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

Speaking of Madonna, she's replacing Lady Gaga as the face of Versace, according to PopDust.com . Madonna was unveiled as the new face of the Italian fashion house's spring/summer 2015 campaign with a string of photos shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott. This is Madonna's fourth campaign with Versace; the first time was in 1995. She is also working on a new album, and will have a reggae/dancehall single produced by Diplo out early next year.

Logo TV revealed the 14 contestants for RuPaul's Drag Race's seventh season during the 2014 NewNowNext Awards, according to a press release. Some of the drag queens are Sasha Belle of Iowa City, Iowa; Kennedy Davenport of Dallas; Tempest DuJour of Tucson, Arizona; Miss Fame of New York City; Max, from Minneapolis; and Jasmine Masters of Los Angeles. The new season, which will premiere in 2015, will feature the queens competing for a $100,000 cash prize and the title of "America's Next Drag Superstar."

As for the NewNowNext Awards, the event ( which Glee's Darren Criss hosted ) aired Dec. 7, although it took place Dec. 2 in Miami. Some of the winners were Dear White People ( Best Motion Picture from a New Filmmaker ); Jonathan Groff ( Best New TV Actor, for Looking ); Lorraine Toussaint ( Best New TV Actress, for Orange Is the New Black ); Hedwig and the Angry Inch ( Best New Broadway Production: Musical ); Sam Smith and Betty Who ( Best New Male and Female Musicians ); and the gay-themed series Looking ( Best New TV Series, besting Transparent, among others ).

TMZ concluded that Michael Sam believes he's not on an NFL roster because of the fact he's openly gay, after he told TMZ Sports he strongly believes he's got the talent to play in the league. Sam was asked if he thinks NFL teams are shying away from him because of his sexual orientation, or if it has to do with the level of talent he faced after college. Sam responded, "I think I was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year last year ... so I don't think it had to do with talent." He added that the chances of Oprah Winfrey ever reviving the reality show that was in the works before the draft are slim to none.

Celebrity fashion stylist Brad Goreski revealed on the show Fashion Police that he's been engaged to partner Gary Janetti since August, according to E! Online. He had to go to London so wedding plans are on hold," Goreski added. Janetti is known for his writing and producing skills on shows such as Will & Grace and Family Guy. He's currently hard at work overseeing Vicious, a popular British sitcom that stars Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Derek Jacobi.

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper recently dealt with an emergency, according to US Weekly. After he was mysteriously M.I.A. from his show, Anderson Cooper 360, Cooper tweeted that a bout of appendicitis was responsible for his absence. Cooper began experiencing stomach pains while reporting on the protests and civil unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, The Huffington Post noted. He tweeted, "I'll be back on air tomorrow. Had an appendicitis and had to have sudden surgery last night." He has since returned.

Pop sensation Meghan Trainor is confirmed to headline the 25th anniversary of the Club Skirts Dinah Shore Weekend, April 1-5 in Palm Springs, California, according to a press release. The 20-year-old singer-songwriter will grace the main stage of the Palm Springs Convention Center during the Dinah's "Black Party" on Saturday, April 4. Trainor's single "All About That Bass" topped the Billboard Hot 100 for eight consecutive weeks, disposing Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" and "Black or White" as the longest-running number-one single ever released on Epic Records.

Peter Pan Live!, starring Allison Williams and Christopher Walken, was no Sound of Music Live!, which featured Carrie Underwood, according to Deadline. Peter Pan's ratings were a 46-percent decrease from Sound of Music's. Last year's success of "Sound" set the stage for Peter Pan's Dec. 4 broadcast, which was produced by Neil Meron and Craig Zadan and staged by Rob Ashford.

Out British newcomer Sam Smith, Pharrell Williams and Beyonce have received the most Grammy nods this year, with six apiece. The nominations were announced Dec. 5. ( All were announced during the morning except the Album of the Year nods, which were revealed on the nighttime CBS show A Very Grammy Christmas. ) Smith is up for key awards such as best new artist; song and record of the year for "Stay With Me; and album of the year, for In the Lonely Hour. Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett's duets album, Cheek to Cheek, is nominated for best traditional pop vocal album; other honorees in that category are Barbra Streisand's duets album as well as CDs from Annie Lennox, Johnny Mathis and Barry Manilow.

