Advice from our Gay Elders

Published Aug 3, 2022, 8:09 PM

It’s a live taping at sea with Jonathan and Jaymes aboard their OUTbound cruise through Germany and the Netherlands! And it’s an all-inclusive event as J&J are joined by passengers of different generations sharing the advice they want to pass down to the next generation of our LGBTQ+ fam. From stories of a campfire, to a lunch at Marie Callendars, to a parade float of naked men…each experience is beautifully remindful of the importance of being true to yourself! 

Grab your Hoochie Daddy Shorts because this is one love boat you won’t want to miss!

This is Pridecast with Jonathan Bennett James on I Heart Radio. Welcome to podcast with Jonathan Mennett and my beautiful, beautiful husband, James Vaughan. Hello, baby, how are you hi? Baby? I'm fantastic. I'm on a cruise ship in the middle of almost Netherlands now we're almost in that. We're in between Germany and Netherlands. We're cruising up the river on Outbound with all of our fellow outbounders for our gay Travel company and fun have some of them here with us right now where you guys at. This is a live taping. This is Pridecast Live. This is the second live show we've done, and it's really fun, Like we have a blast doing these because it's it's nice to know that all my jokes don't land, and when everyone's here, nobody laughs, and so I am able to confirm that I'm not funny. But it's nice to have because then like I'm not the only one just looking actually going oh, listening in their cars. Honey, No one is looking at No one's listening to you. They're just looking at your legs. That's what's happening on right now in this moment. No they're under a table. Right, Uh huh, yeah, that's right. There's no video elements of this man, but he's in short short on purpose. I'm really really short short when the summer, I know, let's talk about Huccie Daddy short season. Right, there's Hucci Daddy short season where it's like a thing where it was just the gaye doing it. Now the streets are doing it. The sts are wearing the tiny little booty shorts for summer to show off their thighs. I don't know how I feel about it, because I can't tell whose game straight anymore. When I walk down the street and I'm looking at shorts and listen, the legs are on display. The legs are out for looking. They want you to look. The legs are on display. Jack over here is literally hold up all the different end scenes. He's like, five, did you say three inch? In ze? Who's rocking the three? You can? You can? You can speak, it's you can speak? How many? What is your shorts in scene? What's your preferred in scene? Six inch? Which is a weird one. No one wears a six five or seven or nine? Do you make those yourself? Okay? He buys, So what he does is he buys a seven and he rides it high. That's what he does, and that makes a six inch? Wait, alright, so mine or a five inches? Anybody else got a shorter in scene than a five inch? The en scene of machures. He just said, would you brag about that reason on a microphone? Okay? Right? Um? Kelly represented for the girls. What are the girls wearing these days? For? Oh, we got the girls over here yet? Oh yes, and here as well? Let go what are the girls wearing these days? Five? Seven? Nine is a prissy short, prissy leg Yeah, nine is very long lesbian is like a good booty short sometime like a like, uh, anyway, I feel like you just made a cool lot gesture over there? Is that is that is a cool lot sexy yet? Or is that we not got to that yet? Gauchos, because you know, like the shorts now are getting longer and longer and looser and looser for the lgbt Q plus folks. I mean James James has never not worn a booty short, so I can't. I'm not the best judge. Like all he wears our boy, Kelly is now standing up. Kelly the dining room us. By the way, Kelly's got a hot body, Kelly, are you single? Get okay, Kelly, come over here real quick, come here, hot seat settee. So we're set up in the dining room on the back of the ship and we're at some some dining room tables and we put one little seat in the front. So Kelly, is it Kelly Balch or bulk Kelly? Kelly Balch, photographer to the Star, photographer to the starts. She's a photographer. Jordin very special person for us because she photographed are her company photographed our wedding that was even in People magazine. They did all of our video elements and it was absolutely gorgeous and the best video we've ever seen. And she's part of the queer community. And we just love to raise everybody up in our community and work with them and make our little uh make our little tribe, and also plug their businesses always please y'all know I am pro lgbt Q plus business anytime every time I can. So um, if you get married, call our girl Kelly, because then you know you were supporting within the alphabet mafia. Yes, yes, my Instagram is Kelly Welch. I didn't say holler rado aside her. Yeah, by the way, so let's talk about that. Single, Let's talk about that. Let's talk about being single. So we're single. Where are you from, Kelly, I'm from originally from Palm Dell, but now I live in Los Angeles, l a West Hollywood based a photographer owns a giant photography company. This show was taken a turn, by the way we now about seeing it brought some