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Entertainment: Nick Jonas, Pet Shop Boys, Whitney Houston, Mara Wilson
Special to the online edition of Windy City Times
by Andrew Davis, Windy City Times
2016-06-21

This article shared 758 times since Tue Jun 21, 2016
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After months of wondering whether or not Nick Jonas' closeted character, Nate, from DirecTV's Kingdom would ever get the chance to live out his same-sex desires, fans were disappointed after Jonas' character is drugged at a party and forced into a threesome, NewNowNext reported. Kingdom fans erupted on Twitter to express their own rage and sadness about the turn of events, with one person posting, "Poor Nate. And the worst part is that he's not gonna have the courage to tell anyone about it. #KingdomTV."

In other Jonas-related news, a handful of editorials suggested his so-called "queer-baiting" hit a fever pitch with his speech at New York's vigil for the victims of Orlando, Queerty reported. Op-eds from the likes of Huffington Post and Bullett claim his very appearance at the event was nothing but part of a publicity blitz for his new album Last Year Was Complicated. Some vigil attendees agreed, with one tweeting, "Y'all will literally let a straight white man take center stage over the graves of queer latino victims before letting QPOC have the floor."

Pet Shop Boys are set to release their new single "Twenty-something" on Friday, June 24, according to a press release. Taken from their most recent album, Super, the release will include two new bonus tracks, "The white dress" and "Wiedersehen," the latter featuring backing vocals from Rufus Wainwright. Also featured are remixes of "Twenty-something" by Swedish DJ/producer Kornél Kovacs and reggaeton producers Los Evos Jedis. According to Univision, the music video follows the hardships of a Latino man as he struggles to integrate into society after incarceration.

Miramax has acquired the U.S. distribution rights for the Whitney Houston documentary Whitney, with Roadside Attractions handling the U.S. theatrical release, TheWrap reported. The documentary is about the career of the late Houston, directed by Oscar winner Kevin Macdonald ( One Day in September ). The Whitney Houston estate has granted the filmmakers exclusive and unprecedented access to the archives of never-seen-before materials. The film will also feature interviews with friends, family and collaborators.

On Access Hollywood Live, RuPaul spoke out about the Orlando shooting at Pulse nightclub, Billboard reported. "I am so numb from the whole thing and everyone has something to say about it; I don't have any words yet," said RuPaul. "I don't want to minimize it into some celebrity sound bite and I know this is a benchmark for the American people. This is a huge wake-up call for us on so many levels, there needs to be a shift in our collective consciousness." He added, "It's not just about gun control, it's not just about gay people—it's about our identity as Americans, and that's the challenge for us moving forward." Two of the contestants from RuPaul's Drag Race were at Pulse the night of the shooting, but RuPaul said he hadn't spoken to either of them at that point.

Some of Broadway's biggest stars have come together to record a version of "What the World Needs Now is Love" to benefit the victims of the Orlando, Florida, mass shooting on June 12, EW.com reported.The track is available to purchase on iTunes ( with all of the proceeds from the sale of the song benefiting the GLBT Community Center of Central Florida ). This version features vocals from stars like Sara Bareilles, Kristen Bell, Wayne Brady, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Gloria Estefan, Fran Drescher, essie Mueller, Audra McDonald, Carole King, Sarah Jessica Parker, Mathew Broderick, Rosie Perez, Bernadette Peters and more.

Out comedian-actress Lea DeLaria weighed in on the Orlando mass shooting during the New York premiere of the fourth season of Netflix's Orange Is The New Black, On Top Magazine noted. "When you are a queer individual, as I am, and you want to go someplace where you feel safe, you go to the local bar, you go to the gay bar," DeLaria told the Associated Press. It's where we have community. It's where we have our culture. It's where we feel safe. That was stolen from every LGBT person in the world on [June 12]."

Former child actress Mara Wilson ( Matilda ) has opened up about her sexuality, USA Today noted. Wilson ran a series of tweets this week, after the Orlando tragedy, talking about her history with gay clubs and embracing a label as "bi/queer," and what those kinds of labels and identities mean to her and fans. She also thanked her followers for their support on social media, after some of her responses were less than supportive, adding, "Thank you so much to everybody who has sent me words of support. I support you all, too."

Fred M. Caruso, who rose to fame as the creator of 2009's The Big Gay Musical film, died of an apparent suicide at age 41, Page Six noted. His friend Rick Crom confirmed the news in a recent Facebook post, calling Caruso a "tortured soul" whose pain "took him from us." In his own post, Caruso—who also produced the off-Broadway show Newsical—revealed he attempted to take his own life the previous week after downing 30 Ambien.

Not much is known about the upcoming Doctor Who spinoff series Class, as even the character names are being kept under wraps. However, out show writer Patrick Ness revealed one of the main characters is openly gay—and has a boyfriend, according to NewNowNext. Ness took a pause at a Cardiff tribute to the Orlando shooting victims to deliver the news. Debuting on BBC America this fall, Class follows four students battling with aliens intent on conquering Earth, aided by their mysterious teacher, Miss Quill ( Katherine Kelly ).

Oprah Winfrey has backed Hillary Clinton for president, CNN reported. The media icon declared her support for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton while speaking to Entertainment Tonight's Nancy O'Dell at the premier of Winfrey's drama Greenleaf. "I really believe that is going to happen. It's about time that we make that decision," Winfrey said of a female president. She also told O'Dell, "Regardless of your politics, it's a seminal moment for women. What this says is, there is no ceiling—that ceiling just went boom! It says anything is possible when you can be leader of the free world."

