Donald Padgett

Palm Springs

Over-the-hill guy with a bad knee and back. Managing Editor at OutTraveler. Also write for Out, The Advocate, and Plus magazines

Articles

Tennessee trans woman who was brutally attacked at storage unit speaks out

3 days ago | yahoo.com | Donald Padgett

A transgender woman in Tennessee says she’s lucky to be alive after she was viciously punched at her public storage unit. The attack was captured on surveillance video, which has since gone viral. Keep up with the latest in LGBTQ+ news and politics. Sign up for The Advocate's email newsletter.
Wake Forest baseball coach apologizes for homophobic slur

3 days ago | advocate.com | Donald Padgett

Wake Forest baseball coach Tom Walter issued an apology after he appeared to use a profane and homophobic slur during live television coverage of a college baseball playoff game on Monday. Keep up with the latest in LGBTQ+ news and politics. Sign up for The Advocate's email newsletter. The incident occurred as the Wake Forest Demon Deacons were trailing 6-2 to the Tennessee Volunteers in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Puerto Rico Supreme Court recognizes ‘X’ as third gender for birth certificates in landmark decision

4 days ago | yahoo.com | Donald Padgett

Puerto Rico’s Supreme Court has mandated that the government include an “X” gender marker on birth certificates in a ruling issued on Monday. A group of nonbinary Puerto Ricans filed the case, and the ruling allows for the representation of those who identify outside of the gender binary. Keep up with the latest in LGBTQ+ news and politics. Sign up for The Advocate's email newsletter.
Trump guts $258 million in funding for HIV vaccine research

4 days ago | yahoo.com | Donald Padgett

Donald PadgettTue, June 3, 2025 at 9:47 PM UTC1 min readScientist conducting lab research looking in microscopePresident Donald Trump has cut $258 million from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) budget that funded researchers working to create an HIV vaccine, CBS News reports. Keep up with the latest in LGBTQ+ news and politics. Sign up for The Advocate's email newsletter.
Man shot and killed near Philadelphia Gayborhood bar after city's Pride

4 days ago | yahoo.com | Donald Padgett

A man critically injured in a shooting during Pride celebrations near a popular gay bar in Philadelphia has died, local NBC affiliate WCAU reports. Derwin Darnell Joseph Matthews Jr. was shot in an alley a block from Woody’s Bar around 2:45 on Monday. Police responding to multiple reports of a shooting at the 200 block of Camac Street found the victim suffering from at least one gunshot wound to the stomach.
Trump guts $258 million in funding for HIV vaccine research

4 days ago | advocate.com | Donald Padgett

President Donald Trump has cut $258 million from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) budget that funded researchers working to create an HIV vaccine, CBS Newsreports. Keep up with the latest in LGBTQ+ news and politics. Sign up for The Advocate's email newsletter.
MAGA exec blames Richard Grenell, not homophobic tweets, for Kennedy Center firing

6 days ago | yahoo.com | Donald Padgett

A conservative Christian executive, fired from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts following questions about his anti-LGBTQ+ views, alleges that out gay conservative Richard Grenell was “intimidated” into terminating his employment.
New poll finds record-low support of marriage equality from Republicans since Obergefell v. Hodges

6 days ago | yahoo.com | Donald Padgett

The divide between Democrats and Republicans on the morality of marriage equality is at its highest level, according to a new poll conducted by Gallup. Overall, a record 88 percent of Democrats supported marriage equality, compared to only 41 percent of Republicans – a low not seen since the Obergefell v. Hodges decision, which affirmed marriage equality in 2015.
Andy Cohen's high-end furniture sale benefits LGBTQ+ cause

1 week ago | advocate.com | Donald Padgett

Andy Cohen is having a yard sale. The out Bravo TV host and Anderson Cooper chum is selling select pieces of furniture on 1stDibs, the online marketplace for high-end and antique furniture, art, jewelry, and more, Us Weekly reports. The pieces up for sale on his 1stDibs profile page used to populate the NYC apartment he recently sold for $12 million. Some of the proceeds will go to support the LGBTQ+ community. Keep up with the latest in LGBTQ+ news and politics.
Texas to require sex assigned at birth on state documents

1 week ago | yahoo.com | Donald Padgett

Legislators in Texas have passed a bill requiring a person’s sex assigned at birth rather than their gender identity for official state documents and records. Keep up with the latest in LGBTQ+ news and politics. Sign up for The Advocate's email newsletter. House Bill 229, entitled “Relating to general definitions for and collection of governmental information regarding biological sex” or the Women’s Rights Bill, passed the state Senate on a party-line vote of 20 to 11 late Wednesday night.