Steve Grand’s escape from six-figure debt, George Michael’s lover’s hacked Twitter, Mariah Carey’s NYE performance, Tom Daley and more: the biggest international LGBT news in today’s Cuppán Gay

• Taiwan’s President, Tasi Ing-wen, declared gay marriage has moved from “conflict” to “dialogue”. “We are in the same situation right now and we are turning to dialogue,” Tsai said. (Pink News)

• Fadi Fawaz, George Michael’s lover, has had his Twitter account hacked and closed. A series of tweets from Fawaz’s account alleged that George Michael took his own life on Christmas day after several unsuccessful attempts in the past. “I did not send those tweets,” Fawaz said. (Towleroad)

• Mariah Carey’s NYE performance was marred with technical glitches which saw the artist not sing. A malfunctioning earpiece caused Mariah Carey to cut her performance short at Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest. Mariah handled the mishap in her stride tweeting “Shit happens…Have a happy and healthy new year everybody!…Here’s to making more headlines in 2017.” Check out the performance below. (E Online)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fg2zIw5qZY

• A trans man in China won a landmark case against his wrongful dismissal. Chen was illegally fired after a week working at a  medical clinic in south-west China, a court ruled. The man was awarded a month’s salary for the dismissal. (The Guardian)

• A petition to stop gospel singer Kim Burrell from performing with Pharrell Williams on the Ellen DeGeneres Show has been made owing to her calling LGBT people “perverted”. The star of upcoming movie Hidden Figures said in a viral sermon: “That sin nature, that perverted homosexual spirit is the spirit of delusion and confusion and it has cast a stain on the body of Christ.” (Change)

• Tom Daley hadn’t seen Milk until after he started dating its writer. It took Tom Daley two month’s of dating Dustin Lance Black to watch the Oscar winning screenwriter’s movie, Milk, which he was made watch during a train ride in the UK. (Youtube)

• 2016 was a transformative year for gay singer Steve Grand since he took control of his life, got sober and got out of six-figure debt. “It’s been a year since I’ve taken a sip of alcohol, puffed on a cigarette, stumbled out of a club, or woke up and didn’t know where I was,” the artist posted on Instagram. (Instagram)

I'm about to hop on stage at @tracksdenver to do the countdown to midnight and perform, but I wanted to take this moment to say "THANK YOU!" For many reasons, 2016 was the best year of my life. So much of what made it great had everything to do your support and I hope you all know how much I appreciate you sticking with me through this journey-of-a-lifetime. I started 2016 at my desk working. I promised myself that I wasn't going to let my demons take a hold of me for another year. I was going to spend more time feeling grateful for life's many blessings and less time feeling sorry for myself. I was going to take back control of my life, my dreams, my health, and my well-being. It's been a year since I've taken a sip of alcohol, puffed on a cigarette, stumbled out of a club, or woke up and didn't know where I was. In 2016, I worked harder than I have in my life. I did more, and said less. I performed on a new continent. Released 2 new songs and music videos. Climbed out of six figures of dept. Laid the ground work for a new business venture. Started eating less protein shakes and more real food. Added cardio to my fitness routine. Lost many battles with sugar 🙁 (but I fight on! ;)). Built my own sound booth. Invested what I earned back into my craft with live performance and at-home recording equipment. In 2016 I better learned to own up to my mistakes/missteps/mis-speaks, learn from them, and then forgive myself and move on, even when others won't. I accepted that the universe and all the creatures in it owe me nothing: not fairness or truth or understanding, and in that way, I am just like everybody else. And all of that is okay. I stopped letting myself be angry. I let things go. And more stuff but now I REALLU have to get my ass on stage!! Cheers! Happy New Year! Thank you!!! Booking inquiries? Contact: [email protected] Tour dates and details: follow me on: Bandsintown.com/SteveGrand For my Second LIMITED EDITION 2017 photo calendar (here are one of the sample shots) go to my webstore: shop.stevegrand.com

A post shared by Steve Grand (@stevegrandmusic) on Dec 31, 2016 at 10:37pm PST

That’s it for today’s Cuppán Gay.