Wise folks that you are, you don’t need Dustin Lance Black and Richard Socarides to tell you today’s guidance memorandum from President Obama was barely a nudge toward equal rights, and downright insulting to some. But Black, his photo scandal notwithstanding, has proven his way with words and got to show off his ability to speak to and motivate young people while accepting his Academy Award. He did so again on AC360 last night, making the prescient observation that Obama’s signature today — while ignoring us on every other issue, and, for the first time since taking office, seriously addressing gay Americans — only further told gay kids in this country they are still second-class citizens.
Bummin' Barack
Dustin Lance Black: Obama Once Again Told Gay Kids They’re Worth Less
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Mike
I think it’s ballsy that he would be on a news station so quickly after the sex tape leak. Almost as if he waved it away as the nonsense that it truly is so he could get to the real issues.
This is exactly why he shouldn’t be compared to the likes of Paris Hilton or Kim Kardashian. They used those things for publicity and fame. He’s ignoring his. Bravo.
And as for what he says, absolutely. I think this is the year of many a disenchantment over Savior Obama.
Janelle deFarir
Personally, I don’t see Black in the same way anymore. He just seems sooo hypocritical in light of those pics, not to mention getting past the sleaze-factor. It’s comparable to seeing Tom Hanks laying on his back, someone inserting a dildo in him while munching on porn-peen. Unless you have Hilton as your last name, there really is no rehabilitating a career after such a scandal. All that is left to do is align yourself with a ’cause’ and hope for the best. Unfortunately, after seeing those pics, his cause does not equate to helping starving children or ailing senior citizens.
Sceth
@Janelle deFarir: What scandal? It is sorta unfortunate he was unprotected, but have you never caught two people having sex?
allstarecho
After the show, Anderson Cooper took Dustin Lance Black back to his pad and barebacked him all night long. I want that DVD too please.
Captain Freedom
@Mike: HOW DARE YOU! Do not denigrate Messiah Obama! You shall be castrated and fed to the lions!! Barack Obama is Jesus and God and has the power to smite you with his CHANGE lightning. Lol
Janelle deFarir
@Sceth: Anytime there is a public-figure in compromising positions on private videotape it meets the definition of a scandal. Anytime those said positions include penis’s, mouths, porn stars, and ass crevices it meets the definition of scandal with a just a touch of trash.
Couple that with his prior statements and that equals a visit to Anderson Cooper to change the subject.
Stefano
Geez; lighten the F&ck Up. He won an Oscar, he didn’t cure HIV or open a non profit for three legged animals. He’s human and we all make mistakes.
Passion can overtake people and you make decisions that are questionable. In this day and age everyone is filming or taking pics of what should be a private situation.
I’m glad he’s not hiding and not ashamed. I still think he’s relevant and who cares what he does in the privacy of his own bedroom.
Always ask….what would “Alexander the Great” Think?
Puck
I still have a huge crush on both Dustin and Anderson. Anderson is my silver fox and Dustin is the sexy man in black, literally, when he is in a tux or a suit. yummy
Rudy
While Socarides was more to the point, Black made a very passionate and sympathetic spokesperson.
It is good to see him get right in there ignoring that sanctimonious slimeball Perz Hilton and all the bitter, jealous and judgmental comments posted here.
Michelle
I love how the actual topic of conversation has got lost in the comments and focused on Dustin as opposed to Obama instead! Dustin may or may not have done a few questionable things of late, but at least he’s pushing the gay right issue. Obama made a big statement by mentioning the gay community in his victory speech and it appears has been backtracking ever since, something I find very sad to see.
Neesey Lingiler
I agree. After all the stuff Obama has been caught lying about and the Dems covering up for him, I WILL NEVER VOTE DEMOCRAT again if the opposing candidate has a better record. I don’t care what party they belong to. I will vote for their past actions and character. At this point, Obama, Barney Frank, Pelosi have been very dishonest. I would rather vote for a Mormon (ala Romney) because at least they are consistent and mean what they say. With Obama he seems: (1) like a closet-case, (2) to have no back-bone and will capitulate at the drop of dime-bag, (3)to be a narcissistic, pathological liar.
I seriously can_not_stand him anymore. Everything the Republicans and Libertarians warned about him have come true, and then some.
Dennis Fraer
At this point, you seriously don’t want a Dustin Bareback representing you in a court of public opinion. This is the equivalent of having Jeff Stryker being the spokesperson for Virginity Magazine. Please go away Dustin and let someone else handle it from here while you go and polish your anal flashlight collection.
glennmcgahee
No doubt Anderson invited Lance onto the show after seeing the porno pics of him. “Heh, I want some of that”! says Coop to his producer.
Adam
Dustin Lance Bareblack doesn’t hold the same shine anymore. He’s opportunistic and a fraud. How he can possibly expected to be taken as a serious commentator or leader is beyond me. He’s proven to the world that what he says publicly and what he does privately are worlds apart.
