Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Idaho Bar Ripped After Organizing 'Hetero Awesome Fest' During Pride Month

Hetero Awesome Festival logo
@oldstatesaloon/Instagram

The owner of the Old State Saloon announced they'd be hosting a "Hetero Awesome Fest" in Boise outside the state Capitol building in late June to counter LGTBQ+ Pride Month.

Make us preferred on Google

An Idaho bar is drawing criticism after announcing it will be hosting a "Hetero Awesome Festival" (is that really the BEST name you could come up with? Maybe workshop it a bit more...) in response to LGBTQ+ Pride Month.

The grown adults who run Old State Saloon in the Boise suburb of Eagle are convinced that "traditional family values" are under assault because of Pride, so they will be holding their event on June 20 and 21 outside Idaho's state Capitol, to coincide with Pride celebrations.


Old State Saloon announced their celebration with an Instagram video that is frankly hilarious in its delusion.

It's exactly what you'd expect—a bunch of far-right grievance politics over things that are not happening but which Fox News and other propagandists have been insisting are real for decades.

As owner Mark Fitzpatrick put it in an email to NBC News:

"The Hetero Awesome Fest and Heterosexual Awesomeness Month aim to celebrate the traditional family unit and address concerns about cultural trends influenced by liberal progressivism."
"Our event is not about targeting any group but about raising awareness of practices we find troubling, such as the encouragement of 'gender transitions' among children or their exposure to inappropriate content."

That's the publicist-approved version. The video itself was a lot more specific:

"The Battle Lines of Heterosexual Awesomeness ... are the unyielding front where we plant our flag for family, truth, and liberty—no retreat, no surrender."

Retreat from what or surrender to whom, the video does not specify, likely because the threat is completely invented in their own gay-obsessed brains.

Anyway, it goes on to say that Fitzpatrick and his saloon are "slugging it out against the gutless enemies of traditional values" which includes "the LGBTQ+ agenda's anti-kin chaos," which sounds like something Yosemite Sam would say while shooting off his pistols if he were a weird conservatives with an inexplicable fixation on gay sex.

As you might guess, Fitzpatrick's announcement hasn't been very popular, including with the sponsors he's tried to line up, which he told NBC have all ignored his requests for donations.

It didn't go over well on social media, either, unless mockery was the goal. Cuz there was plenty of that!

Just for the record, Fitzgerald told NBC that his event is "a love thing" and there will be "no hate at all" despite claiming on social media that LGBTQ+ people are "criminals" who cut off children's genitals.

Lots of absolutely normal stuff going on at the Old State Saloon so the fest should be a good time!

More from News/lgbtq

John Oliver
Noam Galai/Comic Relief/Getty Images

John Oliver Finally Gets His Wish To Be Slapped on 'General Hospital' Cameo—And Fans Are Obsessed

Beloved long-time HBO host John Oliver made it big when he got guest-starring roles on General Hospital and Days of Our Lives, and based on his personality and sense of humor, perhaps it should be no surprise to any of us what his special requests were for the daytime soap operas.

Back in March, Oliver said on air that he dreamed of filling a "juicy" role on General Hospital, and ABC took the request so seriously that they offered him a role on both of the melodramas.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Trump Sparks Outrage After Saying He Knows Migrants Are 'Trouble' Just By 'Looking At Them'—And Everyone's Thinking The Same Thing

President Donald Trump was criticized after suggesting during a speech in the White House Rose Garden that undocumented migrants can be identified as "trouble" by "looking at them," prompting critics to call out the implication.

Trump's remarks came after reporters noted that federal immigration officials had detained more than 10,000 people over a five-day period, a sure sign that the administration's nationwide immigration crackdown is intensifying.

Keep ReadingShow less
Gavin Newsom; Donald Trump
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images; Win McNamee/Getty Images

Gavin Newsom Trolls 'Wandering' Trump With Joke About Turkey's President Being His 'Caretaker' On Recent Trip

California Governor Gavin Newsom pounced after Fox News aired footage showing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan guiding President Donald Trump down the tarmac after exiting Air Force One.

Trump arrived in Ankara, Turkey, for a NATO summit where allies were expected to press him on Washington's plans for troop reductions in Europe, seek assurances of continued support for Ukraine ahead of his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and hear his remarks at a news conference before he returned to Washington.

Keep ReadingShow less
Frankie Grande attends The 79th Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall.
Dia Dipasupil/WireImage

Frankie Grande Shares Gnarly Injury Photos After Prop Accident Causes Concussion During Broadway Show

Frankie Grande is showing fans the aftermath of a frightening Broadway mishap. The performer revealed he suffered a concussion and facial injuries after being struck by a prop during a performance of Titaníque, sharing photos of the damage days later.

The actor revealed on Instagram on Sunday that the injury occurred during the show's performance on Thursday, July 2. Photos included in the post showed bruising around his left eye and across the bridge of his nose.

Keep ReadingShow less
Millie Bobby Brown
Taylor Hill/FilmMagic

Millie Bobby Brown Hits Back After Fans Drag Her Historically Inaccurate Nails In 'Enola Holmes 3'

Nothing ruins a period piece or historical fiction quite like dialogue that's too contemporary for the time, or wardrobe pieces that weren't around then.

There's also an increasing problem in the entertainment industry of actors having what people are calling "iPhone Face" or "Instagram Face," because they have adopted features, through Botox and other treatments, that are attuned to social media but would stand out in a period piece.

Keep ReadingShow less