• Joe Manganiello (above) hopes you had a great Monday 🙂
• A new tell-all book reveals Dick Clark worked to keep “American Bandstand” dancers in the closet.
• A Texas lawmaker has proposed legislation that w before they could get a prescription for Viagra to make a satirical point about the obstacles that Texas women face every day.
• Congressional Democrats will reintroduce The Equality Act, which would amend existing civil rights laws to add protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in workplaces, housing, and public spaces.
• Stargate, the production team behind Katy Perry’s “Firework”, Rihanna’s “Rude Boy”, and Beyoncé’s “Irreplaceable” team up with Sia & Pink for their latest track, “Waterfall.”
• The Office of Government Ethics isn’t happy with the White House deciding to let Kellyanne Conway off with just a slap on the wrist after promoting Ivanka Trump’s merchandise line at Nordstroms.
• With a shortage of Catholic priests, the Pope signals he may be open to allowing married men be priests.
• Out singer/songwriter Wrabel follows up his hit “11 Blocks” with new single, “Bloodstain:” “I’m used to wearing my heart on my sleeve but this time it’s bleeding. I would rather love and bleed than never feel love at all.” Watch the lyric video below.
• Yes, the new season of CBS’ Survivor began last night. And yes, I watched (big fan). And yes, I have a favorite – the hunky Caleb (above). #woof #TeamCaleb
• Even though the Congressional Budget Office has yet to return a report on the newly introduced American Health Care Act, meant to replace the Affordable Care Act, the two House committees designated to debate and markup the legislation have already approved the legislation to the full House. For comparison, Obamacare took six months from introduction to signing into law.
• Boston’s Mayor Walsh has announced he will not march in this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade in light of parade organizers booting LGBT veterans group OutVets from the parade after allowing the organization to march the past two years.
• Despite the howls of conservatives over a rumored “gay” storyline in the upcoming live-action remake of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, film industry insiders are predicting the flick will break March box office records.
• Watch below as Congresswoman Maxine Waters tells MSNBC that the unverified allegations of compromising video footage of President Trump with Russian prostitutes are “absolutely true.”
• According to the coroner’s newly released report, pop music icon George Michael died of natural causes, which will really irritate the tabloids who were surely hoping for something more salacious.
• ABC’s 20/20 will air a report on the harmful effects of “conversion” or “ex-gay therapy” this Friday at 10 p.m. Eastern. Click here for an advance look.
• It turns out former Trump campaign spokesperson and serial liar Katrina Pierson’s bitching got her booted out of a White House gig. #NoOneIsSurprised
• The Will & Grace gang is all back together and working on the upcoming 10 show season reboot of the hit sitcom. Check out the four stars below, clearly happy to be #reunited&itfeelssogood
• Fitness model Dmitry Averyanov (above) wishes you a Happy Friday!
• This year’s Oscar-winning “Best Picture” Moonlight is playing out to more than 1,500 theaters this weekend, the widest distribution the indie flick has seen. In 20 weeks of release, the gorgeous, coming-of-age film has grossed about $22 million at the domestic box office.
• This out Asian man says he only dates white guys because they are “the gold standard of desirability.” I find him “the gold standard of icky.” It won’t surprise you to find that, armed with that outlook, he hasn’t found his soul mate yet…
• The suspect in the Key West hate crime against two gay men thinks he can avoid extradition from North Carolina. Umm, he was identified using a rented scooter with his drivers license. You’re going down pal.
• The two accountants responsible for the red envelope mix up for “Best Picture” at this year’s Academy Awards have been booted from working the event in the future.
• Ellen DeGeneres, Lady Gaga and Pharrell are taking part in “The Love Project” for Revlon. The cosmetics company has committed $1 million to charities like The Born This Way Foundation, The Trevor Project, From One Hand to AnOTHER and The Women’s Heart Alliance. Watch the spot that ran during the Academy Awards below:
• Check out the Instagram account of acclaimed international photographer Joan Crisol (Rolling Stone, Zero, Playboy). Color, texture, and sensual staging are all front and center in his gorgeous imagery.
• Don’t miss the premiere of When We Rise, a four-night mini-series chronicling the journey of LGBT rights in America. The series begins tonight on ABC at 9PM ET.
• The father of slain Navy Seal William “Ryan” Owens refused to meet President Trump at Dover Air Force Base when Owens body was returned to his family. “I told them I didn’t want to make a scene about it, but my conscience wouldn’t let me talk to him,” Owens said Friday, speaking out for the first time in an interview with the Miami Herald. Owens has now requested an investigation into the events which caused his son’s death.
