Taipei Mayor Apologizes After Gay Bar Raid Sparks LGBTQ+ Protests

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Taipei Mayor Apologizes After Gay Bar Raid Sparks LGBTQ+ Protests

Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage. But a police raid at one of Taipei’s gay bars has prompted protests, disciplinary action and questions about how that promise of equality translates into everyday treatment.

On October 5, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an apologized to people affected by discriminatory conduct during the operation at Commander D, a well-known gay BDSM bar in the city’s Ximen district.

The search took place on October 3. Police took 51 patrons in for questioning and arrested the owner over alleged public-decency offences. Police say they acted under a court-issued search warrant following complaints about the venue.

Those allegations remain separate from the complaints about officers’ treatment of the people inside.

Patrons and LGBTQ+ organizations described humiliating and excessive treatment. Video circulating after the operation showed an officer making a derogatory remark about a wheelchair user’s sex life.

Around 100 people protested on October 4, challenging the conduct of police in a city known for its LGBTQ+ community and Pride celebrations.

By October 5, the police response had expanded. According to local reporting by Mirror Daily, a review of body-camera footage confirmed inappropriate language by four officers. Each received two reprimands.

The lead investigator was also disciplined for failing to stop the remarks, while the precinct director received disciplinary action over supervision. Six police personnel were disciplined in total.

The mayor’s apology addressed discriminatory treatment during the exercise of police powers. It did not announce that the investigation into the bar had been dropped.

LGBTQ+ groups are seeking a broader examination of the search, questioning and restrictions placed on patrons. They want accountability that goes beyond identifying officers who used inappropriate language.

Taiwan’s legalization of same-sex marriage in 2019 was a landmark achievement. The response to this raid shows a community insisting that its rights must also be respected in the places where people gather, socialize and feel at home.

A gay bar’s patrons deserve fair treatment and dignity throughout any police investigation. The disciplinary decisions are a response to confirmed misconduct; the wider questions raised by the community still require answers.

📷 AI

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Clive Barker Turns 74—the Gay Horror Writer Who Refused to Censor His Characters

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Clive Barker Turns 74—the Gay Horror Writer Who Refused to Censor His Characters

Clive Barker turns 74 on October 5. For many readers and film fans, his name immediately conjures Hellraiser, Pinhead and a mysterious puzzle box.

But another story deserves remembering on his birthday: the two gay men he refused to let publishing pressure erase.

Early in his career, Barker wrote In the Hills, the Cities, a horror story featuring two male lovers. In an interview preserved on his official website, he recalled being advised against publishing it because its sexual content could reveal his own sexuality and alienate readers.

One proposed solution was to change the gender of a character, turning the pair into a man and a woman. Barker rejected that suggestion.

He revisited the publishing dispute in a September 4 interview with Rue Morgue. When the publisher demanded that certain stories be excluded, he withdrew his books. These were his first books, and he understood that refusing could cost him the opportunity.

The publisher returned asking for two sentences from In the Hills, the Cities to be removed. Again, Barker refused. The work was ultimately published.

That decision mattered beyond one argument over a manuscript. Gay men and their desire had a place in Barker’s fiction, alongside the unsettling transformations, unfamiliar worlds and outsiders that became central to his work.

His birthday also arrives during a new period of creativity. In a statement accompanying Library of the Dead, Barker said he was celebrating his recovery after ill health and generating new work.

The project comprises three collections planned for 2027, bringing together new and previously published writing. It marks a return to the short horror fiction associated with his Books of Blood.

There is another imminent return to his universe. Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival launches October 8 as a first-person horror game, with Doug Bradley returning to voice Pinhead.

For Barker, turning 74 comes with more worlds to explore. For gay readers, it is also a chance to celebrate a writer who took a risk when he was just beginning—and kept his two male lovers in the story.

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Jonathan Bennett Was Filming a Kiss. Then the Crew Gathered to Watch History.

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Jonathan Bennett Was Filming a Kiss. Then the Crew Gathered to Watch History.

Jonathan Bennett was preparing to film a kiss when he noticed more and more people gathering around the set. Crew members had come to watch.

Even the caterers were there.

He was working on The Christmas House in 2020, opposite Brad Harder. The two actors played married men, Brandon and Jake, who were hoping to adopt a child.

In a new interview with Obsessed: The Podcast, Bennett recalls wondering why the scene had attracted such an audience. The director explained that they were about to film Hallmark’s first same-sex kiss. People wanted to witness the moment.

For Bennett, the realization brought a sudden sense of purpose. He describes understanding why telling these stories mattered—and the role he could play in bringing them to a mainstream audience.

It was an affectionate moment between husbands in a Christmas film. For viewers accustomed to seeing only straight couples occupy that space, its simplicity was part of its significance.

Bennett later starred in The Holiday Sitter, the 2022 film that became Hallmark’s first LGBTQ-led Christmas movie. His work continued to make room for gay romance within a genre built around comfort, family and happy endings.

