Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

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

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Entertainment news: Zachary Quinto, Dolly Parton, Tig Notaro, Michael Sam
Special to the online edition of Windy City Times
by Andrew Davis, Windy City Times
2016-07-12

This article shared 1302 times since Tue Jul 12, 2016
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


Heroes and Star Trek actor Zachary Quinto is set to star and executive produce Biopunk, an hourlong drama based on the book Biopunk: DIY Scientists Hack the Software of Life, by Wired magazine's senior business/technology writer Marcus Wohlsen, Deadline reported. Quinto and his longtime producing partner, Neal Dodson of Before The Door Pictures, are among those executive-producing the series. Biopunk chronicles the underground world of bio-hackers—DIY garage scientists seeking to do for biotech what Steve Jobs did for personal computing.

Speaking of Star Trek, while news broke that Star Trek Beyond will feature an openly gay Hikaru Sulu in a nod to original Sulu actor George Takei, it turns out Takei was never actually on board with this development, The L.A. Times reported. While the openly gay Takei is happy the Star Trek universe is gay, his objection is that this gay character is Sulu. This is because rather than having Sulu's family situation be an homage to him, Takei would prefer the new film honor creator Gene Roddenberry's original vision, especially on the 50th anniversary of Star Trek. Star Trek Beyond hits theaters July 22.

Dolly Parton clarified comments she said were taken out of context during a recent interview that included a question about the 2016 presidential election, a press release stated. She said, "[W]hile I was watching the news, I saw many reports that I had endorsed Hillary Clinton. My comment about supporting a woman in the White House was taken out of context. I have not endorsed Hillary Clinton [or] Donald Trump. ... I have not decided who I'm voting for, but no matter what we're gonna be suffering from PMS—Presidential Mood Swings."

Comedian Tig Notaro and her wife, Stephanie Allynne, have welcomed twin boys, Finn and Max, into the world, US Weekly noted. Notaro, who married in October 2015 in her hometown of Pass Christian, Mississippi, shared a picture of her babies' tiny cribs laying side by side as her pet kitty, Fluff, gazed at them. Ellen DeGeneres tweeted, "Congrats to my friend @TigNotaro and her wife @StephAllynne who are the parents of twins!"

Orange Is the New Black star Ruby Rose has a new girlfriend, according to People. She and Harley Gusman, vice president and head of marketing at skin-care company Truly Organic, were photographed sharing an Independence Day kiss. The couple had celebrated the Fourth of July alongside Taylor Swift and her squad at the singer's Rhode Island beach house. Cara Delevingne and St. Vincent were also together at the event, Just Jared noted.

Onetime football star Michael Sam described presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump as "an asshole" when talking with TMZ Sports, Advocate.com noted. "If you want to vote for someone who has LGBT rights [in mind], vote for Hillary," Sam added. In a 2014 appearance on Fox News, Trump criticized Sam—the first openly gay player to be drafted in the National Football League—for sharing an on-screen kiss with then-boyfriend Vito Cammisano after learning that he was drafted by the St. Louis Rams.

Martina Navratilova will turn 60 this October and, ahead of that, the BBC has honored her via a new documentary film called Just Call Me Martina, Tennis.com noted. The film opens with a depiction of Navratilova's wedding day with Julia Lemigova, a businesswoman and former beauty queen in Russia. Also, people such as actor Stephen Fry, entertainer Sir Elton John, and tennis stars like Chris Evert and Rafael Nadal lend their thoughts on Navratilova.

Food Network has ordered six half-hour episodes of Smollett Eats, which will showcase favorite foods and recipes among the six siblings that include Empire's Jussie Smollett and Underground's Jurnee Smollett. Jake Smollett ( the film Eve's Bayou ) is the head chef of the family that also includes brothers Jocqui and Jojo and sister Jazz. Smollett Eats, which bows in August, is from Triage Entertainment.

