Nick Jonas Talks Marriage Equality (While Wearing Very Tight Pants)

1. We can all thank French magazine Tetu for putting Nick Jonas on its cover, with special praise being sent to whomever chose those skin-tight pants. The interview covered an array of issues, from the breakup of The Jonas Brothers, to growing into his solo career, and marriage equality. On the last topic, he said: "Everyone should have the right to love and marry whomever he wants. And the more there are straight artists who defend these ideas, the more they will be admitted." [NewNowNext]

2. Russia's latest crusade against the dignity of LGBT people and same-sex relationships has, thankfully, failed. In response to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon's announcement that the UN would provide benefits to legally married same-sex couples (legal based on the location of their marriage, not their nationality), Russia called for a vote in the UN's budget committee to overturn the move. In the final vote, Russia's motion was defeated by a margin of 80:43, with 37 countries abstaining and 33 not voting. The US Ambassador to the UN said this after the vote: "We must speak plainly about what Russia tried to do today: diminish the authority of the U.N. Secretary-General and export to the U.N. its domestic hostility to LGBT rights." [Huffington Post]

3. The popular travel booking agency Expedia ignited a firestorm on Twitter after revealing a new campaign which featured an interracial, same-sex couple. While there was an alarming amount of online hate directed toward the company, there were also some beautiful messages of appreciation and support. [Attitude]

4. Despite being almost entirely surrounded by South Africa (the only African nation with marriage equality), there have been a series of distressing stories coming out of Swaziland. Earlier this year, a gay man was killed, and this month a lesbian was brutally murdered with an axe in a bar. In Swaziland, homosexuality between men is punishable by jailtime, but there is no existing legislation against women. [Gay Star News]

5. Porn star Teofil Brank (a.k.a Jarec Wentworth) was arrested earlier this month for extorting a wealthy man out of $500,000, and an Audi valued at $180,000. [Pink News]

6. And on the lighter side, watch as Irish DJ Riyadh Khalaf invites his mother to read through his Grindr messages: