Broadway and TV star Cherry Jones (24, The Heiress, Doubt) has told Us Magazine that she and longtime partner Sarah Paulson have amicably split up. “It’s the happiest break up that’s ever been. We grew so much together and now we can send each other off with a kiss and great love.” Read More.
According to Pink News, Kevin McGee was found dead in his Edinburgh flat after police forced entry yesterday. Authorities were responding to friends’ concerns after McGee apparently posted messages to his Facebook wall including, “Kevin McGee thinks death is much better than life.” McGee and Little Britain actor Matt Lucas formed a civil partnership in December 2006, celebrating with an elaborate fancy dress party. Their split in 2008 was accompanied by elaborate disputes and legal actions regarding business and financial arrangements. Lucas has dropped out of his recently opened stage show, Prick Up Your Ears.
Matt Lucas and Kevin McGee, 2006
Matt Lucas (Little Britain) takes on the role of Kenneth Halliwell, playwright Joe Orton’s lover/killer, in Prick Up Your Ears, now at the Comedy Theatre in London. First a book by John Lahr, then a screenplay by Alan Bennett for a film directed by Stephen Frears, now it’s on stage in a new play by Simon Bent, directed by Daniel Kramer. The Guardian takes a scathing look at the (mostly) scathing reviews. Read More.
The BBC has upheld a complaint against TV host Graham Norton for “potentially offensive stereotypes” of lesbians. One person complained, resulting in a review by the BBC editorial board, which swung into action against the producers of the gay TV host’s chat show. The episode aired 6 months ago.
The offending joke occurred during a conversation with Ruth Jones, the star and co-writer of Gavin and Stacey.
Referring to a sketch that accompanied a patent application for a jumpsuit, Norton remarked, “I don’t know why they’ve got some strange lesbian to be the model.” Jones pointed out that, “She may not be a lesbian, come on now. What does a lesbian look like?” Pointing at the photo, Norton said, “That.”
In its indictment, the BBC noted, “Although the initial references might have been inoffensive if considered on their own, they prompted an exchange with one of the programme’s guests which gave the references the appearance of perpetuating or reinforcing a potentially offensive stereotype. The programme team were reminded of the need to avoid any possibility of being seen to endorse offensive sexual stereotypes.”
For those who are not so easily offended, the video is below — bad joke at about 1:20.
Legal documents and salacious allegations criss-crossed last week as hearings proceeded in the death of model/actress/TV personality Anna Nicole Smith. Her lawyer/lover, Howard K. Stern has been charged along with two of her doctors with felony conspiracy to furnish drugs to Smith and prescribing, administering or dispensing a controlled substance to an addict (Smith.) Eleven prescriptions were found in her hotel room following her death in February 2007, all apparently signed by her psychiatrist, Dr. Khristine Eroshevich.
Also found at that time were a number of photos showing Dr. Eroshevich sharing a bathtub and “various intimate embraces” with Smith. Clearly this was not a conventional doctor/patient relationship. Eroshevich claims she was a friend/neighbor of Smith’s before their friendship evolved into a medical relationship. No comment was forthcoming in regard to the lesbian photographs, which were found on a computer in Smith’s hotel room.
The other doctor charged, Sandeep Kapoor was also accused of having a physical relationship with his buxomy patient. This would be a true testament to the sex appeal of the woman who was the widow of 90-year-old John Howard Marshall III, as Dr. Kapoor claims to be gay.
These are in addition to earlier allegations that Stern was involved in a homosexual relationship with one of Smith’s other boyfriends, Larry Birkhead. DNA tests established that Birkhead fathered a child with Smith that had once been claimed by Stern as his daughter.
Stern and the doctors have all pleaded “not guilty” and face a hearing October 5.
For the first time, a same-sex couple is competing on the Fox TV show So You Think You Can Dance. Jacob Jason and Willem De Vries performed a Latin ballroom dance in their audition on Wednesday’s show, determined to demonstrate to the judges and the audience that there is “a world of same-sex dancers.” They’ve moved on to the next stage of the competition.
The show’s producer, Nigel Lythgoe, has been criticized for remarks he made last May when he rejected another gay couple, expressing fear that their appearance might “alienate” viewers. Lythgoe later tweeted that he was “not a fan of Brokeback Ballroom,” a remark some thought was disparaging. So You Think You Can Dance has a significant gay following, many of whom were upset by the remarks. Following a call to action from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance against Defamation, Lythgoe and Fox execs met with GLAAD, and Lythgoe apologized. Gay choreographer Adam Shankman, who directed the film Hairspray, was appointed to the panel of judges.
Following Jason and De Vries’s performance, Lythgoe told them, “Thank you for showing me that same-sex ballroom dancing can be very strong and very good.”
Magician Derren Brown continues to amaze audiences in Britain, successfully predicting the National Lottery results live on Channel 4 last week. This week he managed to “suggest” to at least 50,000 viewers that they were immobilized in their living rooms. Following a short film including “safety instructions,” Brown told the audience in the studio and at home to sit back in their chairs, put their feet flat on the floor, and put their hands on their legs. The result left many unable to stand until he played a “clearing tone.” A Channel 4 spokesperson announced that within 3 minutes they had received phone calls from over 50,000 people who succumbed to the suggestion. As one viewer said, “It’s just very bizarre. I’m trying hard to get up but I can’t.’”
Various theories have been proposed for the effect, with “sumbliminal images” in the film being a prime candidate.
Brown is openly gay.
Derren Brown
Born in Scotland and raised in Illinois, John Barrowman is famous for his television role as Captain Jack Harkness in Doctor Who and the spinoff Torchwood. He has also appeared in West End musicals and plays, and was nominated for an Olivier Award for his work in The Fix. Barrowman was considered for the role of Will in the US TV series Will and Grace, but he was rejected as “too straight” and the part went instead to heterosexual Erick McCormack.
Beginning September 14, Barrowman will take over from Roger Allam in the role of Zaza/Albin in the long-running London production of La Cage Aux Folles.
In 2008 Barrowman explored factors that may have “made him gay” in the BBC broadcast John Barrowman: The Making of Me. Barrowman and his partner Scott Gill have been together since 1993 and were joined in a civil partnership in 2006.
John Barrowman
The morning anchor at Boston’s WCVB Channel 5, Randy Price, will ride in the lead float in Thursday’s Carnival parade in Provincetown. Cape Air-sponsors the Pilgrim Monument & Provincetown Museum float that will lead the parade. “Randy Price is the perfect choice, a true Pilgrim,” says Monument director Jim Bakker. Price is widely regarded as the first openly gay newsman in the US, after he came out in a 1990s interview. Read More
Randy Price
In an interview with the Sun, Coronation Street star Antony Cotton has called for more gay characters on television’s longest-running show. Cotton, who plays gay barman and factory worker Sean Tully, figures there should be at least seven gay characters on the series if it’s to be representative of the general population. There are approximately 70 characters who make regular appearances on Coronation Street.
“The story goes that one in person in ten is gay. We’ve got 70 people in ours so there should be seven gay characters at least,” Cotton said. “Especially as Weatherfield is the gayest place on the planet as far as female characters are concerned! It’s the campest show on TV at times.”
Cotton is a strong supporter of AIDS and gay rights causes, including the Terrence Higgins Trust. In 2007, Cotton won the second series of ITV’s Soapstar Superstar. He donated the £200,000 prize to the Elton John Aids Foundation.
Antony Cotton
Queer of the Month | December 2009
Total Voters: 10
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