"His coming-out was followed by a marriage. My marriage was followed by a coming-out."—Arianna Huffington quips after being brought onstage by Neil Patrick Harris at the recent NYC TrevorLIVE. Arianna was being honored with the Trevor Hero Award—presumably because she was married to a gay man and wrote a biography about Maria Callas.
My critique of a work is often confused with my feelings about the people involved. I always try to separate the two, but often people can't always tell the difference. I found myself in a potentially awkward situation when I went to see Cheyenne Jackson over the Fourth of July at the Provincetown Art House. ( He was so good, he'll be back Labor Day weekend. ) As I made my way into the theater, I discovered that I was seated next to Ryan Murphy and his hubby, David Miller. We'd previously met in several social and unmemorable ways, so we exchanged a quick hello and then the show began. Afterward, I turned to them and said, "Aren't congratulations in order? Isn't your anniversary today or yesterday?" Ryan smiled and said, "Today—how did you know?" Well, I was with them on their wedding day two years ago. They had a lovely afternoon ceremony and then went to see Patti LuPone—I was sitting close by that night, too. My congratulations led to some pleasant chit-chat before we went our separate ways—but not without putting a friendly face on my often caustic wit. Happy anniversary, guys.
The Crown & Anchor is the center of Provincetown in more ways than one. My affection for this landmark is colored by my fondness for its hunky proprietor, Rick Murray, who was born a hop, skip and a jump away from the birthplace of yours truly. He's got some sensational events coming up. On Aug. 4, Liza Minnelli and Alan Cumming will be doing two shows at The Crown. As I confirmed my reservation for the second show, I was reminded that both shows are sold out. That shouldn't deter you from checking with the box office—you never know. And if you're hot, find me—perhaps I'll dump my date and take you.
The Crown is also producing a special concert at Provincetown Town Hall. One night only ( Aug. 7 ), Carol Channing and Tommy Tune—TOGETHER. That's like the entire history of Broadway in one night. And, as I said before, this will forever thwart rumors that they are one and the same. I hear there are still a few tickets left, so if you don't want to miss something truly special, go directly to OnlyAtTheCrown.com .
Watch how I effortlessly segue into an item about The View. Did you know that during the one season Rosie O'Donnell was a co-host, The View had on more performers and live performances from Broadway shows than all the other seasons combined? OK, I just made up that statistic, but I bet I'm not far off the mark. Rosie being back on daytime is a good thing for Broadway, for theater, and for us. And by us, I mean those of us who write gossip. It's a situation that could implode at any minute—and I'll certainly be watching every single episode.
Our "Ask Billy" question comes from Darren in Chicago: "I just read that [Olympic swimmer] Ian Thorpe came out as gay. Is it true? He's always denied it."
The sexy Aussie sat down with UK host Sir Michael Parkinson for a fascinating ( paid ) interview that clearly had an agenda. Parkinson quoted a section from Thorpe's 2012 autobiography, This Is Me: "For the record, I am not gay and all of my sexual experiences have been straight." Sir Michael asked: "Is all of that true?" Thorpe: "Well, that's true. But, um, you know, I've ... thought, well, I've thought about this for a long time." Parkinson: "I bet." Thorpe: "I'm not straight." Parkinson: "You're not." Thorpe: "And this is only something that very recently—we're talking in the past two weeks—I've been comfortable telling the closest people around me exactly that."
Speculation that Ian was gay started when he was 16 years old. Apparently, not only was he not sexually active, but it didn't occur to him that he might be gay. So he denied it. Problem was, as he grew up and began to realize that he was gay, he had an issue—he had denied it so often in public ( and, apparently, to himself ), he felt that if he suddenly came out, people would question what else was a lie. Now, at 31, he feels differently. "I am telling the world that I am gay, and I hope this makes it easier for others now," he said. "And even if you've held it in for years, it feels easier to get it out." Bravo, Ian. By the way, we'll run the entire interview on BillyMasters.com .
This leads perfectly into the story about a young man who was almost arrested because he was wearing a Speedo in a water park, which has the following dress code: "Kentucky Kingdom is a family-friendly theme park and reserves the right to determine whether a guest's attire is appropriate." Certainly a Speedo could be considered inappropriate—as could a thong, certain bikinis or see-through swimming attire. The young man in question says that a public safety officer for the park said his Speedo was suitable. But an officer from the Louisville Metro Police allegedly called the lad "queer" and threatened to arrest him. The officer said that several of the park's public safety officers had already warned the young man, which he denies. Rather than risk jail time, he just left.
To fill in some of the gaps, the young man in question is Jessie Colter, a gay male porn star who does bareback videos online—not that this is germane to the story, but it bears mentioning. Maybe Jessie's prodigious "talent" was too visible whilst sheathed within his red Diesel Speedo. Or maybe it was how Jessie carried himself. He recently tweeted, "I think is funny when people ask me if I'm gay, lol! I think it's pretty obvious, especially if you've met me." Of course, it's also possible that the cop recognized Colter from his, ahem, "work." Whatever the specifics, Jessie seems to indicate that—as with all his endeavors—this one will have a happy ending. "It appears that justice will be served in the matter of my recent incident involving my brief cut trunks. That's all for now stay tuned folks." I'm sure I'll post some photos of Jessie in his offensive Speedo—and less—on BillyMasters.com .
When Cheyenne Jackson is bringing people together, it's definitely time to end yet another column. Of course, all are welcome to check out www.BillyMasters.com—the site that hasn't yet been banned in Kentucky! If you'd like to ask me a question, send it along to Billy@BillyMasters.com and I promise to get back to you before people ask, "What Would Ian Thorpe Do?" Jeah! Until next time, remember, one man's filth is another man's bible.
