Colin Farrell Celebrates Ireland Marriage

Colin Farrell appeared on the Tonight Show on Thursday where he celebrated Ireland's marriage referendum and mocked the response of the Catholic Church. At the end of the clip below, he mentions the photo of Gerry Adams and Panti Bliss that was brought up in the JMG interview published today.

JMG Interview: Ireland's Panti Bliss

A few day after Ireland's historic marriage referendum, I interviewed activist / drag legend Panti Bliss for Pride Magazine. An edited version of the interview is now in print and the full interview is below.

JMG: First of all, huge congratulations on the marriage referendum! What's it like to find yourself on the front pages of newspapers and websites around the world?

PANTI: It depends which picture they used! But clearly even God Herself was thrilled about marriage equality coming to Ireland because Dublin was bathed in glorious unseasonal sunshine that day so everybody looks great in the pictures. And even a bad picture couldn't dampen a drag queen's mood that day. It was a magnificent, joyous, tearful, happy, celebratory day, not just for Ireland's LGBTI community, but for our families, friends and allies too. I suspect that on that day, even some of our opponents secretly wished they were drag queens too.

JMG: We've read that your activist days go back to the 90s. Who came first, Rory the activist or Panti the gender discombobulator?

PANTI: I guess they've always gone hand-in-hand. I've always been stubborn and willful, and I am the child of two principled parents who have never been afraid to stand up and call out what they see as unfairness, and some of that rubbed off on me. But as Rory I am quite reserved, and drag gave me a kind of armour from behind which I felt more comfortable being the focus of attention. And in a way it amplified my voice - people pay more attention to an annoying 6'6" colourful drag queen than they do to an annoying 6' brown-haired guy in a shirt. Though of course as a twenty year old drag queen I was more interested in the free drinks and the boys than I was in changing the world! And I took all the free drinks and all the boys.

JMG: You first got wide notice in the USA with your now-legendary noble call video. How did that speech come about?

PANTI: At the time I was embroiled in a big news story here (which became known as "Pantigate") after I suggested on a TV chat show that Ireland had a problem with homophobia, and named a number of well known journalists and an ultra-Catholic, right-wing organisation which campaigns against equality for LGBTI people. This led to both me and Ireland's national broadcaster being sued for defamation, which in turn led to a national debate about homophobia, free speech, censorship, and the role of the national broadcaster. It was in the middle of all that when the Abbey Theatre (our national theatre) invited me to speak and I agreed because I already had a good relationship with the Abbey, having had my show there previously. But I had absolutely no expectations of that speech. As far as I was concerned I was just making another speech, and assumed the only people who would ever hear it were the five hundred people in the auditorium that night. If I had known then how many people would eventually end up watching it I would have brushed my fucking hair!

JMG:  Following the noble call clip going viral, you made an equally viral TedX talk. Many here commented that you would make a great chat show hostess. Any plans for becoming the Irish Graham Norton?

PANTI: Right now I'm still enjoying traveling with my theatre shows and "discombobulating" people with my activist work, but I've always thought I'd like to do a chat show sometime. I've had a few approaches over the years, but they were never quite right. I haven't ruled it out. I never rule anything out! Except maybe sex with Michael Flatley. I've definitely ruled that out.

JMG: Tell us a bit about your popular Dublin club Pantibar. What kind of crowd do you get? How often do you perform? Do you "channel" any particular artists?

PANTI: I've had the bar for eight years. There aren't many options for aging drag queens (!) so as I approached my forties I thought it might be my pension plan. I imagined myself growing disgracefully old, hanging out behind the bar making a fool of myself over hot Brazilian boys and pulling pints for the gays. Thankfully it all worked out, if not quite how I imagined (except for the growing old part). All the hot Brazilian boys now work behind the bar so hitting on them would be called "workplace sexual harassment", and I ain't ruining my nails by pulling pints! We get a fairly mixed crowd (mostly gay boys of all ages, but plenty of lesbians too, and gay tourists) and although I don't always succeed because I travel a lot with my show, I try to be in Dublin at weekends and hang out and perform there. I don't really "channel" any particular artists, though I am a big Dolly Parton fan. My biggest drag influence is the 1969 movie The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, starring Maggie Smith. (I know! I can hear the younger gays scratching their heads. Sheesh! Download it kids!)

