Remains of the Day (04/28)

People: After his son's suicide following sextortion, South Carolina politician's bill passes Statehouse unanimously

NYP: Wimbledon changing controversial underwear rule after ‘considerable concern’ ... does this mean he can go back to wearing blue briefs?

ASU: Arizona State graduate is a 'pop star' linguist

PinkNews: How AIDS crisis healed rift between lesbians and gay groups

Saturday 'Stache: Three men -- but you can only choose one

Page Six: Even Bibi's hot son needs a break from his authoritarian dad

The Advocate: New Jersey librarian(!) files federal complaint after being fired for 'gay lifestyle'

Mansion: Carol Burnett’s longtime Los Angeles home sells for $3.7 million

The Guardian: The Met police was ill prepared when Stephen Port began killing gay men -- and it still is

Back2Stonewall: You have to feel for LGBT people living in red states

Gimme Shelter: Jessica Fletcher slept here

The WoW Report: A first look at ‘Heartstopper’ Season 2

Out: Meet the contestants of the new 'I Kissed a Boy' gay dating show

Dixon Playhouse: Nora Burns's 'The Village, A Disco Daydream' is coming back for a(nother) encore!

Speedo Sunday: Thick quads ... and ready for bed? 

Hot Cat of the Day: I see someone has a leg up on my weekend plans!

On the Rag, Vol. 757

A weekly look at what's making news in the gay magazines:

Get Out!: Nick Hyland is almost as magical as the characters he portrays in the Tony winning Broadway play 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child'

Gay Times: Arlo Parks is letting the love in

DNA: DJ Dan Slater out front

Dallas Voice: Billy Porter builds on his resurging career with new tour and album

‘Wham! The Documentary’ will detail the duo’s short time as pop music kings

HotSpots: Meet Arnaldo and Richard

Add value to your home with fresh upgrades

Between the Lines: Lesbian women in Michigan have a space to be themselves thanks to these event curators

Grab: Santi baby

Metro Weekly: The former Savage Garden frontman opens up about his return to music, his album ‘Homosexual,’ and his passion for mental health

Brides Today: How does the dowry work in an arranged marriage with them?

Sleep Some More

😸😸😸

 

Remains of the Day (04/27)

NYP: I have a lot of questions about former Kentucky quarterback Will Levis too, starting with what's going on in those football pants

Chicago Tribune: LGBT residents moving to Illinois from states with conservative agendas: ‘I don’t want to be ashamed of where I live’

David K. Johnson: The shameful history of the Lavender Scare echoes today

DM: My partner's nonbinary friend just announced that both of their young children are nonbinary as well; meanwhile, 1 in 4 high school students say they are gay, bisexual or 'questioning' their sexuality, official CDC data shows -- double the amount in 2015

Afternoon Delight: Does anyone else find this guy as arousing as I do?

Page Six: Dwyane Wade moved his family out of Florida over state’s LGBT policies

Extra: Jerry Springer, disgraced politician turned TV ringmaster, dies at 79

Instagram: Carly Simon takes requests! 

PsyPost: Happiness with circumcision status more important than status itself, study suggests

Thursday Ad Watch: What do you think of his Cocksox?

The WoW Report: Paper magazine lays off staff, citing economic headwinds / Michael Musto eulogizes the place that showcased so much of his work HERE.

The Atlantic: How did America's weirdest, most freedom-obsessed state fall for an authoritarian governor?

NYT: Airman accused of leak has history of racist and violent remarks, filing says

BL: After parents refused to accept him, man finds new family at Birmingham's LGBT rugby club

NPR: Montana transgender lawmaker barred by GOP from House floor

Hot Cat of the Day: The meaning of meowing

When the Cast of 'Hairspray' Reunited 30 Years After the Film

Wow, here's a photo I'd never seen before that just popped up on Facebook. That's Clayton Prince (Seaweed J. Stubbs), Ricki Lake (Tracy Turblad), John Waters (writer/director), Debbie Harry (Velma von Tussle), Pia Zadora (beatnik chick), Colleen Fitzpatrick (Amber von Tussle) and Mink Stole (Tammy Turner) at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts Sciences 30th anniversary screening of "Hairspray" held at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, Calif. on July 23, 2018. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez.)

I, of course, have such fond memories of the film, seeing it with my friends Greg and Debra on my 21st birthday after having lunch at our favorite Scottsdale eatery, AZ88, designed by famed modernist architect Michael Johnson where I had my first legal cocktail. 

Sadly missing, of course, are:

Divine (Oct. 19, 1945 – March 7, 1988; who played Edna Turnblad)

Sonny Bono (Feb. 16, 1935 – Jan. 5, 1998; who played Franklin von Tussle)

Ruth Brown (Jan. 12, 1928 – Nov. 17, 2006; who played Motormouth Maybelle Stubbs)

Michael St. Gerard (born Jan. 22, 1961; who played Link and is alive) 

Leslie Ann Powers (born Sept. 12, 1971; who played Penelope "Penny" Pingleton and is alive)

Ric Ocasek (March 23,1944 – Sept. 15, 2019), who played the beatnik cat was alive at the time, and 

Jerry Stiller (June 8, 1927 – May 11, 2020), who played Wilbur Turnblad and was also alive at the time

Sonny, Colleen and Debbie

P.S. Mike the Fanboy was there that night. Read his report HERE.

