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Alec Baldwin vs. Anderson Cooper; 30 years of Madonna
Entertainment news:
by Andrew Davis, Windy City Times
2013-07-31

This article shared 36741 times since Wed Jul 31, 2013
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In a sit-down with Howard Stern, actor Alec Baldwin was asked about a comment from gay CNN host Anderson Cooper, according to Out.com . Cooper recently tweeted, "Why does Alec Baldwin get a pass when he uses gay slurs? If a conservative talked of beating up a 'queen' they would be vilified." (The post was in reference to Baldwin calling the Daily Mail's George Stark a "toxic little queen" after Stark inaccurately reported that Baldwin's wife sent texts during James Gandolfini's funeral.) Regarding Cooper, Baldwin said that Cooper's "job is to try to reinforce his credibility in the gay community after the fact that you couldn't get him out of the closet for 10 years with a canister of tear gas."

Happy anniversary, Madonna! This marks 30 years since her self-titled debut album hit the charts, according to Billboard.com . The album—released July 27, 1983—debuted at No. 190 on the Billboard 200 chart dated Sept. 3, 1983, and eventually climbed all the way number eight the following year. The album contained songs such as "Everybody" (which actually was released in 1982), "Burning Up," "Physical Attraction," "Holiday," "Borderline" and "Lucky Star." "Borderline" was her first of a record 38 top 10 hits on the Hot 100. (The Beatles are second with 34.)

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have reportedly spent $750,000 on gold-plated toilets, according to a Digital Spy item. They're also said to have splashed out on a Swarovski-encrusted refrigerator-freezer as well as $1 million on kitchen appliances. TMZ says that the couple's $11-million home will include a hair and make-up salon, bowling alley, indoor and outdoor pool, basketball court, movie theater and custom gym.

More than a year after her sudden death in Beverly Hills at age 48, Whitney Houston's gravesite now has a headstone, Out.com reported. The heart-over-teardrop shaped headstone calls her "The Voice," and features the title of her career-defining song, "I Will Always Love You." The grave is in Westfield, N.J., 20 miles west of New York City.

CBS Atlanta dropped Emmy-winning gay news host Brandon Rudat and apparently quickly worked to erase his presence from the Better Mornings show he co-anchored for three years, according to Project Q Atlanta. Rudat—known for showing skin at gay-charity fundraisers said and promoting his graffiti art—said, "Management at CBS decided not to renew my contract. ... I have been blessed to spend my spare time fighting for equal rights, marriage equality, but also helping to stop childhood bullying especially so our young teens can come out and be proud of who they are."

The Library of Congress has acquired the papers of Lilli Vincenz, a trailblazer for the LGBT-rights movement, Advocate.com reported. A documentarian, Vincenz created the short film The Second Largest Minority, which recorded the 1968 Annual Reminder in Philadelphia, one of the earliest LGBT demonstrations in the United States. She also caught the first Pride parade in New York City, which took place one year after the Stonewall Riots. Her footage has been used in several documentaries, including Before Stonewall, After Stonewall and Gay Pioneers.

The female group TLC—which had Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas, Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, and Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes selling 65 million albums worldwide—will release a new CD on LaFace/Epic Records Oct. 15, according to a press release. (Lopes died in a car crash in 2002.) Lady Gaga and Ne-Yo are among those writing tracks for the album. In addition, on Monday, Oct. 21, VH1 will premiere its scripted original movie CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story, which will chronicle the group's beginnings in Atlanta and rise to fame in the 1990s.

Beth Ditto, lead singer of the group Gossip, tied the knot with longtime girlfriend Kristin Ogata in Maui, Hawaii, the New York Daily News reported. Ditto walked barefoot down the aisle in a stark white Jean Paul Gaultier gown while her new wife was in an all-white three-piece suit. The couple got engaged last year after more than 10 years of friendship but stayed mum on the details of their upcoming nuptials.

