"I've lost a lot of friends to drugs. The fact I'm sitting here now is pretty amazing. ... I'm lucky to be alive."—My pal Belinda Carlisle talks about her 30-year addiction to drugs. Belated Happy Birthday to her ( and to Big Mama Masters ).
How far in advance do you RSVP to an event? They say that gay men typically wait until the last minute—probably because we are waiting for a better offer. Personally, I can change my mind about going to something even as I'm parking! So I find it fascinating that our "president" ( such as he is ) and his spousal equivalent have opted out of attending the Kennedy Center Honors in DECEMBER! That, of course, assumes he is still our president in December. Given the current political climate, it is conceivable that had he gone, he'd have had the worst night in the theater of any president since Lincoln!
This move by Mr. Trump came after two arts-connected events. 1 ) Three of the five Kennedy Center Honorees stated they would skip the reception with the president at the White House and B ) the entire 17-person President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities resigned en masse. This is significant since it is the first entire White House department to resign. Some have quipped that nobody cares about the actions of people in the arts. I'd call that shortsighted. Many people go to foreign lands to visit museums and architecture. Almost nobody ever visits historical sites of accountants and economists. Arts matter. Arts endure.
The newly bald ( read last week's column ) Kathy Griffin has gone public about some shenanigans that happened behind the scenes of her Trump-inspired fatwa. The funny lady reports that after the fallout of her photo stunt, a member of CBS' board of directors sent her an e-mail instructing her how to smooth things over. The unnamed person told her to send a letter ( not an e-mail ) to the President begging for forgiveness, admitting she does not deserve this forgiveness, and to basically grovel. She was also advised to only leak the letter to FOX News—so they'd have the scoop. Needless to say, she didn't take that advice.
Boy George just signed his first major record label deal in 30 years! Not only that, but he's also committed to a multimillion-dollar Vegas residency. How will the 56-year-old George handle the added work schedule? "I'm going to need a body double!" He attributes the new opportunities to being clean and sober. "This couldn't have happened if I was still using." The record for BMG will be a collection of covers. This will quickly be followed by a new Culture Club album. All the while, he has to craft his solo Vegas show. "I think I'll model myself mostly on Cher because she changes outfits every 11 minutes. I think that might be a good starting point."
The possibility of Glenn Close immortalizing her portrayal of Norma Desmond in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard on film inched closer to becoming a reality. Paramount Pictures—the studio that holds the rights to the film and all subsequent versions—thinks an adaptation with Glenn could work. They were intrigued back in 1995 when she first played the role, but felt she was too young. Now, more than 20 years later and in light of her success with the revival in London and New York, the studio thinks the time is right. They have ambitiously scheduled production on the film to commence in January 2018.
Legendary designer Bob Mackie is crafting costumes for a revival of the burlesque campfest When Pigs Fly, which is slated to open off-Broadway Oct. 30. Mackie told me about this exciting news when I saw him last week in Provincetown, but I was sworn to secrecy. Since the cat's now out of the bag, I can at least confirm it. I believe the last full show he costumed in NYC was Moon Over Buffalo in 1995. Welcome back, Bob!
Speaking of challenging costumes, the London production of Annie is poised to make history when the role of Miss Hannigan is played by a man! Craig Revel Horwood, a judge on Strictly Come Dancing ( the UK version of Dancing with the Stars ), will assume the part starting Sept. 18.
A play based on Brokeback Mountain is being adapted for the London stage and has just started a workshop production. They are calling it "the most tragic gay love story ever told." Apparently, they haven't read my diary!
Since Aaron Carter's bisexual admission, he decided it would be good to put his talent where his mouth ( presumably ) has been. So he booked himself a gig in a gay bar: Hamburger Mary's in Tampa, Florida. Tickets were $10, and far be it from me to point out that the burgers cost more! He had the predictable crying, apologizing, scattered presence which has endeared him to many a crowd. He also did single out several guys in the audience. "That motherfucker right there is gorgeous. You're gorgeous. He's kinda cute. It is what it is. I am who I am." But who are the people he was looking at? I wanna see photos of them.
Intriguingly enough, days after coming out as bisexual, Aaron aggressively began pursuing Chloe Grace Moretz. Thus far, he's twice asked her out on Twitter. Wake me when he starts tweeting the Jonas brothers.
To continue his journey into the gay community, Carter showed up at the Project Angel Food Gala in Los Angeles last weekend. The organization, which provides meals to people living with HIV, chose Aaron to present an award to the group's founder, Marianne Williamson. Aaron showed up in a head-to-toe, voluminous white faux fur coat. When asked about his fashion choice, he said, "I've always dressed like this. It's just, I'm bringing it back now. I've always been kind of out there I guess." He posed on the red carpet with Adam Lambert, who was barely noticed.
When Aaron is eclipsing Adam, it's definitely time to end yet another column. See how I tied that into this whole eclipse frenzy? No need for clouds in our coffee—we've got Aaron Carter on www.BillyMasters.com, the site you can view with the naked eye. If you have a question for me, send it along to me at Billy@BillyMasters.com and I promise to get back to you before Boy George's show is designed by Bob Mackie! So, until next time, remember, one man's filth is another man's bible.
