Nicollette Sheridan—who played Edie Britt on the TV program Desperate Housewives—is suing the show's creator, Marc Cherry, for $20 million, US Magazine reported. Sheridan, 46, is claiming assault and battery, gender violence and wrongful termination. Sheridan alleges that during a fight over a script two years ago Cherry, "took her aside and forcefully hit her with his hand across her face and head." A rep for ABC Studios said, "We investigated similar claims made by Ms. Sheridan last year and found them to be without merit."
MSNBC talk-show host Rachel Maddow said that she and artist girlfriend Susan Mikula spend quiet weekends at their Massachusetts home—which doesn't have a television, People Magazine reported. Mikula, 52, said that she and Maddow, 37, "realized that the two of us have the TV Disease. Rachel can't have one because she'd watch it all the time!" The couple met in 1999 when Maddow was hired to do yard work on Mikula's property—a meeting Raddow joked "was very Desperate Housewives."
Lesbian tennis legend Martina Navratilova has been diagnosed with breast cancer, according to People Magazine. However, her prognosis is described as excellent because the disease was detected in its early stages. Navratilova told the publication that she cried when she found out back in February. "It knocked me on my ass, really," she said. Navratilova, who was diagnosed with a non-invasive form, had a lumpectomy and will start six weeks of radiation therapy next month.
Christopher Cazenove, who was best known for playing Ben Carrington on the '80s nighttime soap Dynasty, has died of septicemia at 64, according to the Daily Mail. He was taken to London's St. Thomas Hospital in February after collapsing. Cazenove's death occurred just days after John Forsythe's; Forsythe played Ben's brother, Blake, on Dynasty.
Several Jamaican dancehall musicians who perform so-called "murder music"—songs that call for the murder of gays and lesbians—have had their U.S. visas canceled and apparently won't be coming into the country, according to EDGE Boston. Singers Mavado, Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, Ricky Trooper and Adonia have had their visas revoked, with one of the possible reasons involving the content of their music. Another dancehall singer, Capleton, had his U.S. tour canceled earlier this year after gay-rights groups protested his song lyrics.
Christopher Klucsaritis, an openly gay individual who wrestled professionally as Chris Kanyon, died April 2 as a result of an apparent overdose from prescription pills; he was 40. Klucsaritis, who also competed under a mask as Mortis, worked for World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) . He was released from the WWE in 2004 and came out shortly thereafter.
Actor Colin Farrell, 31, is supporting an anti-homophobia campaign in his native Ireland, according to Pink News. Farrell—whose brother, Eamon, is gay and had a civil-partnership ceremony is 2008—spoke out against homophobic bullying, saying, "The beatings and taunting were very frequent for [ Eamon ] and a constant part of his school years. People are often afraid of difference. My brother represented fear for so many people, but caused joy in my life. ... He was to be embraced." Colin was best man at Eamon's ceremony.
Actress Diane Lane has agreed to star in the HBO movie Cinema Verite, which looks at the groundbreaking PBS documentary series An American Family, according to AOL Television. An American Family, which debuted in 1973, introduced the country to the Loud family, which included son Lance, the first out character/person on TV. Lane will play matriarch Pat Loud, who asked for a divorce from husband Bill—while the cameras rolled.
Openly gay former boy-band singer Lance Bass is joining lesbian celebrity chef Cat Cora and members of the punk band Green Day in sponsoring a gay-friendly prom in Mississippi after Constance McMillen—who tried to bring her girlfriend to such an event—was tricked into going to a fake prom, according to an Advocate.com item. The celebrity-sponsored prom will take place May 8 in Tupelo, Miss., and will be open to students of all sexual orientations. On April 2, McMillen and her girlfriend went to a prom that had seven people, while all the other students at Itawamba Agricultural High School went to another prom sponsored by those students' parents.
Glee co-star Jane Lynch has announced her engagement to her longtime girlfriend, psychologist Lara Embry, according to the New York Daily News. Lynch, 49, told US Magazine, "We don't have any plans at all yet. But I have a ring and everything. We're very happy and very excited!" Embry has joint custody of two children with her former lesbian partner.
Kitty Kelley's new unauthorized biography of Oprah Winfrey deals with the much-discussed question of the talk-show host's sexual orientation—but concludes that there is no evidence of a lesbian relationship with friend Gayle King, according to Advocate.com . The book, Oprah: A Biography, also has a quote from Rosie O'Donnell, who said in an interview with Howard Stern last year that Winfrey and King are the "emotional equivalent of a gay couple." Winfrey was not interviewed for the book.
The release of the Jim Carrey-Ewan McGregor movie I Love You Phillip Morris has been pushed back from April 30 to July 30, according to Variety. The movie has had trouble being shown since premiering at Sundance in 2009, primarily because of the film's subject matter. In the movie, Carrey plays a married con man who falls in love with his cellmate, played by McGregor.
