Long Island just got a little more handsome and a lot more hopeful thanks to congressional candidate Chris Gallant.

The Democrat from New York’s South Shore has been popping up everywhere lately, turning what started as a grassroots bid for Congress into a race people are suddenly paying close attention to.

If his latest Instagram posts are anything to go by, he is doing it with a mix of policy grit, cable-news poise and a very cute plus-one riding shotgun.

Gallant has built his campaign brand around being a blue-collar guy who knows what working families are dealing with because he has literally lived it.

Before running for office he worked as an air traffic controller, the kind of job where government shutdowns are not abstract talking points but the difference between stability and chaos in your paycheck.

That real-world experience has made him a go-to voice on TV hits breaking down how shutdown brinkmanship hurts ordinary people trying to pay the rent and keep planes safely in the sky.

In recent days he has appeared on both CNN and MSNBC to talk about the cascading crisis in air travel and why Congress needs fewer performers and more problem-solvers.

On Instagram he boils that message down with the bluntness of someone who is frankly tired of the circus, writing that the shutdown had devastating impacts on working Americans and that it “didn’t have to be like this.”

His pitch is simple but sharp.

Instead of dysfunction he wants leadership that stands up for working Americans, and he promises to take that mindset with him to Washington if voters in NY-01 send him there.

That message just got a serious boost with a key local endorsement.

Suffolk County Legislator Greg Doroski has thrown his support behind Gallant, calling him an example of what real public service looks like.

For a challenger taking on an entrenched Republican district, that kind of hometown validation is political gold and a sign that party insiders see real momentum building around his campaign.

But what really makes Gallant stand out in a sea of talking heads is how openly he shares his life outside the studio lights.

Amid all the policy posts and cable clips, his feed this week also included a soft, relaxed car selfie with his boyfriend, the two of them grinning on a holiday drive and wishing everyone a “Happy Thanksgiving, Long Island.”

It is a small moment, but in a political landscape where candidates still too often hide their personal lives, seeing a would-be congressman casually share a sweet snapshot with his partner feels quietly radical.

The picture says as much about his values as any stump speech.

Here is a man asking to represent a diverse district while openly modeling the kind of joyful, everyday queer love that many of his future constituents live themselves.

For LGBTQ+ voters and allies, it is a reminder that representation is not just about how someone votes but about who they are and how honestly they show up in the world.

As the campaign in NY-01 moves toward the next phase, Gallant seems determined to keep doing both.

He is making the case for better wages and safer skies on the airwaves, while also showing up on our feeds like any other Long Island guy in love, road-tripping with his boyfriend and grateful for the people he calls neighbors.

If that combination of heart, hustle and highway selfies is any indication, Chris Gallant’s run for Congress is one race queer politicos will want to keep on their radar.

 📷 IG: @ quicksilver7148

Zane Phillips and Joel Kim Booster just gave the gays a little reunion moment on Apple TV+, and honestly, it feels like being handed a warm cup of Fire Island nostalgia with a side of gym gains.

The thirty-two-year-old Zane has clearly been investing some serious time sculpting his already enviable frame, and his latest cameo on the Apple TV+ comedy series Loot shows off the results in a way that should probably come with a viewer warning.

His appearance also reunites him with Joel Kim Booster, marking the first time the two have shared the screen since their sun-drenched queer rom-com hit Fire Island back in 2022.

Booster, never one to miss an opportunity to gush over a friend, posted a sweet and funny tribute on Instagram, calling Zane “smart and sweet and FUNNY,” which is basically the gay version of sending someone a bouquet of roses with a wink emoji.

Phillips pops up in episode eight as a character named Mr Maro Gold, and even though his appearance is brief, fans immediately clocked the upgraded muscle situation and absolutely refused to act normal about it.

The cameo dropped just as Loot is hitting its stride in its third season, with Maya Rudolph leading the series as Molly Wells, a billionaire divorcée who tries to rebuild her life by throwing herself into charity work and extremely expensive emotional healing.

But Zane wasn’t content with just blowing up social media through acting alone, because he also released a brand-new music video this week for his track Scorpio (Death Stare), which is part of an astrology-themed project called Retrograde The Musical.

