Category Archives: Celebrity
URVASHI VAID, ACTIVIST, AUTHOR, ATTORNEY has Passed Away
Legendary attorney, LGBTQ activist, and author Urvashi Vaid, known for her extensive career an advocate for LGBTQ rights, women’s rights, anti-war efforts, immigration justice and many other social causes, died today at age 63 in her home in New York City. She was the Executive Director of the National LGBTQ Task Force from 1989- 1992 and served prior to that as Media Director.
“We are devastated at the loss of one of the most influential progressive activists of our time,” said Kierra Johnson, current Executive Director of the National LGBTQ Task Force. “Urvashi Vaid was a leader, a warrior and a force to be reckoned with,” continued Johnson, “She was also a beloved colleague, friend, partner and someone we all looked up to – a brilliant, outspoken and deeply committed activist who wanted full justice and equality for all people.”
“Her leadership, vision and writing helped shape not only the Task Force’s values and work but our entire queer movement and the larger progressive movement. We will strive every day to live up to her ideals and model the courage she demonstrated every day as an activist and a person. She will be deeply I missed. I miss her already.” concluded Johnson.
At George H.W. Bush’s 1990 address on AIDS, Vaid, then the Executive Director of The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, made a statement with her sign: “Talk Is Cheap, AIDS Funding is Not”. Her critique made waves, disrupting the press conference, and shedding light on the failures of the Bush administration.
“Equality is a fine aspiration. It’s simply not enough”, she wrote in a 2014 piece on liberation. And it is a politics of liberation that shaped her career and informed her vision for the world. Vaid’s vision and passion for defending and promoting civil rights for the LGBTQ+ community led to a lifetime of changemaking.
Her time at The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, in which she held multiple positions for over ten years, notably Media Director, then Executive Director, saw her bring all aspects of queer life and struggle into the public eye. While at the Task Force, she co-founded the annual Creating Change conference, now in its 33rd year.
In 1995, after resigning from her position at the Task Force three years prior, she published her first book, Virtual Equality: The Mainstreaming of Gay and Lesbian Liberation, in which she criticized the idea of “mainstreaming” what was and is, in fact, a civil rights movement. Rather than tolerance, she argued, the objective for the movement should be fundamental, actionable change. It was not an immediately popular notion, as media representation for queer people was just beginning to take shape, though it was, for her, of great moral importance. In 1996 Virtual Equality won the Stonewall Book Award.
In her position as President of the Vaid Group, Vaid advised, mentored, and supported the LGBTQ+ movement.
In 2012, Urvashi Vaid launched LPAC, the first lesbian Super PAC, and it has since invested millions of dollars in candidates who are committed to social justice through legislation.
Prior to that, Vaid held positions on the boards at the Ford Foundation, The Arcus Foundation (where she served as Executive Director from 2005 to 2010), and the Gill Foundation.
She was a leader in the development of the currently on-going National LGBTQ women’s community survey.
Vaid was the aunt of activist and performance artist Alok Vaid-Menon. She is survived by Alok Vaid-Menon as well as her longtime partner, political humorist Kate Clinton.
The National LGBTQ Task Force advances full freedom, justice and equality for LGBTQ people. We are building a future where everyone can be free to be their entire selves in every aspect of their lives. Today, despite all the progress we’ve made to end discrimination, millions of LGBTQ people face barriers in every aspect of their lives: in housing, employment, healthcare, retirement, and basic human rights.
Harvey Fierstein’s Book I WAS BETTER LAST NIGHT
I Was Better Last Night, the new memoir by cultural icon, gay rights activist, and four-time Tony Award®-winning actor and playwright Harvey Fierstein has officially made the New York Times Bestsellers list!
Fierstein’s poignant and hilarious new memoir reveals never-before-told stories of his personal struggles and conflict, of sex and romance, and of his fabled career which has transported him from community theater in Brooklyn to the lights of Broadway, to the absurd excesses of Hollywood, and back.
He has received accolades and awards for acting in and/or writing an incredible string of hit plays, musicals, and television shows: Hairspray, Fiddler on the Roof, Mrs. Doubtfire, Independence Day, “Cheers,” La Cage Aux Folles, Torch Song Trilogy, Newsies, Kinky Boots, and this spring’s eagerly anticipated Broadway revival of Funny Girl. While he has never shied away from the spotlight, Fierstein says that even those closest to him have never heard most of the tales revealed in these wildly entertaining pages.
