Trans People in Entertainment 2/20/23

Honey Dijon

Transgender DJ and music producer Honey Dijon who has worked with Beyoncé on her newest album Renaissance was part of the Grammy Awards show. The appearance acquainted millions of Grammy viewers with her DJ skills. Something that until the broadcast was only available in dance clubs around the world. Like most artists who suddenly get famous Ms. Dijon has been working a decades-long career that started in the 1990s Chicago rave scene. She later received international acclaim as a D.J. and produced two albums of original house tracks. Madonna has called Ms. Dijon her favorite D.J. After the Grammy awards show Ms. Dijon did a gig at the Glasshouse club in New York City. Check out the article in The New York Times for more about Ms. Dijon

India has a government ministry that works to improve social justice for India’s citizens who are in minority populations. As part of that mission the National Institute of Social Defense (NISD), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment organized a Trans Talent Hunt on February 3. Over 100 trans men and trans women from across the country participated in the event. Participants were able to showcase their talent in singing, dancing and painting. The ministry’s goal is to normalize the presence of transgender people in society, making the nation more inclusive and sensitive towards trans persons. Get more info from the Times of India.

Michaela Jaé Rodriguez

Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, star of Pose who can currently be seen in Apple TV’s Loot, has been chosen as the face of British cosmetics mogul Charlotte Tilbury’s best-selling Pillow Talk makeup line that celebrates the love of beauty and promotes confidence and empowerment for all. Rodriguez said in the promotion’s launch, “’I have loved using Charlotte’s skincare and makeup products for years… ‘My skin truly cannot live without Magic Cream and Magic Serum, and her iconic Pillow Talk collection is my trusted makeup staple on and off screen – there really isn’t any other shade like it anywhere.” Congratulations to Mj on being Tilbury’s latest beauty muse. Get more details on the photo shoot from the Daily Mail.

Night Ride is a Norwegian short film that starts with a trans woman accidentally stealing a bus. She gets on the bus just to keep warm but circumstances conspire to place her in the driver’s seat.  She gets into it and begins picking up passengers but then trouble starts as one of the passengers is an attractive trans woman who has come to the attention of two men. The trouble gets real when they realize the object of their attraction is transgender. The other passengers choose to pretend they see and hear nothing as the men turn their anger on the trans woman. The film’s director Eirik Yveiten said in an interview, “The syndrome called bystander apathy can easily set in,” he says, where if one person doesn’t take a stand, those around them wait for someone else to act first, often “leaving it too late”. Learn more about the film from BBC News.

D. Smith

D. Smith was a successful music producer while presenting as a man. When she made the decision to transition she was rejected by the music industry and lost everything. That was seven years ago. Since then Smith turned to film making, starting with a camera given to her by a friend. In a recent interview she said, “. . .when I got the camera in my hand, I knew something good was going to come out of it”. That something good, some describe as transcendent, is a documentary film called Kokomo City. The film spotlights Black transgender sex workers and The Philadelphia Gay News said, “The film is an uninhibited, fearlessly sexual documentary that explores what life is like for four Black transgender sex workers — a true watershed moment in trans-centric filmmaking.” Kokomo City premiered as an official selection of the NEXT section at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Read an in-depth interview with D. Smith in the Philadelphia Gay News.

The Cuban Legend David de Alba is excited about his come back show April 1 at the Winchester Theater in Las Vegas. David promises his fans will be thrilled as well with a retrospective of his long career in female impersonation. He hinted in a recent email to TGF that specifically for this show he has developed a “terrific new show concept”. What could it be? Best way to find out is to get your tickets online and see the show on April 1. For information and directions call 702-455-7340.

Kerri Colby

Kerri Colby is a model, activist and online and TV personality who most recently appeared on Season 14 of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Like many in the trans and drag communities she had a hard life beginning in her teens when she came out and was rejected by her parents at 15. As an activist she has written an article for Variety as part of that publications recognition of Black artists and entertainment figures for Black History Month. Its title is How to Protect the Drag Community From GOP Hate: Demand, Distribute and Vote. Read the article on how you can fight back against right wing hate in Variety.

L Morgan Lee

Tony nominee trans woman actress L Morgan Lee will be in concert at MCC Theater Space’s Newman Mills Theater March 24 at 7 p.m. ET, part of Carnegie Hall’s Women in Music series. Lee is best known for her Tony-nominated performances in the musical A Strange Loop. She is the first trans woman to ever be nominated for a Tony.

When you think about OG drag performers one name that springs to mind is Doris Fish. She was the alter ego of Philip Clargo Mills, whose rise to drag fame began not in America but Manly Vale, (ironically) a suburb of Sydney, Australia, and ended in AIDS-ravaged San Francisco in 1991. Fish performed all over San Francisco and was one of the stars in drag science fiction film Vegas in Space. Her story has been turned into a book titled Who Does That Bitch Think She Is? Learn more about Doris Fish from The New York Times.

Tags: drag, featured, film, music, Transgender

Category: Transgender Fun & Entertainment