Category Archives: News
Will and Grace back at NBC
IT’S OFFICIAL!!! Will & Grace is returning to NBC.
Less than a month after former co-star Leslie Jordan leaked the news, (and Debra Messing said it was false – the a deal had not been reached yet) NBC made the formal announcement today at the Television Critics Association’s winter press tour.
The Will & Grace revival will consist of 10 episodes and bring stars Debra Messing, Eric McCormack, Megan Mullally and Sean Hayes back to the network with the series set to bow during the 2017-18 broadcast season. They are joined by original series creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick, who all had to ink new deals with producers Universal Television for the revival. (Hayes has a long-standing relationship with Uni TV, having developed several series for the studio including NBC’s Grimmand Hollywood Game Night.) James Burrows, who directed every episode of the show during its initial run, will return in the same capacity. Kohan and Mutchnick will again serve as showrunners.
Dustin Lance Black When We Rise
When We Rise
is an exciting upcoming docudrama miniseries written by Dustin Lance Black!
When We Rise chronicles the personal and political struggles, set-backs and triumphs of a diverse family of LGBT people who helped pioneer an offshoot of the Civil Rights Movement from its turbulent infancy in the 20th century to the once unfathomable successes of today. The period piece tells the history of the gay rights movement, starting with the Stonewall riots in 1969.
The series will be eight hours long in seven parts with Gus Van Sant directing the first two-hour part with Dee Rees directing parts two and three, Thomas Schlamme parts four and five, and Black parts six and seven.
A star studded cast! Guy Pearce, Rachel Griffiths, Mary-Louise Parker, Michael K. Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, David Hyde Pierce, Dylan Walsh, Mary McCormack and more star in the story of diverse family of LGBT men and women who helped pioneer an offshoot of the Civil Rights movement from its turbulent infancy.
GET A SNEAK PEAK NOW!!
GET THE BOOK NOW!!When We Rise: My Life in the Movement
OBAMA Gives ELLEN Highest Award
Today, President Barack Obama named 21 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the Nation’s highest civilian honor, presented to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors. The awards will be presented at the White House on November 22nd.
President Obama said, “The Presidential Medal of Freedom is not just our nation’s highest civilian honor – it’s a tribute to the idea that all of us, no matter where we come from, have the opportunity to change this country for the better. From scientists, philanthropists, and public servants to activists, athletes, and artists, these 21 individuals have helped push America forward, inspiring millions of people around the world along the way.”
This event will be streamed live at: www.whitehouse.gov/live.
The following individuals will be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom:
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the National Basketball Association’s all-time leading scorer who helped lead the Los Angeles Lakers to five championships and the Milwaukee Bucks to another. During his career, Abdul-Jabbar was a six-time NBA Most Valuable Player and a 19-time NBA All-Star. Before joining the NBA, he was a star player at UCLA, leading the Bruins to three consecutive championships. In addition to his legendary basketball career, Abdul-Jabbar has been an outspoken advocate for social justice.
Elouise Cobell (posthumous)
Elouise Cobell was a Blackfeet Tribal community leader and an advocate for Native American self-determination and financial independence. She used her expertise in accounting to champion a lawsuit that resulted in a historic settlement, restoring tribal homelands to her beloved Blackfeet Nation and many other tribes, and in so doing, inspired a new generation of Native Americans to fight for the rights of others. Cobell helped found the Native American Bank, served as director of the Native American Community Development Corporation, and inspired Native American women to seek leadership roles in their communities.
Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen DeGeneres is an award-winning comedian who has hosted her popular daytime talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, since 2003 with her trademarked humor, humility, and optimism. In 2003 Ellen lent her voice to a forgetful but unforgettable little fish named Dory in Finding Nemo. She reprised her role again in 2016 with the hugely successful Finding Dory. Ellen also hosted the Academy Awards twice, in 2007 and 2014. In 1997, after coming out herself, DeGeneres made TV history when her character on Ellen revealed she was a lesbian. In her work and in her life, she has been a passionate advocate for equality and fairness.
Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro has brought to life some of the most memorable roles in American film during a career that spans five decades. His first major film roles were in the sports drama Bang the Drum Slowly and Martin Scorsese’s crime film Mean Streets. He is a seven-time Academy Award nominee and two-time Oscar winner, and is also a Kennedy Center honoree.
Richard Garwin
Richard Garwin is a polymath physicist who earned a Ph.D. under Enrico Fermi at age 21 and subsequently made pioneering contributions to U.S. defense and intelligence technologies, low-temperature and nuclear physics, detection of gravitational radiation, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computer systems, laser printing, and nuclear arms control and nonproliferation. The author of 500 technical papers and a winner of the National Medal of Science, Garwin holds 47 U.S. patents, and has advised numerous administrations.
Bill and Melinda Gates
Bill and Melinda Gates established the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000 to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, the foundation focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, the mission is to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. The Gates Foundation has provided more than $36 billion in grants since its inception.
Frank Gehry
Frank Gehry is one of the world’s leading architects, whose works have helped define contemporary architecture. His best-known buildings include the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Dancing House in Prague, and the Guggenheim Museum building in Bilbao, Spain.
Margaret H. Hamilton
Margaret H. Hamilton led the team that created the on-board flight software for NASA’s Apollo command modules and lunar modules. A mathematician and computer scientist who started her own software company, Hamilton contributed to concepts of asynchronous software, priority scheduling and priority displays, and human-in-the-loop decision capability, which set the foundation for modern, ultra-reliable software design and engineering.
Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks is one of the Nation’s finest actors and filmmakers. He has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role five times, and received the award for his work in Philadelphia and Forrest Gump. Those roles and countless others, including in Apollo 13, Saving Private Ryan, and Cast Away, have left an indelible mark on American film. Off screen, as an advocate, Hanks has advocated for social and environmental justice, and for our veterans and their families.
Grace Hopper (posthumous)
Rear Admiral Grace Hopper, known as “Amazing Grace” and “the first lady of software,” was at the forefront of computers and programming development from the 1940s through the 1980s. Hopper’s work helped make coding languages more practical and accessible, and she created the first compiler, which translates source code from one language into another.
Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan is one of the greatest athletes of all time. Jordan played 15 seasons in the NBA for the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards; he is currently a principal owner and chairman of the Charlotte Hornets. During his career, he won six championships, five Most Valuable Player awards, and appeared in 14 All-Star games.
Maya Lin
Maya Lin is an artist and designer who is known for her work in sculpture and landscape art. She designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. and since then has pursued a celebrated career in both art and architecture. A committed environmentalist, Lin is currently working on a multi-sited artwork/memorial, What is Missing? bringing awareness to the planet’s loss of habitat and biodiversity.
Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels is a producer and screenwriter, best known for creating and producing Saturday Night Live, which has run continuously for more than 40 years. In addition, Michaels has also produced The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and 30 Rock, among other popular, award-winning shows. He has won 13 Emmy Awards over the course of his lengthy career.
Newt Minow
Newt Minow is an attorney with a long and distinguished career in public life. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, Minow served as a Supreme Court clerk and counsel to the Governor of Illinois. In 1961, President Kennedy selected Minow, then 34, to serve as Chairman of the Federal Communications Committee (FCC), where he helped shape the future of American television and was a vigorous advocate for broadcasting that promoted the public interest. In the five decades since leaving the FCC, Minow has maintained a prominent private law practice while devoting himself to numerous public and charitable causes.
Eduardo Padrón
Eduardo Padrón is the President of Miami Dade College (MDC), one of the largest institutions of higher education in the United States. During his more than four decade career, President Padrón has been a national voice for access and inclusion. He has worked to ensure all students have access to high quality, affordable education. He has championed innovative teaching and learning strategies making MDC a national model of excellence.
