"Real Housewife of Atlanta" NeNe Leakes will play a swim coach on the TV show Glee for several episodes, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Photos of Leakes on the Fox show's set got out recently, and Glee actors Chris Colfer and Lea Michele confirmed her appearances on the Bravo show Watch What Happens Live. Leakes' character will play a rival to Sue Sylvester, played by Jane Lynch.
In related news, former Real Housewives of Atlanta personality Dwight Eubanks was arrested and charged with driving on a suspended license, AJC.com reported. Police initially stopped Eubanks because a headlight was not working. Eubanks, an openly gay stylist, left "Housewives" last season.
George Michael was released from a Vienna, Austria, hospital in time for Christmas, USA Today reported. The "Too Funky" singer, 48, was let go after being treated for pneumonia, and was able to celebrate the holidays at his home in England. "He's feeling a lot better. He's doing so well, he's able to fly again," a hospital staffer told Austria's Oesterreich newspaper. He later thanked the hospital, saying he almost died, the Chicago Tribune reported.
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) placed a full-page ad in media industry publication Daily Variety as part of a campaign to educate the media industry and the general public around the upcoming ABC sitcom Work It, according to a press release. Work It involves two unemployed men; one dresses as a woman to get work at a company that is only hiring female sales reps. GLAAD and HRC also confirmed a meeting with ABC executives will take place to discuss the sitcom.
HBO has cancelled three of its Sunday half-hour comedies, including Hung, according to the Digital Spy. Hung starred Thomas Jane as a struggling suburban Detroit high school baseball coach who resorts to male prostitution. Jane is nominated for an award for the role at next year's Golden Globes. The network also yanked Bored to Death (which starred Jason Schwartzman, Ted Danson and Zach Galifianakis) and How to Make It in America.
American Idol alum David Archuleta is about to become a Mormon missionary, according to Digital Spy. Archuleta, 20, will reportedly have to follow a strict set of rules, including only calling his family twice a year. Archuleta, who was recently dropped by the Jive record label, said to an audience, "I've learned to trust that feeling and answer when it calls. That's the reason why I know I have to do this in my life."
Diana Ross has been named as one of the Recording Academy's Special Merit Awards recipients, according to BroadwayWorld.com . Ross will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award, along with the Allman Brothers Band, Glen Campbell, Antonio Carlos Jobim, George Jones, the Memphis Horns and Gil Scott-Heron. In addition, Dave Bartholomew, Steve Jobs and Rudy Van Gelder are Trustees Award honorees; and Celemony and Roger Nichols as Technical Grammy Award® honorees. The ceremony will be held Feb. 11, 2012; with a special acknowledgment to take place at the Grammys Feb. 12.
American Idol star Adam Lambert spent some hours in jail in Finland Dec. 22 after being arrested outside a Helsinki gay bar for brawling with his Finnish boyfriend, local reality star Sauli Koskinen, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The couple was arrested outside DTM (Don't Tell Mama), a gay club. Ex-Miss Helsinki Sofia Ruusila, who had been celebrating with Lambert and Koskinen, said she had tried to get between the arguing couple when Lambert accidently hit her by mistake. The couple was later released.
On the show Access Hollywood Live, gay singer/entertainer Lance Bass used the word "trannies," according to Advocate.com . Bass—who was substituting for co-host Billy Bush—said to comic Billy Eichner, "You need to go to Christopher and Hudson and get those trannies on the corner there; that would be perfect. Eichner agreed, saying, "I love a tranny" before correcting himself: "We're not supposed to call them trannies anymore," Eichner said. "Did you see that Neil Patrick Harris called them a tranny [sic] on Twitter?" Bass replied, "Oh, no? Great, now I'm going to get in trouble."
Swedish Olympic high-jump specialist Kasja Bergqvist says that she's in a "fantastic" relationship with another woman, according to Advocate.com . Bergqvist, who won the world high-jump title in 2005 as well as a bronze medal in the 2000 Olympics, said in the magazine QX that she and partner Kristina hadn't gone public until now because of privacy issues. The athlete divorced her husband, film director Mans Herngren, last year.
As rumors about his ouster swirl, X Factor host Steve Jones has opened up about his experience on the show, according to Digital Spy. He told New York Magazine, "I was overwhelmed with excitement about doing the job. It's been a lot more pressure than I expected, a lot more emotional." Judge/producer Simon Cowell reportedly wants to replace Jones with So You Think You Can Dance host Cat Deeley.
Waiter/aspiring actor Eugene Gibbons is suing celebrity chef Mario Batali's Greenwich Village restaurant and two other Batali corporations, claiming sexual harassment, according to the New York Daily News. Gibbons said co-workers "smacked his buttocks on a weekly basis" and have grabbed his genitals at least twice. He also claims he complained to management—including The Chew co-host Batali—but the harassment continued.
In The Life Media, producers of the documentary series In the Life, announced the release of Pariah: A Closer Look, an online-exclusive video featuring interviews with the director, producers and stars of the critically acclaimed new film Pariah, according to a press release. A Focus Features release, Pariah follows 17-year-old African-American lesbian protagonist Alike (Adepero Oduye) as she discovers her sexuality and identity, while struggling with the sense that she doesn't belong. Pariah: A Closer Look is at http://www.itlmedia.org/clips/entry/paraiah-a-closer-look.
Out Glee creator Ryan Murphy has said that another of his shows, American Horror Story, will have some big changes next season, according to E! Online. While he is talking with "a handful" of last season's actors, Murphy said that most of next year's main cast will consist of new faces. Murphy teased, "The people that are coming back will be playing completely different characters, creatures, monsters, etc. [The Harmons] stories are done. People who are coming back will be playing entirely new characters." He also said that there will be a brand new home next year, and the locale will switch from Los Angeles.
Rooney Mara—who portrays bisexual lead Lisbeth Salander in the U.S. version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo—is clearing the air about remarks that seemingly slammed the TV series Law & Order: SVU, according to the Huffington Post. It was reported that Mara called her role on "SVU" (her first professional gig) as "awful" and "stupid." However, she said that the TV stint "couldn't have been more exciting for me. It's an experience I hold very dear to my heart. People take things out of context." She also said that the 2010 remake of Nightmare on Elm Street "was a really hard movie to make, and I didn't love the experience, but I would never take it back because I feel like I learned something from it and it brought me to my next job."
A fake People magazine cover of Twilight actor Taylor Lautner announcing that he's "out & proud" has made its way around the Internet, according to MSNBC.com . The Photoshopped image of the supposed Jan. 7, 2012, cover shows Lautner reportedly saying he's gay and "tired of rumors." The cover did trick some people, such as hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, who tweeted that he was "proud of Taylor Lautner for his bravery and his courage." After realizing his mistake, Simmons posted he was "disappointed that people would joke about someone coming out about their sexuality."
