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#AnotherDayAnotherShooting: 26 People Killed & Many Injured at a Church in Texas

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At least 20 people have been killed in a church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas, according to Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackitt. The shooter has been killed after a brief chase north according Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Robert Murphy.

Speaking at news conference, Freeman Martin, regional director for the Texas Department of Public Safety, said the shooter was dressed in all black, tactical-type gear when he opened fire on the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas.

• The suspect was seen at 11:20 a.m. this morning at a Valero gas station in Sutherland Springs, Texas.
• The suspect crossed the street to the church, exited his vehicle and began firing at the church.
He then moved to the right side of the church and then continued to fire. The suspect entered the church and continued to fire.
• As he exited the church, a local resident grabbed his rifle and engaged the suspect. The suspect dropped his Ruger AR assault-type rifle and fled from the church.
• A local citizen followed the suspect.
• As law enforcement responded to the scene, the suspect crashed.
• The suspect was found dead in the vehicle.
• Police don’t know if the suspect died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound of if he was shot by a local resident.
The suspect:

• Young, white male, in his early 20s
• He wore a ballistic vest
• Multiple weapons found in the vehicle
• A bomb squad is searching the vehicle

Wilson County Commissioner Albert Gamez Jr. said,

“My heart is broken. We never think where it can happen, and it does happen. It doesn’t matter where you’re at. In a small community, real quiet and everything, and look at this, what can happen.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said,

“While the details of this horrific act are still under investigation, Cecilia and I want to send our sincerest thoughts and prayers to all those who have been affected by this evil act. I want to thank law enforcement for their response and ask that all Texans pray for the Sutherland Springs community during this time of mourning and loss.”

Trump, who is in Japan tweeted,

“May God be w/ the people of Sutherland Springs, Texas.”

A lot of good that does.

This is a developing story.

(Photo, Twitter; via CNN)

The post #AnotherDayAnotherShooting: 26 People Killed & Many Injured at a Church in Texas appeared first on The WOW Report.


#OnThisDay: 145 Years Ago, Susan B. Anthony Votes for POTUS and is Fined $100

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November 5, 1872– In defiance of the law, Susan B. Anthony votes for POTUS, and is eventually fined $100.

Anthony cast a ballot in the presidential election, though women at the time were prohibited from doing so. The NY Times caught the tone of the court proceedings by reporting that:

“It was conceded that the defendant was, on the 5th November, 1872, a woman.”

Some backstory: Anthony did not anticipate that she would be allowed to vote. She expected to be denied registration as a voter and she would then sue for her right to vote in Federal Court. Election inspectors initially refused to register Anthony, but she argued for over an hour. Finally, after threatening to take the matter to court, she convinced the election inspectors to register her along with other 14 women.

Four days later, Anthony arrived at her polling place in Rochester to cast her vote. Anthony voted for the Republican on the ballot, Ulysses S. Grant. Two of the three inspectors decided to allow her to vote, making it official.

On November 14, a warrant was issued for the arrest of Anthony and the 14 other women for voting “without having a lawful right to vote”. The three election inspectors also received warrants.

On November 18, a marshal went Anthony’s home and asked that she turn herself in at the courthouse. Instead, she demanded that she be “arrested properly”, forcing the marshal to handcuff her and take her to court. In January 1873, a grand jury indicted Anthony.

Out on bail, Anthony gave speeches on Women’s Rights:

“It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union. And it is a downright mockery to talk to women of their enjoyment of the blessings of liberty while they are denied the use of the only means of securing them provided by this democratic-republican government—the ballot.”

At her trial, Anthony’s attorney argued that she did not violate the Enforcement Act, which specifies that a person cannot “knowingly” vote illegally, because she believed that she had the right to vote. He also used the trial as a chance to speak about the beliefs of the Women’s Suffrage Movement.

Following the law during that era which prevented criminal defendants in Federal Courts from testifying, the judge refused to allow Anthony to speak until after the verdict had been delivered. On the second day of the trial, after both sides had presented their cases, Judge Ward Hunt delivered his opinion, which he had put in writing. In the most controversial aspect of the trial, Hunt directed the jury to deliver a guilty verdict.

Hunt asked Anthony whether she had anything to say. She responded with the most famous speech in the history Women’s Suffrage. Repeatedly ignoring the judge’s order to stop talking and sit down, she protested what she called:

“This high-handed outrage upon my citizen’s rights… you have trampled underfoot every vital principle of our government. My natural rights, my civil rights, my political rights, my judicial rights, are all alike ignored.”

She scolded the judge for denying her a trial by jury, stating that even if he had allowed the jury to discuss the case, she still would have been denied a trial by a jury of her peers because women were not allowed to be jurors. Hunt sentenced Anthony to pay a fine of $100. She responded: “I shall never pay a dollar of your unjust penalty”, and she never did. If Hunt had ordered her to be imprisoned until she paid the fine, Anthony could have appealed her case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Hunt announced he would not order her taken into custody, denying Anthony legal recourse.

In a separate trial, the election inspectors were also issued $100 fines, which they also refused to pay. They were arrested and jailed for a month, when President Grant issued them pardons.

It would take another 50 years until the Nineteenth Amendment passed in 1920, granting women the right to vote.

 

The post #OnThisDay: 145 Years Ago, Susan B. Anthony Votes for POTUS and is Fined $100 appeared first on The WOW Report.

#BornThisDay: Actor, Sally Field

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Field at the Tony Awards 2017. Photograph: © Avalon.red, PacificCoastNews.

November 5, 1946Sally Field:

“Sexuality is a human, glorious part of existence. In Sam’s case, certainly, nature told him what to be. It wasn’t something he looked to be, and he found it difficult to grapple with.”

Sam is Field’s out and proud gay son, Sam Greisman, a writer and filmmaker who lives in NYC, and in a crazy coincidence, a friend of mine.

