Category: Entertainment

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Lil Nas X Makes History As 1st Openly Gay Man To Win CMA Award

Lil Nas X
Lil Nas X, the first openly gay man to be nominated for a Country Music Association Award, made history again last night taking home the trophy for ‘Musical Event of the Year’ with Billy Ray Cyrus for their mega-hit, “Old Town Road.” “I wasn’t sure if this was going to able to take place tonight,” Lil Nas X said afterward reports USA Today. “I am so happy this was accepted because it is the bridging of two completely polar opposite genres put together. I’m just happy, you know, it has gotten respect in both communities.”

The song got off to a rocky start with the country music industry. “Old Town Road” reached #19 on Billboard‘s “Hot Country Songs” chart before removing the song for not being ‘country’ enough. The massive hit went on to sit at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a record-setting 19 consecutive weeks. Equally stunning was the song’s continued success within the country music world after Lil Nas X came out as gay in June.

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Nominees For 2019 WOWie Awards Announced

The logo for the 2019 World of Wonder WOWie Awards

The logo for the 2019 World of Wonder WOWie Awards World of Wonder has announced the nominees for the annual WOWie Awards, celebrating the best in this year’s pop culture happenings. The WOWie Awards are presented by award-winning production company World of Wonder, the minds behind Emmy-winning series RuPaul’s Drag Race, and iconic favorites such as Million Dollar Listing LA & NY, Dancing Queen, and most recently documentary Liberty: Mother of Exiles in partnership with HBO. Click here for more info and to vote for your favorites. The trophy winners will be announced on December 6. The nominees for the 2019 WOWIE Awards 2019 are: The Like, Comment and Subscribe Award “Best YouTube Channel” ● Alexis G. Zall ● TS Madison ● Colin O’Leary ● Connor Franta ● Ambers Closet ● Randy Rainbow ● Josh Altman ● Josh Flagg The RT to Save a Life Award “Best Twitter” ● Jaboukie Young-White ● Andy Cohen ● Taika Waititi ● Ira Madison III ● Natasha Lyonne ● Vicky Vox ● Chrissy Teigen The Delete Your Account Award “Worst Online Presence” ● Donald Trump ● Ivanka Trump ● Donald Jr and Eric Trump ● Rudy Giuliani ● Sarah Huckabee Sanders The Curated Feed Award “Best Instagram” ● Jackie Schimmel ● Lisa Frank ● Keiynan Lonsdale ● Diane Von Furstenberg ● Ashley Longshore ● Gary Janetti ● Les Twins (Beyonce Dancers) The America’s Next Top Meme Award “Best Viral Moment” ● Keke Palmer “I’m Sorry To This Man” ● Jasmine Masters “And I OOP” ● CATS Trailer ● Kombucha Girl ● Mercedes Iman Diamond “Opulence” ● Kylie Jenner “Rise and Shine” The Right Side of HERstory Award “Resistor of the Year” ● Greta Thunberg ● Deven Green ● Adam Schiff ● Nancy Pelosi ● “The Whistleblower” ● A.O.C. ● George Conway We Have No Choice But to Stan Award “Best Music” ● Kim Petras ● Fantasia ● Big Freedia ● Kacey Musgraves ● Lizzo ● Miss Benny The Drink Tickets Award “Fiercest Party People” ● Susanne Bartsch ● Luke Nero ● Brandon Voss ● Mario Diaz ● Andrés Rigal ● House of Avalon ● Alan Cummings The Reading Is Fundamental Award “Best Blog/Website” ● Belletrist ● OUT Mag ● Pink News ● Advocate ● Vice ● Decider The Allied Forces Award “Best Ally” ● Charo ● Tiffany “New York” Pollard ● Shirley MacClaine ● Sheila Nevins ● Ellen Pompeo ● Dr. Marci Bowers ● Aisha Tyler ● Ryan Serhant The Can’t Get You Out of my Head Award “WOWlebrity on the rise” ● Tyler Whitman (MDL NY) ● The RDR UK Cast ● Quinn Wilson ● The Manscapers ● Chris Donaghue ● Isis King The After The Break Award “Best Podcast” ● Bitch Sesh w/ Casey Wilson & Danielle Schneider ● Why Won’t You Date Me w/ Nicole Byer ● What’s the Tee w/ RU & Michelle ● Straight Talk w/ Ross Matthews ● Sibling Rivalry w/ Bob & Monét The Oh, She Got Jokes Award “Best LGBTQ+ Comedian” ● Julio Torres ● Alan Carr ● Graham Norton ● Matteo Lane ● Tig Notaro ● Margaret Cho ● MsPat That Face is Beat Award “Best Beauty Line Award “ ● Kim Chi CHIC ● Gaga Haus Labs ● Miss Fame Beauty ● Nikita Dragun Beauty ● Trixie Cosmetics The [Peach Emoji] Award “Hottest Instagram Thirst Trap” ● Megan Thee Stallion ● Nico Tortorella ● Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman ● Laith Ashley ● The Cock Destroyers ● Clermont Twins The Who Are You Wearing Award “Best Red Carpet Looks” ● Ru @TheMET ● Violet @ The MET ● Aquaria @ The MET ● Zendaya @ The MET ● Billy Porter @ The MET ● Miss Fame @ Fashion Week The Library Is Open Award “Best Book Award” ● Whoopi Goldberg “The Unqualified Hostess: I do it my way so you can too!” ● Manic Panic ● Simon Doonan “ Drag: The Complete Story” ● Adam Rippon “Beautiful on the Outside: A Memoir” ● Jonathan Van Ness “Over The Top” The Surprise Bitch Award “Best TV Moment” ● Jiggly Caliente and Peppermint on POSE ● Alaska and Alyssa on The Bachelorette ● RU & Mally on QVC ● Carson on Get A Room w/ Carson and Tom ● Jamal Sims on Descendants 3 ● Michelle Visage on Strictly Real Short Video Award “Best TikTok Award” ● Rami Zein ● Lauren Godwin ● Minnie & Tink ● Plastique Tiara

