Gayjoy Digest #09

Good morning Gay and welcome to the first 2022 edition of Gayjoy Digest. 

We took a few weeks off over the holidays because we love ourselves, and also because all of the socially-responsible event organizers in NYC canceled everything between late December and now. Queer events are still basically on hiatus, though The Woods is back tonight. We’re sure it’ll be super low-key.* 

Anyway, the holiday/COVID-surge combo seemed to slow the queer news cycle down for a sec, but we’re here with a quick recap of everything you might have missed: 

• Kehlani and 070 Shake are dating. 

• Amy Schneider now has the 3rd-longest Jeopardy! winning streak in history, and has won over $1.1 million. She also continues to be a delightful person. 

• Mj Rodriguez became the first trans actor to win a Golden Globe, for her role in Pose. 

• This photo of Anna Kendrick and Lauren Glucksman made lesbians everywhere go “hmmm…. ??” Kendrick is, by all accounts, heterosexual, but we love a woman so gay that she makes other women look gay simply by standing next to them. 

• Season 2 of HBO’s 12 Dates of Christmas showed lesbian lead Amanda Jenkins attempt to find love with a dozen different women. Following the show’s release, castmate Brooke Lusk (who was there in pursuit of a male lead) came out, explaining that she’d dated fellow contestant Hina Sabitine. 

• Euphoria came back. It’s still very depressing. 

Now, onto some more current events!  

Dakota Johnson is in another queer movie

Following her small but very hot cameo in St. Vincent and Carrie Brownstein’s Nowhere Inn, noted bisexual Dakota Johnson has a larger, queer-er role in the upcoming film Am I Ok?. Co-directed by Tig Notaro and her wife Stephanie Allynne, it’s guaranteed to be quite gay.

Here’s the synopsis: 

“Lucy and Jane have been best friends for most of their lives and think they know everything there is to know about each other. But when Jane announces she’s moving to London, Lucy reveals a long-held secret. As Jane tries to help Lucy, their friendship is thrown into chaos.”

That “long-held secret,” of course, is that Lucy (Dakota) is in love with Jane. 

The film premieres at Sundance later this month, and we’ll be watching as soon as it’s available on streaming platforms or something. 

Aisha Dee definitely has a girlfriend

Fans of The Bold Type, as well as fans of beautiful people falling in love, will be thrilled to know that Aisha Dee almost certainly has a girlfriend. Our first piece of evidence is the following photo, shared by her (likely) girlfriend Lucy Barrett: 

We don’t love this caption, but it is what it is. They look great together.

Though the two have yet to confirm their relationship—or even officially come out—we think this photo is a dead giveaway. But in case you’re thinking, “I don’t know, maybe they’re tenderly embracing in the pool in a platonic way,” Carmen Phillips of Autostraddle did some investigative research that points to the contrary.

Cute! 

Jasmin Savoy Brown and Liv Hewson are running The Gay Agenda

We’re going to be honest here: we haven’t watched Yellowjackets. Though the allure of a show about ‘90s girls in the woods with a touch of lesbianism is strong, we simply couldn’t get past the gory cannibalism. 

Still, we’re active enough on Twitter to know that everyone’s obsessed with teenage Taissa and Van, played by Jasmin Savoy Brown and Liv Hewson. 

Both actors are queer in real life, too—Brown is a lesbian, Hewson is non-binary—and have been very open in interviews about how they feel about the show’s queer representation. And now that season one has come to a close, they’re hosting a podcast together titled The Gay Agenda. 

We’re very excited on the behalf of Yellowjackets stans, and also on the behalf of Brown and Hewson, who managed to score an interview with Carmen Maria Machado for their show. 

Queer briefs

• Lady Gaga claims that she and Salma Hayek filmed a scene for House of Gucci in which they “develop a sexual relationship.” If this is true, we would like to sue whoever cut that scene from the film for damages. 

• Elliot Page has signed on as an executive producer for Nel Mio Name, an Italian documentary following four friends through their transitions. 

• In the first SNL of the year, Kate McKinnon and Ariana DeBose did an excellent sketch on Sappho translations. There’s a weird defense of Ellen in there, but we’re willing to ignore it for the Indigo Girls lyrics. 

• Ava Phillippe (daughter of Reese Witherspoon) maybe came out on IG last week, responding to the question, “Do you like boys or girls?” with “I’m attracted to… people! (Gender is whatever.)” Very Gen Z, we like it. 

• We’re getting a Sue Bird documentary. We assume it will be gay. 

• Lastly, this one isn’t news, but someone please take this casting idea from Jill Gutowitz and run with it. Thank you. 

*It will certainly not be low-key.

Got something you’d like to share with our community? Send us an email! Whether you’re hosting an event, looking for queer talent, or are single and lookin’ for love, we’re here to help. 

Written by Becca Stickler with Nicole Ripka