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#WhosYourDaddy? Jack & Will Date Younger Guys (Ben Platt’s a Twink!) Watch

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Will & Grace is back and after last weeks Oval office pillow fight, it’s tacking aging and being gay in an episode called Who’s Your Daddy? It features Will chasing Tony award winner Ben Platt, as a twink he’s crushing on.

Jack is chasing his youth too, so Karen’s offers him “Scrotox”,

It’s like botox, but for the boys!

He decides to slip into her Spanx instead and tells Will after he wonders if going after younger guys is creepy.

So what, they’re young and hot, and we’re old and not! We need this!”

Watch.

(Photos, NBC; via NewNowNext)

The post #WhosYourDaddy? Jack & Will Date Younger Guys (Ben Platt’s a Twink!) Watch appeared first on The WOW Report.


‘The Trixie & Katya Show’ Trailer Has Finally Arrived! Get Your First Look At The Viceland Show HERE

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AHHHH!!!! It’s finally HERE!

OH HONEY. Are you ready for the TV version of UNHhhh… well it’s SLIGHTLY different, but your hosts are the same! Trixie Mattel Katya Zamolodchikova are here to make it clear that The Trixie & Katya Show is must-watch TV!

Sure, sure, we hear you. You’re totally wondering what the show is going to be about exactly, right? Well, this is what VICELAND has to say about it…

“The Trixie & Katya Show is a hilarious hybrid of late night, daytime, and advice shows. Hosted by RuPaul’s Drag Race fan favorites Trixie Mattel and Katya Zamolodchikova, the girls discuss anything and everything from their distinct points of view. Topics run the gamut from hook-ups and break-ups, fear, God, death and porn, to name a few.”

ARE YOU EXCITED YET?!? DUH! Are you ready to get even MORE excited before you even watch the trailer?

Check out these fun stills to get you PUMPED UP!

From hilarious & titillating talking heads…

To two boys interviewing people on the street…

The Trixie & Katya Show is going to be EVERYTHING! So check out the trailer below!

The Trixie & Katya Show is from World of Wonder and is executive produced by Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato, Tom Campbell, Nelson Walters, and RuPaul.

The Trixie & Katya Show is coming to VICELAND on November 15th at 10/9c! Set those DVRs now!

The post ‘The Trixie & Katya Show’ Trailer Has Finally Arrived! Get Your First Look At The Viceland Show HERE appeared first on The WOW Report.

Country Singer Roseanne Cash Speaks Out on Gun Control –”The N.R.A. Funds Domestic Terrorism”

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In the aftermath of the horrific Vegas mass shooting/terror attack, celebs and regular folk have been speaking out on gun control. Country singer Roseann Cash (daughter of Johnny and June Carter) wrote this opinion piece for The New York Times yesterday.

I’ve been a gun-control activist for 20 years. Every time I speak out on the need for stricter gun laws, I get a new profusion of threats. There’s always plenty of the garden-variety

‘your dad would be ashamed of you’

sexist nonsense, along with the much more menacing threats to my family and personal safety.

Last year, I performed at the Concert Across America to End Gun Violence with Jackson Browne, Eddie Vedder, Marc Cohn and the Harlem Gospel Choir, and we got death threats. People wanted to kill us because we wanted to end gun violence. That’s where we are: America, 2017.

For the past few decades, the National Rifle Association has increasingly nurtured an alliance with country music artists and their fans. You can see it in ‘N.R.A. Country,’ which promotes the artists who support the philosophical, and perhaps economic, thrall of the N.R.A., with the pernicious tag line ‘Celebrate the Lifestyle.’

That wholesome public relations veneer masks something deeply sinister and profoundly destructive. There is no other way to say this: The N.R.A. funds domestic terrorism.

A shadow government exists in the world of gun sales, and the people who write gun regulations are the very people who profit from gun sales. The N.R.A. would like to keep it that way.

The laws we have in place to prevent the procurement of military-style weapons by mentally ill citizens are laughable by the standards of any civilized society. But even those pathetic restrictions would be eased if the N.R.A. had its way. Just this week, the House of Representatives was scheduled to vote on a measure that would loosen restrictions on gun silencers and armor-piercing bullets (the vote was indefinitely postponed after the Las Vegas massacre). It’s not hard to learn about how millions of N.R.A. dollars have spread throughout Congress to influence that vote.

If the proposed law had passed before the mass shooting in Las Vegas on Sunday, and the rifles in the assailant’s hotel room had been fitted with silencers, one could safely assume that the death toll would be much, much higher. Those who ran from the concert and survived did so because they heard the gunfire. None of that matters to the N.R.A.

I encourage more artists in country and American roots music to end your silence. It is no longer enough to separate yourself quietly. The laws the N.R.A. would pass are a threat to you, your fans, and to the concerts and festivals we enjoy.

The stakes are too high to not disavow collusion with the N.R.A. Pull apart the threads of patriotism and lax gun laws that it has so subtly and maliciously intertwined. They are not the same.

I know you’ll be bullied for speaking out. This is how they operate. Not everyone will like you for taking a stand. Let it roll off your back. Some people may burn your records or ask for refunds for tickets to your concerts. Whatever. Find the strength of moral conviction, even if it comes with a price tag, which it will. Don’t let them bully you into silence. That’s where their power lies — in the silence of rational voices and in the apathy of those who can speak truth to power.

This is a moment in American history that can’t be met with silence. According to PolitiFact, from 2005 to 2015, some 300,000 people were killed by gun violence. That’s roughly the population of Pittsburgh. The grief that extends through the affected families is endless.

