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New Trailer For Upcoming ‘Fosse/Verdon’ Miniseries

I. Can. Not. Wait.

FX dropped a new trailer for the upcoming Fosse/Verdon – a mini-series chronicling the oh-so-complicated relationship between director/choreographer Bob Fosse and four-time Tony Award winner Gwen Verdon.

Sam Rockwell and Michelle Williams star in the series.

Bob Fosse is a visionary filmmaker and one of theater’s most influential choreographers and directors.

Gwen Verdon is the greatest Broadway dancer of all time.

Fosse/Verdon will tell the story of these two brilliant, complicated individuals – the love they shared, the art they created, and the price they paid in the pursuit of greatness.

There’s a price to pursuing perfection.

Premieres April 9 on FX.

Here’s the previously released teaser which is so ‘Fosse’ I had to sit down for a minute.

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BYU’s ‘Cosmo The Cougar’ Comes Out In Op-Ed

Charlie Bird with ‘Cosmo the Cougar’

Charlie Bird, who performed as the Brigham Young University mascot Cosmo the Cougar from 2015-2018, came out recently in a touching essay for Deseret News.

For those of you who haven’t seen Bird’s amazing performances as Cosmo, check this out:

In his coming out story, Bird shares that behind the mask of Cosmo, he felt ‘invincible.’

My senior year as Cosmo was unforgettable. It was thrilling to watch fans around the globe share Cosmo’s newest dance video, which garnered hundreds of millions of views across social media platforms. I performed live on ESPN at the College Football Awards, and NBC Sports dubbed 2017-2018 the “Year of the Mascot” in honor of Cosmo’s viral influence. When I was Cosmo, I felt invincible.

As scary as it seemed to dance in front of 60,000 people, an even scarier thought often crept into my mind — “If they knew who I really was, would they hate me?”

I wore another mask while I was at BYU — a mask to cover the shame I felt for being “different.” For years I pleaded with God to change my sexual orientation, but after returning to BYU from a full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I began realizing that being gay is an integral part of who I am. As I grappled to develop a better understanding of myself, I felt immense pressure to hide my sexual orientation. I was hyper-aware of what some of my peers said about the gay community, how they viewed same-sex attraction and the often unkind and insensitive words they used to describe LGBTQ people — people like me.

The same community that made me feel like a superstar often simultaneously made me feel broken, unloved and defective.

Bird notes that during his senior year, BYU was ranked as the second-most LGBTQ-unfriendly college in the United States, based on student responses to a Princeton Review survey.

Imagine all those folks cheering for you, and traveling the country proudly representing a school and community that held a clearly negative view of who you are as a person.

It’s a good read. Click here for the full essay.

A post shared by Charlie Bird (@birdmancharles13) on Feb 26, 2019 at 10:32am PST
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Could Instagram Contribute To Eating Disorders?

InstaHunk Dan Tai

I often (not always) feature photos from my favorite InstaHunks at the top of my News Round-Ups as a cute way to start out the post; and as it gets shared on social media, offer a bit of enticement for folks to hit the link and read the news items.

I really do want you to read the news items, folks 🙂

But a recent article from NBC Out delves into how social media, particularly Instagram, might be contributing to eating disorders as the popular accounts on the platform constantly offer ripped, hot guys.

From NBC Out:

Approximately 20 million women and 10 million men in the United States will have an eating disorder at some point in their lives, according to the National Eating Disorder Association. The organization found gay men struggle disproportionately with body image issues and eating disorders: Though they are thought to make up only 5 percent of the national male population, gay men account for 42 percent of men who report having an eating disorder.

Asher Pandjiris is a therapist in New York City who treats LGBTQ people with eating disorders and was also a program director at an eating disorder center. She said high rates of disordered eating in the LGBTQ community are often reactions to the homophobia internalized in youth.

“Queer people often try and prove heteronormativity by having a muscled or thin body,” Pandjiris said. “But it’s almost more insidious that the queer community polices or generates these unattainable standards.”

And research has indeed shown that high frequency of social media usage — particularly image-centric platforms like Instagram — corresponds to body image concerns and eating disorder symptoms in gay men.

The article contrasts a recent post by Grammy Award winner Sam Smith (which I featured here on The Randy Report) with posts by Instagram celeb Max Emerson, who usually appears in some state of nakedness like swim suits or underwear.

In the past if I have ever done a photo shoot with so much as a t-shirt on, I have starved myself for weeks in advance and then picked and prodded at every picture and then normally taken the picture down. Yesterday I decided to fight the fuck back. Reclaim my body and stop trying to change this chest and these hips and these curves that my mum and dad made and love so unconditionally. Some may take this as narcissistic and showing off but if you knew how much courage it took to do this and the body trauma I have experienced as a kid you wouldn’t think those things. Thank you for helping me celebrate my body AS IT IS @ryanpfluger I have never felt safer than I did with you. I’ll always be at war with this bloody mirror but this shoot and this day was a step in the right fucking direction 👅🤘🏼🍑
A post shared by Sam Smith (@samsmith) on Feb 12, 2019 at 10:15am PST

I know advertising images have been known to make people feel ‘less than’ so it makes sense that people open to negative body issues could be affected by comparing themselves to these IG accounts.