JMG:  Maury Povitch in 1998. Spill!

PANTI: Haha! You've been doing your research! One day (not long after I got my first e-mail address) I got an e-mail from The Maury Povitch Show who were looking for men, who lived as women, to go on the show with their mother or sister. And the mother/sister would then ask Maury to give their son/brother a 'back to boy make-over'. Of course I’m only a part-time woman (and my poor mother would rather die than go on TV with her drag queen son!) so I just thought it was mildly amusing and forgot about it.

But, that night I was in the pub and told my friend Katherine about it and she said, "I should pretend to be your sister and we could get a free trip to New York out of this!" Well, I young and broke, and that sounded like fun, so I said, "Katherine, welcome to the family!"

So the next day I e-mailed them back and told them about my "sister" Katherine and before we knew it we were getting on a flight to New York. We spent the flight getting drunk and inventing a whole new family background for ourselves and making up stories of our childhood. The whole thing was a hoot and we got a few days in New York hanging out with friends and doing the usual touristy stuff out of it. Of course we also had to record the show, and I had to get an embarrassing "back to boy makeover" on TV, but of course this was many years before YouTube (and Maury wasn't shown in Ireland at the time) so we thought nobody we knew would ever see it! But the Goddamn internet put paid to that, LOL. Oddly, I tell the whole story in my current show. It is a really good story!

JMG: Back to the referendum. One of the most fascinating moments on Saturday was watching you being interviewed alongside Gerry Adams, who is fairly well known among the Irish-American community here on the US east coast. How did you two get on? What did he say to you?

PANTI: Well, I am not a Sinn Fein supporter (these things are much more complicated on this side of the pond), and I was very aware that those photos would get a lot of attention. But I ended up with Gerry simply because he and I and the Minister for Justice were being interviewed together on the live TV broadcast. However, Sinn Fein have long been supporters of gay rights, and long before any of the other major parties they would have a presence in Pride parades here etc. Also earlier that same week Gerry met and was photographed shaking hands and chatting with Prince Charles so I thought I'd top his English prince with an Irish queen!

And it was such a wonderful and celebratory day that I was happy to be pictured with all comers. And on that day there were all comers! Every politician from every party was only too thrilled to embrace the gay that day, and you don't get gayer than me! Gerry is very personable and was very enthusiastic about the result. Everyone was swept up in the incredible atmosphere that day. He's also very quirky-fun. If you haven't already you should check out his Twitter. It's nuts! A mixture of political stuff and the adventures of his stuffed toy bear and his bath toys. Seriously. It is.

JMG: This year you marched in the LGBT-inclusive St. Pats For All Parade in Queens. Do you think the result of the referendum might finally convince NYC's St. Patrick's Day Parade to allow LGBT folks to participate?

PANTI: I'd like to think so but I doubt it. The Ancient Order of Hibernians who organise the Manhattan parade are so calcified and so stuck in a bizarre 1950's view of Ireland I'm not sure they are capable of change anytime soon. However, even if they do, I hope the St. Pats For All Parade continues, because it's a really wonderful, grassroots, charming event with real heart that stands on its own.

JMG:  Now that marriage is settled, what's next for the LGBT movement in Ireland?

PANTI: There are a few small legislative issues that still need to be tackled, in particular law that allows institutions with a "religious ethos" to discriminate against LGBTI people. It is particularly a problem here where primary schools are almost entirely under the control of religious orders. Historically, back when the Republic was young and broke, the state ceded the responsibility of primary schooling to religious orders and so LGBTI teachers are often forced into the closet for fear of losing their jobs. However hopefully that will be tackled soon as this government has committed to removing it. After that, like all minorities, we will still have to agitate to maintain our respect. Marriage equality and the achievement of full and equal citizenship under the law is huge, but as they say, "hearts and minds" change more slowly.

