Boy Culture Links: Bad Bunny Bowls 'em Over with Halftime Show, Trump & Jill Zarin Hate Spanish & Groin-Grabbing, Gay Days Orlando 'Paused,' 'Pillion' Slaps, 'A Big Gay Hairy Hit' Is Back + MORE
FEBRUARY 9, 2026
Hi, all! I will continue to blast out links only 1-2 times a week, plus will always send longer reads, like today’s Jenni Olson Q&A. You don’t need an email reminder — feel free to visit BoyCulture.com for new links every day. Appreciate your support and feedback, likes, subs and shares. More to come, including audio & video components … oh, my! — Matt
HUFFINGTON POST: It’s incredible, but Ghislaine Maxwell might actually get pardoned by Trump. It would probably be the most unpopular thing any president did in … eons. But she won’t testify unless freed, and Trump is so implicated (and seemingly so insulated from straight-talk advice on how to win back his fleeing MAGAts) … for the first time, I could almost see him doing it???
PEOPLE: Olivia Colman talks about feeling (sort of) non-binary.
FACEBOOK: Gay Days has “paused” what would have been its 35th annual Disney World event in June, citing logistical issues and the current anti-LGBTQ+ atmosphere.
BAY AREA REPORTER: Will Eric Swalwell (D-California) jumping into the California gubernatorial race, gay Afghan-American politico Harris Mojadedi is running for the seat of the woman running for Swalwell’s seat. The woman he hopes to replace, state Sen. Aisha Wahab (D-Hayward), was the other other Afghan-American in elected office in the country, according to Mojadedi. (That’s a shocking stat, no?)
THE PLAYLIST: Pillion dominated the limited-release U.S. box office this past weekend, taking $250,000 from just four theaters.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Melania plummeted in its second week in theaters, even though Amazon increased the rollout. The company continues to say its $75M investment in this turd was worth it, but it doesn’t take an Einstein via to figure out it wasn’t.
ESPN: The Seahawks won the Super Bowl. The reason that matters even if you’re not a sports fan is the team’s owner, Jody Allen, is noted for her philanthropic contributions. She inherited the team from her brother with the proviso it eventually be sold (for billions) and that the proceeds would benefit charities. Meanwhile, the team they defeated, the Patriots, is owned by A-hole Robert Kraft, a Trumper.
EXTRATV: Bad Bunny’s joy-filled Halftime Show was a departure from that spot’s usual dark, edgy vibe in recent years. Halftime Shows used to be corny and sweet, but then became much more about harnessing the artist’s cool factor — including everyone from Madonna to Gaga to Rihanna to Kendrick Lamar. Those were all excellent shows, but it was refreshing to see a Broadway musical-style, shamelessly upbeat presentation, one that savvily ended with the unifying message: “THE ONLY THING MORE POWERFUL THAN HATE IS LOVE.”
GLAAD: Bad Bunny is a bona fide queer ally, one who accepted GLAAD’s Vanguard Award two years ago:
That’s why the gay-grind moment of the show (see the image at the top of this post) wasn’t a shocker.
OUT: Gay dancer Alexis Vázquez speaks to Out about dancing with Bunny during the Halftime Show, saying the detail-oriented superstar left nothing to chance:
“After receiving the confirmation email that I had booked the Super Bowl, I knew that our start date was January 19. We would then keep going all the way through February 8. We rehearsed pretty much every day. We only had one day off. It was a lot of work, many rehearsals, and [a schedule of] six to eight hours every day. Sometimes, even more. It was a very in-depth process because there were so many moving parts, but it was a beautiful journey.”
INSTAGRAM: Bad Bunny wiped his Instagram following the show, perhaps in anticipation of a major announcement.
INSTAGRAM: It’s embarrassing how many people looked at child actor Lincoln Fox in Bunny’s show, then looked at images of Liam Ramos and thought they could possibly be the same kid. Disinformation continues to spread, and I will never get over how many people leave it up even after being corrected. Addicted to the likes and shares.
PARADE: Speaking of, Trump’s critique of Bad Bunny (why do we need one?) nakedly reveals his hatred of Latino culture. (Are you listening, Republican Latinos?) He wrote:
“It makes no sense, is an affront to the Greatness of America, and doesn’t represent our standards of Success, Creativity, and Excellence.”
Oh, rilly? A joy-filled, Spanish-speaking neighborhood is antithetical to American greatness? He goes on:
“Nobody understands a word this guy is saying, and the dancing is disgusting, especially for young children that are watching from throughout the U.S.A., and all over the world.”
First, nobody understands Spanish? Again, Republican MAGAts might want to think twice about voting as “nobodies” for the party that idolizes Trump. And the idea that the dancing is so dirty — Bunny wasn’t doing anything Elvis Presley didn’t do 70 years ago, or that Michael Jackson did 40 years ago. The feigned morality from the porn star employer is … an eye-roller.