I’ve never been critical of myself in checking out the InstaHunks, but, I can see how some might.

I’ve always seen the photos as inspiration to get my butt to the gym so I can be a ‘better’ me.

Read the whole article from NBC Out here, and let me know what you think.

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Trump: My Comments About Otto Warmbier Were ‘Misinterpreted’

Donald Trump

Donald Trump accused folks of ‘misinterpreting’ his statement that he believes North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un’s claim that he didn’t know anything about the case of college student Otto Warmbier.

Earlier this week, Trump told reporters, “He tells me that he didn’t know about it, and I will take him at his word.”

Yesterday, the Donald tweeted that his message was not properly understood, although it’s not clear how it was ‘misinterpreted.’

The parents of Otto Warmbier, who attended Trump’s first State of the Union address, issued a scathing rebuke regarding his ‘believing’ the North Korean leader, which read, in part, “Kim and his evil regime are responsible for unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity. No excuses or lavish praise can change that.”

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Georgia Republicans Making Another Run At Anti-LGBTQ ‘Religious Freedom’ Law

Georgia state Sen. Marty Harbin introduced legislation to legalize LGBTQ discrimination

State Sen. Marty Harbin of Georgia has introduced SB 221, a Religious Freedom Restoration Act that would legalize discrimination against LGBTQ people in the Peach state.

Nine state senators (seven of whom are committee chairman) have signed on as cosponsors ahead of the March 7 procedural deadline.

According to Georgia Equality, SB 221 would “allow businesses to refuse service to LGBT customers, among others, and would grant taxpayer-funded agencies a broad license to discriminate against LGBT youth, families, and other Georgians.”

In 2016, a similar bill was passed but former Gov. Nathan Deal vetoed the legislation as economic backlash prompted the Metro Atlanta Chamber to predict financial losses in excess of $600 million in regard to sporting events, convention business and major movie location shoots.

Newly-elected Gov. Brian Kemp, however, has signaled he will sign a RFRA bill if it lands on his desk.

During his campaign last year, Kemp told his followers he would support legislation that mirrors the language in a federal religious freedom law that was passed in 1993.

His opponent in the 2018 gubernatorial race, Stacey Abrams, says she opposes the legislation.

That legislation, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, was found to be unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1997. SCOTUS ruled that the law could only apply to federal government.

As a result, 21 individual states have passed their own state RFRAs.

SB 221 includes the same language as the federal RFRA, but also adds provisions for recovering legal costs in religious lawsuits and gives judges the power to change local laws that might be deemed as infringing on religious beliefs.

Georgia political pundits say the bill will probably pass in the senate, but the legislation’s chances in the state House are unclear.

This isn’t the only anti-LGBTQ legislation working its way through the Georgia legislature.

Last week, the state senate passed SB 375 (by a vote of 35-19) that would allow adoption agencies to refuse to place children with same-sex couples based on their religious beliefs.

That bill is now headed to the state House for consideration.

Watch the report from local NBC affiliate 11Alive below.

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Twitter Trolls Joe Biden For Calling Pence “Decent”

Former Vice President Joe Biden came under fire for calling current Vice President Mike Pence a ‘decent guy’ while speaking at the Chuck Hagel Forum in Global Leadership at the University of Nebraska at Omaha on Thursday.
Former Vice President Joe Biden (image via Flickr/KellyKline – CC license)

Former Vice President Joe Biden came under fire for calling current Vice President Mike Pence a ‘decent guy’ while speaking at the Chuck Hagel Forum in Global Leadership at the University of Nebraska at Omaha on Thursday.

The comment was especially stunning for those familiar with Pence’s lengthy history of anti-LGBTQ policies and positions.

The comment came as Biden brought up Pence’s recent speech at the Munich Security Conference last month. During the speech, Pence mentioned greetings from President Trump to the audience which was met with stark silence.

“The fact of the matter is it was followed on by a guy who’s a decent guy, our vice president, who stood before this group of allies and leaders and said, ‘I’m here on behalf of President Trump,’ and there was dead silence. Dead silence,” Biden told the Nebraska audience on Thursday.

Reid Epstein, political reporter for the Wall Street Journal, tweeted the comment:

Sex In The City star Cynthia Nixon called Biden out on Twitter, writing, “You’ve just called America’s most anti-LGBT elected leader ‘a decent guy.’ Please consider how this falls on the ears of our community.”

Biden responded to Nixon’s tweet less than an hour later admitting the misstep: “You’re right, Cynthia. I was making a point in a foreign policy context, that under normal circumstances a Vice President wouldn’t be given a silent reaction on the world stage. But there is nothing decent about being anti-LGBTQ rights, and that includes the Vice President.”

Biden’s comment got many in the Twitterverse upset:

But Washington Blade reporter Chris Johnson points out even openly gay Mayor Pete Buttigieg has referred to Pence in positive terms:

Biden has a long history of being a staunch LGBTQ ally. He came out for marriage equality before his boss, Barack Obama did, and he was recently the speaker at the national Human Rights Campaign dinner.

