Call Me by Your Name’s Sufjan Stevens Offers a Christmas Song About Forgiveness

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Call Me by Your Name’s Sufjan Stevens Offers a Christmas Song About Forgiveness

You may recognize Sufjan Stevens’ music before you recognize his name. His Oscar-nominated Mystery of Love helped give Elio and Oliver’s summer romance in Call Me by Your Name its tenderness and longing.

Now the singer-songwriter has released his first new Christmas song in nearly 15 years. On This Christmas (It Only Gets Better) explores apology, forgiveness and the possibility of becoming more loving toward one another.

The Love Behind the Music

In October 2023, Stevens shared a deeply personal dedication when he released Javelin. He named his late partner and best friend, Evans Richardson, as the person to whom the album was dedicated.

In the Instagram message, also reported by The FADER, Stevens remembered Richardson’s warmth, curiosity and joy. He also wrote about the work of caring for someone you love, encouraging people to hold that love close through difficult times.

His music has continued accompanying gay relationships on screen. In a July Instagram post, Asthmatic Kitty Records confirmed that With My Whole Heart features in Heartstopper Forever, adding another connection for listeners who first encountered Stevens through a screen romance.

A Christmas Apology

The new holiday song arrived with its video on November 2, ahead of the November 6 release of Worst Christmas Ever!. The collection combines 15 earlier holiday recordings with the new original.

In his statement about the song, Stevens imagines a Christmas made better by giving and receiving forgiveness alongside gifts. He describes an apology as a way to begin breaking through conflict and misunderstanding, and the song as a prayer for greater understanding.

That invitation may resonate with anyone who has rehearsed a difficult conversation in their head. Finding the words can take time, even when the person matters enormously.

Six Thousand Images, Painted by Hand

The official music video carries that sense of care into its making. Stevens directed and edited it, working with photographers Michael O’Neal and Cubby Graham and a cast of friends and neighbors.

Inspired by Leesa Allmond’s mixed-media animation, the team printed 6,000 still images. Stevens, O’Neal, Graham and Hannah Cohen painted them before they were scanned again to create the video’s overlay effect.

Stevens’ Christmas recordings began in 2001 as homemade gifts for friends and family. Those sessions eventually grew into Songs for Christmas and Silver & Gold.

For listeners who found him through Call Me by Your Name or Heartstopper, this new song offers another way into his music: a few minutes to consider someone they care about, and what they might want to say.

📷 Asthmatic Kitty Records / Official Music Video / @sufjan

Jason Brock Waves a Pride Flag During the Warriors’ National Anthem

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Jason Brock Waves a Pride Flag During the Warriors’ National Anthem

Jason Brock was holding a note on the word “proudly” when he brought out a small rainbow flag. The singer was performing The Star-Spangled Banner before the Golden State Warriors faced the Miami Heat at Chase Center on November 5.

The date was part of the Warriors’ scheduled Pride Night celebrations. Brock’s flag added a personal flourish to the pregame performance, and footage soon attracted attention online.

A Flag and a Camera Cut

Outsports reported on the performance and the divided reaction it received. Some viewers celebrated the Pride gesture, while others criticized it.

A separate argument grew around footage showing Warriors players smiling or laughing. Posts presented their expressions as a reaction to Brock. The available footage does not establish what the players were responding to.

Brock himself offered that distinction. In a response on X, reproduced by The Shadow League, he explained that he hadn’t been watching the players.

“Just because they were laughing doesn’t mean it was because of the anthem,” he wrote.

His response left space for something the viral captions could not tell viewers. A camera can show someone smiling. It cannot, on its own, explain why.

A Familiar Voice in San Francisco

Brock has been performing for Bay Area audiences for years. His official biography describes a career spanning pop, jazz, Broadway and cabaret, including regular appearances at Martuni’s Piano Bar and The Academy SF. He also sings the anthem at San Francisco Giants games and reached the live finals of The X Factor USA.

That history places the Warriors appearance within a much longer relationship with local audiences. This time, a small flag made his performance travel well beyond the arena.

For people watching a gay singer take center court on Pride Night, the word he chose for that flourish needed very little explanation.

📷 @jasonbroccoli

Marshall Rawson Wins Florida House Seat After Reports of Anti-Gay Extremism

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Marshall Rawson Wins Florida House Seat After Reports of Anti-Gay Extremism

Republican Marshall Rawson has won election to Florida’s House of Representatives after an investigation documented his participation in the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville and reported social media posts supporting the execution of gay people.

The result gives Rawson a role in making state law. It also brings renewed attention to reporting published before voters went to the polls.

The Election Result

Florida’s unofficial returns for House District 10 list 43,865 votes for Rawson and 20,523 for Democrat Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson, with one write-in vote. That puts Rawson at approximately 68%.

The district covers Baker, Bradford, Columbia and Union counties and part of Alachua County. Local broadcaster WCJB reported his victory and noted that outgoing Republican representative Chuck Brannan was term-limited.

