"It was pretty much the gayest gym on the planet and I assumed you were gay because there weren't a lot of other reasons to be there."—Anderson Cooper recalls the first time he saw Seth Meyers and his impression of the funnyman. Certainly, I've always found the only reason to be at a gym is to pick up gay men. Many people blindly accept information when it comes from a credible source. It will come as no surprise to you that I'm not one of those people. I question everything—unless it comes from Suze Orman. As I was watching the financial guru's latest PBS special, I realized that I was completely under her spell within 10 minutes. If Suze says invest in municipal bonds, that's where I'd put my money ( assuming I had any to invest ). When she warns me to stay away from reverse mortgages, Henry Winkler and Pat Boone are dead to me. But does anyone fact-check her? When speaking to a 22-year-old girl, she said that if that girl put $100 a month in a Roth IRA, she'd have $1 million by the time she's 62; but if she waited until she was 32 to start saving, she'd only have $300K. While everyone was applauding as if Suze just sawed someone in half, I tried to check her math on my trusty abacus. But once I got to the compound interest, I ran out of beads!
Questionable financial data is popping up in all sorts of places. The Washington Blade recently investigated the American Foundation for Equal Rights and its work with the two law firms who fought Prop 8 in California. What the Blade unearthed is that the non-profit organization paid in excess of $6.4 million in legal fees. While it can't be denied that this is important work, doesn't that sound just a little extreme?
Even more troublesome is news about Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation. I like Gaga and think her heart is in the right place. But what about those around her? This foundation ( run by her mom ) spent over $1.5 million on legal fees, publicity and Internet consultants. That's not an enormous amount, but the donations for the same time period equaled $2.6 million. So more than half the donations went into supporting the foundation. None of this was included in an interview Gaga did last week with the latest correspondent to join Access Hollywood—Johnny Weir. The skater gushed, "You're popping my cherry and I'm really, REALLY excited to be interviewing you as my first sort of sit-down with Access Hollywood". Gaga smiled ( at least I think she was smiling ) and said, "I'm very honored to be taking your interviewing virginity."
Alas, it hasn't been all smiles for Weir. Only weeks ago, he was sitting in a New Jersey courtroom presenting a united front with hubby Victor Voronov against charges of domestic biting ( the charges were dropped ). Turns out Weir had been doing some fancy legal footwork behind Voronov's back. Days ago, Victor tweeted, "It's true: I am only now finding out that my husband @johnnygweir filed for divorce from me months ago." Needless to say, this ain't gonna be an amicable split. Voronov's reps state, "Victor was a highly educated person, a lawyer and willfully gave up his career at the request of Johnny to devote himself to Johnny as a traditional spouse often does."
Of course, there are two sides to every story— and sometimes three. In an email Weir sent to Voronov, it seems that Johnny was less than faithful, and Victor retaliated in a particularly hurtful way. Weir wrote, "If you decide to wreck things, please wreck cheaper things than Birkins. The 'Fuck You' on the Birkin is kinda cool, though, you artist. I know you don't care about how I'll survive if you divorce me, but please leave my Birkin bags, Celine bags and Chanel bags alone." What drama! That's what we wanted to see on The A-List! What a missed opportunity. But Weir is keeping a sense of humor about the situation. He claims the worst thing Victor could do "would be to post naked photos that we have between each other. And I look flawless." One man's opinion...
Thank God we have a positive gay love story to cleanse the palate. It's been a while since we've talked about Danny Pintauro. I think the last story I ran was when he announced his foray into selling Tupperware in Las Vegas. Apparently he not only found a new career; he also found love. In April, he announced his engagement to boyfriend Wil Tabares. The couple now says that the wedding is imminent: "The BIG DAY is coming soon! I mean like, REAL SOON! Dan and I are totally excited and can't wait to...seal the deal." Congrats, boys.
Another couple is reuniting, and it feels so good. Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin will once again team for a new series on Netflix. Grace and Frankie will be a half-hour comedy about sworn enemies whose husbands fall in love with each other! How these two ex-wives deal with this will inevitably lead to madcap mayhem. The series, from Friends creator Marta Kauffman, has received a 13-episode order and is set to shoot later this year.
Joe Manganiello seems unable to leave stripping behind. The sexy True Blood star did quite a bit of research for the role of Big Dick Richie in Magic Mike, including talking to a number of real-life strippers at Dallas' notorious strip club, La Bare. He says, "People would walk out of Magic Mike saying, 'I loved it but I wish there was more of the guys. I wish I knew more about them, where they live, who they go out with, what their lives are like.' So I knew there was a lot left on the table." He put his money where his mouth ought to be, hired a crew, went to Dallas and began making the documentary about these real-life strippers. The flick was very popular at Slamdance, and Manganiello signed a distribution deal with Main Street Films for mid-six figures. Look for La Bare: The True Story Behind The Magic to hit art houses sometime this summer.
When we're inching closer to a 9 to 5 reunion courtesy of Netflix, it's definitely time to end yet another column. Would it kill Jane and Lily to call Dolly? Surely I can picture her being married to someone who ended up being gay. Heck, the tabloids run that story with alarming regularity! Of course, you don't need the tabloids to keep tabs on your favorite celebs. Simply check out www.BillyMasters.com—the site that delivers 24/7. If you have a question for me, send it along to Billy@BillyMasters. com and I promise to get back to you before Logo produces a made-for-TV movie about Johnny Weir's domestic struggles starring Danny Pintauro! So, until next time, remember, one man's filth is another man's bible.