Robert Redford
Robert Redford is an actor, director, producer, businessman, and environmentalist. In 1981, he founded the Sundance Institute to advance the work of independent filmmakers and storytellers throughout the world, including through its annual Sundance Film Festival. He has received an Academy Award for Best Director and for Lifetime Achievement. Redford has directed or starred in numerous motion pictures, including The Candidate, All the President’s Men, Quiz Show, and A River Runs Through It.
Diana Ross
Diana Ross has had an iconic career spanning more than 50 years within the entertainment industry in music, film, television, theater, and fashion. Diana Ross is an Academy Award nominee, inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and recipient of the Grammy Awards highest honor, the Lifetime Achievement Award. Ross was a recipient of the 2007 Kennedy Center Honors. Diana Ross’s greatest legacy is her five wonderful children.
Vin Scully
Vin Scully is a broadcaster who, for 67 seasons, was the voice of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers. In Southern California, where generations of fans have grown up listening to Dodger baseball, Scully’s voice is known as the “soundtrack to summer.” In 1988, he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen is a singer, songwriter, and bandleader. More than five decades ago, he bought a guitar and learned how to make it talk. Since then, the stories he has told, in lyrics and epic live concert performances, have helped shape American music and have challenged us to realize the American dream. Springsteen is a Kennedy Center honoree and he and the E Street Band he leads have each been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Cicely Tyson
Cicely Tyson has performed on the stage, on television, and on the silver screen. She has won two Emmy Awards and a Tony Award, and is known for her performances in Sounder, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, and The Help. Tyson received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2015.
Celebrity Auction for Stonewall
On June 24th, 2016, President Obama designated Stonewall National Monument as the newest addition to America’s National Park System. Stonewall is the first national monument to tell the story of the struggle for LGBT rights in America.
New York’s Stonewall Inn has long been hallowed ground: The Greenwich Village tavern was home to the 1969 Stonewall riots, which are widely considered to be the birth of the modern gay rights movement. More than 40 years later, when the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, the celebration was (unofficially) headquartered there. Now the legacy of the Stonewall Inn will officially live on, as President Obama will reportedly name the space outside the iconic bar a national monument, the first of its kind recognizing LGBT rights.
In support of this historic designation, Pride Live Nation has partnered with Charitybuzz and some of the biggest names in entertainment to raise funds directly for the Stonewall National Monument.
Visit charitybuzz.com/stonewall and bid on exciting experiences and items donated by
Anderson Cooper http://chrty.bz/2dFFrIU,
Cher http://chrty.bz/2dFFdS4,
George Clooney http://chrty.bz/2dFF4hG,
Taylor Swift http://chrty.bz/2dFIAZk,
Justin Tranter http://chrty.bz/2dFHqNt,
Jonathan Adler http://chrty.bz/2e7DLEd,
Andy Cohen http://chrty.bz/2dFGh8B,
Bryan Lourd [http://chrty.bz/2dFI1id]
Cyndi Lauper http://chrty.bz/2dFJhl7,
Mick Rock http://chrty.bz/2dFIWiC,
David Karphttp://bit.ly/2ej1EJ6,
Taylor Swift http://chrty.bz/2dFIAZk,
Dustin Lance Black http://chrty.bz/2dFEq3K,
and Moncho1929 http://chrty.bz/2e7BA3C,
In addition, Madonna has donated a pair of cherry red & purple velvet Prada couture shoes http://chrty.bz/2dFHpc7, Stevie Nicks has donated a trademark rhythm tech tambourine designed exclusively for Stonewall National Monument http://chrty.bz/2dFIukq,and Demi Lovato has donated one of her specially designed Michael Costello sequin costumes worn on her Future Now tour http://chrty.bz/2e7AV23,
The auction runs through November 10th, 3P EST.