How dare him shame Obama about respecting the gay community when he obviously has no respect for either the community or himself. Nobody who has unprotected sex with ecorts and bareback models possibly could.
daknyc
I love the hypocrisy rampant with the DLB supporters/Obama Bashers – as if speaking up and to “kids” which he is so passionate about while doing something exactly and diametrically opposed to their health & welfare was laudable. So when it is a white entitled male doing it (and doesn’t have the mantle of being the leader of the free world & the weight of having to do things in the framework of politics) it is just fighting the war of public opinion – somehow he is a champion? Seems very unlikely to me, and honestly a skewed set of morals.
DLB is not a champion or even a very effective voice for the cause. In fact he has made himself a liability by his rather bad decisions in trusting a hustler/pornsite owner (who I hardly think was his boyfriend, but am glad the velvet mafia keeps us thinking that) and the monumental stupidity of recording it. I’m sure they both used those photos on their barebacking website profiles – and recordered their relationship status as married – that was a real stride for my civil rights. How droll.
I will be there to protest his appearance at NYC pride and in October on the Mall to PROTEST (not “meet) him.
SFNative
I thought Dustin did a great job in the interview, and he strikes me as an eloquent and courageous person who shows a charisma that is needed in being a voice for the movement. His point about LGBT children is spot on, and I seriously believe that we should be giving A LOT OF FOCUS on our children because they are our future, they represent what we all want, which is full equality. He stands up for the fact that we want much, much more than what was given to us today, and that is appropriate. I understand what happened with the sex tape, and I am frankly ready to move on from that. I think he’s a good asset for our cause, and I look forward to what he has to say as we continue forward.
Dustin, see you in at the March on Washington this October.
MakeItNotBeTrue
Boy, DLB didn’t waste any time coming back on TV! Not only a whore, but a media whore. And of course, sharing the screen with this closeted hypocrite Cooper. Disgusting. Black again speaking about the rights of gays. Who is he to do this? What doesn’t he tell his bud Cooper to come out and that would set a great example for all gay kids.
unclemike
Wow. A young gay screenwriter has sex and is not ashamed about it and you all start clutching your pearls, searching frantically for the fainting couch.
I, for one, am very happy to have such an articulate young man be our spokesman for a while. The hypocrisy is troubling, but that doesn’t negate his message or his passion for equal rights.
And as for Obama, the more I think about and re-read the DOJ/DOMA argument, the angrier I get. I hope he really is playing chess here, thinking a few moves ahead, but I fear this was a huge fail for his administration.
And Anderson Cooper can come out of the closet in his own damn sweet time. He’s already a very vocal rights supporter, let him decide when and where to be public about his privacy.
blacknightukalba
Some people are Gay.
Get Over It!
Gay people have sex together.
Get over It!
People have sex together.
Get over yourself!
People get betrayed by their
lovers / partners – sadly.
Lance Black did nothing wrong,
he was NOT careful
as he should have been, but many
people in a relationship do not
(wrongly in my view)
use a condom after both being tested.
This does not take into account that
a partner may be having unprotected sex
while lying to you-
guess it comes down to trust.
Was he reckless – yes.
Does he admit this – yes.
Personally I think he is a thoughtful
and effective spokes person,
we need more like him.
Dont play the Fundies games of shame.
Puritans may have found(ed) America,
but they realised that Marriage IS
a civil contract.
Orpheus_lost
I remember when the Bush administration didn’t like what someone was saying about them, they would go on a personal attack assault – just like many of these pathetic trolls are doing now with Black. It just goes to show that the 23 percenters exist in both parties and they truly are the dregs of society. Since Black is correct and they know it, they have nothing to fall back on but smears and lies. They have become the neo-bushies.
Sal
This doesn’t help us at all. Couldn’t they get someone other than DLB to speak for the “community” besides a guy who barebacks on video. If this is the best we can do we are in trouble.
I can CNN producers now saying let’s not book Joan Garry, Elizabeth Birch, Keith Boykin or any other positive rep of the GLBT world, but let’s get that guy who has the sex tape.
Kyle24
@unclemike:
He isn’t a young man. He is 35!!! Everyone keeps acting like this guy is 18 or something. At 18 I udnerstand mistakes, but at 35 he should know better.
Cam
Everybody is so worried about what kind of sex this guy is having that you are all ignoring the fact that a high profile gay guy, went onto a high profile show watched by millions to advocate for our rights. I think the correct response is…good.
ggreen
Could everyone mind their own business? Sex is private and consensual not a group activity to be voted on by morons.
Every ass hole is entitled to their opinion so let the asshole who is with out sin cast the first stone. GO DLB!
Dabq
@Sal: This from someone whop has pictures of him taking it on the web, sorry, you are the last person to be telling anyone how to live. I know that the posters here have deemed you as “hot’ but, sorry, your opinion is as lame as all out. Now, please feel free to flame away posters since you give anyone this site has said is ‘hot’ a pass on anything! Who is going to show any respect for this guy in the real world??
