"I told her, 'We will say anything you want. We will not say you were dismissed. We will say that you wanted to spend more time with your husband; we'll say that you wanted to write a book; we'll say you wanted to do a television show.' And she agreed."—Barbara Walters discusses how The View would handle the abrupt departure of a longtime co-host. However, she's not talking about Elisabeth Hasselbeck—this is regarding the 2006 departure of Star Jones. Something tells me she has that speech ready at all times, and it says, "Insert Name Here."
It's been a tense situation at The View ever since rumors circulated that Elisabeth Hasselbeck's days were numbered. I previously told you that ABC informed Elisabeth and the producers back in March that Hasselbeck's contract would not be renewed when it expired in July. Although Barbara Walters firmly denied the story, it was a fait accompli. This advance notice gave Elisabeth time to find a new job and then appear to leave the show on her own terms. When the deal with FOX News was finalized, Hasselbeck's departure was announced—and her final show was a few hours later. Even Walters appeared flustered at the quick turnaround, saying to Elisabeth, "I'm happy that you're going. ... No, I'm NOT happy that you're going. ... Well, you tell us about it." Most people found it strange that Elisabeth didn't stay two more weeks to finish out the season, although Joy Behar (who announced her departure months ago) is staying put. The reason is simple: No one connected with the show wants Joy to leave.
In an ironic twist, the scheduled guest co-host on the day Elisabeth made her announcement was Debbie Matenopoulos—the original "young one" of the cast. (She was summarily dismissed over Christmas hiatus and simply never came back.) Once the brass decided this would be Elisabeth's last day, the consensus was that sharing the day with Debbie might be rubbing salt in the wound. Matenopoulos has been rescheduled.
So, who will replace Behar and Hasselbeck? It's all but certain that Jenny McCarthy will take one of the slots. She and Ali Wentworth were frontrunners for Joy's job, but Ali had commitment issues and Jenny was locked in a contract with VH-1. However, given the abrupt cancellation of her show on that network, it appears the path is free for Jenny to move on. Plus, my sources tell me that she has been discreetly looking at schools in Manhattan for her son ... sounds like a done deal to me. As for the second slot, I'm told Brooke Shields continues to lobby hard for it.
Believe it or not, ex-Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash has gotten some good news. First, he won Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series at the Daytime Emmys, in addition to two other statuettes. That's a career total 26 Daytime Emmys racked up against three accusations of sexual abuse. Not a great ratio, but his legal situation is looking up. A NYC judge dismissed two of the lawsuits on a technicality—the statute of limitations had run out. After a review of the third case, it too appears to have been dismissed for a similar reason. Could any of them be appealed? Sure, but if I were a betting man, I'd think we'll see them resurface in civil court.
The long-anticipated film version of The Normal Heart began filming in NYC recently. So, yes, it's actually happening. And with the success of other gay film and television projects, the recent Supreme Court ruling and the change in the political climate, this could be good news to other similarly stalled projects about gay topics. Patricia Nell Warren, author of The Front Runner, thinks that this may finally be the time when her landmark book gets made into a film (even an HBO film). "This was always about two characters who wanted to be married," she said. "They would be tremendously excited by what the Supreme Court did this week." Warren has regained the film rights and is looking for the perfect producing partner ... as if such a thing exists!
You know I love a story about a beauty pageant. And this week, we had two. While Analouisa Valencia did not win Miss South Carolina, the Afro-Latina did make an indelible mark on the pageant. "I'm the first openly lesbian contestant in the Miss America system, the first bilingual contestant we've had, so that's good," she said.
British Columbia likes to crown many people at once—Miss B.C., Mrs. B.C., Miss Charity B.C. The winner of that last title was Patricia Celan. What was the first thing the newly crowned Miss Charity British Columbia did when she got her tiara? She shaved her head—onstage! After losing an uncle to cancer, she got involved in fundraising and raised money for Cops for Cancer. By shaving her head, she raised an additional $8K. Brava.
And this leads nicely into our "Ask Billy" question. David out in cyberspace writes, "I just read about a ballet dancer with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet being fired for doing gay porn. He's adorable. Do you know anything about him? What's his porn name? Can you track down any photos or videos?"
Danish dancer Jeppe Hansen performed around the world before winning a scholarship to the prestigious Royal Winnipeg Ballet School last year. After being asked to do porn by several people, he finally did his first scene for CockyBoys.com under the name Jett Black. When the school found out, they asked him to resign by signing a letter stating that he left of his own accord. My God—he might as well have been appearing on The View! The school says that no student is allowed to "perform" outside of the school without permission from the director. It should be noted, however, that from the video I saw, Jett was never en pointe—in fact, he was on his back ... and stomach (showing immense flexibility while manipulating a large black dildo). Jeppe/Jett doesn't feel his ballet career is officially over. He's just taking a hiatus and hopes to get back to it soon. In the meantime, you can check out every inch of him at BillyMasters.com .
When most of my subjects are well-strung and well- hung, it's definitely time to end yet another column. I'm filing this report moments after landing in lovely Italy. Even though I'm away, I'm constantly updating www.BillyMasters.com, the site that's known for its foreign tongue. If you have a question you need me to tackle, send it off to Billy@BillyMasters.com and I promise to get back to you before the Royal Winnipeg Ballet says Jeppe is welcomed back anytime—possibly for a special all-male production of The Nutcracker! Until next time, remember, one man's filth is another man's bible.
