Archives for August 2015

Russia has cancelled one of its only LGBT film events.

30/08/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Joseph Patrick McCormick
29^th August 2015, 4:11 PM

The Moscow Premiere, an anti-fascist and LGBT cinema event, was soon to take place, but was replaced with a “positive, youth-orientated” alternative, reports Digital Spy.
The organiser of the Moscow Premiere, a free event, said he could not work with the new organiser, Yevgeny Gerasimov.
The festival had previously accepted submissions rejected by mainstream releases and festivals.
Funding was cut at a moment’s notice, and supporters of the festival, and the LGBT community as a whole in Russia have criticised the way the situation has been handled.
The Youth Festival of Life Affirming Film, which will replace the Moscow Premiere, will be unable to show any films featuring LGBT people in positive light, due to Russia’s federal anti-gay law.
Passed in 2013, it bans the “promotion of non-traditional sexual relations” to minors.
The cancellation of the Moscow Premiere is being seen as part of a wider crackdown on LGBT rights in Russia.
The Youth Festival of Life Affirming Film is set to take place this coming week.
Russia last week announced plans to entirely block Wikipedia, in its latest crackdown on the internet.
The Russian government recently bolstered its watchdog’s powers to censor the internet – and over the past year a number of blocks have been placed on ‘dissenting’ groups.
Russia’s main support group for teenagers who identify as LGBT, Children-404, was quietly blocked by authorities on Russian social media site VKontakte in April.

Sam Stanley comes out!

30/08/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

By NICHOLAS GODDEN FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 01:35, 30 August 2015 | UPDATED: 01:36, 30 August 2015

England sevens player Sam Stanley, 23, has revealed that he is gay
Stanley is the first rugby union player to publicly come out as gay
He has revealed that he contemplated suicide to end his pain and worry

England sevens star Sam Stanley has become the first professional rugby union player to come out as gay and has revealed he even contemplated suicide because he was worried that he wouldn’t be accepted in the macho world of the sport.
The 23-year-old, who has represented England at five tournaments and is the brother of Samoan international Michael Stanley, who will be playing in the World Cup, has kept his five-year relationship with partner Laurence a secret.
‘I was 10 or 11 when I realised I was different to my friends,’ Stanley told the Sunday Times. ‘I didn’t want to accept it, I felt that being different wasn’t right. I had a girlfriend and I was thinking that, like some people say, maybe it is just a phase.’

Former Saracens player Sam Stanley has become the first union player to come out as gay

Stanley (right) of England in action in the match against Scotland during the Tokyo Sevens last year

Stanley has spoken of the anguish he felt at not being able to discuss personal problems with family or close friends.
‘I was really happy with him but if there was a bad day I wouldn’t be able to share it with anyone else. One birthday we were going through a tough time and it was all really hard to take. It would have been nice to get things off my mind with someone else.’
Stanley recalls one moment when the though of ending all the pain and worry crossed his mind.

‘I was standing on a bridge about four or five years ago, overlooking a motorway in Essex,’ he explains. ‘However, looking back, the idea that I would jump was ridiculous but it was as if I was thinking that I could get rid of the pain in one go.

‘You are so worried about what people will think and I thought I couldn’t be a macho rugby player the way I was, and there was nothing else I wanted to do with my life.’

Rugby league player Keegan Hirst, who plays for Batley Bulldogs, came out as gay earlier this month

Former Wales international captain Gareth Thomas announced he was gay

Stanley joined Aviva Premiership side Saracens in 2010 before joining the sevens circuit four years later and his decision to reveal his sexuality comes five years after former Wales international Gareth Thomas announced he was gay.

Earlier this month Keegan Hirst, a professional rugby league player for Batley Bulldogs announced that he was gay and Stanley has followed suit after receiving advice from 2003 World Cup winner Ben Cohen, whose Stand Up Foundation campaigns against bullying.

‘Ben is a great person to talk to. He gave me loads of great advice,’ Stanley said.

England Sevens star: I’m gay | The Sunday Times
Daily Mail – James Haskell tackles homophobia in sport with Gay Times magazine photo shoot ahead of the Rugby World Cup
Daily Mail – Married rugby league player comes out as gay and becomes first openly homosexual player in the sport
The Sunday Times – England Sevens star: I’m gay

Sir Ian McKellen get the crowd going at Manchester Pride

30/08/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Iconic actor Sir Ian McKellen thrilled crowds at today’s Manchester Pride, where he marched as grand marshal.
Shortly after completing the procession, the star sat down with GSN to discuss the third series of Vicious, partying on Canal Street with Coronation Street’s Antony Cotton, and the true meaning of pride…
Thank you for designing GSN’s 2015 pride tote bag! Are you pleased with how it turned out?
It’s brilliant!
Have you always had a knack for drawing?
No, as you can tell…
Where did the idea for the design come from?
There was a comedian called Sir George Robey, he was a huge star – he always used to draw little caricatures of himself.
You’ll have to frame it and put it on your wall…
Frame it?! I shall use it for my shopping.
You were interacting a lot with the crowd during today’s Manchester Pride parade…
It was lovely. Such a variety. A lot of gay people, obviously, and straight people, people who brought their kids, dogs, people who can’t move on their own, people in wheelchairs…just people.
Are you going out tonight?
A lot of people have come up, so…what would you recommend?
Poptastic!
What’s that?
An indie-pop night…
I see.
Or perhaps Cruz 101 instead?
I’m told that’s a bit dingy and dirty… But lively, is it?
Well, in an entertaining way.
Well, I met a young man yesterday, a waiter at the Richmond Tea Rooms. About six foot one. His drag name is Licorice Black. He was at Cruz last night. Maybe I’ll nip down.
Can you remember your first time on Canal Street?
It was probably after Queer As Folk. I was living in London and wasn’t really aware of what was going on. I’m usually on Canal Street on the arm of Antony Cotton, which is a dangerous place to be. He’s so recognized, so beloved.
Do you have a close knit set of gay friends?
A lot of them are gay, but not all. I do notice, when I have 10 people round for dinner or something, I look and think ‘They’re all gay!’ Or ‘There’s a straight person, how are they going to get on?’ Or I don’t have enough women. It can be difficult to balance it out. But I don’t have any friends who aren’t totally at ease with gay people. My favorite group is straight men who are gay-friendly. I find that very attractive.
How does it feel to be part of Taylor Swift’s ‘squad‘?
I’m not. When I was living in Peter Jackson’s apartment in New York, Taylor Swift bought it while I was there and I was thrown out before I wanted to leave! That hardly puts me in Taylor Swift’s team, does it? You look shocked.
We are shocked!
[Laughs] She bought it, she had every right to – I was just lodging there for free! She did ask me to appear with Patrick Stewart at her show in LA, but I had something else to do that night.
Is there any news on the third series of Vicious?
I keep being told to not take another job because it’s going to happen, but I don’t know for certain.
How do you feel about the public reaction to it?
It’s a bit like Marmite. That’s what Derek Jacobi said. People either love it or hate it. A lot of people today – particularly middle-aged, clearly heterosexual women – have shouted [puts on Mancunian accent]: ‘LOVED you in Vicious!’ As long as they’re happy! We’re not trying to change the world with Vicious.
Are you looking forward to the new Stonewall film?
I’ve heard a little bit about it. I haven’t seen it. I would like to know more about what actually happened. I’ve heard the stories and I visited the Stonewall Inn for the first time very recently. One of the barmen was there the night of the riots. But I know there’s some disagreement with the representation of the principal players. Have you seen it?
No. We’ve seen the trailer. So far, the accusations of whitewashing have been directed at the trailer rather than the film. No one has seen the film yet.
It’s a bit early to criticize then. I know enough about trailers to know they’re not necessarily representative of the film. No one is likely to have made a film about the Stonewall Riots in order to distort the story. But they may have had to do certain casting to get the film made. The Harvey Milk film [Milk, 2008] was romanticized. It was wonderful. I loved Pride [2014], that was romanticized, fictionalized. I suppose they were more attractive looking people in the film than were there in life. Does that matter?
Has narrating the documentary Muslim Drag Queens, and learning about that part of the LGBTI community, made you connect to Pride in a different way?
Well, I’m not sure there is a gay [or LGBTI] community. There are gay communities and that’s one of them, one that I’m not privileged to be a part of. I’m gay, but I’m not Asian. Gay Asians have a series of particular problems that they’re coping with. What I like about those drag queens is they’re practicing Muslims. They’re down on the mat praying to Allah. And their Allah loves gay people. So if ever some Muslim says that Allah doesn’t like gay people – they need to talk to those Muslims. But it’s hard for them, desperately hard.
I’m afraid religion’s never been much of a friend to gay people. Except the Quakers. Quakers have never had a problem. And yet they’re the people who are most bound by the Bible. They follow its instructions. ‘Thou Shalt Not Kill.’ They’re pacifists. Why aren’t all Christians pacifists?
Did the experience of narrating the documentary teach you a lot about drag?
I’ve known about drag all my life. There’s drag in pantomime. The dame is a sort of drag. And I’ve played a dame myself – Widow Twankey. That’s one sort of drag, isn’t it. Pantomime drag is another thing all together. You’re not meant to be a convincing woman.
Would you do drag now?
It’s never really interested [me]. I’m the sort of gay man who likes to wear trousers. When I’m in drag I look too alarmingly like my sister, and I don’t think that’s fair on her!
Do you think one of the reasons the concept of pride is so important is because it advertises a community where everyone is welcome?
That’s a lovely way of looking at it. It certainly is that. Although I suppose Pride is different for every person. Some people are just gawping. For me it’s a celebration: being out and not giving a damn. Being grateful that we’re in a country where that’s possible. But it does make me think. Three hours away in Moscow, they’re not going to have another pride march for 100 years, it’s been banned. I wouldn’t like to be growing up gay in Russia.
People say it’s all over here, but in Northern Ireland it’s not. Gay people can’t get married in Northern Ireland. Southern Ireland voted [yes] in the referendum and everyone was very proud. But in the north… So I think Pride’s about realizing you can’t take your rights for granted. Coming out, for me, and for a lot of people – it does politicize you. It makes you take an active interest in politics, because you watch the way your life and other gay people’s lives can be affected by it.
Politics is really about making connections. We’re all brothers, whatever we look like, however old we are or what our gender is. Rather than a community, it’s an international movement. And there will be some people today who come out. They come in from the countryside and by the end of the evening have made friends and think ‘I’m not on my own.’

