"Yes, I did offer them acting jobs in exchange for sex, but so did and still does everyone. But I never, ever forced myself on a single woman."—Harvey Weinstein's justification for his legal woes. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury—the defense rests.
I'm mad that after 68 years, the Gypsy Robe will now be called the Legacy Robe. Why? Because Actors Equity does not want to upset the Romani people. For the last time, Broadway "gypsies" are performers who go from show to show ... like gypsies. They're not reading tea leaves, banging a tambourine or dancing. No, that's me!
Someone else aggravated is Dame Diana Rigg. She is in the Broadway revival of My Fair Lady, playing Henry Higgins' mother. Lauren Ambrose has decided that due to the burden of carrying a show, she will take off Sunday matinees. Well, Dame Diana is not amused: "I learnt, courtesy of a newspaper, that our leading lady will not be appearing in future Sunday matinees. Now call me old-fashioned, which I unashamedly am, but I don't think this development is fair to audiences. They have booked their seats in advance, paying an exorbitant price for them to see what they have been led to believe is the original cast. The very least we can do as actors is to acknowledge their presence as a privilege and take care never to abuse it. It is time management put their audiences first and insist on the old adage, slightly adapted by me, 'The show must go on—with ALL principals.'" Hear, hear!
Another legendary lady got some bad news. Olivia de Havilland's suit regarding how she was portrayed in Feud was rejected by the California Supreme Court. Even worse, the news came nine days after her 102nd birthday. We hear she is considering bringing the case to the Supreme Court. She'd better hurry!
The Boys in the Band has added a special show as a benefit for The Actors Fund on July 26 at midnight. Since it's a late-night performance, perhaps someone getting out of the shower on stage will take a few extra minutes putting on his undies. Grab your tickets at ActorsFund.org. Tell 'em Billy sent you!
I'm already scheduled to be in NYC that night because that's when Head Over Heels opens on Broadway. The long-gestating show featuring the music of The Go-Go's will surely be a momentous occasion—not the least of which because it will feature the first openly trans person to star in a Broadway musical! Not only that, but Peppermint is playing a trans role—the oracle Pythio, who is described as "neither he nor she." When it comes to replacement casting, the possibilities are endless.
Harry Styles helped a fan come out to her mother. The fan, Grace, made a sign to hold up at Harry's concert, which said, "I'm Gonna COME OUT To My Parents because of YOU!!!" Harry spotted the sign, stopped the show, and spoke directly to Grace. He asked where her parents were. Grace said her mom ( Tina ) was back at the hotel, Styles said congratulations, and then the whole audience chanted "Tina, she's gay!" Grace showed her mom the sign and the video of Harry and the audience. Mom's response? "Yes, I do love you and you can be whoever you want to be." Now Grace is bringing Tina to see Harry in Los Angeles. So, the ball's in your court, Harry.
Not to be outdone, a gay couple got engaged at a Taylor Swift concert—well, anything to avoid listening to that twit! I'll let one of the boys explain what happened: "He asked me to marry him while Taylor Swift was singing our song in front of us and I said ABSO-FUCKING-LUTELY." Samy ( the proposer ) knelt in front of Ric ( the proposee )—I suspect guys get on their knees all the time at Taylor Swift concerts. And just like that, Samy popped the question. In this case, the singer played no part in the proposal—she was just background noise.
When a gay couple is getting married in spite of Taylor Swift ( you look at it your way, I'll look at it my way ), it's time to end yet another column. Just after last week's column went out, we heard about the death of Tab Hunter. As I wrote only weeks ago, he certainly defined an era and was without a doubt one of the most breathtakingly beautiful men to walk the Earth. Of course, lots of other breathtaking men can be found atBillyMasters.com—the site that'll take more than your breath away. I didn't have room for an "Ask Billy" question this week, but you can always contact me at Billy@BillyMasters.com and I promise to get back to you before Jamie Lee Curtis replaces Peppermint in Head Over Heels. So, until next time, remember: One man's filth is another man's bible.