Pride Live Nation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that raises awareness and support for the LGBT community via social advocacy and community engagement to advance the fight for full equality. www.pridelivenation.org
Charitybuzz is the world’s premier online charity auction platform and a proud member of the CHARITY NETWORK. It offers once-in-a-lifetime experiences and incredible luxury packages, with 80% of net revenue benefiting charitable organizations. Charitybuzz has the largest online audience of high net worth, philanthropic individuals in the world and has raised more than $180M for charity to date. www.charitybuzz.com
LADY BUNNY Keep on Dancing for PULSE
INTERNATIONAL LGBTQ STARS COLLABORATE ON NEW DANCE ANTHEM ’KEEP ON DANCING (UNTIL WE’RE FREE)’ // HOUSE OF WALLENBERG
HOUSE OF WALLENBERG TEAMS UP WITH YO MAJESTY AND LADY BUNNY
PROCEEDS FROM THE NEW SONG WILL GO TO THE PULSE ORLANDO FUND, SUPPORTING THE FAMILIES AND VICTIMS OF THE RECENT NIGHTCLUB SHOOTING
Swedish artist, DJ and producer Petter Wallenberg (aka House of Wallenberg) has teamed up with Jwl B from queer rappers Yo Majesty, and drag superstar Lady Bunny on a new song ‘Keep on Dancing (Until We’re Free)’. The track has been recorded specifically for the Pulse Orlando Fund, in support of the families and victims of the massacre at took place at Pulse Nightclub on June 12.
Petter Wallenberg said: “Queer clubs used to be safe spaces where we could be free. The Orlando shooting changed that. Now when we go out we find ourself prepared for the worst. But its important to not let fear win. As our song says, we need to keep on dancing, loving and fighting. This is our tribute to the Orlando victims but also a manifest for everyone’s right to be free.”
Jwl B said: “I’m from Florida and I lost friends and family from the gay community in the Orlando massacre. I felt I had to do something positive to bring happiness and create a fund raiser. I say to all my angels that lost their lives that we’re gonna keep on dancing until were free.”
Lady Bunny said: “The gay community has remained strong in the face of discrimination, bashing and AIDS. While the shooting at Pulse was grim, it renewed our desire to bond together and fight. A big part of our spirit comes from a club culture in which we gather to dance and celebrate the freedoms we do have. That will never die!”
House of Wallenberg is the music project from Swedish artist Petter Wallenberg.
BUY IT!!! iTunes: https://goo.gl/WIXuUs
Spotify: https://goo.gl/1duLdz
YouTubeVideo: goo.gl/fPfs25
EVEN MORE BUNNY NEWS!! The hardest working drag queen in the business!
Todrick Hall OZ Tour
Todrick Hall is a self-proclaimed queer, American singer, actor, dancer, director, choreographer, and wildly famous YouTuber!
He auditioned for the ninth season of American Idol, where he made it to the semi-finals. Since then, Hall has been performing on Broadway and YouTube.
As of January 31, 2016, Hall has exceeded 2 million subscribers on his YouTube channel. Videos on his channel have been played over 270 MILLION TIMES!
Videos of note include a flash mob thrown for Ariana Grande, a reinvention of the Wizard of Oz starring Pentatonix which was directed by and also stars Hall, and a Beyoncé themed flash mob performed in the middle of an actual Target store, which has garnered over 14 million views as of January 31, 2016, and which Beyoncé personally, publicly congratulated Hall on.
Todrick’s current North American Tour titled “Straight Outta Oz” is in full swing! Check out the cities and dates here!
” Straight Outta Oz,” follows the triple threat performer as he embarks on his most ambitious tour yet: a full-length musical with original score by Hall, inspired by The Wizard of Oz.
The tour kicked off last week in Vancouver, and will continue through August.
Awesomeness Films announced the start of production on their behind the scenes film following Todrick Hall’s upcoming tour and will be filming in Chicago at Thalia Hall! (and other cities, to be announced).
Directed by Katherine Wright (Call Me Kuchu), the film will go behind-the-scenes as Todrick mounts the musical, which tells the story of his life growing up in small-town Texas, his struggle to come to Hollywood and eventually succeed.
Check out the video style album STRAIGHT OUTTA OZ here!
Get it on iTunes Here.
