GUY BRANUM

BLAZING A NEW COMEDIC TRAIL

BY ALEXANDER RODRIGUEZ

AFTER YEARS OF PLAYING THE SASSY SIDEKICK OR BEST FRIEND TO EVERY FEMALE PROTAGONIST IN A HOLLYWOOD ROM-COM, our community gets to take center stage in Bros, the first gay rom-com ever released by a major studio and the first major studio film with an all LGBTQ+ principal cast (yes, even the straight roles). One of the masterminds behind the film is entertainment industry veteran Guy Branum, who not only co-stars but also serves as executive producer.

Guy has cut his teeth on about every project imaginable and was out and proud before it was mediaapproved to be out and proud. Pivoting from law school, he got his early start writing and producing for macho networks like G4 and MTV. He made his film debut in No More Strings (playing Natalie Portman’s bestie) and would go on to appear on Chelsea Lately, Conan, Last Comic Standing, and Talk Show the Game Show on TruTV (which he also executive produced). Other projects included The Mindy Project, Billy on the Street, Fashion Police, and the current A League of Their Own series. Recently, he has worked on the new Mel Brooks variety series History of the World, Part II and Paramount+’s reboot of How to Lose a Guy In 10 Days. Saying yes to projects is in his nature whether he is hosting a podcast, doing standup, or appearing as the “token gay guy.” He lives comedy, he understands comedy, and can write for the gayest or straightest project without hesitation. He also understands the evolution of comedy as it relates to today’s cancel culture and social awareness.

It is so interesting that we always place this in terms of political correctness. When it comes down to it, it’s acknowledging that more people exist than straight white guys - and they might be in an audience. I remember being at a show in 2013/2014 in New York and every comic who got on stage felt the need to say the word “faggot.” And I watched two guys in the audience sitting there becoming aware that this was not a space that was for them and eventually leaving before the end of the show, before my set. And that’s what pisses me off - these dudes are driving away my audience. I’ve seen comics who were very comfortable shitting on women as a group of people for the better part of 45 minutes and then expecting women in the audience to just be silent and coming to a point where those women are not silent.

Comedy is not a guarantee of laughs. When you get up on stage, you must make people like what you are saying. And if people do not like it, it is the art form where they have the most liberty to tell you that they don’t like it. And what

BEING GAY USED TO BE HARVARD, NOW IT’S CHICO STATE, WE JUST LET ANYONE IN.”

WHAT PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO LAUGH AT HAS CHANGED.”

people are angry at is not that political correctness has run amok, it’s just that comedy has changed, it’s that what people are willing to laugh at has changed. People are scared. There was not space in comedy for me 20 years ago, we just didn’t have successful, gay, male, standup comedians. There really are not successful gay male, standup comedians from the generation before me. There are very few and those guys have had very mitigated, frustrated careers. My career is better because we live in a world where people of color, women, and gay and trans people feel entitled to be entertained and amused as well.

Guy is not one to mince his words. His debut book, My Life As A Goddess: A Memoir Through (Un)Popular Culture, is both hilarious and heartbreaking as he talks about his farm-filled childhood as a sissy boy to his experiences as a plus-size member of both the gay community and entertainment industry. Guy’s role in Bros is a bigger size guy who is hypersexual and has no problems in getting laid. Very different from the on-screen representation of plus-size characters we’ve seen before and a far cry from even the most body positivity-minded gay pool parties of today.

My favorite thing with body positivity is it being co-opted by dudes who have the most conventionally attractive bodies to declare their enthusiasm for how big and round their ass is, how tiny their waist is, and how broad their shoulders. “Oh, look at me. I’m a curvy girl,” you know, “thick with two ‘c’s” and it’s like, calm down. So much of this stuff is co-opted by people who aren’t having to deal with oppression and who aren’t using it to challenge their notions of what’s attractive or what’s acceptable.

We have seen bigger size models in commercials, and bigger actors being cast in film and TV. But in Branum’s experience, much of this is just popular rhetoric. The behind-the-scenes of Hollywood needs to adapt if anything onscreen is truly to change and become more inclusive.

I worked on a film where I went into the wardrobe trailer to introduce myself and explain, I know it’s hard to find clothes for someone like me, I want to work with you and help you on this. And the person in charge refused to believe I was in the movie and kept insisting that I must be a background actor. They kept insisting I must be some crazy person because no one in a movie is supposed to look like me. And that is really frustrating. These are people whose job it is to support and encourage somebody to have a good performance. It’s amazing the frequency with which I have somebody actively working against me. There are times when it’s frustrating and I’m thinking, should I even be trying to do this? I have a nice life writing, blah, blah, blah, why am I doing this? And the answer is that I am in a better position than most actors.

I was recently on a show where I was a co-executive producer and the wardrobe department made clothes for me that they ended up not stitching properly, so the crotch immediately tore. It was not ideal for a good performance. But I was a co-executive producer, so I was able to go in and say, “Hey, this is not okay. And this happens because I’m fat and we need to talk about why that’s going on.” Most other people can’t do that when you’re just an actor. So, I value that I have that opportunity.

Early on in his on-screen career, he was titled as The Ambassador of Gay, No more Mr. Nice Gay, or Staff Homosexual. Looking back, his

sexuality was used as the butt of a joke. But the fact that Guy stuck with it and made it work to his advantage is a testament that yes, sometimes we have to walk through the mud to get to a good place. Now his voice is not just the token gay guy, he is rubbing elbows alongside some of the funniest voices of comedy and has trailblazed for a new generation of queer entertainment.

Sometimes, there has to be objectification or disrespect that goes along with the chance to use your voice and it’s frustrating, but it’s the cost of doing business. It’s more important that we all keep things moving forward. With any creative career, there is going to be a list of indignities. It’s annoying that some are the result of my body, but those are just a different set of indignities that another person would have to deal with. I’m just so lucky to get to do what I do, and it’s really fun.

There are hard moments, but one of the wonderful things about being middle-aged is not being scared of it anymore. It’s just being able to say, oh, well, this is not going to happen, I’m going to tell someone. People are at least going to have to think about what they are saying and doing. I think so much of that is just years and years of hearing people use gay slurs on standup stages and saying, all right, my answer to that is I’m going to get up and tear that person apart for five minutes so that they never do it again.

Bros has already gotten much love and attention from the media, mainstream and gay. The trailer is unabashedly sexual, unabashedly queer. With loud voices like Branum and Billy Eichner, who would expect less? With our community’s current social and political struggles, true representation where our community is in front of and behind the camera is vital.

Part of the trouble is that so much representation of queer people doesn’t involve queer people in the writing or producing process. Unlike other minorities, it is extremely easy for us to just be played by straight people, to be written by straight people, and to not have anything that is reflective of our real experience be there. Our story is being modified in a very shallow way. You must negotiate this difference because our non-representation allowed us to exist in the shadows and be magical and do bad things and do great things and be creative and wonderful. And there are times I joke about the fact that I worry about us going mainstream. My joke is that being gay used to be Harvard, now it’s Chico State, we just let anyone in. But the real truth is trying to build a way of representing us that shows that we are human beings, but still reflects our difference and celebrates it.

Are audiences ready for a film like Bros? Time will tell. But with this creative team behind it, we can rest assured it will be funny AF. This will be Branum’s second time working directly with Eichner, after a successful pairing on Billy on the Street.

I was in New York and Billy, who I had never met, heard that I was in town and asked, “Do you want to come in and do you want to do a week on the show?” And I did that. It was one of the most fun experiences I ever had. Then the next year I just came back and worked full-time for a year on the show. Billy is the best creative boss I have ever had. He manages to make you feel more loved for the stuff he rejects than the stuff he accepts. It was just so wonderful to go from spaces where people did not get your references to places where people got such specific references that you laughed at it in the room and then realized we can’t put this on television. And so much of the stuff that we did put on television was ridiculous, truly

ridiculous. ■

JIM

OBERGEFELL DOING THE RIGHT THING

BY JIM DELYEA

SOME PEOPLE UNDERESTIMATED ME IN MY FIGHT FOR MARRIAGE EQUALITY, AND THAT WAS A MISTAKE.”

– Jim Obergefell for Ohio House

MOST OF US FIRST HEARD THE NAME OBERGEFELL BACK ON JUNE 26, 2015. This was the date the U.S. Supreme Court struck down all state bans on same-sex marriage. Many of us couldn’t believe our eyes and ears when we turned on the news that day to find gay marriage has been legalized?! Indeed the Supreme Court ruled on the Obergefell v. Hodges case (5–4) that state bans on same-sex marriage were unconstitutional.