Catch him on CBS talking about the book! or read an excerpt here!
Also a great interview here, with the Washington Blade!
Love and Betrayal…Truman Capote’s Women
I was a teen child of the late 70’s, in a boring small factory town in Michigan. Books were my savior. I would read AFTER DARK magazine every month in the Arts Department of my local library! I was very familiar with who Truman Capote was. My coming out was about 1978 and I made it to to Studio around 1980. No one famous (that I could tell) was there that night but it was so exciting to be there!
I had read about his famous Black & White balls. “There will never be another first time that somebody like Andy Warhol could step into a room with somebody like Babe Paley,” said Deborah Davis, the author of the 2006 book “Party of the Century: The Fabulous Story of Truman Capote and the Black and White Ball,” referring to one of Capote’s so-called swans — the socialite wife of William Paley, who built the CBS network. (* source NY TIMES – read full article).
In an exciting new book CAPOTE’S WOMEN (G.P. Putnam’s Sons Publishing) New York Times bestselling author Laurence Leamer reveals the complex web of relationships and scandalous true stories behind Truman Capote’s never-published final novel, Answered Prayers—the dark secrets, tragic glamour, and Capote’s ultimate betrayal of the group of female friends he called his “swans.”
“There are certain women,” Truman Capote wrote, “who, though perhaps not born rich, are born to be rich.” Barbara “Babe” Paley, Gloria Guinness, Marella Agnelli, Slim Hayward, Pamela Churchill, C. Z. Guest, Lee Radziwill (Jackie Kennedy’s sister)—they were the toast of midcentury New York, each beautiful and distinguished in her own way. Capote befriended them, received their deepest confidences, and ingratiated himself into their lives. Then, in one fell swoop, he betrayed them in the most surprising and startling way possible.
Clay Aiken Runs for Senate. Again
Clay Aiken says he wants to change North Carolina’s “backwards ass policies” as the former “American Idol” star launches a second bid for Congress.
Aiken, who appeared on Season 2 of American Idol — announced Monday that he’s entering the race as a Democrat for the open seat in North Carolina’s 6th Congressional District.
According to THE HILL, “For decades, North Carolina was actually the progressive beacon in the South,” Aiken said in a video kicking off his campaign. “But then things changed, and the progressives lost power, and we started getting backwards ass policies, like the voter suppression bills and the bigoted bathroom bill.”
“Because today, it seems like the loudest voices in North Carolina politics are white nationalists like this guy,” Aiken, 43, said, before playing a clip of Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.).
Aiken’s congressional bid comes almost eight years after he launched his first run for Congress in 2014 against then-Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.). He lost the race in the Tar Heel State’s then-Republican-leaning 2nd Congressional District.
If elected, Aiken said he would be the South’s first gay congressman. “If the loudest and most hateful voices think they’re going to speak for us,” Aiken said in his campaign launch ad, “just tell them I’m warming up the ‘ole vocal cords.”
Omar Sharif Jr new book A Tale of Two Omars
The grandson of the legendary actor Omar Sharif chronicles his 38 years in the recently released autobiography A Tale of Two Omars: A Memoir of Family, Revolution, and Coming Out During the Arab Spring
Heartfelt and heroic. His memoir traces being bullied as a child and teen, attempted suicide, the horrors of sex trafficking, and receiving tens of thousands of death threats after coming out in the Arab world. It’s also a story of survival—instilled in him by his mother’s family, who survived the Holocaust death camps—but with his compassion and empathy intact.
But there are also wonderful details of his escapades as the only grandson of his glamorous, globe-trotting grandfather—the legendary star of Lawrence of Arabia, Dr. Zhivago, and Funny Girl among a host of others. With his huge liquid eyes and shock of thick dark hair, Sharif Sr. was an unparalleled ladies’ man and mans’ man!
Always ahead of the curve, I started following Omar Sharif Jr around 2010. I can’t remember exactly how our paths crossed, but I knew he had this X factor….I felt he was someone to watch. We had exchanged some messages on Twitter or Facebook, I think….. The LGBTQ community at large came to know Sharif Jr. for coming out in a personal essay for LGBTQ outlet “The Advocate” in 2012, about a year after the Arab Spring began. Writing the letter “took time, thought and reflection,” he writes. “Nearly three months went by before I published it, and still I really struggled.”
