Remains of the Day (09/12)

EXCLUSIVE: Did Thomas Roberts "amicably leave" yet another job because he was a big gossip queen? 

Crooks and Liars: Scholar predicts 2020 win for Dems without moderate Republicans or swing states

Kansas City Star: Olathe student sues district one year after his Grindr incident (that he alleges was assault) with former teacher when he was 18

Instagram: Pietro Boselli and the ol' ass & pubic hair combo

TMZ: Daniel Franzese doth protest too much, methinks 

Washington Post: Can't wait to hear my mom "both sides" this one

A&U: A generation of gay men would have given their limbs to have had access to the life-saving drugs some people with HIV wantonly refuse to take now. Does it make me angry? You’re damn right it does.

WTA: Kim Clijsters announces another comeback -- but only if she's totally ready by December (huh?)

The Daily News: NYC Council wants to repeal a ban on LGBT conversion therapy

Ad Age: Movember enlists male influencers to help other men talk about their feelings

Towleroad: Teachers, students leave high school after official email requires them to disavow same-sex relationships

The ABC: Can you control how loud you sneeze?

The New York Times: Harrowing piece about sexual assault of men in the military. Still, my friends and I are either too gay -- or too callous -- to understand exactly what constitutes "assault" in the case of Ethan. 

The Randy Report: Jack-in-the-Box employee mocks deaf customer

Metrosource: On the eve of releasing a memoir at the tender age of 29, Adam Rippon reflects on fame, Pence and his love of the limelight

Dlisted: Felicity Huffman reportedly doesn't think she should do time because "no one got hurt"

Washington Blade: Florist returns to Supreme Court for right to refuse service to gays

Boy Culture: The ageless Keanu Reeves isn’t afraid to show off his amazing body

Hot Cat of the Day: Just do what I say, owner.

Page 1 Roundup (05/22)

The Daily News: Two off-duty NYPD cops, one of them newly married, killed when car smashes into tree

So now we're not allowed to make 'Sophie's Choice' references?

Adam Rippon was crowned the champion of 'Dancing With the Stars,' but I think we all know the real winner was fans of chest hair

USA Today: Don’t agree with this premise at all. Williams (and Victoria Azarenka before her) is guaranteed entry into eight events, including this one if she chooses. Why should she (or anyone else who hasn’t played) be seeded? Sorry, but not everything is a conspiracy against Serena

New York Post: 5,000 syringes a week found in Bronx parks

Lawsuits accuse USC of covering up doc's sex abuse for decades

Shutdown Corner: Brett Favre reveals he went to rehab three times during playing career

ZDNet: This is what really happens in a Verizon store, according to a store veteran

The New York Times: By demanding an investigation, Crazy Donald challenged a constraint on his power

Republican leaders will be allowed to see some information on Russia investigation

TPM: New report undermines Erik Prince’s sworn testimony on ties to campaign

The Washington Post: Dovey Johnson Roundtree, defense lawyer and civil rights warrior, dies at 104

People: Rosanna Arquette on the death of Alexis: 'It's a huge wound'

The Wall Street Journal: What’s a clown to do after the circus? One is running for Congress

On the Rag, Vol. 491

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

QX (London): TV star Andrew Hayden-Smith talks going out and coming out!

A&U: David Arquette sets the record straight on gender, HIV and Alexis's legacy

Adelante: Brian Atchley heats up winter 2018

Metro Weekly (D.C.): By embracing three centuries of popular songs, Luke Frazier's American Pops Orchestra is taking orchestral music to new, diverse heights

HotSpots (Florida): 'America's Next Top Model' returns to VH1

Lavender (Minnesota): Your 2018 winter to-do list

Winq (U.K.): Marc Almond named Music Man of the Year

The Fight: Pride Recovery's Matthew Bianchi on structure, accountability and accepting, without reservation, who you truly are

Attitude (U.K.): Anthony Rapp and Wilson Cruz open up about the first-ever gay kiss on 'Star Trek'

Gay Times: Dustin Lance Black dishes on his 'exciting' marriage to Tom Daley

The Advocate: Wilson Cruz and Anthony Rapp go where none have gone before

Rage Monthly: Get your mind, body and spirit in order / Online edition HERE.

Out in Jersey: Critic's top 14 shows at the theater

Michael Musto's PAPER magazine corner:

Cherry Jubilee on all as the Glam Awards celebrate its 19th year

Emanuel Xavier on his vivid experiences as a gay street poet

Drag promoter Monica Blewinsky: 'People, we're here to have a good time!'

Alexis Arquette Was in Hardcore British Film, 'Wouldn't Give a Shit' About Sex Tape

I didn't post about xHamster having supposedly bought an Alexis Arquette sex tape so they "could destroy it" because a) it seemed like a publicity stunt for the company that b) only drew attention to the fact that such a tape existed. (Who would have known or cared if not for this announcement?) Also, c) I don't see why, as xHamster claims, it would have dragged Alexis through the mud when it seemed like something she would have done like everything in her life: With no regrets.