Mariah Carey opened the show for NBC's 2014 live broadcast of Christmas in Rockefeller Center—but polarized viewers with her live singing, according to The Wrap. Her signature vocal range appeared to be greatly limited, with the diva straining to reach certain notes and choosing to avoid others altogether in a rendition of her own Christmas classic "All I Want for Christmas Is You." Responses on social media ranged from "RIP Mariah Carey's Voice" to "This was not a bad performance. It was a live performance and it will not be exactly perfect but she did a great job!"

Rumors are swirling all over the Internet that Taylor Swift and Karlie Kloss are a couple after they were "spotted kissing" at a The 1975 concert, according to Just Jared. The 24-year-old singer attended the concert in New York City with a bunch of her model pals, including Kloss, Lily Aldridge and Martha Hunt. A rep said Swift and Kloss were just trying to hear each other over the loud music.

Actress Saffron Burrows has married longtime girlfriend Alison Balian, a writer for Ellen DeGeneres' talk show, according to a SheWired item. Burrows, who has had relationships with both men and women, married Balian in August 2013. They have been together for more than six years and have a 2-year-old son. The actress, currently starring in the Amazon series Mozart in the Jungle, declines to label herself but has noted that she was brought up with an open mind; her ultraprogressive family would take her to gay-pride events, anti-racism marches and so forth.

Lily Tomlin, Tom Hanks, Sting, Al Green and ballerina Patricia McBride were feted during the Kennedy Center Honors gala Dec. 7, according to USA Today. For Tomlin, meeting the president was a favorite part of receiving the honor. "Obama was so witty and funny and charming and extremely warm," she said. Among those saluting Tomlin were Jane Fonda, actress Jane Lynch, Saturday Night Live cast member Kate McKinnon and singer Reba McEntire; Meryl Streep was on hand to salute Sting. The 37th Kennedy Center Honors will air Dec. 30 on CBS.

Lady Gaga's interview with Howard Stern on Dec. 2 hit upon the subject of rape when discussing the controversy over the singer's SXSW show in March, according to US Weekly. After Stern asked her if a record producer raped her, Gaga said that she "went through some horrific things," without adding specifics about the encounter. She also said it took her a long time to acknowledge the gravity of the situation, adding, "I'm able to laugh now because I've gone through a lot of mental and physical therapy and emotional therapy to heal over the years."

In a related development, Kesha's attorney, Mark Geragos, made claims online that Gaga's incident came at the hands of Dr. Luke, with whom his client is currently amidst a legal suit, Billboard reported. However, both Luke and Gaga's reps claim this accusation is absolutely false.

The folks at Microsoft's Bing search engine have determined that socialite/reality-TV-star/entrepreneur/cover-model Kim Kardashian dethroned songstress Beyonce as Bing's most searched person of 2014, according to VentureBeat.com . Kardashian topped the list this year, Bing stated, thanks to her "buzzworthy Vogue cover, extravagant wedding to Kanye, and her photos that 'broke the Internet.'" In the world of actual news, the World Cup topped Bing's top 10 interests; other items include Ebola, Ferguson, ISIS, Malaysia Jet and Ukraine.

Before former Spice Girl Mel B married husband Stephen Belafonte, she was in a long relationship with a woman, according to ABC News. "I did have a four-year relationship with a woman," the America's Got Talent judge told The Guardian. "But I've been very happily married for seven years to a penis. Haha! An amazing guy." The female love interest happened to be a mom whose children attended the same Los Angeles school as Mel B's oldest daughter.

YouTube personality Connor Franta, 22, decided to publish a video on Dec. 8 to tell his fans that he is gay, USA Today reported. In a video called "Coming Out," Franta explains his struggle with accepting his sexuality over the years and deciding how he should tell his world. "I was tired of running. I was tired of hiding," Franta said. "I just want to be me and not be afraid." Franta joined YouTube in 2010 and currently has 3.6 million subscribers.

Gravitas Ventures announced that it has acquired the North American theatrical, VOD and DVD rights to the documentary Backstreet Boys: Show 'Em What You're Made Of, a press release stated. The film stars original group members Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, AJ McLean and Kevin Richardson, all of whom were producers on the film along with Mia Bays. Theatrical and VOD releases are slated for Jan. 30.

