THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

Vampire Weekend founding member Rostam Batmanglij announced on Twitter that he has left the band, Entertainment Weekly noted. "My identity as a songwriter + producer, I realized, needs to stand on its own," the out musician wrote. "Still connected to the [people] I work with, but through the songs we make together." Batmanglij clarified that he and Vampire Weekend frontman Ezra Koenig will "continue to collaborate on future projects + future [Vampire Weekend] songs."

Celebrity Apprentice is sporting a whole new look for its upcoming season, CNN noted. In addition to new host Arnold Schwarzenegger—who replaces presidential candidate Donald Trump—the reality show has added boardroom advisors including billionaire Warren Buffett, Jessica Alba, Tyra Banks, former Microsoft exec Steve Ballmer and Schwarzenegger's nephew, entertainment attorney Patrick Knapp Schwarzenegger. A few of the 16 celebrities in the mix include Laila Ali, Boy George, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, Carnie Wilson and Carson Kressley.

A federal judge dismissed with leave to amend copyright claims to 24 songs brought by an original member of disco group Village People, according to Courthouse News. U.S. District Chief Judge Barry Moskowitz sided with Scorpio Music, Can't Stop Productions and Henri Belolo and dismissed a complaint filed by singer Victor Willis. In a prior lawsuit, Scorpio Music sued Willis over the percentage of copyright interests to 24 compositions Willis was entitled to recover when his grants of copyright were terminated; then Willis counterclaimed, saying Belolo—the man behind the group's iconic look—did not contribute lyrics or music and that Willis was entitled 50 percent of the copyright interests of the works, along with group co-founder Jacque Morali.

Broadway show A View From the Bridge was briefly halted when a male audience member, in the onstage seating section at the Lyceum Theatre, fainted at the sight of actor Russell Tovey ( HBO's Looking ) as he took off his shirt, Page Six noted. The patron passed out in the middle of a scene with Tovey and co-stars Phoebe Fox and Mark Strong. Tovey received a tweet from the faint-hearted audience member apologizing if he "disturbed the performance."

Some are saying that Jaden Smith is ( again ) challenging traditional views on masculinity with a new shirtless pose in a skirt, according to TheWrap. The Karate Kid star—and son of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith—posted the photo on Instagram. "Just Come Here," the caption reads along the picture of the teenager sporting blue nail polish and a flower behind his ear. Jaden also found himself in the headlines recently when he joined the illustrious ranks of models chosen to represent Louis Vuitton's new women's line.

Project Runway star Tim Gunn showed his support for Hillary Clinton's presidential run with a recent breakfast he hosted with her daughter, Chelsea, Page Six noted. While Hillary was not expected, those who paid $2,700 got a "photo with Chelsea and Tim Gunn and an invitation to a future event with Hillary." The event was also backed by New York Fashion Week creator Fern Mallis, who e-mailed friends, "She is the only candidate suitable to walk into the White House and sit at the Oval Office desk!"

Real Housewives of New Jersey co-star Teresa Giudice is releasing a new memoir, Turning the Tables—From Housewife to Inmate and Back Again. According to Page Six ( citing Radar Online ), Giudice says that while in the Federal Correctional Institute in Danbury, Connecticut, she was subjected to repugnant showers, repeated strip searches and other women's lesbian love affairs. As for the lesbian love affairs, "Teresa was stunned at the prison romances between the women," but "obviously" didn't join in, Radar wrote. Giudice spent 11 months in prison for financial fraud; her husband, Joe, starts his own 41-month fraud sentence in March.

The stepchildren of a woman killed in a car crash caused by Caitlyn Jenner have dismissed their civil lawsuit against the Olympic gold medalist, USA Today reported. Jenner's attorney, Philip Boesch Jr., confirmed that the wrongful death suit has been dismissed—which usually means that it's been settled. Jenner's sports utility vehicle rear-ended two cars on Pacific Coast Highway in February 2015, pushing Kim Howe's Lexus into oncoming traffic, where it was struck by a Hummer; the 69-year-old woman died.