Turns out I was right. While I was in Detroit a friend emailed me the following:

I was in the audience at a NY gay film festival in 2000 for a screening of "Piccadilly Pickups," a hardcore British porno starring Alexis Arquette, who was in the audience and spoke afterwards. She wouldn't give a shit about a sex tape. The highlight of the movie was Alexis blowing himself and fucking some guy while in drag. I see the film listed in the IMDB but was always surprised that I never heard anyone mention it again.

Speaking of regrets: It's starting to sound like she only succumbed to AIDS-related causes because she went off her meds. I have never had to be on medication to sustain life before so I don't exactly know what it's like. (I do take a daily pill for anxiety, and I would never resist it.) But I'd sure like to know if she did regret that decision, one that escapes a hypochondriac like me.

Alexis Arquette Died From AIDS-Related Complications, Says Former Lover

Both People and RadarOnline have confirmed that Alexis Arquette died from complications related to AIDS, a sobering reminder that we have come a long way in fighting the disease, but it still kills.

"Alexis was living with AIDS and he had an inoperable tumor and he had developed an infection,” Robert Dupont, a former lover, explained to RadarOnline. “I was told that went to his liver and throughout his body.” 

Dupont -- who ran in Andy Warhol‘s social circles and is now an art dealer in Palm Springs -- dated Arquette for several years in the 1990s and told RadarOnline she was placed “in an induced coma” before passing away. 

The transgender actress died Sunday morning surrounded by her family at age 47, her brother Richmond announced on Facebook. 

Dupont, 56, told RadarOnline that Arquette had been having a tough time toward the end of her life. 

“He was working as an artist and living in an Actors Fund home in West Hollywood for people with HIV and AIDS. He hated it. People kept breaking into his apartment and they did alcohol and drugs. Alexis hated that. He never did drugs and he didn’t drink,” said Dupont. “His family offered to have him live with them, but he wanted to be independent.”

Some are saying the family's squelching of the cause of death re-stigmatizes it. Thoughts?

Alexis was certainly one of a kind -- remember THIS?!

UPDATE: It seems Alexis wasn't kidding when he told brother David earlier this year she was going to live as female and male moving forward, as you can see from this photo that was posted on Facebook by a friend a month ago.

Alexis never really fell into the typical transgender category, if there is such a thing. He was a gay man, a gay man who did drag and then a gay man who transitioned, but in her own way. This is just further proof that the transgender umbrella covers a diverse group of people, which should come as no surprise given how diverse all people are.

Alexis Arquette Is Dead at 47

Alexis Arquette, best known for playing a Boy George-esque character in "The Wedding Singer" (and for wanting to POUND ME), has died of unspecified causes at 47. (UPDATE: A former lover says it was AIDS-related cancer.) The performer was reportedly surrounded by all of her famous brothers and sisters singing David Bowie's "Starman." Alexis's brother Richmond posted a statement on Facebook about the news, although it was hard to tell if it was a heartfelt remembrance or a roast.

Did he "in" Alexis as cisgender? 

There's no right or wrong way to mourn a family member, but Richmond's post did strike me as odd. Some are saying it was a knowing, wry nod to Alexis's gender fluidity. That would make sense except it would seem to indicate that Alexis had transitioned back to being male, something I'm not sure was made public. 

I vaguely recall Alexis's not wanting to undergo gender-reassignment surgery being a sticking point in a reality TV show about his journey into womanhood falling through, back when people (wrongly) thought having an operation was mandatory for being transgender. RIP.

UPDATE: A moving statement signed by all four of Alexis's siblings was released later in the day that only referred to her as being their sister. Condolences to the all of her friends and family. Read HERE.

UPDATE 2: I think I get Richmond's statement now. He was riffing on David Arquette telling the media in February that Alexis had told him he was no longer identifying as transgender after Caitlyn Jenner came out as trans and was such an embarrassment. I tend to believe Alexis was being tongue-in-cheek, but humor between siblings is special brand I know (and appreciate) well. Read HERE.

UPDATE 3: It seems Alexis wasn't kidding when he told brother David earlier this year she was going to live as female and male moving forward, as you can see from this photo that was posted on Facebook by a friend a month ago.

Alexis never really fell into the typical transgender category. He was a gay man, a gay man who did drag and then a gay man who transitioned, but in her own way. This is just further proof that the transgender umbrella covers a diverse group of people, which should come as no surprise given how diverse all people are.

'Beard' Will Smith and 'Gay' Jada Pinkett Smith Are Hypocrites, Says Alexis Arquette

There's not a whole lot of logic going on here -- what does being a closet case have to do with a lack of diversity in the Academy Awards? -- but at least Will Smith and wife Jada know what I felt like when Rosanna and Patricia's trans-sister went after me, saying she should have "POUNDED ME" when she had the chance!

Confidential reports:

After Jada Pinkett Smith declared Monday that she will be boycotting the Oscars after her husband was snubbed, Alexis Arquette took a major swing at the pair for what she alleges is hypocrisy.

The transgender actress and gender-rights activist "outed" the married couple with a Facebook post that argued that Mr. and Mrs. Smith’s comments on race and the Oscars were invalid because they won't ’fess up about their alleged homosexuality.

