The Sassy Gazette

THE QUEER RESISTANCE FILES Part Two: “Closets & Congress: The Hypocrite Caucus” By RICHIE D MOWREY for The Sassy Gazette The Gossip You Didn’t Know You Needed They voted against our rights… while texting “u up?” from Capitol Hill bathrooms. Welcome to Washington’s dirtiest secret: the lawmakers who legislate against LGBTQ+ lives while living them behind closed doors. This isn’t about outing. This is about accountability — for every "family values" crusader who slipped into DMs after voting down queer protections. For every sanctimonious senator who wore a rainbow pin in June and struck it down in committee come July. For every self-loathing politician who built a platform on our backs while hiding in the darkest corner of their own identity. FILE 001: God, Guns, Grindr, and Gag Orders Let’s be clear: We’re not interested in someone’s orientation. We’re interested in their legislation . And when your voting record looks like this: NO on the Equalit...

“Not a cleansing. A drowning.” THE QUEER RESISTANCE FILES Part One: “Pray the Gay Away — and the Lawsuits In” By RICHIE D MOWREY for The Sassy Gazette The Gossip You Didn’t Know You Needed Imagine being 15 years old, realizing you’re gay, and then waking up in a dormitory run by a woman named “Miss Bev,” who thinks eye contact is a sin and hands out Bibles like candy at a funeral. Welcome to conversion therapy — the unlicensed, unscientific, and unfortunately still-legal torture disguised as “treatment.” For decades, these “pray-it-away” programs flourished in church basements, off-the-grid “ranches,” and suburban conference rooms disguised as salvation. Their promise? Heterosexuality through humiliation. Their result? Trauma, lawsuits, and a generation of queer people taught to hate themselves before they ever kissed anyone. FILE 001: The Church of Self-Loathing, Inc. Conversion therapy is a multi-million-dollar industry powered by tax-exempt status and moral ...

THE QUEER RESISTANCE FILES INTRO: “Pride Is a Protest (And a Paper Trail)” By RICHIE D MOWREY for The Sassy Gazette Resident Glittery War Correspondent, Truth Division   “The truth was never in the closet.” DISCLAIMER: All visuals featured in this series were created using AI-generated imagery , curated with fierce intent and editorial precision. At The Sassy Gazette , we believe storytelling is both a weapon and a canvas — and whether conjured by a camera or a neural network, our visuals are here to provoke, expose, and dazzle. The glitter is digital, but the outrage is very real. Let’s get one thing straight — and it sure as hell isn’t us: Pride was never just a party. It was — and still is — a protest. A riot. A resistance. And now? It’s a paper trail. Because we’ve saved every flyer. Every headline. Every anti-LGBTQ+ vote, every donation receipt from rainbow-wrapped corporations to hate-filled PACs. Every sermon. Every scandal. Every screenshot. And ...

Resurrection and Resistance: Easter Through a Queer Lens By RICHIE D. MOWREY for The Sassy Gazette (The Gossip You Didn’t Know You Needed)   Easter Sunday. A day of pastel suits, sugary baskets, and sermons about resurrection. For many, it’s a time of hope, rebirth, and spiritual renewal. But for the LGBTQ+ community, Easter can carry more complicated meanings—especially for those raised in religious traditions that taught them to fear, hide, or pray away who they were. Let’s talk about it. The Cross and the Closet Many queer folks grew up hearing they had to die to their “sinful nature”—not metaphorically, but emotionally, socially, spiritually. Churches that preached resurrection often demanded the burial of identity. For some, Easter meant watching the same congregation that condemned them burst into joyful hymns about love and forgiveness—without a hint of irony. But here’s the twist: Easter is actually a queer story. It’s about someone cast out by power s...

STREETLIGHTS, SHAKEDOWNS, AND STONEWALL: THE SEEDY PAST AND THE SYMBOL IT BECAME By RICHIE D. MOWREY for The Sassy Gazette (Where Truth Wears Glitter Boots)   Caption: One building. Two stories. AI-generated visual by The Sassy Gazette INTRO: From Blackmail to Rainbow Flags We love a good origin story. Especially one soaked in rebellion, glitter, and a brick thrown in the name of liberation. But let’s not pretend Stonewall started as a sacred site. The truth? The birthplace of modern LGBTQ+ rights was built on corruption, blackmail, and the mafia’s iron grip on a criminalized community. Before it was a monument, it was a racket. Before the chants of “We’re here, we’re queer,” there were whispers of extortion, backroom deals, and payoffs to dirty cops. This is the story they don’t tell on guided Pride tours — the one where queer survival meant dancing in the dark and tipping the bartender and the police. Let’s talk about it. PART ONE: WELCOME TO THE...