In terms of how she helped guide her son through his struggles with his own sexuality, Field wrote:

“I welcomed him to welcome himself, and find that part of his life.”

Last year, Field wrote that she was horrified by parents who disapproved of their LGBTQ children and, in some cases, even disowned them:

“It’s not against nature if nature has actually done this. Don’t be frightened, and don’t put your own prejudices or fears about sexuality on your children.”

In 2012, Field received the Human Rights Campaign’s Ally For Equality Award for her support of the LGBTQ community. In her acceptance speech, she said:

“It is one of the great privileges of my life to be the mother of a gay son.”

In 2014, she said it was her son’s influence that brought her to write an op-ed piece about the “Right To Discriminate” legislation popping up in state legislatures:

“Why would anyone want to prevent my son, or anyone’s son or daughter, from having basic legal safeguards like family medical leave, Social Security survivor’s benefits, or health insurance? It doesn’t make any sense, but it won’t change until people speak out.”

Field was born in Pasadena, California to actor Margaret Field, and she grew up in showbiz. Her parents divorced, and her mother married stuntman Jock Mahoney. Mahoney was a strict disciplinarian who expected faithful obedience from Field and her two siblings. He also fought frequently with Margaret Field, and the couple’s increasingly volatile relationship was tough on the kids. Field found solace in the drama department at her school.

Photo by NBC, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

After graduating high school, Field took an acting workshop at Columbia Studios. Her first professional job was the lead role in the 1965 television series Gidget, based on the popular Sandra Dee film from 1959. Field was just 18-years-old, polite, petite and perky. The show was canceled after one season, but audiences liked her. They liked her so much that ABC created another series for her about a nun so light that she could take flight. It was titled, get this: The Flying Nun (1967-1970). Field didn’t want to do the series, but Mahoney told her: “If you turn down this part, you may never work again.”

The Flying Nun proved popular, but Field was miserable. She felt she would never be considered a serious actor, and the show only magnified that fear. In 1968, she married her high school sweetheart, Steven Craig, and soon became pregnant. Her pregnancy was hidden on the series using creative shots and the folds of her nun’s habit.

Photo from ABC Television, public domain via Wikimedia Commons

The Flying Nun only lasted three seasons, and Field took a break afterwards. She returned to acting in 1973. She studied at the famed Actors Studio with Lee Strasberg. Strasberg encouraged Field to move away from her goody-two-shoes television image. The transformation also included divorcing Craig in 1975.

Field had a breakthrough role as a rowdy party girl in the low budget bodybuilding film Stay Hungry (1976) with Jeff Bridges and an unknown Arnold Schwarzenegger. That same year, she was cast in the television film Sybil, playing a woman with multiple-personality disorder, and winning her first Emmy Award. Field appeared in Smokey And The Bandit (1977), in a comic turn as a runaway bride who catches a ride from a trucker, played by Burt Reynolds at the height of his fame. Field and Reynolds became an item while filming. They had great onscreen chemistry in two other comedies, Hooper (1978) and 1980’s Smokey And The Bandit II (1980). Why were there not more Smokey And The Bandit flicks?

20th Century Fox, via YouTube

Field had an easy, breezy, natural way with comedy, but it was a dramatic role that brought her that first Academy Award. She starred as a gutsy, determined mill worker who tries to unionize her workplace in Norma Rae (1979), winning over Jane Fonda, Marsha Mason, Jill Clayburgh, and her pal Bette Midler. She took more dramatic roles, including opposite Paul Newman in the excellent Absence Of Malice (1981), playing a ruthless journalist.

In the 1984 historical drama Places In The Heart, Field plays a widow struggling to keep her family’s farm during the Great Depression. The film features John Malkovich, Danny Glover and Ed Harris. It received strong reviews and was nominated for seven Academy Awards, winning one for director Robert Benton’s screenplay, and one for Field. She was so thrilled to be winning her second Oscar that during her acceptance speech, she gushed:

“I haven’t had an orthodox career and I’ve wanted more than anything to have your respect. The first time I didn’t feel it, but this time I feel it. And I can’t deny the fact that you like me. Right now, you like me! Thank you.”

via YouTube

This enthusiastic comment may have been the most memorable quote of that Oscar evening, and poor Field soon found herself the subject of jokes because of it. I think after 33 years, we can let her own it.

Field made great films in the 1980s: Murphy’s Romance (1985) with James Garner and 1988’s Punchline with Tom Hanks, and as part of the ensemble of Steel Magnolias (1989).

In the 1991, she had one of her last starring roles in the bubbly Soapdish with Kevin Kline. After that, Field moved gracefully into character roles. She produced the 1995 television miniseries A Woman Of Independent Means and directed and wrote the television film The Christmas Tree (1996) starring Julie Harris, and directed the 2000 film Beautiful with Minnie Driver as a ruthless beauty queen.

Field even returned to television, winning accolades for in role the hit series ER, playing a bipolar woman, winning another Emmy Award in 2001.

In 2002, Field turned to the stage, starring on Broadway in Edward Albee’s The Goat, Or Who Is Sylvia?.  But, she ended up having one of her greatest successes on television, as a family matriarch on the gay-themed drama Brothers & Sisters (2006-2011), winning a third Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

Another generation discovered Field when she took a supporting role in the blockbuster The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) starring Andrew Garfield, playing Peter Parker’s beloved Aunt May. Field reprised the role in 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

She had to lobby Steven Speilberg and even screen test to convince him to let her portray Mary Todd Lincoln opposite Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln (2014). You remember First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln, despite her troubled life, she never showed her vulva in a photo spread… not like First Ladies nowadays.

Last year, Field starred in the delightful, quirky romantic comedy Hello, My Name Is Doris, getting it on with hunky 36-year-old Max Greenfield.