people and to join us so we could do an episode on the gay advice that we want to pass down to the next generation because we have several generations in this room. Which is a beautiful thing about our outbound cruises, that we have this opportunity to have these conversations. And it's already taking a turn. For Kelly is single and so cute. She needs somebody. She needs to find somebody to lie. Now you got on Instagram his whole family now actually a beautiful family. I love every single body here. What's it like? What's it what's it been like for you on the cruise so far? Tell so many people always like can girls come? Oh my god, it's so much fun. I mean, it's all about intention and what you're looking for. And I came here to actually just have fun and connected everybody here. I've had all amazing conversations and connected with and got half naked with a Kelly. Um. When what decade were you born? And I'm not gonna ask people their their birthday? What decade were you born in? Right here at this table, and I would love to get your perspective what it's been like for the ladies here. Um, she was born probably seventy nine, right before that decade, and we need to talk about that. My on a costume, you were the decades night baby on our INSTAGRAMA Kelly described describe and she's just gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous, fine body. She's here with her wife. Um, I see you got some drool coming off? Are cheap if you can see the eyes Kelly is making right now, Kelly's got some flirty eyes going on. I mean, I'm single. Sorry, I mean it's true. By now, I'm sure you jumped on Kelly's Instagram to see what she looks like, so I'm sure you're sliding in as well. Go ahead, um, hit our girl Kelly up. Um, but obviously just know that you will be screened by every single homosexual in this room to make sure that you are good enough for a girl, Kelly, before you go, what, okay, what's your what are you looking for in love right now? What you're perfect? Like if you say, oh, they got to have a person to find um, they gotta have a beautiful mind set and like just positive mindset. Okay, that's one. Yeah. They also have to keep up with me. Okay, that's good. You're very crazy and that's true. Great great photographer, but nuts absolutely, sit absolutely, But you know what the best ones are. I'm just kidding. I'm kidding. I'm kidding, a good kind of crazy. And then yes, they have to love themselves, oh one, because if you can't love yourself, how the hell are you gonna love somebody else? Canna get an amen? Oh my gosh. Okay, well, we're gonna take a quick break and we come back. What are we doing, James, we come back. We are talking to our gay elders about what's that one piece of advice that you went a hand down to this next generation to make sure you know it. I wouldn't say elders, we're saying we're talking to different generations. Generational gaze. Oh, yeah, see everyone just left. Good job, be right back. All right, we're back. And I have to clarify, it's not the elderly gays, Chuck, it's our gay elders that have this wonderful advice because the cool thing that happens on our outbound cruises and we find ourselves in these conversations with people where we learn a lot of stuff, and it's really cool to hear people's stories of what their experience has been like as a queer person versus ours. And I just wanted a space where we could share these and then I started talking to I was actually Brian, I was talking to you at the bar and you were saying all this. You were spitting some amazing stuff at me, and I was like, we need to pass this down and make sure this kind of stuff does get passed down so the younger kids. We're talking about the kids that the kids know what it was like. But also, here's what we learned in all of our life because we don't have gay parents, most of us in our community, so we don't have that figure to tell us, hey, here's what it's going to be like for you. Here's what I learned being like you. So let's take advantage of having this resource and do it. Yeah, and it's it's what we're calling. Um, I wish I knew then what I know now? The Gay History Edition? Is that what we're calling I don't know, but I kind of like my baby anything, I really like a good title. So or we're calling it like, oh, advice from people that have been there, done that that are also gay and what I wish I told through. So welcome back to this episode of pridecasts with our different generations of queer, multi generational queer people saying what I wish I had told myself. Yes, maybe very saying arms up in glee that he figured out word out. Also, if you're just joining us, which you probably fast forward through the commercial, but we are in a boat right now, cruising down the river headed to the Netherlands. In a boat, you make it something like we're on a speed just like bumping cruise run a river cruise from um, so let's dive into this. We got a whole room full of people people, are you at ya? So who who has got that piece of advice that just you're a story? You know what I should have said and how you got there? Yeah, and you can also tell a story about it. Everybody, Brian, Brian, everyone's point of you. Brian, come over here. I'm so glad. First of all, it give it up for