Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Billy Masters
by Billy Masters
2013-07-09

This article shared 3248 times since Tue Jul 9, 2013
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


"No one actually offered me the movie, but while I was working on the Lone Ranger my agent brought it up, and I said, 'Nope.' I mean, come on—it's just mommy porn. I'm not going to sit on top of the laundry machine in spin cycle reading about putting a ball gag in someone's mouth. That doesn't do it for me."—Armie Hammer has nixed the possibility of appearing in a film version of Fifty Shades of Grey. But would it kill him to pose with a ball gag in his mouth?

If there's one thing I love, it's a scandal at the Vatican. The thought of a bunch of hysterical men in dresses running around a basilica screaming in Italian tickles me. Alas, tickling is the least of their problems. Recent claims suggest that there is (or, at least, was) an underage male prostitution ring being run out of the basement of St. Peter's. Shocking—they don't even mention a basement in the Michelin guide! Don Patrizio Poggi, a priest who has been "defrocked"—which I suppose means he no longer wears a dress—served five years in jail for sexually assaulting teenage boys (so take it with ... well, take it any way you want).

He claims that this prostitution ring consisted primarily of Eastern European boys who worked the streets near the train station and who were "starving and desperate." Many of these boys were procured by a former policeman, who would sit in a Fiat until he saw a boy who tickled his fancy. The boys were paid $200-$600 to perform sex acts with various priests ... on church premises! Of course, Cardinal Agostino Vallini claims that Poggi is lying, "motivated perhaps by a spirit of revenge or personal resentment." And to prove that you don't fuck with the Vatican, Poggi was arrested days after his revelation and is being held in jail for "defamation." Authorities claim that "Poggi conceived and put into action a slanderous plan, presenting circumstances that were false." Yeah, right.

Prior to this scandal, the Italian press discovered the existence of a website called Venerabilis, which is basically a gay hook-up site which caters to priests, seminarians, and certain laymen. When in Rome...

Last month, Patti LuPone appeared in a series of concerts at London's Leicester Square Theatre with the multitalented Seth Rudetsky. These concerts were very similar to the format Rudetsky debuted last summer in Provincetown. (You can see the full show at www.SethTV.com/patti ) What Seth does is interview Patti, then make her sing a song, then chat about something else, then sing another song, and so on. He doesn't tell her the questions or songs in advance, and she doesn't give him (too much) flack. This means each show is unique, and the Brits ate it up. Since Patti originated Fantine in Les Miz, Seth asked her to sing the death scene, "Come To Me," which she hadn't sung in about 200 years. Of course, they needed a Valjean.

Did anyone in the audience know the part? Up jumps a queen named Connor and what transpired was a bit of magic. To top that, Seth got Patti to sing "With One Look" from Sunset Boulevard—the show she did in London and nowhere else. Happily, we've tracked down videos of those two special moments. Normally, we'd shy away from running live LuPone videos—she's a little testy about things like that. But I suspect she won't mind these, particularly since the "Sunset" clip was filmed by her own son! Funny—she didn't yell at him for whipping out a camera, as you'll see on BillyMasters.com .

Meanwhile in New York City, gay pride celebrations were in full swing....with CHER. Since the Dance on the Pier was slated to end at 10 p.m., everyone was making bets what time she'd actually show up. Many people guessed times well past 10 p.m., but I said 9:40 p.m.—and that's exactly when she hit the stage. Whoopi introduced her. Then came the fabulous video montage made by the extraordinarily talented Dan Rucks (AKA Dan-o-rama). And then, Cher finally appeared and belted out "Strong Enough," "Believe" and "Woman's World." Yes, she sang to tracks, but she also sang live. Not only did she use the Teleprompters for the lyrics, she also had the choreography and direction on there—as you'll see in the photos on BillyMasters.com

Here's something I didn't see coming—Jennie Garth and Shannon Doherty going to Vegas together to see Ian Ziering with the world-famous Chippendales! So those of you who think everyone hates Shannon, think again. (I must confess that some of my most fun evenings out have been with Doherty.) Photos of the gals and Ian and the rest of the Chips on BillyMasters.com attest that a good time was had by all.

Our Ask Billy question is from Thomas in New Jersey: "I keep hearing that Lukas Ridgeston is gonna return to porn. Have you heard anything that is for real? What does he look like these days?"

With Bel Ami studios being in a nostalgic mood (such as remaking their classic An American in Prague), Lukas has been toying with the idea of returning to work in front of the camera—particularly since it also coincides with Bel Ami's 20th anniversary. To test the waters and assure himself (and his fans) that he still had it, he had photographer Rick Day take a series of private test shots. Funny thing about them—I got them the day after they were shot. Since I enjoyed them fully (and I do mean fully), I'll share them on BillyMasters.com so you can decide if you'd like to see more. I definitely give him two thumbs up.

