Singer Rufus Wainwright assembled an eclectic dream team of male vocalists for the "If I Loved You: Gentlemen Prefer Broadway" show at the Toronto Luminato Festival, according to People. ( They actually teamed to sing the tune "Summer Nights," from Grease. ) The line-up included Josh Groban, Boy George, Talking Heads frontman David Byrne, Vampire Weekend frontman Ezra Koenig, Barenaked Ladies frontman Steven Page and stage singer Brent Carver, with countertenor Brennan Hall taking on the role of Sandy.
PETA has named actors Jared Leto and Ellen Page as the winners of this year's Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity contest, E! Online noted. Leto—an Oscar winner for Dallas Buyers Club—triumphed over Joaquin Phoenix, Samuel L. Jackson, Peter Dinklage and Woody Harrelson. Lesbian actress Page beat out Ariana Grande, Jessica Pare, Laura Prepon and Sarah Silverman. Previous Sexiest Vegetarians include Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Russell Brand, Olivia Wilde, Carrie Underwood, Natalie Portman and Leona Lewis.
Kelly Osbourne now has ink on the side of her head after a trip to the Shamrock Social Club tattoo parlor in Los Angeles, SFGate.com reported. The TV presenter has been sporting a partly shaved hairstyle this month, and she choose to get a new design inked on the bald side of her head. She tweeted, "#oops what did I do tonight? ( sic )," before apologizing to her parents Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne, adding, "Sorry mum and dad but I love it!" The tattoo reads, "stories."
The Biggest Loser family has just gotten a little bigger. NBC announced that two new trainers—Jennifer Widerstrom and Jessie Pavelka—will be joining existing trainers Bob Harper and Dolvett Quince for the show's upcoming 16th season, Today reported. Longtime trainer Jillian Michaels had decided to part ways for a third time. The new season premieres Sept. 11.
Out British soul singer/songwriter Sam Smith has made U.S. pop-music history with his debut album, In The Lonely Hour, according to a press release. He sold more copies in its first week of release—166,000—than any other debut album by a U.K. male artist in the 23-year history of Soundscan. The Capitol Records album entered the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart at number two, propelled by the artist's top 10 single, "Stay With Me," which has just surpassed sales of 1 million copies.
Female rapper Angel Haze has confirmed a romance with Ireland Baldwin, the model daughter of Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin, according to The New York Daily News. However, she also told the publication The Independent that she thinks Americans might not be comfortable with a high-profile interracial romance between two women. Haze and Baldwin, who met at New York Fashion Week through Baldwin's cousin, were initially friends before they started dating.
Stephen Sondheim is backtracking on comments he previously made that led devoted Into the Woods fans to believe the musical's upcoming film adaptation would be more family-friendly than fairy-tale frisky, The New York Daily News reported. The Tony Award-winning composer, 84, reportedly told an audience at a recent event that the film version would downplay sexual tension and cut at least one song, as ordered by Disney. After fans took to social media, Sondheim stated, "When the conversation with the teachers occurred, I had not yet seen a full rough cut of the movie. ... [H]aving now seen it a couple of times, I can happily report that it is not only a faithful adaptation of the show, it is a first-rate movie."
Music legend Diana Ross will be performing at the wedding ceremony for her son, Evan, and Ashlee Simpson, according to E! Online. Also, not only will the groom's mother take center stage during the couple's big night, but her daughter Rhonda Ross Kendrick will be joining her as well. Evan Ross, who plays Messalla in the upcoming Hunger Games: Mockingjay, said he knew he wanted to marry Simpson "really quickly."
R&B singer Monifah of the reality TV series R&B Divas Atlanta married her girlfriend, Terez, in Hawaii, according to IDateDaily.com . The singer, who went public about her sexuality on the show, was surrounded with love from her cast members, friends, and her mother and mother-in-law; however, Akemi, her teen daughter from a previous relationship, was a no-show.