I write this article in fear. Fear for my country, fear for my family, and fear for myself. My parents will be shocked to read it, surely preferring I stay in the shadows and keep silent, at least for the time being.
But I can’t.
The letter was met with ridicule internationally – especially in Egypt and from his own father, who told him he basically gave up everything by coming out and disclosing he was Jewish. Despite the vitriol, he received an outpouring of support from LGBTQ people who finally felt seen.
Reviews for the book have been great!
“A powerful and essential memoir of self-discovery . . . Brimming with beautiful remembrances of his grandfather and terrifying stories of abuse and homophobia, this is an essential book that shines a much-needed light on the intersection of Arab and queer identity.” —Abdi Nazemian, Lambda Literary Award–winning author of Like a Love Story, a Stonewall Honor Book
“This book is the fascinating and inspiring odyssey of one man’s quest to be his authentic self––a difficult enough task for anyone, but try adding gay, Muslim and Jewish into the mix!” ––Alan Cumming
“A gripping personal saga and an urgent plea for the place he still very much calls home to embrace equal rights for everyone.” —Michelle Hart, Oprah Daily
“[Sharif Jr.] writes in a manner that is like a good friend telling you a story—his narration sucks you in and makes you not want to put it down . . . A compelling story.” —Emily Burack, Alma
“Not your normal coming-of-age tale, A Tale of Two Omars by Omar Sharif, Jr. is the story of the author’s youth during the Arab Spring in 2010 . . . It’s a thrilling book, salted with memoir and you’ll love it.” —Terri Schlichenmeyer, Los Angeles Blade
If you want a sneak peak, there is a wonderful excerpt from the book at Tabletmag.com. It shows a familiar story, for many us, growing up with a secret and hiding, as well as the heavy burden that comes with it.
“It’s amazing how one lie turns into two lies, and then into three, becoming a habit or even a lifestyle….I looked out into the darkness, wondering how many others were hiding secrets so that they could feel accepted by those around them.”
Sharif has recently finished shooting the third season of Amazon’s Israeli series The Baker and the Beauty, where he plays a gay Lebanese man married to an Israeli. And sadly, the backlash in the Middle East against him for working in Tel Aviv and accepting the role was ferocious.
Sharif emphasizes that he believes the answer to this entrenched hatred and intolerance is to increase one’s own tolerance of the haters and to adopt a posture of forgiveness. “I can finally do what my grandparents did and use art to change people’s hearts and minds,” he says.
“I thought my job was to straddle the walls between my Arab, Jewish, and gay worlds but now I know it is my job to dismantle them. And nothing tears through walls better than art.”
WANT TO HEAR MORE FROM OMAR?
In an exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with Omar Sharif Jr. about his new memoir “A Tale of Two Omars: A Memoir of Family, Revolution and Coming Out During the Arab Spring” published by Counterpoint Press.
NICK ADAMS Live concert in Erie, PENN, May 20th
To purchase tickets email MIAC artistic director Dr. Brett D. Johnson at bjohnson@mercyhurst.edu. Include a phone number, and someone will call you within 24 hours, Monday-Friday.
Nick Adams (born June 10, 1983) is an American actor, singer, and dancer, known for starring as Adam/Felicia in the original Broadway production of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and starring as Whizzer Brown in the first national tour of the Lincoln Center Theater revival of Falsettos.
DON’T MISS THIS SHOW!
Christmas with the Queens – Lady Bunny and Jackie Beat Holiday Shows
Two of our favorite queens have holiday streaming specials this month!
“What Child Is This?” with Lady Bunny features:
4 WIGS, 7 COSTUMES and 20 SONGS!
45 MINUTES OF LAUGHS!
AND CHEAPER PRODUCTION VALUE THAN 1980s MANHATTAN PUBLIC ACCESS CABLE TV!
WITH CHEAP $9.95 TICKETS, TOO!
Expect new holiday parodies, a dreadful puppet, and a “glamorous” intro video shot all over Manhattan. Laugh and hiss at my scandalous new version of ’Twas The Night Before Christmas—this year, it’s at the White House! And a few other tricks Lady Bunion has up her ba-rum-pa-pa-pum!