Justin Bieber was NOT "drinking alone at a gay bar," despite another report, according to GossipCop.com . In refuting a TMZ story, GossipCop says the "What Do You Mean?" singer was at North Hollywood's Club Cobra celebrating a birthday party for two friends. Additionally, despite TMZ's claim, Bieber was well aware that Club Cobra is a gay bar—but he was there for a friend's birthday celebration, not on a whim.

Former Glee actor Darren Criss will replace the previously announced Jeremy Jordan at Carnegie Hall on March 11, Broadway.com reported. Criss will join Betsy Wolfe for Broadway Today with the New York Pops, led by music director Steven Reineke. The concert will bring the best of Broadway uptown, with the program featuring a variety of musical-theater hits.

Speaking of Criss, a Game of Thrones fan confused him with the HBO show's Kit Harington while at the Stella Artois Filmmaker Lounge at Sundance, Page Six noted. "The guest went up to Darren and asked if he was Kit," a source said. "He was disappointed when Darren said 'no' and just walked away." The confused guest was only told later that the attendee was Criss.

Actors Billy Porter ( Kinky Boots ) and Telly Leung ( Allegiance ) are among those performing in Michael McElroy and The Broadway Inspirational Voices' February concert, Inspirational Broadway, according to Playbill. The evening of show tunes, R&B, gospel and pop classics is also set to feature Hamilton's Renee Elise Goldsberry along with Norm Lewis ( Phantom of the Opera ), Eden Espinosa ( Wicked ), Tony nominee Chad Kimball ( Memphis ), Jarrod Spector ( Beautiful ), Adam Pascal ( Rent ), Joshua Henry ( Porgy and Bess ) and Marcus Paul James ( The Wiz Live ). Inspirational Broadway—taking place Feb. 15 at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill—is set to feature musical hits from shows like Rent, Sunday in the Park with George, Violet, Oklahoma! and Memphis.

Via social media, Tyra Banks announced that she had welcomed a baby boy, York, with a little help from her boyfriend, Norwegian photographer Erik Asla, and a gestational surrogate, USA Today noted. "The best present we worked and prayed so hard for is finally here," Banks captioned the Instagram post, which featured a striped baby hat. Banks previously opened up about her fertility issues back in September during a discussion with FABLife co-host Chrissy Teigen, who also shared her struggle on the daytime talk show.

Cindy Crawford, who will turn 50 on Feb. 20, told United Airlines' Rhapsody magazine that she plans to retire from modeling once she hits that age, People noted. "I'm sure I'll have my picture taken for 10 more years, but not as a model anymore," Crawford says in the magazine's February issue. "And that's okay. I've done it. I've worked with all these incredible photographers."

Ryan Reynolds told Men's Health that filming Deadpool helped him cope with his father's death last year, Page Six noted. "I understand the idea of filtering pain through comedy," the actor said. "Laughing can serve you in those dark moments and even help you crawl your way back out." Reynolds' father died of Parkinson's disease last fall.

Speaking of Reynolds, Super Bowl 50 just got a little sexier thanks to a Hyundai ad featuring the actor, Yahoo! News noted. In the 45-second ad appropriately titled "Ryanville," we see two women driving their new Hyundai Elantra as Salt-n-Pepa's 1993 classic "Whatta Man" plays in the background. Every guy the ladies pass looks just like Reynolds—a biker, a police officer, construction workers and even a team of touch-football players.

Actress Cate Blanchett and actor Richard Roxburgh—who teamed up at New York's City Center for a revival of Uncle Vanya four years ago—will make their Broadway debuts next winter in The Present, a new version of another Chekhov play, Platonov, by Vanya adapter Andrew Upton, according to Deadline. The Sydney Theatre Company production, which opened to wide acclaim last summer, is staged by John Crowley, whose film Brooklyn is up for three Oscars.

Trent Reznor shared a tribute to David Bowie in Rolling Stone—and stated how Bowie helped him with substance-abuse issues, EW.com noted. "When I met David, he had been through that," Reznor remembers. "And he was content. … There were a number of times where the two of us were alone, and he said some things that weren't scolding, but pieces of wisdom that stuck with me: 'You know, there is a better way here, and it doesn't have to end in despair or in death, in the bottom.'" Bowie toured with Reznor's group, Nine Inch Nails, in 1995.

