion Freaked TF Out By Janelle Monae @ The HottieWeen Bash 😱💋#MeganTheeStallion #JanelleMonae #Halloween pic.twitter.com/i2jN1bzprM
— 🟢 Trap Tube Tv 🟢 (@TrapTubeTv) January 26, 2023
And then there’s Hottieween 2023, in which Megan Thee Stallion dressed up as Poison Ivy and Victoria Monét came dressed as nun. Meg pours liquor down Victoria’s throat and wipes away the overflow as if to say “good girl” with her eyes and [the call drops].
Megan Thee Stallion and Victoria Monet at the Hottieween Party🔥#Hottieween #Cobra🐍 pic.twitter.com/EUCuBQyl7S
— theequeenstallion1👑Fan Account (@queen_stallion1) October 29, 2023
OK OK. All the fun and games aside!! If you made it this far, you might be wondering, but Carmen what’s the point to this post? After all, Megan’s in headlines this weekend for her newest single release, which has sent Nicki Minaj into some truly unhinged behavior. And the Grammys — most certainly featuring all three of them — will be here next week. But no, that’s not what I’m here to talk about! This is not about any serious or factual reporting. My friends, there is no point! The point is that somewhere there is a Black Queer Femmes Group Chat with Victoria Monét, Janelle Monaé, and Megan Thee Stallion AND I’M SOMEHOW NOT IN IT.
Do you think they share memes? Who sends the TikTok recipes? Who drops off for months at a time, only to pop back in like nothing happened? There is always one (in my group chats, it’s me 😔). Do they hit the “made it home safe bbs, love you!” text after a long night of breaking the internet?
Listen ok. I can’t wait for this friendship circle to next go viral again, but until then, who will think of me in my time of need???
No Filter: Melissa King Proves Après Ski Is the Only Part of Skiing I’d Actually Be Into
feature image photo of Melissa King via Melissa’s Instagram
Welcome back to No Filter! This is the place where I tell you all about the best things happening on queer celebrity IG!
I, personally, am not getting over Rachel McAdams not showing up for like 99% of all things Mean Girls (2024) but showing up for this? Iconic, I fear!
Sorry but I love this!!
This fact has not left my mind for nigh on 24 hours!!! Wild!
I still couldn’t tell you a single thing about this podcast, but perhaps you would like to virtually see them and report back?
I’ll admit it — I’m fully baffled by this movie, and no, I have not done a second Google to learn more. It seems wrong to look into it. I feel like I should be waiting for more information to just…come to me, as if by magic? Updates sure to come!
Maximizing a joint slay!!
Cuuuuuuuties!!!
Après ski is frankly the only part of skiing I’d be into.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C2R4AsNIHCO/?igsh=cW03N2t1Y3ozczY2
I’ll be brave and admit that even though words are literally my job, I am terrible at Bananagrams and find it quite hard!
Gillian kindly reminding us that she in fact crushed the carpet this season. And to think there is more to come!
This is so sweeeeet I love friends and gay friends!
No Filter: Niecy Nash and Jessica Betts Ended the Night in a Pool With an Emmy
feature image photo of Niecy Nash and Jessica Betts via Niecy’s Instagram
Welcome back to No Filter! This is the place where I tell you all about the best looks happening on queer IG! What fun!
Before you ask: Yes, I would come out to them.
Double Trace day, but I simply loved this look too much to not include!
I love that Tawny posts rarely because, when she does, I am simply so gagged!! Reminder: Every member of the Yellowjackets cast MUST kiss the younger or older version of themselves! Get to it!
https://www.instagram.com/p/C2IG3wRroV7/
The swag here is what really sells it, tbh.
Oh to be 24, smoking, and wearing those very specific glasses! I mean, I think I was doing all those things when I was 24, so I simply have to support it!
https://www.instagram.com/p/C2Le8A2PZEe/?img_index=1
I am sorry, but all I can see is this joke now!!! But this is a tough shade of yellow, and she is pulling it off!
I would also like to see Jasmin’s full Emmy’s look, but she is making us wait, and frankly I respect it!
https://www.instagram.com/p/C2LK6xSvfxB/?img_index=1
Actually, no jokes for once! I have been there MJ! And I just find this sweet and melancholy in a way that really appeals to me! (Yes I have my period, whatever!!!)
Oh, no wonder I loved this, it’s inspired by the lost city of Atlantis, a very real thing that happened and you cannot tell me otherwise!!!
I did think for one brief moment that Real Housewives of New York won an Emmy! But then I read the caption! Love to read!
AYOOO!!!!!!!!! Truly the people’s princess, and I simply LOVE this dress — the tailoring is SO GOOD!
https://www.instagram.com/p/C2Koh52ArHH/?img_index=1
Now say THAT!
How they started the night…
….and how they ended it. Might have to dig out another Emmy for this video, actually!
Kristen Stewart Says “Twilight Was Such a Gay Movie,” Talks Queer Sex Scenes, Does a Kristen Stewart Impression
Our favorite So Gay Dude, Kristen Stewart, is on the cover of this month’s Variety Magazine in all her gay glory: alternative lifestyle haircut, black nail polish, sequined-tank-dress-paired-with-gym-socks, noted jawline, casually discarded white blazer, suggestively parted lips, myriad tattoos. In the body of said story, entitled “How Kristen Stewart Became a Queer Trailblazer,” Stewart speaks more openly than ever on several topics relevant to our collective interests. For example: Twilight being gay, coming out to herself and then coming out on Saturday Night Live, sex scenes in the hotly anticipated lesbian bodybuilder movie Love Lies Bleeding and her struggle to get her adaptation of The Chronology of Water off the ground in an industry that clearly has no regard for what I personally would like to see on The Big Screen.