Those of us who make our living in “the tower of song,” as Leonard Cohen so eloquently put it, must let our voices ring out. The N.R.A. will stick to its post-shooting playbook. It will say that we shouldn’t “politicize” the Las Vegas carnage by talking about gun control at this time, and that this isn’t about guns, it’s about people, and that even more of us should be armed to protect ourselves. Enough.

Patriotism and a belief in strong gun control are not antithetical. We need common-sense gun laws, and I hope my fellow occupants of the tower of song will join me in saying so. In unity, we can drown out the bullies.” –Roseanne Cash

(Photo, Instagram; via The New York Times)

The post Country Singer Roseanne Cash Speaks Out on Gun Control –”The N.R.A. Funds Domestic Terrorism” appeared first on The WOW Report.

Tillerson Defends Trump –But Doesn’t Deny Calling Him “A F*cking Moron”

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According to reports, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson nearly turned in his resignation over the summer around the time of Trump‘s controversial speech at the Boy Scouts’ Jamboree. Tillerson reportedly called Trump,

a fucking moron

following a national security meeting at the Pentagon in July. Tillerson’s spokesman at the State Department has flatly denied the report.

But this morning Tillerson offered praise for Trump’s approach to the world on Wednesday after reports of a rift between the President and his chief diplomat.

President Trump’s foreign policy goals break the mold of what people traditionally think is achievable by our country. Our job is now to achieve results on behalf of America and we are doing that. What we have accomplished, we have accomplished as a team.

He loves this country. He puts Americans and America First. He’s smart.“

Tillerson said in a hastily arranged statement from the State Department.

He demands results wherever he goes and he holds those around him accountable.

It had been reported that after months of foreign policy disputes with Trump, specifically on Iran and Qatar Tillerson had had it. It reportedly took personal interventions from VP Pence, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, and then-Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly to get Tillerson to not resign.

But today Tillerson said,

The vice president has never had to persuade me to remain as secretary of state because I have never considered leaving this post.

Asked directly whether he’d ever called Trump a “moron,” Tillerson did not respond directly.

The places I come from, we don’t deal with that kind of petty nonsense. I’m just not going to be part of this effort to divide this administration.

Trump took to Twitter after Tillerson spoke, tweeting,

The @NBCNews story has just been totally refuted by Sec. Tillerson and @VP Pence. It is #FakeNews. They should issue an apology to AMERICA!

But over the weekend Trump used Twitter to publicly embarrass Tillerson and undercut his North Korea strategy with the “Little Rocket Man“.

I’m still placing my bet on Tillerson as the next resignation. The Lady doth protest too much.

(Photo, YouTube; via CNN)

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Meet the Cast of ‘Real Estate Wars:’ Get To Know Team Relegance’s ‘Peacock’, Spyro Kemble

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The battle for the OC is about to begin!

It’s happening TOMORROW! Are YOU ready? Our newest Bravo show, Real Estate Wars, premieres tomorrow night at 10/9c and, trust us, you want to be watching.

Rival teams, Team McMonigle, led by John McMonigle and Team Relegance, lead by JoJo Romeo, come head to head on real estate listings in the beautiful land known as Orange County, California. With a history of bad blood between the heads of each team, some insane drama goes down on the first season.

In order to get to know the cast prior to the premiere episode this tomorrow, October 5th at 10/9c on Bravo, we spoke with some of the cast members. Next up is the self-proclaimed “peacock” of Team Relegance, Spyro Kemble!

In preparation for the premiere, get excited by getting to know one of the key players, Spyro, on the upcoming first season of Real Estate Wars!

Get to know Spyro better by checking out our interview with him below!

C: What are you most excited for viewers to see in the first season of Real Estate Wars?

Spyro Kemble: Well I think the eye candy of all properties. I think they are very unique, more than NY or LA. Also the diversity of the characters and the cast members. There is going to be something for every viewer that they can identify with.

C: What was one of your favorite moments to film from season one?

S: I think one of the favorite moments from ours is the Mud Run because it really put aside the drama and competition and focused on team building and I think we saw a different side of each other. I came in last because I’ve had two hip replacements five years back. I was extremely supported by everybody there and it felt like a real team effort.

C: What do you want viewers to know about you before they watch the show?

S: That I have no filter. There’s no pretense- I am who I am. You know, either you identify with me and say ‘I like that guy’ or ‘you’re going to say I don’t like the guy’ – but there’s no ambiguity about me. There’s nothing vanilla about me. So what you see is who I am. I say it like it is.

C: Can you describe what your fantasy home is and what it looks like?

S: Well I do live in fantasy land here so – I do have a lot of access to a lot of fantasy homes. But my fantasy home would be a single story, on the water – with a boat and a pool. And access for my dogs. And a big gate- so all my friends would have to be announced, you can’t just come over. I have a sign at home that says you never know how many friends you have until you have a beach home.

C: What are 3 things people should ask before they buy a home?

S: I think number one would be… [pause] you know that’s kind of a tricky question because most people in my market are people who have already bought 4,5,6,7 homes.

What makes them happy? Because when you come home at night you need to feel like this is my sanctuary. It’s not about what people think – it’s not about where people think you should live. It’s about where you want to be. Where do you feel safe. What is congruent to who you are.

C: Describe why viewers should watch Real Estate Wars!

S: Because what we have is a combination of this: we show people not only the beautiful places that we have, but we show them what we do, how we do, with a little slice of [the] Housewives and Million Dollar Listing.

It’s a combination where we have drama, we have reality, and it’s definitely organic. Whatever was shot is what we are, who we are, how we interact with one another. How we interact with the other team. There’s a lot of history.

