ranking celebrities’ pride month posts from most to least offensive.
June has arrived, Pride Month is here and the brands (and celebs) are at it again.
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Listen, we love an ally, but there’s something maniacal (and also kind of perfect in a twisted sense) about the half-hearted attempts at LGBTQ+-friendliness like this haunted Red Lobster TikTok. There’s a reason the indomitable Meg Stalter’s “corporations this month” video has resonated so deeply. (“We’ve been making butter since 1945 and we’ve been accepting all people since… the last four months.”)
And, as this recently resurfaced three-year-old Pride post from Black Mirror actress Bryce Dallas Howard shows, this sort of rainbow-hued chaos also tends to have a way of rearing its head among celebrities mining for another easy piece of content to populate their IG grid.
But it doesn’t have to be this way, and not all Pride Month posts are created equal. Some celebrities — like indie pop queen Charli XCX — take the opportunity to speak genuinely and in detail about what queer advocacy means to them. Others — like Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner — speak even more candidly; in this case, the wife-of-a-Jonas came out as bisexual via her Pride Month post this past week.
So, I decided to attempt to rank a random sampling of this year’s crop of celebrity Pride Month posts, from most to least transparently thoughtless.
Now, what makes a Pride Month post (particularly one from an ally to the community) successful vs. not? Of course, this is a totally subjective exercise. But, for me, it’s a post that doesn’t focus primarily on furthering the poster’s own brand, or centering their narrative. Specifically, trying to sell products one is profiting directly from without some kind of direct financial benefit to a queer organization of some kind is totally cringe. The best Pride posts are genuine, non-transactional and not overly about the poster. Admittedly, it’s all a delicate balance but… you know it when you see it.
As a disclaimer, the comments below are off-the-cuff reactions to the posts themselves, not the celebrities themselves. It ain’t that deep, folks! I also recognize that I could only find posts from women-identified celebrities for this list, which says a lot about our differing expectations of women vs. men in our society. And if I missed a meaningful Pride Month post, please send me my way so I can add it at queeringtheburbs@substack.com.
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17. Former Beverly Hills Housewife (and Brett Kavanaugh supporter) Camille Meyer (née Grammer) posted this pixelated graphic she probably took five minutes to Google along with the guillotine-level caption “Love is Love.” Next.
16. Heather Dubrow, a former OC Housewife, posted this stock image in her Pride Month post, and the #LoveIsLove hashtag is also here. What is it about this phrase the resonates so deeply with straight white wealthy as-seen-on-TV crowd?
15. Here, Tori Spelling is pretty openly using Pride Month to promote her beauty line. Frankly, don’t love this.
14. Katy Perry is using Pride Month to promote her shoe line and won’t even put her face on the post. It’s a no for me.
13. Jada Pinkett Smith is using Pride Month to promote her product line, but this is the cutest graphic of the product pushers here, so she gets an edge.
12. Beverly Hills Housewife Erika Jayne shared this photo of her appearance from a previous Pride parade with a single-word caption (#pride). The woman known for consistently doing the most is here doing the least.
11. New Jersey Housewife Margaret Josephs says “Love, sparkle, & shine, all month long!!!” The puppy rainbow outfit is precious as hell and the sequined jumpsuit looks expensive and sleek, so I can’t get too mad, but this is middle of the pack for sure.
10. Paris Hilton (or whoever runs her social account) poured a bit more energy into this post, even if it features the cringe-y #LoveIsLove hashtag in the caption. Still, the image itself feels like it had a point of view to it, even if it makes it all about her.
9. Christina Aguilera should basically be tied with Paris here, but something about this image and particularly the caption just feel a bit more genuine and heartfelt to me, somehow.
8. Tiffani Thiessen posted this photo of what appears to be her children’s chalk drawing of a rainbow. Assuming this isn’t a stock photo, this is pretty cute. I’m still perplexed by the Thieesenaissance we are apparently in the midst of, but this is working for me.
7. Donatella Versace got on camera in front of a giant rainbow flag for her Pride Month post promoting Versace’s partnership with Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation, and she probably has no business ranking this high but it’s nonprofit-affiliated and I can never get enough Donatella in my life.
6. Yes, iconic actress Viola Davis’ Pride Month post features the “Love Is Love” phrase which we’re discussing quite a bit here, but also she’s also reposted a series of resources from The Trevor Project about the importance of Pride Month and how all of us can create safe, affirming environments for LGBTQ+ people.
