"And now we go back to Chris Cuomo. He's on the docks and taking quite a pounding!"—Anderson Cooper tossing it back to Cuomo during CNN's Hurricane Irma coverage—each in tight, wet shirts. Alas, no pounding was shown.
I think the term that sums up 2017 is annus horribilis. Our LGBT community is a perfect microcosm of the entire world, with this lurid but telling example. Caitlyn Jenner comes out as transgender, killed a lady in a car accident and is lauded as a hero. Kevin Spacey comes out as gay, made unwanted sexual advances to a minor and is considered a pariah. I certainly don't wish to applaud either of these people, but something's rotten in the state of Denmark.
As they say, the fish stinks from the top—and that top is our current commander in chief. It started with the inauguration—which, despite claims to the contrary, was not huge. You know what was? The Women's March the next day. People all over American took to the streets. Even Los Angeles eschewed a gay pride march in favor of the LGBT Resist March. Do these things matter? Time will tell—but at least someone's doing something.
One of the most bitter fallouts since the election happened when Kathy Griffin was photographed holding a bloody mask of Trump's head. Love her or hate her, she surely bore the brunt of this administration's ire. Secret Service investigations, CIA dossiers, no-fly lists—it's endless. And almost immediately, she was persona non grata in the entertainment industry—well, she was never very grata at all. But she's fought back—and fought with everyone else, including her own attorney, ambulance chaser Lisa Bloom, former best buddy Anderson Cooper and former boss Andy Cohen. It's ironic that the new year will be rung in by Coop and Cohen on CNN—Griffin territory. Will viewers tune in without the hope of watching Kathy embarrass Anderson? We shall see.
While the election cast an ominous shadow on the country, 2017 will likely go down as the year of sexual abuse. And one must give credit where it is due. Satchel Ronan O'Sullivan Farrow Allen Sinatra ( aka Ronan Farrow ) worked on this story for months, only to have it turned down by NBC. Being as tenacious as at least one of his potential fathers, he got The New Yorker to publish it. And with that, Harvey Weinstein was done. Suddenly, the masses of women who bravely came forward gave power to many more women and men who had stories to tell. Before long, every day was littered with the latest names associated with sexual-assault accusations. Film, television, theater—everyone was fair game. But this isn't a celebrity battle; this is a human battle. When you start hearing about the manager of your local grocery store or the owner of the corner gas station, then you'll realize how widespread this actually is.
Back in June, Kevin Spacey was hosting the Tony Awards. He even donned drag as Norma Desmond in "unset Boulevard and sang, "I'm coming out ... no, wait ... I'm going into makeup." Little did he know that no amount of makeup could cover what was ahead. A few months later, Anthony Rapp went public with a story he told me in 1991—that Kevin Spacey had attempted a sexual situation with him when he was 14! Rapp tried to tell his story on the record several times over the years—including during an interview with The Advocate; each time, he was stifled. But now, with his casting on Star Trek: Discovery, Anthony not only spoke out, but was heard—the power of one voice. Within weeks, Spacey was dumped from House of Cards, his Gore Vidal biopic was shelved,and the producers of All the Money in the World hired Christopher Plummer to replace him within days of the film's release.
This year was bursting with celebrity nudity—in both still and moving forms. Leading the fray was the cast of Teen Wolf. Tyler Posey, Ryan Kelley and Cody Christian all showed off their goods—alas, not together. Adrian Grenier pleasured himself online. Danny Wood from New Kids on the Block caused quite a kerfuffle when his ponderous wood turned up online. I was not familiar with hip-hop star Milan Christopher, but I sure as hell won't forget him now. American Gods got people all hot and bothered with the sex scene between Omid Abtahi and Mousa Kraish. It only got hotter when star Ricky Whittle showed up online in flagrante. These are all on our website.
The staffers here at BillyMasters.com picked their favorite blind item of 2017: Could it be there's another "victim" of sexual assault who's keeping quiet? Sure, there's the wife who got where she is the same way those other "actresses" did. When she saw what was happening around her, she threatened to leave. Then Quasimodo had an idea—what if someone satisfied her sexual needs? Wifey made a wish list. Cut to that limber lad so attractive to women and men alike—a golden boy willing to bend over backward ( and forward ) to get ahead. Suddenly he's on hubby's payroll and banging the wife. Twinkle toes thought she'd leave Cyclops for him. But, it was all another deal. When the mover and shaker put the pieces together, he threatened to go public. And, poof, he was offered his dream role on Broadway! And like so many whores before him, he stayed quiet—even when the show mysteriously disappeared.
When I can end the year in a snit and a huff, it's definitely time to end yet another column. But I must remind you to pick up Jenifer Lewis' "The Mother of Black Hollywood"—the book of the year, as far as I'm concerned. As always, be sure to check outBillyMasters.com—the site that'll never bring you an annus horribilis! If you have a question, send it along to Billy@BillyMasters.com and I promise to get back to you before the ball drops ( New Year's or otherwise ). So, until next year, remember: One man's filth is another man's bible.