JMG:  Finally, let's get a wee bit personal. Is there a man in your life? What would your dream date look like?

PANTI: No there isn't! Which is a goddamn crime! I think part of the problem is that I'm a national fucking treasure, and nobody wants to fuck a national treasure. I think they think it'd be like masturbating on Mount Rushmore! But I live in hope. I live in hope of a mocha-skinned big-dicker top. But don't we all...

Pride Magazine Relaunches As Pride Life

For its 17th annual issue Pride Magazine has changed its name slightly and you'll soon find it stacked around the gayborhoods as Pride Life - which is the same name as its sister publication in the UK. Inside you'll find my interview with the always hilarious Panti Bliss, which I'll excerpt here once the physical copies hit the streets.

NEW YORK CITY: Panti Bliss To Perform Five Shows At Irish Arts Center

Via press release:

On the heels of the recent Marriage Equality referendum in Ireland, Irish Arts Center is proud to present Ireland's High Queen, National Treasure, Performance Giant and Accidental Activist Panti in her smash-hit comedy show, High Heels in Low Places. Brought to New York City by Irish production company THISISPOPBABY, High Heels in Low Places runs at Irish Arts Center (553 West 51st St, New York) for five nights from Monday June 8th until Saturday, June 13th with an official opening on Tuesday, June 9th at 7:30 pm. Performances are Tuesday-Wednesday at 7:30 pm and Friday-Saturday at 8 pm. Tickets are from $15 and can be booked online or by calling 866-811-4111. [Photo credit: Conor Horgan]

High Heels in Low Places is Panti’s riotous stand-up show about life after “Pantigate,” which played to rave reviews and chock-a-block houses across Ireland. Critics called it “Hilarious” (Hotpress) and “a wickedly funny evening” (Irish Independent) with “impeccable one-liners” (The Evening Herald). Charting brushes with infamy, near misses with fame, and adventures in the seedy underbelly, the High Queen of Ireland invites you in to her ultra-padded, hyper-real, stiletto-shaped world, as she swaps stories from the gutter and trades secrets of the stars.

Get your tickets here. I'll be there on opening night.

Tweet Of The Day - Panti Bliss

RELATED: Just in via press release: "For 2015, Pride Toronto will co-host with The 519 the highly-anticipated outdoor soirée Starry Night, with guest of honor Panti Bliss, the famous Irish equal marriage advocate and drag queen extraordinaire (Thursday, June 25)."

Panti Bliss: I'm Drunk On Yes

"Yes. It's such a little word but today it feels so big. YES. Has one simple syllable ever meant so much before? Not to me anyway. I've never asked anyone to marry me, but today it feels like I asked a whole country to marry me and they said Yes. And I'm delighted. Ecstatic. I'm over the gay moon and drunk on Yes, and like any happy groom on his wedding morning, I'm truly, deeply, madly in love. I am in love with the whole country.

"Groups of men and women all across the country - students with shaved heads and grandmothers with headscarves, indefatigable activists and groggy-from-night-work taxi drivers - knocking on the doors of their fellow citizens in the pursuit of a simple and beautiful idea: the we are all equally deserving of respect.

"On Friday, Ireland agreed with that simple proposition. Forty years after those first brave men and women stood up and said, 'no more', the people of Ireland said Yes, and what must have seemed impossible all those years ago has been achieved: Ireland's LGBTI citizens are full and equal citizens under the law." - Panti Bliss, writing for the Sunday Independent.

Happy St. Panti's Day!