Remains of the Day (04/26)

 

MetroWeekly: A right-wing organization that persistently complains about positive media depictions of LGBT people has a new bogeyman: Men’s Wearhouse.

Greg in Hollywood: Carrie Fisher will receive a well-deserved star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next week

WSJ: What is healthy at 80?

Back2Stonewall: GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics announces new Dorian Theater Awards

The WoW Report: Disney v Florida Man

Netflix: Finally got around to watching the Manti Te'o documentary ('Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist') and I did not see that twist coming. For those who don't remember, Te'o was a star football player at Notre Dame when he became a national hero after winning a big game moments after finding out both his grandmother and his girlfriend had died (separately). When it emerged that his girlfriend was someone he'd only met online (and was actually a young man impersonating a woman) -- before "catfishing" was a household term -- the nation sort of turned on him, thinking he was perhaps involved in the hoax to garner attention. As we now learn here, what really happened was far more transcendent.

NYT: Meet the 19-year-old ‘Kimberly Akimbo’ actor who’s charming Broadway

Review Journal: Is Las Vegas finally trying to become more gay-friendly?

Page Six: Savannah Chrisley says she ‘knew’ Colton Underwood was gay on 2017 date

Wrestle Wednesday: Get a room, boys

NYP: Longtime home of National Enquirer, Daily News (which when last I heard no longer has a physical newsroom) to be converted into residential

SheFinds: Debbie Harry performs at Coachella and shocks fans at 77: 'She is still killing it'

WaPo: Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight origin story is unusual. Now he’s leaving.

Dlisted: Has there ever been a longer lead up to a movie release than this f**king 'Barbie'?

Boy Culture: Lukas Gage and Chris Appleton confirm Vegas wedding

Hot Cat of the Day: Our lease renewal is here -- has it really been almost two years? -- and Harvey is going over it with a fine-tooth comb!

90 Candles

 

You can bet your finest window-dressing evening gown I'll be tuning in to watch "Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love" on NBC tonight. Hard to think of another televison series that has left a more indelible mark on me than the comedy legend's long-running variety show -- from seeing my homelife portrayed in "The Family" to discovering my "no-no parts" via Lyle Waggoner, (As a matter of fact, Damian and I happened upon an episode just last night with an edgy skit where a gullible mistress ages 50 years in solitude waiting for her man, who was "just about" to divorce his wife to be with her any day now!) 

"The Carol Burnett Show" and its after-school iteration ("Carol Burnett and Friends") even inspired my first (and only) drag and first (and only) acting performances , in the critically overlooked garage production of "Christmas at Harvey's." (I was later blown away by her TV film "Friendly Fire" and her performance in "The Four Seasons," even though my friend Mark and I arrived earlier and got confused and didn't enter the theater right away thinking the previous showing was still in progress so only saw "The Three Seasons.") 

While Carol the person may not perfect -- Vicki Lawrence has talked about the "silent treatment" years after she agreed to do the syndicated version of "Mama's Family" with Carol's ex-husband -- a show Carol bullied Vicki into doing in the first place(!) -- and others I know who have worked with her have described her in unflattering terms, it's worth noting that she was a trailblazer in many ways, including on race relations. 

My friend Jay Blotcher writes:

A national treasure turns 90 today. There are numerous reasons to celebrate Carol Burnett's wit and talent. But I'd like to focus on an overlooked aspect of her career. I recently returned to late 1960s episodes of "The Carol Burnett Show" and was surprised to see skits that satirically attacked racism and segregation. One bold sketch even slammed George Wallace, a prominent Southern politician and proud racist of the era. And she didn't shrink from sharing the stage with people of color. One doesn't think of Carol Burnett as a political comedian, but her nationally aired show took a clear stand on race relations while America was still making up its mind.

And in fairness to Carol Burnett the woman, she lost one kid -- first to drugs and then to lung cancer -- and is having to raise another addict child's youngster while in her most golden of golden years, which cannot be easy. Talk about friendly fire.

P.S. Hollywood really blew it a few years ago when it opted against her scripted show via Amy Poehler in favor of that “Kids Say the Darndest Things” knockoff. 

Remains of the Day (04/25)

Gr8er Days: Harry Belafone, crossover icon and political activist, dies at 96

Back2Stonewall: New bill would extend Alabama’s 'don’t say gay' law to 8th grade

The Randy Report: Netflix announces premiere date for 'Heartstopper' Season 2

Bloomberg: Clarence Thomas's billionaire friend did have business before the Supreme Court

Instagram: It might not be safe for work to watch 288-pound J.J. Watt try to get his beefy ass out of a sandtrap 

Various: I ended up checking out (what turns out to be) the first pilot of the sitcom 'Tabatha" [sic] last night after hearing about it on RetroNewsNow. I fondly remember the short-lived Lisa Hartman version -- how I loved her yellow VW convertible -- but originally Liberty Williams played the titular character, with Bruce Kimmel as her witchy brother, Adam. Worth a watch, if only for the 1970s fashions and San Francisco location shots!