From my perspective, I think the comment comes across as Biden just being affable in referring to Pence. I don’t think it was a full-on testimonial about Pence’s character.

I’m hoping small incidents like this don’t inspire folks to attack our allies.

And, if Biden should run and become the Democratic nominee for president in 2020, you can bet I’ll be voting for him.

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Trump Ordered Security Clearance For Son-In-Law Despite Serious Concerns By Intelligence Officials

The New York Times is reporting that Donald Trump ordered his chief of staff to issue his son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, a top-secret security clearance last year.
Jared Kushner

The New York Times is reporting that Donald Trump ordered his chief of staff to issue his son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, a top-secret security clearance last year.

At the time, intelligence officials and the White House’s top lawyer had expressed serious concerns about granting Kushner the security clearance.

Mr. Trump’s decision in May so troubled senior administration officials that at least one, the White House chief of staff at the time, John F. Kelly, wrote a contemporaneous internal memo about how he had been “ordered” to give Mr. Kushner the top-secret clearance.

The White House counsel at the time, Donald F. McGahn II, also wrote an internal memo outlining the concerns that had been raised about Mr. Kushner — including by the C.I.A. — and how Mr. McGahn had recommended that he not be given a top-secret clearance.

The disclosure of the memos contradicts statements made by the president, who told The New York Times in January in an Oval Office interview that he had no role in his son-in-law receiving his clearance.

The Times goes on to acknowledge the president’s legal authority to grant security clearances. But generally, the White House’s personnel security office decides the issue after proper background checks by the FBI.

In the case of a question, the White House counsel makes the decision. Only in rare instances does the president step in and grant the clearance himself.

Kushner and Ivanka Trump have both publicly stated that the Donald had no involvement in the approval of their security clearances.

The Washington Post found six incidents where Trump denied being involved.

Rep. Elijah Cummings, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, is demanding W.H. Counsel be in “full and immediate compliance” with his committee’s request for documents and witness interviews in light of the Times report that Trump intervened to get Jared Kushner his security clearance.

Politico is reporting that White House advisor Kellyanne Conway told Fox News today regarding the report that, “The president has the absolute right to do what was described.”

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Otto Warmbiers’ Parents Issue Scathing Rebuke Of Trump’s Trust In North Korean Dictator

Cindy and Fred Warmbier attending Donald Trump’s first State of the Union address

The parents of deceased college student Otto Warmbier, who was imprisoned in North Korea for stealing a poster, have issued a statement after Donald Trump told the world yesterday he believed North Korean President Kim Jong Un didn’t know anything about the student’s treatment in his country.

“We have been respectful during this summit process. Now we must speak out. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son Otto,” Fred and Cindy Warmbier said in a statement, according to NBC News. “Kim and his evil regime are responsible for unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity. No excuses or lavish praise can change that.”

Here’s what Donald Trump told reporters yesterday in Vietnam:

That sentiment is a reversal from last year when Trump invited Otto’s parents to attend his State of the Union address and he blamed Kim Jong Un’s dictatorship for Otto Warmbier’s death.

In 2016, Otto Warmbier was arrested during a trip to North Korea after being accused of stealing a propaganda poster from his hotel in Pyongyang.

The 21-year-old was sentenced to 15 years hard labor by the North Korean government, but was released after 17 months.

He was returned to the United States in a coma, and died days later due to neurological injury.

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Seven-Time Oscar Nominee Glenn Close Prepares For Her ‘Sunset Boulevard’ Close-Up

The film version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Sunset Boulevard, will star Glenn Close re-creating her Tony-winning performance.
Glenn Close in ‘Sunset Boulevard’ (photo: Joan Marcus)

The film version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Sunset Boulevard, will star Glenn Close re-creating her Tony-winning performance.

Tony Award-winner Rob Ashford (Thoroughly Modern Millie) will make his feature film directorial debut with the movie musical, reports the Hollywood Reporter.

From Playbill:

Close starred in the original 1994 Broadway production of Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard, earning a Tony for her work as faded silent-screen star Norma Desmond, as well as the acclaimed 2017 revival. The prospective project was first reported in January 2016, prior to Close taking on the Hollywood star once more at the London Coliseum before a Broadway bow at the Palace Theatre. At the time, co-lyricist and book writer Christopher Hampton hoped shooting would begin while Close was still in London.

It had been over 20 years since Close opened the original Broadway production, but the seven-time Oscar nominee used the years away from Norma Desmond to find a new window into the character.

“I’m not saying I’m getting better, but I am saying that I do have more experience,” Close told Playbill as she discussed returning to the role first seen in the 1950 Wilder film. “With more knowledge of myself and experiences I’ve had and heartbreaks I’ve had and enduring as I have—theoretically, an actor should only get better because our bodies and our minds and hearts are the material with which we build characters.”

Filming is expected to begin in Fall 2019. No other casting has been reported.