"She was very sweet. She asked me to sign her vagina. I didn't have a pen, so I just did her hat instead."—Boy George talks about meeting Lady Gaga. Who would have thought he'd be the one to confirm Gaga had a vagina?
I'm still in Fort Lauderdale, and just came in from spending a memorable night with singer Gioia, male strippers, the police and a chimpanzee! That almost sounds like the beginning of a joke. But it was no laughing matter for Kathy Griffin, who was in our nation's capital doing her part for gay rights. Each year, "My Life on the D-List" has had one serious episode. In the past, Kath has gone to Iraq to entertain the troops. She's gone to Walter Reed Army Medical Center to perform for injured vets and their families. And this year, she's tackling "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ( DADT ) . The cameras followed Griffin as she organized and appeared at a rally at Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C., the goal of which was to pressure the Obama administration to repeal the ban on gays in the military. And if it happens to bring in good ratings and an Emmy, that's just the icing on the cake ... or is it the cake?
Like me and the chimp, it didn't go so well. First off, the assembled "crowd" numbered roughly 150. I know they say there's strength in numbers, but I think you've gotta be slightly further into triple digits. After Kathy spoke, Lt. Dan Choi came onstage to talk about his personal experiences fighting DADT. Then he asked the "crowd" to follow him to the White House, where he planned a protest by chaining himself to the fence. He asked Kathy if she'd join him, and she exclaimed, "Of course"—and then quickly slipped away. About 50 people followed Choi and watched him handcuff himself to the White House fence. He was joined by Capt. Jim Pietrangelo, who brought his own handcuffs, which begs the question—why do gay men always have handcuffs handy? In short order, 30 police and secret service officers cleared the area by threatening to arrest people. Choi and Pietrangelo were unlocked by policemen ( who had their own keys ) and were arrested for failure to obey a lawful order.
The flurry of same-sex romances featured on soaps appears to be coming to an abrupt end. Luke and Noah will be history when As The World Turns goes off the air later this year. Now we hear that Fish and Kyle will be departing One Life To Live. The daytime drama's producer simply said, "We are concluding the story that we set out to tell with Kyle and Fish. We are very proud to have broken new ground with a same-sex couple on daytime." Actor Brett Claywell, who plays Kyle, learned of his dismissal in a disturbing way. He was at the production office to drop off the scenes he wanted submitted for an Emmy award and was told the storyline was ending in April. As Heidi Klum says, "One day, you're in. The next day, you're out." We hear that Fish finds out he's the biological father of a baby, the gay couple gets custody, and happily retreat to suburbia.
A gay couple may be leaving ABC daytime, but primetime is a different matter. This season's breakout hit, Modern Family, features a two men and a baby—and maybe they'll soon have some company. The network has ordered a pilot called It Takes a Village, about a divorced couple raising their son with the help of their new partners. The woman ( played by Leah Remini ) is remarried, but the twist is that her ex-husband is gay and has a hot spousal-equivalent of his own. The ex-hubby will be played by our bon ami Christopher Sieber and appearing as his boyfriend is sexy Cheyenne Jackson—marking perhaps the first instance a gay couple on a network show is played by two out actors. The pilot was shot last week, so fingers crossed it makes the cut for next season. It certainly would be a happy partnership for Cheyenne and Christopher, who have been friends for eons and have collaborated on stage in the past. Just last month, they performed the song Bosom Buddies at the Drama League benefit honoring Angela Lansbury. Sieber took on the role of "Mame" and Jackson played "Vera." The two definitely have chemistry, as is evident in the video you can watch on BillyMasters.com .
You'd probably not call Boy George and George Michael bosom buddies. For the better part of a quarter century, the two have been at each other's throats ... but that's in the past. According to Boy, "We have exchanged emails and things are pretty good between us. We've 'spoken' a couple of times and he seems to be doing OK."
Our Ask Billy question comes from Jane ( yes, I said Jane ) in New York City: "I saw the picture you ran of Pamela Anderson and her gorgeous Dancing with the Stars partner. Is he new? He doesn't look familiar."
He is new to the show—at least the U.S. version. Damian Whitewood is from Australia, where he's appeared on their version of Dancing with the Stars. In addition to winning all sorts of dancing titles around the world, he also appeared on Broadway last season in the dance extravaganza Burn The Floor. A hot little frosted-tipped muscle boy who is limber? Just my type. No news if he's gay or simply Australian, but I'm told he's in a committed relationship. Hmmm, I'll have to look into this a bit more—especially given the photos sent to me from some Aussie fans. Whitewood definitely enjoys showing off his incredible body—my favorite pic being one where he's clad in only a Scooby Doo towel. We'll post some of the more sizzling shots on BillyMasters.com .
When I can mention Scooby Doo and a chimp in the same week, it's time to end yet another column. I'm sure you all saw Ke$ha on American Idol last week. And you know that she'll be appearing on Saturday, April 10, in Palm Springs at Jeffrey Sanker's White Party. Now we hear that Kim from Real Housewives of Atlanta will be at Sunday's T-Dance to sing "Tardy for the Party" in front of her biggest audience yet—7,000 wet and wild gay boys in Speedos. You can get more information and tickets for all the events at www.JeffreySanker.com . While online, check out www.BillyMasters.com for all your gossip needs. If you've got a question, write to me at Billy@BillyMasters.com and I promise to get back to you before George Michael and Boy George record a dance version of Bosom Buddies! So, until next time, remember, one man's filth is another man's bible.