WaPo: The uphill battle for LGBT people after death

Greg in Hollywood: Former MSNBC and CNN anchor Thomas Roberts opens up about last two years: 'I’ve been sad'

SCF: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's descent into madness continues

GQ: 'Eurphoria' sex bomb Jacob Elordi brings back the '80s mustache

Page Six: Comedian Bob Newhart's wife, Ginnie -- who may or may not have conceived the brilliant 'Newhart' finale (depending on whom you ask) -- is dead at 82

Washington Blade: Biden formally announces 2024 bid

Michelle Goldberg: Tucker Carlson's great replacement

Dekko: Are you ready for a gay 'Marriage of Inconvenience'? 

BosGuy: Is that a flashlight in your shorts or are you just happy to see me?

Hot Cat of the Day: Optimal loafing

Tennis Tuesday

 

Is it possible to need an NC-17 warning on a stretching session? Decide for yourself BELOW.

Remains of the Day (04/24)

Various: Serbian tennis pro Slobodan Zivojinovic -- who made my list of 50 hottest ATP players, dated Princess Diana and has a son who is a real chip off the old block -- lists Miami home for $16.9 million

Brian Ferrari: The Yale posture photos: Bill Hinnant

Irish News: Untold story of murder of gay police officer in Belfast in 1997 part of BBC documentary series

Boy Culture: 'Noah's Arc' will be officially returning this year

Mug Shot Monday: Lusty Latino running from cops stops to pet cats, goes to jail

WSJ: There were 1,269 efforts to ban books in 2022. These were the most targeted.

Reuters: Barry Humphries, creator of Dame Edna, dies at 89

Fronteras: 2 Phoenix friends started an LGBT clothing brand in 2019. Now they're partnering with Walmart.

ABC: LGBT community pins hopes on Supreme Court legalising same-sex marriage in India

Manspread Monday: Jockstrapped and ready

NYP: Don Lemon spotted in NYC for first time since CNN firing

Pride: An investigation into how gay Coachella's Weekend 2 was

IntelliNews: Hungarian president vetoes controversial anti-LGBT law

MetroWeekly: Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey to play love interests in new film

NYT: At U.Va., an alumnus attacked diversity programs. Now he is on the board.

Hot Ukrainian Cat of the Day: Her name is Freya and she lives at the Cat Cafe Lviv! 💙💛

Weekend Tennis Roundup

Titles for Iga, Carlos, Holger and Dusan(!), plus all the ATP beef that's fit to post BELOW.

Cable News Axes Tucker Carlson, Don Lemon

Although the timing is bad because it feeds into the "both sides" narrative that has allowed the right to shamelessly embrace authoratarianism, this tweet might be reason enough for people to remain on Twitter!

It's been a wild few hours for cable news. Read HERE.

Baba Wawa Slept Here

If you're looking for a blatantly conservative apartment, you're in luck. 

NYP reports that the longtime home of the late Barbara Walters has listed for $19.75 million. 

Walters, who died in December, at the age of 93, would spend her final years sequestered in this home. Located on the Upper East Side, at a white-glove cooperative at 944 Fifth Ave., the legendarily overrated journalist first moved in back in 1989. Now on the market, the apartment looks the exact same way as it did when Walters lived in it

Go inside BELOW.

Remains of the Day (04/21)

AP: On the advice of a a friend I finally got around to watching 'Somebody Somewhere' and thoroughly enjoyed it. Sam and Joel's friendship tickled me to no end, plus the dead sibling part really resonated. Lucky for me season two is premiering in two days! 

News24: Gay throuple in Los Angeles hopes to clear misconceptions as they share parenthood journey

Back2Stonewall: Missouri man sentenced to 21 years in prison for shooting gay teen

CH Local: Gay rights pioneer Ada Bello -- who is curiously not a trans woman of color -- dies at 89

Saturday 'Stache: Sex bomb in a tux

CNN: Texas judge behind abortion drug ruling didn’t disclose Christian radio interviews where he said being gay was ‘a lifestyle’ / UPDATE: Supreme Court protects access to mifepristone -- for now

Georgia Voice: House Republicans pass bill banning trans girls from sports

DW: Uganda president won't sign anti-LGBT right bill -- for now

Reuters: Tennessee is sued over ban on healthcare for transgender youth

Gr8er Days: How I picture birthday boy Tony Danza when I'm by myself

Time: How Putin inadvertently boosted support for LGBT rights in Ukraine

Greg in Hollywood: Andrew Neighbors shows off his mighty sword

NBC: One year after the killing of a gay NYC man, arrests provide his family with a ‘sliver of relief’

The WoW Report: Mike Lindell has to pay a fellow Trump supporter $5 million because even the guy knew the election wasn't stolen

Speedo Sunday: Built and ready

Hot Cat of the Day: Video captures wild moment stuck bobcat is (safely) yanked from car grille