Speaking of Bowie, The Chicago Tribune reported that he wanted his ashes scattered in Bali "in accordance with the Buddhist rituals," and he left most of his estate to his two children and his widow, the supermodel Iman. Bowie's 20-page will, filed under his legal name David Robert Jones, said the estate was worth about $100 million. Bowie's newest album, Blackstar, was released just before his passing; the CD topped the U.S. iTunes chart.

Billie Joe Armstrong—frontman for the rock group Green Day and composer of the Broadway musical American Idiot—said it is a "shame" that a Connecticut high school has canceled a production of the musical over its "mature content," Playbill reported. The Enfield High School Lamplighters in Enfield, CT, had scheduled American Idiot as its spring musical for this May. However, faculty director Nate Ferreira emailed the school community that a few people complained about the production's content, leading school principal Andrew Longey "to discuss a change in our choice of production."

Recently, actor Matt Dallas and musician husband Blue Hamilton announced they were the new parents of a baby boy, Crow. Now, NewNowNext has reported that Authentic Entertainment—the company behind Ace Of Cakes and Toddlers & Tiaras—is shopping a new docuseries following the couple as they go through the "thrills and struggles of raising their fostered and now adopted child together."

The Gilmore Girls follow-up movies are now cleared for takeoff after they have secured six cast members from the original series, led by stars Alexis Bledel and Lauren Graham, Deadline noted. After lengthy negotiations, Graham and Bledel have closed deals to reprise their roles as the mother-daughter duo of Lorelai and Rory. The Gilmore Girls lead quarter is returning intact, with Scott Patterson and Kelly Bishop signed to reprise their roles as Like and Emily alongside Bledel and Graham.

The soundtrack from Grease: Live! ( which aired on Fox Jan. 31 ) is already the number-five album on iTunes, TheWrap noted. Grease Live! ( Music From the Television Event )" trails just Rihanna, Kevin Gates, Adele and Sia, respectively. The most popular single track from Grease: Live is "Those Magic Changes," by Jordan Fisher.

Orange Is the New Black co-star Taryn Manning has been accused of assaulting a makeup artist, but the actress' legal counsel said the allegations are "entirely fabricated," TheWrap reported. TMZ noted that Holly Hartman filed a restraining order against Manning after several incidents—the most recent of which allegedly occurred in the actress' New York City apartment. Hartman claimed Manning "headbutted her in the face, whipped her with a wet towel, sprayed Windex in her eyes and mouth and put her in a headlock."

The Late Late Show's James Corden is hosting the Tony Awards on June 12, EW.com noted. Corden actually made his big ( theater ) break starring in The History Boys beginning in 2004, and went on to nab a Tony in 2012 for his performance in One Man, Two Guvnors. This marks Corden's first time hosting the Tony Awards, but he's hosted the BRIT Awards five times since 2009.

Lady Gaga is reportedly planning to marry Chicago Fire actor Taylor Kinney in Italy, according to Page Six. Someone close to the singer said, "She wants to celebrate her heritage, so they're looking at places in the Italian countryside. She wants a big Italian wedding." Several designers—including Reem Acra, Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, Diane von Furstenberg, Monique Lhuillier and Mara Hoffman—offered suggestions for Gaga's gown to WWD after Kinney proposed last year.

Nate Parker's slave-rebellion drama The Birth of a Nation swept the Grand Jury and Audience Award prizes in the U.S. Dramatic competition Jan. 30 at the Sundance Film Festival awards, Deadline noted. Parker's debut feature film bowed to excitement midway through the annual indie gathering and soon after scored a fest-record $17.5 million rights deal with Fox Searchlight. It marked the fourth consecutive year a film has swept the fest's marquee awards, joining Me And Earl And The Dying Girl ( 2015 ), Whiplash ( 2014 ) and Fruitvale ( 2013 ).

Archie Panjabi—known for her role as sexually fluid Kalinda on CBS' The Good Wife—is returning to series television as the star of ABC's murder trial drama pilot The Jury, Deadline noted. The Jury examines "the ultimate social experiment" that happens thousands of times a day in this country: a person's fate is placed in the hands of 12 strangers. Panjabi will play the show's protagonist, juror Kim.

