"I would not be unhappy were I the last cisgender male to play a female transgender on television."—Jeffrey Tambor's acceptance speech after winning the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.
Anyone who still thinks our community isn't visible on TV clearly didn't watch this year's Emmy Awards, which kicked off with Louie Anderson's win for playing the mother on Baskets. "I have not always been a very good man, but I play one helluva woman," he said. That was followed by Jeffrey Tambor's second Emmy for Transparent. And I'm always happy when Holland Taylor is acknowledged. This time, the mention came from partner Sarah Paulson, whose plus one was the real Marcia Clark. I believe she was wearing a Columbian necklace.
The given at any awards show is that there will be notable exceptions to the In Memoriam sequence. This year, the names Beth Howland and Pat Harrington spring to mind—to say nothing of Big Ang and Chyna. I guess they had to make room to acknowledge the great television careers of Glenn Frey and Prince!
Would you date a hooker? Or a porn star? It's a silly question for me to answer—I refuse to sleep with anyone who I can't check out on video first! But for the average guy, it's a reasonable concern, and one he probably wouldn't even think to ask when going on a TV dating show. After all, there's an assumption that the network has checked everyone out, right? So I'm not surprised the guys from Finding Prince Charming are speaking out now that they've learned about the escorting past of their "Prince," Robert Sepulveda Jr.—someone who not only escorted but engaged in quite a bit of questionable ( and unhygienic ) behavior on videos which can be seen on BillyMasters.com .
The most prevalent allegation is that Logo knew exactly who Robert was when they cast him, and perhaps leaked information about his past themselves in order to gain publicity for the show. One of the contestants came right out and said, "I don't believe the network was blindsided. I don't think anyone believes that." Another revealed that all of the guys "had to go through rigorous background checks for three weeks, and another three days before the show even started taping." Yet another was sure he recognized Robert from a gay porno film: "As soon as I left the house and got my phone back, I Googled 'Robert Sepulveda' and the words 'sex tape' and there it was. I didn't even need to scroll down."
This brings up a crucial point—allegedly each cast member had to sign a contract stating they didn't appear in sex tapes or have nude photos that show their faces. The guys feel the same rules should have applied to Sepulveda—although I hasten to add that in most of the videos, his face is the least-featured part of his anatomy. Now that the guys have seen the videos, they're appalled. "There are videos of Robert out there that are quite disgusting," one said. "Now, I'm associated with him. Try explaining that to your mother." Another was more to the point: "If I wanted to date a hooker, I'd hire one. I'm beyond livid!" While I'm all for these guys speaking out—they should and it's their right—don't hide behind the moniker of "unnamed contestant." Say who you are and own it. I suspect they're contractually unable to speak on the record until the reunion show, which has not yet taped.
History was made last week when a gay woman competed for Miss America. Erin O'Flaherty, the reigning Miss Missouri, is the pageant's first openly gay contestant—and she got to strut her stuff during the Parade of States on the live telecast. She was cut when the top 15 were announced. But there's still enough to celebrate—she's also the first openly gay woman to ever win a state pageant.
Many of you have written in asking for details about the death of Alexis Arquette. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Alexis was living in a West Hollywood apartment building run by The Actors Fund, which provides low-income housing for actors who are HIV-positive and have an annual income of $17,400-$29,000 per year. Reportedly, Arquette had been HIV-positive for two decades, but toward the end refused to take certain medications that would have potentially been life-saving. We're told that an untreated liver infection spread throughout Arquette's body. As to the bigger question of gender, Alexis was always unwilling to talk about what surgeries had or had not taken place. David Arquette said, "It was like, 'Yeah, sometimes I'll be a man, sometimes I'll be a woman. I like to refer to myself as gender-suspicious.'" David said he was confused—are you my sister or my brother? In pure Alexis form, the response came quick: "It depends on how I'm dressed!"
Apropos of Rami Malek's Emmy win for Mr. Robot, our "Ask Billy" question comes from Jason in Baltimore: "I was reading some of your old columns on BillyMasters.com and saw the photo of Zayn Malik's penis. It got me thinking, do you have any nude photos of Rami Malek from Mr. Robot? He's way hotter! Tell me he's gay."
Alas, the new Emmy winner is not gay, but he has played gay before. Back in 2005, he was on the show The War at Home, in which he was the neighbor who had a crush on the son, played by Jackson Rathbone. As for seeing him nude, while he previously showed his ass in Need for Speed, he recently showed even more on Mr. Robot. In one scene, he is strip-searched by an officer who says, "Bend over; spread your ass." How could you even think I wouldn't post that video on BillyMasters.com?
When Rami is showing us where to plug in a hard drive, it's definitely time to end yet another column. Since I'm just home from the Emmys ( and exhausted ), I barely have the strength to remind you to check out www.BillyMasters.com, the site that never sleeps. If you have a question for me, I'm always here for you. Just send it along to Billy@BillyMasters.com and I promise to get back to you before John Travolta gets cast as Louie Anderson's sister on Baskets! So, until next time, remember: One man's filth is another man's bible.
