Michael Cooper

Credit: Gage Skidmore/Wikicommons

Time for Tea: The Pences Defend Christian School's Ban Against LGBTQ Community

Michael Cooper
When news broke that Vice President Mike Pence's wife, Karen, is teaching art part-time at Immanuel Christian School in Springfield, Virginia, which bans LGBTQ students, parents and faculty, the VP defended their discrimination as "freedom of religion." In his latest column exploring gay issues and culture, Michael Cooper illustrates why the Pences’ hypocrisy and hatred is decidedly un-Christian....
Credit: Pamela Littky/Fox

L.A.'s Valentina Reigns in Rent, RuPaul's Drag Race and New Stage Show

Michael Cooper
Less than two years after she first took RuPaul's Drag Race by storm, L.A. native queen Valentina has got a handful of projects: playing the HIV-positive cross-dressing character Angel Dumott Schunard on Fox's Rent Live airing Sunday, Jan. 27; appearing on the current season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars; and starring in her own stage show at Cal State L.A. on Feb. 3....
Credit: Quinn Dombrowski/Wikicommons

Time for Tea/LGBTQ News: Speaker Pelosi Commits to the Equality Act

Michael Cooper
Newly elected Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, in delivering her gavel acceptance speech on Jan. 3 to the 116th Congress, said, "This House will be for the people. Empowered by our mandate, we will pursue our mission. ... We will make America fairer by passing the Equality Act to end discrimination against LGBTQ Americans."...
Credit: Angela George

Time for Tea/LGBTQ News: Kevin Hart on The Ellen DeGeneres Show

Michael Cooper
Four weeks ago, in my first article for the "Time for Tea" column, I discussed the controversy surrounding Kevin Hart stepping down as the host of the Oscars after homophobic tweets and stand-up from his past resurfaced. While the Academy has still not announced a new host, Hart reignited the conversation when he appeared as the sole guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show this last Friday, Jan. 4....
Valentina; Credit: VH-1 Press

Time for Tea/LGBTQ News: Free the Drag Queen Nipple

Michael Cooper
Who would have thought the "Free the Nipple" movement would apply to not just women but drag queens as well? On the Dec. 21 episode of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, Season 4 (called "Super Girl Groups, Henny"), the show decided to do something a bit odd: Censor the male nipple multiple times on one of the drag queen contestants, Valentina....
Mick Mulvaney; Credit: Gage Skidmore/Wikicommons

Time for Tea/LGBTQ News: Trump Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney

Michael Cooper
Remember when then presidential candidate Donald Trump tweeted two days after the Pulse nightclub shooting, "Thank you to the LGBT community! I will fight for you while Hillary brings in more people that will threaten your freedoms and beliefs." Or how about when he held up a rainbow flag that said "LGBTs for Trump" at a campaign rally in Greeley, Colorado, just nine days before the election?...
Kevin Hart; Credit: Adam Bielawski

Time for Tea/LGBTQ News: Kevin Hart Should Have Stepped Up

Michael Cooper
In the age of social media, your homophobic past can come back to haunt you, as comedian Kevin Hart learned this month. After it was announced that he would host next year's Oscars, homophobic tweets he made between 2009 and 2011 emerged, such as "Yo if my son comes home & try's 2 play with my daughters doll house I'm going 2 break it over his head & say n my voice 'stop that's gay." That was written in 2011, when Hart was 31 years old....
Highland Park Bowl created a special Gudetama pizza.; Credit: Wonho Frank Lee

Sanrio's Gudetama Takes Over Highland Park Bowl

Michael Cooper
Have you ever eaten a pizza with an egg on it? How about while you were bowling? Well, have you ever, while bowling, eaten a pizza with an egg on it that's staring back at you? If the answer is no, look no further than the 1933 Group's Highland Park Bowl, where Sanrio recently launched a residency to spotlight its popular Gudetama character, also known as the Lazy Egg. The residency, which runs through February, offers everything that fans of the character could want, from branded food to a themed bowling package....
The Green Room at the Castaway; Credit: Rachel Ayotte

Behind Today's Opening of the Green Room at the Castaway

Michael Cooper
In the fast-changing landscape of the L.A. restaurant scene, it's rare for restaurants to have the longevity they once did. However, one group of restaurants that started in Southern California has managed to stick around for 60 years. Starting with the Reef in Long Beach in 1958, Specialty Restaurants Corporation (SRC) is a family-run business that is still innovating: The Green Room, SRC's new lounge and cocktail concept inside the Castaway, opens to the public today....