First openly gay Miss America contestant shines light on LGBT issues

September 11, 2016

Atlantic City, Sept 11: The first openly lesbian Miss America contestant will not only vie for the crown at the 95th annual pageant in New Jersey this weekend, she will also aim to spotlight the injustices faced by gay and transgender people.

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"We are still fighting for visibility," 23-year-old Erin O'Flaherty, who was crowned Miss Missouri in June, said during a media event in Atlantic City ahead of Sunday's contest final. "So it's really important for me just to exist in this capacity as completely who I am and be open and proud about it for the LGBT community."

O'Flaherty said she plans to run for Miss America on the platform of preventing suicide, which disproportionately affects lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth. When not competing, O'Flaherty, works to provide suicide prevention services to LGBT youth and owns a clothing store.

She said the cause of suicide prevention is personal not only because she identifies as gay, but because she lost a close friend to suicide at age 13.

"I realized in the grieving process that there were signs that I missed," O'Flaherty said. "So I set out to educate myself on what those warning signs could be and what we could do to end suicide."

Contestants of the Miss America contest, first held in 1921, select causes that are important to them as part of the competition.

In an interview portion of the competition, contestants are asked questions about their platforms. They are separately judged for their talent, as well as their appearance in evening wear and swimsuits. That element of the competition remains a target for critics who say the competition reinforces the idea that girls and women should be primarily valued for their bodies.

O'Flaherty, whose talent is singing, said she rejects the idea that beauty pageants objectify women.

"The Miss America Organization has absolutely enhanced my life," O'Flaherty said. "It's given me a platform to speak about issues that are really close to my heart."

The Miss America final will be held on Sept. 11 at the beach resort of Atlantic City.

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June 2,2020

New Delhi, Jun 2: Actor Anushka Sharma on Tuesday exhorted people to maintain hygiene and advised to stop open defecation in a bid to avoid coronavirus spread.

As the country is grappling with the coronavirus crisis, the 'PK' actor has joined the initiative with the Swachh Bharat Mission, which aims to tell the people that the contagion can be curbed through strict sanitation process.

"When women all over the country had decided that they would educate everyone on the lesson of close the door, shun the disease, no one had thought that their initiative would turn into such a huge wave!," the actor was seen saying in a video posted in the official Twitter handle of Swachh Bharat I #IndiaFightsCorona.

"Today, in the time of coronavirus pandemic, we all have to again remember and remind others about the lesson of cleanliness," she added.

"If we take care of cleanliness around us, by not defecating in the open, we will keep ourselves healthy and India clean. We will become strong to fight against any kind of disease," the 32-year-old star said.

The 'Sultan' actor noted that by stopping defecating in open and closing the toilet door at all times can be a solid measure to drive the disease out of the country.

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March 12,2020

Chennai, Mar 12: Superstar Rajinikanth on Thursday clarified that he never aspired to become the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and said his plans for politics include different heads for his prospective party and a possible government headed by it.

In his first official press conference since December 31, 2017, when he announced to take the political plunge, the veteran star also said he planned to appoint as CM, an educated youth who was compassionate and had self-respect.

With a two-leadership system for party and the government, the former would act as an "opposition" to highlight issues and would not even hesitate to "remove", apparently the head of the government, if it fails to perform, he said.

His prospective party would focus on including a substantial amount of youngsters in the age group of below 45 years while the rest would comprise retired judges and IAS and IPS officials among others.

"I myself would reach out to them and invite them," to join him, the 69-year-old actor said.

Contrary to expectations, he however, did not make a concrete statement on floating his party but called for an "uprising" by youth, after which he would make his formal political entry.

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May 24,2020

Los Angeles, May 24: Filmmaker Frank Marshall, one of the producers behind Jurassic World: Dominion, says the forthcoming film is not a conclusion of the franchise.

Colin Trevorrow, who rebooted Steven Spielberg's blockbuster Jurassic Park franchise with 2015's Jurassic World, is back on the director's chair after sitting out on second movie Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018).

Asked about the upcoming movie, Marshall told Collider: "It's the start of a new era."

Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are coming back for the third film, which will also feature original stars of 1993's Jurassic Park -- Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Sam Neill.

The producer also revealed how he sees the film franchise extending into the future.

"The dinosaurs are now on the mainland amongst us, and they will be for quite some time, I hope," Marshall said.

The film was three weeks into production when it was shut down over coronavirus concerns, but the producer said the team has the sets built in London and will be "back in business" once they have guidelines from the British government.

Dominion is still slated to be released on its scheduled date of June 11, 2021.

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