Kyle24
@Cam:
“High Profile” doesn’t mean quality. Perez Hilton is higher profile than DLB and I don’t want him as a voice of the gay community either. DLB’s message is lost on viewers when they learn about his barebacking video.
unclemike
@Kyle24: well, compared to me, he’s young. LOL. Be that as it may, we don’t know the circumstances of the pics, so I’d preferto not cast any stones there.
paulied
My, what a judgmental bunch of queens we are today. At the end of the day, all this “scandal” proves about DLB was that he had sex, albeit irresponsible sex, with someone who he cared about several years ago. The person who deserves your outrage and scorn is the the amoral bit of filth who made a buck betraying the trust of a suddenly famous talented young man
Hannah
I could understand the message being lost if he were talking about safe sex. In this video, he didn’t talk about sex at all. He talked about equality and how the Obama administration needs to realize that gays are people too.
Geez, with friends like these, who needs enemies?
Kyle24
@Hannah:
DLB isn’t a friend of mine. My friends have more respect for themselves and their partners and don’t have unsafe sex.
edgyguy1426
I would think AC took this into account before he had him on his show. Yeah I did get a naked visual for a sec, but then I listened to all he had to say and I think he did a credible job. And GEE, just think these busy activist people who do so much for the community, can actually also criticize the president. So you CAN do two thing at the same time. HMMM
kademonster
i mean why is the sex tape a big deal? i didn’t care about Paris, Kim, or Pam Anderson. Why should I care when DLB does it? Why should anyone? Grown ups fuck. Kthanks. And MANY gay activists don’t use condoms and still hold their head high at rallies. You don’t have to agree with it, but he is sticking up for us in an extremely public way that put him in the firing range… that takes balls. And then to act like it doesn’t bother him… golden balls. So get the fuck off your 1952 high horse and realize it’s 2009. I’m sure even the pope will one day have a sex scandal because it’s becoming so common. Why we care so much what other people do in their private lives when they just wanna help is beyond me. Assholes.
Emma
@kademonster:
“sticking up for us in an extremely public way that put him in the firing range”
The man is employed in the entertainment industry and lives in Los Angeles. What firing range is he in? It isn’t as if he lives in rural Arkansas and has to go back home and live his life openly in an area that isn’t accepting. The only firing line Dustin is in is getting a mojito or cosmo tossed at him in a Weho bar.
TANK
ROFTLMAO! @ The only firing line Dustin is in is getting a mojito or cosmo tossed at him in a Weho bar.
And tell me, which gay activists hold their heads high and don’t practice safe sex? Andrew SUllivan excluded.
alan brickman
obviously the pics came out to discount his opinions on obama..go dustin!!
Hannah
@Kyle24: You are an incredibly nosy friend.
schlukitz
There are a few virtuous, self-righteous queens on this thread that need to get over themselves.
Snap! Snap! Snap! LOL
Nick
Dustin Lance Black is getting on my nerves. He’s new to the activist scene and here he is trying to reinvent it. I’m younger than him and I’ve been in more Orgs and Committees than I can count. Learn how to do the grass roots organizing? I’ve been doing that since I was 16, before MySpace and Facebook. Dustin Lance Black needs to clue in
Tony
I have a great deal of respect for Mr. Black. Yeah, some pictures from years ago surfaced. We know nothing about the circumstances surrounding the pictures, so we really should not be saying such hateful things when we know little about what really happened.
Obama on the other hand has lied to the LGBT Community and compared us to pedophiles and those who practice incest. He says that God disapproves of our marriages and families. He has fired people from the military in a depressed economy based on sexual orientation. He is a slimeball douchebag saggy titted piece of shit on his best day. I won’t even say what he is on his worst.
Tommy
Harvey Milk frequented bathhouses and none of you are discrediting his legacy. You’re the bunch of hating hypocrites.
@Nick: One thing DLB has that you (and I) don’t is a podium. Whether we like the fact that he hasn’t put in as many “serious” activist hours as we have or not, the point of the matter is the guy has a platform that we may never get after decades of service.
So use him for our purposes – which is to get an eloquent opinion out on equality. Oddly enough, it’s his purpose too. And he’s doing a good job at it.
Regarding the bareback tape: The only people interested in DLB’s bareback tape are gay people. Very few straights a) know who DLB is (beyond being reminded he wrote “Milk”) and b) know about (and are interested in seeing) his bareback tape.
And those are the people he’s speaking to. So get over yourselves, indeed.
M Shane
No. 40 · Tommy The difference between the situations with Black and Milk is that HIV and AIDS weren’t around. there was no reason until the 80’s that barebacking wasn’t preferable.
Now it is wise for everyone to use condoms while having anal sex, unless you want to get sick or sicker. Barebacking models the image of carelessness for yourself and the other person. Granted some people would rathernot have sex. That’s the breaks being alive now.
jason
HIV is not a gay issue, so please stop citing it in terms of gay rights.