(image via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Fitness guy Nik (above) says “six-packs are overrated – especially after Christmas!” I second that notion 🙂 • Instinct Magazine: A Manhattan school teacher says he was fired for being gay and for standing up for a non-binary gender-nonconforming student. • Hulu: A trailer has been released for the latest installment of Hulu’s Into The Dark, a monthly horror event series. Each feature-length installment is inspired by a holiday. The latest episode – Midnight Kiss – stars Scott Evans and premieres on December 27. According to the official synopsis, “A group of longtime gay best friends head to a beautiful desert home to celebrate New Year’s Eve. One of their annual traditions is to play MIDNIGHT KISS, a sexy but ultimately dangerous challenge to find that special someone to help you ring in the New Year. As friendships have grown strained with secrets, jealousy and resentment, the group faces another challenge when a sadistic killer wants in.”
• NBC News: Donald Trump said Tuesday he wouldn’t rule out pardoning Republican operative Roger Stone, describing what happened to his former confidant as “very tough” and criticizing federal prosecutors and investigators as “dirty cops” and “evil people.” • Out: Dame Judi Dench says her “Deuteronomy” in the now-infamous film version of Cats is transgender. • CNBC: Trump supporters were outraged to hear a version of Home Alone 2 aired on Canada’s CBC network which omits Donald Trump’s cameo in the film. Chuck Thompson, the CBC’s head of public affairs, said in a statement that the edits to the film “were done in 2014 when we first acquired the film and before Mr. Trump was elected president.” • Instagram: Madonna canceled her final ‘Madame X’ tour date in the U.S. due to “indescribable” pain.
Fitness guy Nik has the perfect package for you (via Instagram) Spending some Christmastime with the InstaHotties: First up, fitness guy Nik (above) has the perfect package for you this holiday season. Joel Green is giving you full-on Florida #BlackSanta realness: https://www.instagram.com/p/B6docoeJFnk/ Mitch Fit got a huge sword from Santa and looks like he knows how to use it: https://www.instagram.com/p/B6eh54rp8Oj/ Super-fit paleontologist Francesc Gascó and friend want everyone to eat, smile and be happy: https://www.instagram.com/p/B6dnRJ2IZjx/ Shoutout to the ModernBearMedia guys for knowing a real Santa when they see one: https://www.instagram.com/p/B6d7DaBJNTw/ Fitness expert Ramses Principe wants to know if you landed on the “Naughty” or “Nice” list this year? https://www.instagram.com/p/B6ddbQbnk7g/ Simon Dunn and Felix Maisey-Curtis are looking adorable in matching stripes and their big Weiner: https://www.instagram.com/p/B6fhcmChLth/ ABC News reporter Gio Benitez and hubby Tommy Didario are playing the matching outfits game as well (down to the socks!): https://www.instagram.com/p/B6f9idTlCWG/ Jim Newman got a really, really nice package from his boo: https://www.instagram.com/p/B6gG5zolepJ/ Photographer Michael Stokes offers his own take on elf shenanigans: https://www.instagram.com/p/B6gFz8KhN4Q/ Gorgeous Steve_in_LA is spending his holidays in gorgeous Salzburg, Austria: https://www.instagram.com/p/B6d0zN8hQ2W/ Rick and the Griffopotamus celebrate gay penguins with an invitation to kiss under the mistletoe: https://www.instagram.com/p/B6d0hCZga-9/ Spanish fitness model Jonathan Guijarro is giving you sexy eyes on Christmas Day: https://www.instagram.com/p/B6f1GSIoasx/ Max Emerson sends holiday greetings from Thailand: https://www.instagram.com/p/B6f0UdvFruL/ Rodiney Santiago offers his Christmas Eve greetings in classic champagne glass: https://www.instagram.com/p/B6dL-DgnwbF/ We are totally loving artist Silverjow’s take on Santa Claus and reindeer: https://www.instagram.com/p/B6dzylPH-Zq/ https://www.instagram.com/p/B6daGy1nvbi/
Alex Abramov (image via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Alex Abramov (above) offers this quickie #instagay take on getting ready for the holidays: remove shirt, add Russian fur hat and lights, shoot. • OUT: The mother of a child who committed suicide due to excessive bullying has sued the school on the basis of neglect and creating a hostile environment for LGBTQ students. • Instinct: The streaming giant teased its upcoming true crime documentary based on the real-life story of bisexual pro football player turned murderer, Aaron Hernandez.