The CW has picked up four new pilots, including Gerg Berlanti's Riverdale, which is based on the Archie comics, according to TheWrap. The pickups came just hours after the network picked up two pilots—a paranormal thriller from Kevin Williamson and a remake of the sci-fi drama Frequency. Transylvania is set in 1880 and follows a young woman in search of her missing father, who ventures from New York City to Transylvania, where she teams with a disgraced Scotland Yard detective.

Netflix announced that House of Cards has been renewed for a fifth season; however, creator and showrunner Beau Willimon will not return, EW.com noted. The news comes in advance of the series' fourth season debut on the streaming service, set for March 4. Season four of the hit show will focus on what's to come for President Frank Underwood ( played by Kevin Spacey ) as he launches a re-election campaign.

A new awards show is coming to Fox, as the channel will air the inaugural Electronic Music Awards & Foundation show on Saturday, April 23, according to Deadline. The network said the show, produced by TV4 Entertainment and electronic-music luminary Paul Oakenfold, will feature "electronic music's leading artists, creatives, executives and visionaries." It will be filmed April 14 at the SLS Hotel in Los Angeles.

Director Mary Harron and screenwriter Guinevere Turner—the team behind the 2000 cult classic American Psycho—are reuniting for look at the notorious Charles Manson with The Family, Deadline reported. The Family is an examination of the infamous Manson Family murders through the eyes of graduate student Karlene Faith as she works with three young, brainwashed women who were part of the cult. Turner co-wrote, produced and starred in the Berlin International Film Festival-winning, lesbian-themed Go Fish.

Rapper Kanye West will hold his New York Fashion Week presentation at Manhattan's Madison Square Garden on Thursday, Feb. 11, Page Six noted. Pitchfork reports that West, 38, will be debuting his latest album at the event. Recently, West changed the title of his latest album to Waves from Swish.

One of the world's leading adult film production companies, TitanMen, has offered former Congressman Aaron Schock $1 million to star in an entire series of gay porn movies, according to Queerty. "TitanMen has a history of signing iconically handsome men with both brains and brawn, and Aaron Schock fits that profile to a T," said TitanMen Vice-President and managing partner Keith Webb.

Drag queen Sherry Vine and former Here TV executive Josh Rosenzweig are teaming up on a one-stop digital destination, a press release stated. gaySVTVworld premieres Feb. 14 with original shows, specials, music videos, short films and more all free at YouTube.com/MissSherryVine.

Justin Bieber and Kendall Jenner take center stage in the new 2016 Calvin Klein underwear ads alongside FKA twigs, Kendrick Lamar, Fetty Wap and more, according to Page Six. The ensemble cast for the underwear campaign appear in a 90-second commercial utilizing the call-to-action phrase "I ______ in #mycalvins." Bieber, 21, who appeared in the 2015 campaign, is seen lounging in bed in his boxer briefs; he says he "dreams" in his Calvin Kleins.

A coder recut the entire 101 minutes of The Wizard of Oz to create an alphabetical remix called Of Oz the Wizard, IGN.com noted. Speaking with Vox, Matt Bucy said the idea came about back in 2001 and he began re-cutting the film in 2004 ( using an app he created to mark the location of every word in the movie ) before posting the final result this year. He even went as far as to rearrange all of the text seen in the movie, including the opening and closing credits.

Dance Moms host Abby Lee Miller is not quitting the Lifetime series and she hasn't yet mounted a defense on her indictment of 20 counts of fraud with a possible five years behind bars and $5 million in fines, Deadline reported. For the third time so far and claiming she needs more time to look at evidence the FBI has compiled against her, Miller has been granted an extension by a federal judge to reply to the government's case.

Showtime has renewed its new drama Billions for a second season, TheWrap reported. Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis star on the financial drama from Brian Koppelman and David Levien. The show pits U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhoades ( Giamatti ) against hedge fund king Bobby "Axe" Axelrod ( Lewis ) in an intense feud between two powerful New York figures.