Brian. Brian just wandered in barefoot, probably just just got up from a nap. I appreciate you coming in here, and I'm so glad you found the bus today. We we almost lost you coming back in Germany because confront the bush, but we we got him, and I'm so glad we did. We adore you and we love you, and I'm so happy you're here. Um. You and I were just talking, were about two kids and what they don't know. What is that thing to you that that you were like? You know, kids, I need you to know this. I think the most difficult thing is to accept the fact of who you are and regardless of what you've seen on TV or radio or movies, you are a unique person. And once you accept yourself, that's the biggest hurdle because one realizes other people only have power if you give them that power. If they don't. If you don't give them that power, then they really can't hurt you, no matter what they say. And so that's my bit of advice. Just remember who's important to you and who's not important to you, and live your life. There's so much in that because I have it's beautiful that I could take away like three nuggets from that, just one thing right there. I have a friend that says, own yourself before they can own you. That's right, and it's and it's very that giving you credit on that because the genie my, but if you own yourself, it's it's It was a thing. I think it was like a family guy skit where sorry Ryan secrets to put you on blast and they're part of the Heart radio family. But when you had the highlights listen, I had them too, so it but everyone would like make fun of his highlights and his spray tan. Oh my gosh, I had that too, and he started just calling it out, No that that's that's streaks of great and that yes, but he started making jokes about it and let people know, oh I know what I'm doing, Like, come on, you don't have power here, and you take their power away when you do that. So that that is such a beautiful thing to know about yourself because so many of us in this room, I'm sure I'll had that moment in our life where we were taught that who we were was not okay, and you start having all this self hate within yourself, and then it's such a long journey to climb back up that ladder to get to a place where you can say, no, no, no, I was taught wrong. I had all the stuff to beat me down. That was wrong. It's actually beautiful who I am and I love who I am. So you saying that you should get to that that place sooner is listen, kids, that's that I would say, that's number one. That is number one, and kids, adults, everybody. If you're not there yet in your life, do whatever you need to do. If if it's if it's therapy, if it's if it's looking at that mirror and telling yourself you love yourself it is, if it is finding your people that see you for who you are and then love you for that and help build you up. Please please find it. You got it here in podcast we are here. You know you can slide into our d m s. You can call and me have the call in episodes, because that that is Brian is the best advice. Thank god you didn't miss the bus. What we've done about that. And wait, thank god you're here, Brian. Now what is what generation? What a decade were you born? Gonna ask people that age. I'm just letting people know where this advice is coming from. The early fifties. You were born in the early fifties. One of the miracles of the fifties, Brian, and one of the territories of the United States. Okay, Okay, there we go. We're kind of narrowing it down, but not but I like it. I like it. I like it. Drop send your location. And then also, what is the best part because we always talk about, yes, we always we always talk about the hardest part about being gay, right, the hardest part about being queer. What's the best part about being part of the l g b t Q plus community. There's so many It's a lot of fun. It's a lot of fun. You can be your authentic self and you don't have to really conform because being gay, you're not conforming anyway. But you can just be who you are, and your friends can be who they are, and everyone's so creative and accepting. Yes, yes, I mean there was a time where uh, someone swished or words and drag or mix their pronouns, and I was very threatened by that. And then later on these people became my friends, and I thought it wasn't their problem, it was my problem. It was my problem. And so we go into that more. I want to hear well, because one accepts the stereotypes that you see on TV. And I said, well, I don't want to cross dress, I don't want to wear makeup, I don't wear heels, I don't want to play with dolls, you know. And then I realized, you don't have to be that, that's what the stereotypes. You can be who you are. And I thought, you, I don't know any gay people, but in fact, I didn't know a ton of gay people. I just thought they were nice people. And so in my practice I roll model and when people asked me and I came out, they said, oh, you know you're a doctor, and oh you're gay. But you don't want to wear a dress. I said, I've never wanted to wear a dress. But then you know, you grow up in a and a society and your parents generally aren't gay, so you're only fed the stereotypes that you see, and you go, well, I'm that, but I'm not. And I remember when I came out to my