Actress Aubrey Plaza ( the film Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates ) has come out as bisexual, according to a Page Six item. "I know I have an androgynous thing going on, and there's something masculine about my energy," she told The Advocate. "Girls are into me—that's no secret. Hey, I'm into them, too. I fall in love with girls and guys. I can't help it." The actress, also known for her role as April Ludgate on TV's Parks and Recreation, said her relationship with the LGBT community began very early, starting with her family.

The three original Dreamgirls—Independent Spirit Award winner Sheryl Lee Ralph, Emmy Award winner Loretta Devine and Tony Award and two-time Grammy Award winner Jennifer Holliday—took part in the July 10 "Broadway Under the Stars" concert event, Playbill noted. The evening featured a mix of Broadway tunes, including a tribute to the 35th anniversary of Dreamgirls. Hosted by Perez Hilton, the fundraiser also featured Mary Wilson and Kenny Lattimore.

Javier Munoz—who steps in for departing Hamilton star Lin-Manuel Miranda—is gay, HIV-positive and a cancer survivor, according to a NewNowNext item. Munoz, Miranda's understudy throughout Hamilton's run, has stepped into the role once a week on the star's day off and watched nearly every performance for nuances and flow. The 40-year-old actor was diagnosed with HIV in 2002—and, last year, was diagnosed with cancer. In October, Munoz underwent surgery and chemotherapy, missing weeks of performances; his cancer tests have come back negative.

Lance Bass has been set to host a new dating competition series on Logo that will feature all gay competitors, TheWrap noted. Logo has greenlit "Finding Prince Charming,"which will feature 13 suitors, all housed together, who compete to win the heart of one eligible gay bachelor. Bass is best known for his time as a member of the musical group N'Sync, which has sold more than 60 million albums worldwide. In 2016, Bass will be joining radio veterans like Dr. Drew and Adam Corolla and when he relaunches his show on PodcastOne.

The co-editors of Male Sex Work & Society ( Harrington Park Press ) have launched a new website to lobby for decriminalization, a press release stated. The new website, Me, Us & Male Escorting ( Aboutmaleescorting.com ) aims to challenge misconceptions and to lobby for the decriminalization of sex work through an on ongoing series of blogs and resources, including links to widely cited and read books and research papers published on male escorting.

Wendy Williams has been getting educated by activist Roland Martin after backlash she received for criticizing historically Black schools and the NAACP, Page Six noted. In part, Williams has previously said, "I would be really offended if there was a school that was known as a historically white college. We have historically black colleges. What if there was the National Organization for White People, only? There's the NAACP." ( Chevrolet reportedly pulled out of an exclusive deal with Williams over the comments. ) Martin is slated to appear on Williams' show July 14.

Music star and actress Ariana Grande has been added to the cast for NBC's Hairspray Live!, playing the role of Penny Pingleton, Tracy Turnblad's incorrigible best friend, according to a press release. Grande joins a cast that includes Harvey Fierstein, Jennifer Hudson, Kristin Chenoweth, Martin Short, Derek Hough and newcomer Maddie Baillio. The live musical production, to be telecast Wed., Dec. 7, will be executive-produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron.

Nike and adidas are co-sponsoring the world gay soccer championships in Portland, Oregon, on Aug. 6-13, Outsports reported. The finals on Aug. 13 will be held at Providence Park, home field of both the MLS Portland Timbers and NWSL Portland Thorns. The event will bring more than 400 LGBT soccer players from around the world.

A Change.com petition calling for Jesse Williams to be fired from Grey's Anatomy for his speech at the BET Awards has garnered thousands of signatures, People.com noted. However, show creator Shonda Rhimes is not listening to the drama. "Um, people? Boo don't need a petition," Rhimes tweeted to her 1.25 million followers with the hashtag "#shondalandrules." Williams posted, "Do not promote empty people & their tantrums. Pure clickbait to gain followers, attention & money, for themselves, not you. Never you."

After teasing a major announcement with a series of performances on Facebook Live, Kelly Clarkson announced that she signed a long-term record deal with Atlantic Records, and that she'll be recording a soul album, Time reported. This means two firsts for Clarkson: She finally got to choose her label, and she will realize her dream of creating an entire soulful album, which will be released in 2017.

