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Donald Trump interrupts Dustin Lance Black’s LGBT Series ‘When We Rise’

By Samuel McManus

American television network ABC had to reschedule Dustin Lance Black’s LGBT mini-series When We Rise in favour of Donald Trump.

According to Deadline, ABC previously announced it would schedule the mini-series across four consecutive nights from February 27 to March 2.

However yesterday (January 27), House Speaker Paul Ryan announced at a news conference that he had invited President Donald Trump to address a joint session of Congress on February 28.

ABC has now announced that due to the unexpected special event, Black’s When We Rise will will air as planned on February 27, but will take a night’s break while Trump’s report airs.

It will then resume on Wednesday, February 28.

Black took to Twitter in protest over the news and wrote, “I’ll urge ABC Network to do all they can to ensure When We Rise does NOT get Trumped. Your raised voices will help.”

The eight-hour mini-series charts the struggle of four LGBT+ activists, including Cleve Jones who worked as an intern for Harvey Milk, over five decades.

In an exclusive interview in Attitude’s February issue – available to download now and in shops now – Dustin Lance Black reveals more about the show and explains why it’s taken on even more significance in the wake of last year’s incredible political upheaval in the US.

“We’re in one right now, a worldwide backlash where people are talking about building walls and closing borders instead of understanding and embracing their neighbour,” Black says.

“I hope to inspire a new generation to stand up and fight back and protect what we have in a moment of darkness like this.”

The 42-year-old, who is engaged to British Olympic diving star Tom Daley, adds that the LGBT community has long been denied portrayals of its historic fight by the mainstream media – something he’s keen to help rectify.

“I do think we’ve been robbed of our history”, he explains. “We’ve been scared to tell our stories for much of the past century. We’ve certainly been afraid to shine a light on our lives.”

You can read our full feature with Dustin Lance Black and see his exclusive shoot in Attitude’s February issue, available to download and in shops now. Print copies are available to order globally from newsstand.co.uk/attitude.

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