Wow. @PantiBliss arrives and the crowd chants Panti! Panti! Panti! #MarRef pic.twitter.com/IP7YISn0u3

— Ty Wesley Cobb (@tywesleycobb) May 23, 2015

@PantiBliss media scrum as she arrives at #dublincastle for #MarRef result. #Yes #YesEquality pic.twitter.com/oQhwPJ5Ayb

— Bobby (@bobbysands81) May 23, 2015

.@PantiBliss feeling the love #MarRef pic.twitter.com/DbhCa40XGN

— Conor Humphries.ie (@reutersConorH) May 23, 2015

Tweet Of The Day - Panti Bliss

The polls close in 90 minutes.

IRELAND: Will It Be A Yes For Equality?

Posted yesterday's by Britain's Channel 4: "Ireland is just days away from the world's first referendum on whether same-sex couples should be allowed to marry. We meet the Yes votes in the capital cities and the No voters in the country towns."

Rory O'Neill: What It Means If We Lose

"We were filming an interview on May 8th 2015 with Rory O'Neill, perhaps better known for his alter-ego, 'Panti Bliss', and when we heard his answer to a question about the Marriage Equality Referendum, we felt it was important to share it publicly before the referendum on May 22nd."

Irish Haters: Hitler Was A Homosexual And Gay People Are All Pedophiles

Panti Bliss writes: "Today in Hate Mail. Good Lord but the gays really do bring out the nuts!" A commenter on her Facebook page observes:  "The odd spelling is often a sign that this kind of sickening hate speech was written by American evangelist types. 'Pedophile' is how they spell paedophile in the US, and it's clearly not a typo as they've used that spelling throughout."

Quote Of The Day - Rory O'Neill

"I don’t believe the polls for a single second because if you dig into them you can see that support is very soft. Most people in Ireland are very fair-minded so if you say to them ‘do you think gay people should be treated as everyone else?’ they will reply ‘yes, of course we do.’ But people in Ireland are also conservative and fearful of things they don’t really know or understand. And in Ireland it’s very easy to frighten the horses. Their campaign is based largely on fear and disinformation, and it is very easy to do that. If you have a lady from the country or even a city who has a gay cousin initially she might think ‘oh yes, I will vote for gay marriage’. But if she turns on the radio and hears all these fears expressed about children and that gays having the right to be married will take away a child’s right to a mother and father then that lady might think twice and have her doubts. That lady might just say she will vote just to keep things the way they are than vote for change." - Rory O'Neill, aka drag legend Panti Bliss, speaking to the Guardian. Ireland's marriage referendum is May 22nd.

Panti Bliss: May 23rd Could Be So Gay That The Earth's Orbit Is Affected

Drag legend Panti Bliss points out to the Irish Sun that not only will the results of Ireland's marriage referendum be official on May 23rd, the Eurovision finals are also that day. Panti: "May 23rd has the potential to be so gay that the Earth's orbit is affected." Embiggen the image to read the full story.

Panti Bliss To Perform In New York City

Irish drag legend and activist Panti Bliss grand-marshaled last year's St. Pat's For All Parade in Queens and she returns to New York City in June for two shows at the Irish Arts Center.

Join Ireland's High Queen, National Treasure, Performance Giant and Accidental Activist Panti in her smash hit comedy show, High Heels in Low Places. Panti Bliss landed herself in the middle of a media outrage named ''Pantigate'' that rocked Ireland in 2014. Soon after, she became a YouTube sensation when a speech she made about homophobia, described as ''the most eloquent Irish speech'' in almost 200 years by Irish Times’ columnist Fintan O'Toole, went viral, was broadcast around the world, debated in parliament and remixed by the Pet Shop Boys—sparking a powerful conversation about equality. High Heels in Low Places is her riotous stand-up show about life after ''Pantigate,'' which played to rave reviews and chock-a-block houses across Ireland. Critics called it ''Hilarious'' (Hotpress) and ''a wickedly funny evening'' (Irish Independent) with ''impeccable one-liners'' (The Evening Herald).