Killer Inside: The mind of Aaron Hernandez. From the studio that brought you Making a Murderer and Evil Genius, witness the rise and fall of the infamous athlete Aaron Hernandez. How can someone who had everything throw it all away? January 15, only on Netflix. pic.twitter.com/tak2JAwXj5
• Christianity Today: The president of the evangelical magazine supported his editor in chief’s recent op-ed calling for the removal of Donald Trump. “The global Body of Christ — and the community of evangelicals — is vastly larger than our domestic political squabbles. But partly on behalf of that global body, we can no longer stay silent. We write for a readership of One. God is our Tower. Let the whirlwind come.” • The Verge: Theaters are receiving a new version of Cats with “some improved visual effects,” just days after it premiered to dismal reviews. Last-minute tweaks apparently left room for mistakes like Judy Dench’s human hand slipping through unnoticed.
This isn’t a joke: CATS was rushed into theaters before being finished so a new version is being sent to theaters with updated effects. How do you know if you have the old version? Look for Judi Dench’s human hand, wedding ring and all. pic.twitter.com/VDUOevePU9
• AP News: After Sen. Elizabeth Warren accused Mayor Pete Buttigieg of holding fundraising events in “wine caves” serving $900 bottles of wine, the owners of the venue that hosted the event pushed back. They say wine caves are common at wineries in Napa Valley because they’re good for storing wine at cool temperatures.; no $900 bottle of wine were served; and no one attended thinking they would become besties with Mayor Pete. • Advocate: Schitt’s Creek creator and star Dan Levy called out UK television channel 4Music for editing out same-sex moments from the series. • Will & Grace: Sean Hayes tweets a photo of the fab four taking a final bow as the last episode of Will & Grace was shot, and the unexpected revival of the hit sitcom comes to a close.
And that’s a wrap from Stage 22 on the backlot of Universal Studios. What a glorious end to an amazing experience. Thanks to all of the fans. This was all for you. ❤️ #WillandGracepic.twitter.com/KJgttteFRC
Jim Newman (via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Woofy Jim Newman’s words of wisdom for the holidays – “Don’t blend in.” Follow the hunky singer on Instagram here. • Metro: A teenager who attacked a lesbian couple on a night bus because they refused to kiss was sentenced to an eight-month youth referral order (parole), 12 hours’ reparation and ordered to pay £220 in fines and prosecution costs. • NBC News: A Texas grand jury on Friday indicted a former Fort Worth police officer for murder after fatally shooting a young woman who had been babysitting her nephew at home. According to police and body camera footage, the officer didn’t identify himself before shooting and killing the victim through a window. • KIT212: Kenneth rounds up the what’s what in gay publications across the country. • FiveThirtyEight: The four candidates leading the polls nationally and in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina — former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg — have qualified for the seventh Democratic debate in January, as well as Sen. Amy Klobuchar who has hit at least 5 percent in just enough polls and her campaign says she has the donors. • Instinct: A woofy bear in the front row of last night’s Democratic debate stole the show for many Twitter gays. • Washington Post: After meeting privately in July 2017 with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin at the G20 summit, Trump grew more insistent that Ukraine worked to defeat him, according to multiple former officials familiar with his assertions. The president’s intense resistance to the assessment of U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia systematically interfered in the 2016 campaign led many of his advisers to think that Putin himself helped spur the idea of Ukraine’s culpability. • The Gaily Grind: A 14-year-old girl is in the hospital after an Iowa woman struck her with her SUV in a hit-and-run incident resulting in attempted murder charges after the woman behind the wheel said she did it because the teenager is “a Mexican.” • Lip-Sync This: Billy Porter has had quite the year after slaying on the red carpets throughout the awards season, picking up an Emmy, and now snagging a 2nd Golden Globe nomination for his work on the ground-breaking FX series, POSE. But he ain’t done yet! Check out this celebrity lip-sync of his #1 Billboard Dance Club hit, “Love Yourself.” The celebrity lip-sync features Porter’s POSE co-stars MJ Rodriguez, Ryan Jamal Swain, Dyllon Burnside, Jeremy McClain, and Jason A. Rodriguez; Kinky Boots cast and creatives Cyndi Lauper, Jerry Mitchell, Stark Sands, Annaleigh Ashford, Lena Hall, and the Ogunquit Playhouse cast of the smash hit musical; the Broadway cast of Ain’t Too Proud; along with Kelly Ripa, Debra Messing, Lin Manuel Miranda, Patina Miller, Nathan Lee Graham, Miss J, Peppermint, and designer Christian Siriano.
