Remains of the Day (04/03)

The Film Experience: A review of the long-overdue Grace Jones documentary, "Bloodlight and Bami"

Instagram: Hunky Ryan Harrison is contemplating a '90s goatee

The Daily News: Crazy Donald's favorite conspiracy theorist, Alex Jones, launches website just focused on attacking Parkland survivor David Hogg

The New York Times: Jones is being sued for defamation after misidentifying Parkland gunman

Boy Culture: Is that a snake crammed in those long johns? 

New York Post: Artists make pennies on the stream as Spotify's IPO opens at $165.90/share, valuing the company at about $29.55 billion

YouTube: Matt Wilkas as a depressed, desperate, drugged-out Insta-famous scene queen

The Washington Post: Justice official authorized Mueller to investigate whether Trump campaign chair colluded with Russia

Greg in Hollywood: Max Evans makes a compelling case for manspreading

Mother Jones: 17 states sue the Trump administration over census citizenship question

Towleroad: Gay WeHo City Council candidate shares sex photos, videos in "transparency" effort

Dlisted: Channing Tatum and his boring wife have split up after nearly nine years of marriage 

Vice: Candid photos of New York's radical women of the '70s and '80s

Talking Points Memo: Judge hands down 30-day jail sentence for hot Dutch lawyer who lied to Mueller

CNBC: Mentally ill man occupying White House has "solution" to yet another problem that doesn't exist

OMG Blog: Jean-Emmanuel Pagni does full-front in "Craspec"

PinkNews: Trump-backing political candidate in Arkansas caught ranting about "disgusting fags"

The Randy Report: Sexy Nyle DiMarco teaches curse words in ASL

TV Line: The CW renews 10(!!) series, including "The Flash"

The Village Voice: Honoring the impeccable cool of Stephane Audran

Matthew's Island of Misfit Toys: Some men just look better wet

The WoW Report: It's Princess Meghan's long-lost Tostitos commercial

Savage Love: Can I still claim platinum gay status if I had sex with a trans guy?

Outsports: 11 out LGBT athletes compete in Australia's Commonwealth Games

Hot Cat of the Day: Watched the film adaptation of my pal Robert Rodi's novel "Kept Boy" over the weekend. It seems like it could have been a lot better -- who knew following the ins and outs of living with a sugar daddy could be so hard to follow? -- but one good thing did come out of it. I discovered Greg Audino, who plays the "other boy" (Jasper) -- and cradles a cat in a way that makes me know he's my kind of guy.

Remains of the Day (03/21)

YouTube: Feliciano López still believes in love -- and being shirtless

Chicago Tribune: Cop charged with sexually assaulting male suspect who was in custody at hospital

UnPresidented: March for Our Lives: Saturday, March 24 (podcast)

Washington Blade: Pulse survivors to participate in D.C. gun-control march

The Village Voice: With William Friedkin’s long-controversial thriller "Cruising" screening this week at the Quad, we look back at its turbulent legacy

Boy Culture: Jodie Jane Jackson is taking on Madonna -- and taking Madonna on the road

Towleroad: Matt and Dan talk about the sex they just had

CNN: Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg to discuss Cambridge Analytica scandal in an interview with CNN tonight at 9 p.m. ET

The Daily News: Jury sees texts Pulse gunman and his wife exchanged during 2016 massacre: "You heard what happened"

Newsweek: Man who wrote viral Facebook post on gun control harassed, daughter threatened with rape

Greg in Hollywood: Logo's Kevyn Aucoin documentary and "EastSiders" web series receive Emmy nominations

Twitter: Tim Tebow pays a surprise visit to a big Gators fan

Chelsea Now: Scott Thompson's "Buddy Cole Monologues" is coming to Joe's Pub, April 1 and 3

Dlisted: The list of people owed money by the Weinstein Company has been revealed

Outsports: College runner came out as gay by telling teammates about his boyfriend

Tennis Life: Novak Djokovic's abs are still in winning form

The WoW Report: "I act irrationally, I defy the odds. I engage when others would run. I look for trouble, I seek chaos. It is a burden." -- Rosie O'Donnell

OMG Blog: Tattooed star of MTV's "Ex on the Beach" shows all

The Cut: Here's why Michelle Obama's portrait had to be moved

The New York Times: John Brennan, a former C.I.A. director, suggests Russia "may have something’ on Crazy Donald

The Guardian: Pam Dawber says she never took offense at Robin Williams's groping and flashing: "It was so much fun"

The Washington Post: A father, a musician, a salsa maker -- the lives and futures lost in the Austin bombings

BosGuy: Study finds fewer gay men are studying science, technology, engineering and math

The Associated Press: Tennis umpire who was accused of killing husband aims to clear name

Hot Cat of the Day: This one's from my friend Chad, who writes:

Here’s my boss Carol’s cat … who always likes a seat at the table. Deal Buster in!!

'Worse in Person' Rightor Doyle Is the Ultimate Third Wheel

Meet Gus Kenworthy and Matthew Wilkas's "plus one" HERE.