Barbra Streisand Tour 2016
ONE MORE TIME!
The 74 year old singer is hitting about 9 cities later this year! Celebrating six decades of music, Barbra Streisand – The Music… The Mem’ries… The Magic! Check out the dates below to see if she is coming to a city near you. Tickets go on sale May 20. Streisand will perform her hits from each decade plus songs from her new album, “ENCORE: Movie Partners Sing Broadway,” celebrating a career of unparalleled creative achievement. Every ticket purchased online includes a CD of Streisand’s new album, which will be released later this year.
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Converse Sneakers Gay Pride 2016
Converse has just debuted its new 2016 Pride Collection in honor of LGBT pride, – the 2nd annual!
Your favorite Chuck Taylor All Star sneakers are getting a colorful makeover thanks to Converse’s new Pride Collection. The brand debuted three new rainbow-inspired sneakers today to celebrate the LGBT pride events happening around the world.
This year’s collection includes a pair of rainbow Chuck Taylor All Star hi-tops in Converse’s premium woven design and another pair of hi-tops in black canvas that have been “splattered” in multicolored paint. There’s also a pair of the classic low-tops in white canvas with a similar paint splatter design. – from RACKED.
Carver Twin Brothers in BLOOMS
BLOOMS – The project, included on MTV’s slate , is a crime drama/coming-of-age story of twentysomething twin brothers, Andrew and Elliott Bloom, who learn of one another’s existence upon the murder of their father. In turn, they inherit a hand-crafted secret criminal empire he’s left them — with many strings attached.
The immorality, corruption and debauchery of their father’s world is deep, and every time they think they’ve reached the bottom it gets worse. The young men are inexperienced but not innocent, vastly different but in many ways exactly the same, with each missing something in his life that only the other can supply. The Carver brothers will play Andrew and Elliott.
Leading the helm is Drew Barrymore – and the boys are co-producing the show. More at Hollywood Reporter. – wouldn’t it be a wet dream if the other Carver bro comes out gay???
The 10 Year Plan
The new award-winning romantic comedy from writer/director JC Calciano about two best friends who make a pact to be together if they are both still single in ten years’ time.
Very cute movie!! Best friends Myles and Brody are total opposites. They make a pact to be together in a decade if neither finds love. With two months left in their deadline, they both scramble to find someone to avoid being each other’s last resort. Jack Turner, Michael Adam Hamilton, Moronai Kanekoa, Adam Bucci. See the full cast here.
Get the DVD or check it out on HULU! The 10 year plan!
Andy Cohen and Clifton Dassuncao
Things seem to be getting serious for 47 year old Andy Cohen and 28 year old Harvard PHD Student Clifton Dassuncao!! Andy likes em young!
WHAT WE KNOW –
- Andy Cohen has been away twice in the past three months with Harvard PhD student Clifton Dassuncao
- Cohen, 47, and Dassuncao, 28, spent both trips in the Caribbean on Barry Diller’s $150million yacht Eos
- The pair were on the yacht at the end of December and again last week with a group of couples including Diller and Diane von Furtstenberg
- The first photograph of the two was posted on Dassuncao’s Instagram page in July of last year at a Watch What Happens Live taping
- Dassuncao grew up in Queens, attended private school in Manhattan, then went to MIT for undergrad and Harvard for a Masters and PhD
- He set his Instagram account to private on Thursday afternoon after requests for comment from Cohen’s reps
Crystal Meth, Gays and Addiction
Meth can be in crystalized form or powder, and varying in color from clear to chalky white, or yellowish brown to different shades of blue. All forms of meth can be snorted through the nose, smoked out of glass pipes, injected with syringes, or ingested orally.
The words addiction, drug addiction, alcoholism, and chemical dependency are common terms for abuse of alcohol or drugs. Addiction is a condition that results when a person ingests a substance (e.g., alcohol, cocaine, nicotine) or engages in an activity (e.g., gambling, sex, shopping) that can be pleasurable but the continued use/act of which becomes compulsive and interferes with ordinary life responsibilities, such as work, etc.
