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  NIGHTSPOTS

Billy Masters
by Billy Masters
2017-10-31

This article shared 930 times since Tue Oct 31, 2017
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"The whole time I was working there, I didn't know Andy Cohen wanted to be me."—Kathy Griffin on her long and, apparently, unhappy tenure at Bravo. Watch what happens, indeed!

Just as we went to press, a story broke which we've already rewritten—twice. Anthony Rapp, original cast member of Rent and currently starring on Star Trek: Discovery, accused Kevin Spacey of making sexual advances on him when he was 14! In 1986, Rapp was in the Broadway revival of Precious Sons and Spacey was in Long Day's Journey Into Night. After a party at Spacey's home, the two were alone. Kevin laid Anthony on the bed and then, as Rapp says, "He lays down on top of me. He was trying to seduce me. I don't know if I would have used that language. But I was aware that he was trying to get with me sexually." Anthony got himself out of there fast.

He didn't tell anyone about this until he was in Six Degrees of Separation on Broadway during 1990-92. I can corroborate the timeline because, when I met Anthony in 1991, he told me about this incident. He even tried to go public in a 2001 Q&A with The Advocate—although Spacey's name was redacted from the story. So why speak up now? He said it's "[n]ot simply to air a grievance, but to try to shine another light on the decades of behavior that have been allowed to continue because many people, including myself, being silent. I'm feeling really awake to the moment that we're living in, and I'm hopeful that this can make a difference." But can one voice make a difference?

Within moments of Rapp going public, Spacey made his own statement—too lengthy for the confines of this column. He apologized to Anthony without admitting any guilt. He said he is gay, which doesn't excuse his past behavior. Just goes to show, the power of one voice. Bravo, Anthony.

You all know Kathy Griffin was dumped from CNN's New Year's Eve with Anderson Cooper and replaced by Andy Cohen. Well, TMZ ran into Cohen at LAX, congratulated him on the gig and asked if he's talked to Kathy about it. Andy innocently said, "Who?" The "reporter" ( and I used that term loosely ) then clarified, "Kathy Griffin. Kathy Griffin." Andy simply said, "I don't know her." The cameraman was most certainly flummoxed—well, he would have been if he knew what "flummoxed" meant. Obviously, Andy knows Kathy—in fact, she's the one who introduced us! I suspect Cohen was simply playing dumb. Unlike most "showbiz friendships," Andy and Anderson are actually best friends. So, who did you expect him to side with?

Kathy wasted no time in clapping back ( as the kids say ). She tweeted, "Even when it's on tape, there are doubters? He is NOT kidding w paps. Was my boss for 10 years. Treated me like a dog. Deeply misogynistic." But Kathy wasn't finished. After her tweet, Harvey Levin of TMZ called—likely to see if she wanted to make a comment on the clip. Instead, she posted a 17-minute video that is surely the definition of viral. Kathy also exposes Levin's close ties with Trump, calling him "the gay version of Kellyanne Conway!" She reveals that Trump and Levin speak several times a week. She also claimed that all of TMZ's stories about women are ones that make them look bad or where they physically look bad. As opposed to all those positive stories about men!

As to Cohen, she says he was a "miserable boss for all those years." She also states how loathsome Bravo is to women—both the women behind the scenes and the women on the shows. She says, "I didn't know that when they ended The D-List and I desperately wanted to do a talk show, Andy Cohen would be the first television executive in the history of television to give himself a talk show that seems to get picked up every season." Griffin claims that the two times she was on Watch What Happens Live, "Andy Cohen privately asked me in an office ... if I wanted to do blow." She predicted Andy would say he was just kidding. And, she was right: Cohen tweeted, "I am completely stunned by this story. It is 100% false and totally made up."

Kathy also says that, because of the Trump investigation, she's been on the no-fly list, the Interpol list and that she's been "detained alone at every single airport I've gone to." Kathy wraps it up by saying, "So when I go to Singapore, if I don't return, I just want you guys to know that's why."

At long last, we have an "Ask Billy" question worthy of this column. Justin in San Francisco writes, "What do you know about Shawn Mendes? He's so fucking hot. He sure seems gay to me, but I figure you'd know for sure."

The sexy singer—who is now 19 and, therefore, fair game—addressed these rumors last year in a series of Snapchats after numerous posts about his "gay vibe." He posted, "First of all, I'm not gay. Second of all, it shouldn't make a difference if I was or if I wasn't. The focus should be on the music and not my sexuality." That's a lovely sentiment, but the many photo spreads focusing on Shawn's fantastic physique and face belie the sentiment. And then there are those questionable selfies that have fallen into our clutches. They also don't focus on vocals—although they may inspire other oral activities, if you catch my drift. Are they really him? Decide for yourself on BillyMasters.com .

When Shawn's too old for Spacey, it's definitely time to end yet another column. Since we ran long, I barely have time to remind you to check out BillyMasters.com—the best bargain on the web. If you have a question—preferably one that leads to nudity—send it off to BillyMasters.com and I promise to get back to you before Kathy announces her ( mandatory ) residency at the Singapore Hilton! So, until next time, remember: One man's filth is another man's bible.


This article shared 930 times since Tue Oct 31, 2017
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