Spacey releases video
The disgraced actor, accused of sexual assault, shares a 2-minute Christmas video offering encouragement to those who are struggling.
Kevin Spacey took a more serious approach to his annual Christmas video this year, shying away from the bizarre “House of Cards”-like speeches he has given for several years since being accused of sexual assault.
The disgraced actor, who has been run out of Hollywood since Anthony Rapp accused him of sexual assault in 2017, shared a two-minute video Thursday in which promised hope for anyone considering suicide.
“If you’re standing in a place that you can no longer remain standing, if you’re suffering and need help, if you feel guilt or shame, if you’re struggling with your identity, if your back’s up against the wall or if you feel that there is no path for you, whatever your situation, I promise you there is a path and that at this time, during this holiday and beyond, even if you don’t feel it, there are people out there who understand and who can help,” Spacey said. “You are not alone.” Spacey, sitting on a bench near the water, said “a lot” of people have reached out to him in 2020 and told him about their struggles.
“My ability to be there for them has really only been possible because of my own difficulties,” the “Usual Suspects” star said.
“And while it has been a privilege to offer support, I have to say, frankly, it’s also been beyond my abilities. It’s bigger than me.”
Since Rapp first revealed the alleged assault at the age of 14, dozens of men have come forward with similar accusations against Spacey. The actor, who came out as gay when he denied Rapp’s allegations, has denied any wrongdoing.
The video ends with the number for the Suicide Prevention Hotline as the actor promises viewers “it does get better.”
— Tribune News Service
‘Queer Santa’ keeping her gift-giving tradition
For the past 22 years, Linda Warren has called herself “Queer Santa.”
Each December, the 77-year-old woman suits up in a classic Santa Claus outfit for an elaborate gift-giving operation in Denver, where she distributes gifts to LGBTQ youths who feel rejected by their families. Their sense of isolation and abandonment, she said, is heightened during the holidays.
Warren became Queer Santa on Christmas Eve 1988. She was preparing for her own holiday party when she got a panicked call from a friend who was volunteering at the local LGBTQ community center, The Center on Colfax. The annual youth holiday festivities had gone awry when a gift donor backed out at the last minute. Help was needed.
Although Warren wasn’t volunteering with the organization at the time, she immediately bought Target gift cards for the young people at the center. On each card, she wrote, “Love, Santa.”
Warren’s inner Santa Claus was ignited, she said, and the tradition was born.
“I told the people at the center that I will make sure these children who wouldn’t get a present at home get one every year from me,” said Warren, a grandmother and threetime cancer survivor.
She has kept that promise.
For Warren, the decision to become a source of support for LGBTQ youths stemmed from her own experience with rejection. Her parents disowned her when, as a divorced adult, she came out as gay.
“My father said, ‘I want you to leave the woman you’re with and act like a decent human being,’” Warren recalled. “I told him I’m not leaving her, and that I am a decent human being and I always will be. I never saw him again after that.”
She grew estranged from her mother, too, who refused to accept Warren’s sexuality.
“This is what made me want to help these children,” Warren said.
Warren, who worked in insurance for several years and later started her own flooring business, initially used her own money to buy gifts for the young people who felt rejected.
She would purchase and wrap individual presents, then deliver them to The Center on Colfax’s youth program, Rainbow Alley.
But as time wore on, more LGBTQ youths registered to join, so Warren began an annual fundraiser. She usually raises about $35,000 a year, which goes toward buying personalized holiday gifts for hundreds of Denver LGBTQ young people between the ages of 13 and 21.
Each year, Rainbow Alley throws a “Holigay ” party for youths, and Warren attends in her Queer Santa suit, primed to hand out presents to each attendee. All Denver youths are welcome, regardless of sexuality, gender, race or religion.
In recent years, hundreds sign up in advance to attend the party, where they are served a traditional holiday meal and given gifts from Queer Santa. Upon registering for the event, each participant fills out a wish list with a present they hope to receive.
“Some of the kids would put ‘happiness’ and ‘love’ on their list,” Warren said. “That broke my heart.”
“I want the children to get a gift they really want, not need,” she continued. “If they need anything, I tell them to call me and I will make sure they get whatever they need.”