"When Jada comes out as Gay and her beard husband admits his first marriage ended when she walked in on [him and] his Sugar Daddy [name omitted] ... then I will listen to them," ranted the actress, who has appeared in movies including "Last Exit to Brooklyn" and "Pulp Fiction."

"Will threw a fit on the set of Six Degrees of Separation [his 1993 film] when he was required by the scene to kiss Anthony Rapp," alleged Arquette, a sister of David and Rosanna. "He persuaded the director to shoot the back of his head in frame. Blocking the non existent lip lock entirely. F--- him. Gays have enemies. They lurk in gilded closets. Outing is healthy. You are either with or against us. You decide. Today."

Arquette — who was born Robert in 1969 — transitioned in the early 2000s and documented the experience in "Alexis Arquette: He's My Brother."

This sounds about right to me. Remember when Will Smith's name came up in a gay rape scandal in 2008?

Alexis Arquette Wants to 'Pound' Me

UPDATE: Alexis Arquette died from AIDS-related complications, says former lover / Read HERE.

Remember Alexis Arquette? Just came across this message from her in my Facebook "Other" folder. (Am I the only one who didn't know that existed?) As you can see, I never messaged her in the first place, so the only thing I can think she may be referring to is A BLOG POST I did about "The Surreal Life" when she was on it -- a full SIX YEARS before she wrote this. (Girlfriend in a coma, I know, then woke up and Googled herself.) What I wrote was clearly a "message to her" and definitely warranted the threat of bodily harm! 

  Ya gotta love a woman who has to clarify which part of her body she's going to use to administer a pounding  ...

On the Rag, Vol. 69

A weekly look at what's happening in the city's gay rags:

Next tells you All About Eve -- New Year's Eve, that is, HERE.

Meanwhile, Odyssey features a promotional photo of Bel Ami's new bareback porn twins (um, gross) Milo and Elijah Peters. A pal tipped me off to the fact that the upstart gay rag appears to be the subject of a new project billed as "a documentary series focusing on Odyssey magazine, financed by famed transsexual Alexis Arquette, that will give the viewer unprecedented insight into the world of gay porn, the most elusive industry in the world" (good for Alexis, who knew she even had any?).

However, the production company's Web site is unclear if this is something that is still being shopped around, is about to come out, or was already released (it says Now Playing in one place and Coming Soon in another). And the link to Oddyssey (sic) Magazine.net takes you to a nonworking page, further adding to the confusion.

Those Were the Gays

Remember how exciting it was for queers back in the early 1990s when the first gay and lesbian "characters" were popping up on reality television shows? Beginning with Norm, Beth and Pedro on the first three seasons of "The Real World," there was a definite sense that if mainstream Americans could see what an everyday gay person was really like -- rather than an Act Up activist or a gay pride parade caricature -- then they would be more comfortable and accepting when they met gay people in real life. It seemed logical that even people who thought they didn't know a single gay person -- however unlikely that may be -- could love and care about someone as sweet as Pedro Zamora, and that some bit of this affection would be bound to trickle down moving forward.

For the most part, I'd say this has proved to be true, and reality TV has made the world a slightly more accepting place for gays and lesbians. By the year 2000, Danny from the New Orleans season became the prototype for a generation of young gay men who didn't want to be identified first and foremost as gay (dare I use the un-PC term "straight acting"?), opening the door for the Abercrombie generation for whom being gay was more socially acceptable and therefore, less of an issue. Along the way, though, myths were exposed for better or worse. Everyone quickly learned that just because you're gay doesn't guarantee you're interesting, good-looking, witty, fabulous, fashionable, gym-obsessed and so on. The bottom line: gays are pretty much just like everybody else. Some are fun, some are dull. Some are cute, some are average. Some are witty, some are corny. And so on ...

Well, it's been nearly 15 years since all this fun began and this season of "The Surreal Life 6" seems to be doing for transgendered people what "The Real World" and a host of other reality shows did for gay people: it's welcomed one into our homes in the face of Alexis Arquette. (Alexis is even slated to have an upcoming reality show that follows her further transitioning up to and including her sex-reassingment surgery.)

Now conventional wisdom would tell you that having a quasi-celebrity be America's first major exposure to the daily life of a transsexual would give an unrepresentative view of things, perhaps on the more fabulous side of the scale. Oddly enough, it's just the opposite: Alexis Arquette is just as dull -- if not more so -- as that (bland) girl next door. She's not fun, she's not witty, she's not quick and she doesn't even seem particularly bright. Truthfully, she's rather boring, which has got to be the cruelest thing you can say about a transgendered performer. And while looks aren't what make the woman, she makes a point of saying that she wants to look transsexual and isn't even trying to pass (as if this needed to be said).

So thank you Ms. Arquette and VH1 for giving us a firsthand look at a transgendered woman -- and for helping the world quickly realize that the transgendered can be just as boring as the rest of the world. Can an Us Weekly spread -- Trannies: They're Just Like Us -- be far off?