www.manchesterpride.com and Daily MIrror

Baptist minister plans to “cure” homosexuality at Derry’s Pride parade

29/08/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

10:24, 29 AUGUST 2015 – BY LEONA O’NEILL

Pastor Mark Bradfield, from Bethel Baptist Church, is offering to save “sinners’ souls from hell” along the route

Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

A baptist minister plans to “cure” homosexuality at Derry’s Pride parade today in a religious crusade.
Pastor Mark Bradfield, from Bethel Baptist Church, is offering to save “sinners’ souls from hell” along the route.
And he is calling on the public to help him reach out to the thousands expected to take part in the annual march in the city and have them change their ways.
The born-again Christian says he will signpost anyone who “wants out” of a lifestyle he claims can “shave 10 years off a life” and compared gay people to thieves and murderers.
He said: “Our church members and supporters will be at the railway station on Saturday during the Pride march. We are calling it a Gospel Rally.
“It will be an invitation to repent of your sins and get saved.
“We know there will be a lot of souls in one place involved in what the Bible says are one of the greatest acts of rebellion against God.
“I would love for people to immediately realise they had to be saved on Saturday. Anyone who is not saved is going to hell.”
Pastor Bradfield added he and his supporters will be available to help anyone who “wants delivered from homosexuality”.
He said: “I can’t change gay people. All I can do is ask them if they realise they are sinners. God can save them from being sinners. God can take their desire from them. God can do anything. If they want to come to me to hear the gospel, they are welcome.
“It is between them and God if they want to be saved.
“Come to my church and you can hear the Gospel and choose if you want to be delivered from homosexuality. We are not ‘burn the queers’ as they used to say. We are very much what the bible says, love the sinner, but hate the sin.
“The Bible says sexual immorality of any sort is a sin, just like lying, stealing, kidnapping, murder. I know it’s not a popular notion, but it’s in the Bible.”
Pastor Bradfield slammed the Gay Pride movement for “blocking the doors of Heaven”.
Foyle Pride Festival organisers said Pastor Bradfield’s remarks are extremely dangerous and damaging.
Foyle Pride spokesman Sha Gillespie added: “These are disgraceful comments.
“When you look at the rate of suicide among young gay people you realise comments like this are extremely damaging.”

Austin Armacost Looks Hot And Naked In His Calendar Photoshoot

29/08/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Hot to trot, Austin Armacost looks incredible in his new Calendar as this video shows..

Okay we’re officially in love with and not just in a superficial way. Okay maybe in a little bit of a superficial way. But come on look at that body. Anyway check out the video from the making of his 2016 Calendar.

Armacost who is currently starring in Celebrity Big Brother has said that he’s making up for Perez Hilton’s bad behaviour in the last series of the show saying,
“I have come to redeem gay American men and America as a whole. Speidi were a disaster too. I didn’t see their season but I hate them as everyone in America does. I have come to redeem the tarnished brush that Perez has painted us all with”

Pope Francis shows support for LGBT children's book writer with private letter

29/08/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

By Umberto Bacchi | International Business Times

Pope Francis has expressed solidarity to an Italian author and LGBT activist whose work was recently banned by the conservative mayor of Venice over its purported seditious content in favour of gay rights. Francesca Pardi said she has received a written reply from the pontiff to a letter she sent earlier this summer, complaining about the continuous attacks she received from hard-line Catholics. The writer had become a target of campaigners against same-sex-marriage, after she created an independent publishing house printing children’s books that also depict gay couples.
Piccolo Uovo
Earlier this summer, several of her titles – including the award-winning book Piccolo Uovo (Little Egg), the tale of a lonely egg who meets straight and gay animal couples in its quest for a family – were listed among 49 publications ordered for removal from public libraries by Venice mayor Luigi Brugnaro, who said they corrupted the local youth. After an international outcry the list was reduced to two books, the subversive Piccolo Uovo being one of them.
In June, Pardi – who has four children with her partner, Maria Silvia Fiengo – wrote to the Pope to denounce what she said was a hate campaign launched against her family by Catholic associations. She also attached a copy of Piccolo Uovo, inviting Francis to read it. The Argentinian pontiff replied with a letter in his named written by Peter B Wells, the assessor for general affairs at the Vatican secretariat of state.
“His holiness is grateful for the thoughtful gesture and for the feelings that prompted it, hoping for an always more productive activity in the service of young generations and the spread of true human and Christian values,” the letter read. It also contained Francis’ personal blessing to Pardi and her partner. Pardi published its contents on Facebook, causing a stir in Italy.
“I was very touched by it,” Pardi told IBTimes UK. She explained that the letter was not supportive of gay rights but nevertheless marked an important change in the Church attitude towards homosexuals. “Obviously he [Francis] doesn’t agree with homosexuality and if he ever was to make such an opening he would never do so in a private letter to me!” she said. “However, only to consider me as an interlocutor worth respect is a tremendous step forward. I read it as an opening towards people and dialogue, a message of tolerance.”
Later, the Vatican said the Pontiff’s secretariat routinely replied to mail, adding that under no circumstances was the letter received by Pardi intended to endorse behaviours inconsistent with Catholic teachings.
Pope Francis letter to LGBT author
The letter came as the Pope faces a revolt from the conservative fringes of the Catholic Church over his open stance towards gay people. Five cardinals and more than 100 bishops were among the signatories of a worldwide petition urging the pontiff to clearly voice his and the Vatican’s opposition to same-sex marriage.
“This prayerful petition asks Pope Francis to clear up the moral confusion that’s been spreading against Natural and Divine Law,”said John Ritchie, director of Tradition Family Property Student Action group which launched the campaign. “If the enemies of the family continue to chip away at holy matrimony, the future of the family and civilization itself will be in even more serious peril.”
Francis has not expressed approval for gay marriage but has steered the Holy See in the direction of a more tolerant position, maintaining that homosexuals should be integrated and not marginalised with his famous “who am I to judge?” quote.