• White House press secretary Sean Spicer is now conducting “random phone checks” with his staff in an effort to find the source of “information leaks” in the West Wing. Spicer recently called an “emergency meeting” in his office and when staffers arrived they were told to dump their electronic devices on a table to be checked for outgoing messages.
• This weekend 17-year-old Mack Beggs, a trans high school student from Euless, Texas, won the state wrestling championship in his weight class. Beggs was forced to compete, however, in the girls division due to the University Interscholastic League (UIL), which oversees high school athletics in public schools in Texas, which ruled he had to compete as the gender listed on his birth certificate. Parents are now upset that Beggs seemed to have an advantage over his female opponents thanks to his testosterone treatments. UIL rules only allow such substances to be used if they’re part of a medical treatment, which they obviously are. Beggs has stated he would prefer to wrestle in the boys category.
• The Twitterverse lost its mind over this (above) pic of Candadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s backside. Let’s take a moment, shall we?
• File this under irony – Congressman Louie Gohmert, the man who authored legislation making it legal for people with mental health issues to buy guns, now won’t do town hall meetings because he’s afraid he’ll be killed. Later in the day, former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who was shot while in office, issued a statement telling Gohmert to “have some courage.”
• Grace Slick, of Jefferson Starship fame, is licensing the band’s song “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” to anti-LGBT company Chick-Fil-A for use in a commercial because she’s donating all the royalties to Lambda Legal. “I decided to spend the cash in direct opposition to ‘Check’-fil-A’s causes — and to make a public example of them, too. We’re going to take some of their money, and pay it back.”
• The Arkansas state Supreme Court has struck down a city ordinance banning discrimination based on a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Because banning discrimination is a bad thing???
• White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway was reportedly yanked off TV appearances for a week after she went “off message” telling the media that former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn had the “complete confidence of the president” just hours before being sacked.
• In light of the Trump-Pence Administation rescinding important protections for trans students in schools, dozens of LGBT rights and progressive groups will be leading a protest rally (cosponsored by the New York City Council, GLSEN, GLAAD, and Lambda Legal) this afternoon outside the Stonewall Inn in downtown Manhattan. The event begins at 5:30PM. More info at the event’s Facebook page here.
• How did you celebrate Presidents Day? Or was it more a #NotMyPresident Day for you?
• Rumors are swirling that loathsome conservative provocateur Milo Yiannopolous could be fired soon from Breitbart website for his “man-boy-pedophilia comments” on the Drunken Peasants podcast last year.
• Virginia state House of Delegates approves a “religious freedom” bill – HB 2025 – that would legalize LGBT discrimination in the name of religion. Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe has promised to veto the legislation. • President Trump finally found someone to take the job of National Security Adviser.
• Check out royally ripped Charlie Hunnam in this new trailer for King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (release date May 12)
• This 22 year St. Louis police veteran (above) was told to “tone down” his “gayness” if he ever wanted to get promoted, despite placing 3rd out of 26 in promotion tests.
• Lady Gaga joined over 140 celebrities in denouncing Texas’ anti-transgender “bathroom bill.”
• Donald Trump’s second pick for National Security Adviser (now that Michael Flynn has resigned) has said “no, thank you” to the offer. According to reports, retired Vice Admiral Robert Harward turned down the chance citing “chaos” in the White House, labeling the offer as a “shit sandwich.”
• Finland’s Parliament rejects a citizen’s initiative to repeal marriage equality by a vote of 120 to 48. Hurray for the good guys!
• Donald Trump heads to Mar-a-Lago again this weekend. His three trips to his southern home have thus far cost the American people almost $10 million. Guarding Trump Tower in NYC could cost $183 million a year.
• Spend a few minutes inside the trials and tribulations of transgender folks in this short film, “Headspace,” by Jake Graf. Watch below:
• First things first – from sexiest math teacher turned model Pietro Boselli’s Instagram (above). #dead #woof
• North Carolina state lawmakers have filed bills that would repeal anti-LGBT law, HB2.
• A new poll shows 35% of Americans don’t know “Obamacare” and the Affordable Care Act are the same thing.
• Melania Trump was conspicuously absent earlier today when Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and his wife visited the White House. First Ladies traditionally welcome and host the spouses of visiting leaders – but not today.
• Check out these 5 buzz-worthy off-Broadway shows you should see – including my pal Ed Dixon’s new hit show, Georgie: My Adventures With George Rose.
• Dance your way into the weekend with Hercules & Love Affair’s “Controller” featuring vocals by Faris Badwan. Check out the catchy, hypnotic sex anthem below:
