Gay man says Shake Shack workers beat him up after he kissed his boyfriend in fast-food restaurant — and attack is on video



A gay man said Shake Shack workers beat him up after he kissed his boyfriend inside the fast-food restaurant in Washington, D.C., over the weekend — and the beatdown was recorded on cellphone video.

Christian Dingus, 28, told NBC News he and his partner and friends were at a Dupont Circle location Saturday night after placing an order.

'I’ve been ... thinking of progress and how great that community is here, and then for that all to kind of be shattered, you know, kind of sucks.'

“And while we were back there — kind of briefly — we began to kiss,” Dingus told the news network. "And at that point, a worker came out to us and said that, you know, you can’t be doing that here, can’t do that type of stuff here.”

Dingus told NBC News he and his partner separated — but his partner also got upset at the employee and said he and Dingus had done nothing wrong. Dingus’ partner allegedly was then escorted out of the restaurant, after which a heated verbal argument ensued, the news network reported.

Dingus added to NBC News that when he defended his partner and told employees to not speak to his boyfriend that way, the workers who went outside focused their attention on him.

“And then one of the men, pretty forcefully, like, pushed me out of the way on my shoulder,” Dingus told the news network. “And then, you know, next thing I know, that kind of just, I think, sparked the rest of them. ... They all just kind of started attacking me at that point, dragging me back through the floor and continuously punching me in my head.”

More from NBC News:

Video of the alleged assault taken by a Shake Shack patron and later given to Dingus appears to show a man being shoved as two others in black Shake Shack T-shirts punch at his head. Two more people appear, also in Shake Shack shirts, but it’s unclear what follows.

The clip is 30 seconds long, recorded through windows from inside the restaurant. It does not show what led to the alleged assault or include audio of the men outside.

You can view an NBC News video report here that shows the cellphone clip of the attack as well as an interview with Dingus.

“There was a desire to be violent towards me, and I think it’s very evident in that film,” Dingus added to the news network.

Dingus told NBC News he wasn’t sure who broke up the attack as he was on the sidewalk curled up to protect himself. But he added to the news network that a female customer came out to help him, and someone who recorded the attack offered him a video of the incident.

Hate crime

Police are investigating the case as a hate crime, NBC News reported, adding that a copy of the police report classifies it as a simple assault with an anti-gay bias motivation. The document indicates an officer wrote that Dingus reported being assaulted by multiple people, the news network said, adding that an unnamed suspect said he was defending himself after Dingus put his hands on the person’s neck.

A Shake Shack spokesperson said that the involved workers have been suspended pending further review and that the company is cooperating with authorities, NBC News reported. The spokesperson added that Shake Shack is “committed to taking the appropriate actions” based on the investigation's outcome, the news network added.

Dingus told NBC News he went to an emergency room after the attack and was diagnosed with a concussion and trauma to his jaw; he added to the news network that the side of his face was swollen and bruised.

More from NBC News:

Dupont Circle is considered one of Washington’s popular and trendy neighborhoods and is advertised as being queer-friendly. Destination DC, an organization that markets the city’s tourism destinations, even lists Dupont Circle locations in its guide to a “Best LGBTQ+-Friendly Weekend.”

The incident has shaken Dingus’ sense of safety, and he said he wants to see the perpetrators held accountable.

“You hear all the time that this stuff happens, but, you know, I started kind of believing that it didn’t, right?” Dingus added to the news network. “I’ve been ... thinking of progress and how great that community is here, and then for that all to kind of be shattered, you know, kind of sucks.”

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Colton Underwood glorifies baby-buying, denying a child’s need for a mother



Former "The Bachelor" star and self-professed Christian Colton Underwood made headlines years ago when he came out as homosexual.

Now, Underwood has announced alongside his husband, Jordan C. Brown, that they’re expecting a baby boy via surrogacy in the fall. Underwood even created a podcast called "Daddyhood," as he’s been pursuing “daddyhood” for two years now.

“It’s almost always a baby boy,” Allie Beth Stuckey notes, before explaining that Underwood had been struggling with his sperm count before he was able to find an “egg seller.”

“The reason again I don’t say egg donor is because it’s only called egg donor because of a technicality. It’s not legal to sell human tissue in the United States, and so egg donors say that they are being paid for their time and their effort, not actually their eggs,” Stuckey says.

“But we all know the truth. They’re not donating their eggs; they are selling their eggs,” she adds.

In an interview with Men’s Health, Underwood explained that he and his husband wanted the “egg seller” to be “somebody deep and cool.”

“I believe in nature versus nurture. So give us the basics, and we can show this kid love,” he continued.

Stuckey disagrees, quipping, “I’m not sure that you actually believe in nature, because you are denying that a child needs a mother.”

Underwood related the process of finding an “egg seller” to using dating apps, which Stuckey also finds disturbing — as YouTuber Shane Dawson, who got his baby boy via IVF with his husband, related it to looking through catalogs.

“They literally go through catalogs of women, not that different than prostitution, and they choose who is going to be the genetic mother,” Stuckey says.

But it’s not as simple as just choosing a woman and giving her their sperm.

“There’s the egg retrieval first, from the so-called egg donor. And then there’s the IVF process where they are using the sperm from these two men and they are mixing it together with the eggs that were retrieved and they’re creating embryos out of that genetic material, and then they are implanting the embryo that is created, that is selected, into a different woman,” Stuckey explains.

That woman is the surrogate, who then has to take hormones in order to prepare her body for the foreign entity that will be placed in her uterus.

“That’s very dangerous for the embryo, by the way. It can also be very dangerous health-wise for the surrogate because this is a very unnatural process,” Stuckey says. “The woman’s body can reject this little embryo.”

The reason they use an “egg seller” separate from the surrogate is also completely unnatural.

“Why do they have to be legally separate? So that neither woman can claim motherhood, so that neither woman can say that they are bonded to this child. Even the law recognizes that there is this strong, fierce, biological bond between the mom and a child,” Stuckey says.

“It just makes it easier for everyone except for the baby, who will never know his biological mom and also is immediately ripped away from the only body, the only woman, the only home he has ever known immediately at birth.”

“Again, treating a child much worse than we treat puppies and kittens in the United States, who legally we have to keep with their mother for six to 12 weeks after birth,” she adds.


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'Sesame Street' introduces two gay dads and their daughter for 'Family Day' episode — the first married gay couple to appear on iconic children's show



"Sesame Street" introduced two gay dads and their daughter for a recent "Family Day" episode — and it was the first time the iconic children's TV program has shown a married gay couple, according to Yahoo Entertainment, which called it "a bold statement for LGBTQ visibility."

‘Sesame Street’ takes a big leap for LGBTQ visibility, introduces gay dads with a daughter https://t.co/DTEz0jhBxu https://t.co/nxFMPpNW8x

— Yahoo Entertainment (@YahooEnt) 1624043165.0

What are the details?

The outlet said in a separate story that the episode's two gay dads are Frank (Alex Weisman) and Dave (Chris Costa), the brother of bike-store owner Nina (Chris Costa), and their daughter is Mia (Olivia Perez).

In the clip of the episode, the couple arrives onscreen at about the 2-minute mark, announcing in unison, "We're here!"

After some hugs, Nina excitedly says, "OK, everybody, everybody! I want you to meet my brother Dave, his husband Frank, and my sobrina [niece] Mia!"

Image source: YouTube screenshot

From there it's your garden-variety "Sesame Street" stuff, but toward the end of the episode, Frank tells the group that "there's all kinds of different families, but what makes us a family is that we love each other."

Image source: YouTube screenshot

'Love is love'

"Sesame Street has always been a welcoming place of diversity and inclusion," cast member Alan Muraoka wrote on Facebook. "So I'm so excited to introduce Nina's Brother Dave, his husband Frank, and their daughter Mia to our sunny street. Our Family Day episode drops today on HBOMax and on YouTube ... I am so honored and humbled to have co-directed this important and milestone episode. Love is love, and we are so happy to add this special family to our Sesame family. Happy Pride to all!!!!"

'Undeniable trend of inclusion'

"The 'Family Day' episode of Sesame Street sends the simple and important message that families come in all forms and that love and acceptance are always the most important ingredients in a family," GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis told Yahoo Entertainment. "Frank and Dave, as Mia's dads, are the latest characters in an undeniable trend of inclusion across kids & family programming, one that allows millions of proud LGBTQ parents, and our children, to finally get to see families like ours reflected on TV."

Here's the episode:

Sesame Street: Family Day | Full Street Storyyoutu.be

Anything else?

While the "Family Day" episode may have been historic for "Sesame Street," it was far from the first time it's touched on LGBTQ issues.

Last year, Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) blasted the program for a Pride Month tweet:

Endless propaganda. This is a taxpayer-funded show targeted at Pre-K children. It doesn’t need to be talking about… https://t.co/aSsqhP0PzS

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) 1592413273.0

"Sesame Street" posted a similar tweet this month:

Happy #PrideMonth from your friends at Sesame Street. Everyone is welcome in our neighborhood! https://t.co/AZz3rC3bv9

— Sesame Street (@sesamestreet) 1623696469.0

Yahoo Entertainment also noted that the narrator for an "Elmo's World" segment in the show's 2017 Father's Day episode acknowledged same-sex couples by saying, "You might have a stepdad, or even two dads." The outlet added that a "Sesame Street" episode in August 2017 ("Hello Rudy") had a child saying "I love my moms" just before getting kissed by both of her moms.

In addition, Yahoo Entertainment noted that "Sesame Street" has also "stood up for equality by welcoming several out celebrities on the show — including Ellen DeGeneres, Billy Eichner, Billy Porter and recently Lil Nas X."