“What Child Is This” is adult content for those who love to laugh at twisted shit! Don’t watch with kids, but it is a guaranteed way to horrify prudish or religious relatives. In the show, I also offer an unorthodox solution to those awkward, family political convos around the holidays.
Co-written by Beryl Mendelbaum
Shot & Edited By Mikhail Torich
Special appearance by Chauncey Dandridge as Bitter Gay Sound Man
Not a live event, so you can view it on demand through Jan 4th.
22nd Annual Holiday Show by Drag Icon Jackie Beat
(On Demand this year)
CHRISTMAS IS NOT CANCELED!
Now thru December 26
This year, there are no Rockettes at Radio City, Scrooge can’t hoist
Tiny Tim onto his shoulder for fear of COVID and The Nutcracker has
been hobbled, but drag icon JACKIE BEAT wants you to know that
CHRISTMAS IS NOT CANCELED! The big and bawdy, bold and ballsy queen’s
holiday shows are legendary, and this year (her 22nd annual holiday
show) she’s gone virtual, streaming her festive freak-out right into
your living room.
Whatever you celebrate, watch for Jackie’s holiday
classics and new song parodies aimed at everything you cherish. Plus,
this year some of Jackie’s closest “friends” have popped by to join in
the holiday spirit! Who’s that knocking on the door? It’s Alan
Cumming, Alaska, Alec Mapa, Alison Arngrim, Amanda LePore, Babette
Bombshell, BenDeLaCreme, Bianca del Rio, Boomer Banks, Calpernia
Addams, Christeene, Coco Peru, Conchita Wurst, Daniel Franzese,
Elvira, Heklina, Jackie Hoffman, Jinkx Monsoon, Jun Nakayama, Kate
Flannery, Leslie Jones, Margaret Cho, Michael Urie, Murray Hill, Nina
West, Parker Posey, Peaches Christ, Peppermint, Ross Mathews, Selene
Luna, Sherry Vine, Tammie Brown, The Vivienne, Varla Jean Merman and
Willam!
JACKIE BEAT: CHRISTMAS IS NOT CANCELED! is now available to watch On
Demand through December 26. Tickets are $20 per device, available at
www.SpinCycleNYC.com.
Bianca del Rio and Lady Bunny on Hateful Hags Network
Hateful, sassy and sometimes lewd and crude! Lady Bunny and Bianca Del Rio team up for a Vimeo event called HATEFUL HATES NETWORK.
(From INSTINCT Magazine)- For drag performers, performing during these challenging times has proven to cause performers to be beyond inventive. From shows direct from their living rooms to Brandon Voss’ Drive ‘N Drag nationwide series, queens have managed to keep their art alive and thriving during this time. Sherry Vine & Jackie Beat for example, have continued their famed Battle of the Bitches shows live online, (the most recent was the Halloween themed Battle of the Witches) and another famed duo is about to hit our small screens with their own patented brand of twisted comedy.
Legendary Wigstock creator/DJ/drag legend Lady Bunny and RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 6 winner turned stand up drag sensation Bianca Del Rio are co-anchoring HHN: Hateful Hags Network, a roast/cable news channel hybrid, where they will be delivering everything from filthy jokes to a a musical number, in only the way this duo can. They promise equal opportunity hate for RuPaul’s Drag Race queens from all seasons, tossing in some costume changes and…a surprise guest?
Lady Bunny exclusively tells EW “Enough with COVID and politics. It’s time for something really important… back-stabbing drag queens!” while Bianca Del Rio adds: “Due to COVID, some ‘Drag Race’ queens have opened OnlyFans accounts. Bunny and I would never do that. Not because of any moral objections — because we’re ugly!”
Tune in to ‘HHH: Hateful Hags Network’ on Thursday, November 12th at 8PM EST. Tickets are $9.99 at Vimeo.
WAP? Lady Bunny and Flotilla Debarge DAP NSFW
WARNING NSFW!!! #Raunchy!
By now you have no doubt seen Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s WAP!
If you thought Cardi B’s smash WAP was raunchy, wait until you hear the brand new parody version, DAP. Drag legends Lady Bunny and Flotilla DeBarge make their rap debut, and the result is so smoking hot and dry that even though they live in NYC, this video may have caused the California wildfires.