The letter also fuelled Italy’s heated debate over gay rights ignited by a recent government pledge to introduce a law on civil unions. The Mediterranean country is currently the only one in western Europe not to have any such regulation and thus considering same-sex marriage illegal.

57% in Co Antrim support same-sex marriage, says poll

29/08/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Thousands of people took part in the annual Belfast Gay Pride event in Belfast city centre on August 1, celebrating Northern Irelands LGBT community. Organisers claim there was a larger than normal turnout in the wake of the recent same-sex marriage referendum in the Republic of Ireland. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

By Stephen Kernohan – 12:50Friday 28 August 2015

A majority of Co Antrim people support equal marriage rights for same-sex couples, a new poll claims.
Campaigners have welcomed the opinion poll, conducted by Ipsos MORI, one of the world’s biggest polling companies, which shows that 57% of adults living in Co Antrim agree that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry.
Only 38% of people polled here disagreed with the idea, with the remaining 5% declaring they did not know, indicating a ratio of 2:1 support for same-sex marriage rights across the county.
Ipsos MORI says polling was undertaken to “establish a deeper understanding of public attitudes towards same-sex marriage across each of the counties in Northern Ireland”.
Overall, the survey found that 68% of adults in Northern Ireland think that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry – a figure even higher than the 62.1% figure who voted Yes in the recent marriage equality referendum in the Republic.
By political affiliation, support ranged from 80% of Sinn Féin voters, to 79% of Alliance voters, 61% of SDLP voters, and 49% of Ulster Unionist voters. Among voters for the DUP, whose MLAs have repeatedly blocked equal marriage in the Northern Ireland Assembly, the poll shows that just fewer than half (49%) back the party’s stance, while 45% of DUP voters support a change in the law to allow same-sex couples to wed.
The publication of the poll results follows a marriage equality rally in Belfast in June when an estimated 20,000 people marched to demand a change in the law to allow same-sex marriage in the region.
The Northern Ireland Assembly has voted against marriage equality on four occasions since 2012. Campaigners say the figures show that Northern Ireland’s politicians are now out of step with ordinary people on the issue and are calling on the Northern Ireland Executive to bring forward marriage equality legislation without further delay.
Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty International’s Northern Ireland programme director, said: “We welcome the positive support from the people of Co Antrim for civil marriage rights for same-sex couples. The people have spoken and it’s clear they don’t want Northern Ireland to be left behind on marriage equality.
“Northern Ireland’s politicians are badly out of step with the people on marriage equality and we would encourage those MLAs who have so far voted against or abstained on the issue, to think again and to better represent the views of voters across Antrim.
“Following the introduction of marriage equality in the rest of the UK and the overwhelming Yes vote in the Republic, it’s high time Northern Ireland said a big ‘we do too’ to equality.”
John O’Doherty, the Rainbow Project director, said: “Northern Ireland is increasingly isolated in western Europe as a region where marriage equality is not a reality. This is a shameful injustice which cannot be allowed to continue. Politicians can’t simply ignore figures like those in the Ipsos MORI poll. The tide of public opinion has shifted decisively and there can only be one outcome.
“We will continue our campaign to ensure that equality becomes a reality for all the people of these islands”
Clare Moore of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions also welcomed the poll findings: “Through this poll, we see clearly that the people of Co Antrim, like people all across Northern Ireland, now back legislation for marriage equality.
“Everyone should have equal rights and opportunities including the right to marry. It is a simple matter of equality. People have a right to expect that their politicians will promote and defend equality for all.”

