Articles by Asyia Iftikhar

Asyia Iftikhar is an entertainment reporter at PinkNews. She won the Hearst Talent Scholarship in 2020 and has since written for publications including Digital Spy, Bustle, Glamour, the Metro, gal-dem and Autostraddle.

She specialises in culture, entertainment and digital culture with a particular interest in the intersection between race and LGBTQ+ issues.

Queer Egypt Under Attack

Culture
Jan 31 2023

This shocking new BBC doc reveals how Egyptian police hunt LGBTQ+ people on dating apps

Jennifer Coolidge stars in Shotgun Wedding. (Amazon Prime Studios)

Film
Jan 30 2023

Jennifer Coolidge is back to protect the gays in Shotgun Wedding, and it’s utter chaos

Pamela Anderson in a pink dress (left) and Lily James as Pamela Anderson in Pam & Tommy

Celebrity
Jan 27 2023

Pamela Anderson brands Pam & Tommy creators ‘a**holes’: ‘You still owe me a public apology’

Sam Smith shares abuse they received after coming out as non-binary. (Getty)

Celebrity
Jan 27 2023

Sam Smith recalls low point after coming out as non-binary: ‘Someone spat at me in the street’

A screenshot from the movie Everything Everywhere All at Once shows actor Stephanie Hsu as character Joy who's dressed in a white and red oriental-style outfit with her hair dyed pink.

Film
Jan 26 2023

Everything Everywhere star Stephanie Hsu’s wholesome reaction to first Oscar nomination

A screenshot of actor Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cale in Poker Face In the scene she is seen wielding a squidgy mop at a car that has a dog sitting at the window.

TV
Jan 26 2023

Poker Face: New Natasha Lyonne and Rian Johnson series just scored 100 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes

Will Byers (L) and Mike Wheeler (R) in Stranger Things. (Netflix)

TV
Jan 26 2023

Noah Schnapp says Will Byers’ sexuality journey in Stranger Things was ‘beautifully written’

Taylor Swift fans demonstrate outside hearing. (Getty)

Music
Jan 25 2023

Senators quote Taylor Swift lyrics during Ticketmaster hearing and fans are divided: ‘This is cringe’

Madonna and Julia Garner.

Culture
Jan 25 2023

Madonna fans have one thing to say after biopic is scrapped: ‘Release the bootcamp footage’

Anne Hathaway as Rebecca (L) and Thomasin McKenzie as Eileen (R). (Sundance Institute)

Film
Jan 25 2023

Anne Hathaway’s new sapphic thriller has got Carol written all over it

TV
Jan 24 2023

Netflix CEO faces backlash for wild comments on cancelled shows: ‘They are NOT allies’

A split-screen image showing drag queen Trixie Mattel wearing a white outfit with pink paint splatter-pattern on it and Republican congressman George Santos wearing a brown suit jacket over a black top

Drag
Jan 24 2023

George Santos tried and failed to read Drag Race star Trixie Mattel in hilarious Twitter spat

Birmingham Poet Laureate Jasmine Gardosi performs. (James Watkins)

Arts
Jan 24 2023

Birmingham Poet Laureate Jasmine Gardosi on gender euphoria and breaking binaries in her new show

Books
Jan 23 2023

‘Bisexual men have a lot to say’: Vaneet Mehta on fighting biphobia and uplifting the m-spec community

TV
Jan 23 2023

Todrick Hall called out queer ‘hate’ for Real Friends of WeHo. It didn’t go down well

Babylon Li Jun Li

Film
Jan 23 2023

‘We need to see that it existed’: Babylon star Li Jun Li on channelling sapphic icon Anna May Wong

Three images of Aubrey Plaza making funny faces on a pink background.

TV
Jan 22 2023

Aubrey Plaza is a comedic genius – and these 7 hilarious performances prove it

Collage of Kim Kardashian in Marilyn Monroe's nude sparkly gown, Monet X Change in a dress made of yellow dish sponges, and Princess Diana serving gothic glamour in a black dress and large crucifix

Celebrity
Jan 20 2023

Kim Kardashian buying Drag Race looks becomes internet’s favourite new meme

Madonna wearing a Virgin Mary-style headpiece for Vanity Fair, and a picture from her Like A Prayer video, in which she's peering between prison bars and wears a crucifix around her neck

Celebrity
Jan 20 2023

Madonna calls out Catholic Church over ‘hypocritical’ attacks – while dressing up as Virgin Mary

Bianca Del Rio proves her skill as an insult comic. (MTV/Twitter/@GreenGayYT)

Drag
Jan 20 2023

Bianca Del Rio takes no prisoners as she reads heckler to filth in resurfaced video: ‘A must-watch’

Celebrity
Jan 20 2023

Leslie Jordan’s cause of death revealed three months after Will & Grace star’s tragic passing

A still from the movie M3GAN shows the AI doll dressed in a brown coat looking out of a window.