Photo credit: Emily Soto for Variety
Kristen Stewart Came Out On Her Own Terms
When Kristen Stewart came out on Saturday Night Live, it was a crescendo of what had been a multi-year build-up, including her relatively public relationship with Alicia Cargile, which began in approximately 2014. Prior to that time, Stewart recalls that she’d gotten “good at the heteronormative quality.” Stewart tells Variety that her choice to incorporate her first definitive public statement about her sexuality into a Saturday Night Live opening monologue was intentional.
“It wasn’t even like I was hiding,” Stewart told Variety. “I was so openly out with my girlfriend for years at that point. I’m like, ‘I’m a pretty knowable person….It was cool to frame it in a funny context because it could say everything without having to sit down and do an interview. ‘So what platform is that going to be on? And who’s going to make money on that? And who’s going to be the person that broke it?’ I broke it, alone.”
There are some tidbits in the story from Clea DuVall, who recalls her own reluctance to come out at the start of her career. Variety also got a quote from Jodie Foster, who called the SNL monologue “a wonderful, funny, wry, modern way to be honest to the world.”
Kristen Stewart Can See the Gay Subtext of Her Life More Clearly Now
Once upon a time in the early 2010s, we here at Autostraddle had a breakthrough about Kristen Stewart that changed how we thought about queer celebrities in general — that it was possible that she, just like so many of us at her age, hadn’t come out yet to the world because she hadn’t come out yet to herself. We tend to assume that somehow Hollywood stars, by virtue of being aware that gayness exists and being surrounded by gay people (because Hollywood is gay), will somehow figure things out about themselves more quickly than we did. The pressure on young stars to self-identify before they’re ready reached a fever pitch last year with the forced outing of Heartstopper actor Kit Connor.
Stewart confirms this theory is correct in the Variety interview — she didn’t yet see in herself what others saw in her, and she felt like she didn’t feel like he relationships with men lacked authenticity (Relatable!): “For so long, I was like, ‘Why are you trying to skewer me? Why are you trying to ruin my life? I’m a kid, and I don’t really know myself well enough yet.’ The idea of people going, ‘I knew that you were a little queer kid forever.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, yeah? Well, you should honestly have seen me fuck my first boyfriend.’”
She now can look back at the cannon of Kristen Stewart movies and see the queer glimmers in her eyes. On a recent Panic Room watch, in which young tomboy Stewart shares the screen almost exclusively with Jodie Foster, Stewart realized; “I was already going like, ‘Don’t fuck with me.’ I was gay.”
Also “Twilight” is Gay
Terrifyingly pale body horror cinematic experience Twilight was widely beloved, even by people who knew it was bad — but like most vampire lore, managed to find its home in queer hearts despite its Mormon author and the alleged heterosexuality of its cast.
“I can only see it now…I don’t think it necessarily started off that way, but I also think that the fact that I was there at all, it was percolating. It’s such a gay movie,” she told Variety. “I mean, Jesus Christ, Taylor [Lautner] and Rob and me, and it’s so hidden and not OK. I mean, a Mormon woman wrote this book. It’s all about oppression, about wanting what’s going to destroy you. That’s a very Gothic, gay inclination that I love.”
“Love Lies Bleeding” Is Full of Lesbian Sex Scenes
Stewart loved Rose Glass’s 2020 debut film Saint Maud, and sought out Glass after seeing it, eager to learn what she was doing next. They met up in London and the conversation about lesbian bodybuilder movie Love Lies Bleeding, — about the relationship between aspiring bodybuilder Jackie (Katy O’Brian) and Lou, “a meek, boyish lesbian who looks after the gym where Jackie works out” — began there. After reading the script, Stewart was confident she was destined to play Lou. Glass agreed.
“I always wanted Lou to have this moody boyish charm, to be butch and androgynous in a way which not many actors of Kristen’s profile are,” Glass told Variety. “Weirdly, I can’t think of that many roles like this she’s done, and yet to be honest, it feels like it’s maybe a bit closer to who she is.”
Stewart’s especially stoked about sexuality in Love Lies Bleeding and its multiple sex scenes and having “the things that [Stewart] found attractive be really glorified.”
Kristen Stewart Does a Kristen Stewart Impression
In what feels like a treat for me specifically, Kristen plays a game guessing lines from her most famous movies which becomes a vehicle for her to speak about her experience making those films! She apparently hated making Charlie’s Angels, which’s fascinating. Also she does a Kristen Stewart impression to summon her memory for one of the lines and it’s perfect
Read the whole-ass Kristen Stewart cover story at Variety Magazine.
No Filter: Keke Palmer Stays Making History
feature image photo of Keke Palmer by Frazer Harrison / Staff via Getty Images
Hello and welcome back to No Filter! This is the one where I take you down the long winding road (it gets a little bit closer) of queer celebrity IG! Let’s party!
Look, this whole column could just be Meg and Reneé, such is the amount they have posted in the last week. Consider this me being discretionary!
Call me a child of the 90s but this look simply slays!
Look, I wasn’t going to DEPRIVE YOU of this! I couldn’t! It would be so cruel.
And Keke has an Emmy, and is somehow the first woman in FIFTEEN YEARS to win Outstanding Host for a Game Show?? (Obviously, she is also the first Black woman to win said award.)
https://www.instagram.com/p/C1udyc_xFfn/?img_index=1
Oh good, it’s thinking about how hot and cool Trace is hours again.
I would pay upwards of $700 USD to hang out with these women.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C1zaudoOHag/
Happy belated, MJ!
This is veryyyy Dynasty to me (complimentary).
┏┓
┃┃╱╲ in
┃╱╱╲╲ this
╱╱╭╮╲╲house
▔▏┗┛▕▔ we
╱▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔╲
stan the Creative Arts Emmys
╱╱┏┳┓╭╮┏┳┓ ╲╲
▔▏┗┻┛┃┃┗┻┛▕▔
GET out of here this kid is too damn cute!