parents. My mother said to me, why did you choose that life? And I said, Mom, who would choose that life? Not that it's bad, it's just it's so complicated and you have to explain yourself. And I said, the difference is when I see a beautiful woman, I said, my she's beautiful. But when I see a man, I lust after him. And that's the difference. And you say, wow, he's hot. Yeah, exactly. And so you know, like I said, I told my mom, um, you know, during the war, the Japanese were incarcerated and when someone said, hey, look there goes a jap and I said, what did you think? She said yea, And I said, that's exactly how I feel. I don't give them any power. Yep, you don't. And it's the thing of that I found when I first came out and started going and it was my group of friends or people that I knew and groups of friends that hang out with. There was the stereotype where they would say, oh, like, I like this guy, and then they would follow it by he's super hot and he's not like gay, and I go, what does that mean that he's not like gay? And what he's not like gay, Like, he's not like you know, he's like he's like a dude's or his masculine. He's not gay. And I'm like, but what you're going to do with him in the bedroom is pretty gay, Like you're gay just because he might act different. And I realized it was the you know, the a lot of people in my age that had a problem with screwed up what what masculinity was in their brains because of so many years of just being subjected to different ideas, and for them to be able to take that and like put a negative connotation on someone because like, oh he's too gay, I'm like, what is too gaming? Like, there's no such thing as too gay to see that's because that that comes from we thinking about self hate and not accepting and being associated with the feminine, feminine side. I have a little story. When I was in graduate school, I sat next to a very handsome married man who got a divorce and dated and dated, and we went scuba diving and skiing together and come on adventure yes, and we did everything together. And one day we were walking to a Marie Calendars restaurant and two leather clones walked out and we sat down. He goes, you know those two guys. I go, yeah. He says they're gay, and I said, really, how can you tell? He goes, I can spot a gay man a mile away. Honey, check your vision, Honey, check your vision. So that taught me that we have to become more visible to be accepted because we all know gay people, we just don't know that they're gay because everyone was so closeted at one time, and now it's very different, thank goodness. Being more visible. That is hit the nail on the head. That's why I we talk about some podcasts before, like Jonathan, I don't want to just post pictures of us kissing on Instagram. It's not that, but it's because of what that means to me. Because the first time I ever saw two guys kissing and the first time I ever felt normal, was when someone sent a piece of hate mail to our house when I was a kid. It was a politician and it was two guys kissing in suits. I remember it clear as day, and it said do you want to see this on your streets? And I was, well, yes I do. But that was that I was like your hay mail. Actually He was the piece of visibility that I needed to know that, oh my gosh, I'm not alone, and there is hope for a connection, There is hope for love, there is hope for someone else for me, And so be as visible as you can. You never know who was watching, who was looking at you, who was taking inspiration from you. So Brian, just keep being loud as hell like you are. I love give it up for Brian. Yes, who was born in the early fifties. That's some nuggets of advice kids that you can't get anywhere else but here on podcasts. You know, brend your mom is also a badass. I love that because, even even though that didn't apply specifically to LGBTQ plus people, for her to have that mentality and say that that, I'm sure to put a power in you and and a response in you. That has been very useful. Up next to everybody wants Cliff to join the hot Seat Sea. All right, Cliff, we we would love to get some of your perspective because you have been so wise on this ship. You can you can hit us with a decade if you like. And so they're really really late late fifties. Almost shouldn't consider it fifties, but legally it is yes, yes, not anything like Brian's fifties. I'm like, on the way, on the other side, we wouldn't have even gone to college together or anytime there you go. So so we'll call it light sixties. That's fifties light. Okay, that works. That, that's right. So what's what's that piece that you need the kids today? So I think that the piece that I would tell kids that at some point in your life you are going to no longer live your life seeking the approval of others. So the sooner that you stop seeking the approval of others, the more authentic your life becomes. You can wait till your sixty and start living your life without the approval of others or sixteen. But the sooner you start living that life authentically, you're gonna have true relationships. You will live your truth. You will have true happiness, true joy, less disharmony, less mental health issues. People around you will be inspired. But I mean it happens to all