On Logo TV's Trailblazers ( which premiered June 26 ), singer/actress Demi Lovato revealed for the first time that her late grandfather was gay and actually came in in the 1960s, according to a press release. The new annual event and television special honors LGBT-rights pioneers who have broken new ground and who are leading the way towards equality. The one-hour special honored Edie Windsor and Roberta Kaplan, two of the catalysts behind overturning DOMA; Jason Collins for becoming the first male publicly gay athlete in a major American sport; and the series Orange is the New Black.
Caleb Bankston, a gay man who competed on the TV show Survivor: Blood vs. Water, died when the train he was on derailed, according to People.com . Bankston, 26, worked at the Alabama Warrior Railway in Birmingham. He competed on Survivor: Blood vs. Water in 2013 alongside his fiance, Colton Cumbie, ending the game in ninth place.
Actress Kathy Bates has said she would love to play a lesbian role opposite Uma Thurman, according to On Top Magazine. The Oscar winner, who plays a gay woman in the Melissa McCarthy film Tammy ( out July 2 ), told Michigan gay weekly Pride Source that she thought Thurman was "pretty cool." In Tammy, Bates plays Lenore, a lesbian in a relationship with Susan ( played by Sandra Oh, recently of Grey's Anatomy ).
Before season 16 of the show Big Brother debuted on CBS in late June, one of its contestants was in hot water for racist and anti-gay comments, according to NewNowNext.com . Caleb Reynolds, a physical trainer and hunting guide, posted some inflammatory comments on his Instagram account. In 2012, he wrote on his account, which has since been deleted: "You believe in murder? You agree with fags? I guess so but I don't agree with murdering a innocent baby which [President Obama] clearly doesn't mind. Nothin has changed in these last four years. You know it. Your just a democrat that wants that Muslim monkey in office." Last season, housemates Aaryn Gries and GinaMarie Zimmerman were called out for racist and anti-gay comments made on the show—and a gay man ( Andy Herren ) won the show.
Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker is aiming to return to television, according to Deadline. She is attached to Busted: A Tale of Corruption and Betrayal in the City of Brotherly Love, a police crime thriller written by Wendy Ruderman and Barbara Laker. Don Roos ( The Opposite of Sex; Marley & Me )—who's married to actor/writer Dan Bucatinsky ( formerly of TV's Scandal )—will write the pilot.
Many people who attended an electronic dance music ( EDM ) show featuring Swedish disc jockey Avicii at Boston's TD Garden arena showed up intoxicated and several were hospitalized, according to USA Today. The Emergency Medical Service took 22 people to the hospital, and a dozen more were under evaluation. Two people died over the previous weekend at a Las Vegas music festival attended by Avicii, one of the biggest names in EDM.
During her appearance at the Glastonbury Music Festival in the United Kingdom, Dolly Parton received a special plaque that commemorated her sales of 100 million albums worldwide, according to a press release. "I've been so busy making records for the past several decades, I didn't realize I had racked up so many sales," said Parton. Her current album, Blue Smoke, is her highest charting solo album ever in both the United States ( landing at number six on Billboard Top 200 ) and in the United Kingdom ( landing at the same spot on the UK official chart ).
Beyonce was named Best Female R&B/Pop Artist at this year's BET Awards. Among some of the other winners were Pharrell Williams, Nicki Minaj, Drake, Lupita N'yongo, the movie 12 Years a Slave and Serena Williams. Chris Rock hosted the event, which took place June 29.
Michael Egan's sex-ring lawsuit against television executive Garth Ancier has been dropped, according to The Wrap. "We are pleased the case filed in Hawaii against Mr. Ancier has been dropped given it had no merit whatsoever," said Ancier's attorney, Louise Ann Fernandez. Ancier was accused of sexually abusing Egan when the now-former plaintiff was underage; Egan also leveled accusations and filed lawsuits against former NBC Vice President of Comedy Development David Neuman, Goddard Group founder/CEO Gary Goddard and X-Men director Bryan Singer. Ancier has now filed a countersuit against Egan, alleging malicious prosecution.
Actor Shia LaBeouf was arrested after lighting up a cigarette in a Broadway theater, according to CNN. Alos, LaBeouf allegedly disrupted the show during the first act. He was arrested and charged with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct, due to his reported disruptive behavior and obscene language. Two women in the audience thought that his outburst was an act. LaBeouf is due back in court July 24.