The late comedienne Moms Mabley and legendary lyricist/composer Stephen Sondheim will be among those profiled in HBO documentaries this fall, according to a press release. Mabley, who was lesbian, will be the subject of the documentary Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley, slated to air Nov. 18. The film Six By Sondheim (airing Dec. 9) highlights Sondheim's experiences writing six of his songs: "Something's Coming," "Opening Doors," "Send in the Clowns," "I'm Still Here," "Being Alive" and "Sunday." Also, The Battle of AmFar (Dec. 2) shows how Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor and research scientist Dr. Mathilde Krim fought to create America's first national AIDS research foundation.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's vehicle was broken into while parked at a local paintball park, according to E! Online. About 30 minutes after the couple's son Maddox Jolie-Pitt arrived with friends and a bodyguard, a suspicious white Toyota truck pulled up next to the black SUV that carried Maddox's party. The Bellflower Sherriff's Department spokesperson said that authorities apprehended Lorenzo Castro for stealing two iPads and a cellphone from a black SUV that was parked at Hollywood Sports Paintball Park.

Less than two weeks after the sudden death of actor Cory Monteith, friends and costars of the actor, including his girlfriend Lea Michele, reunited for a memorial on the Paramount studio lot, where Glee's auditorium scenes are filmed, People.com reported. Michele joined producer Ryan Murphy and costars such as Kevin McHale and Darren Criss at the indoor/outdoor event where 150 guests mingled, dined on buffet food and listened to tunes like "Good Vibrations" in Monteith's honor.

Gay-porn legend Jeff Stryker recently created an indiegogo campaign to raise money for a coffee table book on growing medical marijuana that incorporates his own grow journals, Gay.net noted. Stryker, who is also looking for a ghost writer, notes on the website that more than 2 million people use medical marijuana in the 18 states where it's legal. He also talks about this three decades of his experience with the drug.

While LGBT characters are nothing new in U.S. Spanish-language television, history was recently made when Univision aired its first wedding between a gay couple in the telenovela Amores Verdaderos (which translates to True Love), according to a GLAAD release. It was the first time a gay wedding aired in a novela produced and distributed by Mexico's largest—and notoriously conservative—media conglomerate Televisa. The episode aired in a week when Univision set a TV-ratings record with its average of 1.81 million viewers aged 18 to 49, beating Fox, NBC and CBS.

Singer-songwriter Aimee Mann has sued MediaNet for $18 million, claiming the digital-music provider distributes her music without permission, according to Courthouse News Service. Mann is the former lead singer of the band Til Tuesday ("Voices Carry"). MediaNet provides a technology platform and music that enable business partners such as Yahoo Music, Playlist.com and other online radio outlets to offer their own branded digital-music services to consumers.

The Liberace docufilm Behind the Candelabra has reportedly inspired two Broadway musicals, according to the New York Post. Playwright Douglas Carter Beane (The Little Dog Laughed; the screenplay of To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar) has allegedly met with the Nederlanders, who may be co-producing the musical with Hollywood producer Jerry Weintraub. In addition, producer/lyricist Barbara Carole Sickmen is hard at work on her version, Liberace: I'll Be Seeing You...—this one authorized by Liberace's estate. She's writing it with composer Johnny Rodgers and book writer Roger O. Hirson (Pippin).

At a Television Critics Association press tour panel, NBC's top executives tried to answer why the show The New Normal did not find its audience, according to TheWrap.com . "We really wanted to get behind [creator] Ryan Murphy," NBC entertainment president Jennifer Salke said. "Maybe, something about the tone of it. It's really one of those things where you look at each other and think, 'Why didn't this show do better than it did?'" The pilot episode of the show (which was about a gay couple adopting a child) had 6.88 million total viewers, while its April finale scored around half that number.

Ten former American Idol contestants are claiming in a 434-page federal class-action lawsuit that the show singles out Black contestants for humiliation by disqualifying them publicly in promotions, according to Courthouse News Service. Among the many defendants are Freemantle N.A., Fox Broadcasting, Ford Motors, Coca-Cola, AT&T and former executive producer Nigel Lythgoe. The plaintiffs, who include Corey Clark—who once claimed he had an affair with former judge Paula Abdul—are seeking $250 million.