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Lawsuit Filed After Madonna Can’t Show Up To Work On Time

NBC News reports that Madonna fans are a bit over the Queen of Pop’s habit of being tardy for her own concerts. It seems she was constantly late for performances for her current Madame X tour that showtimes were moved to 10:30 pm to accommodate her preference for later shows. And now, she’s late for those. From NBC News:

Nate Hollander purchased three tickets totaling $1,024.95 for Madonna’s Dec. 17, 2019, “Madame X Tour” at the Fillmore Miami Beach concert venue, according to the suit filed Nov. 4 in federal court in Miami-Dade County.

At the time Hollander bought the tickets, the show was scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m., according to the suit against the pop star and concert promoter Live Nation.

The suit alleges at the start of the tour, which kicked off in September, Madonna repeatedly arrived hours late to her shows.

The singer, 61, has a “long history of arriving and starting her concerts late” and to accommodate her tardiness her shows, including the Miami Beach one, were rescheduled to start at 10:30 p.m., the complaint states.

Hollander did not want to attend a concert that late and Live Nation would not refund him his money, according to the lawsuit.

This past Thursday night in Las Vegas, Madge apparently didn’t take to the stage until well after midnight. The show was scheduled to start at 10:30 pm. According to local news station KVVU in Las Vegas, the fans were booing by the time Madonna got to the stage. And I’ve heard reports that somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 attendees were asking for ticket refunds. And rather than express chagrin or remorse, she informed her fans who paid a minimum of $200-300 that “The Queen is never late” – so get over it:

One fan tweeted that Madge was only 15 minutes late on Friday, but the fan and her group left early because they “wanted more hits” and the new concert focuses primarily on the new Madame X album. Las Vegas entertainment reporter John Katsilometes tweeted that Ticketmaster had taken to warning ticket-holders not to expect the show to start until 12:30 am.

I shared something about Madonna’s issue with time on Facebook last night and it turned into 125+ comments. A couple of people say Madonna has ‘always’ been like this, so no one should be surprised. If you buy tickets and she’s late it’s your own fault because you should know. Others say two hours late is unacceptable and disrespectful to the ticket-buying public. What do you think about this, readers?

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Police Arrest 25+ As Protesters Tried To Disrupt Movie About Two Male Dancers In Love

(image via official website)
From Reuters:

Police in Georgia said on Saturday they had arrested more than 25 people after ultra-nationalist protesters attempting to derail the premiere of an award-winning movie about gay love clashed with security forces.

A few hundred demonstrators blocked the road outside a cinema in the capital’s city center on Friday ahead of the first screening of “And Then We Danced”, which tells the story of two young male Georgian ballet dancers falling in love.

Chanting “Long live Georgia” and “Shame”, the protesters – some holding crosses and religious icons – tried to force their way inside the cinema but where held back by riot police.

“This is not just a movie. This is an insult to our faith, our traditions and all that is holy for us,” said Guram Damenia, who came dressed in a traditional Georgian costume.