This spring she was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance as Amanda Wingfield in Tennessee William’s The Glass Menagerie, one of the giant roles for women in the American Theatre. You remember that Tony Award broadcast, the one where host Kevin Spacey dressed as Sunset Boulevards Norma Desmond made a joke about coming out of the closet.

Field can currently be seen in the horror film Little Evil (2017), written and directed by her son Eli Craig. It also stars Big Little Lies’ Adam Scott.

Coming up next, Field stars with Emma Stone, Jonah Hill and Justin Theroux in the dark comedy Maniac, a limited series for Netflix.

During the 2007 Emmy Awards, Field’s acceptance speech included: “If the mothers ruled the world, there would be no goddamn wars in the first place.” Fox Broadcasting Company, which aired the Emmys, cut the sound and picture after the word “god” and did not cut back to the stage after Field finished talking.

Field is an advocate for Women’s Rights. She supported Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, and she is no fan of the current POTUS. She is featured in a video released by Humanity For Progress, along with other Hollywood types and faith leaders and activists, demanding that Congress oppose the racist, sexist, anti-immigrant, anti-union and anti-environmental policies of that papaya colored authoritarian man in the White House. She asked Congress to “vigorously oppose him” and “block nominees who threaten the rights of women, the LGBTQ community, people of color, immigrants and the poor”.

In the delightful Soapdish, Field plays a middle-aged soap opera actor whose career is crumbling. Field’s character goes to a mall in New Jersey where she knows she’ll be surrounded by adoring fans. Sound familiar? Trump, when facing the ire of decent Americans, loves heading to places where he knows he will draw a bigly crowd of admirers. But, he will never win an Emmy.

The post #BornThisDay: Actor, Sally Field appeared first on The WOW Report.

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

Introducing WOW Presents PLUS! Subscribe To World of Wonder’s New Streaming Service HERE

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How freaking EXCITED are we to introduce you to your new favorite app. Well, okay, you might not be convinced yet, but trust us, we’ll convince you.

Today we’ve officially launched our brand spankin’ new streaming service called WOW Presents Plus. So, what exactly is WOW Presents Plus?

WOW Presents Plus puts the best of our Youtube channel, WOW’s library of content, and new original series all in one new service!

By subscribing, you can watch BRAND NEW EPISODES of your favorite shows like Bro’Laska and M.U.G., classics like UNHhhh, then switch over to new shows from Bob the Drag Queen, Detox, & MORE.

But that’s not all… World of Wonder has a long history of making everything from television shows to documentaries to boundary-pushing content that will make you go… WOW.

You can go from watching Divine David Presents to Grab to The Last Beekeeper to Miss Navajo and seriously SO many other informative and interesting documentaries!

Seriously, what are you waiting for? Head on over to WOW-Presents.com and subscribe! Your first 30 days are FREE and it’s only 3.99 a month after that! Or you can go BIG (or go home!) and get a whole entire year for $39.99, which saves you 15%!

What are you waiting for? Everyone’s talking about WOW Presents Plus, so why not see what it’s got to offer YOU!

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Producers Launch Subscription-Video Service With LGBTQ Content and More

World of Wonder Launches Subscription Streaming Service; Debuts New Original Shows

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Creators Launch New Digital Network WOW Presents Plus

‘Drag Race’ Producer World of Wonder Launches Subscription Service

Creators of RuPaul’s Drag Race Launch Streaming Service with Nine Original Series

Get your LIFE and subscribe to WOW Presents Plus right NOW!

The post Introducing WOW Presents PLUS! Subscribe To World of Wonder’s New Streaming Service HERE appeared first on The WOW Report.

#ManCrushMonday: Milan Christopher Had To Warn Instagram That His Halloween Costume Was, Um, REVEALING…

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Openly gay hip hop artist Milan Christopher had to alert Instagram that his costume might make everyone VERY THIRSTY. His revealing Halloween costume based on the image on the left came with this warning,

Disclaimer to Instagram Staff: This picture is an Artistic painting displaying a Hindu God and my Creative interpretation of the Deity for the Halloween holiday- This Collage was created for comparison & entertainment purposes only and should not be misinterpreted or sexualized – this post is for creative artistic use & entertainment purposes only & because of its artistic, cultural, & historical reference abides by Instagram community guidelines!

What about the rest of his posts! You’ve been warned! (Still, these are all PG compared to THIS photo shoot. VERY NSFW!)

🌴 Tropical 🌴 @ontheroadwithmilanchristopher

A post shared by Milan Christopher (@milanchristopher) on

☀️SunChild | 👖by: @aronikswim _________________________________________ #MilanChristopher #VeganLife #runyoncanyon #TrainingDay

A post shared by Milan Christopher (@milanchristopher) on

🐼 | #MilanChristopher

A post shared by Milan Christopher (@milanchristopher) on

#MIlanChristopher "Worlds Sexiest Bachelor" ❤️🖤❤️ – 📸: Adonis Mag 2017

A post shared by Milan Christopher (@milanchristopher) on

Who wants to go for a ride? 🤔 | #ICONIC 🤴🏽 #Fbf to my iconic @papermagazine Spread | Paper Magazine 2017

A post shared by Milan Christopher (@milanchristopher) on

WET 💦 | #MilanChristopher #Tgif (tag a friend who you thinks want to get wet) 😜

A post shared by Milan Christopher (@milanchristopher) on

(via Queerty)

The post #ManCrushMonday: Milan Christopher Had To Warn Instagram That His Halloween Costume Was, Um, REVEALING… appeared first on The WOW Report.

WOW Presents Clips: Getting to Know 101 Rent Boys from the WOW Documentary of the Same Name

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WOWPresents: Clips” is 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, we have one of my ALL-TIME favorite World of Wonder productions, 101 Rent Boys a documentary from 2000. In it, we rounded up local street hustlers (101 of them, to be exact), gave them $50 for their time, and had them tell us their stories. Fascinating, heartbreaking, and kind of hot all at the same time, it’s 78 minutes you’ll never forget. Watch a quickie clip below….