In Chicago, Steppenwolf Theatre Company has announced that award-winning actor Laurie Metcalf will be the guest of honor at the 2014-15 annual Steppenwolf Salutes Women in the Arts fundraising luncheon on March 9, according to a press release. Widely celebrated for her role as Jackie Harris on the long-running hit sitcom Roseanne as well as recent featured roles in Desperate Housewives and The Big Bang Theory, Metcalf's career has spanned theater, film and television. Winner of three Emmy Awards and two Obie Awards, Metcalf was one of Steppenwolf's original ensemble members alongside fellow college classmates Jeff Perry, Terry Kinney, Joan Allen, John Malkovich and others.

Transgender model Arisce Wanzer is the latest mannequin to express her dislike for fellow model Kendall Jenner, according to Life & Style Weekly. Wanzer slammed the 19-year-old in an open letter posted to The Blot, accusing Jenner of "cheapening" the entire fashion week experience and recruiting "her mommy" to help get her in the door of major design houses. However, Wanzer also bashed the very brands she hopes to model for, writing, "[I] didn't realize that these coveted spots were for sale. The cost? The soul and dignity of a fashion house."

Will Smith, Tom Hardy, Margot Robbie and Jared Leto are officially set to star in Suicide Squad, Warner Bros. announced, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Also cast in the movie, in which villains are forced to be heroes, are Jai Courtney and bisexual model Cara Delevingne. Smith will play Deadshot, best known as a Batman villain, while Hardy plays the group's leader, Rick Flagg; Leto will take on the Joker, while Robbie will play Harley Quinn, his on-and-off girlfriend.

Chicago's About Face Theatre is among the National Endowments of the Arts' ( NEA's ) 2015 grant recipients. The company received a $10,000 grant to support the commission and development of The Babe Didrikson Project with book and lyrics by Sarah Gubbins. The musical will portray Babe Didrikson, a famous early 20th-century lesbian athlete who dominated golf, basketball, and track and field, and will explore how her ability to compete in a male-dominated sports culture was a crucial step in bringing visibility to women's sports.

Directed by Golden Globe winner and Academy Award nominee Angela Bassett, the world premiere of Whitney ( based on the life of singer Whitney Houston ) will be Saturday, Jan. 17, on Lifetime, according to a press release. Yaya DaCosta stars as Houston, with Arlen Escarpeta ( Final Destination 5 ) as Bobby Brown. Houston's vocal performances in the film are sung by Grammy-nominated and multiplatinum-selling entertainer Deborah Cox.

Frasier star David Hyde Pierce sounded off on the "domino effect" of same-sex marriage in the U.S. as part of a new interview with Larry King, according to The Huffington Post. "It's kind of hypocritical to say, 'Oh, I love you dearly, you're my best friend. Would I let you marry the person you love? Well, sorry, no,'" Pierce, who came out to the media in 2007, told King. "Those conversations used to happen a lot, and they happen less and less now." Pierce, who can be seen on the CBS series The Good Wife, has been married to his husband, Brian Hargrove, since 2008.

The next James Bond film will be called Spectre, with Daniel Craig returning as Bond and Sam Mendes back to direct, The Wrap noted. Also returning are Ralph Fiennes as M, Ben Winshaw as Q, Naomie Harris as Eve Moneypenny, and Rory Kinnear as MI6 chief of staff Bill Tanner. The film's two Bond ladies will be Monica Bellucci as Lucia Sciarra, and Lea Seydoux as Madeleine Swan. Christoph Waltz is widely expected to be the film's villain, while new cast members include Andrew Scott and David Bautista. ( Scott and Winshaw are openly gay. )

Kelly Osbourne went ballistic on a paparazzo who called out to her at a red carpet event in Los Angeles, according to the New York Daily News. "Look at me," the photographer supposedly yelled at Osbourne. "It's for Joan [Rivers]!" Osbourne tweeted to her 3.8 million followers, "To the insensitive photographer on the red carpet who yelled 'look at me. Its for Joan!' you are a #SickA—Hole! Not to mention f—ked up!" Rivers, Osbourne's co-star on Fashion Police, died Sept. 4.