When both Lukas Ridgeston and Cher are making comebacks, it's time to end yet another column. Before closing, we'd like to send out congrats on the marriage of John Barrowman and his partner of 20 years, Scott Gill. Actually, this is kinda their second marriage—they had a ceremony back in 2006 when they became civil partners in Wales. This time, John and Scott simply went to the courthouse in Riverside to make their longtime union legal. At least I think it was Scott—the guy in the photo has significantly lighter hair and is sporting bangs. Well, you know us gays—we change our look so often, we're one step away from being in the Witness Protection Program!

Of course, you can stay anonymous when you check out www.BillyMasters.com—the most scandalous site online. If you want me to look into something for you, send a note to Billy@BillyMasters.com and I promise to get back to you before we get photos from the wet brief contests that have been taking place in the Vatican's baptismal font! So, until next time, remember, one man's filth is another man's bible.


This article shared 3248 times since Tue Jul 9, 2013
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Theater Review: Billy Elliot, The Musical
2024-02-19
Book and Lyrics: Lee Hall; Music: Elton John. At: Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora Tickets: 630-896-6666 or Paramountaurora.com; $28-$79. Runs through March 24 Billy Elliot: The Musical may nearly be two decades old, but ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Kelly Clarkson, Billy Porter and Luke Evans, 'All of Us,' 'Book of Mormon'
2024-01-05
Video below - At Kelly Clarkson's "Chemistry: An Intimate Evening" residency show in Las Vegas, two men got married with the help of the singer/talk-show host as a witness, EW.com noted. In an audience video from the show, fans ...


Gay News

Billy Masters: The tea that got spilled in 2023
2023-12-26
"No offense, but you look like Billy Masters." —I don't know which part of this quip from a stranger insulted me more—that he didn't realize I am Billy Masters, or he thought someone would take offense ...


Gay News

MOVIES Bill Oliver reflects on a queer couple's custody fight in 'Our Son'
2023-12-21
In the compelling, intimate movie Our Son (in theaters and available via streaming), Luke Evans and Billy Porter portray a married couple in which one of them decides to file for divorce. However, this is no ...


Gay News

Billy Masters: Barry Manilow really was just interested in the articles
2023-12-19
"I wouldn't be in it now if they gave me a million dollars. I'm never going to change my mind. They can just go you-know-what themselves." —Cher tells Kelly Clarkson her thoughts on being snubbed by ...


Gay News

LGBTQ+ baseball executives announce cancer battles
2023-12-13
Openly gay Major League Baseball (MLB) executive Billy Bean announced he has been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia and that he needs a donor for a bone-marrow transplant, Gay City News noted. USA Today initially reported ...


Gay News

Billy Masters: Fun messiness from the Ladies of the '80s
2023-12-12
"Everybody wants a bf like Timothée Chalamet...until it's time to change a tire." —Meghan McCain. OK, so she only retweeted it. But I'm filled with the spirit of giving. Alas, I suspect Timmy could only ...


Gay News

Billy Masters: The icing on the cake at a gender-reveal party
2023-12-05
"To hell with this place!"—George Santos's parting comments after being ejected from Congress. He also said that Congress "is full of felons galore." At least, that's what I think he said. With his lisp, it sounded ...


Gay News

Billy Masters: The Dolly Cowboy Cheerleaders
2023-11-28
Whoever intended to dumb down the citizens of America have done a FANTASTIC job. We are dumb as shit!"—Patti LuPone in an interview with broadcaster Tom Power prior to her touring show Don't Monkey with Broadway ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Billy Porter, queer novel, 'Tammy Faye,' queer DJ, Bella Ramsey
2023-11-24
Billy Porter released his long-awaited new album, Black Mona Lisa, via Island Records UK/Republic Records, and it's executive-produced by Justin Tranter, a press release noted. Porter said, "So many of the songs on my album have ...


Gay News

Billy Masters: Was Kim Kardashian officiating your wedding worth it?
2023-11-20
I'd hoped to never again type the word "Jada" again. But this week, it's inevitable. It is being alleged that actor Duane Martin (don't feel bad—I had to look him up as well) slept with Will ...


Gay News

Billy Masters: The times Streisand failed to make a splash
2023-11-13
"Fame is a hollow trophy. No matter who you are, you can only eat one pastrami sandwich at a time."—Wise words from Barbra Streisand. You all know that Barbra Streisand's book is out. And I ...


Gay News

Billy Masters: Barbra's bio hits stores...but don't rain on Cher's parade either
2023-11-07
"I will be forced to be in a position where I will have to openly say how I feel about the film and go against you, my mother and this film publicly."—Lisa Marie Presley's e-mail to director Sofia Coppola after reading ...


Gay News

Billy Masters: Britney spills the tea
2023-10-31
"Brad Pitt, I think, in 'Troy'. That's a beautiful man. There's no denying it."—Jacob Elordi tells Jimmy Fallon his first celebrity crush. (If you can't place Jacob, you'll soon see him playing Elvis Presley in Sofia ...


Gay News

Billy Masters: Madonna sets her watch to Diva Time
2023-10-23
"It is truly obscene what they're charging for tickets to 'Merrily We Roll Along' on Broadway. $500 to $800. PLUS—$40 a ticket 'handling charge.'"—Kevin Chamberlin voices his outrage at the price of Broadway tickets. Imag ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.