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CNN Showed Two Men Kissing At Midnight, And Some Individuals Didn’t React Well To It
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CNN Showed Two Men Kissing At Midnight, And Some Individuals Didn’t React Well To It

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One of the very first images to go viral and emerge from the USA in 2024 captured love, passion, and inclusivity, which hopefully indicates a great start to the year.

CNN broadcasted a passionate kiss between an interracial same-sex couple immediately after the New Year’s ball dropped in Times Square, New York City, on Monday (January 1).

The image showed two men wearing large Planet Fitness hats locking lips in a lengthy display of affection as soon as the countdown to 2024 concluded on “New Year’s Eve Live with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen”.

Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper hosted CNN’s live New Year’s Eve show, which showed two men kissing after the ball dropped in Times Square

Image credits: andersoncooper

The romantic moment sparked praise on social media, with people taking to X (formerly known as Twitter) to share their excitement to see some queer visibility on mainstream media.

“Gay people watch straights kiss on TV every day. Get over it and get used to it,” a person wrote.

Another individual commented: “Wishing you all a happy planet fitness CNN interracial gay kiss New Year!”

Nevertheless, such visibility often ignites backlash from conservatives, as an X user noted: “CNN’s first shot after the ball drop appears to be an interracial gay kiss. The outrage will be hilarious.”

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The romantic moment sparked praise on social media, with people taking to X (formerly known as Twitter) to share their excitement

Image credits: Times Square NYC

Unfortunately, that person’s prediction turned out to be rather accurate, as the image further sparked homophobic and hateful remarks, too hurtful to be repeated in this article.

Other comments suggested that Anderson and Andy, two openly gay men, were already hosting CNN’s live New Year’s Eve show, therefore suggesting that showing more queer individuals on mainstream media was not needed.

However, a study suggests that people who identify within the LGBTQ+ community are still overwhelmingly underrepresented in mainstream media.

According to Nielsen’s “Being Seen on Screen: Diverse Representation & Inclusion on TV” report, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people make up an estimated 4.5 percent of the U.S. population, yet, they were 6.7 percent of the top 10 recurring cast members in the top 300 programs on broadcast, cable and streaming platforms in 2019.

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The report also found that 26 percent of the top 300 programs included at least one cast member who identifies as LGBTQ.

The image showed two men wearing large Planet Fitness hats locking lips in a lengthy display of affection as soon as the countdown to 2024 concluded

While the numbers alone paint a picture of increased visibility, Stacie de Armas, Nielsen’s senior vice president for diverse consumer insights, said it’s important to differentiate presence from representation.

She told NBC News: “When you look across the TV landscape, the LGBTQ population looks well represented, but when we look deeper, and at intersectional groups, it’s clear there is a need for greater diversity in LGBTQ representation.

“White LGBTQ people are most represented on screen, while female LGBTQ people of color and Latinx LGBTQ people are below parity compared to their population estimates.”

“I knew there’d be issues and I love it!” a viewer quipped

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Andréa Oldereide

Andréa Oldereide

Writer, BoredPanda staff

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I’m a journalist who works as Bored Panda’s News Team's Senior Writer. The news team produces stories focused on pop culture. Whenever I get the opportunity and the time, I investigate and produce my own exclusive stories, where I get to explore a wider range of topics. Some examples include: “Doberman Tobias the viral medical service dog” and “The lawyer who brought rare uterine cancer that affects 9/11 victims to light”. You've got a tip? email me: andrea.o@boredpanda.com

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Andréa Oldereide

Andréa Oldereide

Writer, BoredPanda staff

I’m a journalist who works as Bored Panda’s News Team's Senior Writer. The news team produces stories focused on pop culture. Whenever I get the opportunity and the time, I investigate and produce my own exclusive stories, where I get to explore a wider range of topics. Some examples include: “Doberman Tobias the viral medical service dog” and “The lawyer who brought rare uterine cancer that affects 9/11 victims to light”. You've got a tip? email me: andrea.o@boredpanda.com

Donata Leskauskaite

Donata Leskauskaite

Author, BoredPanda staff

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Hey there! I'm a Visual Editor in News team. My responsibility is to ensure that you can read the story not just through text, but also through photos. I get to work with a variety of topics ranging from celebrity drama to mind-blowing Nasa cosmic news. And let me tell you, that's what makes this job an absolute blast! Outside of work, you can find me sweating it out in dance classes or unleashing my creativity by drawing and creating digital paintings of different characters that lives in my head. I also love spending time outdoors and play board games with my friends.

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Donata Leskauskaite

Donata Leskauskaite

Author, BoredPanda staff

Hey there! I'm a Visual Editor in News team. My responsibility is to ensure that you can read the story not just through text, but also through photos. I get to work with a variety of topics ranging from celebrity drama to mind-blowing Nasa cosmic news. And let me tell you, that's what makes this job an absolute blast! Outside of work, you can find me sweating it out in dance classes or unleashing my creativity by drawing and creating digital paintings of different characters that lives in my head. I also love spending time outdoors and play board games with my friends.

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Kraneia The Dancing Dryad
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm not huge on PDA to begin with (regardless of whether you're straight or gay) . That said, I'd rather see two men kissing than beating each other up 😁👍 make love not war and all that.

Randy Sanders
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's only outrageous because the media made it that way. Most people don't care.

Adrian Valdez
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Must be nice to actually believe that, over here in the land where people still attack anyone not straight and conforming to society norms it would be nice to share your out of touchiness.

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Kraneia The Dancing Dryad
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm not huge on PDA to begin with (regardless of whether you're straight or gay) . That said, I'd rather see two men kissing than beating each other up 😁👍 make love not war and all that.

Randy Sanders
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's only outrageous because the media made it that way. Most people don't care.

Adrian Valdez
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Must be nice to actually believe that, over here in the land where people still attack anyone not straight and conforming to society norms it would be nice to share your out of touchiness.

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