Posting Happy New Year a full calendar week into said new year? I’ll say it: Chic!
No Filter: Reneé Rapp Had a Pretty Banging 2023
feature image photos of Reneé Rapp via Reneé’s Instagram
Welcome to 2024’s first edition of No Filter! This is the place where I show you fun and funny things from queer celebs on IG! Let’s roll!
You know what Kehlani, I agree! Quite a year!!
I am not sure what I will do with myself if the Wicked movie actually comes out this year, but I am glad that Cynthia and Ari have matching tattoos regardless.
I’ll say it; Renee had a pretty banging 2023!
The Betts had a better day one of 2024 than I will probably ever have, but bless them!
Lena is always gonna give us a reflective post, even if I never know what she’s talking about.
I’ll say it: I am pro this Kris Jenner from the 90s look.
Girl we couldn’t if we tried!
I love to make my New Year resolutions low key sponsored content about hotels!!!
A whole head of Keke being gorgeous, thank you!!
Yes please and also thank you!
https://www.instagram.com/p/C1lhC4UufkG/?igsh=MWU1dHYzMHNqZTF3aQ==
This is a New Year’s post in three parts, courtesy of Janelle.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C1nsaAhuQOt/?igsh=d2pzdngwMXJ5MWJu
DJ Janelle at the booth!!!
https://www.instagram.com/p/C1n2PqPOJlZ/?igsh=MWF6c3VweXI0N3Zmdg==
Oh my apologies! DJ Johnny Jane, thank you for your service!!
“Survivor” Winners Parvati Shallow and Erika Casupanan Are Gay and Parvati’s Bae is Mae
Parvati Shallow Comes Out as Queer, Hard Launches Mae Martin Relationship: “We’re here. We’re queer. Happy new year.”
Picture this. It’s your last night home for the holidays before you return to Brooklyn. Your fiancé told you she’s going to shower, so you go to get your laundry from your parents’ basement. Suddenly, you hear a yelp. It’s your fiancé! She’s yelling your name! You run to her, unsure whether you should be concerned or excited, because she’s still yelling, screaming really, either exuberant or panicked. You finally make it to her; she yells “LOOK!” and turns her phone around to show you THIS post in which Survivor winner Parvati Shallow comes out as gay and also being in a relationship with Mae Martin!
No, reader, this isn’t fantasy. This is real life. Everything I just said is true. Yes, I was doing laundry. Yes, Parvati Shallow — already a gay icon, winner of Survivor Season 16 — is queer and dating non-binary comedian Mae Martin. Mae also posted about the relationship on their own Instagram this morning, which earned a supportive string of heart emojis from none other than Sophia Bush, as well as congrats from people like Alison Brie and Catherine Bohart.
Eagle-eyed members of the Parvati fan club may have seen this announcement coming — there have been rumors that Parvati and Mae have been dating swirling since November 2023. There have been little hints on social media about Parvati and Mae’s romance ever since, like:
Mae’s fans have also been on high alert, as Mae has mentioned Parvati in recent live shows and on the Handsome Podcast they host with Tig Notaro and Fortune Feimster.
And all of this was after Parvati said “gay rights”, a video that it’s very normal for me to have known about for several years and to have watched, you know, a few times.
Even before Parvati — now officially the first ever queer woman to win Survivor! — came out, she was a gay icon, evidenced by Las Culturistas’ Matt Rogers saying so (and me agreeing) and also by the fact that she is my wi-fi password. I don’t know what makes a gay icon, exactly, but I do know why I love Parvati. She’s arguably one of the best social manipulators to ever grace the Survivor screen — the Black Widow Brigade pulled off maybe the best move of all time that I won’t spoil here for anyone who hasn’t watched her season.
According to her website, Parvati works as “a coach, author and speaker helping high performers transform their lives” “through bold, inspired action.”
Parvati Shallow Is Survivor’s First Queer Woman Winner, One of Survivor’s Most Compelling Players of All Time
In every season I’ve seen Parvati in (full disclosure that I have not watched Winners at War!), she dominates the social game. She can seemingly flirt with just about anyone, which has been used as an argument against her. But I think to be able to flirt is to be able to see people as they want to be seen, to tell them what they want to hear, to give them what they want to receive, all while making the power dynamic feel equitable. To do that with any one person takes social and emotional insight; to do that with many, in a game like Survivor where people are specifically trying not to be taken advantage of? That’s a freaking gift.
(The only person apparently immune to Parvati’s wiles is Sandra Diaz-Twine, a social manipulator queen in her own right. Both Sandra and Parvati draw from a well of emotional intelligence far deeper than the average player, which they employ with very different tactics, to very similar ends. And maybe that’s exactly why they don’t get along. And if you want to hear more about this, please watch Season Two of The Traitors with me because both Parvati and Sandra are on it!! Keep an eye out for those recaps here on Autostraddle.com!)
But Parvati is more than her ability to connect with and sway just about every person she encounters. She’s also a challenge beast — she can do things like stand on a pole for SIX HOURS and then, while up there, negotiate with the last remaining player so that they don’t have to play until they literally drop. She’s also an introspective, evolving human who shares openly about what it’s like to be labeled as a Survivor “villain”, and how that reshaped her life.
(I do love Parvati’s villain era though, in Survivor Season 20, aptly named Heroes vs. Villains. This season includes my personal favorite moment in Survivor TV history, nay ALL OF TV history, when a certain Fedora-wearing someone misuses an immunity idol, and Parvati hisses, “You wasted it.” She couldn’t be more right, and she couldn’t be less afraid to tell this man how stupid he’s been — how delicious. Please sound off in the comments if you also cherish this moment!!!)
All in all, I love Parvati because she embodies the human contradictions I try so hard to allow for in my own life: she’s so utterly confident in who she is, in embracing her own power, while also being so deeply open to change and new discovery. And you know what? That’s queer. Welcome home, Parv!!!