of us. Eventually, either either it's on our deathbed or or our parents deathbed or friends, we start living authentically. So the sooner you choose to do that, and stop seeking the approval of others. The sooner your life becomes authentic. And for me, um, it was forty okay and um at that point there was a youthfulness that took me that you know, kind of came over me. An energy, a light, a joy, happiness, not so concerned with what people thought. And it's that kind of thing or glow that people are drawn to. And I can use myself as an example, the fact that you pulled me up here. There's something about my authenticness and realness. You're a little bit of a good time, a little bit, you're beyond a good time, You're amazing. And so when I look at young people like yourselves who are living your tree people, yeah, yeah, people are drawn to that. And I think the sooner you live your authentic self and not worry about what other people think, that joy comes. Do you find there's a difference, in other words, for me, between you're coming out and then you're you're I don't give a right there they If you could find a way to align those, I think you would save yourself a lot. But for me, I know I came out and I remember that relief and that joy and that ability to to not have to beat myself and not worrying about hiding stuff. But I still wasn't that person that when I would meet someone, was was comfortable being fully myself. Coming out to yourself and being authentic is is where that glow starts. But you also there's a certain amount of screction you have to have with family, with employers, in your business world because everyone doesn't need to know whom you have sex with, because we're talking about sex, and you can't confuse who you have sex with with being authentic as as a person. You know, if if um, if someone is being authentic with themselves, then they know who they are right no matter what's being said around them or how people feel, or or their politics. But at the same time, you also have to have a professionalism because I don't want to know the sex life of all my coworkers or the business partner, the mailman, or I don't need to know that. But what I do need to know is that they're being authentic about who they are. If I asked you a question, I'm gonna get your truth. I'm not gonna get what you want. What do you think I may want to hear when you are honest with yourself. It does allow to be a more honest person in other places because we get we learned to lie as as queer people when we're young, and it is kind of hard to break that life cycle. And when you finally get to that place where you can break that life cycle, it is really beautiful because you know that everything in your life is, as you say, lift authentic and it's awesome. And since it's his pridecast, I think it's fun to ask people, do you remember your first pride you went to? Okay, if I'm gonna be truthful, the first Pride of It I went to. I didn't know that a Pride of It? Um, how were they not showing there? But they're not showing the rainbow flag was happened? Like, well know what it was was. I was at a Pride of It, but I didn't know. I didn't know what rainbow flags were, and so I just had to be kind of told what, you know, because I probably with other couples and it was probably San Diego and we were there during Pride Week but for a different reason. So it's like, what are all these people doing here? And you know, because I just saw people and I didn't realize that there was a sexual connotation to everything. And then when there was rainbow flag, someone explained to me what that was and said, oh, it's a it's a gay pride event. Well, there was a natural curiosity, and I don't tapped curiosity about oh, gay people, but I didn't see anything that look gay from where I was at. But if someone were to take a picture and the FBI showed it to me, yeah, fight of it in seven you know, I was yeah. And then now that you look back and you go, oh, yeah, that was a pride event, and then so the first one I acknowledged that was probably the first. Well, I would say the first time I felt pride. Was that a big well, those big circuit parties in San Francisco and town town Sending. It was probably twelve o'clock at night and they were playing It's Rainy Men, and I was in a crowd of shirtless men and I was done with a curious game. I had made a decision and I was dancing and jumping in the o my arms in the air, and I said, okay, I am so gay of my people, and I'm late to the party. But they welcomed me in and so as the community always will. When when was this? What year? Probably? Yes, all right, I love that from seventy seven when you said, oh, okay, what's going on here? To be like, okay, I'm what's going on here? I love Ah, that's beautiful. Do you remember your first one baby, when you had that moment? Like, I am so go I was in I was in the West it was it was the one in New York. It was the West Village. And uh. It was the year two thousand. I had just graduated from high school and moved to New York City to make it as an actress. And I had moved in and I was young, I was hot, and you were going to tell me nothing. I was ready to take Hollywood by storm and still true though, And so I my friend Michael Lange told