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Paramount+ Reveals Thrilling New Whodunnit Series ‘School Spirits’
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Sarah Ann Masse on the Power of Storytelling
Sarah Ann Masse is a woman of many hyphens. She is a bisexual writer, filmmaker, comedian, actor, sexual violence survivor, and the founder of Hire Survivors Hollywood – an organization working to end retaliation against survivors of sexual violence in the entertainment industry. Masse was one of the first to come forward about Harvey Weinstein and recently starred in the groundbreaking Universal Pictures film She Said. She also came out as bisexual to her Instagram followers last June and openly shared her journey and experience as an invisibly disabled artist. Sarah Ann Masse is a storyteller. Read on to discover more about her story.
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Sarah Ann Masse is a Real Weinstein Survivor
Editor Caitlynn McDaniel spoke with Masse about her career and many endeavors, starting with her recent role as Pulitzer Prize-winning NY Times Journalist Emily Steel in She Said. Despite being an actress, Masse contacted the production company not about a job but about an opportunity.
She hoped to encourage the production team to partner with real survivors for the making of the film. She Said tells the real story of two New York Times journalists who exposed the sexual abuse allegations against powerful Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. Masse left a voicemail and wrote an email to the executives of the film.
“I just wanted them to know about the advocacy work that I was doing and tell them that I thought this was a really great opportunity to work with survivors on this project.
“But then I got an audition and I found out that many other Weinstein survivors had also gotten auditions.”
Masse plays Pulitzer Prize winning NY Times Journalist Emily Steel in the film.
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Speaking Out and Fighting Closing Doors
Masse came forward as a Weinstein survivor in 2017.
“It’s been a real up and down experience having come forward publicly,” Masse recalled.” There’s been so much that’s been positive. I’ve met so many other survivors and I’ve been able to share my experiences and become a really committed advocate,” she told Gayety. “I started my own organization, but there has also been difficult stuff.”
After she came forward and shared her survival story, she noticed a significant stall in her career.
“The phone stopped ringing. Auditions stopped coming in. I’ve dealt with online harassment and threats and obviously sort of like re-traumatization of going through my own story publicly and having the trials happening. So it’s been a wild five years.”
Founding Hire Survivors Hollywood
And she was not the only one. Masse shared her experience online in real-time and connected with other survivors who were also being blacklisted. She began pitching ideas to preexisting organizations to address this issue but found that no one was willing to invest in the initiative.
“So after a couple of years of sort of unofficially advocating for this more informally, I launched Hire Survivors Hollywood. It was almost three years ago now, and it has been basically me and my director of communications running the whole thing.”
Now, Hire Survivors Hollywood has a 30-person strong advisory board and offers a free, downloadable toolkit to create a safer work environment that includes survivors. It’s only the beginning, but the initiative has already greatly impacted the industry.
“I want every production company, every studio and network to take our pledge and to consult with us and let us help them welcome in this really amazing group of people who are often multiply marginalized and come from lots of different backgrounds that often make it harder to get just a fair chance in this industry.”
Putting Herself in Other People’s Shoes
Masse says she utilizes her storytelling to encourage culture to be more inclusive, representative, respectful, and dynamic for people of all ages, genders, races, nationalities, abilities, sexualities, and creeds. The actress credits her own coming out to LGBTQIA+ storytelling, in-person and in the media.
“I didn’t realize the way that I was looking at the world and appreciating the people around me wasn’t just everybody’s experience,” Masse said.
In June 2022, Masse came out as bisexual, first to her husband Nick, then to her friends and family, and finally to her followers.
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“There’s this compulsory heterosexuality that we have hoisted upon us, I think from birth. And so it took me a long time to understand that I wasn’t just appreciating a woman’s beauty and like that there was attraction there, and I just didn’t understand it for a criminally long time. And it feels silly to say it, but it was partially watching shows like Our Flag Means Death. That allowed me to see adults exploring and discovering things about their sexuality when they thought that it had been one very clear thing for their whole lives that let me start really asking myself those questions.”
More From Masse
Masse has numerous projects in the works. She landed her first role as a bisexual character in a film called Through The Rinse, she was cast in a Broadway-bound musical called The Right Girl, and is currently developing a new TV series.
Follow Sarah’s journey and watch part one of her interview with Gayety below. Part two can be found here.
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Stunning New Portraits Capture Queer Beauty & Strength
What comes to your mind when you think about LGBTQ+ people? For some, we are their safe place. We are their home and their community. Needless to say, there are some who think of us as deviants, and perverts. Weak and helpless, hiding behind a misappropriated boogieman called “wokeness”. When I think of queer people I think of strength. I think of beauty and resilience. Even now as trans and gender non-conforming folks feel the walls closing in around us, there is an absolute certainty and defiance. We are here and we will not succumb. Thankfully, I’m not alone in that sentiment.
