Rumors have been flying that Jillian Michaels, a personal trainer on TV's The Biggest Loser, has been dating sexy actress Vanessa Marcil, who has been on the daytime serial General Hospital and the nighttime show Las Vegas, according to an item on YourTango.com . However, Michaels took to her Facebook page to deny the rumor, saying "Vanessa and I are best friends. Have been for 7 years. She is getting married in April and I am her Maid of Honor. We are not and have never hooked up. Sorry to disappoint." Michaels recently told Ladies Home Journal that she would like to be in a close relationship with anyone of either gender.
Total Nonstop Action ( TNA ) Wrestling has debuted the first openly bisexual wrestler: Orlando Jordan, according to Outsports.com . On March 23, in Orlando, Fla., Jordan was lowered into the ring wrapped in yellow police tape. He then walked to a white couch where he sat between a man without a shirt and a woman, the bisexual pride flag behind them.
Israel Luna, the director of the controversial film Ticked-Off Trannies with Knives, said that he will change the trailer so that real hate-crimes victims are not included, according to an Advocate.com item. Luna told the New York Times that the injustices done to trans individuals such as Angie Zapata and Jorge Mercado inspired him to make the movie. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation has urged the upcoming Tribeca Film Festival to pull Trannies, which is scheduled to run four times.
True Blood actress Anna Paquin has come out as bisexual. According to US Magazine, Paquin says, "I'm bisexual, and I give a damn," in a new Internet public-service announcement for the Give a Damn Campaign, which promotes LGBT equality. ( Other celebrities featured in the campaign—which is part of Cyndi Lauper's True Colors Fund—include Sir Elton John, Kelly Osbourne, Wanda Sykes and Whoopi Goldberg. ) Paquin, who won an Oscar at age 11 for her role in The Piano, is currently engaged to True Blood co-star Stephen Moyer.
Chaz Bono, 41, has asked a judge to formally change his gender and name, according to FOXNews.com . TMZ.com obtained copies of court documents in which a doctor affirmed that he performed "an irreversible surgical procedure for the purpose of altering Chaz Bono's sex characteristics from female to male." Bono—born as a female to Cher and the late Sonny Bono—started living as a man in 2009. The documents also show his new name as "Chaz Salvatore Bono," according to Pink News.
Singer Ricky Martin said that he is feeling "stronger than ever" after coming out, according to Pink News. Martin announced his sexual orientation on his official Web site March 29. More recently on Twitter, he wrote that he was "doing great" and feeling "stronger than ever." GLAAD congratulated Martin on his "honesty" while gay Internet-gossip maven Perez Hilton wrote, "Finally! We're very happy for you, Ricky."
And just like that, Kim Zolciak's relationship with DJ Tracy Young is over. According to HotMommaGossip.com, Young has dumped Zolciak because the Real Housewife from Atlanta won't stop going back to married man Lee Najaar, whom Zolciak calls "Big Poppa." Young remixed Zolciak's hit song "Tardy for the Party."
Figure skater Johnny Weir has stoked rumors surrounding fellow skater and Dancing with the Stars contestant Evan Lysacek's sexual orientation, according to Outsports.com . Talking with Chelsea Handler on the show Chelsea Lately, Weir not only said that he and Lysacek don't get along ( although he congratulated Lysacek on winning the gold medal in the recent Winter Olympics ) , but winked when Handler referred to skater Tanith Belbin as Lysacek's "ex-girlfriend," with Handler using air quotes.
Singer Adam Lambert will perform at the the 21st Annual Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation ( GLAAD ) Media Awards, which will take place in Los Angeles April 17 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, according to a GLAAD press release. Lambert's debut album, For Your Entertainment, has since been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, and he is nominated this year for a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Music Artist.
Sir Elton John, Lady Gaga, Sting and Dame Shirley Bassey will headline the Rainforest Fund's 21st Birthday Concert May 13 in New York City's Carnegie Hall, according to Sting's official Web site. Sting and his wife, Trudie Styler, started the fund in 1989 to help a Brazilian Indian leader protect his people's culture and land. The concert will also feature surprise guests, and there will be a gala dinner after the show; tickets will be available mid-April by visiting the Carnegie Hall box office, calling Carnegie Charge at 212-247-7800 or going to www.rainforestfoundationfund.org to download the ticket order form.
Openly gay singer Clay Aiken is touring with fellow American Idol alum Ruben Studdard, according to USA Today. They both competed during the show's second season, with Aiken coming in as runner-up while Studdard won. The 17-city tour will start in Asheville, N.C., and will include stops at Clearwater, Fla. ( July 26 ) ; Los Angeles, Calif. ( Aug. 1 ) ; and Hammond, Ind. ( Aug. 13 ) . Aiken, 31, came out in 2008.
A Facebook fan page for gay author Frank Anthony Polito's book Band Fags has been removed from the Web site, according to Advocate.com . Band Fags, which is about two male teenagers in the 1980s, was published two years ago and received a Lambda Literary Award nomination. Polito said Facebook told him, "Pages that are hateful, threatening, or obscene are not allowed. We also take down Pages that attack an individual or group, or that are set up by an unauthorized individual." Polito has filed an appeal explaining his page.
Actor John Forsythe, known as the voice of Charlie in the TV and film versions of Charlie's Angels as well as his role as Blake Carrington on the '80s nighttime soap Dynasty, has died at age 92, according to Advocate.com . Forsythe, who died of cancer, started acting in the 1940s, and debuted on TV in 1957 with the series Bachelor Father. His films include Madame X ( with Lana Turner ) and Kitten with a Whip ( with Ann-Margret ) .
Madonna's former manager, Caresse Henry, has passed away, according to Advocate.com . Henry managed Madonna's career for approximately 13 years, until 2004, and also worked with now-out singer Ricky Martin. Henry, who is survived by daughter Honour Norman, apparently committed suicide.
In Mexico, a stage that was being put up at the Chichén Itzá ruins for an Elton John concert collapsed March 31, injuring three people, according to BBC News. One man's leg was broken while the other two had slight injries. John was not present when the accident occurred.
In Texas, Dallas police charged R&B singer Erykah Badu with disorderly conduct after she stripped naked in the city's Dealey Plaza while filming the video to her song, "Window Seat," according to the New York Daily News. There was an added level of controversy because Dealey Plaza was where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963—and, in her video, Badu falls to the ground when a gunshot rings out. On Twitter, Badu wrote, "I would never disrespect JFK. His revolutionary thinking is my inspiration. my performance art has been grossly misinterpreted by many."
Nicollette Sheridan—who played Edie Britt on the TV program Desperate Housewives—is suing the show's creator, Marc Cherry, for $20 million, US Magazine reported. Sheridan, 46, is claiming assault and battery, gender violence and wrongful termination. Sheridan alleges that during a fight over a script two years ago Cherry, "took her aside and forcefully hit her with his hand across her face and head." A rep for ABC Studios said, "We investigated similar claims made by Ms. Sheridan last year and found them to be without merit."