Survivor Season 41 Winner Erika Casupanan Is a Lesbian Becomes First Lesbian Winner
But reader, this isn’t all. Mere moments after the Parvati news came out, I did what any normal person would do — I pored over the comments on her post. And that’s when I saw a comment saying, “Two survivor winners coming out in one day!!!” and my HEART SKIPPED A BEAT! Who else came out today, I wondered and also said out loud to my fiancé. “Erika!” answered the other commenters on Parvati’s post, since we’re all in this together, aren’t we!!
So of course, then I had to go see what Erika Casupanan had to say for herself! And yes, readers, this too is true: Erika Casupanan is Survivor’s first lesbian winner!!!
And who among us hasn’t sat underneath a table eating grapes in order to secure a boyfriend only to end up drinking wine and realizing we’re lesbians. Happens to the best of us!!
Erika, Survivor’s first Canadian winner and Survivor’s first Filipino winner, has extremely cool purple hair which should’ve been at least a LITTLE bit of a hint, is a keynote speaker and media correspondent. She hosts a podcast called “Happy to See Me,” where she interviews reality TV, social media and other pop culture personalities and appeared in the first season of The Traitors Canada.
Erika won Survivor Season 41 by playing the middle and not making a single enemy — a strategy that seems to have become more and more prevalent in the “new era” of Survivor. She and Parvati played very different games, but you know what they both have in common? THEY’RE BOTH QUEER!!!
No Filter: A Very Chrishell Christmas!
feature image photo of Chrishell Stause and G Flip via Chrishell’s Instagram
Hello and welcome back to No Filter! This is the one where I give you content from queer fame-o’s on Instagram!
One day I would like to go back in time and tell 2019 me that I would become very invested in Chrishell’s relationship, just see what I would say.
What is there to feel but love for this???
Okay wait I am now remembering that, like, pictures of you and your significant other are indeed a Christmas thing.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C1SoSA3vWDx/?img_index=10
Still more! And thank god Clinton is here!
Okay couples! We see you! We respect you even!
https://www.instagram.com/p/C1SSO2TuNCk/?img_index=2
Ah normality has been restored, cause if there is one thing Janelle is gonna do it is get in that damn Grinch costume.
They are simply so cute!!!
And not to be outdone…
Jenna please pack me a bag of your favorite things!
Ballin and listening to Kimbra? Love that vibe.
Not gonna hold ya, “merry krampussy” is working for me.
Quite literally slay Mama???
No Filter: Da Brat and Raven-Symoné as Baby Gays!
feature image photo of Da Brat and Raven-Symoné as kids via Da Brat’s Instagram
Hello and welcome back to No Filter! This is the place where I gather all the best gay Instagram content from the week for your very own viewing pleasure!
The way this picture is so powerful, so immediately evocative, and so clearly like “hello these are two homosexuals.” I love!
https://www.instagram.com/p/C07H6m_OJbT/?img_index=1
In many ways, this is also immediately evocative! Different vibes, but still! The power of images.
King Princess never disappoints with the photo dumps!
If you see me in this suit at any function….mind your business!
Look, stud culture and its related fashion is not for me to comment on (lol jk yes it is this is my column, I reign supreme!!!) and I don’t even hate this look! The shoes though…hmm. I think, maybe no?
Well and see the thing is Jenna’s fashions are, in fact, for me! That leather skirt!!!
This picture is so powerful I almost immediately started taking out my braids????
Go off Auntie!!!!
This image is my everything and “Not My Fault” is officially a Sagittarius anthem, according to my source*.
*my best friend who is a triple (sun moon rising) Sag. Yes, I accept your prayers for my safety.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C02iyMQJkkw/
Also neeed this blazer POWERFULLY.
Huh, I must have missed Melissa’s call to join them on this date…I’m sure that’s what happened.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C1Afinryttw/
MJ music video soon to come?? Okay, I accept!
Put them as mother/daughter in a movie right now!!!
Candace Parker and Wife Anna Petrakova-Parker Are Having Another Baby, Basketball Wives Takeover Nearly Complete
Feature images of Candace Parker and Ana Petrakova-Parker announcing their pregnancy and second child, via Candace Parker on Instagram.
Candace Parker is making something of a habit out of celebrating her engagement with her wife, Ana Petrakova-Parker, in a big splash. As you might remember, Parker first announced her marriage to Petrakova-Parker on their two year wedding anniversary in 2021 by sharing a pregnancy announcement for their first son, Airr Larry Parker. It broke the gay internet (or at least the gay internet of my household!! Around here we respect standing on business and gay growth!)
Now it’s their fourth wedding anniversary, and Candace Parker and Ana Petrakova-Parker here to announce that another baby is on the way!
First things first, that caption? What a way for Candace Parker to announce a new baby. It’s legend shit. A work art. This is the ESPN Emmy Award-winning six-part, 12-hour Michael Jordan: The Last Dance documentary of captions.
Layering onto the obvious connections between Parker’s own storied basketball career, the future Hall of Famer and college basketball great is the only WNBA player in history to win three different WNBA Championships for three different teams and its nearly impossible to look up a top ten stat in the history books without finding her name, is the fact that Parker and Ana actually both met while also playing basketball. The two were teammates for UMMC Ekaterinburg in Petrakova’s home country Russia. Parker also recently spoke warmly and lovingly in her own ESPN documentary, Unapologetic, that growing up playing basketball with her father and two brothers at their local court were some of her fondest childhood memories. Her eldest daughter, Lailaa, comes from Parker’s previous relationship with former NBA player and Duke star Sheldon Williams. That’s just a whole lotta basketball going on!! Tying all those threads together into a carousel of images announcing their newest baby is a chef’s kiss. But of course, I’d expect nothing less from one of the greatest to ever play the game.