Ellen DeGeneres, actress wife Portia de Rossi, Game of Thrones actress Maisie Williams, and Beyonce and Jay-Z were among those who attended Wimbledon during the ladies' final, US Weekly noted. Serena Williams won her seventh Wimbledon title ( later teaming with sister Venus to nab the women's doubles championship ) and tied legend Steffi Graf with 22 Grand Slam titles. Many celebrities congratulated Serena on social media, including Kerry Washington, Colton Haynes, Gabrielle Union, Laverne Cox and Hugh Jackman.

Billionaire David Geffen—who joined Instagram in May—has been posting shots of his trip to Capri, including one of his 453-foot luxury yacht Rising Sun coasting through the water, Page Six noted. Also pictured was his pal, Interscope records Jimmy Iovine, having a leisurely breakfast on the ship, which was originally built for Oracle's Larry Ellison and cost more than $200 million to build. He spent July Fourth off the coast of the island with Mariah Carey and James Packer.

Chaka Khan canceled her upcoming performance at the California State Fair—as well as all her performances through the end of July—and checked herself into rehab for an addiction to prescription pain medication, according to an US Weekly item that cites The Modesto Bee. "[Khan has] voluntarily entered the program to get healthy and stay that way," representatives for the music legend said. According to the paper, the singer has already enrolled in rehab and an aftercare program. Khan was close friends and a collaborator with the late Prince, who was found to have had a longtime struggle with a painkiller addiction leading up to his death in April.

Martha Stewart isn't impressed by millennials, who she says need to stop living with their parents and find some "initiative," according to Page Six, citing Luxury Listings. "I think every business is trying to target millennials. But who are millennials?" she said. "Now we are finding out that they are living with their parents. They don't have the initiative to go out and find a little apartment and grow a tomato plant on the terrace."

There was a lot of awkwardness in New Orleans recently involving Tamar Braxton, the now-former co-host of The Real, according to Page Six. Braxton and her former colleagues were all booked at the same hotel in New Orleans for the Essence Festival, but Braxton bolted for new lodging. Billboards of the show featuring remaining hosts Tamera Mowry-Housley, Loni Love, Adrienne Bailon and Jeannie Mai were plastered all over the city to promote special live episodes from the Big Easy. Braxton is reportedly gearing another talk show, with Steve Harvey.

VH1 Hip Hop Honors returned after a six-year hiatus, honoring Missy Elliott, Lil Kim and Queen Latifah, according to Page Six. The event took place July 11 in New York City's David Geffen Hall, and Monica, Fantasia, Jazmine Sullivan, Eve, Raven-Symone, Common and Da Brat, among others paid tribute to the honorees.

GLAAD and Interscope Records have released "Hands," a musical tribute to the shooting victims of Orlando, a press release stated. The song features musicians such as Mary J Blige, Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Jason Derulo, Tyler Glenn, Selena Gomez, Halsey, Ty Herndon, Imagine Dragons, Juanes, Adam Lambert, Mary Lambert, RuPaul, Prince Royce, Jussie Smollett and Gwen Stefani, among others. It's available for digital download, and the song can be heard at www.youtube.com/watch. In an interesting move, proceeds will benefit GLAAD as well as Equality Florida Pulse Victims Fund and the GLBT Community Center of Central Florida.


This article shared 1302 times since Tue Jul 12, 2016
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

JP Karliak morphs into non-binary character for Disney+'s X-Men '97 2024-03-22
- series X-Men '97, a revival of the popular X-men: The Animated Series that's both continuing the ongoing mutant storyline and breaking new ground along the way. The character of Morph now looks more like the comic ...