There’s at least one thing that people can relate to. We all have dysfunctional families, we all have challenges in our jobs. However, we do mix it in with some amazing properties, beautiful people, and women. It shows the women we have in a different light, other than some of the other shows that focuses in on just the guys. I think it shows that women can be beautiful but also tough and great negotiators.

Tune in to the premiere episode of Real Estate Wars tomorrow on Bravo at 10/9c!

The post Meet the Cast of ‘Real Estate Wars:’ Get To Know Team Relegance’s ‘Peacock’, Spyro Kemble appeared first on The WOW Report.

Phi Phi O’Hara to Throw a Drag Benefit for Puerto Rico: “Queens United/Reinas Unidas”

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Drag Race legend Phi Phi O’Hara will be holding a benefit to raise funds for the people of Puerto Rico. The show, called Queens United/ Reinas Unidas, will take place Nov. 6 in Minneapolis (with the venue stop be announced) and features a superstar roster of queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race including Acid Betty, Alexis Michelle, Chad Michaels, Cynthia Lee Fontaine, Darienne Lake, Farrah Moan, Ginger Minj, Jade Jolie, Jade Sotomayor, Jessica Wild, Jiggly Caliente, Kimora Blac, Naysha Lopez, Nicole Paige Brooks, Madame LaQueer, Mariah Paris Balenciaga, Mrs. Kasha Davis, Mystique Summers, Ongina, Pandora Boxx, Phi Phi O’Hara, Trinity Taylor and Yara Sofia. (Lineup is subject to change.)

“It doesn’t take money to show compassion and empathy for people who are struggling in Puerto Rico,” O’Hara comments. “What it does take is a leader to help rebuild and show the people of Puerto Rico that they matter and we as humans, no matter race, sex, gender, religious background, see someone struggle, you put out a hand to lift them up.”

Here! Here!

All proceeds from the show — tickets, meets and greets and merch sales — will go to Somos Una Voz, a relief initiative started by Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony which is rushing food, shelter, medicine, power and means of communication to Puerto Ricans in need after the island’s devastating natural disasters.

“My husband is Puerto Rican and has family members still on the island that he has yet to hear from so this hits close to home,” O’Hara explains. “In addition, I have been lucky to be apart of RuPaul’s Drag Race where our very own alumni are currently stuck on the island with no help.”

Phi Phi has also launched a crowdfunding page to help raise funds which has already raised $6,200 of the $10,000 goal. (via Billboard)

The post Phi Phi O’Hara to Throw a Drag Benefit for Puerto Rico: “Queens United/Reinas Unidas” appeared first on The WOW Report.

NCIS Bombshell: Pauley Perrette Is Leaving the Show After 16 YEARS!

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NCIS original cast member (and longtime friend of WOW) Pauley Perrette is leaving the venerable CBS procedural after 15 seasons, announcing her decision on Twitter this morning.

Perrette’s has been playing the pigtailed forensic scientist Abby Sciuto on the show since it’s 2003 inception, and is one of a few original cast members, along with star Mark Harmon.

She says neither CBS nor the show’s producers are “mad” at her and the decision to leave was one she made last year. The 48-year-old Perrette adds that she loves her character “as much as you do.”

Good luck, Pauley, WE LOVE YOU!

(Photo: Pacific Coast News)

The post NCIS Bombshell: Pauley Perrette Is Leaving the Show After 16 YEARS! appeared first on The WOW Report.

Get to Know the Dragula Season 2 Cast : The Top 10 Hottest Instagram Looks from Abhora

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It’s an all new season of The Boulet Brothers‘ creep-tastic smash sensation Dragula: The Search for the Next Drag Supermonster!

The series returns on Tuesday October 31 airing on WOW Presents and Out TV in Canada ! After Halloween, the rest of the episodes (10 total!) will air every Tuesday following the premiere.

Between now and then, though, I thought we should get to know this season’s contestants. First up, the nightmarishly nutty Abhora. Below are my top 10 favorite Instagram lewks. YASSSS, QUEEN!

Abhorra no.1 #tbt #dragqueen #drag #supermonster #character #monster

A post shared by Abhora (@ab.hora) on

🌜

A post shared by Abhora (@ab.hora) on

A post shared by Abhora (@ab.hora) on

🍑🍋 . . . . #dragcon2017 #dragula #supermonster #dragula2 #dragulaseason2 @bijouxsirene

A post shared by Abhora (@ab.hora) on

🔫🚼🔫 Other show

A post shared by Abhora (@ab.hora) on

Snake goddess, kith kith 🐍🐍💋💋 #supermonster #drag #freak

A post shared by Abhora (@ab.hora) on

#supermonster

A post shared by Abhora (@ab.hora) on

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Glee’s Mark Salling Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Charges, Face 4-7 Years in Prison

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Mark Salling, who played Puck on the wildly popular TV show Glee, has pled guilty to possession of child pornography involving a prepubescent minor, as part of a plea deal. The 35-year-old actor has agreed to serve 4-7 years behind bars followed by up to 20 years of supervised release. He must also register as a sex offender and is banned from communication with anyone under age 18 without a legal guardian or parent present, staying 100 feet away from schoolyards and parks, public swimming pools, playgrounds, and video arcade facilities. Salling will also pay $50,000 in restitution to each victim who requested it.

Via HuffPo:

The actor was arrested in December 2015 on suspicion of possessing “hundreds” of images plus two videos featuring underage girls on his personal computer after his girlfriend alerted authorities. In fact, federal investigators discovered thousands of pornographic images with children ages 3–5 on a hard drive and 16-gigabyte USB flash drive, according to court documents.

Salling has had his share of legal problems in recent years. In 2013 he was sued by a woman who claimed he committed sexual battery on her by forcing sex without a condom. Salling denied the charge and the case was settled for $2.7 million in 2015.

