Tag: memoir

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Ex-Trump Aide: Mark Meadows Burned Docs In WH Fireplace

Former White House staffer Cassidy Hutchinson
Former Trump staffer Cassidy Hutchinson (screen capture)
You’ll recall Cassidy Hutchinson, a former staffer in Donald Trump’s West Wing, who delivered devastating testimony during the nationally televised House hearing regarding Trump’s actions during and after the violent invasion of the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021. Hutchinson, now 26, is back in the public eye now with the publication of “Enough,” a memoir about her time as a top aide to Mark Meadows, Mr. Trump’s last chief of staff. Continue reading “Ex-Trump Aide: Mark Meadows Burned Docs In WH Fireplace”

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Colton Haynes Announces Memoir ‘Miss Memory Lane’

Actor Colton Haynes has announced he's penned a memoir - "Miss Memory Lane" - scheduled for release in May 2022

Out actor Colton Haynes (Teen Wolf, Arrow) announced today he has penned a memoir, titled Miss Memory Lane, scheduled for release in May 2022. If it’s anything like the vividly detailed essay he shared with Vulture this week, it’s sure to be a must-read. Continue reading “Colton Haynes Announces Memoir ‘Miss Memory Lane’”

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Memoir: Mr. Rogers Urged Co-Star To Stay In Closet & Marry A Woman

L-R Fred Rogers and Francois Clemmons
In his new memoir, Officer Clemmons, Francois Clemmons shares that during his time as a cast member of the iconic children’s TV show, Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, the show’s star Fred Rogers encouraged him to stay in the closet and to marry a woman. In a new interview with PEOPLE, Clemmons says, “I forgive him. More than that, I understand.” From 1968 to 1993, Clemmons became known to millions of children as ‘Officer Clemmons’ on the popular PBS series. Clemmons says he also came to see Rogers as “a mentor, father figure, and ultimately ‘the spiritual love of my life.'” The two men met at Rogers’ wife’s church and became fast friends. Having survived a difficult childhood, the calming nature of Rogers and his ‘neighborhood’ became an integral part of Clemmons’ life. But according to his new autobiography, Clemmons was summoned to Rogers’s office one day. “Franc, you have talents and gifts that set you apart and above the crowd,” Rogers told Clemmons per his new memoir. “Someone has informed us that you were seen at the local gay bar downtown. Now, I want you to know, Franc, that if you’re gay, it doesn’t matter to me at all. Whatever you say and do is fine with me, but if you’re going to be on the show as an important member of the Neighborhood, you can’t be out as gay.” Clemmons shares with PEOPLE he began to get emotional and broke down crying. “I could have his friendship and fatherly love and relationship forever,” says Clemmons. “But I could have the job only if I stayed in the closet.”
Clemmons and Rogers on the set of ‘Mr. Rogers Neighborhood’ (image via Wikimedia Commons)
He had given Clemmons inspiration and stardom but told him there was a cost. “You must do this Francois because it threatens my dream,” Clemmons recalled Rogers saying. “I was destroyed,” Clemmons shares in his book. “The man who was killing me had also saved me. He was my executioner and deliverer. But, at the same time, I knew that he would know how to comfort me. I didn’t have another mother or father to comfort me. I had no one to go and be a boy with. I was just vulnerable. He got in a few slaps, some tough love, a good spanking. But I was not kicked out of the family.” Rogers reportedly assured Clemmons, “The world doesn’t really want to know who you’re sleeping with — especially if it’s a man. You can have it all if you can keep that part out of the limelight.” But, it turns out, Rogers did have a plan. “Have you ever thought of getting married?” Rogers asked Clemmons. “People do make some compromises in life.” And that’s exactly what Clemmons did. “By the time I left his office, I had made up my mind to marry La-Tanya Mae Sheridan,” wrote the 75-year-old. He was 23 at the time. “At the wedding reception, Fred and Joanne approached me and my new wife,” adds Clemmons. “It felt as if Fred and I were sealing some kind of secret bargain.”
Francois Clemmons’ memoir, Officer Clemmons
And in making that bargain, Clemmons became one of the first gay Black men on television although no one would know. The marriage would only last six years until the couple amicably filed for divorce in 1974. It was then that Clemmons finally began living life as an openly gay man. But today, Clemmons harbors no resentment for Rogers. “Lord have mercy, yes, I forgive him,” Clemmons tells PEOPLE. “More than that, I understand. I relied on the fact that this was his dream. He had worked so hard for it. I knew Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood was his whole life.” To be clear, I don’t hold any animus against Rogers, either. It was a different time. It was a children’s show. As I’ve noted many times on The Randy Report, the only depiction of LGBTQ people back then were as murderous monsters or mentally ill. There was no spin that could deflect that in 1968. That said, props to Fred Rogers for his inclusion of Clemmons. And not just as a member of his ‘Neighborhood,’ but as a police officer – a role Rogers insisted Clemmons play for a reason. As a young black man from Ohio, Clemmons grew up afraid of the police.