me. He said, oh, gay prides this weekend. And I said, what's that? And he said, I need you to wear a tank top and come over me me to my house at night. In the morning, we'll walk down together. So I walked down with a group of him and his friends. I went to my first gay pride and remember rounding the corner and right as I did, a giant float with half naked men in speedos and thongs dancing. We're drove by, and I honestly not even a joke. Was like out of a movie. It was like a lue bad. It was for like it was for like like gun oil or something. And I literally screamed, I go what And I saw it. I remember, like, what is this? This just happens like it was like when Dorothy comes out of the house in munchkin Land and She's like, what is all this? Like this happens in the world, this exists, And that's that's my first Pride. That was the first time I saw it, and I've never left. I think I stayed there for like forty hours straight, just on the streets dancing. God, it was amazing. But you knew you were gay? Pride. We've had these conversations, Oh I knew I was. Everyone goes, when did you know you were gay? I say, when did you know you were straight? That because ever since my friends were like, look at these hot girls, I'm like, honey, I'm looking at you like I knew out of the womb. So for me, it's always been from the time that puberty hit, when everyone else started liking girls, I started liking boys. Yours was a lue bad. I don't know what. I don't know what lube, but it was like gun oil something. I know, you've shared your story, Cliff got up on that. Yeah, I get it up for a cliff. I remember, Cliff, y'all I've I've shared. We've shared a lot of our lives with each other. So I felt I thought it was going to be anything else but that. But yeah, So mine was camping with my friend who we were called J for anonymity purposes. But um, I knew I was gay prior, like I had had other experiences and things. Um, but we were camping teenagers, and uh, we were sitting we made a fire and I'm sitting on this stump. It's so vivid in my head and sitting a stump and we're like just like doing that, like you know, the eye contact thing, like you know, it's going a little too long and it's a little weird because like, how how are you trying to picture this? I was in my teens, late late teens, lateeens. Um, and uh, he just I remember came like charging, like I feel like he levitated over the fire. We had made somehow and it's like magical moment and just like leapt over to me, knocked me off the stump, knocked me onto my back, and just started kissing me. And that was the first time I had ever kissed a guy. And I remember in that moment going oh everything that I thought. I was like, Okay, maybe it's maybe it's this phase they're trying to tell me it is maybe like I'm I'm teetering on the edge of of either or I remember going, oh, this is this is this is what it's supposed to feel like, this is magical. Oh my god, I am what so gay and and I vivid as can be and it was not a loup at it, Prid. Is this why you always want to go camping? That's exactly why I always want to go campaign. Okay, first, I'll never go camping no matter what, even if I didn't hear that story. But this is why you always want to take me camping and build a fire. Now I get it. Now, I get it all makes sense? All right? Who wants to come up and get in the hot seat. We have one more person to talk about the stories and the things they want to share in the advice they want to share. But first let's take a quick break and we come back. We're gonna be sharing one more piece of advice and talking about ky history. Welcome back to Pridcast, your weekly dose of love, laughter, and hopefully a little bit of inspiration and a reminder to be proud of who you are. I'm Jonathan Minett, joined by my husband James Vaughan. They've gotten this far in the podcast. They know who they're listening to. Okay, anyways, talked to Tony. Let's go, and so we now got the spring chicken of the group, the spry young thing that wanted to come up here as he was sitting down and um mouth with a decade he was from because he's feeling so youthful right now, Tony, welcome on up, buddy, So welcome to this. This bit of gay advice is coming from which decade early. Yes, if we could afford the rights to my favorite hairspray song, Welcome to the Sixties, I'd sing it, but we can't afford that, So go right into it. You know. One of the things that I've been listening to with all these wonderful people in every decade is more so the future right. And I have an incredible cousin who has a daughter who is transitioned, and for me, it was not what I went through because we've all gone through it. We all survived, right. But also having a parent my cousin who sat down with her daughter and said, whatever you are, I'm I support you. And I told her, I actually sat her down and I thanked her. I said, you know what, you just remove so many hurdles that all of us went through, mental stresses, the fences that we had to jump over, the nights of drinking or trying to forget who we were. You just remove that all from your daughter and now it's just the support. So from me and from all of us that had to do a lot of hiding. It's wonderful to see the generations coming forward and saying you