From silly to serious, crime to punishments, dish to deaths, the top stories that rocked the LGBT-ATL in 2014 form a crazy quilt of gay scandals, politics, religion and sex.
Drug dealing caught up with party promoter Chris Coleman (top photo) over the summer, and news of his sentencing caused a stir in November. But his tale barely breaks the Top 5 of our 14 for ’14 most-clicked headlines. Here's the full list, in order from the most popular post of the year.
1. What you need to know about those sexy selfies
The year’s most popular post was all about gay guys who’ll do anything to snap a sexy selfie and base their self esteem on how many likes it gets. Comedian Phillip Henry skewered the phenomenon with a pitch-perfect riff set to Sarah McLachlan's “Angel” to parody that animal cruelty commercial you love to hate. The video was later scrubbed.
2. Enjoy your butt sex. And Truvada, too.
Atlanta columnist Alex Rowland caught the PrEP zeitgeist in August and delivered a politically charged post about a personal choice: “If I was a top, I would never consider Truvada. But I'm not. So let's talk about HIV and butt sex, Truvada and PrEP. But without any slut-shaming asshole telling you what you should do with your body.”
3. Tyler Perry feeds gay rumor mill, pleads the fifth
Atlanta’s own movie mogul and perennial gay rumor dodger Tyler Perry is being hounded once again over his not so vague sexual orientation. Dishy black blog Media TakeOut was like a dog with a bone, and it didn’t let go.
4. Trans woman stripped nude, beaten during MARTA attack [NSFW]
Video of an attack on two transgender women on a MARTA train rocked LGBT Atlanta in May. One of them was stripped nude during a fight that started with a verbal confrontation and turned into a violent brawl and beating.
5. Friends mourn death of young gay Atlanta man
The body of 24-year-old gay Atlanta man Josh Nicholson was found in a parking garage ventilation shaft in early December. He was being mourned by friends shocked over his death and saddened that the life of the popular cheerleader, model and fun-loving guy was cut so short.
6. Gay Atlanta party promoter jailed for drug smuggling
Longtime gay Atlanta nightlife promoter Chris Coleman was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to running an international drug smuggling operation that shipped meth, GHB and ketamine disguised as candy to buyers as far away as Israel.
7. Atlanta drag queen shot to death in Cobb home
Metro Atlanta drag queen Kitty Litter, aka Kitty Collins – whose legal name is Samuel Collins, 60 – was shot to death in October, allegedly killed by her partner who then fled the state and was later arrested in Tennessee. Police discovered her body inside her home near Dobbins Air Reserve Base.
8. ‘Religious freedom’ bill dies in Georgia House
After a flurry of opposition, including an uprising by LGBT activists and gay lawmakers at the capitol (video) and a dis by Delta Air Lines, a controversial anti-gay “religious freedom” bill died in the state House. The Senate followed suit days later.
9. Man dies after near drowning at Black Gay Pride
A 21-year-old man celebrating during Atlanta's Black Gay Pride over Labor Day Weekend died in the hospital three days after nearly drowning at a hotel during a popular pool. Henry Lee, Jr., also known as Amar'e Lee, was a visitor to Atlanta for the weekend of annual events.
10. Grindr 3 way turns bad for UGA student, jockstrap
A gay Athens, Ga., couple thirsty for a three way found their 20-year-old trick on Grindr – and a rash of post-coital problems that included the police, a jockstrap, a pool of blood and a late-night trip to the hospital.
11. Gwinnett College kicked out student with HIV
A metro Atlanta college that called an HIV-positive student a “safety risk” and kicked her out of its medical assistant program says it will change its ways, thanks to a federal investigation. In June, U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates (photo) announced that her office reached a settlement with Gwinnett College to compensate the student and change its enrollment process.
12. Why these guys come out as HIV-poz on Grindr
What happens when guys on Grindr come out as HIV-positive? They get a range of reactions from thirsty fellow cock hounds. Curiosity to anger to paranoia. In March, a handful of men who include “poz” in their list of Grindr Tribes discussed the challenges it presents, why they did it and how guys react to it on the cruising app.
13. Man called anti-gay slurs, beaten on BeltLine
A 25-year-old man was attacked, punched and called “faggot” during a confrontation as he cycled on the Atlanta BeltLine's Eastside Trail in May, leaving him bloodied and needing stitches. Quinn Alexander Chrzan caught his attacker with photos on his phone, and video surveillance also showed the attack. The perpetrator eventually turned himself in.
14. And Gayest City goes to… not Atlanta, but close
Esteemed researchers, rank amateurs and just plain nosy looky loos love to ask which U.S. cities are gayer, and audiences love to parse the results. But when Atlanta makes every single list, we feel pretty damn gay. We can really hang our hats on a ranking that came out in June and is based on Census data, HRC’s equality indexes, and LGBT safety and tolerance.