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Meet Barry Brandon
“We are pearls,” says queer and non-conforming digital creator Barry Brandon. You may recognize Brandon from their viral appearances on queer TikTok. I distinctly recall the “MOVE OUT OF OUR WAY” video leaving me breathless. Now ze is back to take my breath all over again with a new series of portraits and videos that celebrate queer resilience. The portraits also feature icons like Beltrán, Sister Trish, Tom Pipol Escobar, Joe Paquette, Calogero Cammilleri, Darling Peter, and Ovidiu Popescu. The stunning images were taken by Franco Dlp with the help of Sandra Quintero. If you ever needed a reminder of the beauty and strength of femininity in AMAB folks, this is it.
“I associate queer identity and expression with pearls,” writes Barry on Instagram. “We are sprinkled around the world, sometimes feeling as though we are alone […] We are strong and resilient beyond measure, contrary to popular perceptions.” The metaphor is so elegant and perfect, I truly hope it catches on. “We, like pearls, are rare, both delicate and strong, beautiful and unique, each maintaining our individuality.” We got the chance to connect with Barry about this project, including what the significance of the pearls meant to her. We also asked him for his thoughts on how AMAB folks can find the confidence to express their femininity without shame. If you’re not already following them, check out Barry’s work on Instagram and TikTok and support them in any way you can. Show a pearl some love.
Gayety: What inspired you to create this project? What is the significance of the pearls?
Barry: Pearls are so unique. They are something like 1 in 10 000 and even rarer than that in other mollusks. They come in different shapes, sizes, and colours and yet they grow and develop naturally all over the world. It’s like queer people. We are essentially pearls, potentially feeling as though no one around us understands us. Yet we are birthed with an intuitive understanding of how important our individual identity and expression are. We come from different spaces and places, and yet we are here.
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Gayety: What advice would you give to AMAB folks who want to explore their femininity?
Barry: Give yourself permission to be. To express how you feel and, so long as you are in a space enough place to do so, give yourself permission to explore. Not everyone wants to wear heels, Not everyone wants to wear jeans. But the truth is until you give yourself permission to explore your expression, you are abiding by someone else’s rule book for how you live your life. Give yourself permission to be. That is when life begins.
Before You Go
I want to thank Barry for her thoughtful responses to my questions and the much-needed reminder. We are so much more than the sum of our parts. We are pearls. Unique, resilient, and even more beautiful when we join together. Remember to follow Barry, and everyone involved in this project, and share their work. Pearls like us have to stick together.
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Olympic Diver Matthew Mitcham’s OnlyFans Is Officially Live
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Australian Olympic diver Matthew Mitcham OnlyFans is officially live.
Olympic diver Matthew Mitcham launched his OnlyFans account today. According to its description, Mitcham created his OnlyFans “For everything that would be banned on Instagram and TikTok.” But he warned fans not to expect anything too risqué.
Mitcham seemingly launched OnlyFans on November 4, 2022, but he had not posted about it publicly on social media. Mitcham captioned his first OnlyFans post, saying, “A lot of people have asked very politely for me to start my own OnlyFans, and how could I refuse such good manners?!”
Since then, he’s shared 45 pieces of content to his account.
To check out his account for yourself, head over to his Twitter.
Who Is Matthew Mitcham?
Matthew Mitcham is a retired Australian Olympic diver who made a big splash in the diving world with his performances at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He was born on August 2, 1988, in Brisbane, Australia, and began diving at 10. Over the years, he quickly established himself as a talented and daring diver with a repertoire of complicated and intricate dives.
Mitcham’s breakthrough came at the 2008 Summer Olympics, where he competed in the men’s 10-meter platform event. He wowed the crowd with his daring and skillful dives and ultimately won the gold medal, becoming the first Australian to win a gold medal in diving. With this win, he made history and captured the hearts of the Australian public and earned widespread recognition as one of the world’s top divers.
Did Matthew Mitcham Retire?
After his Olympic success, Mitcham continued to compete at the highest level, winning several Commonwealth Games and World Championship medals. He also became a popular public figure, appearing on numerous television shows and receiving many accolades for his achievements. Despite struggling with mental health issues and injury throughout his career, he never lost his passion for diving and continued to inspire others with his bravery and determination.
Mitcham retired from competitive diving but remains a beloved and respected figure in the sports world. He is renowned as one of Australia’s greatest divers. Mitcham continues to inspire others with his story of resilience and success. In addition to his diving achievements, he is also an advocate for LGBTQ rights and mental health awareness, using his platform to raise awareness and support for these important issues.
Mitcham is an icon in Australian sports. He represents a testament to the power of hard work, determination, and the pursuit of excellence. He has left an indelible mark on the diving world and continues to inspire new generations of divers and athletes.