Viewers of the trailer for Natalie London's new memoir, Lyme Light, will recognize the unmistakable voice of narrator: Orange Is the New Black actress Natasha Lyonne, according to a press release. Lyme Light is about how one young lesbian's life is turned upside down by Lyme Disease—but the book has been promoted as "funny and sharp" as well as heartbreaking. Lyme Light was launched last month at a sold-out concert featuring rock group All American Rejects and a host of celebrity guests; there was also a return to the stage by London and her band, Hey, King!
Actress Tamsin Greig is to star in a West End musical adaptation of director Pedro Almodovar's Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, BBC News reported. Greig will play the main role of Pepa in the Madrid-based comedy about female friends and their chaotic lives. The 1988 film is one of Almodovar's most famed, garnering Oscar and Golden Globe nominations.
Maleficent has become Angelina Jolie's highest-grossing movie, The New York Daily News noted. The fairy-tale flick—a live-action blockbuster that reimagines Disney's "Sleeping Beauty" from the sorceress' point of view—earned another $13 million during its fourth week in U.S. theaters to top $520 million in worldwide box-office sales. Jolie's previous best was the 2005 movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith, which took in $478.2 million and co-starred her fiance, Brad Pitt.
Meshach Taylor, an actor who was beloved for his role in TV's Designing Women as Anthony Bouvier, passed away after losing his battle with cancer, according to Deadline. He was 67. Among his other film and TV projects were Mannequin, The Drew Carey Show and Criminal Minds.
When Neil Patrick Harris agreed to take the lead of Hedwig and the Angry Inch on Broadway, it reportedly came with a strict rule from his fiance, David Burtka: a maximum of six months in New York, Radar Online noted. The alleged deal was made between the two fathers because other men often flirt with Harris and Burtka, 39, wanted him back in Los Angeles with their two children. Andrew Rannells will replace Harris in Hedwig in August.
Sherri Shepherd will no longer be part of The View—and Jenny McCarthy is leaving as well, USA Today noted. "It's been seven wonderful years on The View and after careful consideration it is time for me to move on. I am extremely grateful to Barbara Walters and [executive producer] Bill Geddie for giving me the opportunity," Shepherd said in a statement. ABC confirmed McCarthy's departure in an email to USA TODAY, which included a statement: "The View will be moving in an exciting new direction next season and ABC has made decisions to evolve the show creatively."
Former reality-show star Lauren Conrad and a couple of her closest gal pals took to the beaches of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, for her bachelorette party—and criticized a local tourist hot spot for an anti-gay policy, according to The New York Daily News. "The Office in Cabo does not allow same sex couples to participate in couple games," she tweeted. "Had to walk out. #equality #StopTheHate." "We'd like to make a public apology," the restaurant's manager told People. "Obviously [the emcee from an outside company] didn't mean it to be offensive. It's a huge misunderstanding."
Linsday Lohan is heading for the London stage—in a play about the hysteria of Hollywood, Page Six noted. Producers announced that Lohan will make her professional stage debut in September in David Mamet's satirical drama Speed-the-Plow. In the original 1988 New York production, the role was played by Madonna.
Amid controversry, Disney actress Zendaya will no longer play the late actress/R&B singer Aaliyah in a biopic Lifetime had planned, according to The Wrap. "We are sad Zendaya will no longer portray Aaliyah. Production is currently on hold," Lifetime PR said in a statement. Aaliyah died in a plane crash in the Bahamas in August 2001.
In March, Kanye West cut a plea deal with the court after assaulting a member of the paparazzi, agreeing to 250 hours of community service ( as well as 24 months probation ). Now, his service is ... to teach fashion at a community college, according to The Daily Beast. With fashion industry attempts and ( failed ) design collaborations under his belt, West reportedly has held several seminars at L.A.'s Trade Technical College discussing, as one student posted on Instagram, "the business of fashion and his personal experience within the fashion industry."