Being able to watch Candace Parker grow into herself, and invite us in on that journey, has been.. there are no words for that kind of joy. I am so happy to see the GOAT living her truth out loud. I am so happy for her family.
A whole entire starting five coming from your within own fam?? That’s something to be proud of.
BREAKING: Jess Fishlock and Tziarra King Got Married in a Soccer-Star-Studded Wales Wedding
Yesterday at the light-filled Sant Ffraed House, a venue which reportedly offers unparalleled views of the Welsh countryside, an epic wedding took place. The event drew guests from all over the country, spanning multiple professional women’s sports teams. It was, of course, the royal wedding of Welsh footballer Jess Fishlock, 36, and Tziarra King, 25, who are currently teammates on the National Women Soccer League’s OL Reign.
Attendees of this notable event included soccer superstars Megan Rapinoe (who recently retired from the OL Reign) and Ali Krieger, Megan Rapinoe’s legendary basketball girlfriend Sue Bird, OL Reign teammate Lauren Barnes and OL Reign manager Laura Harvey.
Jess Fishlock is Welsh and a player on the Welsh National Team, and many of her WNT teammates were also present including Laura O’Sullivan, Gemma Evans, Sophie Ingle (gay), Angharad James (gay), Rachel Rowe, Kayleigh Anne Marie Green and Lily Woodham (gay). Also present were WNT “ambassador & centurion” / retired footballer / Watford FC Manager Helen Ward, Scottish footballer and Arsenal midfielder Kim Little and Lewes F.C. midfielder Kirsty Barton.
Fishlock and King have been teammates on the OL Reign since 2021, when King was traded from Utah Royals FC after one season, which’s where she’d launched her post-college club career. Fishlock began playing for the Reign in 2013, after playing with the Melbourne Victory, Bristol Academy WFC, AZ Alkmaar and Cardiff City LFC. But Fishlock was sent on loan to the FA Women’s Super League side Reading FC in August 2020, so she didn’t meet King until Fishlock returned, a few months after preseason training camp began in 2021. After weeks of building a friendship, their first date was at a Bellevue steakhouse.
Fishlock and King announced their engagement in October of 2022, and the two were shocked by all the subsequent attention. “People love us!” Jess Fishlock told the Seattle Times. “I was a little surprised by how many people were really happy and a lot of messages we’d get are just ‘We love seeing it,’ ‘The visibility is super helpful for us’ and that ‘it means so much that we can see a queer relationship.’ Whatever you want to call it is totally fine with us, we’re who we are, we’re in love and that’s it.”
The couple had what appears to be some sort of bridal shower this past June. (Ali Krieger commented “Well I must have missed my invite😭😩” on the post about the ambiguous bridal-themed event.)
Can we do it again ? 😂. pic.twitter.com/avTBHqZFxk
— Jessica Fishlock MBE (@JessFishlock) December 13, 2023
The couple entered the party to the sweet dulcet tones of Bruno Mars’ “Marry You,” a song that was also prominently featured at the wedding of Burt Hummel and Carole Hudson in 2010. Sue Bird, Ali Krieger and Megan Rapinoe all posted delightful instagram slideshows and collages from the event. It appears that everybody danced really hard, and that is important.
We wish the happy couple many happy returns and endless joy and laughter for the rest of their lives forever!!!!
No Filter: I Like Checking In on Queer Ultimatum’s Mal To Make Sure They’re Thriving
feature image photo of Mal from The Ultimatum: Queer Love via Mal’s Instagram
Hello! I am not your usual No Filter helmer, but Christina is out this week and shall return soon. So today I’ll be your guide along a journey of celesbian, bicon, and queer star Instagram posts. Let’s dive right on in.
Keke was so cute while pregnant that she has me contemplating getting pregnant!!!!! Okay not REALLY…but I DO feel like pregnancy is the perfect time to get super into cropped track jackets. I also love that this caption includes a therapy epiphany? Queer af.
Matching your pets IS queer culture.
Every once in a while, I like to check in on Mal to make sure they’re thriving post-Ultimatum: Queer Love, and the answer is always that she IS.
Y’all…I’m very distraught and sad about Andre Braugher dying! It’s very upsetting! This tribute from Niecy hit me right in the heart 😣
https://www.instagram.com/p/C0maOtSufcS/?igshid=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng==
I do love that Janelle has made pool parties part of the brand.
Meg!!!!! Pls!!!!
I cannot spiritually get involved in the soccer drama (I say as I continue to consume TikTok content about said soccer drama), but I have been appreciating a lot of Ali’s muscle femme looks.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C0uR-cfPQPO/?igshid=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng%3D%3D&img_index=1
Putting it out into the universe that I would like to see Renee Rapp perform live one day!!!! I did recently give up on my hopes of seeing Bad Bunny’s upcoming tour due to the sheer cost of concerts these days, but I like to dream!!!!!!!!
They’ve really outdone themselves with this shoot. Phoebe is pulling off this look toooooo well I think she needs to sport it on the reg.
https://www.instagram.com/tv/C0xRAtsuvm0/?igshid=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng%3D%3D
Indya out here proving standing in solidarity and speaking out for a free Palestine is not a one and done action. She is giving all of her grid space to the movement. 🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉
Fletcher’s Drops New Song “Eras of Us” and Yes It’s About Her Ex-Girlfriend Shannon
Who Is Fletcher’s New Song “Eras of Us” About?
Lesbian pop musician and noted L Word: Generation Q guest star Fletcher released a new song today called “Eras of Us,” which she’s been teasing for a few weeks with posts on social media featuring snippets of lyrics, allusions to “thinking about exes.”
Fans were speculating that the song was about her ex-girlfriend, noted lesbian YouTuber Shannon Beveridge, who was previously the subject of “Becky’s So Hot,” a song about how Fletcher thought Shannon’s new girlfriend, Becky, was really hot. (Shannon and Becky recently broke up.)