Gay News

WORLD Uganda items, HIV report, Mandela, Liechtenstein, foreign minister weds 2024-03-21
- It turned out that U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Senior LGBTQI+ Coordinator Jay Gilliam traveled to Uganda on Feb. 19-27, per The Washington Blade. He visited the capital of Kampala and the nearby city of ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Queer musicians, Marvel situation, Elliot Page, Nicole Kidman 2024-03-21
- Queer musician Joy Oladokun released the single "I Wished on the Moon," from Jack Antonoff's official soundtrack for the new Apple TV+ series The New Look, per a press release. The soundtrack, ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Lady Gaga, 'P-Valley,' Wendy Williams, Luke Evans, 'Queer Eye,' 'Transition' 2024-03-15
- Lady Gaga came to the defense of Dylan Mulvaney after a post with the trans influencer/activist for International Women's Day received hateful responses, People Magazine noted. On Instagram, Gaga stated, "It's appalling to me that a ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Jinkx Monsoon, Xavier Dolan, 'Frida,' Lena Waithe, out singer 2024-03-08
- Two-time RuPaul's Drag Race winner Jinkx Monsoon is headed back to the New York stage, joining off-Broadway's Little Shop of Horrors as Audrey beginning April 2, according to Playbill. The casting makes Monsoon the first drag ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Queer actors, icons duet, Hunter Schafer, Oscars, Elizabeth Taylor 2024-03-01
- Queer actor Kal Penn is set to star in Trust Me, I'm a Doctor—a film that chronicles the final days of actress/model Anna Nicole Smith, whose overdose death in 2007 at age 39 sparked a tabloid ...


Gay News

Dorian Film Awards: 'All of Us Strangers' takes top prizes 2024-02-27
- February 26, 2024 - Los Angeles, Ca. - For its 15th Dorian Film Awards, GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics fully embraced All of Us Strangers, writer-director Andrew Haigh's fantastical and tear-inducing tale of two ...


Gay News

SAG Awards honor Streisand, few LGBTQ+ actors 2024-02-25
- Queer entertainers made their mark—although not a major one—at the 2024 Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, held Feb. 24 in Los Angeles. The event was live-streamed on Netflix for the first time. Indigenous and Two-Spirit actor ...


Gay News

WORLD Caribbean ruling, Pussy Riot, Russian raid, Canadian warning, anti-trans bar 2024-02-23
- The top court in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines dismissed a challenge to colonial-era anti-gay laws, Reuters reported. Javin Johnson and Sean Macleish—two gay men who had pushed to decriminalize ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Kristen Stewart, Rock Hudson, Talia Keys, 'True Detective,' Marvel comic 2024-02-23
- At the Berlin Film Festival, Kristen Stewart defended her photo shoot for a Rolling Stone magazine cover that went viral and divided audiences on social-media platforms, per The Hollywood Reporter. "The existence of a female body ...


Gay News

Second Glance Productions hosts LGBTQupid Soiree 2024-02-16
- In celebration of Valentine's Day, Chicago based film and media production company Second Glance hosted The LBGTQupid Soiree. The event, which was focused on spinning attitudes on this particular day, was presented at The iO ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Elton John, Hannah Gadsby, video game, Jennifer Lopez, queer thriller 2024-02-16
Video below - Sir Elton John has sold his Atlanta home and is now auctioning off more than 900 of his personal items that were kept in the 13,500-square-foot condo, The Daily Mail noted. The massive collection includes rare ...


Gay News

GALECA announces nominees for the Dorian Film Awards 2024-02-07
--From a press release - Feb. 5, 2024 - GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, consisting of over 500 entertainment critics, journalists and media icons, today announced the group's democratically chosen nominees for its 15th Dorian Film Awards. All of ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ JoJo Siwa, Tom Holland, Bowen Yang, Pet Shop Boys, Mariah Carey 2024-02-02
- In the wake of Nigel Lythgoe exiting So You Think You Can Dance, queer personality JoJo Siwa is returning to the series, per Deadline. Siwa, who was a judge on season 17 of the Fox show, will replace Lythgoe, who left ...


Gay News

Leather Archives & Museum announces 2024 Fetish Film Forum 2024-01-27
--From a press release - CHICAGO, Illinois—After a wildly successful inaugural year, including a 10-film series at the Leather Archives & Museum and a 5-film series at FACETS, the Leather Archives & Museum is thrilled to announce the continuation of Fetish ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.