"Ballet dancers and hairdressers and drag queens made it safe for football players to come out and not the other way around."Dan Savage puts Carl Nassib's coming out into the context of those who came before him.
Another week, another coming-out story… This time, Carl Nassib made a bit of history. The defensive lineman from the Las Vegas Raiders made a wonderfully matter-of-fact video announcing that he's gay. Not only that, he also pledged $100K to The Trevor Projectand informed the uninitiated about the work it does with its 24/7, 365-day-a-year suicide prevention hotline for LGBTQ+ youths. What was more staggering was the response from the publicmostly positive.
When the criticism came, it was primarily from the gay community. Many said that Carl was not the first pro footballer to come outthat was Michael Sam. Some hypothesize that Nassib is being praised because he's white, while Sam is Black. It bears mentioning that although Sam came out as a college senior and was drafted by the St. Louis Rams, he never actually played for the NFL; he was cut preseason. His professional career was spent with the Montreal Alouetteswhich reminds me of a song I learned as a tyke. Perhaps if Michael had not gone public six years ago, the climate for Carl would not be so welcoming. Be that as it may, I applaud anybody who comes outregardless of that person's skin tone.
Champion figure skater Jason Brown also made headlines, stating, "I believe that love will always win, and every story will unfold differently for each individual. Mine unfolds a bit now. I'm gay, and that's a story still being written." One of the first people to offer congratulations was fellow skater Adam Rippon: "Your skating is equally as beautiful as you are as a human. You an incredible person. HAPPY PRIDE, Jason. SO MUCH love for you."
Colton Underwood recently made a pre-season jaunt to Provincetown with his "guide," Gus Kenworthy. We're told the twosome did this without a camera crewalthough I'll believe that when I don't see it. Gus said, "I just wanted to try and help him make new friends, and my group of friends already had this trip to Provincetown planned. I extended an invite to him, and he came for a few daysand it was fun for him, I think, to get to be around other gay people. I think he made a lot of new friends." When I make friends in Ptown, I usually spend most of the following week extracting sand from my crevices. Good times...
It may not have been the Fourth of July, but there were plenty of fireworks on "Billy Masters LIVE" last week. I planned a Pride panel with bon vivant Bruce Vilanch, writer Jim Colucci and performer Jason Dottley. You may remember Dottley as the ex-spouse of auteur Del Shores. I covered their union in this very column with some colorful prose. Jason (who appears at the Post Office Cafe in Provincetown July 12-13, and 19-20) decided to take me to task for some pointed barbs ... in which he was never actually named. I believe one blind item mentioned someone who "bounced from bed to bed to obscurity." While I admit that sure sounds like him, I'd add that the real Jason has enormous balls. Not many people take me on face-to-face, and the fact that he wanted to discuss it in such a good-natured way impressed me a great deal. He's absolutely right about one thingonly he and Del know what went on in their relationship. And if Jason has in fact "slept his way to the middle," well … good for him! You can watch this very juicy episode of "Billy Masters LIVE" on our YouTube channel, Billy Masters TV or on BillyMasters.com/TV.
We'll wrap up Pride Month on Tuesday, June 29, with a special "Billy Masters LIVE" featuring Norman Korpi and Eric Niescast members from the very first season of MTV's The Real World. They recently starred in a reunion series The Real World Homecoming: New York, and we'll talk about how the television landscape has changed in the past 29 years.
"Tonight is not just a party to kick off Pride Weekend. At 10 p.m. and midnight in Times Square you can watch a special video made By ME! Don't miss it! Let's POP the cherry on Pride With a Bang"said the ever-eloquent Madonna. She also auctioned off three "new Polaroids"which I believe is an oxymoronto benefit the Ali Forney Center, which helps homeless LGBTQ kids. To top it off, she showed up at the Boom Boom Room at The Standard, High Line Hotel and sang a few numbers while perched on a bar wearing a see-through top. It was all very Mamie Van Doren-esque, as you can see on BillyMasters.com .
Our "Ask Billy" question came from Danny in San Francisco: "What do you know about Aaron Taylor-Johnson? He was naked (and semi-erect) in A Million Little Pieces and certainly doesn't seem to be shy."
Hard to be shy when you can use your penis as a jump rope! Beyond that, I don't know much. He's 31, he's English, he's married and has two kids. He was also in Tenetbut, please, don't hold that against him. To recap, he's allegedly straight, he's not shy and he's happy to show off his naughty bits on BillyMasters.com .
When I'm worried Madonna might break a hip, it's definitely time to end yet another column. I'll be heading to Ptown on July 4. But I'm always updating BillyMasters.comthe site that delivers more bang for your buck. If you need some personal attention, write me at Billy@BillyMasters.com, and I promise to get back to you before Gus Kenworthy gives Carl Nassib a private tour of Ptown. So, until next time, remember: One man's filth is another man's bible.