Previews begin Oct. 2, 2014, at the American Airlines Theatre for The Real Thing, the Tom Stoppard play that originally premiered in 1982 in London. According to Deadline.com, Ewan McGregor will make his Broadway debut in this production, playing Henry, a playwright not so happily married to Charlotte, the lead actress in his play about a marriage on the verge of collapse. McGregor's also in the ensemble cast of the film adaptation Tracy Letts' Pulitzer-winning August: Osage County, which hits theaters Christmas Day.
In an interview with The Advocate, Scandal actress Kerry Washington talked about, among other things, LGBT fans. She said that the support of LGBT fans, "For our show in particular, because it represents such diversity on so many levels, sexual orientation included, it means a lot. I always want to be a part of work that speaks to people across the lines that divide us." She added that she was first introduced to the LGBT community when she had Larry Maldonado as a dance teacher at the Boys and Girls Club in the Bronx. ( Maldonado also was a mentor of Jennifer Lopez. )
Diane Keaton plans to remake the popular, lesbian-inclusive BBC series Last Tango in Halifax for U.S. TV, according to SheWired.com . The show focuses on the romance of a man and woman, both in their 70s, who are former childhood sweethearts who have been reunited after both were widowed. The woman has a daughter who is beginning a same-sex relationship after the breakup of her marriage to a man. The series has been one of the BBC's most-watched programs, and its first season just finished airing stateside on PBS. The producers have filmed a second season, and a third is planned.
Former Washington Redskins player Dexter Manley used an anti-gay slur to describe a one-time rival during a radio interview, according to The Washington Blade. "I think Troy Aikman is a queer," Manley said during an interview with WTOP about the Redskins' recent loss against the Denver Broncos as he described the former Cowboys quarterback. Manley later apologized after WTOP hosts Mike Moss and Bruce Alan challenged him, and WTOP Vice President of News Programming Jim Farley criticized Manley's comments.
The brand-new YouTube Music Awards were live-streamed from Pier 36 in lower Manhattan Nov. 3, according to the New York Daily News. The program, hosted by actor Jason Schwartzman and comedian/musician Reggie Watts, handed out six prizes and featured performances by stars including Lady Gaga, Eminem, Arcade Fire, M.I.A. and Avicii. YouTube viewers voted on the winners, who included Macklemore and Ryan Lewis for Breakthrough Video ( for the song "Thrift Shop" ), Eminem for Artist of the Year and the K-pop group Girls Generation for Video of the Year.
Speaking of Eminem, he said he meant no harm with the anti-gay lyrics on his latest CD, The Marshall Mathers LP 2, according to MTV.com . "I don't know how to say this without saying it how I've said it a million times," Marshall told Rolling Stone magazine in an upcoming cover story. "But that word, those kind of words, when I came up battle-rappin' or whatever, I never really equated those words [with being homosexual]." In the past, Eminem has said that using anti-gay words "was more like calling someone a bitch or a punk or a—hole."
Glee actress Lea Michele said that Kate Hudson ( who has appeared on the show ) helped her following the July death of her Glee co-star and boyfriend, Cory Monteith, according to the New York Daily News. In ELLE Magazine, Michele said that Hudson let her stay at her house because reporters were swarming around Michele's home. Michele added that Hudson "let my family stay there, and any of my friends. ... I'll never really be able to thank her, truly, for what she did for me."
Oprah Winfrey's yard sale raised $600,000, People.com reported. The Oprah touch apparently sent prices skyrocketing on items simply because people wanted something that was Oprah's—including a teapot expected to go for $100 that went for $1,000. The treasures came from the media mogul's homes in Hawaii, Indiana and California, with the auction taking place inside three tents on the polo grounds in Santa Barbara, Calif. All proceeds from the sale benefited Winfrey's Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.
In the early 1990s, Blake McIver was a child actor with family-friendly roles in Full House, The Little Rascals and Home Improvement; today, he is a go-go dancer in Los Angeles, the Huffington Post reported. McIver told RumorFix that he had been working as a vocal coach, but turned to dancing when business slowed and "in the process, I found it so liberating and empowering." McIver, 28, came out as gay three years ago.