5. SLC Housewife Meredith Marks shows how it’s done. Yes, Marks is promoting her own brand, but she is also raising funds for a queer organization (GLAAD), the merch is genuinely funny (“LGBTQ Rights? I’m Engaging.”). Additionally, she’s tagging all the accounts of the rest of the talent involved in the shoot, which is a step that a lot of people with large platforms skip.
4. Fran Drescher (and The Nanny) are iconic, and this Pride graphic compiling 30+ of her most colorful looks is truly ambitious and inspired. Did she do this herself? Was someone else paid to do it? Either way, we don’t deserve art like this for free. There’s some real heart and soul to this.
3. Padma Lakshmi reposted a meme about how shitty corporations tend to be during Pride, followed by a number of resources about the practice of rainbow-washing each June. As always, she gets it.
2. Gabrielle Union posted this video clip of an interview between her daughter, Zaya, and Michelle Obama, along with a quote from Marsha P. Johnson and a reminder that Pride “started as a riot and would not have been possible without Black & Latino/a/x LGBTQIA+ folks.” Above and beyond.
1. Jamie Lee Curtis not only posted this (and very possibly put it together herself?), but also made it her profile photo on Twitter. Yes, it’s all about herself, but also… Incredible, God tier, etc. I had to rank JLC first here.
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As I tipped to last week, there is a lot happening in the Fox Valley and Tri-Cities area specifically around Pride this month. A few noteworthy updates:
I’m happy to report that (possibly for the first time ever?) a Pride flag is now flying outside of Batavia City Hall as of last Tuesday. Additionally, the agenda for Monday’s City Council meeting lists a Pride Month proclamation, which I believe is also happening for the first time this year.
The city of Wheaton is apparently taking a step in the opposite direction. According to a Facebook post by a community member, the mayor is refusing to make a Pride proclamation there this year after he and the City Council received negative comments about the proclamation they issued last year. If you are a resident of Wheaton, you can submit a public comment to be considered at their next City Council meeting by this Monday, June 7, at 5 p.m.
Finally, a number of additional Pride-related events beyond those linked in last week’s post are coming up:
This coming Friday, June 11, yours truly will be DJing from 6-8 p.m. at the Batavia Boardwalk Shops as part of the Pride-themed Second Fridays put on by Batavia MainStreet. Come check it out if you like queer club vibes, and be sure to check out everything else Second Fridays has to offer.
On Friday, June 25, Annie Hex is hosting a “Self Care Social” Pride party at SOMA Studio in Batavia from 7-10 p.m. The event is set to include yoga, a storytelling circle, live music, Pride manicures and tarot. Tickets to the event cost $25 and can be reserved here.
On Sunday, June 27, Geneva Pride is hosting the Fox Valley Pride Showcase at Water Street Studios in Batavia from 6-9 p.m. The event will include an open mic and local indie rock band Pocket Fuzz, and there is currently an open call for artists to submit artwork and media on the subject of what Pride Month means to you to be considered for inclusion in the showcase. Keep an eye on this space next week to learn more about what the Geneva Pride organizers have been up to this month.
If you know of other queer events happening in the western suburbs this month and beyond, please get in touch.
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Finally, onto the links!
Literally hours after I hit publish on last week’s essay on Good Witch needing a queer storyline and more diverse casting, the Hallmark Channel delivered. And they say magic isn’t real.
There is apparently massive drama currently erupting on Beekeeper TikTok between a popular beekeeper-influencer (Erika Thompson) and another, LA-based beekeeper who is alleging that Thompson stages her bee rescuing endeavors in a way that could be dangerous if other amateur beekeepers were to follow her example. I can’t get enough.
New Beverly Hills Housewife (and mother of Paris) Kathy Hilton doesn’t know what channel the TV show she is on airs on. She is a delight in the fullest sense of the word.
Alicia Silverstone just joined TikTok and announced her arrival by re-staging a classic Clueless shot with her son.
Ellie Kemper was recently the subject of a surge of Twitter discourse around her participation in a St. Louis tradition called the Veiled Prophet Ball and it’s gotten a bit out of hand. Vanity Fair reports on how the “KKK princess” Twitter conspiracy quickly evolved.
Netflix recently premiered a documentary series called High on the Hog which spotlights the ways that African American cuisine has transformed America. When I tell you that the first episode touched me deeply, I mean that I was sobbing at points and salivating at others. This is a beautiful, important series.
Orville Peck just released his “country road version” of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” as part of the tenth anniversary celebration of the original track, and It’s honestly pretty clutch. Happy Pride Month, one and all.