The Balance Sheet: March 19, 2023

In a shock to the worlds of fashion and entertainment, celebrity stylist Law Roach abruptly announced his retirement last week due to "politics" and "lies." Roach has become a styling juggernaut who has worked with Hollywod A-listers like Zendaya, Priyanka Chopra, Celine Dion, Tom Holland, Megan Thee Stallion, Hunter Schafer, Kerry Washington, Ariana Grande, and more.

In a sit-down interview with The Cut editor-in-chief Lindsay Peoples, Roach broke down the reasons for his retirement, saying that "[he's] been suffering for years."

For more on Roach's career and impact, check out these pieces:

• Law Roach: A Short Timeline of a Legendary and Historic Career (Out Magazine)
• The Law According to Law Roach (Insider)
• Law Roach: The Stylist Who Transformed Céline Dion and Zendaya (The Guardian)
• Justice for Law Roach (Elle)

Lex, the app for finding LGBTQ+ friends & queer community, has named a new Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer. Founder and CEO Kel Rakowski made the announcement last week.

According to her LinkedIn, Jennifer Rhiannon Lewis is an expert in launching and scaling businesses from Seed to Series B, and has 14 years of global experience building high growth consumer tech businesses at the cutting edge of women's health, sexual wellness, LGBTQ+ and community.

A Connecticut federal judge has ruled that James Concannon, a multi-disciplinary artist, has provided sufficient evidence that Lego Systems, Inc. allegedly copied enough of his jacket that a jury could potentially find copyright infringement.

The lawsuit stems from a leather jacket Concannon made for Queer Eye star Antoni Porowski. The artist gifted the jacket to Antoni, but says that he did not give Lego permission to use a recreation of the one-of-a-kind jacket for its Fab Five Loft LEGO set.

• Read this article for further background on the lawusit
• Check out this Twitter thread for a good explainer on the latest developments

After five years at the forefront of the cannabis creator economy, WeedTube will cease operations on April 2nd. Co-founder and CEO Arend Richard made the announcement last week, citing "significant ease of restrictions from other social platforms towards this type of content" in the past year, along with "the rising illegal activity that the team is fighting against everyday on the platform" as some of the reasons for its shuttering.

However, Richard has already announced his next contribution to the cannabis community: Cirrus Social Club. Launching later this year, it is described as a "warm, clean, comfortable, and safe space where adults can come to socialize, learn, and interact with each other, while responsibly enjoying state-legal cannabis and cannabis products."

While Red states across the country, particularly in the South, continue their assault on LGBTQ+ rights (potentially losing billions of dollars as a result), there have been some major wins for LGBTQ+ legal protections in the following states:

• Michigan: Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) signs bill expanding Michigan civil rights law to include LGBTQ protections
• Maryland: Maryland House Passes Bill Requiring Gender-Affirming Care Under Medicaid
• Minnesota: Governor Tim Waltz (D) signs order protecting trans kids & families
• Nebraska: State Senator Machaela Cavanaugh (D) filibustered for three weeks straight to block an anti-trans bill. (She recently reached a deal to pause the filibuster in order to debate the bill). This is allyship in action!
• Kansas: Governor Laura Kelly (D) has vetoed a bill banning transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports for the third year in a row.