The concept is delightfully chaotic, with each month bringing a new song tied to the astrological season, and the creators are building toward a full album and eventual stage project that already feels destined to attract gays, theatre kids, and astrology-obsessed millennials in equal measure.

In the video, Zane serves leather-clad, moody rock-star energy, leaning hard into an emo aesthetic that feels like the love child of early-2000s punk and modern queer glam, and fans immediately lost their collective minds over how effortlessly he fits the vibe.

He is joined on the wider project by a list of queer-adjacent favorites including Bonnie McKee, Dylan Mulvaney, Matt Rogers, Vincint, and Liisi LaFontaine, making it feel almost engineered in a lab to appeal to LGBTQ+ audiences.

Between the reunion with Booster, the jacked new look, and the rock-star reinvention, it’s safe to say Zane Phillips is deep in his “main character era,” and we are simply grateful bystanders watching the glow-up unfold in real time.

So whether you’re tuning in for the Loot cameo, the Fire Island nostalgia, or the Scorpio-season chaos of his new music drop, this week is basically a Zane Phillips buffet, and we are absolutely going back for seconds.

The Thanksgiving Day Parade always delivers big balloons and bigger Broadway moments but this year Jonathan Groff and Bowen Yang somehow managed to steal the entire show with nothing more than a dance break and one very flirty hand kiss.

Groff who is currently leading the Broadway musical Just in Time stepped onto the parade stage ready to charm America and Bowen Yang suddenly appeared beside him like the best holiday surprise no one asked for but everyone immediately adored.

The two kicked off the performance with a playful little dance number that felt half musical theater half inside joke and fully overflowing with queer joy.

When the number ended Groff took Bowen’s hand leaned in with dramatic Broadway precision and placed a soft old-Hollywood kiss right on it sending the internet into a swooning spiral faster than a Macy’s balloon caught in November wind.

The moment was quick warm and intimate in that way only performers who genuinely adore each other can pull off and it instantly became the highlight of the entire parade broadcast.

Groff who has been earning rave reviews for channeling Bobby Darin in Just in Time clearly brought his romantic crooner energy straight from the stage to the parade route and Bowen was more than ready to match him beat for beat.

Fans watching from home lit up social media with reactions calling the moment “unexpectedly tender,” “peak Thanksgiving queer culture,” and “exactly the kind of softness we need before eating our body weight in mashed potatoes.”

What made it hit even harder is that both stars represent different corners of modern queer stardom with Groff as Broadway royalty and Bowen as one of comedy’s most sharp and unapologetically queer voices.

Seeing them share the stage so naturally on one of the most family-watched TV events of the year felt like a quiet but powerful reminder that LGBTQ+ affection belongs everywhere including the country’s coziest holiday morning tradition.

The parade itself was its usual ratings juggernaut bringing in tens of millions of viewers which means that tiny hand kiss reached households that don’t normally tune in for queer joy and that deserves a little glitter-covered celebration.

Groff has talked often about how much he loves connecting with audiences and that sincerity glowed through every part of the performance especially in the soft look he gave Bowen before delivering the moment seen around Gay Twitter.

Bowen meanwhile is no stranger to musical theater energy thanks to his work on Wicked: For Good this season which has already become a full box office cyclone proving he can switch between comedy musical drama and now parade-day flirtation with ease.

In a year already overflowing with major LGBTQ+ wins moments like this show how queerness continues weaving itself into the mainstream not as a spectacle but simply as joy friendship and connection.

The whole thing lasted only a few seconds but it carried the kind of soft spark that lingers long after the cameras cut to the next marching band.

It was sweet it was genuine and it was exactly the kind of queer magic the holiday season secretly needed.

As the year winds down Groff continues conquering Broadway and Bowen remains one of entertainment’s most magnetic and lovable chaos angels making their Thanksgiving moment feel like the perfect crossover nobody saw coming but everyone is grateful for.

If the holidays are about warmth connection and tiny gestures that remind us we’re part of something bigger then Jonathan Groff kissing Bowen Yang’s hand just became an instant queer classic worthy of a permanent spot in the LGBTQ+ holiday highlight reel.

📷 IG: @ nbc