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Entertainment news: Darryl Stephens; Tom Hardy; Steve Grand; Empire's Cookie
Special to the online edition of Windy City Times
by Andrew Davis, Windy City Times
2015-09-08

This article shared 7459 times since Tue Sep 8, 2015
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Actor Darryl Stephens recently talked with Salon about being a closeted actor despite starring on the groundbreaking gay Black drama Noah's Arc for two seasons, Queerty noted. In part, he commented, "The culture is changing a lot, and you are seeing 12-13 year-olds coming out. There is no way I could have come out when I was that age." Stephens recently published a memoir titled Required Reading: How To Get Your Life For Good; it chronicles his experiences as an openly gay black actor in Hollywood.

In new biopic Legend, the actor plays both Ronnie and Reggie Kray, Brits who rose to a surreal fame from the 1960s through their links with organized crime. However, despite the pair's status—and at least one of the twins, Ronnie, spoke about being gay or bisexual—actor Tom Hardy has said he didn't even consider the pair's sexualities while making the film, PinkNews noted. He told Gay Times Magazine, "Do you know what? I didn't even think about [sexuality]. I don't think it needs playing—that's that. Ronnie was gay. Does that make sense?" An author recently went as far as to claim that Ronnie and Reggie Kray had an incestuous sexual relationship to hide their same-sex attractions—although there is little factual basis for any such claim.

Steve Grand has accepted an invitation from Marine Tanner White to attend the Marine Corps Ball, Inquisitr.com reported. Based in Jacksonville, North Carolina,White, 23, admitted that he was on the look out for a rather special date for the event. Grand revealed that not only had he seen the video but he also accepted the request too, taking to YouTube to upload his own video in a clip entitled, "Sgt. White, I accept!" White, who is HIV-positive and runs a YouTube channel that looks to refute stereotypes about the disease, admitted to BuzzFeed that he wanted to go with Grand because he both loves his music and thinks that "he is extremely hot."

A new study has revealed that Empire's Cookie Lyon, Law & Order: SVU's Olivia Benson and Game of Thrones' Daenerys Targaryen are the most popular female characters on U.S. television, TheWrap reported. The study also found that younger respondents more strongly self-identified as feminists, which may have an impact in their preferences for nontraditional gender roles on TV. Entertainment marketing firm Trailer Park partnered with research-based consultancy QC Strategy to conduct the online survey, entitled "Nobody's Damsel: A Study on Modern Women on TV and the Audiences Who Watch Them."

Out gay fashion designer/film director Tom Ford told Mr. Porter, among other things, that he feels less sexy now that he's a father, Out.com noted. Now the father of a 2-year-old, Jack, with his long-time partner Richard Buckley, Ford said, "I read that men who are the primary caregivers of children have lower testosterone levels. ... Now I don't know if my testosterone levels have dropped or not, I haven't had them tested, but I feel less sexy, definitely." Ford also described himself as drunk for his famous nude photo shoot for Out that Terry Richardson shot.

Sam Smith announced he has recorded the theme to the new James Bond flick, Spectre, CNN International noted. "This is one of the highlights of my career," the British crooner tweeted. "I am honoured to finally announce that I will be singing the next Bond theme song." Speaking to BBC Radio 1, Smith said he'd recorded the song in January ( "the quickest song I have ever written" ), and has had to keep it a secret ever since. The song, "Writing's on the Wall," will be released Sept. 25. The movie comes out Oct. 26 in the United Kingdom and Nov. 6 in the United States.

Singer Chris Brown has responded via Twitter to the accusation by Traxx Girls founder Melissa Scott that he bailed on a scheduled appearance at the Atlanta-based lesbian event, TheGAVoice.com noted. Brown posted, "I honestly wasn't booked for the show. Hopefully in the future we can do it right. Much love LGBT." Scott, party promoter and founder of Traxx Girls, said she was "baffled" by the entire turn of events. Brown was not scheduled to perform at the Traxx Girls event, but had reportedly agreed to introduce R&B singer Teyana Taylor prior to her set. ( An unconfirmed statement said that Brown refused to appear because gay men were at the event, Jezebel noted. )

Oscar-winning director Tom Hooper has revealed the reason why he wanted to cast Eddie Redmayne instead of a trans actor in his new film The Danish Girl, Gay Star News reported. Hooper told Screen Daily about Redmayne, "I think ... there's a certain gender fluidity that I sensed in him, that I found intriguing and it led me to think he might be a really interesting person to cast in this role." The film tells the story of trans and intersex pioneer Lili Elbe, who traveled to Germany in the 1930s to have gender-reassignment surgery.