While their vajayjays may be dry, their humor is not, and fans have been howling over the unrelentlessly filthy lyrics. The video’s gotten thumbs up from Margaret Cho and Bridget Everett, with shares from Drag Race royalty, Detox, Manila Luzon and Jujubee.
Released Friday, already 90,000 views on Instagram and 40,000 on Facebook. So grab some lotion or lube and enjoy this end of summer celebration of wrongness and dry ass pussy!
Please have a therapist on hand after viewing.
LADY BUNNY – With her glitzy outfits, sky-high wigs and false eyelashes long enough to embarrass Tammy Faye Baker, multi-talented drag artist Lady Bunny would turn heads even if looking glamorous was her only talent. But “she” isn’t just another man in a dress: Bunny is a successful comedienne, DJ, actress, singer/songwriter and most famously, the emcee and creator of Wigstock, the outrageous drag festival of drag and music which electrified New Yorkers every Labor Day for over 20 years.
FLOTILLA DEBARGE – is a drag queen based in New York City.
She has appeared in To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar and the miniseries version of Angels in America. She has appeared on Broadway in The Threepenny Opera and performed a one-“woman” show, The Flotilla DeBarge Minstrel Show at Fez Under Time Cafe.
The Boys in the Band on NETFLIX
RYAN MURPHY is bringing
THE BOYS IN THE BAND to NETFLIX!
Queer TV Network Revry Now Available on Samsung TV Plus
Queer TV Network Brings Diverse LGBTQ+ TV to Millions of Samsung Smart TVs in time for Pride Season
Revry, the first global LGBTQ+ streaming network, announced today the launch of its service on Samsung TV Plus, Samsung’s free smart TV video service that delivers instant access to over 120 free channels in news, sports, entertainment and more.
The Revry Channel, featuring hundreds of hours of original and licensed LGBTQ+ movies, shows, music, podcasts, and news, is available on Samsung TV Plus Channel 1226. As Samsung’s only Queer-focused TV channel, The Revry Channel will premiere across millions of Samsung Smart TVs just in time for Pride season, and will be the first and only home for exclusively LGBTQ+ entertainment on Samsung’s Smart TVs.
“We are excited to launch our newest live linear channel on Samsung TV Plus. Given Samsung’s massive reach, we now have the opportunity to touch a broader LGBTQ+ and allied audience through Samsung Smart TVs,” said Damian Pelliccione, CEO and Co-Founder at Revry. “We believe representation saves lives, so partnering with Samsung helps us bring our ‘radically inclusive’ entertainment to an even bigger audience, and gives us the chance to change hearts and minds, both inside and outside of the LGBTQ community.”
These diverse perspectives have become the hallmarks of Revry’s “unapologetically queer” programming, which includes its slate of originals such as the GLAAD Media Award recipient and Spanish-language docu-series, THE CATEGORY IS, which follows the vibrant underground ballroom scene in Mexico City; the Wes Anderson-style comedy series, SINK SANK SUNK, starring Academy Award nominee Laura Linney; the second season of the reality TV series, PUTTING ON, starring rising Israeli fashion designer, On Mekahel; and THE QUEENS, an insightful documentary film following RuPaul’s Drag Race favorites: Alaska, Katye, Jinkx Monsoon, and Sharon Needles. In addition to these originals, Revry will be releasing over 100 new titles this Pride season.
“Revry continues to have a huge impact on the LGBTQ+ community and we’re really proud to be working with them to optimize the delivery of Revry’s newest channel to the Samsung TV Plus platform, just in time for Pride 2020,” said Blair Harrison, Frequency’s Founder and CEO.
Established in December of 2016 in the U.S., Samsung TV Plus is pre-installed on all 2016-2020 Samsung Smart TVs. Millions of consumers already use Samsung TV Plus, making it one of the top OTT services on Samsung’s Smart TV platform. Users can instantly access their favorite shows, movies, and more with just an internet connection—no download, additional device, or credit card needed. For more information or to view a list of Samsung’s 120+ free, live TV channels, please visit samsungtvplus.com.
To learn more about and experience Revry, please visit www.revry.tv.
Cook One on One with a Top Chef!
