Radio host & MMA fighter Jason Ellis (photo: John Tsaivis) Openly bisexual SiriusXM radio host and MMA fighter Jason Ellis knows he’s a rough-looking dude. “I have a tough exterior,” writes Ellis in a personal essay for The Advocate. “I fight MMA. I’m a skateboarder. I’m tattooed from head to toe. But if you get to know me you know I’m a sensitive man.” “And the rejection of me being a bisexual man by other LGBTQ people hurts,” adds Ellis. In his new book, Still Awesome: The Trials and Tribulations of an Egotistical Maniac, the former pro skateboarder from Australia talks candidly about being openly bi, his adventures in Grindr land, and his personal work on putting quality over quantity when it comes to his sex life. Ellis says he doesn’t feel very welcome in the community right now. Recalling times when he’s told men he’s had sex with that he’s married to a woman, he gets responses like “it’s just a phase” and “you’ll eventually be gay.” “I’m a bisexual man and I’m married to a woman I love. I’m lucky enough to be able to have sex with men as well. I find diverse people of all genders sexy and attractive.” Ellis publicly came out as bisexual in 2016, and married his wife, Katie Gilbert, in August 2017. But he says while others might doubt the idea of bisexuality, he’s clear on who he is. “Ask my wife,” he told Outsports in a recent interview. “I’m trying to have sex with her all the time. She’s not my beard. And I love having sex with guys too.” Sometimes, he says guys call him ‘straight,’ which he finds confusing. “I’m standing next to you with my pants off. How straight could I be?” The radio host makes a point of saying that he doesn’t want his inclusion in the community to be merely sexual. “I want LGBTQ friends,” he says adding “After all, ‘B’ is the third letter listed!” The Aussie admits the heterosexual community doesn’t do much better in welcoming bisexual men: “Watch any straight porn and a bi scene between two chicks is de rigueur, but it rarely happens between the men.” Ellis told Outsports that the phone lines on his SiriusXM radio show (where he’s often talked about his sexcapades in the past) go quiet when he talks about the LGBTQ aspect of his life like going to gay sex clubs: “Nobody wants to talk about that.” That reaction led him to venture into podcasting where he’s noticed more support and a different kind of crowd that just “guys in their cars.” On the topic of bisexuality, it’s worth noting that a 2018 report from Gallup showed that the estimate of LGBT people in the U.S. increased to 4.5 percent in 2017, and a huge number of those folks are bisexual. According to the Williams Institute, studies suggest that about 50 percent of people who say they are either gay, lesbian or bisexual, identify as bisexual, making them the single largest group within the LGBTQ community.
Ellis says in writing about his sexuality, he’s looking for “pity,” but perhaps some empathy. And to raise awareness on the reality of bisexuality. “I would like to be part of the community,” he writes. “The ‘B’ was put there for a reason. And if you’re going to use it, then I ask the community to make more of an effort to find people like me and include us in the community and at your events.” “Too many of us long to be in a community that will have us,” says Ellis. “Please be a little more welcoming, show us a little encouragement, and for fuck’s sake, believe me when I tell you I am equally attracted to men and women.” Acknowledging his tatted-up appearance might look “a little different,” he offers, “I clean up nicely and work really hard to be charming.” Still Awesome, Ellis’ third autobiography (co-written with Mike Tully) is available now. You can find his previous best-selling releases here. (photo: John Tsaivis)
Rannells, who shot to fame as the lead in the hit Broadway musical The Book of Mormon, shares in the excerpt details of rather unsettling encounters with a Catholic priest while growing up in Nebraska.
Using the alias ‘Father Dominic’ to refer to the priest, the Girls star explains how the priest forcibly kissed him after confession one day.
“He stood up and pulled me up with him. He hugged me tightly. I felt safe and heard and understood. Then, with unexpected force, he kissed me. On the lips. He muscled his tongue into my mouth and held the back of my head still. Then he released me and made the sign of the cross on my forehead. He smiled.”
It comes as no surprise that Rannells would spend the rest of that year avoiding the priest.
He was mostly successful in his avoidance until his mother insisted Father Dominic be invited to his graduation barbecue.
At the end of the party, the priest announced he was leaving and asked young Rannells to see him out.
Cringing at the idea of being alone with the sixty-something priest, Rannells knew what might be coming.
Standing at the door, saying what he hoped would be his final goodbyes with the priest, Rannells writes, “He grabbed me by the back of the neck and forced his tongue in my mouth.”
“I just stood there and let him,” he continues. “I didn’t kiss back, but I also didn’t move. He smiled at me and walked to his car.”
Rannells handled the moment in the best way he knew how – he went to the kitchen and “slammed a glass of wine before going back out to the party.”
The future Broadway star would ponder the kiss for some time.
“How many teenage boys have to deal with this shit at their graduation parties? Am I the only one? Or was Father Dominic just taking a tour of homes and forcing French kisses on young men throughout the city?”
Soon after, the teenager would leave the Cornhusker state and find himself (and his career) in New York City.
The actor would go on to starring roles in the aforesaid Book of Mormon as well as Falsettos, Hairspray, Hamilton, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Jersey Boys and The Boys in the Band on Broadway. He would also make a splash in his recurring role on the TV series Girls as well as the films The Intern and A Simple Favor.
The 40-year-old says the new memoir is about “homesickness, bad auditions, good auditions, sex with the wrong person, occasionally sex with the right person (who generally turns out to be the wrong person), some unfortunate but inescapable life events on the path to adulthood, and lots of wine with friends along the way.”
I’m thinking a lot of folks will relate.
Throughout the tome, Rannells proves himself to be a deft storyteller with a sophisticated touch when it comes to humor.
The Aussie admits the heterosexual community doesn’t do much better in welcoming bisexual men: “Watch any straight porn and a bi scene between two chicks is de rigueur, but it rarely happens between the men.” Ellis told Outsports that the phone lines on his SiriusXM radio show (where he’s often talked about his sexcapades in the past) go quiet when he talks about the LGBTQ aspect of his life like going to gay sex clubs: “Nobody wants to talk about that.” That reaction led him to venture into podcasting where he’s noticed more support and a different kind of crowd that just “guys in their cars.” On the topic of bisexuality, it’s worth noting that a 2018 report from Gallup showed that the estimate of LGBT people in the U.S. increased to 4.5 percent in 2017, and a huge number of those folks are bisexual. According to the Williams Institute, studies suggest that about 50 percent of people who say they are either gay, lesbian or bisexual, identify as bisexual, making them the single largest group within the LGBTQ community. 