Patti LuPone is returning to the Showtime series Penny Dreadful in its third season, according to a press release. LuPone, who guest-starred last season as the Cut-Wife, returns as a series regular in the new role of Dr. Seward, a U.S. therapist who treats Vanessa ( Eva Green ). The show is a psychological thriller that stars Green, Timothy Dalton, Reeve Carney and Josh Hartnett, among others.

In 2013, Madrid's Museum of Wax unveiled a wax statue of hunky soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo, who was so impressed that he had an exact duplicate made that he can keep at home—for $31,000, Business Insider reported. Both statues have real hair, added one strand a time. The statue at the Madrid museum is styled once a month by a stylist provided by Ronaldo to keep the hairstyle current.

Supermodel and reality-TV veteran Janice Dickinson has claimed Simon Cowell is secretly gay, according to Gay Star News. Dickinson—who is currently a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother UK and could be facing ejection after apparently spitting on gay contestant Austin Armacost—claimed Cowell was in the "closet" after former X Factor contestant Chloe Jasmine Whichello got upset about her treatment on the show. Addressing rumors about his sexuality in 2013, Cowell said, "If I was living 200 years ago in a coal mine, maybe, but I work in possibly the gayest industry in the world—music and TV!"

Former Miss America Vanessa Williams has been named the head judge of the 2016 Miss America Pageant, TheWrap noted. Williams was crowned Miss America in 1984, becoming the first African-American woman to win the pageant. However, she was forced to resign 10 months after winning the crown when nude photos from her past appeared in Penthouse magazine. This year, Williams will join host Chris Harrison, co-host Brooke Burke-Charvet, music curator Nick Jonas and other celebrity judges.

Madonna's gay brother, Christopher Ciccone, has spoken up to defend Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who declined to issue marriage certificates to same-sex couples, according to Gay Star News. Ciccone wrote in a Facebook post that Kim Davis, currently being jailed for contempt of court, should be allowed not to issue the licenses, given her constitutional "religious freedom." He worked for Madonna for 25 years but was cut off after publishing a tell-all book in 2008 about his time with her, in which he complained of being outed by his elder sister without consultation.

Stars of Logo's hit RuPaul's Drag Race will wear Golden Girls drag to host 30 hours of Golden Girls episodes, a press release noted. Logo's "30 Isn't a Drag" marathon celebrates 30 years of the TV foursome beginning Saturday, Sept 12, at 12 p.m. ET and running through Sunday, Sept. 13, at 6 p.m. ET. Fresh off of their appearance with Miley Cyrus at the 2015 MTV VMAs, the "30 Isn't a Drag" marathon features Drag Race" alumni Shangela as Sophia, Delta Work as Dorothy, Pandora Boxx as Rose, and Willam as Blanche.

In a pre-taped segment on Ellen DeGeneres' talk show, Caitlyn Jenner recalled when she almost transitioned from male to female at age 39, but "just couldn't do it," and why now was different, TheWrap noted. Regarding marriage equality, Jenner said, "I have to admit that I remember 15 years ago, 20 years ago, whenever it was that the whole gay marriage issue came up, at first, I was not for it. I mean, I thought, 'I'm a traditionalist.'" She also said that finding love is not a top priority for her right now.

In New York City, the Tectonic Theater Project will host a star-studded, one-night-only special benefit reading of Moises Kaufman's Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, the award-winning play about Oscar Wilde and the trials for his "crime" of homosexuality, on Oct. 5 at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater, a press release stated. Earlier in 2015, Kaufman and Tectonic were working with the Moscow New Drama Theatre and the U.S. State Department to produce a revival of "Trials" in Moscow. In the middle of pre-production, however, the Kremlin blocked the revival because of the play's LGBTQ content.