And to watch 101 Rent Boys in its entirety, subscribe now to WOW Presents Plus for the  best of Pop, Doc, Drag, and original LGBT Programming!

101 Rent Boys is a documentary look at the boys who work the Santa Monica strip. The film is a powerful look at the lives of men who sell their bodies to other men. It genuinely features 101 different rent boys – some extensively, some in shorter soundbites. The interviews are grouped to cover certain themes; such as their first trick, or the reason that they began to work as a rent boy. The film features footage of the boys working the Santa Monica strip, being picked up by customers and then, some time later, returning to the street corner. The duty of the film is to register as many stories and different people as necessary to suggest the huge variety of people that work the strip. It is a series of anecdotes, it is also a part of social history.

Producers & Directors: Fenton Bailey & Randy Barbato
Editor: Will Grayburn
Distributed by Strand Releasing
Available on DVD
Running Time: 78 minutes

The post WOW Presents Clips: Getting to Know 101 Rent Boys from the WOW Documentary of the Same Name appeared first on The WOW Report.

SQUEEEAL! Dacre Montgomery Is Shirtless In His “Stranger Things” Audition Tape!

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Well, he’s only the HANDSOMEST MAN ON THE PLANET right now.

The second coming of Errol Flynn, I KID YOU NOT.

Dacre Montgomery, who stars as hotheaded bully Billy Hargrove in the second season of Stranger Things, has the roiling sexuality of a young Rob Lowe circa The Outsiders, with that wispy pornstache and the de rigueur mullet – OH HE’S JUST TOO MUCH!

Of course, I’ve been gushing about him since he was the Red Power Ranger in this year’s movie reboot, but he really seems to have found his footing here, as an ’80s-era bad boy.

Anyway. Here he is in his Stranger Things audition tape for the Duffer Brothers, glowering gorgeously and laughing maniacally and generally acting like a nut. In the final minutes he strips and dances shirtless to ’80s hits “Hungry Like the Wolf” and “Come on Eileen.” And although you can’t see, the 22-year-old Australian actor says he was rocking a nude-colored G-string during the dance, just to REALLY SEAL THE DEAL.

“I just kind of wanted to make a bit of a splash with the Duffers, because I assumed they would be getting so many tapes,” the Power Rangers star tells GQ.

“I get so self-conscious, so it was a nice reprieve from that, to be able to do that at home, during the day, while none of my family was home, and just go for it, to just have that moment of freedom, and be able to show them that I can have that uninhibited freedom. And I was like, Okay, what better way to do that than to oil myself up, put on a G-string, and… yeah.”

fdkjhgajhadfgjkgjrho.

I think I need a moment alone to process that.

Watch below. (via Queerty)

And have you SEEN pictures of Dacre just being Dacre? Just peruse the pics below and you, too, will be as smitten as I. (via Pacific Coast News)

The post SQUEEEAL! Dacre Montgomery Is Shirtless In His “Stranger Things” Audition Tape! appeared first on The WOW Report.


Detox Talks New EP, ‘Detox’s Life Rehab’ On WOW Presents Plus, & SO MUCH MORE In This Exclusive Interview

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Detox’s Life Rehab has finally arrived!

YAY! How excited are you to head on over to WOW Presents Plus and watch the new episodes of Detox’s Life Rehab? Hopefully you’ve already subscribed for your free 30 day trial, but if not, GET ON THAT Y’ALL!

Alright, sure, you might not be convinced… YET but I think I know just the way to convince you! We spoke with Detox about her new show Detox’s Life Rehab on WOW Presents Plus and, trust us, when you hear what she’s got to say, you’re definitely gonna wanna watch.

Check out her answers below and sign up for WOW Presents Plus right NOW so you can watch along as you read our interview!

Chelsea Perrotty: What IS Detox’s Life Rehab? What can fans expect to see in this new series?

Detox: It’s an irreverent yet insightful lifestyle and self help series where I meet people from all walks of life and discuss anything from fashion faux pas to relationship advice and everything in between! Think Martha Stewart is a cross dresser whom may or may have a drinking problem!

CP: What’s your favorite episode of Detox’s Life Rehab?

Detox: That’s tough to say! They’re all fun! There’s one that was especially important though, and it’s the episode where Vicky Vox stops by. Most people don’t know, but Vicky is very empathic and can read people’s energies. She’d never done it before in a kind of forced set up like this and we weren’t really sure how the segment would end up…but it was truly magical. She has a true gift and there wasn’t a dry eye at all on set during that taping.

CP: Do you have any fun behind the scenes moments that happened during filming for Detox’s Life Rehab?

Detox: Honestly, everything about filming it is fun. In the Truth Bomb segment at the end of every episode though is usually the most fun. At that point in the day I’m usually good and buzzed and it’s always a feat keeping me somewhat above water! Also, having fans freak out while we’re on the streets filming is always fun. They get so excited and we try and use em for whatever segment we may be doing and usually they’re just too giddy to do a thing! 

CP: You have a new EP coming out and some of the songs from it are used in Detox’s Life Rehab! Can you tell us more about that?

Detox: Yes! It’s called Comin’ At’cha! After working with Ellis Miah on Read You Wrote You during All Stars 2, we’d been dying to work on something together. In between my hectic schedule we would get together and brainstorm and write and slowly start putting stuff down. It was definitely a longer process than either of us intended, but I think that’s good.

I didn’t want to have stuff out JUST to have stuff out and everything on the EP I love. It’s kind of an homage to 90s glam & hip hop. Lil Kim & Bad Boys vibes sprinkled with some Beastie Boys. It’s fun and nostalgic but still very new.

