Ethel Cain Haunts Us, Hannah Einbinder Talks Human Rights, And Lucy Dacus Gets Honest
Here’s everything you might have missed in the world of gay entertainment.
Ethel Cain Continues Her Story
Singer-songwriter Ethel Cain has announced her second studio album, Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You, due to be released in August. This news comes a few months after the release of her experimental project Perverts earlier this year. Alongside this new album, Cain has announced a lengthy North American and European tour.
On her 2022 album Preacher’s Daughter, Ethel Cain (the fictional alias of Hayden Anhedonia) took listeners through a story of religious trauma, young love, self-destruction, murder, and even cannibalism. Some fans of the record will recognize the name “Willoughby Tucker” as Cain’s high school love and the subject of the heartbreaking track “A House in Nebraska.” This new album, which Cain has announced as a b-sides record (b-sides referring to songs recorded alongside an album’s tracks but not included on the album), has been speculated to be a prequel to the story featured in Preacher’s Daughter.
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Alongside the album and tour announcements, Cain announced that, in partnership with the Ally Coalition, $1 of each ticket will be donated to organizations serving the trans community. In her announcement post, Cain wrote, “[B]efore everything, there was you. 1986, the year everything changed forever.“ Daughters of Cain, buckle up and get ready to reenter the twisted world of our beloved Ethel Cain.
Stars Take the Human Rights Campaign Stage
At the Human Rights Campaign’s annual Los Angeles Dinner, queer stars, allies, and politicians were honored with various awards throughout the night. Taking home the Visibility Award was Hacks star Hannah Einbinder. Her heartfelt speech has already made waves and has been shared throughout the internet.
Einbinder began her speech saying, “To me queer visibility goes beyond an open button down shirt, baggy jeans showing my Calvins and a carabiner on my belt loop. It is much more than that. It is an inherited tradition of activism and solidarity. I am so inspired by my community members, my queer elders, both with us and not, who have bled for my right to be here.” In honor of this queer tradition, Einbinder took the rest of her speech to draw attention to climate change and Palestine.
“My queerness is a tradition of social justice, as is my Judaism. To me these are traditions of humanity, of care for human life. All human life equally,” Enibinder said tearfully. She called for action against corporations contributing to the climate crisis and disavowed the Israeli government’s use of Judaism as justification for its actions. She ended with a call to action for all other public queer figures saying, “visibility is responsibility.”
Receiving the Equality Award, 10-time Grammy nominee Janelle Monáe gave a touching speech about her experience with bullying as a kid and how she sees echoes of it in today’s political landscape. She dedicated her win to the queer community who has continued to stand up for themselves. “I want to dedicate this moment to every single person who has ever felt unseen, unheard, or overlooked because of their identity. To those of you who are still fighting for your right to exist freely and without fear, I dedicate this to you. And to all of you, especially our trans family, your existence matters. You are loved, and you will never have to walk this journey alone. We are your siblings proudly standing up to these bullies with you and for you.”
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Others who took the stage include actress Ashley Park and legislators Jasmine Crockett and JB Pritzker.
Lucy Dacus Opens Up About Julien Baker Relationship
In a profile with Them, Lucy Dacus got more candid than ever about her newly confirmed relationship with bandmate Julien Baker. Dacus shared that the pair had a classically romantic Valentine’s Day—went to dinner, covered the floor in rose petals, moved the furniture to dance—real rom-com stuff—or as Dacus put it, “a core memory.”
While the artist has begun opening up about their relationship and feels confident in their love, she is still worried about the intrusiveness of fans and their desire to know more about Dacus and Baker’s relationship. “I actually don’t need to be understood about this because I understand. I have more confidence in our relationship than I have in myself. I feel like I need validation and I need other people to check my work, but I don’t need anyone to check my work on this,” Dacus said. The artist divulged her disappointment at the way fan behavior has become more and more unhinged and her fear “of our whole lives becoming just characters in people’s superhero universe.”
Beyond her fear of becoming fan fiction, Dacus talks to Them about her “Best Guess” music video controversy, Hozier’s honorary lesbian status, and her friendships with Chappell Roan and Brandi Carlile.
Doechii and Chappell Roan Hit the Top 10
Doechii’s newest viral hit “Anxiety” has landed at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has become her first Top 10 song. Additionally, “The Giver,” Chappell Roan’s new country tune, landed at No. 5 on the list, scoring Roan her first Top 10 debut.
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Surprisingly, “The Giver” also debuted at No. 1 on the Country Hot 100, which proves that she really does get the job done. Doechii and Roan are further proof that queer entertainment just can’t be beat at the moment.
