Tasmania LGBTQIA+ Legal Service, Grammys, SA Pride Hall of Fame, Lesbian Space Princess | Rainbow Briefing – Daily LGBTQIA+ News Podcast Australia

Hi, I’m Louise Poole, and this is the Rainbow Briefing for Tuesday the 3rd of February.
Your daily LGBTQIA+ news catchup.

Recorded and produced on Yugambeh and Yuggera land.

Today — a historic win for LGBTQIA+ Tasmanians, the Grammys celebrate queer excellence, the first inductee to South Australia’s Pride Hall of Fame, and Nintendo finally keeps a twelve-year promise.

Tasmania is getting its first dedicated LGBTQIA+ legal service.

It’s a big deal.
Six in ten queer Tasmanians experience at least one legal problem each year — double the national average. Discrimination at work. Harassment from neighbours. Hate crimes.

For years, Equality Tasmania has been doing what they could — referring community members to legal help, while pushing for something better.

They argued Tasmania needed specialist services like those in other states.

And they won.

A two-hundred-thousand-dollar pilot — funded through the Solicitors’ Guarantee Fund — will see Women’s Legal Service Tasmania and Equality Tasmania partner to deliver the new service.

A lawyer and peer justice navigator will be placed inside Equality Tasmania — bringing legal support directly into community spaces where people already feel safe.

The initiative was approved by the Liberal Government, with Labor and crossbench MPs also endorsing the proposal.

The announcement came on the opening weekend of TasPride — a fitting moment for a historic win.

The Grammy Awards delivered a big night for queer artists — and allies.

Billie Eilish took home Song of the Year for Wildflower — and used her acceptance speech to call out US immigration enforcement.

“No one is illegal on stolen land,” she said.

Bad Bunny won Album of the Year for Debí Tirar Más Fotos — the Puerto Rican superstar who’s been a vocal supporter of the queer community and headlines the Super Bowl halftime show next week.

British singer Lola Young won Best Pop Solo Performance for Messy — her first Grammy. She was so excited she dropped an f-bomb in her speech. Young returned to music last year after stepping back for her mental health.

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande won Best Pop Duo for Defying Gravity from Wicked.

Lady Gaga picked up two awards — Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Dance Pop Recording.

Bisexual rapper Doechii won Best Music Video for Anxiety — and brought goddess energy to the red carpet in a stunning Roberto Cavalli gown.

Other rainbow winners included FKA twigs for Best Dance/Electronic Album, Kehlani for Best R&B Performance, and Durand Bernarr for Best Progressive R&B Album.

And Cher made a surprise appearance — her first at the Grammys in eighteen years — to accept the Lifetime Achievement Award.

She gave a heartfelt speech about following your dreams, summing up her career in true Cher fashion: “I’ve been in this business for sixty fucking years.”

Then she walked off without announcing the next nominees.

When she came back to present Record of the Year, she announced that Luther Vandross had won — seemingly from beyond the grave.

Easy mistake. She meant Luther — the track by Kendrick Lamar and SZA that samples the late soul singer.

Eric Kuhlmann has been named the first inductee to the 2026 South Australian Pride Hall of Fame — the highest honour presented by Pride Adelaide.

Eric, who passed away last year, served as Chair of Pride Adelaide until early 2025. He approached leadership quietly and thoughtfully — believing Pride mattered not as a moment, but as a commitment.

On stage at FEAST Festival, he shared queer stories with humour, honesty, and warmth. And through the Bear Men of Adelaide, he helped create spaces where people could arrive as they were and feel part of something bigger.

Pride Adelaide says the way decisions are made today, the way community trust is protected — these things didn’t happen by chance. They were shaped by people like Eric.

He’ll be formally inducted at the South Australian Pride Gala on June 6th.

Australian queer animated film Lesbian Space Princess lands on Netflix this Thursday.

If you missed it in cinemas last year — here’s your chance.

Saira is an introverted princess, heir to the throne of planet Clitopolis, still reeling from being dumped by her hot bounty hunter girlfriend.

When said ex-girlfriend is kidnapped by the “Straight White Maliens,” Saira recruits an enby popstar and a cantankerous boomer spaceship and launches a rescue mission — hoping to save her and win her back.

It won LGBTQIA+ cinema’s highest honour at Berlin — the Teddy Award — and took Audience Choice at both the Adelaide and Sydney Film Festivals.

Written and directed by South Australian filmmakers Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese in their directorial debut, with voices including Shabana Azeez, Richard Roxburgh, Kween Kong, and Aunty Donna.

Nintendo has finally delivered on a twelve-year-old promise.

The new Tomodachi Life game — Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream — will let players create characters who are male, female, non-binary, or any combination of the three.

Players can also choose each character’s dating preferences — including none at all, for those on the asexual and aromantic spectrums.

It’s a major shift. Previous games locked characters into a gender binary and blocked same-gender relationships.

When players petitioned Nintendo back in 2014, the company initially pushed back — but eventually apologised and promised to do better.

Twelve years later, they’ve followed through.

Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream launches April 16th on Switch 2.

And if you’re in Victoria this Saturday — the Geelong Rainbow Festival takes over Johnstone Park on February 7th.

The day kicks off with a Pride Rally at nine-thirty, with the march stepping off at ten and returning in time for the festival launch at eleven.

It’s free entry, all ages, with twenty-plus queer-owned businesses, live music, drag performances, family activities — and yes, Bluey and Tigger will be there.

Performers include Teddy Testosterone, Tara Bytes, Rubi Taboo, and more.

That’s the Rainbow Briefing for Tuesday the 3rd of February.

I’m Louise Poole and this is independent queer community media. Your support is crucial to its success. Share the bulletin, tell your community, leave us a review, and find us on socials. And if you’ve got community news to share, submit a story at rainbowbriefing.com.au.