In 2016, he was accused of raping a 22-year-old woman, according to a police report filed by the alleged victim. He was ultimately not charged by the L.A. County District Attorney  who cited insufficient evidence, lack of corroboration, and a 4 year delay in reporting the alleged crime.

And just as a side note: Before Glee, Mark was the lead singer in the Christian rock band Jericho. *Smh*

(Photo: Pacific Cost News)

The post Glee’s Mark Salling Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Charges, Face 4-7 Years in Prison appeared first on The WOW Report.

From the WOW Vault: Dancing with Dogs!

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From the WOW Vault: It’s our EXCLUSIVE daily peek into the extensive library of WOW shows, interviews, and pop culture ephemera we’ve collected over the last three decades. Today, of course, is World Animal Day – celebrated annually on the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals. In honor of that, we’re dusting off one of our favorite World of Wonder shows: Dancing with Dogs.

Here’s the poop:

Dancing with Dogs was… well… exactly what it sounds like. Think: Dancing with the Stars, but instead of stars, pet owners danced with their dogs. This barking mad one-off aired as a two-hour Animal Planet special in December of 2008, with wowlebrity hosts Alec Mapa and Kate Massey. And all sorts of nuttiness ensued, as you can see in the clip below.

Join host Alec Mapa and the World Canine Freestyle Organization for the first ever “Dancing With Dogs”, a one of a kind dance-off featuring teams of dogs and their owners all competing for the coveted Animal Planet Cup.

In this dancing doggie event special, we’ll join canine choreographers and their prancing pooches as they come together to compete in an international title event for the Animal Planet Cup! Live human/dog teams will cut a rug in original routines!

“I’ve been dancing with my dogs for years,” says Mapa. “At last, it’s so exciting to know that I’m not alone.”

HOW was this not a series?

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#BornThisDay: News Anchor, Thomas Roberts

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Photograph by Nathan Congleton/MSNBC

 

October 5, 1972Thomas Roberts:

“It all starts at home. It begins when LGBTQ people speak up for their authentic selves. The ignition switch has been flipped and we will keep seeing honest conversation about how LGBTQ people are woven importantly into the world fabric.”

Handsome Thomas Roberts made history on Saturday, July 18, 2015 when he anchored the NBC Nightly News making Roberts the first out and proud gay anchor of an evening newscast on any of the major television networks.

His lead story on the broadcast was Donald Trump’s negative comments about Senator John McCain. In a crazy coincidence, Roberts was booked to co-host The Miss USA Pageant, but he dropped out because of Trump’s hateful, racists rants about Mexicans.

In the world of broadcast news, there are only a few openly gay evening news anchors: MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow and Steve Kornacki, CNN’s Anderson Cooper and Don Lemon, Jane Velez-Mitchell of Headline News, Robin Roberts and Sam Champion of ABC’s Good Morning America, but Thomas Roberts was the first to host on one of the four major networks.

In 2013, Roberts interviewed Trump about his relationship with Vladimir Putin. Roberts:

“Do you have a relationship with Vladimir Putin? A conversational relationship or anything that you feel you have sway or influence over his government?”

The Big Orange Thing:

“I do have a relationship and I can tell you that he’s very interested in what we’re doing here today. He’s probably very interested in what I am saying today, and I’m sure he’s going to be seeing it in some form.”

But, back to the birthday boy: In September 2000, Roberts was just 27-years-old, living in Norfolk, Virginia, working at the local NBC affiliate, and only out of the closet to a few friends and colleagues, when a friend invited him to a party where he happened to strike up a conversation with Patrick Abner, also 27-years-old and equally as handsome.

Roberts:

“I thought: ‘There is no way this guy is gay. I can’t be this lucky. There were sparks, but I played my cards close to the chest. I was a bit guarded.”

Abner:

“I was a bit afraid of jumping into a relationship. It didn’t seem like the timing was right.”

But fate stepped in and Roberts and Abner ran into each other again, this time at a Halloween party in New Orleans and neither was going to let the opportunity pass them by. Roberts invited Abner to meet his family at Thanksgiving, even though he had only recently come out to them. For the next year, one of them drove five hours each way to spend weekends together.

In 2001, Roberts was offered a job at a CBS affiliate in Philadelphia, where Abner lived and they moved in together. But almost immediately, Roberts was offered the chance to work for CNN. They were so much in love that Abner made the move to Atlanta so they could be together, purchasing their first home as a couple.

Five years later, Abner was transferred to Washington D.C. for his work. CNN had nothing to offer Roberts in the nation’s capital, so he quit CNN and moved to Washington so they could be together. Roberts was unable to find work. He became depressed. Their relationship suffered.

Roberts was eventually offered to host the The Insider, a daily showbiz news show in Hollywood, 3000 miles from Abner. The couple found it too difficult to sustain a bicoastal relationship, and six months later, Abner took a job in L.A. so they could be together again. Then… Roberts was fired. They stayed in L.A., but times were tough with just one paycheck.

The couple wanted to get married in California. But then, Proposition 8 passed, taking away Marriage Equality in that state, and so they decided to move to NYC. Roberts found a job at MSNBC after freelancing for a while, and Abner found employment at Merck Pharma, as community liaison in its HIV Division.

When Marriage Equality came to New York in June 2011, they finally were able to marry. The ceremony was on the rooftop of the Gansevoort Park Avenue Hotel. The impossibly handsome Gavin Newsom, Lieutenant Governor of California, officiated. Among the many guests was Sam Champion. That must have been a whole lot of handsome that day.