Two police officers and a young woman, who was trying to go watch the film, were injured, police said.

The three days of scheduled screenings in Tbilisi sold out immediately. The film, which has won awards at film festivals around the world, premiered to acclaim at the Cannes Film Festival this past spring.

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Helen Mirren & Sir Ian McKellen Read Trump’s Ukraine Transcript

L-R Sir Ian McKellen, Helen Mirren
With Stephen Colbert judging their innocence or guilt, two acting greats – Helen Mirren and Sir Ian McKellen – take on the roles of Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky and read lines from the infamous “transcript.” Mirren sums it up perfectly: “There’s no way of saying that except for ‘guiltily…” Their new film “The Good Liar” hits theaters on Friday, November 15th

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Out Music: Jakk Fynn “Fire”

Transmasculine Latinx pop artist Jakk Fynn

Transmasculine Latinx pop artist Jakk Fynn Jakk Fynn, a transmasculine Latinx pop artist dedicated to redefining masculinity, dropped his latest single this week, “Fire.” Unrequited love is the subject at hand in the pop/dance track. “Oftentimes, queer individuals don’t feel wholly accepted, seen or loved for who they are,” says the artist. “When romantic feelings are so infrequently returned, this can exacerbate an already deeply internalized identity struggle.” “Attraction and love are fairly involuntary,” adds Fynn. “Our central nervous system is a massive orchestration of electrical impulses that ‘fire.’” Jakk, a descendant of Mexican immigrants, is committed to using pop music’s power to uplift audiences and challenge toxic social narratives, especially for audiences who don’t often see themselves fairly and accurately represented in mainstream culture. His previous single, “Share the Seconds,” was released in 2018. Transmasculine Latinx pop artist Jakk Fynn

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Greyson Chance Is Dropping Beats In ‘Boots’

Hey hey, Lil Nas X, there’s more than one cowboy dropping beats in boots. Out singer/songwriter Greyson Chance drops his latest single & music video, “Boots.” The 22-year-old says he wrote the track as his response to how pop culture is currently embracing Western imagery. Chance says while writing the song he found himself “imagining what Johnny Cash would be like if he were around and making music in 2019.” The Oklahoma native says that ‘Western’ isn’t so much about style, “it’s about an attitude, an obsessive loyalty, and an unwavering wildness.”

I’ve been western before all of these punks These punks in California who think that they can punch

Chance tweeted out a dedication for the song telling his 2.7 million followers the track is for “the stars in California who can’t throw a punch.” Musically, “Boots” delivers a polished synth-pop rock vibe that’s earthy with an edge, and Chance’s vocals are smooth and confident.

Chance first found the public spotlight when a video of him performing Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi” went viral in 2010 (the video has over 66 million views on YouTube). Ellen DeGeneres invited him on her talk show, and he was soon off and running. He released his debut album in 2011 but stepped away from music at the age of 18 to focus on his college studies. His latest album, portraits, was released earlier this year to strong reviews. In 2017, he came out via an Instagram post encouraging others “navigating their sexuality to devote as much time as they need to the process of finding self-confidence, self-acceptance, and self-love.” He added that he felt it was “time to let a few more friends know that I am happy, I am here for you, and I am proud of who I am.”

 

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The decision to write this came after I received a message from a brave individual. Such message inspired me to shed light on an aspect of my private life which I have kept distant from my career in music. I came to fully recognize that I was gay when I was sixteen. I decided not to publicize my sexuality largely due to a matter of privacy, as I was still trying to find comfort and confidence within my own skin. Further, I always found conversations regarding music, politics, art, books – and the greatness of Nas’ catalog – to be far more interesting than what type of guy I was into. This is still true today. While this message is most definitely overdue, I encourage anyone who is navigating their sexuality to devote as much time as they need to the process of finding self-confidence, self-acceptance, and self-love. Hell, for me, it took years to write this message. Nevertheless, I figured now was the time to let a few more friends know that I am happy, I am here for you, and I am proud of who I am. Cheers -G

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“Boots” is now available on all digital download/streaming platforms here.

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Get Ready, Small Town USA – The Queens Are Coming!