Josh Gad has signed on to portray the late Chicago Sun Times film critic Roger Ebert in Russ & Roger, STX Entertainment's comedy centering on the film critic and filmmaker Russ Meyer, The Hollywood Reporter noted. Will Ferrell is already on board to play Meyer, the sexploitation king who made movies like Wild Gals of the Naked West and Faster Pussycat! Kill Kill! before finally landing a picture deal at 20th Century Fox. The first movie out of the gate for the company was Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, a satire that Ebert wrote.

Rosie O'Donnell has been joking that Tatum O'Neal is her "new wife," even though the pair strongly deny they are dating, according to Page Six. The two shared an intimate dinner at Greenwich Village restaurant Da Silvano last month, and attended Broadway show Hamilton, where O'Donnell was heard joking O'Neal is her "new wife." O'Neal, 51, revealed earlier this year that she is now dating women.

Attorneys for the estate of Sherlock Holmes author Arthur Conan Doyle have reached a settlement with Roadside Attractions, Penguin Random House and director Bill Condon over the Ian McKellen film Mr. Holmes, TheWrap reported. The July release, about the famous detective being in his 90s, was hit with a copyright-infringement suit from the Doyle estate in late May. A suit claimed the film's source material, Mitch Cullin's novel A Slight Trick of the Mind, borrowed too heavily from the existing pool of Holmes stories.

Rich Kids of Beverly Hills ( RKOBH ) star EJ Johnson stepped out in a form-fitting black dress and thigh-high boots while out and about in L.A recently, In Touch Weekly noted. Magic Johnson's son has been an increasingly visible part of the fashion game since undergoing gastric-bypass surgery in August 2014. He spoke of his extreme weight loss on RKOBH saying, "I feel like my confidence level has definitely gone up. And I'm, you know, a new b**ch."

On Sept. 4, ESPN's Israel Gutierrez revealed that he is gay—and engaged, according to an E! Online item. "I've been agonizing for months trying to figure out how to do this," the 38-year-old Around the Horn personality wrote on his blog. "I'm gay, which plenty of people, I'm sure, have either deduced or just guessed as much over the years." Gutierrez said the announcement isn't his big "coming out"—adding that he has been out to friends and family for more than six years—but that he is getting married Sept. 12.

The Sunday Mirror obtained photographs of a meeting between hairdresser Carlos Arturo Ortiz and George Michael that show the "Careless Whisper" singer looking happy and relaxed as they pose for a shirtless picture together, according to the UK Express. The Columbian-born Ortiz has now revealed he is concerned for the former Wham! star, after recent reports claimed Michael had spent time in a Swiss rehabilitation clinic. Ortiz claimed he met Michael at a hotel in Sydney and they chatted about his turbulent life during their night together. Following the reports he had been in rehab, Michael took to Twitter to assure fans he was fine, while his spokesperson added he'd been on an "extended break" in Europe.

Cooking Channel will debut Patti LaBelle's Place—a prime-time special hosted by legendary Grammy-winning musician Patti LaBelle—on Sunday, Sept. 27, a press release stated. The special follows LaBelle as she entertains off stage, cooking and entertaining celebrity guests. Fans will be able to access the full recipes from the special on CookingChannelTV.com .

The Telluride Film Festival canceled a screening of the Aretha Franklin concert film Amazing Grace, per a U.S. District court ruling in favor of an emergency injunction filed by the singer, TheWrap noted. Three screenings of the film are slated for release at the upcoming Toronto Film Festival, starting Sept. 10, and Franklin's lawyers told TheWrap that they're weighing their options concerning how to proceed. The Associated Press reported that Franklin testified via telephone from Detroit that she has long objected to the public release of concert footage used in the film. The movie consists mostly of footage from the singer's 1972 concert performance at the New Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles, shot by director Sydney Pollack.

Chrissie Hynde has said that she is unsure whether she regrets suggesting that rape can be a victim's fault, Digital Spy reported. The Pretenders singer responded to the strong backlash after she made comments including: "If I'm walking around in my underwear and I'm drunk? Who else's fault can it be?" Speaking with The Washington Post recently, Hynde said, "Do I regret it? I don't know ... "If you don't want my opinion, don't ask me for it. At the moment, we're in one of the worst humanitarian crises in our lifetime—and we're talking about comments that I allegedly made about girls in their underwear."

