On The Rosie Show, Liza Minnelli reflected on what it's like to be the last one alive in a group photo of her, Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston, according to the Huffington Post. Minnelli said, "It's weird, It's really weird." She also said she felt different from the other three, never really getting into what she called "the pomp and the circumstance" of celebrity. Minnelli, who is currently touring, recently celebrated her 66th birthday.
Madonna has come to the Adele's defense over designer Karl Lagerfeld's recent remarks about the "Rolling in the Deep" singer, according to the Daily Mail. Lagerfeld, who has since apologized, initially made comments about Adele's figure. Madonna said, "That's horrible. That's ridiculous, that's just the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Adele's a great talent and how much she weighs has nothing to do with it." Adele has said, "I've never wanted to look like models on the cover of magazines. I represent the majority of women and I'm very proud of that."
Signs are pointing to Rosie O'Donnell moving her OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) talk show from Chicago to New York. According to the Huffington Post, O'Donnell has listed her 6,000-square-foot house in Lakeview for $2.5 million. The move is the most recent of several changes for the show. There are now more one-on-one interviews (including a talk with former Illinois First Lady Patti Blagojevich), and the removal of the game-show segment and space for a studio audience.
Kelly Osbourne will host Logo's 2012 NewNowNext Awards, according to a press release. She will be joined by musicians Adam Lambert and Neon Hitch; Lambert's second CD, Trespassing, is slated to be released this spring while British singer-songwriter Hitch is releasing her debut album (Beg, Borrow and Steal) later this summer. The show will be taped April 5 and shown April 9.
Jessica Simpson is nude and pregnant on the April cover of ELLE magazine, evoking memories of a similar pose Demi Moore did for Vanity Fair when she was pregnant with daughter Scout, according to the New York Post. Simpson poses with one hand partially covering her breasts and the other hand underneath her pregnant belly. The shot is almost identical to Moore's 1991 photograph, which Annie Leibovitz shot.
Actor Ewan McGregor—who recently co-starred with Oscar winner Christopher Plummer in Beginners—said he's flattered that comedian Louis CK has admitted his man-crush on him, the Huffington Post reported. During a stand-up act, Louis said, "The one guy I would blow based on who he is Ewan McGregor. Jesus Christ, he's f**king beautiful! Like, seriously, I'm not gay in any other way, except I wanna f**k that guy right in the face...I want him to f**k me!" McGregor added, "Some of the films I've done have been absolutely about sex and sexuality. ... Whether that's for a man or a woman, I don't really mind. I think what's interesting is the feelings themselves."
Sigourney Weaver will star in USA Network's six-episode drama series Political Animals, Deadline.com reported. The show is about a divorced former first lady and newly appointed secretary of state who throws herself into her job. The series is from Laurence Mark and out gay producer Greg Berlanti.
Jimmy Ellis, the voice behind the dance-floor staple "Disco Inferno," passed away March 8 in South Carolina at age 74, according to People.com . The song—with its "burn, baby, burn" refrain—helped propel sales of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack to 15 million units.
When 66-year-old Debbie Harry of the band Blondie, she was rushed by photographers who believed she was 25-year-old Lindsay Lohan, according to the New York Post. (Lohan had just hosted Saturday Night Live the previous night.) The publication stated that Harry definitely resembled Lohan, with a platinum-blonde fringe and aviator shades covering a hooded face.
The details of Whitney Houston's will have been unveiled—with daughter Bobbi Kristina receiving the estate, according to a New York Post item. Houston's child will receive all of the "So Emotional" personal effects, including cars, jewelry and clothing. Bobbi Kristina, 19, has a trust fund, with her receiving installments on her 21st, 25th and 30th birthdays. Ex-husband Bobby Brown is not included in the will, which Houston signed in 2000.
Actress Patricia Heaton has apologized for tweets in which she sided with Rush Limbaugh over his controversial comments about Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke, KansasCity.com reported. Limbaugh called Fluke a "slut" and "prostitute" after she voiced her support for more access to birth control. Heaton, who starred in Everybody Loves Raymond as in the TV show The Middle, tweeted, "Hey G-Town Gal: Plz let us also pay for Starbucks, movie theater tickets and your favorite hot wings combo at KFC! Anything else?"
Actor Colin Farrell would like to end anti-gay bullying in his home country of Ireland, according to Advocate.com . The Fright Night star said he witnessed attacks on his gay brother, Eamon, when they were younger. The brothers have joined forces with "Stand Up! Don't Stand for Homophobic Bullying," a campaign the Irish LGBT youth organization BeLonG To recently launched.
Shout! Factory will release the legendary New York concert special "Diana Ross—Live In Central Park" on DVD May 15, according to a press release. Originally broadcast in 1983, the concert has never before been made available for home entertainment. "Diana Ross—Live In Central Park" will contain the entire concert special as it was broadcast. Among the songs she performs are "Endless Love," "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)" and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," along with many others.
