HOLLYWOOD – By any estimation, 2023 was a chaotic year in the world of pop culture, from strikes by the various acting and screenwriting unions to an attack on LGBTQ material both in book form and in drag performances.
The Washington Blade and Los Angeles Blade staff worked hard all year to highlight the heartfelt, the talented, and the creatives that exuded queer power. Now as this turbulent year ends, it’s time to look back on the entertainment milestones and the best conversations we had in 2023. The list was compiled based on the exclusivity of the story to the Blades and the stories’ popularity with readers.
First, the honorable mentions that could easily have been in this top 10 list:
Jamie Lee Curtis spoke out as the mom of a trans daughter in our article “If your kids are trans.” Her bottom line: Love is love. While getting an interview with him was not difficult (we know where he lives), Washington Blade editor Kevin Naff gave us exclusive insight into his new book “How We Won the War for LGBTQ Equality — And How Our Enemies Could Take It All Away.” The article, “Lessons learned & how to win the coming equality rights battles” featured an interview with Naff and contained lots of entertainment “tea.” Karen Carpenter, an iconic voice of the past, rocked our entertainment section this year as well. We talked about her legacy 40 years after her death with author and documentary filmmaker Randy L. Schmidt in our article “Starving for perfection.” The last “honorable mention” is the Blade article on a Los Angeles-area musical discovery, Kyle Rising. Kyle is unique and powerful, and Blade readers were fascinated pushing our article “New sound ‘Rising’ echoes past yet escapes predictable genres” to the top of our charts.
Celebrating the best of 2023, here are 10 of our favorite arts & entertainment stories:
#10 “Real Friends of WeHo proves to be the epicenter of … something.” The show crashed and burned as the Daily Beast labelled it “a colossal gay nightmare.” Our readers were fascinated by our coverage of its impending doom.
#9 “Amazon Prime Video flirts with a regressive LGBTQ-erasure image.” A League of Their Own was a show that did not deserve to be shelved after one season. Readers were enthralled at our scathing criticism of Amazon and the “bullshit and cowardly” cancellation.
#8 “Drag Isn’t Dangerous Telethon overflows with emotion, cash.” Drag performers received unprecedented amounts of vitriol this year across the country. When they put together a telethon to fight back, our readers showed up.
#7 “Queer Eyeing for the Dead Guy” featured a group of LGBTQ ghost hunters who were seeking to give afterlife make-overs.
#6 “We don’t need another hero — there will only ever be one Tina Turner.” Like most of the western world, we grieved the loss of the icon. So did our readers, in the hundreds of thousands. “For the non-conforming male personas amongst us, and for the female personas among us, she was our phoenix rising from the ashes of toxic masculinity, overcoming it, and becoming the epitome of the queen, the warrior, the triumphant.”
#5 “How a talented punk rocking hellion became a ‘Bottom for God.’” Music producer Barb Morrison gave us an exclusive about her career, life and adventures into recovery. Readers loved it as much as they did her Blondie and Rufus Wainwright hits. “Morrison’s writing is much like the artistic spirit of their music: very rhythmic, sometimes chaotic, folding in on itself, exhilarating, big, pushing boundaries, peaceful and then bombastically back in your face again.”
#4 “Angelica Ross becomes latest trans talent to choose advocacy over Hollywood bullshit.” Trans representation is a strong theme throughout Blade coverage and this article epitomized it. Angelica Ross’s assertion on the treatment of transgender talent resonated strongly with our readers.
#3 “Oscar Stembridge’s music reveals his optimism and emotional truth.” The Blades were pleased to introduce the young Swedish indie musician to America, highlighting his Los Angeles debut concert. Clearly, our readers welcomed him with open arms. “His music is an anthem for Generation Z, a suspended cry of hope and disparity amid a larger global socio-political struggle.”
#2 “Sophie B. Hawkins’s new anthems are exactly what LGBTQ youth need.” In our exclusive interview with the musical LGBTQ icon, Sophie B. Hawkins spoke about standing up for uniqueness and fluidity. “Sophie self-identified as an ‘omni-sexual’ in the ‘90s. While others scratched their heads at the term, she embraced concepts that are just now being understood and lived. Her new album, ‘Free Myself,’ underscores the theme of authenticity and taking the freedom to be yourself as you are, and want to be seen.”
At No. 1, our exclusive with the beautiful and vulnerable David Archuleta took place just after he came in second (again) on the popular Masked Singer. It is only fitting that we, and our readers’ love, make him our No. 1 of the year.#1 “David Archuleta may have lost Masked Singer, but he’s winning life.” In our exclusive interview, David spoke candidly about coming out and his internal and external fights with the Mormon Church. “Now he is singing a new song, literally. The song is an anthem that can speak to every trans, LGBTQ+ kid or adult in the community. More, it is a declaration of who David Archuleta is, and what we can expect from him. Yes. Archuleta is back, winning, and this time, he is taking us with him.”
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Rob Watson is the host of the popular Hollywood-based radio/podcast show RATED LGBT RADIO.
He is an established LGBTQ columnist and blogger having written for many top online publications including The Los Angeles Blade, The Washington Blade, Parents Magazine, the Huffington Post, LGBTQ Nation, Gay Star News, the New Civil Rights Movement, and more.
He served as Executive Editor for The Good Man Project, has appeared on MSNBC and been quoted in Business Week and Forbes Magazine.
He is CEO of Watson Writes, a marketing communications agency, and can be reached at [email protected]