Britain's charity watchdog is reviewing a complaint about trustees' pay at a global mine-clearing charity made famous by Princess Diana following reports that Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie quit its board over the payments, Page Six reported. The Halo Trust said the chairman of its board, Amanda Pullinger, and executive trustee Simon Conway received a total of about $180,000 for reviewing the charity's structure and governance between May and October 2014. Jolie quit her position at the Halo Trust in May of last year, reportedly because she was "uncomfortable" with these payments approved by the charity.

Dancing with the Stars has revealed its lineup for season 21, debuting Sept. 14 on ABC, People reported. Among the celebrities competing this are Bindi Irwin ( daughter of the late "Crocodile Hunter," Steve Irwin ), singer Nick Carter, chef Paula Deen, the legendary Chaka Khan, reality-TV star Kim Zolciak Biermann, U.S. hero Alex Skarlatos ( who recently helped disable a would-be shooter on a French train ), married actors Alexa and Carlos PenaVega, and others.

A Colorado coroner's report revealed that Can't Buy Me Love star Amanda Peterson died from "accidental acute morphine toxicity," TheWrap reported. The 43-year-old star's body was discovered in her Colorado apartment on July 5, two days after she died. In the days following her death, Can't Buy Me Love co-star Patrick Dempsey tweeted, "in my memory, she will always be vibrant and young. Gone too soon. Sending my thoughts and prayers to Amanda's family."

Less than a week after voluntarily checking himself into a "treatment center" to deal with his sex addiction, anti-gay activist and admitted child molester Josh Duggar has allegedly bailed on the program, according to Queerty. According to his family, Josh checked into the Christian rehabilitation center Reformers Unanimous in Rockford, Illinois. However, he reportedly vanished shortly after being admitted.

Glee's Heather Morris announced her second pregnancy with a baby-bump photo via Instagram, US Weekly noted. Her former costar and on-screen wife, Naya Rivera—who is currently pregnant with her first child—was among those congratulating her. In May, Morris and her longtime love, Taylor Hubbell, tied the knot at Old Canyon Ranch in Topanga, California, surrounded by friends, family and many of Morris' Glee co-stars.

Also, former Glee co-stars Melissa Benoist and Blake Jenner have reportedly been secretly married for several months now, according to US Weekly. Supergirl star Benoist, 26, was spotted wearing a thin silver band on her ring, fueling speculation that she had married Jenner, 22, who played Ryder on the Ryan Murphy show. ( Benoist played Marley. )

Wynn Las Vegas says its resident DJ Avicii is canceling the remainder of his shows at XS and Encore Beach Club this year to take a break, Page Six noted. The Las Vegas strip resort-casino announced that DJs Diplo, Skrillex, Dillon Francis and Zedd would replace Avicii at six scheduled shows in September and October. Avicii is slated to return next year.

Tori Spelling has sued Benihana over an April incident in which she claims to have suffered "deep second and third degree burn injuries" at its Encino, California, location, according to Radar Online. The 42-year-old reality star, according to online reports, claims she fell on a hibachi grill at the popular chain restaurant, leading to financial losses related to lost work and hospital bills.

Game of Thrones has cast UnREAL star Freddie Stroma for the HBO fantasy drama's upcoming sixth season, TheWrap noted. He'll play Dickon Tarly, brother of Samwell ( John Bradley ). This year, fans can expect to meet Sam's full family, including his father, Randyll Tarly. Game of Thrones is expected to end after eight seasons.

Les Miserables producer Cameron Mackintosh has donated a gift to the scholarship created at Ohio's Baldwin Wallace University to honor actor Kyle Jean-Baptiste, who died Aug. 29 at the age of 21, Playbill noted. The scholarship fund at Baldwin Wallace has now surpassed $130,000 according to a release from the school. Jean-Baptiste, the youngest and first African American performer to play Jean Valjean on a Broadway stage, died tragically Aug. 29 after falling from a Brooklyn fire escape.


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