Tales of the City writer Armistead Maupin has claimed that the staff at a bar in Alice Springs, Australia, would not let him or his husband, Chris Turner, to use a restroom because it was "reserved for real men," ABC News Australia reported. Maupin (who was on a book tour) and Turner were in Bojangles Saloon when the incident allegedly happened. Maupin and Turner immediately left the bar and made an official complaint at the Visitor Information Centre.
Glee star Darren Criss, who plays Blaine, said that his kiss with Chris Colfer, who plays Kurt, happened at the right time, On Top Magazine reported. On the episode that aired March 15, Blaine had a revelation and confessed his feelings to Kurt. Criss said, "I feel like they could have done it whenever, because they have set it up so well. Because they decided to do it now, it works ... it was cool to put it in such a jam-packed episode."
Rocker Dave Grohl has criticized openly gay show creator Ryan Murphy for "thinking anybody and everybody should want to do" the show, according to Digital Spy. Murphy had called the band Kings of Leon "self-centered assholes" after the band refused to let the Fox show cover its music and said that Slash from Guns N' Roses was "uneducated and stupid" for saying that Glee was "worse than Grease."
Music producer Nile Rodgers has revealed that he is currently cancer-free, according to Digital Spy. On his blog, "Walking on Planet C," he wrote, "Today, my test results said I was 'Cancer Free'. I was very happy." Rodgers was behind the '70s band Chic, which had several huge disco hits, including "Everybody Dance" and "Good Times."
Former Pussycat Dolls singer and Dancing with the Stars winner Nicole Scherzinger said that the "greatest honor" for her would be to work with theater legend Andrew Lloyd Webber, Digital Spy reported. Scherzinger is reputed to be a judge on the U.K. or U.S. version of the Simon Cowell show The X Factor. Scherzinger, 32, said of Lloyd Webber, "I can't say enough just how highly I regard Andrew Lloyd Webber. ... Andrew has changed the face of musical theater."
Actors from Sesame Street were in Washington, D.C., recently to help activists protest proposed federal spending cuts to public broadcasting, according to ABC News. The actors helped deliver petitions asking the Senate to fully fund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting; the House has voted to end spending that amounted to about $420 million in 2010.
The fifth annual Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival will include the world premiere of Renée, a documentary exploring the story of Renée Richards, the first transgender tennis player to compete in the women's U.S. Open. Directed by Eric Drath, Renée contains rare archival footage and interviews with close friends and family members as well as tennis legends Martina Navratilova, John McEnroe and Billie Jean King. The Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival runs during the Tribeca Film Festival (April 20-May 1) in lower Manhattan.
GLAAD Media Award recipients were announced in 25 of this year's 32 media categories at the 22nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards presented at the Marriott Marquis Times Square in New York on March 19, according to a press release. Among the recipients were hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons (who received the Excellence in Media Award), singer Ricky Martin, the HBO series True Blood and O: the Oprah Magazine. Additional awards will be presented in Los Angeles on April 10, and on May 14 in San Francisco.
Glee actor Chord Overstreet surprised host Ellen DeGeneres on her talk show by dropping his pants to reveal his briefs, which had "Ellen's Got My Tight End Covered" on the back, according to Advocate.com . Overstreet got the briefs at a Super Bowl party, which might explain the "tight end" reference. During the interview, DeGeneres and Overstreet talked about his tendency to be shirtless on the show.
Speaking of Glee, former Saturday Night Live comedian Victoria Jackson has written an opinion piece stating that she found the kiss between Glee actors Darren Criss and Chris Colfer "sickening," according to Advocate.com . In her World Net Daily column, "Make Me a Liberal," Jackson—who was on SNL from 1986 to 1992—she wrote, "Did you see Glee this week? Sickening! And, besides shoving the gay thing down our throats, they made a mockery of Christians—again! ... Hey, producers of Glee—what's your agenda? One-way tolerance?" She also sounded off on her fear of Muslims and distrust of President Obama.
In yet more Glee-related news, star Matthew Morrison is duetting with sometime co-star Gwyneth Paltrow on his new solo CD, according to US Magazine. They will duet on "Over the Rainbow"—a song Morrison played acoustically during Glee's first-season finale. Morrison told Entertainment Weekly, "I wanted to do a duet with a female. I thought that was a good song to do, and we really did a different arrangement of it. It's a lot of strings, and it's beautiful."
Josh Flagg, one of the real-estate agents on the Bravo show Million Dollar Listing, came out as gay in the March 22 episode, according to Advocate.com . In an interview that ran in the March 23 issue of Windy City Times, Flagg said that he actually has had a boyfriend for three years. Flagg also comes out in his new book, Million Dollar Agent: Brokering the Dream.
The Trevor Project will honor actor Daniel Radcliffe with the Trevor Hero Award June 27 in New York City, according to a press release. Radcliffe has been involved with The Trevor Project since 2009, appearing in public service announcements and making statements supporting LGBTQ youth. (Previous honorees include Kathy Griffin, Neil Patrick Harris and Vanessa Williams.) The project will also honor Ernst & Young LLP with the Trevor 2020 Award.
Film director Quentin Tarantino is suing openly gay True Blood creator Alan Ball because of the "blood-curling screams" from Ball's exotic birds, according to Reuters. Tarantino is claiming in his lawsuit, filed in L.A. County Superior Court, that the "obnoxious pterodactyl-like screams" coming from Ball's "exotic bird menagerie" have "seriously disrupted ability to work as a writer in his home." The Pulp Fiction director has also claimed that he has unsuccessfully tried to resolve the matter with Ball.
Singer Loleatta Holloway has died at the age of 64 after a brief illness, according to Digital Spy. Holloway was a gospel singer before moving on to soul and disco music; she was best known for songs such as "Love Sensation," which was heavily sampled by Black Box in a mix of their 1989 hit "Ride On Time." Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch used her voice in the 1991 single "Good Vibrations." Boy George wrote, "God rest your soul Loleatta Holloway, you were the greatest voice and I loved you! R.I.P."
Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell, Planet Green's Fabulous Beekman Boys, have become the latest celebrities to join the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) in a new video in the "New Yorkers for Marriage Equality" project, according to an HRC press release. The upstate New Yorkers are the first same-sex couple to appear in the campaign, which raises the public profile of marriage equality in the Empire State and can be viewed online at www.hrc.org/NY4marriage.
