I’ve always been a fan of Soledad O’Brien. And I’m really loving her “no nonsense” approach to interviews these days. Ask a question – ask for the answer.
Soledad O’Brien and Mayor Rudy Giuliani had a very heated exchange over President Obama’s response to Libya on Monday’s “Starting Point.”
O’Brien replayed a clip of Matthew Dowd, a former member of George W. Bush’s administration, defending the White House against criticism that it doesn’t have the answers about the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. He said that it took far longer than two weeks to get to the truth about weapons of mass destruction. O’Brien asked Giuliani if Dowd had a point. “So we’re gonna blame this on Bush too?” Giuliani said.
“You gotta stop putting words in my mouth, sir,” O’Brien interjected. After some back-and-forth, she continued, “Every time I ask you a question, you like to push back as if somehow the question being posed to you is unfair. It’s not. I’m a journalist, you said some things. I’m trying to get some accurate responses from you. You are welcome to answer.”
Several weeks ago there was a story in the news about United Airlines allegedly killing supermodel Maggie Rizer’s dog. As I read the story, I was struck by how terrible it would be to travel your pet with you only to find they passed away on the flight in cargo.
Unfortunately, model Michael Jarboe had his heart broken when during a United Airlines flight, through alleged possible neglect, his dog Bam Bam passed away.
Michael joined us on The Candi and Randy Show to talk about his loss and how things have developed since the accident.
Kelly Clarkson says that despite being “a Republican at heart,” she’s likely voting for President Obama, largely because of his stance on marriage equality.
“I can’t support Romney’s policies as I have a lot of gay friends and I don’t think it’s fair they can’t get married,” Clarkson told the U.K.’s Daily Starlast week as she prepared to close her concert tour in London. She noted that she has “been reading online about the debates and I’m probably going to vote for Obama again, even though I’m a Republican at heart.”
She added that she’s attracted to the president’s policies on women’s issues as well. “I’m not a hardcore feminist but we can’t be going back to the ’50s,” she said. “Obama is a great guy. I’ve met him and I’m a fan of Michelle too. She has been busy promoting better education and healthy diets, which is something we could all use a dose of reality on.”
Kinky Boots, the new musical by Cyndi Lauper & Harvey Fierstein, opened last night at the Bank of America Theatre in Chicago.
Directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell, the show appears to be headed in the right direction as Chicago gives the creators the opportunity to fine tune the piece.
A couple of the reviews from opening night:
Hedy Weiss, Sun-Times: While no one would mistake this new musical, which celebrated its pre-Broadway opening Wednesday night at Chicago’s Bank of America Theatre, as groundbreaking in any way, it is an ideally crafted, altogether feel-good show — something of a “La Cage aux Folles” for the recession-plagued, anti-bullying, “it WILL get better” generation. And its solid if predictable storytelling (Harvey Fierstein’s take on the popular little British film comedy of 2005), its accomplished and varied score (an impressive first Broadway effort by Cyndi Lauper, that petite paragon of pop, who has penned several numbers that are sure to become keepers), its conveyor belt-smooth flow (courtesy of director-choreographer Jerry Mitchell), and its strong, winningly genuine cast, all conjoin to make it an engaging entertainment.
Michael Roberts, Showbiz Chicago: Kinky Boots has something unique going for it that will add to its success; that is Billy Porter…I would venture to say that Kinky Boots will do for Mr. Porter what Hello, Dolly did for Carol Channing, Funny Girl for Streisand; Phantom for Michael Crawford and Evita for Patti LuPone. This is will become a show and role that will be forever synonymous with Mr. Porter, and rightfully so…Alongside Mr. Porter is the equally engaging Stark Sands as Charlie Price. Though his character could stand a little more development in the second act, Sands has remarkable stage presence and chemistry with his co-star…The book for Kinky Boots is classic Harvey Fierstein, who always has the innate ability to create an environment where his characters can be bigger than life one minute, then intensely internal the next…The material at hand is perfect fodder for [Jerry] Mitchell to develop the environment to allow his actors to find their truth…A musical would be nothing without the music, and for this, Cyndi Lauper is a revelation…Not since Rent has there been a musical that is poised to have at least three numbers cross over to the pop charts.
Chippendales’ Chaun Thomas and Gavin McHale wore special purple cuffs and collars at a press event Friday to support Spirit Day in Las Vegas.
Not only did the guys and the iconic Las Vegas sign “go purple,” but Friday evening the lights of the Vegas Strip went purple in honor of the nation-wide anti-bullying day.
As soon as he walked out to a cheering crowd displaying flags of his native Puerto Rico, boxing’s first openly gay fighter could finally breathe and do what he came to do, slugging his way to a victory by unanimous decision over Jorge Pazos.
“That was my moment, my opportunity, my event,” Cruz said Friday night after the bout, his mother Dominga Torres-Rivera seated beside him. “And I won.”
Cruz was touched by the support on display at the Kissimmee Civic Center outside of Orlando, the latest in a continual outpouring since his announcement two weeks ago that made him the first active male athlete in a major sport to come out.
“I was very happy that they respect me. That’s what I want – them to see me as a boxer, as an athlete and as a man in every sense of the word.”
CNN anchor Carol Costello fires back at hate group spokesman Bryan Fischer, who last week denounced her for hanging up on his claims that the Nazi Party was founded by gay men: “Well Mr. Fischer, if that’s the definition of the gay gestapo, then I’m a proud card-carrying member.”