  The Matthew Shepard Reckoning A five-part exposé on memory, mourning, injustice, and the fight that never ended. In October 1998, Matthew Shepard—a 21-year-old gay college student—was brutally attacked and left to die. His murder shook the world, but 27 years later, we must ask: What has really changed? Jump to a Section: Part One: The Life and Death of Matthew Shepard Part Two: Justice, or Something Like It Part Three: The Gay Panic Excuse Part Four: The Healing and the Hurt Part Five: 27 Years Later—Have We Learned Anything? PART ONE: The Life and Death of Matthew Shepard Before he was a symbol, he was a son, a student, a friend. Matthew grew up in Wyoming and Switzerland. He was gentle, artistic, and brave. He loved Mozart, called home often, and wanted to change the world quietly. On October 6, 1998, two men saw his kindness as vulnerability. They tied him to a fence and beat him until his skull cracked. He died six days later. The...

  PART FIVE: “27 Years Later: Have We Learned Anything?” From Wyoming to Washington — we are not done. Matthew’s death shook a nation. But apparently, not hard enough to keep us from falling back asleep. It’s been 27 years since Matthew Shepard was murdered. And yet—queer youth are still being targeted. Trans rights are under attack. And the legal excuse that helped defend Matthew’s killer? Still on the books in more than a dozen U.S. states. From Candlelight to Congressional Shrugs The 2009 passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was a moment of hope. But it wasn’t a finish line. It was a pause. And in that pause, America got comfortable—while queer lives stayed vulnerable. The Gay Panic Defense: Still Legal. Still Absurd. As of 2025, 22 U.S. states still allow the “Gay Panic” or “Trans Panic” defense . It’s a loophole wrapped in fragility, masquerading as legal reasoning. Imagine a defense that says, “I panicked beca...

  PART FOUR: “The Healing and the Hurt” After the cameras left, the real work began. “You think you know grief until you have to speak your child’s name in the past tense.” – Judy Shepard When the trial ended and the news cycle moved on, Judy and Dennis Shepard stayed behind—with their grief, and with their resolve. While the world debated what happened, they focused on what needed to happen next. They didn’t bury their son and disappear. They carried him forward—into policy, into classrooms, and into every space that still needed to hear his name. The Matthew Shepard Foundation: From Grief to Mission Founded in 1998, the Foundation became a national force for change. Its goal: to "erase hate" through education, advocacy, and support for LGBTQ+ youth and allies. What began in mourning became a movement—and a promise. Judy Shepard became an unflinching voice in D.C., in schools, in communities where silence was no longer an option. And Dennis? Th...

  PART THREE: “The Gay Panic Excuse” When hatred hides behind courtroom theatrics. If fear of someone’s identity can justify their murder, what kind of justice are we pretending to uphold? Matthew Shepard was tied to a fence and beaten until his skull cracked. He was left unconscious in the freezing cold for 18 hours. And what did his killer claim? “He flirted with me.” That was the defense. That was the strategy. And the court let it in. What Is the “Gay Panic Defense”? A legal temper tantrum. A courtroom excuse wrapped in toxic masculinity. It argues that a straight man can “snap” if a gay man flirts with him—and that this “panic” justifies violence. In Matthew's case, the defense didn’t deny the attack. They just tried to reframe it as a reaction, not a hate crime. Theatrics Over Truth The courtroom became a stage. A brutal hate crime was recast as a moment of heterosexual fragility. The media played along. Prosecutors were forced to argu...

  PART TWO: “Justice, or Something Like It” The courtroom wasn’t built for people like Matthew. But it sure knows how to protect people who kill them. “They said the system worked. It didn’t. It coped. It cowered. It called it justice and hoped we wouldn’t look too closely.” Matthew Shepard’s killers didn’t just murder him. They humiliated him, tortured him, and left him tied to a fence like discarded trash. The legal system responded with the enthusiasm of a government office on a Friday afternoon. Sure, there was a trial. But at its core? It was decorum duct-taped over cowardice. Two Monsters, No Hate Crime, and a Whole Lot of Excuses McKinney and Henderson weren’t criminal masterminds. They were sloppy, violent men driven by hate. And the system’s response? Avoid calling it what it was. McKinney’s Trial: The Gay Panic Theater Production McKinney’s defense team rolled out the "Gay Panic Defense" like it was Broadway’s next tragicomedy. They playe...