“The idea that he wanted me to become one of them, one of the enemy, was a tremendous shock to me,” Clemmons told HuffPost in 2018. “Then, he painted it in a different light. He said, ‘You can become one of the helpers. That is something else that policemen do that we can emphasize.’” And so, Clemmons became one of the earliest depictions of Black police officers that children could learn to trust.

In addition to his career in children’s TV, Clemmons was also an accomplished singer having received a Bachelor of Music degree from Oberlin College, and a Master of Fine Arts from Carnegie Mellon University. He won a 1976 Grammy Award for his performance as “Sportin’ Life” in a recording of Porgy & Bess with the Cleveland Orchestra. Officer Clemmons is scheduled for release on May 5. Clemmons was prominently featured in the acclaimed 2018 documentary about the children’s series, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

(source: PEOPLE)

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Listen: Adam Rippon Chats On His New Memoir ‘Beautiful On The Outside’

Adam Rippon (photo credit: Peter Yang)
By now, we all know Olympic bronze medalist Adam Rippon is witty, smart, inspirational, and utterly sassy. As the oldest rookie to qualify for the Olympics at 28-years-old, and the first openly gay American figure skater to compete at the Olympics, his path to success has been groundbreaking, although it hasn’t been without setbacks. In his new memoir, Beautiful On The Outside, Rippon hilariously reveals what it’s like to be an elite figure skater – from the glitz of sequined costumes to the unglamorous act of cleaning bugs off the ice at a competition, and all the failure and quad lutz practice (the hardest quad jump to land in competition) that led him to a spot on the Olympic team in Pyeongchang. Your mom probably told you it’s what on the inside that counts. Well, then she was never a competitive figure skater. Rippon has been making it pretty for the judges even when, just below the surface, everything was an absolute mess. Traveling to practices on a Greyhound bus next to ex-convicts, being so poor he could only afford to eat the free apples at his gym, Rippon got through the toughest times with a smile on his face, a glint in his eye, and quip ready for anyone listening. Beautiful On The Outside looks at his journey from a homeschooled kid in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to a self-professed American sweetheart on the world stage and all the disasters and self-delusions it took to get him there. Sure, it may be what’s on the inside that counts, but life is so much better when it’s beautiful on the outside. I  recently chatted one-on-one with the Dancing with the Stars champion about his new memoir, the journey taken and what’s next for the sassy world-class athlete. You can listen to the full chat with Adam below:

Here’s some highlights from my chat with Adam: The Randy Report: First of all, congratulations on the memoir. It reads just like the Adam Rippon America has grown to love. Adam Rippon: Thank you. It was so important to me that it felt more like a conversation I would have with someone rather than at someone. TRR: When I first started reading I was not prepared for how much of your humor would be in this. Every page…good for you for capturing that aspect of you. AR: Honestly, it’s still surreal to speak to people who have read the book because it’s been this project I’ve been working on for a long time. It was important to me that it was something funny. I feel this book has been an opportunity for me to speak about a chapter of my life as I move into the next chapter. TRR: Early in the book you write that you loved looking back at crushes on girls when you were young, and you saw it as an early form of ‘diva worship,’ which I totally get as a gay man because I loved girls too. What a great way to put that. AR: I think that like when you don’t know what’s going on in your body and how you actually feel that when I look back, the girls that I honestly felt like I was really attracted to, it was they had these really, these personalities that I admired, and these are the attributes that I thought were so great. I so badly did not want to be gay, but I tried so hard to associate these feelings of admiration with love. And looking back, I truly did have feelings for the girls that I was with. But – like the first time I was ever with a boy, I was like…”Oh.” TRR: Yeah… AR: It felt so different that I was like, “Oh no, I’m done.” Like I figured it out. What was I thinking before? TRR: Later, you write that you didn’t have sex with girls sometimes because you thought you were being the ‘good guy. I think there are a lot of gay men who will read that, and feel they did the exact same thing. AR: I just remember that feeling of not doing anything because, like, ‘I’m one of the good guys,’ you know? Then you learn. You’re like, ‘Oh no…’ TRR: And nature kicks in… AR: It’s like this isn’t for you, and you’ll figure out why in a little bit. And then, it hits you over the head like a bag of rocks.

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It slipped 👕

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TRR: Let’s talk about skating because the chapter chronicling the 2015 Nationals beautifully captures you finding and bringing your A-game. AR: Thank you. To be honest, I had such a great team help me write this book because I would describe myself more as a storyteller than a writer. And so, a lot of people worked with me to put it together. It was important for me to share that story in particular because, at 2015 nationals, I skated these two great programs. In the first one, there was this sort of feeling that I was a little bit shafted. And the next one was the long program where I get this amazing score and I felt like everything was coming together. I had just left this boyfriend that was a nightmare, and it was like, “Oh my God, in this moment, everything’s coming together.” And then the last skater goes out – they win, I’m second. And I’m like come on really? But then I realized that was such a non-issue because I was so proud and happy about everything I had done. And then, when I could take a step back, I was actually really excited and proud of the boy that had won because he had a lot of pressure on him to skate well, and I realized that the placement really had nothing to do with it, or like the award had nothing to do with your self-worth. And once I was able to like disassociate the two, I felt that it was such a life-defining moment because I was able to focus more on myself than I was on anything else going on.

 

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😈 On to the long program tomorrow! #uschamps18

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TRR: And then you get to the Olympics. Finally. And you share that you wanted to show the world you had more than ‘sass’ to offer. You had overcome a LOT, and you’re in such a good headspace at that point. As the reader, I feel like we’re really there with you. AR: It was like this hyper-focused period of my life where I was so in control of what I was doing, and I was so in the present moment. That was really a culmination of everything I had gone through, and how I had learned to be there, I’d learned to separate the media aspect of a competition from the competition part. And it was like I was giving myself this masterclass of mastering how to juggle two things at once. I was so in the moment, and I felt so how powerful. Looking back, I’m like, “Holy shit, I don’t really know how I did that!” But I think all of the ups and downs I went through prepared me for it. TRR: You also share a bit on how you and fellow out Olympian Gus Kenworthy came to be virtual friends prior to the Games, and then you met at the opening ceremonies and entered together. AR: It felt like a moment that was not just for me; it felt like a moment that was for my younger self and for other people to see who might be gay but think that they would never share it with someone else. And here I am standing with someone from a different sport, from a different part of the U.S., different corners of the sporting world. So different. And here we are walking in as like friends, and we’re representing the (LGBTQ) community as we’ve gone through these different journeys at the same time. I can look at him and he can look at me and we were like, “I get it.” And that’s why it was so powerful. I walked away from the Games with Gus being somebody who, in that moment, our whole lives kind of changed together. I really feel we are linked together because of a moment like that.

