"I don't agree that only gay actors should play gay. … I don't agree with having to laser focus the casting of it all, or else you'll be playing yourself the rest of your life."—Juan Pablo Di Pace tosses in his two cents.
There is a long and complicated history with trans contestants on RuPaul's Drag Race. It came to a head in 2018, when RuPaul said Peppermint wouldn't have been cast if she had already started transitioning. (Peppermint made her revelation after taping was completed, but before it aired.) Ru said, "You can identify as a woman and say you're transitioning, but it changes once you start changing your body. It takes on a different thing; it changes the whole concept of what we're doing." In the face of criticism, Ru retorted, "You can take performance-enhancing drugs and still be an athlete, just not in the Olympics." Like the Olympics, "Drag Race" is an independent show with its own rules. However, rules are meant to be broken. When season 13 starts on New Year's Day, you'll see the first openly transgender male competitor. Gottmik is described as an "LA-based celebrity makeup artist."
Last week, "Billy Masters LIVE" had a bit of everything—the boundless talent of Sam Harris (whose new film, Ham—A Musical Memoir, can be seen on Laemmle.com), Karl Schmid (who talked about his F+Stigma campaign) and the irrepressible Kay Sedia (who showed off her Tupperware). We even featured our first cooking segment, when the Latin spitfire baked some peanut-butter cookies with only three ingredients—peanut butter, sugar, and an egg. Why, it's almost health food! Although I can't announce Tuesday's guest, I'm so excited to say that Thursday we'll be joined by the legendary Ruth Pointer. Be sure to tune in at 3 p.m. Eastern / Noon Pacific on our YouTube channel of Billy Masters TV. Or just go to BillyMasters.com/TV .
James Corden is being reamed. (Sigh … it's been months since I was reamed.) Corden's came courtesy of his performance as a gay character in The Prom. Many critics have ripped him to shreds. But my personal favorite was the Vanity Fair scribe calling it "one of the worst film performances of the 21st century."
That leads into a special installment of "Actors Trashing Actors." Glenn Close recently talked about awards: "I honestly feel that to be nominated by your peers is about as good as it gets." So far, so good. Then Close added, "I've never understood how you could honestly compare performances, you know?" Oh, you know this is going to be good. "I remember the year Gwyneth Paltrow won over that incredible actress who was in Central Station and I thought, 'What?' It doesn't make sense." I don't know what makes me more giddy—that Glenn names Gwyneth, or that she cannot come up with the name of the actress she thought was so great! BTW, it was Fernanda Montenegro. You don't remember her? Or the film? That's 'cause it was Brazilian.
This week, "Billy's Holiday Gift Giving Suggestions" focuses on calendars. Usually, one of our selections is those Orthodox priests, but they have let me down … as so many men of the cloth have done before. So we're moving swiftly along to another perennial—the Warwick Rowers. Each year, the members of the Warwick Rowing Team raise money for Sports Allies, which fights homophobia in athletics—take that, Tulsi! A great cause supported by some great guys—who ain't so bad to look at. Check them out at WarwickRowers.org .
A newbie to this list is the official Tom of Finland calendar. I don't think they are raising money for anyone, but having hot, sexy men hanging anywhere will certainly raise the spirits of your loved ones. Grab it at TomOfFinlandStore.com .
Our "Ask Billy" question came from dozens of you asking about the latest racy video from River Viiperi—a name I would never know if I didn't write this column. The raging River with a penchant for scantily-clad footage got himself into hot water due to his shower faucet! He was filming in the tub—as one does—when the camera panned past his chrome fixture. And in the reflection, you could clearly see … well, you'll see it at BillyMasters.com .
When River is far from squeaky clean, it's definitely time to end yet another column. I must take a moment to say that I saw The Prom, and James Corden didn't bother me at all. I found him very … Corden-esque. More fair and balanced fare can be found on BillyMasters.com—the site that reflects its readers. For my personal touch, drop a note to Billy@BillyMasters.com, and I promise to get back to you before Tulsi is once again relevant. Until next time, remember: One man's filth is another man's bible.