RELATED: The Irish Arts Center will also host a fundraising concert for this year's St. Pat's For All Parade on February 27th. The parade is March 1st. (Tipped by JMG reader John)

IRELAND: Drag Star/Activist Panti Bliss Wows Crowd With Dublin TEDx Talk

Andy Towle provides some of the transcript:

"Everyday I am jealous of straight people because that tiny intimate expression of affection has never once been mine...I am jealous of that because gay people do not get to hold hands in public without first considering the risk...We look around to see where are we, who’s around, what kind of place is it…are there bunches of lads outside a pub? ... I’m 45 years old and I have never once casually, comfortably, carelessly held hands with a partner in public... I’m 45 and I’m fed up of putting up so I’m not anymore. I’m 45 years old and I’m not putting up anymore because I don’t have the energy anymore. Putting up is exhausting. I’m 45 years old and I’m not putting up anymore because I don’t have the patience anymore. I was born 6 months before the Stonewall riots and you have had 45 years to work out that despite appearances, I am just as ordinary, just as unremarkable, and just as human as you are. I’m 45 years old and I’m not asking anymore. I am just being…human being."

Watch this.

PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: Panti Bliss honored as Ireland 2014 Person Of The Year. Panti Bliss hosts Irish prime minister at local gay bar. Pet Shop Boys remix Panti Bliss speech into new single. Panti Bliss marches in Queens St. Patrick's Day Parade. Panti Bliss' anti-homophobia speech at Dublin's Abbey Theater goes globally viral.

IRELAND: Activist Panti Bliss Honored With Person Of The Year Award

Via Pink News:

Irish drag queen activist Panti Bliss has picked up a Person of the Year award. Drag artist Panti Bliss, played by Rory O’Neill, caused controversy in January this year when she labelled Catholic lobbying group the Iona Institute ‘homophobes’ on an Irish talk show, prompting state broadcaster RTE to award a payout of over €85,000 (£70,000) to the group and associated journalists. After the controversy, a heartwarming speech that Panti gave about the oppression that gay people face went viral online, and was even sampled as part of a Pet Shop Boys track.

About the awards:

Now in its 40th year, the People of the Year Awards are not just the primary awards event in Ireland, they are also among the longest-running. They are widely recognised as one of the highest accolades a person can receive in this country. Based on nominations received from members of the public, the People of the Year Awards give public recognition of the achievement of those who, in their own way, have made such a positive impact on Irish society. The Awards recognise a unique range of people - from unsung heroes who have quietly made a difference and enhanced the lives of others in communities, to the household names who have made a real difference to people’s lives on a national and international level.

If you haven't seen Panti's now legendary speech, watch it here. (Tipped by JMG reader Gerard)

IRELAND: Prime Minister Visits Gay Bar

Via the Irish Times:

“So there’s An Taoiseach in Pantibar,” a post on the Dublin gay bar’s Facebook page reads over a picture of Enda Kenny who visited the bar last night. “It’s a changed world in many ways.” This was the reaction to the visit by Rory O’Neill, the entertainer and gay rights activist also known as Panti Bliss, who owns the bar where the Taoiseach met with members of the Fine Gael LGBT group during a pre-Christmas get-together. A tweet by Irish Times columnist Una Mullally summed up one Pantibar-goer’s reaction: “Bless,” he said when it was pointed out to him that one of the “suits” in the establishment was in fact the leader of the country. However the online reaction to a photo posted on the bar’s Facebook page showing the Taoiseach pictured with TD Jerry Buttimer, Brian Sheehan of GLEN, and Minister for Children James Reilly was decidedly less subdued and included no small amount of cynicism. “He’s obviously trying to win the pink vote,” one post read. 

Ireland's public referendum on same-sex marriage will take place in May and is expected to pass with overwhelming support. (Tipped by JMG reader Gerard)

Anti-Gay Irish Journalist: I'm Afraid To Go Out At Night After Panti Bliss Flap

Anti-gay Irish journalist John Waters says he's now fearful for his safety after being paid €40,000 by state television shortly after he was denounced as a homophobe by drag performer Panti Bliss during a nationally televised show.