But, Roberts had been carrying around a big secret: he had been sexually assaulted by his parish priest in Baltimore, while he was growing up. With his husband’s help, Roberts went to counseling and then to the police. The priest was charged with sexual abuse of a minor. He was convicted and served 18 months in prison. Roberts discussed his abuse in a special segment on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 called Sins Of The Father.

Roberts had publicly come out of the closet while speaking at the annual convention of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) in 2006. Roberts was a member of a panel called Off Camera: The Challenge of LGBT TV Anchors. He told the audience that the conference was the biggest step he had taken to really be out in public and that he had slowly been coming out over the past several years.

In 2005, he was approached by People Magazine to be one of the publication’s 50 Sexiest Bachelors, but he declined, saying:

“I’m not a bachelor. It would be false advertising… I don’t think this is the right venue to talk about it.”

 

Roberts received an Emmy Award nomination for his documentary Parvo Puppies (2002), and an Edward R. Murrow Award for a documentary  he produced, When Parents Don’t Pay (2010). He was the recipient of the prestigious Visibility Award from the Human Rights Campaign in 2011 and GLAAD’s Vito Russo Award in 2015.

On an episode of Chelsea Handler’s Netflix series Chelsea that aired in September 2016, over a dinner party with guests: pundit S.E. Cupp, comic W. Kamau Bell, former Obama White House Chief of Staff David Axelrod, and actor Sheryl Underwood; Roberts was pressed about his personal politics, and he owned up to being “a Conservative, but not a Republican in today’s GOP”.

Roberts currently anchors MSNBC Live, the daytime news show, weekends from 5-7pm ET.

“Being gay is a blessing. Coming out was not easy. It was a ring of fire. And we can be our own worst enemy. But I’m happy with who I am, being married to a wonderful husband.”

 

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Harvey Weinstein Takes a Leave of Absence Following Bombshell Sexual Harassment Allegations

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According to a bombshell story in The New York Times, Hollywood super-producer Harvey Weinstein has engaged in the systematic sexual harassment of actresses (including Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan), former assistants, and employees over a three-decade period. During that time, he reached at least eight legal settlements – the most recent with an Italian model in 2015.

via TMZ:

Weinstein — the studio exec behind 6 Best Picture Oscars, including “Pulp Fiction” and “Good Will Hunting” — told the Times he “came of age in the 60s and 70s, when all the rules about behavior and workplaces were different. That was the culture then.”

Um, ew. NOT a good way to begin your defense, dude. (See: Polanski, Roman)

He added, “I appreciate the way I’ve behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologize for it. Though I’m trying to do better, I know I have a long way to go.”

He went on to quote Jay-Z’s “4:44” track “I’m not the man I thought I was and I better be that man for my children” and asked for a second chance. According to the Times, he’s seeing therapists and planning to take a leave of absence to deal with his issues.

Yeah, good luck with THAT.

Variety has an interesting post-mortem on his career (which they say is unequivocally OVER).

If previous scandals involving Bill Cosby, Bill O’Reilly and Roger Ailes are any indication, this will be the first of many damaging articles about Weinstein’s misbehavior. Such stories tend to have a dam-bursting impact, jarring loose stories of misbehavior and emboldening women to come forward publicly with fresh allegations.

…Most likely, his ostracization will come from the creative community. Will Netflix want to buy shows from the Weinstein Co. if Harvey Weinstein is still at the helm? Will Michael Moore and other liberal filmmakers want their projects appearing under the Weinstein Co. banner? Will the CAAs and WMEs of the world remain willing to let their clients place projects with the indie company?

His other problems will involve financing. It seems unlikely that a major investment firm will feel comfortable signing up for another round of backing with Weinstein. There’s not much of a company without him, and right now his brand is toxic.

Hollywood is a relationship business and the movie business’ tendrils spread out in thousands of different directions. Many prominent names will have trouble distancing themselves from a worsening Weinstein story. As the Times story makes clear, Weinstein’s alleged history of abuse dates back 30 years, extending to his days running Miramax, the Oscar-winning studio behind “Shakespeare in Love” and “Pulp Fiction.” At the time, Miramax was owned by Disney.

How much did executives at the company know about Weinstein’s behavior? Did they do enough to safeguard their employees or are they complicit in creating a toxic workplace environment? Was Disney’s money used to pay off Weinstein’s accusers? Spokespeople for the studio did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But these stories have a way of leaving everyone dirty.

In truth, the noose has been tightening for years around Harvey Weinstein. There’s been a bunker-like mentality at the Weinstein Co. for years, as the indie studio’s money troubles have worsened and as it tried to migrate away from prestige fare and into television. There were too many film flops such as “Tulip Fever,” “Burnt,” and “Gold,” and persistent mutterings that the company could no longer pay its bills. High profile executives would leave, with positions remaining vacant or filled by junior staffers. It’s been a while since the studio was a major force at film festivals, swinging its checkbook around to nab the hottest Sundance titles….

Even before the reports broke, agents were already wary about working with Weinstein because of reports that its money was running out. One agent told Variety that the Times’ report will give them an even bigger reason to stay away from the studio.

In some respects, Thursday’s piece was the confirmation of decades of rumors and shop talk that have clung to Weinstein. At various times, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and the New Yorker (which has its own competing piece still set to launch) have tried to break this story. They’ve aggressively pursued the angle of whether or not Weinstein used corporate funds at Miramax to pay for legal settlements with women. In most cases, Weinstein was able to successfully hit back at those claims. Another stumbling block was that many women did not want to go on the record with their allegations. That will likely change with the Times piece.