The track I Like It Like That is used in the Truth Bomb segment and is all about my love of pampering and maybe the most obvious where my Lil Kim influence is present. And yes! We’re still trying to get her on a damn track sometime! We’re working on some videos and slowly releasing them before we drop the full EP with additional remixes. I’m so excited!

CP: What’s your favorite song on the EP and why?

All of them! I lovvvvvvve “She’s Gotta Habit”. Every time I perform it and hear it I love it even more. We just shot the video for it and it’s going to be pretty epic. We shot 12 looks alone the first day of filming. Fashion overload!

CP: If you could be on any other WoW show – past, present, or possibly future – what show would you pick and why?

Detox: Honestly, my own home improvement show! I just bought a house in Chicago right across the street from my sister, who is in the middle of major renovations. I’ve always loved interior design and refurbishing furniture. How awesome would that be?! Detox & D Rama rehabbing the neighborhood! So much fun!

CP: What is your go-to “WOW Presents Plus and Chill” Snack?

Detox: Hummus and pretzel chips, maple glazed turkey & havarti rolls, gummi bears and booze!

CP: In your own words, why should people download WOW Presents Plus to watch Detox’s Life Rehab?

Detox: How else can everyone have me, literally, at their fingertips?!

Sign up to WOW Presents Plus to watch TWO episodes of Detox’s Life Rehab with MORE episodes on the way!

The post Detox Talks New EP, ‘Detox’s Life Rehab’ On WOW Presents Plus, & SO MUCH MORE In This Exclusive Interview appeared first on The WOW Report.

Marilyn Manson Points Fake Rife at Concert-Goers

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The ever-ghoulish, ever-shocking Marilyn Manson was performing last night at the Glen Helen Amphitheater in San Bernardino (a city, TMZ reminds us, where a terrorist killed 14 people in December of last year). He rolled onstage in a wheelchair (as he’s still recuperating from an onstage injury that crushed his leg in September), then pretended to spray the crowd with bullets from a fake semi-automatic weapon. Art or insensitive trolling? Watch the video here and YOU tell ME.

(Photos: Pacific Coast News)

 

The post Marilyn Manson Points Fake Rife at Concert-Goers appeared first on The WOW Report.

Check Out These Exclusive Photos From DragCon MiniCon in Our WOW Presents Space

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This weekend the WOW Presents Space hosted DragCon MiniCon in Los Angeles.

The Pit Crew, April Carrion, Mariah Balenziaga  James St. James and Morgan McMichaels all made appearances throughout the day. Fans took pictures, participated in contests for merch, giveaways and more!

Check it out below!

Congratulations to the first 50 fans that bought their tickets to DragCon LA 2018 in person! They all went home with a skip the line pass for panels next year! How awesome is that?!?!

If you haven’t gotten your tickets for DragCon LA 2018 you can purchase them here. 

The post Check Out These Exclusive Photos From DragCon MiniCon in Our WOW Presents Space appeared first on The WOW Report.

Kevin Spacey Groped Richard Dreyfuss’s 18 Year-Old Son (With His Dad in the Same Room!)

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On Oct. 29, BuzzFeed News published a story about actor Anthony Rapp, who alleged that actor Kevin Spacey made a sexual advance toward him when he was 14, in 1986. Since that story, many more men have come forward with allegations against Spacey, ranging from workplace harassment to attempted rape.

Harry Dreyfuss, Richard Dreyfuss’s son, says that he was groped by Kevin Spacey when he was 18-years-old. In an essay on Buzzfeed the actor and writer says,

When I was an 18-year-old senior in high school, Kevin Spacey groped me.

It was 2008, and he was directing my father, Richard Dreyfuss, in a play called Complicit at the Old Vic in London. I’d come to visit for Christmas Break. It happened one night when the three of us were alone in Kevin’s apartment rehearsing my father’s lines. My father didn’t see, and I didn’t tell him about the incident for many years. Instead, I spent the next nine years telling people the story at parties for laughs.

I lived by Carrie Fisher’s brilliant line,

“If my life wasn’t funny, it would just be true, and that is unacceptable.”

Telling the story as a joke ensured that this was a story I could own. If I could laugh at it, then surely I was not a victim. As a young storyteller from a family dedicated to seeing the funny side of the absurd, this was my way of defanging the whole thing.

That technique fell apart once I got to college and started telling the story to people in the theater world in New York. Often, they would respond by saying, “I know a guy that that happened to as well.” The victims in many of these stories were often young men. These admissions became so common that I started to plan on a break in the story just so people could nod and say, “Oh yeah, I’ve heard this before.” All of these responses made me realize there wasn’t anything funny about my story. It wasn’t a joke. As I write this, 10 people, including actor Anthony Rapp, have come forward with their own allegations, which points to a pattern — Kevin Spacey is a sexual predator. But I still never thought talking about it seriously was ever an option.

First of all, on the scale of sexual abuse, I felt that what happened to me was relatively minor. It wasn’t until this year, when so many people have bravely come out with their stories, and the demand for a better world has gotten such broad support, that I saw my own story has value. What I see now is that when it comes to sexual abuse, there is no such thing as a “minor” assault. And if telling this story will help others speak up, then it is worth it. I also can’t stand that Kevin, in his apology, tried to distract from the real problem here by coming out, and in so doing managed to undermine all the work the LGBT community has done to do away with the association between pedophilia and homosexuality. The fact that he’s gay is not what’s important. Rather, it’s that he has no respect for consent. A lot of people have warned me this could hurt my career because it will make me look like I’m “jumping on the bandwagon.” But as long as the bandwagon is outing a sexual predator…then I’m good with that.