"What is the great crime in taking money off the state broadcaster?" he asked, in an interview near his holiday home in Sligo town yesterday. "Let me tell you this, if this had gone on, it isn't €40,000, I would have got €4m out of RTE." Mr Waters also took the opportunity to reinforce his stance on gay marriage and adoption." This is about free speech. It is about the rights of people to speak about what is important without being demonised," he said. Waters told the Sunday Independent he has been left fearing for his personal safety. "I won't go in to Dublin city centre at night. When you have that kind of toxicity generated out of nothing, what are you going to do? It's not worth it." "I was walking down the street and a guy on a bicycle shouted 'you f***ing homophobe' at me before cycling on. I was in a coffee shop on another occasion and a woman waddled over to me with a pram and told me I should be ashamed of myself before walking off. They are cowards, they shout something and keep walking, they don't want to engage."

Waters adds that he now has no friends left in the media and claims to have lost 14 pounds from the stress of the backlash against him. Hit the above link for several video clips in which Waters defends his use of the term "buggery" and attacks gay adoption, which he calls as "absurd" as allowing two brothers to adopt.  The Sunday Independent story is currently the top post on Breitbart London.

RELATED: After the payment to Waters was made public, Panti Bliss delivered a now-legendary speech about homophobia that went viral on YouTube and was remixed into a dance track by Pet Shop Boys.

VIDEO: Pet Shop Boys Issue "Slow Mix" Version Of Panti Bliss' Homophobia Speech

Several days ago Pet Shop Boys issued a dance track that accompanies the now-legendary speech on homophobia by Irish drag activist Panti Bliss. A second, slower version of the track has now been released with an accompanying video. Pet Shop Boys explain the genesis of the project:

Impressed by what they considered (in Neil's words) "a great statement in this age when gay marriage and cruel homophobia exist side by side," the Boys decided to put excerpts of Panti's speech to music just a couple weeks after it he delivered it. They composed an atmospheric backing track, set key segments of the speech to it, and turned it over to Panti himself, who then released it to the world on SoundCloud in early March 2014, about a week after the Boys recorded it. That initial release was a "Dance Mix," rhythmically in a light house/trance vein that, as the title of the mix indicates, would be right at home in most dance clubs. A "Slow Mix" surfaced just a few days later, virtually identical to the Dance Mix except in its statelier, more placid rhythm track, which served to place even greater emphasis on the import of Panti's words. Both mixes were handled by Chris.

Watch the video, which contains images of anti-gay oppression and violence around the world. The audio-only dance mix of the track is here.

Bill Donohue: Gays Are Bent On Crashing The NYC St. Patrick's Day Parade

"It must be noted that the organizers of the parade, the St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee, do not allow pro-life Catholics to march under their own banners. Nor are NRA Catholics allowed. But just as gays can march, so can pro-lifers and NRA members; they simply must blend in like everyone else. No one feels victimized save for homosexuals. Besides the huge march up Fifth Avenue, there are many local St. Patrick's Day parades; they are usually held on the weekends prior to the big one. On March 2, Mayor de Blasio marched in the Sunnyside, Queens 'St. Pat's for All' parade, organized by gay Catholics. He looked lovely with his arm around Pandora Panti Bliss, an Irish drag queen. In one sense, this was a plus: It showed exactly what the goal of these gay activists is. They do not want to honor St. Patrick — they want to draw attention to themselves. Those who truly believe in diversity and tolerance love the parade for what it is — a celebration of St. Patrick and Irish heritage. That some want to deny Irish Catholics their constitutional rights, when no one is stopping them from having their own parade, is a sad commentary on the state of our culture." - Catholic League blowhard Bill Donohue, writing for the right-wing site Newsmax.