Gus Kenworthy and Matthew Wilkas Attend the Vanity Fair Oscars Party

Looking dapper, boys. More photos of America's First Gay Couple -- plus Darren Criss, Caroline Wozniacki and her hot fiance, David Lee -- HERE.

All Dressed Up With Somewhere to Go (aka the Oscars!)

Out Olympic stars Gus Kenworthy and Adam Rippon look like they could be Hollywood stars. But let's be honest, neither of them can compete with Gus's actor boyfriend, Matthew Wilkas, who looks just as good in a tux as he does OUT OF IT.

Tux by Purple Passion/DV8?

Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer, who apparently had to get an IV for the stomach flu to make it to the big event ...

On the Rag, Vol. 498

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

Get Out!: My friends and I went to Rebar last weekend and were shocked to see that hot men still go out

HotSpots (Florida); Warming up and stretching -- essential components to a super workout

QX (U.K.): A preview of SexCircus

Metro Weekly (D.C.): Douglas Yeuell is making the Atlas Performing Arts Center a cultural destination

Grab (Chicago): Bianca Del Rio's still here, damn it

Metrosource: There's no medal for what Gus Kenworthy won for LGBT people worldwide

Curve: Watch the trailer for 'The Rest I Make Up,' a new documentary about the greatest playwright you've never heard of 

The Advocate: The long, difficult journey of being both trans and gay

Attitude (U.K.): Ricky Martin says he wants to help 'normalize' open relationships

Paper: Daphne Guinness and the Blonds: separated at birth

Gay Times (U.K.): This is when you'll be able to watch 'God's Own Country' on Netflix

DNA (Australia): Celebrating Chinese Year of the Dragon with Jonathan

POZ: Fighting HIV in the Native American community

GCN (Ireland): Meet Yemi Azamosa, one of the stars of 'The Mouth of the Shark,' which tells the story of queer immigrants

Echo (Phoenix): Puerto Rican food truck adds Latin flavor to Valley nightlife

San Francisco Bay Times: Dan Ashley's Rock the CASA helps youths in need

Between the Lines (Detroit): Q&A with '27' soprano Monica Dewey

Dallas Voice: The pink dollar: a CPA explains tax 'reform'

Welcome to Between the Lines and Dallas Voice, both of which I'm just learning about. If you would like to suggest a gay mag to be included in this roundup, email me HERE.

Gus Kenworthy Trolls Crazy Donald With 'Make America Gay Again' Hat

Pink News reports that Olympic skier Gus Kenworthy sported a "Make America Gay Again" hat at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang this week. The out freestyle skier has been very vocal about his support for LGBT rights at the Games -- speaking out against the head of the U.S. Olympic Delegation, Vice President Mike Pence. Kenworthy has also vowed to skip a White House reception for athletes, saying: “When we have people elected into office that believe in conversion therapy and are trying to strip trans rights in the military and do these things that are directly attacking the LGBT community, I have no patience.” 

 The 2014 silver medalist took another potshot at the Trump "administration" today -- by donning a "Make America Gay Again" hat in a video in support of the Human Rights Campaign.

He said: “I am a huge supporter of the Human Rights Campaign because they’re a huge supporter of me. It’s been an incredible Olympics -- we’ve seen so much change, so much progress, and so much visibility for the LGBT community, and that’s been incredible. I don’t think we would be anywhere near where are are without all the hard work the Human Rights Campaign has done. You guys have changed lives, you have saved lives, and I cannot thank you enough.”

And as if he and his politics weren't hot enough, revisit these shots with his "leather" daddy, Matthew Wilkas!

(Via Out magazine)

Gus Kenworthy Makes Another Kind of Olympic History; Adam Rippon Gets Hired by NBC -- UPDATE

Damian and I were crestfallen when Gus Kenworthy qualified for the slopestyle -- top 5 on his first run! -- only to wipe out on both final runs -- he was SO CLOSE on the first one! -- and land in (literally) last place. But no sooner had it looked like his 2018 Olympic experience was a bit of a bust, we learned that a routine kiss from boyfriend Matthew Wilkas before he began his run was captured on live television.

Sports Illustrated reports:

When Matthew Wilkas, the boyfriend of American slopestyle skier Gus Kenworthy, saw on Twitter a sceenshot of he and Kenworthy sharing a kiss before Kenworthy’s qualifying run on Sunday at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in South Korea, he didn’t think the moment was a very big deal. “That was like a peck,” Wilkas tells TIME with a laugh from the bottom of the slopestyle course at the Phoenix Snow Park. “We should have made out in front of people.”  

But taking a moment to think about it, Wilkas realized that yes, he was probably part of something historic: a kiss between a gay athlete and his boyfriend at a mass audience spectacle like the Olympics, shown during network primetime television.  