TRR: Speaking of post-Olympics, there’s a great quote from you near the end of the book as you’re performing in Stars On Ice and competing at the same time on Dancing with the Stars (which you won, btw). And you’re exhausted. But you stop and get down to the realness telling yourself, “I earned being this tired, I did not earn getting bitter.” What a great moment of self-awareness. AR: I was doing all of those interviews, a lot of press, I was touring, doing Dancing with the Stars, and I was sleeping two or three hours a night. And working to be ‘on’ so that I could give everybody my best self, and be physically and mentally there. And it was really, really challenging. I remember thinking to myself, there is probably not going to be another time in your life where you have two huge projects going on at the same time and they’re organized down to the minute so that you can get a nap every night. You’re allowed to, you know, have those ups and downs emotionally, and it’s emotional what you’re doing. But – be really grateful. Because think of where you were a year ago; think of where you were five years ago. You would have killed to be in the shoes of the person you are right now. I reminded myself that the way that you feel this exhaustion is what you would have done anything to feel. You can’t look at it and be in this moment now and think, “But I didn’t know any better!” You knew this is what it is, this is what comes with it. Accept it and enjoy it.

TRR: Thank you for the chat, Adam. You are truly America’s sweetheart. AR: Thank you so much. You have a great day. Thank you. In addition to releasing Beautiful On The Outside (available now online and at book stores), Rippon shares that he will be hosting a new daily show on Quibi,  the upcoming short-form mobile TV streaming service set to launch in the spring of 2020. On This Day In Useless Celebrity History, Rippon will take viewers on a ride down memory lane, revisiting the wildest and most outrageous events in celebrity history that might have been forgotten, but shouldn’t have. Make sure to catch up with Adam on his book tour beginning today in New York City and heading out across the country from there.

 

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❤️❤️❤️

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Whitney Houston’s Rumored Ex-Girlfriend To Pen Tell-All Memoir

Robyn Crawford, Whitney Houston’s long-rumored lesbian lover, says she will “set the record straight” once and for all in a new memoir titled, A Song For You: My Life with Whitney Houston, due out November 5.

Robyn Crawford, Whitney Houston’s long-rumored lesbian lover, says she will “set the record straight” once and for all in a new memoir titled, A Song For You: My Life with Whitney Houston, due out November 5.

During their decades-long friendship, both women denied any romantic involvement with each other. But fans have long speculated about the nature of their relationship.

Since Houston’s death at the age of 48 in 2012, there have been two documentary films of Houston’s life – Nick Broomfield’s Whitney: Can I Be Me?, and Kevin MacDonald’s Whitney. Both films addressed Houston’s rumored bisexuality and the women’s speculated relationship.

Crawford, notably, declined to take part in either project.

Houston’s mother, Cissy Houston, famously told Oprah in 2013 that it “absolutely” would have bothered her if Whitney had been lesbian or bisexual.

Bobby Brown, Houston’s ex-husband, shared with US Weekly in 2016 that he felt Houston would still be alive today if the “I Will Always Love You” singer’s family had accepted Robyn.

According to the book’s official synopsis, “In A Song for You, Robyn breaks her silence to share the moving and often complicated story of her life and relationship with Whitney.”

Whitney Houston (image via YouTube/I Will Always Love You)

The memoir will follow the years from the women’s meeting in the 1980s, to the singer’s self-titled debut album in 1985, her record-breaking world tours, the success of The Bodyguard, and more.

The publisher of the upcoming book, Penguin imprint Dutton, describes the release as “the vital, honest and previously untold story that provides an understanding of the complex life of Whitney Houston,” and promises that “finally, the person who knew her best sets the record straight.”

The talkers at E! News’s ‘Daily Pop’ discuss the upcoming book below.

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Andrew Rannells: “It’s Never The Priest You Want To Kiss”

Vulture has an excerpt from the very clever new autobiography, Too Much Is Never Enough: A Memoir of Fumbling Toward Adulthood, by out stage and screen actor Andrew Rannells. Rannells, who shot to fame as the lead in the hit Broadway musical The Book of Mormon, details his rather unsettling encounters with a Catholic priest while growing up in Nebraska.
Andrew Rannells (image via Facebook)

Vulture has an excerpt from the very clever new autobiography, Too Much Is Never Enough: A Memoir of Fumbling Toward Adulthood, by out stage and screen actor Andrew Rannells.

