THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones ( SNL ) and Kate McKinnon ( SNL; The Big Gay Sketch Show ) will star in the new all-female "Ghostbusters" reboot, the New York Daily News reported. The fab foursome will be filling the proton packs once wielded by Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson and the late Harold Ramis, stars of the first two Ghostbusters movies in the 1980s. Sony had high hopes for a third installment of the supernatural comedy franchise, but original director Ivan Reitman dropped out in the wake of his friend Ramis' death last year.

Actor Alan Cumming celebrated his 50th birthday in style, according to Page Six. Cumming and husband Grant Shaffer hosted a dance party at Midtown's EZ Studios, where guests were reportedly instructed to arrive in "'Disco Inferno' attire." Spotted at the Studio 54-inspired scene were Susan Sarandon, Gina Gershon, Parker Posey, model Cory Bond and a few of Cumming's Cabaret troupe.

Designer Christian Siriano and his singer-songwriter fiance Brad Walsh are still together, despite a published report about them ending their engagement, People.com noted. "Nothing really happening at this point. Still living together, just holding off on a wedding for a little while," Siriano said. The season four Project Runway winner announced his engagement to Walsh in July 2013, with a tweet revealing a picture of their gold Saint Laurent engagement bracelets.

Adam Lambert has confirmed the title of his new album, Digital Spy reported. The singer will release The Original High later this year as his third studio collection, after signing a new deal with Warner Bros Music. "Thrilled to announce the title of my upcoming album: THE ORIGINAL HIGH #theoriginalhigh," Lambert tweeted, making the announcement to coincide with his 33rd birthday. The new project has hitmakers Max Martin and Shellback ( Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, Katy Perry ) as executive producers.

Former *NSYNC member and Dancing with the Stars alum Lance Bass will be the official "Love is Love" ambassador during a landmark sunrise-beach wedding and vow renewal for 100 LGBT and straight couples from across the country and around the world, according to a press release. Hosted by the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, the "Love is Love" destination wedding on Thursday, Feb. 5, commemorates marriage equality in Florida. Coincidentally, the E! network special Lance Loves Michael: The Lance Bass Wedding will air the same day.

Broadway and movie veteran Joel Grey has officially come out as a gay man, according to People magazine. Grey was married for 24 years and has raised two children: actress Jennifer Grey ( of Dirty Dancing fame ) and chef James. However, Grey, 82, recently told People, " I don't like labels, but if you have to put a label on it, I'm a gay man." Grey has won an Oscar and Tony for his role in Cabaret. Now a photographer, Grey's next photo book will come out later this year, as will his upcoming memoir.

Meghan Galbraith, 35, frontwoman for the queer Chicago-based rock/pop/punk trio band 8 Inch Betsy, died Jan. 22 after a year-long illness. A singer/songwriter and self-taught guitarist, Galbraith joined 8 Inch Betsy's bassist Eli Burke and drummer Stephanie Levi in 2004. 8 Inch Betsy opened for The Gossip and toured with Amy Ray and the Volunteers, among other groups.

The cast of Sting's The Last Ship serenaded their captain on closing night of his show in front of Neil Simon Theatre, Page Six noted. The cast sang "an a cappella version of Sting's 'Fields of Gold'" before a crowd outside on West 52nd Street that included Neil Patrick Harris and the cast of Jersey Boys, which plays across the street. Guests at the Wayfarer after-party included Billy Porter, Martin Short, Jessie Mueller, Bob Balaban and Donna Karan.

Tangerine—a new film that debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah—has received attention not only for its content, but also for the way it was filmed: with the use of the iPhone 5s, according to Design & Trend. The movie—about transgender prostitutes in Hollywood and starring trans actress Mya Taylor in the lead role—was shot with the Apple device's camera in a widescreen, 2:35-aspect ratio. The choice to use the gadget was due to budget constraints, writer and director Sean Baker said.

British singer James Blunt ( known for the song "You're Beautiful" ) is being accused of homophobia after making a joke about picking up the soap in the shower around Conservative MPs, according to Gay Star News. Blake made the joke about a New Statesman cover featuring Blunt among a crowd of politicians such as David Cameron and Boris Johnson, and actors like Benedict Cumberbatch. Blunt tweeted the cover, saying, "I won't be picking up the soap when this party moves to the showers." He later posted, "And in today's PC news, jokes about public school boys rogering each other are OFF! Even if we did."

Transparent creator Jill Soloway drew fire from certain members of the transgender community after posting an image on her Facebook feed that appeared to take part in the mocking speculation surrounding Bruce Jenner's gender identity, according to Slate. She apologized, writing: "I made a mistake; it was horrible judgment. My complacency is checked and it won't happen again." Soloway's post consisted of a version of the original Transparent publicity art in which all the characters' faces had been replaced with members of the Kardashian/Jenner clan; Bruce Jenner took the place of Jeffrey Tambor's Maura.

Speaking of Jenner, sources close to Bruce Jenner's family confirmed to People magazine that the former Olympian is preparing to live life as a woman, The Kansas City Star noted. Jenner is reportedly filming his new journey for a documentary series that will air "when he is ready to be open about his transition." Jenner and the matriarch of the Kardashian family, Kris Jenner, separated in June 2013; their divorce, after 22 years of marriage, was finalized at the end of 2014.

A second search of Bobbi Kristina Brown's suburban Atlanta home turned up drugs, as police revealed a man at the Roswell home when she was found unconscious in a bathtub, The New York Daily News revealed. Nick Lomas, 24, had recently been sprung from jail on drug-possession charges. Brown, the 21-year-old daughter of late pop diva Whitney Houston, is "fighting for her life" in a medically induced coma. Houston died in 2012 in a tub after an accidental drug overdose.

