Shaun Llewellyn
Disruptors
Kid Fury & Crissle
Meet two of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.
For 10 years, Kid Fury and Crissle have been hosting The Read — one of the most entertaining and important podcasts of this or any year. Though listeners of all races and sexual orientations find The Read and fall in love with its hosts, Fury and Crissle are always unabashedly Black and queer, making this a very powerful and influential podcast that reaches people who might’ve previously ignored the perspectives, opinions, and concerns of their communities.
“I’m terrible at describing the work I do without self-deprecating humor,” Fury explains. “But I use comedy as medicine through podcasts, television, and my dog’s Instagram page.” Crissle says, “We host a semi-structured pop culture podcast, so we frequently just let our conversation flow wherever it wants. I try to approach the topics we discuss from an empathically critical point of view that strives to be fair.”
The Read is fun, funny, thought-provoking, raw, and sometimes emotional. This year, Fury disclosed on the podcast that he had just survived a suicide attempt. “I suppose God did most of the heavy lifting on the survival part, but I’m proud of the outlook and initiative it gave me.”
Since then, he’s been overcoming self-doubt and depression through sheer defiance. “I try to force myself into uncomfortable places and feed my confidence, all while telling myself, ‘Life sucks. Just do your best, girl.’ Therapy doesn’t hurt either.”
Besides podcasting, Crissle is in the middle of a grad school journey, pursuing a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling. “The self-discovery and growth I’ve done over the past six years in therapy has been incredibly challenging, but I’ve also never been at such peace with myself.”
Looking forward, Fury is writing, working on new productions for TV and streaming, and considering a YouTube comeback. Crissle is excited to finish grad school, do more tours, and develop independent projects. They’re also still daydreaming of getting Renaissance visuals, but they trust that Beyoncé and Blue Ivy know what they’re doing. @kidfury @crissle
Disruptors
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland
Meet one of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.
Photo by Luke Fontana
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland — the national executive director and chief negotiator for SAG-AFTRA — oversees the world’s largest entertainment union, which boasts over 160,000 members. And along with SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher, he’s one of the faces of their strike over a labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
As one of the few out leaders of a major entertainment group, Crabtree-Ireland knows that the fight for labor and LGBTQ+ equality go hand in hand. “One of the things that we’re fighting for is basic equity, inclusion, and fairness in the industry,” he says. “And I’m proud to say that SAG-AFTRA has been at the forefront of making sure that the entire American scene is represented on film, television, and streaming — and that’s a fight that we’re in for the long run.”
And there is a lesson to be learned from the strike to advance change, which is the power of solidarity. “When we stand together and when we fight together, that’s how we win,” he says. “Division always weakens us. Unity strengthens us.”
The outcome of Crabtree-Ireland’s advocacy through the SAG-AFTRA strike will determine the future of how actors and other entertainment professionals are treated in show business, as technological advances like streaming services and AI impact their careers and livelihoods. But the country’s largest strike in 26 years has also helped fuel a revolution for workers in hospitality, the automotive industry, and beyond.
This revolution shows the power of a compelling narrative. In fact, one of his biggest challenges during the strike was the task of clearly communicating SAG-AFTRA’s message “with the rest of the community, the industry, and the world so that everyone understood why we’re in the fight that we’re in, and how it was going to change everything for the better.” Clearly, the message has gotten through.
This year, Crabtree-Ireland is proud “to fight against the biggest companies in the world and say we demand to be treated with respect and fairness.” @duncanci