He's Football Crazy, he's football mad

28/08/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

By The Gay UK, Aug 25 2015 03:41PM

Oh those cheeky chappies at East End Phoenix Football Club have asked Premiership footballer Joey Barton if he wants to transfer to their team.

CREDIT: East End Phoenix

Tweeting the star footballer, lads from the East End Phoenix Football Club said that as part of the transfer package, Joey Barton, 32, could enjoy free pints at the Old Ship each Sunday and that he wouldn’t need to wash out his gym bag.
Club Chairman, and stand-in goalkeeper Niall Dumigan, said he was “cautiously optimistic” of a quick response from Barton’s representatives.

East End Phoenix FC

I can only say that I wish them every success with their bid, and in support I give them a well know song sung b Robin Hall & Jimmy Macgregor, ‘He is Football Crazy’:

Serial killer dubbed 'The Pusher' is killing city's gay men by pushing them into canals

28/08/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

20:45, 25 AUGUST 2015
BY AMY GLENDINNING

Thomas Sheridan is convinced some of the 60 plus deaths in Manchester’s canals since 2004 are the work of a psychopath or “extremely disturbed individual”

Thomas SheridanWarning: Author Thomas Sheridan has made fresh claims that there is a serial killer stalking Manchester’s canal network

An author specialising in psychopaths is convinced a serial killer is killing gay men in Manchester by pushing them into canals.
Thomas Sheridan visited Manchester to investigate rumours of ‘The Pusher’ – a killer stalking the city’s waterways.
He is convinced some of the 60 plus deaths since 2004 are the work of a psychopath or ‘extremely disturbed individual’ with excellent knowledge of the streets around canals.
And like notorious 1980s London murderer Dennis Nilsen, Mr Sheridan believes the killer could be targeting gay men, or those he believes are gay, in a bid to assuage his own homosexual guilt.
Mr Sheridan, 51, from Northern Ireland, visited Manchester to research the deaths in canals and rivers and says he was followed by ‘a tall man wearing a hood’ into a poorly lit area of the Rochdale Canal towpath.

Castlefield Basin

He described the experience as ‘terrifying’ and says Greater Manchester Police must act ‘before the killer strikes again’.
He also suggests GMP may have denied the existence of a serial killer while they pursue a covert investigation in case publicity provokes the killer to strike again.
GMP has always maintained that there is no serial killer and that all the deaths in the past nine years are suicides or accidents.
Officers have again refuted the claims and say young or gay men do not make up the majority of the deaths.
To prepare for a conference in Manchester on psychopathology, Mr Sheridan spent May walking around the canals in the early hours of the morning.

Canals

In a video made of his experiences, he said: “Walking along the Rochdale Canal, I was followed by a tall man wearing a hood into a poorly-lit area.
“The sense of isolation and vulnerability at the location were quite frankly terrifying.
“I’m convinced foul play is a point concerning some of the bodies.
“I concur with the people of Manchester that ‘The Pusher’ is almost certainly the cause of some of these deaths.
“I believe the killer is targeting gay men or men the killer is assuming to be gay – following them from a night out or more worryingly, picking them up in bars.