HBO has just greenlit a new period drama, Virtuoso, produced by power couple Elton John and David Furnish as well as openly gay True Blood creator Alan Ball, according to NewNowNext.com . The series will be set against the "complex and volatile backdrop of 18th-century Vienna," and will follow a class of young musical prodigies from all over Europe at the prestigious Academy of Musical Excellence. Ball's partner, actor Peter Macdissi ( True Blood, Six Feet Under ), will star as real-life composer Antonio Salieri, who started a conservatory in honor of Emperor Joseph I.

The NFL credentialed a gay publication for the Super Bowl for the first time, allowing Outsports to cover the huge football event in Glendale, Arizona. Cyd Zeigler represented Outsports Jan. 28-Feb. 2, connecting with folks in the sports media and various players, coaches and front office executives.

Nile Rodgers has signed a new record deal with Warner Bros. and will release the first new Chic album in more than two decades this June, Rolling Stone reported. The first single from the record will come out March 20. Rodgers released the last Chic album, Chic-ism, via Warner Bros. in 1992, when he reformed the group with bassist Bernard Edwards, who passed away in 1996. In recent years, Rodgers has produced songs and albums by Daft Punk, Duran Duran, Avicii, Disclosure and Sam Smith and Rudimental.

A former contemporary Christian country singer, who disappeared for years from the Nashville music scene since 2005, has resurfaced as a gay and HIV-positive folk singer, The Christian Post noted, citing HIVPlus Mag. Singer-songwriter and pastor's son Byron Rice was a mainstay in the Nashville contemporary Christian music scene for about a decade under the name Byron Keith. After getting married, having kids and going through a divorce, Rice went on a hiatus from the music scene in 2005. He admitted that his divorce was caused by the fact that he held deep urges for other men, but said that his ex-wife was understanding and has remained his friend.

Rosie Perez is returning to The View, after all, US Weekly noted. The roundtable newbie sparked rumors she had called it quits with the ABC talk show after she took a break only four months after joining to perform in Broadway play Fish in the Dark. However, Perez was slated to return Feb. 3, joining Rosie O'Donnell, Nicolle Wallace and Whoopi Goldberg.

Nearly three years after winning American Idol, Phillip Phillips is attempting to declare his contract with the show's production company, 19 Entertainment, to be illegal, Rolling Stone noted. In a legal filing, he claimed the company has "manipulated" him into making appearances, forcing him to perform for free at a concert for one of Idol's sponsors, and that he found out the title of his last album, 2014's Behind the Light, along with the general public.

Rosie O'Donnell: A Heartfelt Stand Up will premiere Saturday, Feb. 14, on HBO, a press release stated. Taped at the Levity Live Comedy Club inside the Palisades Center Mall in West Nyack, New York, the special showcases O'Donnell's comedic skills while incorporating a vital message literally near and dear to her heart. After her stand-up act, O'Donnell opens up about her life-changing 2012 medical emergency. The special will also air Feb. 17, 20-23 and 26 as well as March 7 on HBO; it will air on HBO2 Feb. 18, 20, 24, 26 and 28.

As Josh Canfield and Reed Kelly were finishing their show, "From Broadway to Survivor" at the venue 54 Below, Canfield performed "You Are The One" and asked Kelly to marry him, according to Broadway World. Canfield ( Doctor Zhivago, Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 ) and Kelly ( Spider-Man, The Addams Family, Wicked ) recently left Broadway behind and took part in this season of CBS' Survivor: San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua.

Maybe Jersey Shore alum Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi can marry Canfield and Kelly. Polizzi, an ordained minister, revealed on Twitter that she'll officiating the forthcoming wedding of her hairstylist pals, Bradley Moreland and Luis Miller, according to The Huffington Post. Polizzi, who tied the knot with Jionni LaValle in November 2014, has long been an outspoken advocate for the LGBT community.

Morrissey has cancelled a concert in Iceland after the venue refused not to sell meat on the night of the gig, BBC News reported. The 55-year-old vegetarian had planned to perform at Reykjavik's Harpa Concert Hall but axed the date, saying it declined to observe his stipulation.

Barneys New York creative director Simon Doonan has claimed he was asked to audition for The Devil Wears Prada opposite Meryl Streep in 2006, but his shot at stardom came to an unfashionable end, Page Six noted. Doonan told a crowd at the House of SpeakEasy's annual literary gala thathe got a callback for the role of Nigel, played by Stanley Tucci in the film. Doonan added the began memorizing lines and "popping Champagne" for his showbiz debut until he learned that rival fashion figures Phillip Bloch and Robert Verdi were also asked to audition.

Fifty-five years after To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee is publishing a second book, according to CNN. Go Set a Watchman—which Lee completed in the 1950s and then set aside in favor of "Mockingbird"—will be published July 14. It follows Scout, the little girl of "Mockingbird," as an adult. "Mockingbird," published in 1960, won the Pulitzer Prize and was made into a 1962 film with Gregory Peck, who won the Oscar for best actor.

Beyonce has launched a new vegan food delivery service with her trainer, Marco Borges—a fully gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free and 100-percent plant-based meal plan called "22 Days Nutrition," according to the New York Daily News. The 22-day regimen—featuring three meals a day delivered all at once to your door—is $609.84. It launches on Feb. 13. Beyonce and husband Jay-Z famously went on a vegan diet for 22 days in December 2013.

Cast members of the 2001 cult-classic comedy Wet Hot American Summer is set to reprise their roles as some of the worst camp counselors in history in the Netflix series Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp, People reported. Among those heading back to camp are Amy Poehler, Elizabeth Banks, Paul Rudd, Christopher Meloni, Molly Shannon, Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce, Michael Ian Black, Ken Marino and Bradley Cooper. The episodes are set to debut this summer.