Tyler James (via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Hottie Tyler James has folks’ safety in mind when he asks, “Anyone need their driveway shoveled?” Is that a euphemism…? • The Hill: The latest Iowa State University–Civiqs poll finds Mayor Pete Buttigieg currently leading the race in Iowa at 24 percent, followed by Sanders at 21 percent, Warren at 18 percent and former Vice President Joe Biden at 15 percent. No other candidate is polling above 4 percent in the survey. • Buzzfeed News: High school students in Missouri responded to Pride flags being handed out by flying the Confederate flag. After the racist flag was removed, the school decided there would be no disciplinary action taken hoping instead to “teach our students to respect each other and to respect different viewpoints on a variety of social issues.” Note – LGBTQ pride is pride; the Confederate flag stands for a war fought to keep slavery. • DListed: The highest-paid YouTuber is an eight-year-old named Ryan Kaji who has earned $26 million this year reviewing toys. • NBC News: Until Wednesday afternoon, the fictional country from the popular 2018 Marvel superhero movie “Black Panther” was listed as a free trade agreement partner of the United States by the USDA’s tariff tracker. • Des Moines Register: An Ames man was sentenced Wednesday to about 16 years in prison after he set fire to a church LGBTQ flag in June. Adolfo Martinez, 30, of Ames, last month was found guilty of a hate crime — a class “D” felony — third-degree harassment and reckless use of fire. • NY Post: While Donald Trump was hunkered down in the White House monitoring impeachment proceedings Wednesday, his predecessor in the Oval Office was hitting the links in Hawaii. Barack Obama — a native of Honolulu — was photographed on the course at the Mid-Pacific Country Club in Lanikai, O’ahu, playing a round of golf under sunny skies and temperatures in the 70s.
@juliemason Obama golfing in Hawaii – living the best life. It looks like he’s been working out. Profiles in presidential golfing. pic.twitter.com/gM0e3fnCTx
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Woofy Wes Dupree (above) answers the eternal Sondheimian question “Does anyone still wear a hat?” • The Atlantic: John McWhorter does a better job expressing what I tried to say last week about that Pete Buttigieg ‘Lying MF’ hit piece essay. • NY Post: A woman in Brazil was sentenced to 25 years in prison for stabbing her gay son to death after the hitmen she hired didn’t get it done. • Tweet of the Day: Paul Rudnick re-captions this photo from the White House in perfect form.
Melania’s unveiled this year’s WH Christmas decor. The theme is Soap Opera Star Striding Through An 80s Department Store Looking For A Restroom pic.twitter.com/Y9te7IheqE
• White House: For the third year in a row, Donald Trump did not mention LGBTQ people in his World AIDS Day proclamation. It goes without saying that, while not a ‘gay’ disease, HIV/AIDS disproportionately affects LGBTQ people. • The Hill: Donald Trump loves to nickname his political opponents and he’s decided the latest entrant in the Democratic primary will be called “Mini Mike Bloomberg.” For the record, Bloomberg is 5’8″ tall. • Esquire: Still handsome, confident and charming at 82, Billy Dee Williams comes out as gender fluid in a new interview. Williams returns to the role of ‘Lando Calrissian’ in the upcoming Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. • Christmas Music: From the “required-listening” classic holiday album, Barbra Streisand – A Christmas Album (1967).
Instahunks Justin and Nick Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Often, holidays don’t go quite as you planned. Justin and Nick (above) share that their Thanksgiving is starting a day late after Nick was called into work unexpectedly. Sometimes, couples have to rock and roll a bit. • KIT212: Kenneth has the low-down on the what’s what in local LGBTQ publications across the country. • The Gaily Grind: Kid Rock was dragged off-stage at his own Tennesee bar after a racist tirade about Oprah. • Instinct: The internet goes ga-ga over viral video of two gay men finding out they’re about to become da-das. • AskGayBros: A thread on Reddit inquires about advice or issues to discuss in exploring a couple’s possible first three-some. • Washington Blade: Four-time Oscar nominee Annette Bening says she’s ‘very, very proud’ of her transgender son. • NewNowNext: Jonathan James offers his insights into becoming a gay pup: “I always compare being a pup to being a drag queen: No two queens are the same.” • Cover Song: I admit to giving a side-eye to the idea of covering The Boss, but I have to say Darren Criss’ funk cover of “Dancing in the Dark” lands for me. Take a listen and let me know what you think. Happy Friday, everyone!
Checking in with our favorite InstaHunks this weekend… Gay Czech fitness guy Petr Hollesch has pretty much mastered the art of the selfie, no? 
Some news items you might have missed: • 