Daniel Rampulla
Disruptors
Cole Escola
Meet one of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.
Mary Todd Lincoln must be rolling in her grave (with laughter) at the success of Oh, Mary!, a spoof of the first lady’s life from “nonbinary gay Lutheran atheist” writer and actor Cole Escola (Search Party, Difficult People). Escola portrays Lincoln as an aspiring cabaret star indifferent to a nation torn by the Civil War. Audiences can’t get enough of the outrageous plot and hilarious cast, particularly Conrad Ricamora’s closeted Abe. Improbably and fabulously, it’s now one of Broadway’s hottest tickets.
Escola’s Mary would certainly have enjoyed the limelight. But the star and playwright, who prefers the “gay shadows” of cabaret life to attending this year’s Met Gala, is just happy that they made his friends proud this year.
“I see them after the show, and they have this look on their faces like, ‘You little fucker! You did it! We knew you could!’ My friends are my world and I can't think of a better feeling. Except for maybe the love I feel for everyone who makes this show happen.” @coleescola
Daniel Reynolds
Daniel Reynolds is the editor-in-chief of Out and an award-winning journalist who focuses on the intersection between entertainment and politics. This Jersey boy has now lived in Los Angeles for more than a decade.
Daniel Reynolds is the editor-in-chief of Out and an award-winning journalist who focuses on the intersection between entertainment and politics. This Jersey boy has now lived in Los Angeles for more than a decade.
Anonymous
Bernardo SimBernardo Sim is the deputy editor of Out, as well as a writer and content creator. Born in Brazil, he currently lives in South Florida. You can follow him on Instagram at @bernardosim.
Bernardo Sim is the deputy editor of Out, as well as a writer and content creator. Born in Brazil, he currently lives in South Florida. You can follow him on Instagram at @bernardosim.
Bernardo Sim is the deputy editor of Out, as well as a writer and content creator. Born in Brazil, he currently lives in South Florida. You can follow him on Instagram at @bernardosim.
Natalie Wynn
Meet one of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.
Anonymous
Known to fans as ContraPoints, Natalie Wynn amassed 1.83 million YouTube subscribers by creating what she says are “video essays about politics and social issues, from online hate movements to the madness of J.K. Rowling.”
The transgender lesbian influencer makes epic, hours-long video essays that approach topics with academic rigor while creating hilarious and profound pieces of media that involve sets, costumes, ambient lighting, and the intellectual threading of philosophy with pop culture. This year, Wynn released a three-hour-long video where she “mapped the intricate depravities of heterosexual fantasy by studying The Twilight Saga.” In six months, the video amassed 4.5 million views.
However, being continually online has its pitfalls. “My biggest obstacle is the mental illness that afflicts anyone with an online reputation,” she says. “The love and the hate are equally dangerous. Narcissism and paranoia go together. The only cure is knowing when to step away.”
Wynn, an essential voice for her generation, wants the world to know that “LGBTQ+ people are just like everybody else, except more gay.” @contrapoints