Chicago’s Chef Tong is now offering something pretty cool! NO MATTER WHERE YOU LIVE!
Private Virtual Cooking Classes from My Private Chef
I love to attend Chef Tong’s cooking classes when he holds them in Chicago. But now with technology, you can cook alongside this world-renowned, international chef during a private, one-on-one video session!
Cooking is such a satisfying way of getting creative at home. Now, with a personalized class from My Private Chef, you get to expand your skills, or try new foods, or prepare old favorites. How about introducing a young family member to the world of cooking?
Here’s how it works: Chef Christopher Tong will work with you to create your menu, provide an ingredients list, recipes and a demonstration based on your selection. You set up a date and time via video conference. Chef Chris will lead you step by step to perfection.
Cooking at home has never been so fun!
For more details, contact Event Services at 773.370.8131
Become a Facebook Fan: www.facebook.com/ChefChrisTong
Lady Bunny Cuntagious on Demand Special June 5th
Voss Digital Presents the iconic Lady Bunny!
In her all new on demand show “Cunt-Tagious”! Catch this demented diva as she shamelessly interrupts your isolation in an attempt to give what may be your last laugh before the apocalypse!
Masks and mascara make a great combination, along with four giant wigs and twelve costume changes packed into 35 minutes. This floozy offers unhinged Tips to Survive A Pandemic and a visit to a fake newsroom for headlines we’d all like to see.
Bunny’s raucous Laugh-In inspired joke routine will go from deranged to filthy, with Bunny showing off her signature dance moves (well, the ones the old gal didn’t forget decades ago). With an emphasis on COVID-19 humor, expect brand new song parodies from artists as varied as Lizzo, Justin Bieber, and Madonna.
Get ready to laugh your masks off! And for all those dying for a glimpse of Bunny out of drag, this is your moment.
Available Friday June 5th at 12PM EDT.
Save by pre-ordering HERE for just $7.99!
GRABBY Awards Free Live Stream May 30th
The annual GRABBYS Award Show, highlighting top talent and performances in the gay erotic film industry, will take place on Saturday, May 30 at 7:30 p.m. CDT.
This annual event is usually held in Chicago each Spring, to sold-out audiences. Due to current state and local restrictions related to COVID-19, the event will be live-streamed. The event is expected to reach thousands of more fans this year around the world!
“Despite the unfortunate situation with the COVID-19 pandemic, the show must go on — safely,” said show producer Stacy Bridges. “We’re excited the GRABBYS is the first gay erotic award show to be live-streamed, providing more fans the opportunity to join the celebration for FREE! And unlike our live-stage productions, the show this year will feature adult- material, such as X-rated film clips for ‘Best Movie’ nominees!”
Chi Chi LaRue and Honey West
will return for the 21st year as virtual hostesses; Chi Chi LaRue from Minneapolis and Honey West in Chicago.
The show is expected to be approximately 90 minutes.
GayVN Stars is the presenting sponsor. “We are thrilled to be working with our friends at the GRABBYS to stream their highly anticipated ceremony live on our GayVN Stars platform,” said AVN Media Network CEO Tony Rios. “We’re looking forward to seeing all the fans of adult entertainment worldwide come together online for this special interactive broadcast event.”
The nominees this year include;
850Bdt, Aumphreak4, BillySantoroXXX, CadeMaddoxxx,
CodyGunzXXX, CutlerX, DillonAndersonX, DirkCaber, DreGilcrest, Hattrickz91, HossKado, HungerFF, King111_, LeoGiamani3, LevyFoxxXXX, Maxadonisxxx, MichaelLucasNYC, MinoFlexXX, PoppersGod, RCandDigger, RafaelMovies, RayDexterXXX, RealMenFullBush, RhyheimShabazz, RoccoSteeleNYC, RopeTrainKeep, SeanHardingXXX, SeanZevran, TheGrayMerchant, TripleXTransMan, TylerHillXXX, TylerSaintReal, Zackybro101, adamrussoxxx, atxpapi, cagedjock, deepfillernyc,
devinfrancoxxx, eagerbttmxxx, edjidasilvaxx, grgisthewerd, griffinbarrowsx, iammisterbolden, itskravemelanin, jackmackenroth, loganstevensxxx, maxkonnorxxx, nickcapra, phatrabbitkill2, and rastadikk.