ANYTHING CAN BE ADDICTIVE! Especially when it feels good!
In a new article for POZ, writer Mathew Rodriguez examines Meth use in the gay community. READ IT HERE.
Dopamine produces a positive reaction to everyday occurrences that keep us alive. When we eat or drink, our body gives us dopamine. In fact, studies show that eating food releases about 150 units of dopamine. Sex (without drugs) releases 200 units, nicotine results in 250, and cocaine clocks in at 350. In comparison, crystal meth unleashes a whopping 1,100 units of dopamine.
Meth offers cheap and quick dopamine to those in need of a feel-good fix—and the American Psychological Association says that the LGBT community experiences much higher rates of general depression and anxiety than the rest of the population.
But there is good news. “One aspect of the meth mystique that needs to be challenged is that there is no hope,” Fawcett writes. “This is simply not true. While recovery from meth is difficult, it is absolutely possible.”
Meth use in the gay community. READ IT HERE.
PrEP Works…usually
Poz’s Trenton Straube has published the first interview with the 44-year-old Canadian gay man known as “Joe,” who is the first recorded person to contract HIV while using PrEP with evidence of strict adherence.
His doctor said, “Because we’ve always suspected that this potentially could happen, and now we’ve shown that it can happen, people need this information to make decisions about their sexual health that feel right for them,” Dr. David Knox told me by phone yesterday. “The more information, the better. And that’s the bottom line.”
Thanks to the blood tests he was given that were able to point to the relative time of HIV transmission, Joe says that he knows the guy he contracted it from:
He’s in a relationship and “discreet.” We met on bbrt [a bareback community], and he says he’s negative. I prefer to be with people who are positive and know it and are on meds—I’m on PrEP, you’re undetectable, the chances of transmission are like negative 10 percent—but I broke my rule with this guy. So it was with him, I think—it was a bit of a busy period. I reached out to him and he says, “Well, I’m not worried, I’m OK. But I’ll go see a doctor.” And I checked in with him again: “Have you gone? What are the results?” “Oh I’m really busy and haven’t had a chance.” I checked in again. “Oh, I’m out of town on work.” Checked again, and he stopped replying to me. To be honest, I gave up. I don’t need to be vindicated or have him say I’m sorry or whatever. I just wanted to let him know. It’s being socially responsible.
Unicorns and Poop with Squatty Potty
This promo has NOT been paid for – we just thought it was so fabulous, IT HAD TO SHARED.
It is done in the same comical vain as the people behind POO POURRI. (Plus actor WES TOLMAN is WAYYY HOT!)
Pooping will never be the same. This Unicorn shows the effects of improper toilet posture and how it can affect your health. The Squatty Potty toilet stool has been featured on Shark Tank and Dr OZ show and has thousands of happy customers. WATCH
The story of how, Bobby, Judy, and Bill (Squatty Potty founders) ignored their investors and followed their gut—taking a BIG risk on a pooping unicorn that made millions. The viral video campaign created more sales than anything Squatty Potty had done previously.
see also BEHIND THE SCENES
Colt Prattes Naked!
OK – NOT REALLY NAKED! BUT, Looks like newcomer Colt Prattes will be filling in Patrick Swayze’s dancing shoes. ABC and Lionsgate have announced that Prattes will play the iconic role of Johnny in the upcoming Dirty Dancing remake.
Prattes is a singer, dancer, and actor ( and crossfit enthusiast )best known for his appearance in P!nk’s “Try” music video, where he showed off his performance skills and chiseled physique. He also toured with P!nk and starred in Rock of Ages in Las Vegas.
In the three-hour musical airing on ABC, Prattes will portray Johnny, the dance instructor at the Catskill Mountains resort who teaches Baby — played by Abigail Breslin — to be his new partner. Debra Messing has also been cast to play Baby’s mother.
FYI – he was Nearly naked in BROADWAY BARES a few years back.