This landmark civil rights case launched the plaintiff, Jim Obergefell, into the national spotlight. What started as a challenge to the State of Ohio to be listed as a spouse on his husband’s death certificate, eventually turned into the Supreme Court case that resulted in gay marriage becoming the law of the land. This also resulted in Jim Obergefell dubbing himself an “accidental activist.” How has this evolved over the past seven years?

I’ve since embraced the role and would describe myself as a much more purposeful activist. Seeing the impact on the nation has been incredible and I was changed by it as well. And we need to keep fighting to make things better.

Your name is back in the news again. After Roe v. Wade was recently overturned, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that justices “should consider all of the Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell.” This could significantly impact our privacy, due process and equal rights.

First of all, what a dark day for women to no longer have decision rights over their bodies. Personal freedoms are at the root of our democracy. What a terrible thing to lose. And with this Supreme Court all other rights are at risk.

Also, I find the statement from Justice Thomas to be appalling! It’s quite

ironic that he’s calling these civil liberties into question. If it weren’t for the ruling on the 1967 Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia, his marriage to Ginny Thomas, a white woman, would be illegal.

Members of a certain political party claim to be “pro-family” but are not willing to take a stand on the Respect for Marriage Act. Cowards! If you’re pro-family, you should protect it and respect it.

On the activism front, we need to be out there and be loud to protect what we have. This also means taking every ballot and legislative measure possible.

When we spoke in 2019, I asked about your political future, and it didn’t seem to be in the plans. What changed?

At an event to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, Brian Sims, the first openly-gay person elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, planted the seed. He told me people would start asking about my political ambitions. [Representative Sims was right.] He advised me not to say no, and to think about it. And I did.

During the Covid pandemic, I moved back to my hometown of Sandusky, Ohio. My five siblings, nieces and nephews all live in the area. Shortly after my move, I had lunch with Chris Redfern, chair of the Ohio Democratic Party, who posed the question, “What do you think about running for the Ohio State House?” I came to the conclusion that it’s the right time and the right place.

Of the Ohio House of Representative’s 99 reps, two thirds are Republican – a super majority. What do you hope to accomplish and how difficult will it be?

The issues facing Ohio’s 89th District are similar to many areas of the country – they want good paying jobs and opportunities. Locally, we’ve lost so many manufacturing jobs. People want to work and earn a living wage.

Other important issues to me are expanding health care (it’s a human right), raising minimum wage, keeping tax dollars in public schools and not funding private religious schools, supporting alternative energy as well as

Supreme Court of the USA

promoting transparency and honesty in government. The Ohio State House is known as one of the most corrupt in the country.

I will be a voice in the State House for the marginalized community. I would be the only queer representative in the House.

Tell me about life on the campaign trail. What’s been your experience?

I’ve had the joy of people hosting fundraisers to support my candidacy. I often hear that I “do the right thing” and people want to support that. I go door-to-door to talk to people to find our what matters to them. And I encourage them to call me directly – yes they have my mobile number.

My opponent, D.J. Swearingen (R), is an incumbent who is not well liked and won’t engage in town hall meetings or debates. We are at opposite ends of most issues, including his recent support of the Transgender Athlete Ban, which included a provision for a “genital inspection!”

In light of the recent Supreme Court ruling, do you think we’re more likely to see higher voter engagement in this year’s election? What’s your message to voters?

People are angry. This loss of personal freedom is a terrible government overstep and has become a voting issue. Post Dobbs ruling, Ohio has seen the 7th highest new voter registrations in the country.

It’s come down to saving democracy. We have the Supreme Court that we do because people didn’t vote. There’s so much at risk. The only way we can prevent the loss of democracy is if everyone votes.

People should care and vote at all levels – federal, state, and local. Look at what’s happening at a state level with “Don’t Say Gay” and with local school boards banning books.

I encourage everyone to vote for those candidates with whom your values align.

Six years ago, Obergefell co-founded Equality Vines, the worlds first cause wine portfolio, with Matt Grove. Equality Vines partners with organizations dedicated to equality by making a per-bottle cash donation directly to the cause. Has this new venture made an impact?