Fletcher nearly immediately confirmed this interpretation, as well as its inspiration — her and Shannon being a the same Taylor Swift Eras tour concert, where they famously hugged — explaining in a livestream:
“I went to the Taylor Swift eras tour… and I ran into somebody from my past who was a great love of mine and knowing that we were at the same concert, scream-singing these lyrics and these songs to an artist that has like narrated so many of my romances an dbreakups and my loves, was such a wild feeling. I just got hit, like a wave, with the eras our relationship. I think it was like a really beautiful honoring of it and a processing of it.”
Here’s Fletcher’s new video for “Eras of Us”:
The music video features Fletcher wearing a fur coat, walking around a dark city where there are no signs of human life. It’s a great song! The fans love it! It’s already stuck in my head!
What are the Lyrics to “Eras of Us”?
The lyrics of “Eras of Us” begin with How are you doin? Where have you been? I’ve been practicing this moment for like twenty-something years in my head. As per Genius, his is likely a reference to the song “20-Something” on Fletcher’s “Girl of My Dreams” Album, because Fletcher is 29 so it cannot really be a reference to her literally thinking about this for twenty years.
Later in the song, Fletcher sings “sometimes I re-run those sixteen seasons for the rush,” which (also according to Genius) is a reference to the four (??) years she and Shannon were together, because there are four seasons in a year, and four times four equals sixteen. That’s math!!!!! The chorus is very catchy:
These are the eras of us, a story of love
Stealin’ the air right from my lungs
Girl of my dreams, forever we’re young
Remember it just the way it was, the eras of us
She sings about being in New York City where the subject of the song was in L.A., noting that she would “fly across the country just to kiss you and be back in a day.” Fletcher grew up in New Jersey and attended NYU in New York City. There’s also a verse like this:
We crashed just as quick as we burned, now someone new get a turn, I don’t know you and it hurts (Mm-hmm)
I told every one of my friends, you won’t get a lyric again, but God damn, here I fuckin’ am
As discussed, this is not the first lyric Fletcher has devoted to Shannon. There’s “Becky’s So Hot,” of course, but Fletcher’s Album “The S(ex) Tapes” was about her breakup with Shannon, who shot and directed all the music videos for that EP.
Shannon Expresses Concern Fletcher Will Write Songs About Her Forever
Fletcher, like Taylor Swift whose concert inspired her to write this song, sure is writing a lot of songs about Shannon. I guess this is equal rights!
Before the release of “Eras of Us,” Shannon, apparently already anticipating what was to come based on numerous social media clues Fletcher has been dropping recently, used the age progression filter on Tiktok to make a video that 1) suggests that she is capable of aging and 2) acknowledges that Fletcher was definitely writing a song about her.
No Filter: Happy 40th Birthday, Kristen Kish!
feature image photo of Kristen Kish via Kristen’s Instagram
Hello and welcome back to No Filter! This is the one where I find queer celebrity Instagrams and make pithy comments about them! You love it, I love it, we all love it!
It’s the anniversary corner! First up, Gigi and Nat! I am late to this, yes, but still! Congrats!
https://www.instagram.com/p/C0fzgwiuJhE/
And Cat and Stacy! Five years! Congrats!
At this point what is there to say about Megan aside from “I love you!!!”
https://www.instagram.com/p/C0VaKy2txw2/
Happy 40th to our new(ish) Top Chef host!
I saw this outfit and was like “okay damn what a slay!” and then I read the caption and I was like “slaying this hard at Kylie Minogue??? Iconic!”
Hugely happy for Trace!
https://www.instagram.com/p/C0XoJs2tfes/?img_index=1
The reigning Sagittarius monarch!
Whewww my Auntie is SNATCHED. What a gift.
Yeah, I buy that.
This photo is so powerful I was suddenly like “okay so I need to order like nine bundles of hair???”
I wasn’t sure how I felt about this look and then I saw the shoes and I am happy to announce I love!
https://www.instagram.com/p/C0eqzb4gSKn/
Okay yes this post might feel kind of random but what if I told you it came a day after calling out Julianna Margulies on their IG story? Then it is iconic and also hilarious!
I did clock this look from the front and let me just say them thangs are [yanked off stage]
No Filter: Serving Up a Double Scoop of Janelle Monáe
feature image photo of Janelle Monáe via Janelle’s Instagram
Hello and welcome back to No Filter, the place where I bring you content from queer celebrity Instagram! Let’s go!
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cz-AAbAJn3K/?img_index=1
This video is so important to me; I am quite tempted to make it be the only post I include here, but alas, I am a professional. But! Still!
Remember when she ran for Governor of New York? That would have been nice.
Historic duo alert!!
Oh did you think Lena wasn’t going to stud stunt at the Renaissance premiere?
https://www.instagram.com/p/C0HvyoQve9Z/?img_index=1
Wow two Janelles for the price of one! Looove this curl!
of COURSE my auntie was there too!
This is the dream duo??
I cannot stop laughing at this assortment of nightmare images, this is simply a woman in bad porn OR the owner of a predatory legal firm.
One thing Chrishell is not gonna do is pay for the Getty image and you know what? Bless!
https://www.instagram.com/p/C0MqKjiLc17/?img_index=1
All the hotties were partying at the Feeld gathering, it seems!
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cz-WPlSLNcM/?img_index=3
See!
“Jenna Lyons defends wearing jeans at RHONY reunion” is the kind of stuff dreams are made of imo!
GET ME THIS COAT ASAP
Ball is life!! (is that about basketball?)
Lesbian TikTok Mourns Shannon Beveridge and Becky’s Breakup While Analyzing Fletcher’s Social Media Activity
Did Shannon Beveridge and Becky Missal Break Up?