Out R&B singer Frank Ocean canceled his Australian tour due to a torn vocal cord, according to Rolling Stone. "After [the July 25] concert ... it was necessary to seek medical advice due to vocal issues Frank Ocean experienced during the show," said tour promoter Live Nation. Ocean's first Australian tour kicked off in Melbourne, where the singer was reportedly performing off-key; the show ended without an encore.

Speaking of Ocean, has reignited his feud with Chris Brown by branding him "sloppy" in his remix of the Migos track "Versace," according to Digital Spy. Ocean—who reportedly brawled with Brown outside a recording studio earlier this year—references Brown's refusal to stand when he collected his Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Artist in February: "You could stay seated I'm taking that Grammy/Your music is sloppy."

NBC entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt has announced the network has put in development four event series/miniseries—including a four-hour project about Hillary Clinton, called Hillary, that will star Diane Lane, according to Deadline.com . Oscar nominee Courtney Hunt (Frozen River) will write the project, which recounts Clinton's life as a wife, mother, politician and cabinet member from 1998 to the present as she goes from first lady to U.S. senator and then secretary of state.

Just two days after NBC announced that it will air a miniseries about Hillary Clinton starring Diane Lane, CNN Films today said that it is making a feature-length documentary about Clinton as well, according to Deadline.com . In pre-production, the unnamed project will debut theatrically in 2014 before being shown on the cable news network. This now makes three Hillary Clinton productions in the works in the lead-up to what some see as her 2016 presidential run.

Real Housewives of Atlanta star NeNe Leakes' wedding planner is suing her, Digital Spy noted. NeNe and husband Gregg Leakes remarried June 22, after a brief divorce period. Wedding planner Tiffany Cook, in suing the reality-TV star for $2.5 million, claims that Leakes has failed to pay her a promised 15 percent of the wedding budget plus fees.

Lady Gaga will perform "Applause," the new single off her highly anticipated ARTPOP album, at the MTV Video Music Awards Aug. 25, according to MTV.com . Gaga has won 13 Moonmen over the years, including Best New Artist and Video of the Year for "Bad Romance." "Applause" will be available worldwide Aug. 19, and ARTPOP will be out Nov. 11.

NBC has canceled the design-competition show Fashion Star, which featured Jessica Simpson, Nicole Richie and John Varvatos as mentors, according to TheWrap.com . The show struggled in the ratings as, on average, it rated a rather anemic 0.7 in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and 2.76 million total viewers.

So You Think You Can Dance judges Nigel Lythgoe and Adam Shankman hosted a gala and performance to celebrate dance and benefit the Dizzy Feet Foundation July 27 at Los Angeles' Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, according to IMDB.com . "It's not about becoming the next Baryshnikov; it's literally about coming together, having a community, understanding creativity, developing self-confidence," Shankman said. Christina Applegate, who presented Chita Rivera with the Dff Inspiration Award, said dancing "was the one thing that kept me out of trouble."

NBC plans a documentary film about the infamous attack on Nancy Kerrigan at the 1994 Winter Olympics at Lillehammer, Norway, to air during the upcoming Winter Olympics, TheWrap.com noted. Calling the incident "one of the more notorious episodes in Olympics history," NBC's Olympics Executive Producer Jim Bell said that the documentary will include an exclusive interview with Kerrigan, as well as an interview with Harding, which Mary Carillo will conduct.

The UFC's (Ultimate Fighting Championship's) Liz Carmouche made history July 27 with a second-round TKO victory over Jessica Andrade in the first bout featuring two openly gay UFC fighters, according to Fox Sports. Carmouche spent much of the first round locked in a guillotine choke, however, Andrade never was able to ratchet it down before time expired in the first. Carmouche said the overall lack of attention paid to her and her opponent's sexual identity showed progress.