  PART ONE: “The Life and Death of Matthew Shepard” Before he was a symbol, he was a son, a student, a friend. “We are all of us more than the worst thing that ever happened to us.” – Bryan Stevenson But sometimes, the world decides to remember you for the worst moment anyway. That was the cruel fate handed to Matthew Wayne Shepard—a 21-year-old college student from Wyoming who, in the final hours of his life, became the unwilling face of a national tragedy. But before the vigils, before the legislation, before the headlines, there was just Matthew. A young man with a wide smile, a tender heart, and a world of plans. A Childhood Rooted in Curiosity Matthew was born on December 1, 1976, in Casper, Wyoming. He was the first son of Dennis and Judy Shepard, a boy with sandy blond hair, soft eyes, and a quiet intelligence. As a child, Matthew was sensitive—empathetic in a way that set him apart. He loved theatre. He read voraciously. He longed for con...

  The Matthew Shepard Reckoning: A Five-Part Exposé Series “He was left tied to a fence. But his name refused to stay silent.” – The Sassy Gazette Twenty-seven years ago, a young man named Matthew Shepard was brutally attacked and left to die on a cold Wyoming night. His crime? Being himself. Matthew’s death in 1998 shattered hearts, ignited national debate, and sparked movements for LGBTQ+ justice. But over time, the outrage faded. The headlines changed. The names of the lost piled up—and the nation moved on. We haven’t. We won’t. The Sassy Gazette proudly presents: The Matthew Shepard Reckoning — a five-part exposé series that revisits, reexamines, and reignites the conversation around Matthew’s life, death, and legacy. What to Expect in This Series: PART ONE: The Life and Death of Matthew Shepard Before he was a symbol, he was simply Matt. A student, a son, a dreamer. PART TWO: Justice, or Something Like It The trial that shook ...

Part Three: “Trial by Optics” The courtroom becomes a stage — and justice is just the opening act By RICHIE D. MOWREY for The Sassy Gazette (Because when justice is on trial, we bring the spotlight and the sass.) By the time Karen Read entered the courtroom in April 2024, it was no longer a trial — it was a full-blown production. There were dramatic opening statements, a parade of expert witnesses, TikTok theories, and press saturation rivaling the O.J. trial. The cameras weren’t in the courtroom, but they were everywhere else — including in the public’s head. And through it all, Karen sat still, eyes tired, watching as her life was turned into a narrative nobody seemed to control. Prosecution witnesses faltered. The defense exposed sloppy police work and glaring inconsistencies. Lead investigator Trooper Michael Proctor? Exposed for crude, biased texts and removed mid-case. Jurors were left adrift in a sea of "reasonable doubt" so vast they came back with nothin...

  Performance, Punishment, and Publicity: When Justice Becomes Theater (And We’re All Just Background Extras) By RICHIE D MOWREY for The Sassy Gazette (The Gossip You Didn’t Know You Needed) We’ve reached the final act—and spoiler alert: it’s less Law & Order and more community theater with a million-dollar PR budget. From the corrupt corridors of the Chicago Police Department to the crash-and-burn spectacle that was Jussie Smollett, this whole saga has made one thing painfully clear: Justice isn’t just blind. She’s got an agent, a ring light, and a script written in bad faith and worse intentions. --- The Spotlight Is a Weapon Every system loves a spectacle. Because spectacle lets them look like they’re doing something without actually changing a damn thing. Instead of fixing the rot in its ranks, the CPD found a headline to slap a Band-Aid on a bleeding reputation. Instead of holding institutions accountable, the media turned Jussie into ratings bait....

The Boy Who Cried MAGA: How Jussie Smollett’s Fall From ‘Empire’ Set the Movement Back and Made Everyone Look Stupid By RICHIE D MOWREY for The Sassy Gazette (The Gossip You Didn’t Know You Needed) Once upon a time, Jussie Smollett was a symbol. A walking TED Talk in Gucci loafers. A beacon of Black queer visibility on primetime TV. And then—bleach, a noose, and a hoax that detonated a social powder keg like a reality show finale with real-world consequences. What followed wasn’t just a downfall. It was a movement derailed, a culture shaken, and a police department with a god complex foaming at the mouth for retribution. Jussie Smollett gave them the perfect storm—and they turned it into a televised morality play. From Jamal to Just… Why? Jussie wasn’t just a character on Empire . He was the moment. A proudly gay Black man playing a proudly gay Black man on a hit show. It was rare, revolutionary—and lucrative. Until he decided to go full Quentin Tarantino: Hate Cri...