I remember before it happened I was so excited to meet Kevin. But I was also terrified that he would be just like so many of the characters he plays — a cold, calculating prick. But the first time I met him, he put all my worries to rest. He saw me and his eyes lit up. He gave me such a warm smile, and instead of shaking my hand, he gave me a hug. Instantly, my young-man-perpetually-seeking-father-figures heart melted. All I remember thinking was you’re so nice.

Then the cast of the play started their first run-through. At the time, I didn’t understand that the stage was taped out on the floor in a circle (the play was to be in the round), and the chair I was sitting on was inside the tape. I was onstage. Five minutes into the read, someone pointed that out, and I was morbidly embarrassed. Kevin came up to me, and I, sweating and blushing, apologized and started to get out of my seat. Kevin told me to keep sitting, and kindly, so kindly, came up behind my chair and grabbed the back of the seat. He proceeded to lift the chair into the air with me in it, and carry it out of the rehearsal space. Again, I thought you’re so nice.

A few days later my father had an appointment to meet Kevin at his apartment to run lines. I came along, excited to get to spend some time with my newest and most famous male authority figure.

We were in Kevin’s kitchen when my dad ducked out for a moment to go to the bathroom. Kevin and I were looking out his window at the lights of London, when he came to my side and asked me how my Christmas had been. I had had a terrible Christmas, I told him, because I was too shy. I was 18, I’d mustered the courage to leave our hotel and go get legally drunk for the first time in my life, but I didn’t have the nerve to speak with anyone. Instead, I had a few drinks and then promptly returned to my hotel room to watch Tropic Thunder for the fourth time. After I’d told him that, Kevin slid his hand into mine. He wrapped his fingers between my fingers, and peered into my eyes, and warmly said, “Don’t be shy.” Then, “You’ll get over it.” I was stunned.

You’re so nice.

Finally the three of us moved into his living room to read the script. My dad sat in a big chair on the side of the room, while Kevin and I sat on his couch. Kevin was sitting extremely close to me, but I didn’t blink because Kevin handed me the script and told me to read with my dad (playing the part of his wife). The only thing going through my mind at the time was how amazing it was that I was getting to act in front of one of my idols.

After a few minutes, he put his hand on my thigh. Finally (finally, finally) I became suspicious. It took that long because it just never occurred to me that Kevin would be interested in me in the first place. He was an adult man, a hero of mine, my dad’s boss, none of which were categories on my radar for sexual interactions. Besides, I thought, Surely he can’t be coming on to me like this right in front of my dad. But his hand stayed there. So after a bit, I came up with what I thought was a brilliant safety tactic: I stood up and walked to the other side of the couch, and sat back down. Bulletproof. But without missing a beat, Kevin stood up too, and followed me. He sat just as close and immediately put his hand back on my thigh.

My dad saw none of this and none of what would follow, because he was deeply focused on his script.

I was unable to process what was happening: My dad and I were pretending to be lovers in a play while Kevin Spacey was trying to seduce me and all the while in real life I was a hapless, straight virgin who just wanted to become a famous actor.

So I stood up one more time and returned to my original place on the couch, giving Kevin another opportunity to take the hint. I also added one more layer of protection. The moment I sat down, I firmly placed my own hands upon my thighs, palms down, claiming that territory for myself.

Once again Kevin followed me, sat down, and with considerable effort, slid his hand between my right hand and my right leg. He’d snuck in. At this point I didn’t think there was anything I could do short of alerting my dad to what was happening. But I didn’t want to start a feud between them. I didn’t want the play to be threatened. This job really mattered to my dad, and Kevin was his boss. And besides, I thought, He isn’t really doing anything wrong…

And then he did. Over the course of about 20 seconds, centimeter by centimeter, Kevin crawled his hand from my thigh over toward my crotch. My mind went blank. Suddenly, he had completed his journey and now he had all of me in his hand. I stopped reading the script and my eyes went wide. I lifted up my head and faced him. Looking into his eyes, I gave the most meager shake of my head that I could manage. I was trying to warn him without alerting my dad, who still had his eyes glued to the page. I thought I was protecting everyone. I was protecting my dad’s career. I was protecting Kevin, who my dad surely would have tried to punch. I was protecting myself, because I thought one day I’d want to work with this man. Kevin had no reaction and kept his hand there. My eyes went back to the script and I kept reading.

I don’t know how long we sat there like that. It could have been as little as 20 seconds, or it could have been five minutes. It’s the hardest part of the story for me to recall. What I do remember is that, other than being a shy kid who obviously admired Kevin Spacey a lot, I never once gave him a signal that I would want to be with him in that way.

I can’t remember how the night ended. I don’t remember leaving. I’m sure it looked entirely normal. We probably hugged and smiled as we left. I didn’t tell my dad anything then. I went home to my hotel and probably watched Tropic Thunder again. But I obviously couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Now having had nine years to process it, it finally is clear to me how wrong Kevin’s behavior was. Not because of how it made me feel. Again, I think being male, and roughly the same size as Kevin, meant that I never felt physically unsafe. My dad was in the room, and I could have alerted him at any time. It didn’t make me feel traumatized, and instead I spun it into a funny story. Kevin Spacey came on to me! He’s famous! Haha!

And that kind of thinking has to be addressed. I did a lot of mental gymnastics to normalize my experience. For the last nine years, whenever I would tell this story to people who refused to laugh — who insisted that I had gone through something profoundly wrong — I would always try to downplay it so they could just see the funny side. I especially wanted to discourage them from thinking that what happened to me was something I ever needed to speak publicly about. This is how I approached finally telling my father when I was in college, four or five years after the incident. He was furious, and I spent the rest of the evening ensuring him that it wasn’t a big deal, and that I would be mortified if he did anything about it.

As the allegations against Harvey Weinstein came rolling in, and so many women I know posted their stories of sexual abuse during the #MeToo campaign, I came to see how important it is to add my voice to the people who are demanding a better world. A world in which powerful men are no longer allowed to feel safe to do this, or far worse. In retrospect, what disgusts me about Kevin was how safe he did feel. He knew he could fondle me in a room with my father and that I wouldn’t say a word. He knew I wouldn’t have had the guts. And I didn’t.