Those stories have a personal connection for him. Away from the cameras, Bennett shares his life with husband Jaymes Vaughan. The couple married in Mexico on March 19, 2022, surrounded by family and friends.

That real-life partnership gives meaning to his determination to portray love stories resembling his own. Two men can fall in love, build a home and celebrate a future together—the familiar ingredients of a romantic film.

In the new interview, Bennett says hostility toward LGBTQ people has strengthened his commitment to that work. He wants to continue creating queer love stories and making sure audiences can see them.

For many viewers, a Christmas movie is a small pleasure at the end of a long day. For someone who has rarely seen their own relationship reflected in that familiar world, it can also offer a welcome feeling of belonging.

The people gathering around the set understood that the kiss marked a change. Bennett’s recollection captures the moment he understood what that change could mean for his own work, too.

📷 Hallmark @jonathandbennett @jaymesv

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Luke Evans Knows Gay Hollywood Actors Who Aren’t Out. He Understands Why.

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Luke Evans Knows Gay Hollywood Actors Who Aren’t Out. He Understands Why.

Luke Evans says he knows gay actors in Hollywood who have chosen not to publicly come out. His response is one of understanding: the people watching their careers cannot know everything those men have experienced.

Speaking to The Telegraph in a new interview, the Welsh actor reflected on the pressures surrounding sexuality in the industry. He acknowledged how difficult it could feel to be one of the few openly gay actors working at his level as his film career took off.

Evans, 47, points to the private circumstances outsiders cannot see. An actor’s family situation, personal experiences and struggle to establish a career may all shape what he feels able to share publicly.

He expresses sadness that Hollywood does not have a broader range of openly gay stars, while recognizing that he cannot speak for the men who have made different choices.

That combination gives his comments their weight. A successful openly gay actor can value visibility while understanding why another man might hesitate.

The interview also includes an intriguing reflection on James Bond. Evans says his name was on the list for the role for roughly a decade. He takes that as a sign that his sexuality was not an automatic barrier to consideration, although he now considers himself too old for the part.

This is Evans’ account of being considered. It does not establish that he received an offer, auditioned or reached a particular stage in the casting process.

His career has included The Hobbit films, Fast & Furious 6 and Beauty and the Beast, giving audiences plenty of examples of a gay actor portraying characters whose lives differ from his own.

Offscreen, Evans shares his life with partner Fran Tomas. In an earlier People interview, he described Tomas as his best friend and spoke warmly about how well they work together, both personally and through their clothing and lifestyle brand, BDXY.

Their public relationship provides a welcome glimpse of a leading man enjoying life with the man he loves. It also leaves space for the point Evans makes about others: each person’s circumstances are their own.

For readers who remember weighing when, where and with whom to come out, that understanding may feel familiar. Being proud of yourself and deciding what to share with the wider world are deeply personal parts of the same life.

📷 @thereallukeevans @frantomasr

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Forty Years After Erasure’s Debut, Andy Bell and Vince Clarke Are Still Holding Each Other Up

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Forty Years After Erasure’s Debut, Andy Bell and Vince Clarke Are Still Holding Each Other Up

Andy Bell and Vince Clarke gave us songs that could fill a dancefloor in seconds. Forty years after Erasure’s debut album, the friendship behind that music has become a story worth hearing in its own right.

In a new interview with The Guardian, the pair reflect on supporting each other through grief. Clarke’s wife, Tracy Hurley Martin, died in January 2024. Bell had already experienced the loss of his own longtime partner, Paul Hickey, who died in 2012.

Clarke describes Bell’s support with gratitude, explaining that his friend understood the experience from a perspective few others could offer. For Bell, caring for Clarke was a natural part of the relationship they have built over decades.

They began Erasure in 1985, releasing Wonderland the following year. Their contrasting stage personalities became part of the appeal: Clarke behind the keyboards, Bell bringing exuberance, emotion and unapologetically gay visibility to the front.

For listeners who grew up with A Little Respect, Chains of Love and Sometimes, their songs hold memories of nights out, first romances and finding somewhere to belong. The men making them were building an enduring connection of their own.

That connection continues into Radio!! Radio!!, Erasure’s twentieth album, due on March 12, 2027. The band’s official announcement describes writing together again as an opportunity to lift an old friend’s spirits as well as make music.

The accompanying UK and European arena tour begins in April, with an important change. Clarke will remain musical director, creating and programming the music and helping plan the shows, but will work remotely rather than appear onstage beside Bell.

It is a different arrangement for the duo, and one they have chosen together. Clarke remains part of Erasure’s work and its next chapter.

Bell’s life away from performing brings another kind of companionship. He and his husband, Stephen Moss, live on Mallorca, where their harvest includes pomegranates, kiwis and lemons. An older interview also records Bell’s gratitude for Stephen’s help after losing Paul.

Stephen and Andy
Stephen and Andy

Marriage, friendship, music and ordinary days at home all have a place in this story. For two performers whose songs have accompanied so many people through life, it is moving to hear how much they have helped each other through their own.

📷 @officialandybell @erasureinfo

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