This past weekend in our company slack, Motti posited the pressing question: “wait sorry i know this is some millennial ass white lesbians shit but did Shannon Beveridge and Becky Missal break up ?!?” As someone who learned a bit about these people last year for reasons I will disclose shortly, I felt immediately (within 2-3 business days) called to action: did very cute couple Shannon Beveridge and Becky Missal break up? Well, in order to understand the present, we first must look back into the past.
Insofar as it is even possible to remember a time before now, let us cast our brains backwards to July of 2022, when Fletcher released “Becky’s So Hot,” a song about her ex’s new girlfriend, Becky, and how hot she looked in her vintage t-shirt. Said ex of Fletcher’s was noted lesbian YouTuber Shannon Beveridge. (Follow the link for any questions you may have about who Shannon is or what happened in Shannon and Fletcher’s relationship.) The song was truly a bop, and public reception was mixed: some found it funny (and very specific to queer people, as we alone must grapple with the difficult possibility of being attracted to your ex’s new partner) and others simply found it creepy and inappropriate!
Shannon posted on TikTok to make it clear that the song was not a PR stunt and that she and Becky had no part in its creation or publicity. (In May of 2023, Fletcher and Shannon hugged at a Taylor Swift concert, seemingly indicating that there were no hard feelings, maybe.)
Regardless, the tune took lesbian TikTok and eventually the airwaves by storm, before ultimately hitting peak lesbian cultural saturation when Fletcher sang it in the rain in Episode 307 of The L Word: Generation Q.
Photo Credit: Nicole Wilder/SHOWTIME.
Shannon Beveridge and Becky’s relationship continued apace long after the release of “Becky’s So Hot” and Shannon continued to never visibly age one single day. Their happiness inspired additional happiness amongst their fans. In August they took a very romantic trip to Spain. On August 28th, Becky posted a TikTok she’d made with Shannon to the sound of Olivia Rodrigo’s “Bad Idea Right?”, which seems to be the last time they posted anything together.
Rumors of the breakup apparently began swirling around the end of October. My evidence regarding rumors swirling during this specific time period includes and is limited to one tiktok of one (seemingly gay) person outside with her dog with the following words overlayed on the screen: “me texting everyone I know that shannon and becky broke up.”
On November 23rd, Shannon posted a video with the caption “exes & woesss,” in which she looked at the camera while a voiceover sound says: “i was taught that keeping quiet kept the peace. Until I realized whose peace is it keeping” and another video with the caption “mentally preparing for all the ‘what happened w you and ____?’ questions at thanksgiving dinner.”
In seemingly very exciting news for the people, Shannon is launching a new podcast called “Exes & Os,” thus explaining her “exes & woeessss” caption. This is how the podcast is described:
Join Shannon Beveridge each week at her house, in her bed, for a weekly video podcast to talk about queer relationships and sex with a rotating influential queer guest. The podcast will feature a mix of breakup, sex, and relationship stories from our guest and host, games, and audience solicited questions and stories. Who better to give relationship advice than someone who’s going through their third public break up, right?
Gossip Bees Are Buzzing Around Fletcher in the Wake of Shannon’s Breakup
So, Shannon’s TikTok about her podcast photoshoot had a background song: “Exes” by Tate McRae.
Fletcher, shortly thereafter, posted a TikTok with the caption “glad to see we’re still thinking about exes”… set to the song “Exes” by Tate McRae.
Fletcher followed up that video with another video (videos are infinite!) to the voiceover sound “sorry y’all, had to get out of character there,” with the caption “Cari is still in her healing era. Love, Fletcher.” What could it mean!
AND AND AND THEN Fletcher released a clip of what seems to be a new song that might just be about exes: how are you doing, where have you been?, i’ve been practicing this moment.
And then, Fletcher went ahead and tweeted, “girl of my dreams… i fucked it up.” I am not sure what this is about! The world is an enormous place, full of people and opportunities to fuck up your own dreams. (I am always saying this.)
girl of my dreams… i fucked it up
— FLETCHER (@findingfletcher) November 24, 2023
On an unrelated note, Becky recently posted a cover of my favorite song “Stick Season” by Noah Kahan and I liked it a lot.
On an even more unrelated note, here’s another article you could read if you wanted to: Don’t Say Gay Was Never About Children — But We Already Knew That
No Filter: There’s Simply No One Who Deserves To Look Stunning in Paris More Than Keke Palmer
feature image photo of Keke Palmer via Keke’s Instagram
Hello and welcome back to No Filter, the place where I round up queer celebrity Instagrams for your viewing pleasure!
There is simply no one who deserves to look stunning in Paris more than Keke right now!
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cz4gSymy1eZ/?igshid=ZWI2YzEzYmMxYg==
Personally I feel I deserved this collab, and I am thrilled to have it!!
Remember when actors would go on talk shows and morning shows to promote their work? Good times!
Fallon is easily my least favorite late night host (Colbert for life!), but there is something about Jenna asking him to wear a comforter coat in her deadpan way that made me laugh?
This is very sweet!!
The rumors are true, Chef Melissa and I have had a child! Of turkey!
Thank you for all you do, Meg.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cz7Ohc_OcN_/?igshid=ZWI2YzEzYmMxYg==
Loveee this look and cover!!!
Well go the hell off Chrishell!!!
Love to see the girlies girling!
This is my moodboard for Thanksgiving, channeling Auntie all the way!
Lupita Nyong’o Posts “Official Audition” To Be Janelle Monáe’s Lipstick Lover
Lupita Nyong’o has been dancing with, posting with, and generally being suggestive with queer icon and free ass motherfucker Janelle Monáe for years. Well, after all that hinting, she just made it official — an official audition that is!
This is Yale School of Drama-trained, Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o. And while personally I think she’s at the point where she should get offers for everything she wants to do, there’s no doubt she knows the value of a good audition. Today, she delivered a very good audition.
