Pro-LGBTQ+ Ugandan organizations spoke out in unison on Human Rights Day, Dec. 10, against the growing restrictions on fundamental human rights, among other issues, Erasing 76 Crimes noted. The advocacy newspaper Kuchu Times and the legal aid organization Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum (HRAPF) criticized the “legislative assault” by the Ugandan regime, saying it has caused a humanitarian crisis characterized by widespread human-rights violations. A Kuchu Times editorial said that the queer community is “at a critical juncture,” adding that “people are arrested not only for being gay, but also for being suspected to be gay, for socializing with people who are gay and, in extreme cases, renting a room to or hosting anyone one who is perceived to be gay.”
A prominent Methodist woman urged the Liberia Annual Conference (LAC) of the United Methodist Church (UMC) to adopt an inclusive approach toward LGBTQ+ Methodists, MSN noted. The lady who prefers to be called Juah Doe said the church must choose pastoral care over punitive measures in addressing debates on sexuality and inclusion. Her appeal comes at a critical moment for Liberian Methodists, as the global United Methodist Church recently altered its Book of Discipline to remove exclusionary language and affirm the place of queer people in church life.
Malaysia. Photo by Umar Mukhtar for Pexels
The South China Morning Post ran an article about how fear has gripped Malaysia’s queer community. “When people are scared to be seen, they stop showing up,” transgender outreach worker Amy told This Week in Asia. “Fear doesn’t just affect our lives; it affects public health.” In Malaysia, same-sex relations are barred under colonial-era anti-sodomy legislation, while Islamic laws in Muslim-majority states prohibit cross-dressing and “posing” as another gender.
And on a related note, in Malaysia, a raid on an alleged “gay spa” in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur resulted in more than 200 individuals arrested—but ultimately yielded no convictions under colonial-era rules regarding “carnal knowledge” between men, LGBTQ Nation noted. Shortly after the joint operation, videos of the raid went viral online, revealing a parade of men, many wearing only white spa towels; a similar raid took place 24 hours later at a sauna in Penang.
British Ice Skating (BIS)—which regulates official ice-skating competitions in the United Kingdom—will allow same-sex pairs to compete in couples competitions, starting with the qualifying rounds in March 2026, LGBTQ Nation noted. The organization stated, “These updates follow recent reviews across all disciplines and reflect our continued commitment to supporting skater development, performance pathways and fair access to competition. … Same-sex couples will now be permitted to compete in all events, including at the Championships.” The move makes the United Kingdom only the third country to allow same-sex ice dancing couples to compete in championships, following Canada and Finland.
Readers of New Ways Ministry’s Bondings 2.0 sent submissions for the worst LGBTQ+ Catholic-related news of 2025. The top item was the U.S. Bishops’ Conference publicly supporting the Trump administration’s anti-transgender executive orders. A few other items that made the top 10 included a conservative Catholic group investing $4 million dollars to potentially out gay priests based on their private digital data; the death of Pope Francis; and Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the archbishop of Colombo, Sri Lanka, criticizing the nation’s tourism agency for seeking to promote the nation’s tourist opportunities to LGBTQ+ markets.
The Most Rev. Cherry Vann—the archbishop of Wales—has said that some parishioners have chosen to leave the Church in Wales in protest over her sexuality and gender, the BBC noted. Speaking ahead of delivering her first Christmas message as archbishop, she said she had been hurt by attacks over her sexuality, but added those with different opinions should not be forbidden from expressing their views. Vann is both the UK’s first female archbishop as well as the first openly LGBTQ+ archbishop in the world.
The judge who ruled in Sandie Peggie’s employment tribunal has made several corrections to the original decision, including its definition of a trans man, PinkNews noted. Earlier this year, the Scottish nurse took both her employer, NHS Fife, and colleague Dr. Beth Upton to an employment tribunal after Peggie was suspended from her job after objecting to Upton, a trans woman, using the women’s changing rooms at the hospital where they both worked. After a confrontation, Upton made an allegation of bullying and harassment against Peggie. Peggie’s harassment claims against NHS Fife were upheld; however, some of Peggie’s claims were dismissed, including all claims against Upton.
Cynthia Erivo hosts the 2025 Tonys. Photo by Michele Crowe/CBS ©2025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved
The UK government announced HM The King’s New Year Honors List 2026, recognizing exceptional achievements from individuals—and queer stars Cynthia Erivo and Matt Lucas were among the awardees, per West End Theatre. There are more than 1,157 recipients of this year’s New Year Honors, including a number of high-profile people from theater and the arts, such as Idris Elba, Meera Syal, singer Ellie Goulding, and ice dancers Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean. Honorees will receive their awards at investiture ceremonies at various royal residences in 2026, The Times of India noted.
The Boyfriend—Netflix’s groundbreaking queer dating show in Japan—is back for another season starting Jan. 13 on Netflix, Out noted. Against the background of winter landscapes in Japan, this second season moves the location to Hokkaido. The show has an even more diverse cast than the inaugural season, with cast members now running between 20 to 40 years old. This new cycle also includes men from outside Japan, such as Thailand and Peru.
In the UK, buildings in the late drag figure The Vivenne’s (aka James Lee Williams’) hometown of Liverpool, as well as nearby Chester and Manchester, will light up in green to remember her life and talent—a nod to her role as the Wicked Witch on London’s West End production of The Wizard of Oz, per Out in Perth. The Vivienne was the first winner of RuPaul‘s Drag Race UK and appeared in the seventh season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars in 2022; she also appeared on the British series Dancing on Ice, earning the third spot in its 15th season. Last June, the coroner found Williams had died from “misadventure” after suffering cardio-respiratory arrest after taking ketamine.
Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) athlete Dónal Óg Cusack announced his engagement to long-term boyfriend Nathan Adams, PinkNews noted. Cusack came out as gay in 2009 in his autobiography Come What May—and his coming-out saw him become Ireland’s first openly gay elite sportsman. Cusack, a former Irish hurling goalkeeper, has been dating Adams (a model-turned influencer who competes in HYROX, an indoor competition) for more than a decade.
George Clooney at the 2025 Tonys. Photo by Nina Westervelt/CBS ©2025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved
France’s government says that actor/LGBTQ+ ally George Clooney, his wife Amal and their twins, Ella and Alexander, have been awarded French citizenship, per NBC News. The couple purchased an estate in France in 2021; in an interview with Esquire in October, Clooney described their “farm in France” as their primary residence. It wasn’t immediately clear if Clooney retained his U.S. citizenship. Amal Clooney (who was naturalized under her maiden name, Amal Alamuddin) was born in Lebanon and raised in the UK while the 8-year-old twins were born in London.French film legend and model Brigitte Bardot has passed away at age 91, media outlets reported. During her life, she was a 1960s sex symbol who later became a militant animal-rights activist and outspoken supporter of France’s far right, France24 noted. In 1986, she set up the Brigitte Bardot Foundation dedicated to animal protection. However, Bardot’s public remarks on immigration, Islam and LGBTQ+ people led to convictions for inciting racial hatred. Bardot’s final book, Mon BBcedaire (My BB Alphabet), published weeks before her death, contained derogatory remarks about gay and transgender people.
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