So to all the people who have spoken up already, about Kevin, about Harvey Weinstein, and Bill Cosby, and Bill O’Reilly, and Roger Ailes, and all the women who have opened my eyes to how pervasive this problem is, I can’t thank you enough. You helped me see that what was once treated as normal never deserved to be, and that things we all could have condemned sooner were happening right under many of our noses. In minimizing my own experience all these years, I unwittingly played a role in minimizing it for everyone. That ends now. This was never a funny story. Rather than a punchline, I hope my story can serve as inspiration to others who may have felt that they couldn’t or shouldn’t speak up until now.“

(Photos, Instagram Wikipedia; via Buzzfeed)

The post Kevin Spacey Groped Richard Dreyfuss’s 18 Year-Old Son (With His Dad in the Same Room!) appeared first on The WOW Report.

Real News/Fake Puppets: Everything You Need to Know About Our New Streaming Service WOW Presents Plus!

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On this all-new episode of “Real News with Fake Puppets,” my co-host Sarah Barenberg and I talk about the all new WOW Presents Plus streaming service and all of the fabulous EXCLUSIVE content you can find here. It’s the best of the best of WOW pop, docs, drag, and original programming featuring Bob the Drag Queen, Detox, Kim Chi and more! Best of all? The FIRST MONTH IS FREE!!! Subscribe NOW!

The post Real News/Fake Puppets: Everything You Need to Know About Our New Streaming Service WOW Presents Plus! appeared first on The WOW Report.

To Do, TONIGHT & TOMORROW: See Ryan Raftery’s “The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of Martha Stewart” at the Rockwell

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BE THERE! Tonight and Tomorrow night, Tuesday, November 7!! There’s still tickets available!

YES! At the Rockwell Table & Stage: 1714 N Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027!

Quadruple threat (actor/writer/singer/cutie-patootie) Ryan Raftery returns to LA to premiere the final show in his “Titans of Media” trilogy, based on the tale of America’s first self-made female billionaire, Martha Stewart. Ryan, you will recall, previously slayed with his spot-on musical interpretations of Anna Wintour and Andy Cohen… and this one promises to be EVEN MORE FABULOUS!

via Broadway World:

“The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of Martha Stewart” tells the fascinating story of the woman who changed the way we live our lives by daring us to try harder. From her humble beginnings in Nutley, NJ, to her empire-building years in Westport, CT, to her highly-publicized stint in federal prison, this is a chronicle of epically blind ambition set to the music of artists as varied as Beyonce, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Adele and Metallica.

Directed by Jay Turton, the show – stageplay and parody lyrics by Ryan Raftery – features musical direction by Christopher Littlefield, wig & makeup design by Marty Thomas, and costume design by Sarah Perillo.

Performances begin at 8 p.m. with a two-item minimum per person. No refunds, no exceptions. Click here for tickets and more information.

Check out the super-fab trailer below.

The post To Do, TONIGHT & TOMORROW: See Ryan Raftery’s “The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of Martha Stewart” at the Rockwell appeared first on The WOW Report.

Chris Rock Tries Out New Comedy Routine: “Women Cry Rape Because They Want Money”

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Chris Rock was at the Comedy Cellar last Thursday trying out a new “comedy” routine about the current spate of sexual abuse allegations in Hollywood and – Spoiler Alert – it didn’t go over too well.

via Page Six:

Rock said that he will no longer hire women because he would need a crowd around him at all times to protect him from false rape accusations if he did: “They cry rape because they want money”, he said, claiming that he is afraid to even hire a cleaning woman now.

One member of the audience told Page Six that “Nobody was laughing. There were many boos and many women who were telling him he was a sexist pig. Two people got kicked out.”

The comedian Jeffrey Ross was waiting in the wings to go one and when Rock began getting boos, he asked Ross or a new topic. Ross suggested “Talk about growing up in Brooklyn.” Which would have been safe. But instead, Rock decided to joke about Harvey Weinstein: “Weinstein ­f–ked with me by trying to have me star in the worst movies of all time,” he said of film projects he rejected.

According to Page Six, Rock reportedly exited the stage after 20 minutes to silence from the audience.

“Now that we got that Chris Rock kid out of the way . . .,” Ross said.

Neither his publicist nor a spokesperson for the club would comment.

(Photo: Pacific Coast News)

The post Chris Rock Tries Out New Comedy Routine: “Women Cry Rape Because They Want Money” appeared first on The WOW Report.


#Queens United/Reinas Unidas: 28 RDR Girls Performed Last Night to Aid Puerto Rico (Thanks to Phi Phi O’Hara!)

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There was an epic concert in Minneapolis last night for Puerto Rican disaster relief organized by none other than Phi Phi O’Hara (who worked in association with Flip Phone Events, an LGBT promotions company). Twenty-eight Drag Race drag queens – including Bob the Drag Queen, Katya, Alexis Michelle, Jiggly Client, Chad Michaels, Ginger Minj, and emcee Naysha Lopez – performed at the prestigious First Avenue club (where Prince got his start), bringing in an estimated $50,000. Organizers hope to raise Phi Phi’s fundraising goal of between $75,000 and $100,000 when all is said and done. And a great night was had by all.

via NewNowNext:

The performers all donated their time, as well as tips and merchandise sales. Several had connections to Puerto Rico, including Yara Sofia, who was born on the island. Her infamous catch phrase—”Echa pa’lante” (or “keep moving forward”)—has a deeper meaning since Hurricane Maria.

And O’Hara hopes to keep moving forward with her charitable work, perhaps reuniting the queens for benefits for HIV/AIDS and breast cancer.