What has happened is: Lupita Nyong’o was at the F1 Grand Prix car race in Vegas last night and at some point in the evening recorded a video of herself dancing to Janelle Monáe’s “Lipstick Lover.”
Today, she posted that video on Instagram with the caption, “My official audition to be Janelle Monáe’s next #lipsticklover *kissing face emoji* *lipstick emoji*”
Now, Nyong’o and Monáe are obviously friends and this is an excellent thirst trap for anyone who might receive it, whether that’s Monáe or someone else. Nyong’o is also definitely in post-break up mode given her recent split from sports commentator Selema Masekela, which she addressed in an earlier Instagram post. “I find myself in a season of heartbreak because of a love suddenly and devastatingly extinguished by deception,” Nyong’o wrote in that post. First of all, wow, poetry. Second of all, yeah this could very well just be a classic make-your-ex-jealous IG lip sync that only very hot, very talented people can pull off.
But. Here’s where I make a confession. I’ve been waiting for something a little more official to happen here since I went to the Dirty Computer emotion picture New York screening and saw Monáe and Nyong’o dancing together. Again, maybe just friend dancing! But, like, aren’t friends the best kind of lipstick lovers??
What I’m saying is this: I’m pretty sure she’s going to book the part. If she hasn’t already…
WNBA Star Kahleah Copper’s Engaged To Swedish National Team Member Binta Drammeh, Look at That Love!!
Feature image of WNBA star Kahleah Copper getting engaged to Swedish Nation member Binta Daisy Drammeh by @kees2life via Kahleah Copper on Instagram
Three-time WNBA All-Star, 2022 Finals MVP, style icon, and all around superstar Kahleah Copper is engaged to Swedish National Team member Binta Daisy Drammeh! And look at that melanin!! Look at those bronze tones!!!
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cz4C7akLzCF/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D
Noted WNBA commenter and founder of the sports media production company HighlightHER Ari Ivory said it best in the comments of the post, “it should be a crime to be this fine together” (extremely facts!). I personally wanted to scream “BARBIE” when I saw the photos but I somehow restrained myself, you are welcome and don’t say Santa is the only one to give you presents this holigay season.
Other WNBA stars such as Los Angeles Sparks’ Zia Cooke, reigning Las Vegas Aces’ Alicia Clark, and Copper’s Chicago Sky teammate Emma Meesseman all shared love on the post as well. With Jackie Young (also of the Aces, and Copper’s teammate on Team USA) hilariously snitch-tagging on Kahleah to their mutual friend Arike Ogunbowale of the Dallas Wings, saying “you know we been waiting 😂.“
It’s very cute to see Kahleah Copper, a player known for having ice in her veins when the game’s on the line, the person who you always want to have the ball in her hand for the last basket, admit that she was stressed out. But love that does that to a person! (Or so I’ve been told! I still maybe personally believe that Love Is a Lie but only for myself, never for Kahleah and Binta!!)
Binta Drammeh is a regular in the Euro circuit. In the past, Copper played with the Barcelona team, I’m imagining that’s how the two players first met though it’s unconfirmed. Born in Skaggetorp, Drammeh is a forward with the Swedish National Team. And y’all I just love seeing diasporic Black love??? It’s giving Love and Basketball with a passport?? I’m smiling from ear-to-ear.
On behalf of everyone at Autostraddle, congratulations to Kahleah Copper and Binta on your engagement! I’m wishing y’all a lifetime of happiness and shea butter or coconut oil (whatever is your preference) to keep that melanin gleaming bright.
Ashlyn Harris Says She Didn’t Cheat on Ali Krieger
Feature image of Ashlyn Harris, who released an w s Instagram statement that she did not cheat on her ex-wife Ali Krieger, by Ira L. Black via Corbis/Getty Images
The weeks following the announcement of Ali Krieger and Ashlyn Harris’s divorce were a whirlwind, and many emotions were experienced throughout the community as we processed the news that Ashlyn was dating Sophia Bush and then that Ali was in her Lemonade era and then Ali won the NWSL championships. Fans and friends rallied around Ali to support her as stories of the divorce and of her ex being in a relationship with Sophia continued to overshadow her final weeks of play.
After a few days of obtuse instagram stories featuring suggestive but also puzzling quotes like, “shade coming from a tree bearing no fruit could never phase me. Carry on,” Ashlyn Harris has released a statement in the form of a multi-slide instagram story. In the statements, she discusses the pain of ending her 13-year relationship with Ali Krieger, her desire to be a good Mom, and how it’s felt to be the subject of such intense hatred on the internet.
In early November, DeuxMoi had claimed, via an unnamed anonymous source, that Sophia Bush had pursued Ashlyn for a year while she was still married to Ali Krieger and that Ali had evidence of their affair and had allegedly ended friendships with people who’d known about the infidelity. Maybe that story was true, maybe it wasn’t — the internet is indeed a place where anybody who wants to can make up a story at any time can do so. In her statement, Ashlyn says those rumors were not true.
“Let me be clear: I did not step out on my marriage. I was always faithful in my marriage, if not always totally happy. Like in many partnerships, there was work in therapy and processing done. None of this happened on a whim. We spent the entire summer working to tackle the separation and divorce steps outlined for us by our therapists, lawyers, and our shared agency,” Harris wrote.
Breakups are difficult and messy and heartbreaking and confusing and often within those breakups people do bad things, maybe the worst things, and all the hurt and confusion and pressure gets mixed up and blows up. Obviously none of those details can be truly understood out of context by anybody besides the people involved, and those are the same people who can ultimately decide what the consequences for those actions are, rather than the internet. Maybe the stories were true, maybe they weren’t, and online bullying is bad either way. At the end of the day, we are all but dust in the wind, spiraling away through the universe, messing up and trying to do better next time.