What the Investigation Reported

In a September investigation, Talking Points Memo reporter Christopher Mathias described footage showing Rawson arriving at Charlottesville and being greeted by name by members of the League of the South, a white supremacist, neo-Confederate organization.

TPM also reported on 2023 posts, previously documented by Clay News & Views, in which Rawson welcomed news of men facing the death penalty in Uganda and suggested bringing such punishment to Florida.

Rawson has acknowledged involvement with the League of the South between 2013 and 2016. He described his activities as opposing immigration and same-sex marriage and defending historical monuments. TPM’s reporting placed him at later events, including Charlottesville.

His Public Response

Responding to TPM, Rawson emphasized his defense of historical monuments and said he did not screen donors. He argued that contributions to his campaign did not constitute his endorsement of donors’ views.

WCJB’s election-night report said Rawson continued to defend his beliefs while emphasizing protection of North Florida’s springs and green spaces.

LGBTQ Nation revisited his record following the election. For LGBTQ+ Floridians, his victory raises a concrete question of public accountability: how fellow lawmakers will respond to a colleague whose reported statements target their constituents’ right to live safely.

Leo Reich Makes Room for Messy Gay Adulthood in It Gets Worse

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Leo Reich Makes Room for Messy Gay Adulthood in It Gets Worse

Coming out may open a door. Figuring out rent, friendship and who to date can take considerably longer. That is fertile ground for Leo Reich’s new comedy, It Gets Worse, which arrived on Paramount+ in the United States on November 6.

The six-part series follows Ethan, Abi and Sam, university friends whose lives become more complicated when they lose their London flat. Reich stars as Ethan, with Emily Fairn and Olive Gray playing his closest friends. Channel 4 commissioned the A24-produced series, describing the trio as devoted friends and dysfunctional roommates.

A Familiar Face at the Door

The cast also includes an unusually tempting collection of guests. Andrew Scott plays a therapist called Brian, Lena Dunham appears as Greta, and Amelia Dimoldenberg plays Emily. Novelist Zadie Smith supplies the narration, according to Paramount+’s official guide.

Some of those appearances grew from earlier creative connections. Reich worked with Scott and Dunham on Too Much. In his interview with GAY TIMES, he recalled sending Scott a scene he had written with him in mind, then nervously waiting for a reply. Seeing performers he admired agree to take part helped him believe in the project.

Growing Up Without Becoming Perfect

Reich told GAY TIMES that the title plays on the phrase “It Gets Better.” He values optimistic queer stories and wants space alongside them for gay characters who can be exasperating company. Ethan gives him plenty to work with.

That leaves room for friendship to be tested by everyday disappointments, conflicting wants and the mistakes people make while trying to understand themselves. Viewers who have long since left their twenties may still recognize the effort of looking composed while privately wondering what comes next.

In Variety’s November 6 interview, Reich discussed ideas for a possible second season. For now, audiences in the U.S. can watch all six episodes of the first season on Paramount+ with its Premium plan. The platform also released an official trailer for a first look at Ethan and his friends.

📷 Paramount+ / SHOWTIME

Colman Domingo Remembers Sharing Gym Class With Will Smith

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Colman Domingo Remembers Sharing Gym Class With Will Smith

Before either of them was an Oscar nominee, Colman Domingo and Will Smith shared gym and science classes at Overbrook High School in West Philadelphia. Ask Domingo how close they were, though, and he remembers two teenagers moving in different circles.

On the November 3 episode of Friends Keep Secrets, Domingo told hosts Benny Blanco, Dave Burd and Kristin Batalucco that Smith was a year ahead of him. As People reported, Smith was already performing locally with DJ Jazzy Jeff. Domingo remembers classmates going to the shows while he kept his attention on school.

Raul & Colman
Raul & Colman

A Reunion at El Torito

The last time Domingo remembers seeing Smith was back in Philadelphia. Smith had already found fame, and Domingo was waiting tables at El Torito. When Smith came in with friends, Domingo thought he looked as if he was trying to place him. A quick reminder about high school brought it back, and the two hugged.

Domingo went on to earn back-to-back best actor Oscar nominations for Rustin and Sing Sing, as Entertainment Weekly notes. Even with both men working in Hollywood, Domingo says he still hasn’t run into Smith again. He imagines there’ll be warmth if they do meet, with Philadelphia giving them something to talk about.

The Stranger Who Wrote First

Later in the episode, Domingo told the story of meeting his husband, Raúl. As Queerty recounts, the two locked eyes in Berkeley in 2005 and went on their way without speaking.

A few days later, Domingo was on Craigslist looking for a used computer and thought about writing a Missed Connections post. Raúl had already written one. There was enough detail for Domingo to recognize himself, including a mention of his fauxhawk.

They met up a few days later. Domingo says he told Raúl he loved him on that first date. More than two decades on, he still remembers how close they came to walking out of each other’s lives before they’d said a word.

📷 @kingofbingo

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