Onetime reality-show figure Heidi Montag has undergone plastic surgery again—but this time for health reasons, according to The Huffington Post. The 27-year-old former "Hills" star reportedly underwent a breast reduction that decreased her bra size from an "F" to a "D." In 2010, Montag unveiled a head-to-toe makeover in which she claimed to have undergone 10 procedures in just one day, including rhinoplasty, liposuction, breast implants and buttock augmentation.
Chicago Cubs co-owner Pete Ricketts wants to make clear that it wasn't his idea for the baseball team to be one of the sponsors of the city's gay-pride event, Gay Star News reported. Ricketts, 49, wants to be the Republican candidate for governor of Nebraska and some of his rivals are making an issue of the Major League Baseball's team support of LGBT equality. Ricketts reportedly blames his sister, Laura Ricketts, who is a lesbian and also one of the team's co-owners.
Orange Is the New Black co-star Laverne Cox has joined the National Center for transgender equality in pressing for passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act ( ENDA ), according to Transequality.org . In a statement, Cox said, in part, "As an out transgender woman of color, I don't take the enormity of me being able to live my dreams lightly. ... Having explicit federal laws like the Employment Non-Discrimination Act will make that possible for transgender people and I urge the U.S. Senate to swiftly pass this bill."
Lady Gaga has split with longtime manager Troy Carter over "creative differences," according to US Magazine. Carter helped launch the pop star's career after signing her in 2007. In 2011, he received an Emmy nod for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special for his work on the HBO special Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden. Gaga also recently made news for wearing decaying teeth and giving a tearful, makeup-free performance during the YouTube Awards.
Rob James-Collier—who plays Thomas Barrow on the PBS show Downton Abbey—recently opened up about his on-screen romances with other men, according to The Huffington Post. He said on The Jonathan Ross show that he finds kissing other men "easier," adding that his wife once jokingly told him, "You never kissed me like that" after she saw one on-screen same-sex smooch. Downton Abbey will debut its next season Jan. 5, 2014.
Former NBA player Dennis Rodman made it rain at the gay West Hollywood, Calif., bar The Abbey—with dollar bills, according to Yahoo OMG. A bar patron said, "It was completely bizarre. [Rodman] basically strolled into the club, threw a bunch of $1 bills into the dance floor and a VIP area next to the DJ booth, gave a bunch of people high fives and fist bumps, and then went and sat at a table outside for a while." In his 1997 book Bad As I Wanna Be, Rodman described himself as bisexual, but later reportedly said he's 100-percent straight.
Carrie Underwood has been announced as a performer at the 87th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, according to Ace Showbiz. The country singer, who will bring along her The Sound of Music Live! co-stars, is joining other performers that include Ariana Grande, Fifth Harmony, Austin Mahone, Goo Goo Dolls and Florida Georgia Line. Others making appearances will include Joan Jett, Megan Hilty and Kristin Chenoweth.
Nicolas Ghesquiere has been chosen to replace Marc Jacobs as artistic director at Louis Vuitton, Ace Showbiz noted. Last month, Jacobs left the position after 16 years to focus on his namesake brand. Ghesquiere, who was born in France, helped Balenciaga to expand the brand globally after joining in 1997. He left the label 15 years later following disagreements with management over the direction of the company.
Cate Blanchett will receive the Outstanding Performer of the Year Award at the 2014 Santa Barbara International Film Festival, according to TheWrap.com . The actress, whose performance in Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine has made her a frontrunner in the Best Actress race, will receive the honor on Saturday, Feb. 1. The 2014 festival will run from Jan. 30 through Feb. 9, midway between the announcement of Oscar nominations and the beginning of final voting.
Olympic swimming champion Ryan Lochte injured his left knee in a freak accident involving an excited fan, People.com noted. The 29-year-old was in Florida on Sunday when a teenage girl saw him and ran at the 6'2" athlete. Lochte—who has starred in his own reality show, What Would Ryan Lochte Do?—caught the girl but they toppled over, and while the girl was unharmed, he hit the curb, blowing out his left knee.