Additional sponsors include GRAB Magazine, Swiss Navy Lube, Justfor.fans and Steamworks Baths Chicago. (New issues of GRAB MAGAZINE are available online for free, every other week!)
For more information and updates, visit www.GrabbyAwards.com.
Actors Fund Benefit STARS IN THE HOUSE
Have you heard of this show on YouTube?
Music, community, and education to support The Actors Fund and its services.
Live-streamed daily at 2 PM ET and 8 PM ET/ Listen on SiriusXM VOLUME at 9AM ET, M-F
In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and theatres across the world closing their curtains indefinitely, SiriusXM host Seth Rudetsky and his husband, producer James Wesley have created Stars in the House, a daily live streamed series to support The Actors Fund and its services.
NEW SHOWS DAILY!
With new shows airing daily at 2 PM ET and 8 PM ET, Stars in the House is a combination of music, community, and education (from CBS Chief Medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook) located on the Actors Fund YouTube Channel. With musical performances by stars remotely from their home and conversations with Seth and James between each tune, viewers can also donate to the charity and interact with the guests in real time.
RAISING MONEY!
Stars in the House raised over $50,000 in the first four days of airing. Guests include Andrew Lloyd Webber, John Lithgow, Jason Alexander, Kristen Chenoweth as well as couples confined together like Audra McDonald and Will Swenson, Frozen composers Bobby Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, writers Tina Fey and Jeff Richmond, and many more. Stars in the House plans to stream daily until Broadway re-opens.
LOTS of upcoming shows PLUS 3 months of Archives!
The Actors Fund is a national human services organization that fosters stability and resiliency, and provides a safety net for performing arts and entertainment professionals over their lifespan. Through offices in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, The Fund serves everyone in film, theater, television, music, opera, radio and dance with programs including social services and emergency financial assistance, health care and insurance counseling, housing, and secondary employment and training services.
Stonewall Gives Back Concert
April 23rd, 2020, Troye Sivan, Cyndi Lauper, Kim Petras, Rufus Wainwright and many more got together to raise funds for those in the LGBTQ nightlife industry in need during the COVID-19 crisis.
Hosted by
Michelle Visage and Tyler Oakley
Performances and Appearances by
Alan Cumming, Allie X, Betty Who, Carlie Hanson, Cyndi Lauper, Darren Hayes, Dave Mizzoni, Greyson Chance, Issac Dunbar, John Cameron Mitchell, Kim Petras, Kristin Chenoweth, Leland, Lorna Luft, Matt Rogers, MUNA, Nina West, Our Lady J, Pabllo Vittar, Peppermint, Rufus Wainwright, Shoshana Bean, Todrick Hall, Troye Sivan, TUCKER, VINCINT.
The Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative (SIGBI). We are a non-profit charitable organization inspired by the struggles and ideals of the LGBTQ rights movement born from the Stonewall Inn Uprising of 1969. We are committed to eliminating the social intolerance that is profoundly impacting the lives of LGBTQ citizens throughout America and abroad. Through awareness campaigns, educational programming, fundraising and candid public dialogue,we support grassroots organizations scattered across the country and especially those in communities where progress toward equality has been slow and the negative impact of ongoing acts of discrimination and harassment can no longer be tolerated.
Sean Hayes in Lazy Susan Now on Demand
In Lazy Susan, Susan has always been the self-centered oddball in her family, who lazily skated through life with their grudging support until one day she wakes up to realize she’s middle-aged with no job, no relationship, and an increasingly estranged family.
She finally decides to take charge and turn things around, but never having done anything herself before, the struggle is real (and hilarious) as Susan becomes the woman she always wanted to be, all on her own.
“I think a lot of us are lazy Susans — have been or will become. There’s that question we all ask: ‘Who do you want to be?’ It’s not always easy,” Hayes tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue.
Sean explains how Susan came about; “When I was 21, I got a call from my agent in Chicago. She said, “There’s an audition tomorrow to replace the white guy on In Living Color.” Jim Carrey was leaving. I grabbed all my wigs and props and characters of all shapes and sizes. One of the characters was Lazy Susan. A few years ago, someone brought up the character. And it was such a great metaphor for someone spinning out of control. A spinning lazy Susan, for someone who can’t get their life together. I love tragic characters, when you don’t know whether to laugh or not.”