Universal Pictures plans to release the film adaptation of the Tony-winning musical Wicked on Dec. 20, 2019, Entertainment Weekly reported. Billy Elliot director Stephen Daldry is shepherding Wicked to theaters with producer Marc Platt. There's no casting info yet, but Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth originated the roles of Elphaba and Glinda on Broadway, both earning Tony nominations in 2004. ( Menzel edged Chenoweth for best actress in a musical. )

Thing are progressing toward Lady Gaga teaming with Bradley Cooper in the Warner Bros remake of A Star Is Born, Deadline reported. Negotiations are expected to happen shortly. A Star Is Born marks Cooper's directorial debut at Warner Bros.

Charlie Sheen—who revealed he's HIV-positive in November—promotes the importance of using a condom in a new ad for LELO HEX, explaining that the perceived downsides of putting on the latex product greatly outweigh the risks of unprotected sex, The New York Daily News noted. In a separate interview with Extra, the Anger Management star said he used the condoms, calling them "amazing."

In one of the more surprising events of the U.K. chart year, 1980s pop favorite Rick Astley has scored his first U.K. number one in 29 years with the album 50, Billboard noted. The CD, which marks Astley's 50th birthday last February, is the singer's first studio album since 2005's Portrait, which reached number 26. In his pop heyday, Astley had hit No. 1 with his first album, Whenever You Need Somebody, in the wake of chart-topper "Never Gonna Give You Up."

Registration is now open for the 2016 Queer Youth Theater Conference—an annual gathering of artists, activists, educators, directors, students and community organizers, a press release stated. The 2016 conference will be held in Memphis, Tennessee, on Aug. 18-21, at Playhouse on the Square. Also, Pride Youth Theater Alliance ( PYTA ), which is behind the event, is requesting proposals from facilitators to lead workshops, sessions, presentations and demonstrations; they're due by June 30 and interested persons can visit PrideYouthTheaterAlliance.org .

Madonna once again has had to deal with social-media backlash—this time over her tribute to the Orlando mass-shooting victims, The New York Daily News reported. The singer included photos of herself in memes—one of which features her famous kiss with Britney Spears at the 2003 MTV VMAs and the slogan "Gay or Straight, no hate." "@Madonna are you serious right now? This isn't about you and your fake ass kiss for publicity," stated one commentator. "I would think you'd know better."

Actor Anton Yelchin, perhaps best known for playing Star Trek films as Chekov, died June 19 in a car accident at aege 27, according to People.com . Among those expressing condolences were actors Kat Dennings, Anna Kendrick, John Cho ( "He was a great pal and a great son. I'm in ruins." ) and Zachary Quinto ( "our dear friend. our comrade. our anton. one of the most open and intellectually curious people i have ever had the pleasure to know." ) as well as directors J.J. Abrams and Guillermo del Toro.

Justin Bieber will not be canceling his show in Orlando later this month, Billboard noted. The singer tweeted June 16 that, despite recent tragic events in the Florida city, he has no intention of canceling his June 30 concert. The night before the Pulse nightclub tragedy, singer Christina Grimmie was gunned down during a meet-and-greet following her performance at the Plaza Live in Orlando. Bieber broke down while dedicating his song "Purpose" to Grimmie during a show at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg.

An auction house is expecting a lock of David Bowie's hair to fetch more than $4,000 this weekend, Page Six noted, citing the Associated Press. Heritage Auctions says Bowie's hair will go on the block June 24 as part of an auction in Beverly Hills, California. The rock superstar died in January at 69 after a battle with liver cancer.

Page Six noted that Vogue editor Anna Wintour took a shot at Donald Trump while talking about creativity in Cannes, saying, "Politics is not traditionally a creative industry, but in America its currently being dominated by people with very active imaginations." Wintour, a prolific fundraiser for the Democrats, also poked fun at Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton as well.

Orphan Black is coming to an end, Deadline reported. BBC America's breakout original series has been picked up for a fifth season, which will be its last. BBC America and Canadian network partner Space made the joint pickup of the Tatiana Maslany starrer for a 10-episode fifth season to air in 2017.

SPOILER: Also ending is Showtime series Penny Dreadful, Deadline noted. "I can absolutely confirm it is really over, the end—that's all she wrote," said John Logan, the creator of the 19th-century iconic supernatural series. The saga closed with a two-hour finale with Eva Green's Vanessa Ives character shot dead by Josh Hartnett's Ethan Chandler, the sometimes werewolf who has long loved her, to save London and the world from Dracula, his night creatures and the end of days.

The original cast of Hamilton will film two performances before Lin-Manuel Miranda exits his Broadway show on July 9, TheWrap reported. Additionally, Miranda's replacement in the hit musical's lead role was revealed as Javier Munoz, who will start the new gig July 11 and perform seven days a week. Munoz's own alternate—who will perform once a week—will be announced soon.

To celebrate the launch of her bridal-shoe collection at Kleinfeld Bridal in NYC, Sarah Jessica Parker surprised three unsuspecting brides, playing their shoe specialist for the day, US Weekly noted. While the three brides-to-be were told that they were filming a segment about accessorizing for the famed bridal shop, featured on the TLC series Say Yes to the Dress, Parker hid behind closed doors. Once the ladies tried on their gowns, the Sex and the City actress rolled out with her SJP Collection shoes, announcing that she was the "sales associate for the day."

Seth Meyers has banned Donald Trump from appearing on Late Night With Seth Meyers, US Weekly reported. The comedian made the announcement during a "Closer Look" segment on June 14 in response to the presumptive Republican nominee revoking the Washington Post's press credentials to his campaign events. "We here at Late Night believe in freedom of the press and therefore have decided to stand in solidarity with them, so as long as the Washington Post is banned from Donald Trump's campaign, Donald Trump will be banned from ever coming on this show," Meyers announced.


This article shared 758 times since Tue Jun 21, 2016
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