This month marks the premiere of Season Seven of RuPaul’s Drag Race. In honor of Nashville’s growing connection with America’s Drag Momma, our cover features the magnificent Jaidynn Diore Fierce, whom we are sure will become America’s next drag superstar, no matter how her season turns out! For those of you who have only seen Jaidynn on stage, or perhaps don’t know her that well (or at all), this is your chance to get up to speed as the season gets underway.
You’ll also read more about Glenn Stewart’s latest collaboration with Joslyn Fox, Jaidynn, and four other contestants from Drag Race—a music video for a country cover of a RuPaul song featuring RuPaul’s girls! Who’d have ever guessed it would come to this?
In February, O&AN made the decision not to prosecute the man who was found to have been stealing our papers from Vanderbilt Hospital distribution locations. Numerous comments online put a negative slant on our decision, and suggested we were sending the wrong message. But sometimes the cost of sending a message is just too high, and in this case the wrong person would have had to pay most of all.
Everyone who took the time to reach out directly, however, sent supportive letters, including the following:
Mr. Grady: Just saw on FB about Out and About N issues being pulled from the racks at Vanderbilt Hospital. I just thought what you did was so gracious and loving. Knowing there was an individual who was trying to pretend your paper didn’t exist, and yet pulling back from exercising your well-deserved right to prosecute him, was the height of compassion and forgiveness. Today at Bible study we talked about how hard it is to truly do what Jesus said: to truly love our neighbor as ourselves, even if our neighbor is a jerk. Phew, that’s hard sometimes. But you did it. And we are all the better for it. So thank you. Anna G.
What an honorable thing you did in refusing to press charges. I doubt I could have been so forgiving, especially given the historical context… But anyway - after reading about it I searched your publication and it had a great deal of interesting articles. Good publication, and I will be checking it regularly. Eric T.
James, I just read the news story about the man at Vanderbilt Hospital stealing copies of your paper. It saddened me to hear that...but it immediately turned around when I read that you guys had decided to not press charges due to his situation with a loved one in the hospital.
I must confess, I do not see eye to eye with the gay community on several things, but I also have had many friends over the years that are gay and our differences have never come between us. I applaud Out & About for being the "bigger person" with this situation.
Just wanted you all to know that not everyone who may not see things the way you doesn't hate you!
Yours truly, Mike W.