L-R Bob the Drag Queen, Shangela & Eureka O'Hara (image via HBO)

L-R Bob the Drag Queen, Shangela & Eureka O'Hara (image via HBO)
L-R Bob the Drag Queen, Shangela & Eureka O’Hara (image via HBO)
Get ready, small-town America – the queens are coming! HBO Network has announced a new unscripted TV series titled We’re Here starring RuPaul’s Drag Race alumni Bob the Drag Queen, Eureka O’Hara, and Shangela. Over six episodes, the trio of RPDR royalty will travel to small towns across the country with the goal of “empowering local communities with the magic of drag.” Each installment of the series will feature a different town where locals will be recruited to participate in a one-night-only drag show. The three queens will work to inspire their ‘drag daughters’ to step out of their comfort zone. We’re getting a Queer Eye / To Wong Foo vibe here… Creator and executive producer Johnnie Ingram says, “We’re bringing the art of drag into small-town America in an effort to make connections in unexpected places.” “Drag is about confidence and self-expression,” says Nina Rosenstein, EVP, HBO programming in a statement. “We are so thrilled to showcase the transformative power of the art form with our audience.” All three queens will contribute as consulting producers on the series with Ingram and co-creator/executive producer Stephen Warren. The divas shared the news with similar messaging on their Instagrams:  

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MAJOR! MAJOR! MAJOR! I’ve been working on a new series with @HBO called “WE’RE HERE,” (YASSS I SAID HBO!) … traveling to small towns across the country with my homegurlz @bobthedragqueen & @eurekaohara, empowering local communities with the magic of drag! It’s Emotional. Theatrical. Oh, it’s gonna be a SHOW! #WereHere is coming to @HBO in Spring 2020. Never give up on your dreams y’all. And don’t be afraid to WERQ HARD for what u want! HALLELOO!

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First Posthumous George Michael Track Released – ‘This Is How (We Want You To Get High)’

Photo of George Michael by Andrew Macpherson

Photo of George Michael by Andrew Macpherson
George Michael (Photo: Andrew Macpherson/Universal)
Some 35 years after the release of the smash-hit “Last Christmas” by Wham!, George Michael’s millions of fans get another festive treat. “This Is How (We Want You To Get High),” which was recorded during George’s final studio sessions, is his first original material to be released in seven years. George died on Christmas Day in 2016. A funky, upbeat soon-to-be-classic, “This is How (We Want You to Get High)” has a seductive George Michael hook and melody. The lyrics, written exclusively by George, see the star addressing society’s ills with his trademark blend of self-deprecation and wry humor. Work on the track began in early 2012, was subsequently recorded in sessions at Air Studios in London, and ultimately received finishing touches in late 2015 during George’s final recording sessions. With its uplifting vibe and socially-conscious message, “This is How (We Want You to Get High)” will be featured during the credits of the upcoming Last Christmas, Universal Pictures’ new romantic comedy. The film was inspired by the eponymous Wham! hit, and has a soundtrack featuring three Wham! tracks and twelve songs from George Michael’s solo career. Hit the play button below.

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Olivia Newton-John’s ‘Grease’ Costume Sells For $405,700 – More Than Double Auction Estimate

  My hubby Michael and I spent much of Saturday watching the streaming video feed of the Olivia Newton-John memorabilia auction via Julien’s Auction House. As regular readers know, Michael has been Olivia’s publicist for 20 years 🙂 We’d never watched a celebrity auction before, and knowing Olivia’s career so intimately we were fascinated to see what items really drew fans in. Olivia’s famous black leather jacket and skin-tight pants from the finale of GREASE, “You’re the One That I Want,” went for $405,700 – more than double the estimate. The outfit, along with hundreds of other items from Newton-John’s illustrious career spanning six decades raised a total of $2.4 million. While the black outfit was the focus of much of the press in the runup to the auction, we were surprised by how much other items went for. A custom ‘Pink Ladies’ jacket monogrammed with the name “Sandy,” which was given to Oliva at the close of shooting GREASE sold for $50,000, twenty-five times the estimate.

Michael standing in front of just some of Olivia Newton-John’s gold and platinum records
And a poster for the film signed by the full cast of the movie musical initially predicted to raise $1,000, raised $64,000. Also – a pair of patchwork bell-bottom jeans worn by Newton-John during a performance on NBC’s “The Midnight Special” in the 1970s raised $50,000. The original handwritten lyrics of “Hopelessly Devoted To You” from GREASE, written by longtime collaborator John Farrar sold for $22,500. And the first car Olivia ever bought in the United States, a 1975 Volkswagen Super Beetle, was purchased for $55,000. After her first bout with cancer in the 1990s, she was asked to lend her name (and help raise funds for) the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre in Melbourne, which aims to support the mind as well as the body. All of the proceeds from the GREASE jacket and pants will go to the center, as well as a portion of all the other items sold on Saturday.