WATCH THE OFFICIAL TRAILER NOW
Wendy Sitti YouTube Channel is a Must!
SHE IS thee Chicago Socialite and a woman of the world!
Laughter is best medicine and Wendy Sitti knows how to serve it up!
It’s true: laughter is strong medicine. It draws people together in ways that trigger healthy physical and emotional changes in the body. Laughter strengthens your immune system, boosts mood, diminishes pain, and protects you from the damaging effects of stress.
Wonderful, witty, wild and wacky, EVERYONE loves Wendy! With her infectious laugh and her wacky ways she will have you forget your troubles in a few short minutes.
Wing it with Wendy! Wendy Sitti now has a channel and a show! “I will have episodes of DIY Do it Yourself Shows, of various domestication from cooking, gardening, home improvement, travel to unique places and landmarks, in Drag Queen style. We will also have guest appearances by celebrities and film episodes from exotic places around the world to also my home!”
Truly entertaining! – BestGayChicago.com
We hope this channel will entertain you and teach you a new trick or two! At press time, 3 episodes are out now!
“I was born in Warsaw, Poland. The apple of my parents eye! I was raised on a farm and later went to work in my dads sausage factory. That is where I met Stanley in high school and where we went to prom. He was nice but I knew I needed something bigger, it must of been from being around all of that sausage. I wanted to go to America.” Wendy tells us.
“After saving enough money, I flew to Chicago and realized I had no place to stay. I called my cousin Rich and moved in with him.”
“I know America is the land of opportunity and I was excited to make it big. I dyed my hair black to fit in and have a different look. But then some woman, Mrs. Richfield told me I was moving in on her scene. I went back to my natural color and started doing all kinds of odd jobs. Cleaning rooms at a hotel on Halsted called Steamworks, to cleaning the rooms at the Elysium Hotel in Mykonos. I kind of became a big thing and I’m not talking about my boobs!”
“I enjoy fashion, drinking, socializing and hanging out with nice people. If you want your event to Pop, like my cherry then invite me!”
also Wendy on Instagram
and her website
ALL MAN The International Male Story
So excited for this! A new movie is in the works that will take us behind the iconic International Male fashion catalog that transformed the “All-American Boy”, changing fashion, masculinity, and gay rights forever.
More than outrageous fashions, hunky models, and scandalous undies, ALL MAN is a journey across three decades of the International Male catalog’s lasting impact on fashion, masculinity, and gay rights. (I still have many of my old catalogs!)
With revenues at its peak of $120 million and circulation of over 3 million, the catalog successfully appealed to both gay and straight audiences. For gay men, the images of sensually dressed men were a gateway into a fantasy world providing an escape from the AIDS crisis and widespread homophobia. For straight men and their female admirers, the catalog gave permission to take fashion risks and enjoy a more carefree expression of sexuality without threatening their masculinity and sexual appeal.
ALL MAN: The International Male Story is designed as a tribute to the catalog’s unique aesthetic and cultural relevance. The film mixes exclusive never-seen-before photographs and videos, interviews with super fans and celebrities, and creative re-enactments of the infamous photo shoots, and more!
You can DONATE to this project now!
Follow on Instagram and Facebook!
Aj and the Queen with Ru Paul
Broadway’s Carols for a Cure 21
Papi Chulo with Matt Bomer
Matt Bomer is back on the big screen with an interesting new movie, PAPI CHULO.
What happens when you lose the love of your life, either by break up or death?
How do you go cope? How do you go on?
A weatherman on the verge of a mental breakdown after a hard breakup, is struggling with his life. Alejandro Patiño (“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”) is the day laborer who reluctantly must help put him back together again.
Despite a language barrier and having nothing in common, the two men develop an unexpected but profound (?) friendship.
But at times, the friendship seems uncomfortable and almost stalker-ish.
KPCC FilmWeek called the film “sweet” and Eye for Film praised Butler for his “…delicate touch to both tragedy and comedy and the result is a genuinely heartwarming film.” (Eye for Film).
If Matt Bomer was not starring in it, I would have quit watching it half way through. But Matt can do no wrong, in my eyes! Check out the trailer HERE!