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.

Too Much Is Never Enough: A Memoir of Fumbling Toward Adulthood is available now.

You can check out Rannells’ chat with Stephen Colbert about the new memoir below.

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Elton John To Release First & Only Official Autobiography

Elton John

Not content with a big, splashy movie ‘musical fantasy’ about his life, Elton John has announced he plans on releasing his ‘official’ autobiography later this year in October.

John shared the news via a video shot at his favorite book shop in London.

“My life has been one helluva roller coaster ride and I’m now ready to tell you my story, in my own words,” tweeted the ‘Tiny Dancer’ singer. “My first and only official autobiography will be released October 2019.”

He provided this link for fans to pre-order the book now.

“I can’t wait for you to read it – because it’s the truth,” says John in the video. “So many books that have been written about me haven’t exactly been truthful.”

The publishing house set to release the memoir, Macmillan, says the cover and title haven’t been released yet, but the tome will be available in hardcover, paperback and e-book.

Fans are already looking forward to seeing the Grammy & Oscar winner’s life up on the big screen come May in the ‘epic musical fantasy’ biopic, Rocketman, starring Kingsmen star Taron Egerton.

Rami Malek just took home an Academy Award for his star turn as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody. Could Egerton score Oscar gold as well?

With a tag line, “The only way to tell his story is to live his fantasy,” the movie arrives in theaters May 31. Check out the trailer below.

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Michael Lucas Says NO Celebrity Clients Will Be Named In Upcoming Memoir

Michael Lucas (center) with Diego LauzenRodrigues & Wagner Vittoria
(image via Instagram)

Gay porn star and producer Michael Lucas found himself in a PR debacle this morning after Page Six ran a story that Lucas will retire next year and is planning a memoir.

The New York Post gossip site reports that Lucas will retire from appearing in adult films in 2020 but continue to produce and direct.

The 46-year-old’s rep reportedly said, “Porn stars come and go, but the best ones stay in our memories [and] on our hard drives for a long time until they fade away.”

“Successfully dominating the gay adult-film industry for 25 plus years and starring in over 300 films, Michael is planning to retire the devil between his legs in 2020 but still continue to direct and produce films,” he added.

Additionally, having penned essays for HuffPost and The Advocate in the past, Lucas has apparently set his sights on a larger literary endeavor – a tell-all book from his escorting days in the 1990s.

According to Page Six, Lucas plans “to publish a juicy autobiography that will include a steamy chapter about a few top Hollywood celebs who paid him to have sex with them when he was an escort in the late ’90s.”

The gossip page says that the A-list celebrity names will remain secret until the book’s release.

But wait – there’s more!

Shortly after the publication of the story at Page Six, Towleroad posted emails from Lucas to an editor at the New York Post adamantly denying he has any plans to ‘name names’ in an upcoming memoir.

Lucas states that he considers those relationships ’sacred’ and promised to ‘take those secrets to the grave.’

Here’s the email from Lucas to the New York Post via Towleroad:

Dear Carlos:

The story that ran today and attributed to me by my former publicist is absolutely false. I spent 45 minutes on the phone explaining why I would never do that and they still felt the need to give it to you. Needless to say I am perplexed by their motivation and they were fired immediately.

I am considering legal action against them.

What is true is that I’m planning to retire in 2020.

What is absolutely false is that I would ever write or consider writing a “ tell all” book and naming names of my clients.

I consider that relationship sacred and I would NEVER violate their confidence or my integrity. Period.

I have nothing but the greatest respect and gratitude for the people who trusted me with their most intimate secrets and I will take those secrets to the grave.

In follow-up correspondence, Lucas demands the online headline be corrected, sharing, “This is a major, major embarrassment for me.”

(h/t Towleroad, Page Six)