I’m pleased to report that we’ve made direct contributions of over $250,000 to our partner organizations. We not only support gay causes such as SAGE (Senior Advocacy for Gay Elders) but organizations to promote women’s rights, racial equality, and immigrant’s rights. In addition to the financial contributions, we’ve also raised awareness of these causes. www.EqualityVines.com

What would Obergefell think if I told him ten years ago that he’d be a nationally recognized American civil rights leader, author, candidate for the Ohio House of Representatives and co-owner of a wine business?

First, I’d think you’ve been drinking. [Laughs] Then I would say never in my

wildest dreams. ■

Western River Cove Kangaroo Island

TRAVEL

AUSTRALIA

THREE INCREDIBLE PLACES YOU SHOULD SEE NOW

BY ERIC ROSEN

THE AZURE WATERS OF SYDNEY HARBOUR. THE RUST-COLORED MONOLITH OF ULURU RISING OUT OF THE DESERT. The wave-beaten spires of the 12 Apostles along Victoria’s Great Ocean Road. Australia is not short on iconic landscapes. And perhaps, like me, you’ve seen them already.

What keeps me coming back to Oz time after time, though, is the opportunity to discover new, awe-inspiring and utterly unique places on every visit. For it is in some of these less-traveled destinations where the “real” Australia is to be found. Here are three spectacular settings to consider exploring on your next visit Down Under.

The Kimberley, Western Australia

Roughly the size of California, the Kimberley region in Australia’s remote northwest is home to just 40,000 people. This mystical place is anything but empty, though.

The Kimberley’s seasonal lakes and mangrove-lined tidal rivers teem with wildlife. Enormous jellyfish and stingrays float along with the currents. Scaly saltwater crocodiles emerge at intervals along the shore. The terrain is strewn with craggy rock formations, some of which date back a billion years, while the bottle-like boab trees standing out solitarily here and there measure time in centuries, or even millennia.

You can visit this otherworldly land aboard True North (www.truenorth. com.au), a luxury yacht that plies the Kimberley’s 7,500-mile-long coastline from March to September.

In Talbot Bay, my fellow passengers and I climbed aboard tenders to shoot the tide-fueled rapids of the Horizontal Waterfalls, which David Attenborough called “Australia’s most unusual natural wonder.” Another morning, we moored near Montgomery Reef, a 155-squaremile marvel that emerges from the sea twice each day, towering 13 feet out of the water before submerging completely again at high tide. While navigating its narrow channels, True North’s nature guides pointed out giant sea turtles gliding beneath us, and kept watch for shy, manatee-like dugongs nibbling on the sea grass.

Aboard True North’s helicopter, we took scenic flights over Mitchell Falls, which dwindles to a mere trickle in the dry months, but roars into a four-tiered gusher fed by emerald-green ponds after the rains. Our chopper pilot ferried us to Eagle Falls for an afternoon picnic. Between plates of barbecued lamb and ice-cold beers, we could swim under some of the smaller waterfalls for a “Kimberley shower,” or peek

Koala South Australia

over the edge for a glimpse of the freshwater crocodile who lived below.

The young, Aussie crew hiked us up to an aquamarine swimming hole, with floors of glimmering quartz stones, where we could float and watching rare butterflies flitting overhead. The crew took us on walks to cave systems where nomadic peoples passed through and left not only midden heaps, but also some of the oldest art on earth. Colorful Wandjina rock paintings of spirit-like figures and wildlife including wallabies and turtles dated back 5,000 years, while the elegant, stick-like Gwion Gwion figures are thought to be as old as 50,000 years.

For a glimpse of the more recent past, we moored at Careening Bay to see the Mermaid Tree, a boab with a distinctive split trunk that was named after the HMC Mermaid. Aboard that ship, a dashing British naval officer named Philip Parker King surveyed this coast in 1820 and created maps that are still used today.

We spent our final afternoon luxuriating on the iridescent white sands of Silica Beach, which bubbled up like vintage champagne underfoot as we walked into the water. Afterwards, the able-bodied crew lashed five tenders together to create a waterborne cocktail party for a last spectacular sunset and sad but satisfied goodbyes.

Practicalities: True North’s Kimberley cruises leave from either Broome or Wyndham. Qantas flies non-stop to Broome from Perth, Melbourne and Sydney, and to Wyndham from Perth and Broome.