“It’s unusual, right?” says Wilkas, an actor. “It’s good that it’s televised because it normalizes it more. I would imagine it would be a huge moment for a young gay kid to see an awesome athlete so open and proud of himself and not caring what anyone thinks of his sexuality.”

Outsports reminds us that in 2014, when he competed at the Sochi Olympics, Kenworthy was closeted and had to keep his then-boyfriend a secret. It was something Kenworthy later said made him feel like a “coward.” Now, four years later and totally out as an openly gay athlete, Kenworthy was proudly announcing that his boyfriend is in Pyeongyang cheering him.

In a sign of change from NBC in dealing with gay athletes, the network showed the couple kissing (and rainbow flags in Gus’s posse waving) before Kenworthy competed and the commentators referred to Wilkas as Kenworthy’s boyfriend.

“It’s something I was too scared to do for myself,” Kenworthy said after his competition. “To be able to do that, to give him a kiss, to have that affection broadcast to the world, is incredible. The only way to really change perceptions, to break down barriers, break down homophobia, is through representation. That’s definitely not something I had as a kid. I never saw a gay athlete kissing their boyfriend at the Olympics. I think if I had, it would’ve made it easier for me.”

While his non-kissing performance may have been disappointing, Kenworthy was circumspect about it all.

“If you look at me, I’m bummed but I’m not sulking, I’m not crying,” he said, adding, “Being out at these Games has kind of meant the world to me, just getting to really be myself and be authentic. And I think landing a run in the final and getting on the podium obviously would have been icing on the cake, but even though it didn’t happen for me I still had a wonderful Olympic experience.”

There's no doubt that any queer child watching this year's Winter Olympics with Eric Radford, Adam Rippon and Kenworthy's out-and-proud performances -- hell, any queer person -- isn't feeling a bit better about their place in the world right now. xo

And on that note, America's Sweetheart Adam Rippon has been hired by NBC as a correspondent for remainder of 2018 Winter Olympics. Now tell me that's not going to boost otherwise-lagging ratings!

UPDATE: It looks like Rippon won't be working for NBC after all -- he had second thoughts when he found out he would have to give up his Olympic standing and credential for the position. By joining NBC as a correspondent, he wouldn’t be allowed to participate in the closing ceremony. He did, however, give a hilarious interview Sunday night (ET) in which he showed viewers what they would be missing. Speaking -- and shamelessly flirting -- with dreamy NBCSN anchor Liam McHugh, Rippon took some viewer questions submitted via Twitter, Rippon claimed that to "deal with a pit stain," he wears "a thin mesh shirt," said that he gets his eyebrows dyed and declared that "there's no such thing as a wardrobe malfunction, only a wardrobe opportunity."

Gus Kenworthy Gives Shout-Out to 'Seoul' Mate Matthew Wilkas

Although his recent injury and this tweet hint at a "pre-flake," it's awfully heartwarming to see another out and proud gay man on the world's Olympic stage:

My Seoul mate! So happy to have my bf, my family and some amazing friends here in Korea to cheer me on! Tomorrow's the big day (tonight for y'all in the US) and win or lose I just wanna thank you all SO much for your support and encouragement. I wouldn't be here without you.

We're going out to dinner with friends from Washington tonight, but hope to make it to a bar with a television later on to cheer Gus on.

UPDATE:

The 'Boy' Who Cried Woof

Excited to hear that "Boy Culture" -- the best-selling novel by Matthew Rettenmund that was turned into an acclaimed film 10 years ago -- is coming back as what is being billed as a "daring new digital series," tackling a variety of hot-button issues facing the modern gay. Taking over the role of hustler X from Derek Magyar will be Matthew Wilkas, who charmed audiences in "Gayby" before charming the pants off of Gus Kenworthy. Ageless Darryl Stephens (of "Noah's Arc" fame) returns as Andrew -- plus a bunch of new faces including Internet favorite Matt Crawford and singer Steve Grand. 

I was first introduced to Matt via Q. Allan Brocka's film adaptation -- Matt and I ended up having lunch at Blue Fin after I accidentally stood him up the day before at Le Grainne Cafe in Chelsea -- and I've been a fan (and friend) ever since. (I immediately bought the book, which is great and is the shortest thing he's ever written!) I'm eager to see where these sexy characters find themselves a decade later -- the original had a MySpace page! -- as the landscape for all denizens of the LGBTQ community has changed so dramatically. Watch the pitch and consider donating today.

Or click HERE for details.

X marked the spot.

Death and the City

Watch Matthew Wilkas and Jenn Harris as down-on-their-luck New Yorkers who would literally kill to be able to afford the city HERE. 

"New York Is Dead," the directorial debut by "Queer as Folk" alum Randy Harrison, has a splashy premiere this week at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Note Worthy

Gus Kentworthy and Matthew Wilkas just spotted in the West Village. Guess it's too cold to parade around shirtless.

Wet 'n' Wild

Vacationing love birds Gus Kenworthy and Matthew Wilkas aim to make Gio Benitez and his new hubby look downright homely. More HERE.