NEW YORK TIMES: The NYT reviews Bad Bunny, making this should-be-obvious-but-isn’t point:
“Bad Bunny showed why he’s the most-streamed artist in the world during Sunday’s performance. Good music crosses language and cultural barriers”
TV INSIDER: Bad Bunny stomped all over Kid Rock, whose alternate Halftime Show was plagued be licensing issues and technical difficulties, in the ratings. At best, it was 6.1M to 128M and counting. Actually, Trumpified CBS puts the Halftime Show early numbers at 135M, which would be a new record if true.
Also, like, acts are dropping out of Kid Rock’s upcoming music fest tour, leading to cancellations.
YOUTUBE: Sloppy hag Jill Zarin posted an aggressively xenophobic review of Bad Bunny’s show in which she shockingly freaked out over the use of (gasp!) Spanish, Bunny grabbing his G-area (G? groin?), for being a commentary on ICE and for presenting Lady Gaga with a face-lift. It’s shocking how much she hates Latin people, which is the only explanation for seething, “Shame! Shame!” This is a fucking rich bitch from cosmopolitan, diverse New York City and she’s this out of touch? (She deleted it in terror, realizing people would be tuning out of her next reality-crap show.)
You know, queer people and orgs need to vet our “allies” much better. I met her on the red carpet of a GLAAD Awards ceremony years ago, but listening to her speak, there is zero chance she is fully supportive of queer people if she hates Latin culture this much and if she’s sooo offended by some public hip-thrusting.
ULRIKE OTTINGER: I realize I will not get to see this film for forever, nor will you, but can we just bask in the beauty of this poster for Ulrike Ottinger’s film The Blood Countess, starring Isabelle Huppert?! Rarely has a title and poster combo so instantly convinced me I needed to see something.
The pitch:
“From the seminal German filmmaker and visual artist Ulrike Ottinger comes The Blood Countess, a sumptuous adventure tale and bizarro black comedy soaked in crimson and pulsing with ancient bloodlust. Decades after her mysterious disappearance, the Blood Countess reemerges in modern-day Vienna, where she reunites with her devoted underling, Hermione, to track down a dangerous book with the power to destroy all evil — including all vampires such as themselves. The duo embarks on a scavenger hunt through the city’s magnificent historic sites and conscript the countess’s melancholic nephew — a vegetarian vampire named Bubi — and his psychotherapist as they expand their search to Bohemia. Meanwhile, a pair of vampirologists and a police inspector remain hot on their trail. Morbidly funny and dazzlingly decadent, The Blood Countess is a reinvention of the vampire myth from one of world cinema’s most prodigious minds.”
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: RIP Peggy Steffans, 87. An actor who was the widow of porn auteur Joseph Sarno, she appeared in the highly recommended 2013 doc A Life in Dirty Movies, which chronicled the couple’s twilight years. (It’s on YouTube for a small rental fee.)
OUT IN JERSEY: A Big Gay Hairy Hit! is coming to streaming. The doc chronicles the surprising success of the Web series Where the Bears Are in the early ‘10s.
SOCIALITE LIFE: Season 3 of Danny Will Die Alone is upon us, and its creator-star Jack Tracy is opening up about why it works:
“I think if your aim is to write universal, you’ll do something that is flat, bland, and doesn’t hook people. I think all of our experiences, no matter how super specific they are to you, everyone can relate to every experience in some way because they’ve had something like it happen. Probably not exactly, but it’s that specificity that conveys authenticity and that is what hooks people in. So, I say the more specific it is, the more likely it is to hook people.”
I'm an old guy who loved the Bad Bunny halftime show. Seeing people live boldly and joyfully is exactly what keeps life interesting. There’s something life‑giving about watching people express joy in ways that are different from my own, it's part of staying open to the world rather than shrinking from it.
That’s why it hit hard to see Orlando Gay Days take a pause. To me, it’s another sign of what many people describe as a tightening, hostile national climate, one where LGBTQ+ folks are feeling pressure to retreat or hide again. That’s not a direction we can afford to ignore. Community spaces matter, visibility matters, and we have to stay alert to anything that pushes people back into the closet.
Thanks for sharingthese stories.
Jeff
Loved Benito I had to watch it twice to even attempt to get all the symbolism and messaging. Saw an English translation today of the lyrics he was singing (On the NFL You tube no less). Pretty gay friendly and defined some of the visuals. Only thing I didnt care for was his outfit. IMO It was giving me Joan Crawford (shoulder pads) playing Sister Bertrille (white habit) vibes. Don't like ZARA they bring back trashy fads from bygone eras with out much originality.