  Scandal in Blue: How the Chicago Police Department Perfected Racism, Ruined Lives, and Found Their Favorite Fall Guy in Jussie Smollett By RICHIE D MOWREY for The Sassy Gazette (The Gossip You Didn’t Know You Needed) Chicago. Home of deep-dish pizza, wind strong enough to slap your mama, and a police department so steeped in scandal it makes The Godfather look like a Boy Scout manual. Let’s cut through the sirens and staged press conferences—if corruption had a capital, the Chicago Police Department would be its marble-columned, surveillance-camera-covered Vatican. An institution so allergic to accountability, it should come with an EpiPen and a body cam they won’t turn on anyway . Before Jussie Smollett ever uttered the words “MAGA country,” the CPD had already mastered the art of public betrayal, racial profiling, and rewriting reality like it was their personal spinoff of Black Mirror: Blue Code Edition. Where Racism Rides Shotgun This isn’t about “a f...

Part Two: “The Taillight Trap” How one piece of glass became the prosecution’s glittering distraction By RICHIE D. MOWREY for The Sassy Gazette (A Hard-Hitting Exposé — Because the Truth Deserves Lipstick and Light) Let’s talk about the glass. A single shard. Red. Jagged. Supposedly from Karen Read’s taillight. It was the star witness that never spoke — but somehow screamed guilt. According to the prosecution, this fragment was the key to everything: Read backed into O’Keefe, breaking her taillight and leaving him to die. Case closed. Except… not really. The defense raised a thousand red flags — and not the reflective kind. The glass didn’t match the injury. The collection process was laughably sloppy. The timing of its discovery? Suspiciously cinematic. And don’t even get us started on the body cam footage that magically “malfunctioned.” It was, in short, the perfect prop in an imperfect play. When a prosecution builds its case on a single, shiny object, you should...

X Gon’ Give It To Ya: Elon Musk and the $44 Billion Ego Trip By RICHIE D MOWREY for The Sassy Gazette (The Gossip You Didn’t Know You Needed) INTRO: The Bird Is Dead — Long Live the Troll King Once upon a time, Elon Musk was the tech world’s golden boy — a walking TED Talk with Iron Man fanfic energy. But then he bought Twitter, and the mask slipped. Underneath the Space Jesus exterior? Just another rich guy with a meme addiction, a savior complex, and a deep fear of women with blue hair. He renamed it “X,” presumably because “Midlife Crisis” wouldn’t fit on the app icon. This isn’t a timeline. This is a crime scene. Let’s go. Everything App… Except Functionality A stitched-together chaos monster powered by Elon’s worst ideas. PART ONE: $44 Billion and One Bad Impulse Control Problem He Bought It As a Joke — and We’re the Punchline Elon didn’t want Twitter. He made a trolling offer, tried to back out, got legally cornered, and then had to cough up $44 billion ...

FIRE SALE: EVERYTHING MUST GO (TO HELL) By RICHIE D MOWREY for The Sassy Gazette (The Gossip You Didn’t Know You Needed) There are tragic falls from grace, and then there are infernos. R. Kelly’s descent belongs firmly in the second category — a flaming, cursed dumpster fire of denial, delusion, and discography that should’ve been torched years ago. And now? We’re finally lighting the match. Introducing our latest satirical send-off : a burning tower of R. Kelly CDs , set ablaze beneath the crushing stomp of Lady Gaga’s stiletto — the final heel drop from a pop queen who once made the mistake of collaborating with the wrong monster.   Caption: “Fire Sale: Everything Must Go (To Hell)” The Heat of Accountability We’re not here to rehash every headline — you’ve read the court docs, you’ve seen the documentaries. What matters now is the cultural clean-up. For too long, R. Kelly skated on the strength of slick beats and industry complicity. He was the soundtrack to to...

“Never Heard of Her”: Trump, Project 2025, and the Heritage Foundation’s Makeover of America (With Orange Highlights) By RICHIE D MOWREY for The Sassy Gazette — The Gossip You Didn’t Know You Needed   Trump claims he’s never heard of it — while standing next to the receipt. INTRODUCTION: The Gaslight Tour Continues Donald Trump says he’s never heard of Project 2025 . That’s like Dracula swearing off necks. Like Elon Musk pretending he doesn’t know what Twitter is (sorry— X ). Like Marjorie Taylor Greene saying, “Let’s keep it civil.” Let’s be clear: Project 2025 is no side hustle. It’s the Heritage Foundation’s Mein Kampf in business casual. A 900-page “mandate” for a conservative utopia — meaning a real-life dystopia for anyone who isn’t white, straight, rich, and allergic to books. WHAT IS PROJECT 2025? (Besides Unhinged) At its core, Project 2025 is: A full-blown authoritarian wish list A civil service demolition derby A “how-to” manual for erasing...