Omar Rudberg’s cheeky vacation pics, Kristen Stewart in stoner mode & all the best LGBTQ+ releases this week
Stay in-the-know with Queerty's midweek pop culture catch-up.
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Need a boost to get over Hump Day? The Hot Sheet is Queerty’s midweek pop culture catch-up, highlighting the entertainment stories everyone’s talking about, the ones you might’ve missed, and the notable LGBTQ+ film & TV releases in the days ahead. Here’s everything you need to stay in-the-know:
What To Watch This Week
- Drag Race France, Season 4 — Now Streaming (WOW Presents Plus): Nicky Doll hosts this très chic drag battle royale, with opera singer Creatine Price the series’ first U.S. queen to compete.
- Girls Like Girls — Now Available (VOD): Hayley Kiyoko’s sapphic pop anthem-turned-book comes to the big screen, following a lonely teen girl’s (Maya de Costa) crush on a new friend (Myra Molloy).
- Canada’s Drag Race All Stars — July 9 (WOW Presents Plus): Brooke Lynn Hytes, Priyanka & Jimbo judge this first-ever All Stars competition for our drag sisters from the North.
- Project Runway, Season 22 — July 9 (Hulu): Drag Race alum Plane Jane & Q are among the cast of this fashion-forward reality series, with the always chaotic Tyra Banks joining the judges’ panel.
- The Five-Star Weekend — July 9 (Peacock): Find sisterhood, self-discovery & gay awakening in this series with Jennifer Garner, Regina Hall, Chloë Sevigny, Gemma Chan & D’arcy Carden.
- The Man Will Burn — July 9 (HBO Max): Each year, plenty of gays are among the masses who head to the desert for a festival of lights, music & community. This is their wild (& dusty) story.
- Gail Daughtry And The Celebrity Sex Pass — July 10 (Theaters): The Wet Hot American Summer team’s silly Hollywood satire, co-starring out rising star Miles Gutierrez-Riley.
- Evil Dead Burn — July 10 (Theaters): Hunter Doohan’s among the cast of this brutal & bloody horror, the latest in the long-running series about ruthless demonic spirits.
Culture Catch-Up
THIS ISN’T GOODBYE: Knowing we’re not ready to say goodbye when Heartstopper Forever hits the streamer next week, Netflix has announced Ending On A Hi, a behind-the-scenes special featuring Kit Connor, Joe Locke & more, which will premiere on July 24. [ The Hollywood Reporter]
SPICY TOAST: Despite its A-list guest list & traffic-disrupting location in central Manhattan, we still know very little about what went down inside Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce‘s wedding… except that Lena Dunham gave a speech where she compared football to gay p*rn, which apparently did not go over well in the room! [ Queerty]
GETTING CHEEKY: This Young Royals star is all grown up as pop prince Omar Rudberg treated fans to an eyeful in a recent Instagram post that brings new meaning to the “photo dump,” if you catch our drift. We can’t even share the booty-baring pic, but enjoy the full view here and check out some more shots below:
CHRISTMAS IN JULY: It’s the return of our favorite season tradition, the The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show, as Jinkx Monsoon & BenDeLaCreme announce dates for the 8th edition of their beloved tour—plus a brand-new book for adults is on the way, too: “raunchy romp” The Queens Who Made Christmas. [ BroadwayWorld]
BON VOYAGE: After an Atlantis gay cruise was blocked from docking in Turkey due to so-called “moral values,” Broadway legend Patti Lupone—the ship’s onboard entertainment—spoke up in protest: “I am furious, but I am sailing,” she wrote, adding the many passengers “deserve so much better than this.” [ LGBTQNation]
BUD-DY COMEDY: Kristen Stewart in a queer stoner comedy? It’s more likely than you think! Written & directed by her wife Dylan Meyer, The Wrong Girls (out Aug. 14) follows two slacker friends caught up in a dangerous case of mistaken identity, co-starring Alia Shawkat, Kate McKinnon & Geena Davis!
QUEEN OF THE HOUSE: If one of the new Big Brother houseguests looks familiar to you, that’s because Jason Du Puy is better known as Salina Estitties. The star of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 16 & All Stars 11 is a “low-key superfan” gagged to join the CBS reality show’s 28th season, premiering July 9. [ Billboard]
DOCTOR’S ORDERS: Biopic Trust Me, I’m A Doctor is on the way, recounting the story of Anna Nicole Smith‘s complicated relationship with her physician during her tumultuous final years. Aussie actress Abbie Cornish portrays the late reality star, while out actor Kal Penn will play the controversial doc. [ Queerty]
BUTCH BELT: From creator Matt Hartman, The Jewel Box Revue is an in-the-works animated musical comedy series about the country’s first interracial drag tour in the ’50s, which gives butch lesbian performer Stormé DeLarverie the spotlight she’s long deserved. Check out an early animatic of original song “I’m A Star”:
WHO’S LAUGHING NOW?: Vera Drew—the filmmaker behind superhero satire The People’s Joker—has been awarded the Transgender Film Center’s Inaugural Found Footage Fund Award, and with that will set out to make her follow-up, Trandemic, described as a “cosmic found footage horror-comedy.” [ Variety]
GAME ON: This past weekend, the Gay Games XII—basically the Olympics for LGBTQ+ athletes—wrapped up in Valencia, Spain after facing political tension, extreme heat, and even boycotts from local organizations. Nevertheless, the Games played on as an emblem of queer resilience. [ Outsports]
THE BISEXUAL BARDESS: Rising pop queen & Queerties Award nominee Madison Rose is helping us keep Pride Month going all summer long with her latest single, “God’s Plan,” a thumping electro-pop empowerment anthem with defiant lyrics like, “I can be whatever I can dream / I am the I am, I am free.”
The Final Hump
This week marks the 11th anniversary of Learn The Words, B*tch!, a lip-syncing competition at the historic Akbar in Sliver Lake, which has become a queer LA institution. Every month, Tony Soto—”the best drag queen you’ve never heard of”—hosts the show, inviting folks of all stripes to perform a lip-sync number for the crowd & an esteemed panel of celebrity judges (for the anniversary show, that included icons Troye Sivan & Leland). They can play it seriously and emote to the heavens, bring the funny with all sorts of jokes & gags, or deliver a reveal that’ll have the whole room screaming—it doesn’t matter so long as they learn the words, b*tch!
Now, a new documentary short from filmmaker Monique Durán & U.T.B. Studios will highlight its incredible legacy, looking back on its first decade of gay ridiculousness as Soto, co-creator Maxwell Esposito & their fearless lip-syncers have kept the show alive through the 2020 lockdown, political pushback to LGBTQ+ rights, and so much more B.S. With new interviews & archival footage, plenty of past judges make appearances, too—keep your eyes peeled for Joel Kim Booster, Tonatiuh, Farrah Moan!—as the film shines a light on why this is so much more than just an amateur drag show, it’s a bastion of queer joy. Watch the trailer for Learn The Words, B*tch!, and be sure to follow its Instagram for updates on when & where you can see it yourself!
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