Pop Culture Fix: Nonbinary Actors Alex Newell and J. Harrison Ghee Make Tony Awards History

Feature image photos by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions 

It’s still Pride and I still love you! (I’ll love you even when it’s not Pride, of course!) And here’s your Monday Pop Culture Fix!


+ Last night’s Tony Awards were gay, of course; they always ware — but they’re usually super cis, super white gay. Last night, though, Alex Newell and J. Harrison Ghee made history by becoming the first nonbinary actors to win acting awards! CBS bleeped Michael Arden’s triumphant acceptance speech, but don’t worry, Michael Arden. And, of course, host Ariana DeBose absolutely crushed it while honoring the WGA strike, doing the whole shebang unscripted. Here’s a full list of winners.

+ Cher and Chaz Bono are producing a new horror film together.

+ New York Magazine’s Devery Jacobs’ profile is so very worth your time.

+ You know, I didn’t expect Elliot Page’s memoir to be so very… Lez Girls?

+ Samuel Lao chatted with Hayley Kiyoko over at Shondaland and it’s wonderful.

+ It was a huge gay weekend in the WNBA, which Natalie and I will have more on later, obviously, but both Sue Bird and Sylvia Fowles had their jerseys retired in really moving ceremonies. Megan Rapinoe was there with Sue, and gave a speech about how much she loved her and how she’s arguably the most accomplished athlete of all time. (You can imagine how that’s going over in the men’s sports community, which makes it even better.)

+ Warrior Nun had to hide their queer storyline from Netflix, which is just so maddening I don’t even know what to say about it!

+ After I Kissed a Boy success, the BBC confirms lesbian spin-off, I Kissed a Girl. (I love that Yahoo! has this in the sports section.)

+ Stephanie Beatriz explains why she kept bisexual identity “hidden” for so long.

+ OL Reign’s Jess Fishlock, Tziarra King use visibility as couple to ‘stand up’ for LGBTQ+ community.

+ I can’t believe I forgot to tell you this last week: Beanie Feldstein and Bonnie Chance got so married!

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

Join AF+!

Heather Hogan

Heather Hogan is an Autostraddle senior editor who lives in New York City with her wife, Stacy, and their cackle of rescued pets. She's a member of the Television Critics Association, GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, and a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer critic. You can also find her on Twitter and Instagram.

Heather has written 1718 articles for us.

8 Comments

  1. I was so keen for Elliot Page’s book that I pre-ordered it and purchased it the day it came out. I’ve read half of it and my only disappointment stems from the expereinces Elliot went through that were dark and unpleasant, but no names are mentioned. I’m sure there are a ton of legal reasons – but I want to know who the fuckwit was that tried to sexually assault Elliot at that party.

    I wish Elliot had been able to disclose this information – bring down whoever did this to him, name and fucking shame them.

  2. i’m still shocked that the warrior nun scoop was offered unprompted by david hayter. the rest feels on par with what netflix has been doing honestly, as much as it hurts.

  3. NoCramming has been my go-to for honest reviews and finding the best deals on academic writing services. The PaperWriter promo code https://nocramming.com/paperwriter-promo-code they offered was a game-changer for me, especially when budgeting for the many expenses that come with grad school. The code saved me 10% immediately, and the quality of work delivered by PaperWriter exceeded my expectations—original, timely, and error-free.

Contribute to the conversation...

Yay! You've decided to leave a comment. That's fantastic. Please keep in mind that comments are moderated by the guidelines laid out in our comment policy. Let's have a personal and meaningful conversation and thanks for stopping by!