Film
Jan 19 2023

M3GAN is officially returning for a sequel and fans have plenty of ideas: ‘I want her to fight Chucky’

A photo of actor Sarah Michelle Gellar wearing a black dress as she poses for the cameras at a red carpet event. (Getty)

Celebrity
Jan 19 2023

Sarah Michelle Gellar made sure new show Wolf Pack wasn’t a repeat of ‘toxic’ Buffy set

A screenshot from the GLAAD Award nominees presentation showing drag queens Salina Estitties wearing a white feather dress and Sasha Colby in a light blue dress against a jungle background

Arts
Jan 19 2023

Drag Race stars announce 2023 GLAAD nominees with powerful message against LGBTQ+ hate

Ali Junejo (L) and Alina Khan (R) in new Joyland trailer released in the UK.

Film
Jan 19 2023

The trailer for groundbreaking trans love story Joyland shows exactly why it’s in the Oscars race

Film
Jan 18 2023

The trailer for 80s LGBTQ+ drama Blue Jean brings home the horrors of Section 28

Aubrey Plaza smiling as she wears white and black dotted top.

Celebrity
Jan 18 2023

Aubrey Plaza recalls her ill-fated SNL audition – and it actually sound hilarious

Meryl Streep (L) joins the cast for Only Murders in the Building. (Getty/Twitter/@GomezSource)

TV
Jan 18 2023

Meryl Streep fans go wild as icon joins the cast of Only Murders in the Building season 3

A graphic showing on the left actor Jennifer Coolidge wearing a black dress against a pink background and on the right is pop singer Ariana Grande dressed in a white wedding-style dress set against a pink-tinted background

Celebrity
Jan 17 2023

Jennifer Coolidge opens up about friendship with Ariana Grande and we need the reality show ASAP

A still from new HBO Max cartoon Velma shows main character Velma Dinkley wearing a yellow sweater and holding magnifying glass in one hand while Fred dressed in white shirt and orange cravat is standing to the right. (HBO Max)

TV
Jan 17 2023

Mindy Kaling’s Velma series breaks records despite intense backlash

Cate Blanchett at Critics Choice Award. (Getty)

Film
Jan 16 2023

Cate Blanchett had the best response to being called a lesbian icon: ‘I’ll take it!’

RuPaul (L) and Maren Morris (R). (MTV)

Drag
Jan 16 2023

Drag Race fans applaud Maren Morris for addressing country music’s homophobia: ‘I had a little tear’

Jennifer Coolidge wins Critics Choice Award.

Celebrity
Jan 16 2023

Jennifer Coolidge’s acceptance speech was undoubtedly the best moment of the Critics Choice Awards

Lady Gaga (L) and Wednesday (R). (Getty/Netflix)

TV
Jan 14 2023

Wednesday star Jenna Ortega teases Lady Gaga joining cast for season two

Self Esteem. (Getty)

Music
Jan 13 2023

Self Esteem blasts body-shaming trolls after appearing on James Corden’s The Late Late Show

Jennifer Coolidge and a dolphin.

Celebrity
Jan 12 2023

Jennifer Coolidge wants to play a literal dolphin and we can smell the Oscar already

Reviews roll in for Mindy Kaling as Velma and Constance Wu as Daphne. (HBO)

TV
Jan 12 2023

Scooby-Doo’s lesbian spin-off Velma has hit screens – and the verdict is in: ‘Beautifully chaotic’

The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey. (Getty)

TV
Jan 12 2023

The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey says her gender is ‘fluid’: ‘I’m just a person’

Jeremy Clarkson (L) and Meghan Markle (R). (Getty)

Celebrity
Jan 12 2023

Culture secretary thinks it’s fine for Jeremy Clarkson to ‘say what he wants’ about Meghan Markle

An image shows singer dressed in an elaborate black and white outfit as she sings into a microphone with Britney Spears positioned next to the wearing a burlesque-style outfit. (Getty)

Music
Jan 11 2023

Beyoncé and Britney Spears ‘shelve plans for new collaboration’ and fans are in deep, deep mourning