Weinstein is a fighter, a screamer, and a bully. He’s paying big money to top lawyers and is on the hunt for public relations firms in search of advocates. He’s probably not going to go quietly and his attorneys will be pitbulls. But in the court of public opinion, the jury may already be out. Threats may not be enough this time.

(Photo: Pacific Cost News)

UPDATE: Despite his regrets, Weinstein prepares to sue the Times for their story.

Says his attorney Charles Harder:

“The New York Times published today a story that is saturated with false and defamatory statements about Harvey Weinstein,” Harder said in a statement to HuffPost. “It relies on mostly hearsay accounts and a faulty report, apparently stolen from an employee personnel file, which has been debunked by 9 different eyewitnesses.”

“We sent the Times the facts and evidence, but they ignored it and rushed to publish,” the statement read. “We are preparing the lawsuit now. All proceeds will be donated to women’s organizations.”

 

 

 

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#OnThisDay: 55 Years Ago, the First James Bond Movie is Released

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October 5, 1962Dr. No premiers.

The James Bond films based on the fictional character of MI6 agent James Bond, or “007”, originally appeared as a series of books by Ian Fleming. The movies are the longest continually-running film series in history, having been in on-going production from 1962 to now. In that time Eon Productions has produced 24 films, most of them shot at famed Pinewood Studios. Number 25 is in pre-production for a holiday release in 2019. The Bond films have a combined gross of over $8 billion, so far. Six sexy actors have played Bond in the Eon series: Sean Connery, David Niven, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and my boo, Daniel Craig, the best of the lot.

In 1961, Fleming sold a six-month option to all his James Bond novels and short stories, including future ones, except for Casino Royale, which he had already sold, to Harry Saltzman. Saltzman formed Eon Productions with “Cubby” Broccoli just to make Bond films. But, they needed the right actor to play Bond.

Terence Young, who had done a bunch of minor films in the 1930s to 1950s, was the fifth director asked to direct the first film, Dr. No. Irish actor Patrick McGoohan was the first actor approached to play Bond, but he didn’t want it on moral grounds. In a publicity gimmick, the filmmakers held a contest to find the perfect Bond. A 28-year-old model, Peter Anthony, won, but he was never going to play Bond. Sean Connery was on their short list from the beginning. Once he accepted the role, Connery began research by going to London night spots to help transform him into a suave spy.

Most film fans think that the brilliant John Barry wrote the score for Dr. No, but he only did the arrangements. Monty Norman composed the music, including the James Bond Theme.

Dr. No was filmed in Jamaica and at Pinewood Studios. When Fleming saw a rough cut, he hated it. But, he did like Connery as Bond, even though he was Scottish and working-class not English and upper-class as described in the books.

Finding the right actor to play the title villain also proved tough. Fleming wanted his cousin, the great Christopher Lee, but he turned it down. Fleming then asked his friend and neighbor, gay actor-playwright Noël Coward. Coward replied by telegram: “Dr No? No! No! No!”. He was not keen about having to wear metal hands. Max von Sydow was asked, but he was already set to play Jesus in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), and you don’t break a contract with the son of God. The marvelously malevolent Joseph Wiseman was finally cast.

The first Bond Girl was brand new to films. Swiss born Ursula Andress knew so little English that all her dialogue had to be dubbed by voiceover actor Nikki Van Der Zyl, who made a career out of dubbing her in She (1965), The Blue Max (1966) and Casino Royale (1967). Ursula was Honey Ryder, and film fans could have cared less that she was dubbed when she waded out of the ocean in that white bikini. Andress was paid $6,000 for her performance. But, sweet revenge, she kept the bathing suit, and she sold it at Christie’s for $64,000 in 2001.

Julie Christie was set to play Honey Ryder, but the producers replaced her with Ursula because it was decided that her boobs were not booby enough.

Eunice Gayson played Sylvia Trench in Dr. No and in From Russia With Love. Sylvia was actually the very first Bond girl, the one he meets at the casino and introduces himself as: “Bond. James Bond”. Gayson was originally set to play Miss Moneypenny until she and Canadian actor Lois Maxwell swapped roles. Maxwell didn’t feel comfortable wearing so little. Her modesty served her well, she continued to play Miss Moneypenny for decades.

A young Royal Academy Of Dramatic Arts (RADA) trained actor born in Kenyan, Zena Marshall, was cast as Miss Taro, a Eurasian double-agent who is seduced by Bond and then spits in his face when he has her arrested. Marshall struggled with the scene because she was uncomfortable about spitting in another person’s face. She made 60 films before cancer got her in 2009. She was 84-years-okd. Cancer took Maxwell too, in 2007, at 80-years-old.

Terrific character actor Anthony Dawson plays the villain Professor Dent.

Dr. No premiered at the London Pavilion, on this day October 5th, in 1962, The same day that The Beatles released their very first single Love Me Do, with P.S. I Love You on the flipside. Two of the very biggest entertainment phenoms of the 20th century happened on the same day!

Dr. No received extremely mixed reviews, but it made a profit and enough interest to make a second Bond film, To Russia With Love in 1963. By the 1980s, it was a cult favorite. John F. Kennedy was a big fan of Fleming’s novels and had a private showing of Dr. No in the White House.

In the first six months after Dr. No was released, 1.5 million copies of the novel were sold.

MGM/EON, via YouTube

The bikini worn by Andress sent sales of two-piece swimwear skyrocketing, and established it as iconic fashion. Bikinis have never gone out of style.

Entertainment Weekly named Andress as number one of the all the Bond Girls. Andress emerging from the water in a bikini is considered one sexiest scenes of film history, or at least until it Daniel Craig came out of the water in that tiny blue suit in Casino Royal (2006) and I nearly fainted. Those sold at auction last year for $75,000 without Craig filling them.