Rochdale Canal

“We may be dealing with a psychopath or extremely disturbed individual.
“Something very similar could be afoot in Manchester to the case of Dennis Nilsen.
“The police need to take this very seriously.”
Mr Sheridan has also speculated that ‘The Pusher’ has an excellent knowledge of the streets around the canals and public transport to slip away.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, he added: “Manchester is probably a great place to be a serial killer because it’s got great transport links and a very transient population.
“When speculation about the ‘Son of Sam’ killer [David Berkowitz] in New York in the 1970s started the NYPD were very negative that there could be a serial killer at large.
“That’s common for police forces around the world.
“If acknowledged, it can start an effect where the serial killer sees it as a challenge to try to out-fox the police.
“Media and public pressure mounts as the body count rises and the police are in a no-win situation unless they catch the killer.
“The fact water is involved [in the deaths in Manchester] suggests the killer could be cleansing themselves of their guilt over their homosexuality – we see these Freudian patterns all over life.”
The idea of a serial killer stalking Greater Manchester’s canals was first raised last year by Birmingham City University Professor Craig Jackson .
He has maintained that canals are not normally chosen as places for people to commit suicide and there were too many deaths for it not to be suspicious.

Rafael Nadal

28/08/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

It would seem that ‘Rafa’ is promoting various bits of clothing, here are a few vids which show off is attributes:

By MATTHEW SCHNEIERAUG. 26, 2015

It was 90 degrees in the sun, the spectators were wilting in the heat, and there on the court, Rafael Nadal was slicing and lobbing balls back over the net — in a full tailored suit.

The United States Open tennis championships begin next week. But for Mr. Nadal and many of the blue-chip athletes whose lucrative side business is endorsing and representing brands, the week leading up to the Open is one part practice, one part celebrity commitments.
“I’m working very hard and working well, I think,” he said of his Open preparations. But before then, there’s business to attend to.
Mr. Nadal, 29, has just been announced as a global ambassador for Tommy Hilfiger, the maker of that new, stretchier suit, and will be the face of its tailored clothing and TH Bold fragrance and the body wearing its underwear collection.
So it was that, before Arthur Ashe Stadium, Mr. Nadal found himself playing on Tuesday on a red, white and blue Tommy Hilfiger court in the middle of Bryant Park, in a game of strip tennis (lose a point, lose an article of clothing) against a bevy of Hilfiger models.
Constance Jablonski takes off an article of clothing after “losing” a point against Rafael Nadal. Credit Damon Winter/The New York Times
Had he ever done anything like this before? “I never did,” he said with a laugh after the match, at which he had sacrificed a few accessories (a tie, a pocket square) and his shirt, but stayed generally besuited. “It was special, and we had some fun, I think.”
Stripping down is becoming old hat for Mr. Nadal, who had previously appeared in various states of undress in ads for Emporio Armani. Coinciding with the Bryant Park match, the new Hilfiger campaign (featuring Mr. Nadal, sinuous and muscle-bound in his boxer briefs) began appearing everywhere — on bus shelters, billboards and the back page of sections of this newspaper.
An accompanying video shows Mr. Nadal striding into a locker room, taking off his jeans and then his underwear, with a flirtatious wag of the head.
“You saw the video of him taking the underwear off in the locker room?” Mr. Hilfiger asked. “That was fun.”
Rafael Nadal keeps his suit on as Akin Akman and Chanel Iman undress, point by point. Credit Damon Winter/The New York Times
Mr. Hilfiger is aiming, unapologetically, for sex appeal. His underwear business had been big in the 1990s, selling boxers to “college kids, skaters, all the young people in the ’90s,” Mr. Hilfiger said. “Then it sort of quieted down. We started selling white underwear briefs. White underwear briefs are usually sold to middle-aged guys. And they weren’t sexy anymore.”
Mr. Nadal became not only the model, but a focus group of one. “I talked to him at length about what kind of underwear would you wear,” Mr. Hilfiger said.
Mr. Nadal professed to be unconcerned about being a sex symbol on such public display.
“I feel lucky to have the chance to be the ambassador of such a great brand as Tommy Hilfiger,” he said. “I don’t think much, I don’t pay much attention if I’m the backdrop of the newspaper.”
For the rest of the world, attention is likely to be paid.
“We’re doing reverse sexism here,” said Jane Lynch, the “Glee” actress and comedian who is gay and served as the match’s umpire. “This is great. Especially the part about Rafa in his underwear. Because that could turn a girl straight, if you know what I mean.”