The Eyre Peninsula, South Australia

South Australia has always been just a little bit different from the rest of Australia. Unlike the original colonies on continent’s east coast, it was established as a free state rather than a convict settlement. Its capital, Adelaide, was thoughtfully laid out on a well-mannered grid drawn up by Colonel William Light in 1837 that still comprises the city’s core today.

Many travelers come to visit South Australia’s world-class wine regions, including the Barossa and Clare Valleys, and the Instagramworthy ochre topography of the Flinders in the north. However, some of South Australia’s most magnificent natural treasures are to be found along the Eyre Peninsula to the west.

The main town of Port Lincoln is the hub for a mix of maritime adventures, though you can also go winetasting at boutique cellars or taste local brews. My favorite landmark? The statue of explorer Matthew Flinders plotting his 18011803 circumnavigation of Australia…along with his trusty cat, Trim.

Everyone in Australia has a shark story, and if you want one of your own, this is the place to come. I was reluctant to swim with the toothy terrors of the deep, but braver souls than I can swim with great whites off the nearby Neptune Islands. In fact, this is one of the only places

Sea Lions South Australia

in the country where people are allowed to cage dive with the fearsome pelagic predators. Calypso Star Charters (www.sharkcagediving. com.au) run day tours year-round. Instead, I opted for a more playful pastime: the chance to swim with sea lions, which the crew described as the “puppies of the sea.” After our two-hour cruise to Boston Bay, the sea lions seemed as excited to see us as we were them. Dozens came bounding off the beach, swimming toward the boat, as if beckoning us to dive in. I did, and what ensued was one of the most delightful, enchanting, and just plain fun hours of my life. Sea lions swam around me, twisting and flipping, mirroring my movements and waiting patiently as I periodically surfaced for air so we could resume our games. It was with a heavy heart that I reboarded the boat for the return journey.

There are adventures in store back on land, too - oyster-harvesting and tasting, casting for Pacific salmon, observing koalas in the wild, and hiking on the sea cliffs of Lincoln National Park.

Practicalities: Port Lincoln is a 50-minute flight west of Adelaide on either Rex or Qantas. Though you can book vacation homes in many of the peninsula’s small towns, the most upscale accommodation in town are at the Port Lincoln Hotel (www.portlincolnhotel.com.au).

Hamilton Island Queensland

Penington Bay South Australia

The Whitsundays, Queensland

The Great Barrier Reef is probably the most famous natural wonder in the world. But it is also among the most misunderstood. It actually comprises a system of nearly 3,000 individual reefs and 900 islands and is the only living structure in the world that can be spotted from space.

In recent years, the Reef has been under constant threat from tropical cyclones wreaking devastation on its underwater ecosystems and warming ocean waters stressing coral and other marine life – both the products of unprecedented climate change. It’s not all gloom and doom, though. New studies have found that parts of the reef and the animals that live there have bounced back quicker than expected from bleaching and storm events, and eco-conscious tourism might just be the best way to protect the Reef for future generations. So do your part with an aquatic adventure up to the Queensland coast.

For an off-the-grid excursion to a rebounding region of the Reef that’s still close enough for a day trip to Brisbane, Lady Elliot Island (www.ladyelliot.com.au) is a study in considered conservation (and one of the best spots on earth to scuba with manta rays). Up in the tropical north around Cairns and Port Douglas, visitors can split their time between day sails out to little-visited sections of the Reef, and trips up into the Daintree Rainforest, which is thought to be the oldest rainforest in the world and contains plant species that predate the dinosaurs.

However, for a truly Reef-centric retreat, head to Hamilton Island and the Whitsundays. The Whitsundays are an archipelago of 74 tropical islands just off the coast, about a 90-minute flight from Brisbane, or three hours from Sydney. Hamilton Island itself is a hotbed of hotels and tourist activity, though you can book a sumptuous, sequestered sojourn at qualia (www.qualia.com.au), a luxury lodge nestled into the island’s jungle-covered slopes.

Among the other not-to-miss experiences here are a scenic flight over the recognizable Heart Reef, and a charter sail to the four-milelong Whitehaven Beach, which is routinely voted among the most beautiful on earth. If you are into scuba diving, check out Explore Group (www.exploregroup.com.au), which operates kitted-out catamarans from Airlie and Hamilton Island. On our day out at Bait Reef, I dove with sea turtles and reef sharks, and marveled at massive underwater geological formations.

Practicalities: You can fly to Hamilton Island non-stop from Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. ■