don't have to hide anymore and I will support you whatever you are. So I thanked her, and she looked at me and she goes, why are you thinking me? Because what I did, you're passing it on. Uh. That's what's incredible. I love that because that shows you that change is happening. That shows you that even if you change one heart in mind, that one heart in mind that's changed could completely change someone else's life. And we talked about that a lot too, with like how we saw it with our families, Like I saw family in mine that was extremely homophobic to have a full eighty uh at what I had to think about the number one. I was like it started. I was like, how far did they go? Well, well, I don't know with with my with my big brother saying he wants to do dragon like he might have gone one in one eight on the where he's landed. Yeah, So but it is those were hearts and minds that were changed because of just me living my life authentically that they now are are. I just remember, Jason, you knew this. We were out of you were with us. Actually it was the first time we went out in Richmond to go see my family. And remember that guy that was like a little bit of a mess. No he would say, boom baby, no, no, no, not that one. That one wasn't mess. He was there was there was a I was just having a little bit of a rough time. And somehow my big brother, my straight country asked big brother befriended this guy, which he would have never ever done before. But now, like loving me and seeing me living my life authentically. He realized this person could maybe use a friend and he felt like, oh, I I kind of get this guy. Understand this guy, and they developed this friendship on Facebook. And I remember my brother sending me a screen capture one day of this guy posted that he was having a little bit of a rough spot, and my brother was like, Hey, I want to be there for him. This is what he's going through. I don't have the knowledge as a gay person to be there for him. What can I say? What can I do? How can I help? And I was like, oh my gosh, I just I'm being so scared to tell you I was gay. And then now we get to fast forward ten years later and you are having this moment where you want to help somebody else that's struggling. I was just such a beautiful thing. And it was all because one hearted mind was changed. He was so right with that, Tony. That's the way it is. And you know, I'm looking at a kaleidoscope of color here. And we've all we've all have our stories, we all have our history. We know what our challenges were, and we've all succeeded so and we've overcome them. And now we're here on a boat, on a ship in the middle of between Germany and Netherlands with a whole bunch of people of the same community that's all been through it. And now like last night, we danced our faces last night before we go. This was because we have these theme nights on board. We got to explain that. So each night we have like different themes, right, and so last night's theme was if It's German Night, because we were in Germany. So we all put on ridiculous German costumes, some of us more ridiculous than others. That was a hot dog actually, which was which was my favorite costume by the way. And then we were we started as some later hosing costumes and we had this German group come on and perform. It was this whole like silly little thing. But um my baby, then somehow, I sure you've probably seen James's Instagram. I'm petrified to post it on mine, But on James's Instagram there's a picture of me. He found He found the the he found the ladies costume basket with the blood pigtails and dove all the way in. No one was aware and they just unannounced, showed up in the room as miss Hidi Hoe. And if I ever do drag, my name will be Heidi Ho because it is the perfect persona for me. And if you see the pictures on my Instagram, you will realize why he should never do drag. Yes, and you're welcome America. Such a handsome gentleman. But baby, oh my gosh, have you seen you in drag? You you think I'm bad? You look like like like the jolly green giant like sister. Listen, drag is for everyone, and drag is what you make of it. And just because we have found out that my drag is not beautiful and illustrious and gorgeous and glamorous, No, we have to go back and talk about the first time you did drag at our friend Joe. Can I get there? Can at least have my revelation? Oh my gosh, it's like podcasting with a toddler. So what I was trying? Even though I may have not been the beauty queen that I always envisioned I would be in my head when I finally did it, Um I was. I was still glamorous in my own way. As soon as I kicked them shoes off so I could walk and in my first strut and the wind hit my hair, so she wasn't beautiful. But listen in my head for that three seconds while I was in cliff, you saw me try to walk yesterday, those three seconds to where the wind hit me just right, I was everything, and you can't tell me no different. Okay, Now what do you want to read me on? Was just gonna read you on that, like that was what I was going to read you on because when you did it for the first time he put on heels, he was so excited and he walked down the hallway. He's obsessed with drag. He wanted to be so good at it. And when he walked down the