Fox has named Scott Borchetta—who discovered Taylor Swift at age 14—as Randy Jackson's replacement for the upcoming season of American Idol, The Wrap stated. Jackson officially parted from the long-running singing competition last month; he had quit being a judge after season 11, but returned for two more runs as a mentor. Borchetta is the president and chief executive of the Big Machine Label Group, which also counts Tim McGraw, Reba McEntire, Rascal Flatts, Florida Georgia Line and The Band Perry among its talent roster.

Just more than a month before she is set to start her prison time, Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice has sued her former bankruptcy lawyer, James Kridel Jr., for more than $15 million, Deadline reported. Giudice claims Kridel messed up her and husband Joe's Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing so badly that she's going to jail because of the attorney. Teresa is scheduled to enter prison Jan. 5, for a period of 15 months; Joe will serve 41 months after Teresa is done.

Run Rabbit Run Media and VFRPR have announced that the movie Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine will begin a theatrical rollout in 12 cities during February 2015, following a year of acclaim on the festival circuit and recent accolades at the Side by Side Film Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia, according to a press release. The movie will first open in New York and two other cities on Feb. 6, followed by Los Angeles on Feb. 13, and it will continue expanding into select markets across the United States and Canada. Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine—Michele Josue's debut and the first film helmed by someone from Shepard's life—has ben described as "an intimate tribute to the young man she knew."

Country singer Ty Herndon walked the red carpet with his partner, Matt Collum, at the TrevorLIVE L.A. benefit—marking their first joint public appearance, according to Advocate.com . The annual event marked 16 years of life-saving work by The Trevor Project, which provides crisis-intervention and suicide-prevention services to LGBTQ teens and young adults. Herndon, 52, revealed he is a gay man in a November interview with Entertainment Tonight.

Keith Carlos has become the first male winner of America's Next Top Model, according to Zap2It.com . The final four were ( in order ) Carlos, Will Jardell, Adam Smith and the lone woman, Lenox Tillman—meaning that the final three for the last runway show ( in Seoul, alongside last season's winner, Jourdan Miller, and the previously eliminated contestants from this season ) were all male. Carlos earned a fashion spread in Nylon magazine, plus representation by Next and $100,000 from Guess.

Legendary Olympic diver and gold medalist Greg Louganis is bringing the global challenge of living with HIV to light, according to LGBT Weekly. Teaming with the United Nations agency the International Labour Organization ( ILO ), he introduces a series of video messages portraying discrimination and even deportation of HIV-positive adults. Released on World AIDS Day, the videos promote the need for voluntary testing and treatment of HIV. Louganis, who has been living with HIV for 26 years, credits testing and early treatment with the fact that HIV "has not affected my zest for life, or my passion for sports."

Following objections from preservationists, the Landmarks Preservation Commission dropped its proposal to remove 100 historic structures, including five Broadway theaters, from its oversight, according to a Playbill.com item. The New York Times reported that the proposal, which was up for a commission vote Dec. 9, would affect structures and districts that have been "calendered" since 1965, when the commission was formed to protect New York City's historic structures. Playbill.com has learned that the list of theatres includes the Empire Theatre, the Liberty Theater, the Lyric Theatre, the Times Square Theater and the Victory Theater.

Andrew Keegan—the '90s film star best-known for his role in 10 Things I Hate About You—has started a new religion called Full Circle, according to Newsmax. Located in Venice Beach, California, Full Circle is a New Age-style church; a video explains, "We are leaders, artivists, music, spirit and love," among other things. IMDB notes that Keegan has also appeared in the TV series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and the gay-themed movie The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy.

Minnesota Twins outfielder Torii Hunter called a reporter who asked him whether his opposition to gay marriage affected his free agency a "prick," according to On Top Magazine. The 39-year-old Hunter said in 2012 that he would be "uncomfortable" playing alongside an openly gay player because "it's not right." This year, he recorded a radio spot for the campaign to re-elect Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, saying that Hutchinson is "committed to the principles" African-Americans hold dear, "like a strong faith in God, equal justice for all, and keeping marriage between one man and one woman."

IMDb's user-rated Bottom 100 chart showed that Kirk Cameron's new holiday movie Saving Christmas is considered the worst movie ever, US Weekly noted. The film rated 1.3 stars out of a possible 10 from user-driven rankings on the movie database site. Film buffs felt that Cameron's new film was worse than Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez's decade-old flop Gigli, which merited 2.3 stars and ranked at 67 on the list. Cameron's PG-rated film also has a zero-percent approval rating among critics.