Sir Elton John threw a tantrum while onstage at Caesars Palace's Colosseum in Las Vegas May 11, Advocate.com reported. John, 65, made "a watery mess onstage and tossing a stool while hinting that heads were going to roll. The "Rocket Man" singer was reportedly "angry at his management team" and allegedly said that the next day someone was getting " [ bleeping ] fired." The show started late and ended about a half-hour early, according to reports.
ABC has renewed several scripted shows, according to Deadline.com . Among them are the freshmen series Suburgatory, Revenge, Scandal and Once Upon a Time as well as veteran shows such as Happy Endings ( which features a gay main character ) , Modern Family ( with same-sex couple Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet ) , Grey's Anatomy, The Middle and Castle. However, it has canceled the LGBT fave GCB, which starred Kristen Chenoweth and Annie Potts. ( Cougar Town is moving to TBS. ) Among the unscripted series the network has renewed are Dancing with the Stars, The Bachelor/Bachelorette and Shark Tank.
Hairstyling pioneer Vidal Sassoon has died at age 84, according to CBS News. Authorities determined that he died of natural causes ( although he reportedly battled leukemia, the L.A. Times reported ) . He is known for turning women onto his wash-and-wear cuts in the 1960s. Sassoon opened his first salon in his native London in 1954, but didn't perfect his approach until the mid-'60s. He was married four times and had four children with second wife Beverly.
Brad Pitt has become the first male face of Chanel No. 5, People.com reported. Pitt, who is reportedly being paid seven figures for his work, joins the ranks of former Chanel figures such as Lauren Hutton, Nicole Kidman, Ali MacGraw and Audrey Tautou.
The nominations for the 39th Annual Daytime Emmys have been announced. According to Deadline.com, ABC received the most nods, with 56. ( General Hospital accounted for 23 of those. ) The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Live with Regis and Kelly, The Talk and The View were nominated for Outstanding Talk Show: Entertainment, while Anderson, The Dr. Oz Show and The Doctors received nods for Outstanding Talk Show: Informative. This year's gala will be held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel Saturday, June 23, in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Barbra Streisand will offer her first public performance this fall in Brooklyn, Playbill.com reported. The singer-actress will perform the show, "Back to Brooklyn," in the Barclays Center, the borough's new 19,000-seat sports and entertainment venue, Oct. 11. In a statement Streisand said, "I'm so glad I came from Brooklyn—it's down to earth. I guess you CAN come home again." Tickets go on sale May 21 at 10 a.m. ET; see www.ticketmaster.com or call 800-745-3000.
Britney Spears has made a deal with the reality show The X Factor, US Magazine reported. The "Circus" singer will reportedly get $16 million for joining Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid as a judge on the show. Actress/singer Demi Lovato will also serve as a judge.
Against Me! singer Tom Gabel comes out as transgender in Rolling Stone Magazine. Gabel, who has dealt privately with gender dysphoria, will soon begin transition by taking hormones and undergoing electrolysis treatments. Gabel will eventually take the name Laura Jane Grace, and will remain married to wife Heather.
The husband who stars in TLC's Sister Wives has revealed his thoughts on same-sex marriage. Kody Brown—who has four wives ( Christine, Meri, Robyn and Janelle ) —told Access Hollywood's Billy Bush, "I have been able to choose and define my marriage and I think everybody should be able to do that Choose and define who you marry, choose and define who you love." Of his own intimate time with his wives, Brown said, "We don't discuss it, but I do what I can to spend time with all my wives." The family has 17 children.
Three months after Whitney Houston's death, her family has signed on to do a reality show, according to Deadline.com . The Houston Family Chronicles, a 10-episode series, will air on Lifetime later this year. It will follow the lives of Pat Houston, Whitney's sister-in-law and manager, who now manages her estate; Pat's daughter, Rayah; Whitney's brother Gary; daughter Bobbi Kristina; and mother, Grammy-winning singer Cissy Houston as they attempt to pick up the pieces after Whitney's death.
Openly gay writer Edmund White has had a change of heart about marriage equality: He now supports it, according to Advocate.com . In The Guardian, he wrote, "Just like Barack Obama, my views on gay marriage have evolved—and now I am a reluctant groom." Talking about his own previous views, White wrote, "Originally, I was opposed to gay assimilation and targeted gay marriage as just another effort on the part of gays to resemble their straight neighbors."
In Illinois, a jury convicted William Balfour, the former brother-in-law of Jennifer Hudson, in the murders of her mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew, according to the Chicago Tribune. As Hudson heard the verdict, her fiancé comforted her and family members squeezed her shoulders. Balfour, 31, was convicted of fatally shooting the singer's mother, Darnell Donerson, 57; her brother, Jason Hudson, 29,; and nephew Julian King in October 2008.
The LGBT-focused here! TV network has received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for its documentary 30 Years From Here, according to a press release. The documentary, which examines the 30 years battle against HIV/AIDS, received a nomination in the Outstanding Special Class Special category. This is here! TV's second nomination in this category for programming focusing on HIV/AIDS advocacy and awareness.
Joanna Johnson of The Bold and the Beautiful came out to TV Guide, according to the Huffington Post. In the process, Johnson, 50, has become the daytime soap-opera world's only out actor currently on a show—and she plays a lesbian on the serial. Johnson said she's married to L.A. club promoter Michelle Agnew, and they have two children.
John Gotti's widow, Victoria, has defended John Travolta, who is set to play her late husband on the big screen, according to the New York Daily News. In an expletive-filled defense, Victoria asked, "What difference does it make if he were gay? Who the f**k really cares?" At least three male massage therapists have claimed that Travolta was sexually inappropriate, with another man alleging the Pulp Fiction actor offered him $12,000 for sex and his silence. However, it turns out that one is dropping his suit against Travolta.
Crossover hip-hop artist Yitz "Y-Love" Jordan is speaking out for the first time about his life as a gay man of color, while being part of the worlds of hip-hop and Hasidic Judaism, according to a press release. Jordan, explaining his decision to publicly identify as a gay man for the first time, said, "I want mine to be the last generation of LGBT Americans that remembers what a closet is. I want kids in 20 years to sit annoyed through LGBT history class to learn about that long ago time 'when gay people used to have to lie,' much like segregation is a far-off time to many of today's middle-class black youth." Jordan, born to a Puerto Rican mother and an Ethiopian father, converted to Hasidic Judaism in 2000.
Jay-Z is supporting President Obama's marriage-equality position, the Huffington Post reported. In a recent interview with CNN, the entrepreneur/"Empire State of Mind" rapper said, "I've always thought [ the lack of recognition of marriage equality ] as something that was still holding the country back. What people do in their own homes is their business and you can choose to love whoever you love. That's their business. It's no different than discriminating against blacks. It's discrimination, plain and simple."
Another celebrity backing Obama's stance is actor Will Smith. According to the Washington Post, the Men In Black actor said that the issue of marriage equality is "about semantics" and called Obama's announcement "brave." Smith told reporters in Berlin that "if anybody can find someone to love them and to help them through this difficult thing that we call life, I support that in any shape or form."
Male supermodel Tyson Beckford is the victim of a leaked sex tape, according to the New York Daily News. The video shows Beckford, 41, pleasuring himself during a recent video chat with a female model. Beckford reportedly discusses various topics during the 45-minute chat, including some of his movies. The footage is being shopped around the adult-film industry.