hallway and was feeling himself, you know when you just watch your heart like your heart just breaks and are like, oh, I know you want to be really good at this. It's like any time he hears me sing a Broadway song, it's the same feeling. He's like, damn, I know, my baby wants to be good at singing Broadway. He's just not. And I'm like, I've a come to terms with that. But like the first time he put on heels and walked down. My heart just broke for him. And then once he did kick off his shoes and realize he's more of like a country bumpkin drag queen mea Messica Simpson, barefoot, jean shorts, messy hair, that's who his character is. It was flawless. Hair was not messy. That was a beautiful wig. That was messy to you. I was just talking about your normal hair. Uh nah, the one good thing. Anyway, I'm still gonna do it. I'm still gonna find the right person is gonna paint me, and the right person is going to pad me, and the right person is gonna be able to teach me how to get these giant old feed him on into some heels. And I'm gonna do it. And I'm gonna turn people out there that are listening and look up James's feet. Stop asking my shoe size, Stop asking his shoe size. It's a fourteen and it's they're also there's the they're they're very interesting feet. I'm just gonna say that that's one of the feet things. Like people love it. We love it. People are like, send me pictures of your feet, I'll pay you, and I'm like, no, I'm not sending you pictures of my feet, but how much are you willing to pay? Because maybe so we would like to buy a new house. So please d M James for pictures of his feet anyway, So thank you so much for sharing that. What is the best part about being gay? My husband? Oh, we love that. And with that we thank you. Give it up and to help us read this week's gay history, we are bringing to the stage. Oh, you are bringing Anita Row, Anita Drag Superstar, Palm Springs, very own Anita Row. Sood morning, good morning, because you just handed her a Wikipedia page to read. Yes, because we're talking about gay history. Because we're on the boat so we don't have our fabulous producers to help us with this stuff, and we wanted to cover this Star Raymond. Everybody's not on this with us right now as usual, So Jonathan ed up Wikipedia and it's like, Hi, Anita, no rehearsal, just read this Wikipedia entry. That's not even scripted for you, Anita. It's it's gonna be great, you're gonna do let's play the music. This week in Gay History is actually more of a this month in Gay History. But it's so cool. We wanted to share it with you. So Anita Rose, drag superstar, who has been performing so well and so wonderfully on this ship, please tell us what happened this month in gay history. So, actually this month in it was the very first Gay Games, Yes that's right. And it was held in San Francisco, California, believe it or not. And it was August to September five, Okay, explain it, um. So basically it's a parallel to the Olympics, um, but with all gay people, much more fabulous. And there was thirteen hundred competitors from all over a hundred and seventies cities globally participated in this and they were let's see. Uh, I gotta read that Wikipedia girl, I know. Well the well, the thing is that the event, the goal was to promote the acceptance and inclusion of gays, lesbians, transgender athletes in an athletic world and celebrities with the with their abilities and their achievements. There you go. So this month in gay history and nineteen eight two, we made the Olympics way, we made the Olympics super dead because if the original Olympics weren't gay enough, Thank you, Drag superstar Anita Rose, look around having thank you for joining us. Wait before we go, I want to shine my big gay spotlight every week to our audience out there, you guys, the live audiences. Here, we shinn our big gay spotlight on somebody that we think is doing amazing things in the community that we think people should know about. And you know what, Anita, I'm shot him a big gay spotlight on you this week, Anita Rose. Because Anita is traveling internationally for the first time. We fell in love with Anita because she hosts brunch in Palm Springs at Oscars and it's absolutely phenomenal. And so we did a German drag showcase where we went and brought our favorite drag queens from Germany onto the ship to perform, and Anita hosted the event. Did a Yodelin sensation little lip sync thing that I've never seen anything quite like in my life. And You're such a light. You have brought such good energy to this ship and it's been so fun having you here. So, Anita Rose, big a spotlight on you this week. Baby. Go follow her on the Instagram. It is I T s Dot Anita and we're working with her on her content. It's gonna get better. We need more drags anymore. All right, thanks so much for joining us in here, everybody that joined us in the audience, and thanks so much everybody for listening. My baby is now playing with the headphones, which means his attention span has quit, and so that is the end of It's time to go see you next time, bas Law.

Pridecast with Jonathan Bennett

Jonathan Bennett a.k.a. Aaron Samuels from Mean Girls has added another a.k.a. to his name, as host  
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