Filmmaker Ryan James Yezak launched an effort to raise funding for Second Class Citizens, his planned documentary about the gay-rights movement—and more than surpassed his goal. Aiming for $50,000, Yezak's Kickstarter campaign closed with 4,272 supporters pledging $176,354, according to a press release. The documentary will encompass all areas in which the LGBT community is discriminated against, including marriage rights; gays being denied admission to private schools, private organizations and religious institutions; and more.
Former soap-opera vixen Susan Lucci is co-starring in March Cherry's ABC pilot of Devious Maids, Deadline.com reported. Devious Maids follows four ambitious maids (Ana Ortiz, Dania Ramirez, Roselyn Sanchez and Judy Reyes) who work in Beverly Hills. Lucci—known as Erica Kane on the cancelled series All My Children—will play one of the maid's employers, Genevieve Delacourt. The series will also star Melrose Place alum Grant Show.
Jodie Foster is remaining with the agency ICM, as an actress; however, Jodie Foster the director is taking meetings with Gersh and UTA, according to Deadline.com . ICM hopes to retain her as a director, but has been unable to line-up any projects for her. One source said, "It's hard out there for her. The market for her is really cold." Foster's last directorial effort was The Beaver, which starred Mel Gibson.
PFLAG National will honor Broadway stars Audra McDonald and Will Swenson with the 2012 Straight for Equality in Entertainment Award, to be presented at the Fourth Annual Straight for Equality Awards Gala April 2 at the Marriott Marquis Times Square, according to a press release. Both members of the couple, who became engaged New Year's Eve 2012, are long-time outspoken straight allies. This year's other Straight for Equality Award recipients are Pastor Jay Bakker (the son of Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Bakker Messner, in the area of faith communities) and KPMG LLP (workplace).
Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives alum Vanessa Williams has already booked a new pilot: ABC's supernatural drama 666 Park Avenue, Deadline.com reported. Based on the book series by Gabriella Pierce, the project centers on a young couple (Rachael Taylor and Dave Annable) who decide to manage a historic apartment building in New York City. However, they begin to experience supernatural occurrences that complicate and endanger the tenants' lives.
President Obama will deliver a special opening message that will introduce viewers to Speak Up, the original documentary from Cartoon Network that focuses on bullied kids and the youth who have helped them, according to Business Wire. The half-hour film, an extension of the network's pro-social initiative Stop Bullying: Speak Up, will premiere commercial-free on March 18 at 5:30 p.m. ET/PT with an 8 p.m. encore telecast.
Nude shots purportedly of Glee star Heather Morris have made their way online, the Daily Mail reported. One shot shows Morris, who plays Brittany on the Fox show, in her "Slave 4 U" outfit from the Britney Spears-themed episode. However, other shots are more revealing, such as one of a woman resembling Morris baring all for the camera. Morris has said of the nude photos, "For me, I think they are beautiful. It's nothing to be ashamed of."
Julian Fellowes, an Oscar-winning writer who is also the creator of the PBS series Downton Abbey, is writing the adaptation of Gypsy, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Barbra Streisand and Joel Silver (with his first project involving Broadway movie musicals) are producing the feature project, an adaptation of Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents' Tony-winning musical. Fellowes won an Oscar for Gosford Park, and has also written The Tourist and Vanity Fair; he has also acted in films such as Tomorrow Never Dies and TV shows such as Monarch of the Glen.
In Nicolette Sheridan's wrongful-termination suit against Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry, a judge threw out her claims of battery against him, according to Entertainmentwise.com . The latest development could be a major problem for Sheridan, who claimed Cherry hit her "upside the head" on the set in 2008, supposedly setting in the motion the decision to kill off her character, Edie Britt. However, a witness testified that he accidentally received an email from the studio detailing a cover-up surrounding Sheridan's firing.
Actor Will Smith is yet again the subject of gay rumors, this time involving good friend Duane Martin, another actor, according to International Business Times. Star Magazine is starting the rumors this time around and both Smith and Martin have denied them, with Martin saying, "I'm not going to defend myself against a gay rumor." Rumors about Smith have circulated for several years, but nothing has been proven.
In an interview with The Paris Review, writer Bret Easton Ellis (American Psycho, Rules of Attraction) said he dated boys and girls when he was younger, according to Out.com . Ellis told interview Jon-Jon Goulian, "I was fairly bisexual in college—I had girlfriends, I had boyfriends." He also said he's working on "a shark movie," known as Bait; an HBO series; and a possible Duran Duran biopic.
A new exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum looks at the works of the late gay artist Keith Haring, Out.com reported. "Keith Haring: 1978-1982" looks at his early career with a focus on graffiti improvisations, videos, journals and even party flyers. The exhibit runs through July 8.