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#FirstLook: Tove Lo’s Video for “Disco Tits” Is Sexy, Pro-Puppet Love. Watch

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Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum, artist Tove Lo just released the video for her latest single, Disco Tits, a tongue-in-cheek take on a day-in-the-life complete with hot girl-on-puppet love.

Tove Lo says,

Disco Tits is about losing yourself with your new found love. Naive, excited, no consequences. The happiness in the haze I’m feelin right now.” 

OTHERS say,

“The track is just as effortlessly cool as its singer.” – BILLBOARD Magazine
 


“Every couple lines of the song has a new hook that will loop around your brain for the rest of the day.” – The FADER
 

“Tove Lo’s Sultry New Song Will Get You All Hot And Bothered.” – NYLON
 

“Tove Lo goes for an entrancing throwback sound on the track.” – Rolling Stone Magazine
 


“This is a banger to blast as you’re getting hyped for a night out, and an anthem to keep you on the dance floor once you get there all rolled up in a single song.” – MTV
 


Watch.

The live version is below. If you want to see Tove Lo on her North American Tour here are dates:

10/06 – Rose Bowl – Pasadena, CA

*
10/07 – Austin City Limits – Austin, TX


10/08 – Qualcomm Stadium – San Diego, CA

*
10/10 – The Rialto Theatre – Tucson, AZ


10/12 – Emo’s – Austin, TX


10/13 – House of Blues Houston – Houston, TX

10/14 – Austin City Limits – Austin, TX


(Headline w Daya Jack *Supporting
 with Coldplay)

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Stream: The B*tch Beat Goes As Follows…Adam Joseph’s “Okurrr” Track feat. Laganja Estranja

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HERE’S ANOTHER ONE!!! There’s no stoppin’ the GENIUS beats that come from singer/songwriter/producer/DJ Adam Joseph! After putting out his viral hit Linda Evangelista, featuring Aja from RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 9, Joseph has been churning out bitch tracks non-stop, including the remix of California Representative Maxine Waters’ Reclaiming My Time, Not Madonna, featuring Michelle VisageKeep It On, featuring RuPaulValentina, Shea Couleé and Alyssa Edwards, and SOOO many more!

 

His latest masterpiece Okurrr, featuring Laganja Estranja from RPDR, Season 6, was taken from an interview Estranja did at RuPaul’s DragCon for the super popular Hey Qween show, hosted by Jonny McGovern, co-hosted Lady Red Couture, and…of course…soundtracked by bandleader Adam Joseph. Check it out below, and get Okurrr at gofundme! (Above pic by Jayden Fa via Laganja’s IG, single cover photo by Austin Young)

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Neil DeGrasse Tyson On the REAL Problem with Jack’s Death in ‘Titanic’

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For twenty-some years now, we’ve all been bitching that Jack could have fit on the damn door, and little Miss Spacehog, Rose, can rot in hell for not moving over. You might even recall a famous episode of Mythbusters that proved it. But according to astrophysicist/StarTalk host Neil deGrasse Tyson, we’ve been approaching Jack’s death from the wrong angle. It’s not so much that he could have fit on the door, it’s that he just didn’t try hard enough to scramble onto it. He just freakin’ gave up after one attempt.

“Whether or not he could’ve been successful, I would’ve tried more than once. You try once. ‘Oh, this is not gonna work. I will just freeze to death in the water.’ No, excuse me. No!” deGrasse Tyson told HuffPost. “The survival instinct is way stronger than that in everybody, especially in that character. He’s a survivor, right? He gets through. He gets by.”

He continued, “And I’ll tell you this, if that character was Matt Damon from ‘The Martian,’ he would’ve made an outboard motor and saved everybody. This is how science can help you!”

DeGrasse then went on to criticize Titanic director James Cameron for getting the night sky wrong

Yeah, he had the wrong sky over the sinking ship, and we know where it sank and what time. […] We know there was no moon interfering with he sky. So we knew this. He sinks the ship in the movie and … the sky wasn’t even just the wrong part of the sky, it was a made-up sky. And worse than that, the left side of the sky was a mirror reflection of the right side of the sky, so there’s just no excuse for that.

He then went off on a tangent about the White Walkers dragging the dragon out of the icy water on Game of Thrones, but don’t even get me started on THAT.

Read the whole Neil deGrasse Tyson interview here.

(Photo of Neil: Pacific Coast News; Titanic still: Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Lightstorm Entertainment)

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#QueerQuote: Bob Smith

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Photograph from Harper-Collins

 

“My high school had a Head Start program for homosexuals, it was called Drama Club.”     

Bob Smith

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#BornThisDay: Actor, Janet Gaynor

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21st Century Fox Archives

 

October 6, 1906– Janet Gaynor:

“I think all I really have is sincerity, That’s what has carried me through the change from silents to talkies. My voice has been criticized, brutally sometimes, and I think I’ve gotten by only because I am sincere.”

Gaynor was a superstar of the silent screen. She won the very first Academy Award, in 1927, for the three films Sunrise: A Song Of Two HumansSeventh Heaven and Street Angel (that’s how they did it at the start of the Academy’s giving of awards). She held the record as the youngest Best Actress winner for almost 60 years (Marlee Matlin for Children Of A Lesser God in 1986, in case you are trivia minded). Gaynor:

“Naturally, I was thrilled but being the first year, the Academy Awards had no background or tradition, and it naturally didn’t mean what it does now. Had I known then what it would come to mean in the next few years, I’m sure I’d have been overwhelmed. At the time, I think I was more thrilled over meeting Douglas Fairbanks.”