Teresa and Joe Giudice—two of the stars of the Bravo television show The Real Housewives of New Jersey—have been charged in a conspiracy to defraud lenders and illegally obtain mortgages, Fox News reported. In addition, they are accused of hiding assets and income during a bankruptcy case as well as committing tax fraud. The most serious charges the couple face—bank fraud and loan application fraud—carry a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. They were each released July 30 on $500,000 bond; their next hearing is Aug. 14.

Glee star Lea Michele shared a photo of her with late co-star/boyfriend Cory Monteith on Instagram with the caption "Thank you all for helping me through this time with your enormous love & support. Cory will forever be in my heart," according to USA Today. The post marked the first time Michele has opened about the death of Monteith, whom the Glee cast honored recently during a private memorial. The show will air a tribute episoe to Monteith this fall.

In other Glee-related news, the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards (which Neil Patrick Harris will host Sept. 22) will pay tribute to Monteith. However, the extent of the tribute has not yet been determine. Also, Jayma Mays, who plays school counselor Emma Pillsbury, confirmed to Access Hollywood that the upcoming season will be her last.

Three men who accused Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash of sexual abuse only to have their case thrown out on a techncality have appealed to the federal court, TheWrap.com reported. In June, a New York judge said that the statute of limitations had expired on the accusers' case. The accusers include Cecil Singleton, who said Clash sexually abused him in 2003 when he was underage; Kevin Kiadii, who said their affair occurred in 2004; and an unnamed John Doe, who said he had a sexual relationship with Clash in the mid-'90s.

Betty Sue Lynn, the oldest daughter of iconic country singer Loretta Lynn, has died at age 64, Billboard.com noted. Lynn died from complications of emphysema in Waverly, Tenn., near her mother's ranch in Hurricane Mills. Loretta Lynn, who has six children, was born in the coal fields of eastern Kentucky and chronicled her life in an autobiography and song, both entitled Coal Miner's Daughter.

Proving she hasn't lost her touch, Oprah Winfrey has turned things around at her network. According to Deadline.com, Discovery CEO David Zaslav forecast that OWN (the Oprah Winfrey Network) would break even in the second half of this year—ahead of schedule. Zaslav attributed the improvements to the higher fees pay-TV distributors are paying for OWN versus its predecessor, Discovery Health; he also cited Tyler Perry's Have And Have Nots and Love Thy Neighbor as "bona fide hits" for the network.

Fashion designer Christian Siriano, who won the fourth season of Project Runway, has gotten engaged to his longtime boyfriend, musician Brad Walsh, according to US Weekly. Bucking tradition, the future husbands opted to exchange engagement bracelets in lieu of rings. "We both just decided on Saturday to go shop for engagement bracelets," Walsh said. "We've been together six years, so it was pretty casual."

Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie was the guest of honor at an over-the-top "gay-by" shower that her gay best friends threw for her at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calf., according to US Weekly. Among the highlights were drag performers, tequila cocktails (for those who were not pregnant, of course), a pop/hip-hop soundtrack and a onesie-decorating station. Guests included Adam Lambert, Kelly Osbourne, Perez Hilton, Lance Bass and Julianne Hough.

Actress Eileen Brennan—nominated for an Oscar in 1981 for her supporting role as tough-talking drill captain Doreen Lewis in Goldie Hawn comedy Private Benjamin—has died at age 80, according to TheWrap.com . The cause of death was reportedly bladder cancer. After two years of playing Irene Malloy alongside Carol Channing's Dolly Levi Gallagher in the original 1964 Broadway production of Hello, Dolly, Brennan went to Hollywood .

Gay playwright Paul Rudnick is writing a new comedy series that will star Oscar nominee Annette Bening (American Beauty; The Kids Are All Right), according to a Playbill item. Jay Roach will direct the single-camera comedy, which is titled The Third Coast. Bening and the producers of the series will hold an informal reading before taking the idea to HBO.


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