“Queens United is a great name,” she says. “I hope we bring it back. Because our president is not doing his job, we have to step up to the plate.”

“I’m totally breaking brand for this,” O’Hara told NewNowNext backstage at First Avenue. “It’s powerful. It’s showing how much power one person can do, whether you have a TV persona people like or not. This is reality.”

Very inspiring!

Check out some Insta love below.

This……I am at a loss for words……the power we have to make a difference…..AND WE DID IT!! Beyond grateful, happy tears! We raised IN JUST TICKET SALES ALONE…. $50,000!!!!! I can’t wait to tally up the rest of merch, tips etc! THANK YOU WORLD for coming out and showing up to this historical event! The RPDR alumni that showed up tonight, the girls that tweeted, the girls that donated….THANK YOU FOR USING YOUR VOICE AND PLATFORM TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE, I have never been more proud to be a Drag Race Girl. Tonight I hope this inspires the world that when someone needs help….YOU HELP! Also thank you @flipphoneevents!! I could not have done this without you! Love you so much Chad! WE AS HUMANS ARE POWERFUL PEOPLE….AND THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE WHEN POWERFUL PEOPLE DO SOMETHING AMAZING! So proud!

A post shared by Phi Phi O’Hara (@phiphiohara) on

Tonight was an absolute dream. #queensunited #reinasunidas #flipphone #firstave #minneapolis

A post shared by Justin Bertram (@jrbertra730) on

Pandora Box #queensunited #rupaulsdragrace #rupaulsdragraceallstars #purtorico🇵🇷 #pandorabox #firstavenue

A post shared by Jason (@jasonoslin2003) on

Wow. That was a damn show. 🇵🇷#queensunited #reinasunidas #puertorico

A post shared by Tyler Dahl (@tylerjdahl) on

When it’s a school night but you decide to support Puerto Rico one dollar bill at a time #queensunited #flipphonempls

A post shared by Brian Doucette (@doucettebrian) on

Not done dreaming quite yet… #queensunited #reinasunidas #minneapolis #firstave #rpdr

A post shared by Justin Bertram (@jrbertra730) on

#QueensUnitedReinasUnidas show! @jaidynnfierce I friggin love you!! Lmfao @mrskashadavis you killllll me ha! Love u!!

A post shared by Phi Phi O’Hara (@phiphiohara) on

The post #Queens United/Reinas Unidas: 28 RDR Girls Performed Last Night to Aid Puerto Rico (Thanks to Phi Phi O’Hara!) appeared first on The WOW Report.

Werking the Blood Red Carpet at the “Dragula: The Search for the Next Drag Supermonster” Premiere

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Oh! Well! My dears! You simply MUST check out the red carpet from last week’s big “Dragula: The Search for the Next Drag Supermonster” premiere at the Globe Theater in lovely downtown LA. The entire Season 2 cast was there, of course, looking BEYOND SICKENING, as well Season 1 fan faves Meatball, the divine Vander Von Odd, Pincé, Xochi Mochi, and the luminous Loris (those eyes! those eyes!). Oh, and of course, the show’s beloved hostesses The Boulet Brothers! Always so fierce! Watch below!

The post Werking the Blood Red Carpet at the “Dragula: The Search for the Next Drag Supermonster” Premiere appeared first on The WOW Report.

Charlie Hunnam Explains Why His Nickname Should be “12-Inch C*ck Willy”

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Just one more reason to love this guy…

A few months ago, while doing an interview for his recent bomb King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, the always delightful Charlie Hunnam spoke at length about the price of being so damn beautiful, staying in tip-top shape, donating his abs to Planet Hollywood, and… wait for it… why he thinks his nickname should be “12-Inch Cock Willy.”

Well, alrighty then!

Watch below.

I love that even the (ALSO VERY ATTRACTIVE) interviewer James Sloane is shocked speechless.

(via Boy Culture)

The post Charlie Hunnam Explains Why His Nickname Should be “12-Inch C*ck Willy” appeared first on The WOW Report.

WOW Presents Clips: Chronicling Chaz Bono’s Transition in 2011’s “Becoming Chaz”

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WOWPresents: Clips” is our EXCLUSIVE daily peek into the extensive library of WOW shows, interviews, and pop culture ephemera we’ve collected over the last three decades.

We’re rolling out a LOT of classic WOW content on WOW Presents Plus – documentaries, TV series, and behind-the-scenes footage from your favorite shows – It’s an exciting time to be a WOW fan! Today, we’re featuring a clip is from the 2011 OWN documentary Becoming Chaz that gives a general overview of the film. And that includes the endcard to watch the full film on WOW Presents Plus.

Watch below:

Then, to watch Becoming Chaz in its entirety, subscribe now to WOW Presents Plus for the best of Pop, Doc, Drag, and original LGBT Programming!

Chaz Bono was a male trapped in a female shell for as long as he can remember. Growing up as Sonny and Cher’s adorable golden-haired daughter in a body he felt wasn’t his own was a crucible it took years to transcend. Now, as he undertakes gender reassignment, he’s bravely decided to share the process on camera.

Becoming Chaz invites us along on Chaz’s remarkable journey of transformation. As hormone shots give way to top surgery, down-to-earth, unflappable Chaz beams with a sense of liberation and goes public with his story to put a face on a misunderstood issue. Meanwhile, his gregarious girlfriend grapples with the realities of suddenly living with a man, and it’s clear sex change isn’t solely a physical transition.

Intimate and nakedly honest, the film reveals the humanity and courage it takes for Chaz to ultimately embrace his true self. His moving struggle will reverberate profoundly for anyone to whom authenticity matters.

The post WOW Presents Clips: Chronicling Chaz Bono’s Transition in 2011’s “Becoming Chaz” appeared first on The WOW Report.

WOWlebrity Receptionist of the Day: The Legendary Larry Tee!

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