21st Century Fox Archives

 

Sunrise is my favorite silent film, one of my favorites of any genre really. It is a rich, strange, gorgeous film. Directed by the great gay visionary F.W.Murnau, his first Hollywood film after much success in Europe, he shows what a true artist from the silent era could accomplish cinematically.

Unlike most other actors from the silent era, Gaynor successfully made the transfer to sound films. She was Oscar nominated again for the original and best version of A Star Is Born (1937) with Fredric March, directed by William Wellman. Not the one with Streisand with an afro.

In the 1930s, Gaynor was the highest paid female in Hollywood. She made 36 films in 10 years for Fox Studios, including: Daddy LongLegs (1931) Delicious (1932) State Fair (1933) and The Farmer Takes AWife (1934). She was shining in light comedies and musicals that exploited her special qualities of innocence, vulnerability and natural sweetness. But, she had real acting chops.

Fox used Charles Farrell and Gaynor in a series of 11 romantic melodramas and light comedies. As a box-office incentive of sorts, studio publicists and the fan magazines came up with a Farrell-Gaynor off-screen love affair as well. Never mind the fact that the two were not lovers, in fact they were both gay. Farrell was also mayor of Palm Springs from 1948 to 1953. They had terrific on-screen chemistry and were friendly in real life, and for the sake of their careers, they were more than happy to oblige photographers with pictures of the two of them canoodling.

Gaynor may have frequently played the naive waif in films, but in real life she was quite worldly and rather tough stuff. An early advocate for better roles and more money for females in the biz, she did the seemingly unthinkable by going on strike against Fox Studios, paving the way for future stars to throw around their clout.

Gaynor was also a gifted painter, doing mostly pictures of florals. She had several solo shows of her work at galleries in Palm Springs, Chicago and NYC.

She moved to Brazil and lived there nearly full time in the 1950s and 1960s. This seems to have been a way to get away from the gossip magazines that had begun paying attention to her special closeness to Broadway star Mary Martin, who had a farm right next to Gaynor’s in Brazil. All three of Gaynor’s husbands were gay. The second was MGM’s legendary costume designer, Gilbert Adrian, whose credits ran simply as “Gowns By Adrian”. Gaynor was noted for her demure femininity on screen, but she was a feisty butch thing in real life. Adrian made the trousers and Gaynor wore them. The couple had a son, Robin Gaynor Adrian. Rumor had it that during labor, doctors told Adrian his wife might lose the baby, to which he replied:

“Oh no, I’ll have to go through that again!”.

William Mann’s terrific, juicy, meticulously researched book Behind TheScreen: How Gays And Lesbians Shaped Hollywood 1910-1969 (2001) says that Gaynor wasn’t bisexual, but a real lifelong lesbian, seriously involved with at least two other stars, fellow silent film actor Margaret Livingston and Martin. Cutie pie actor Robert Cummings once quipped:

“Janet Gaynor’s husband was Adrian, the MGM fashion designer. But her wife was Mary Martin.”

Late in life she went back to work. In 1980, Gaynor played Maude in a Broadway stage version of the film Harold And Maude (1971) which ran for just four performances, although Gaynor received enthusiastic reviews. She filmed an episode of the television series The Love Boat (1977-1986), sadly her last screen appearance. In 1982, she toured in the play On Golden Pond, her final acting role.

In 1926, 21st Century Fox Archives

gaynor-1980

Gaynor in 1980, photo from NYC Public Library Archives

 

In 1984, a San Francisco taxi that Gaynor and Mary Martin were riding in was hit by a drunk driver. The serious crash killed Martin’s manager and injured the other passengers. Gaynor was left with 11 broken ribs, a fractured collarbone, pelvic fractures, an injured bladder and a damaged kidney. Gaynor would die two years later from complications from her injuries. She was 77-years-old when she took that final bow.

Always intensely private, Gaynor’s acting work was her legacy, as she probably would have wished. It remains a powerful record even today. If she was forced to live a closeted life, like so many actors of her era, at least did it on her own terms during her time in the spotlight.

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October 6th: It’s YOUR Birthday, Bitch!

Oh Dear: Trump Is Mucking Up Ricky Martin’s Wedding Plans

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Poor Ricky Martin has quite the dilemma. While planning his marriage to partner Jwan Yosef, the “She Bangs” singer has come up against a very unexpected barrier: President Trump‘s evil travel ban. You see, while his hunky husband-to-be Jwan was raised in Sweden, he was actually born in Syria. And many of his family still live there. And Syria, of course, is one of the demonized countries on Trump’s travel ban. Which means they probably wouldn’t be able to attend. And what good is having a big wedding if half the wedding party is labeled potential terrorists and barred from the festivities?

“We want to do it right,” Ricky told Ocean Drive magazine. “hopefully next spring. We’ll do the three-day event as I call it.”

“We still don’t know where we will do it, Los Angeles, Puerto Rico or in Sweden, where my fiancé is from, or in Spain, where I am also from.”

The happy couple could be prevented from marrying in the place they call home, America, due to President Trump’s draconian order banning people from the country entering the US. “We also have to deal with the fact that most of my fiancé’s family is from Syria, so maybe they won’t be able to come into this country.”

“So we might consider doing it in Stockholm or in Spain. We don’t know yet, but it’s going to be a great event.”

Their family life, aside from Trump’s meddling, is an ideal image of the modern family.

“People will be talking about it,” Rick opened up. “We’re a modern family, and I think people need to see, and I want to normalise the beauty of our family. That’s why I’m making it public and I am going to share my wedding with the world.”

Well, wherever it ends up being, I’m sure it will be lovely.

(via Pink News; Photos: Pacific Coast News)

 

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