Nineties rapper Vanilla Ice has revealed that he and gay icon Madonna dated back when they were both famous, according to a Newser.com item. Ice, whose real name is Robert Van Winkle, said that the pop singer was a "great lover," even though she was—and still is—"the oldest person I've been with," he said. (He was 24 and she was 33.) Ice claimed he was hurt when she published the book Sex in 1992, which showed her with him—and other men: "I was hurt to be an unwitting part of this slutty package."
Kara DioGuardi may no longer be with American Idol, but that doesn't mean people don't want to know why that's the case. According to the Hollywood Reporter, she was booed when she refused to answer the question at a panel discussion at the Television Critics Association press tour. DioGuardi was on hand with singer Jewel to promote their upcoming reality show Platinum Hit, which is a songwriting competition.
Peter Brant II, the 18-year-old openly gay son of supermodel Stephanie Seymour and billionaire Peter Brant, is responding to photos that have been posted showing him and his mother frolicking, kissing and hugging, according to Gawker.com . On Facebook, Brant posted, "I would just like to say that these pictures have been taken completely out of context, my mother and i are very close as she is with all her children. she often hugs and kisses me and my siblings in an manner that is intimate, any mother in the world does the same. ... At my age my mother and I are almost like friends and I feel open to talk to her about anything (and yes our relationship may be different because of my sexuality)."
Lesbian Glee star Jane Lynch, who plays cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester, recently addressed the issue of the possibility of an openly gay actor playing a romantic lead. In an interview with AfterElton.com, Lynch, 50, said, "I don't know when or if that will ever happen. ... [T]he leading man and lady are the person we want them to fall in love with, and most of the audience is straight. So for right now, we can only use straight actors." Lynch's comments came only a few weeks after out actors Rupert Everett and Richard Chamberlain said that coming out ruined their careers.
Speaking of Glee, Ryan Murphy, the show's openly gay creator, has signed on as co-executive producer of Oxygen's Glee Project, a reality spinoff, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The winner of the show, which starts in June, will get a seven-episode arc on Glee. In related news, Oxygen has bought the right to run off-net rerun nights of Glee, starting Feb. 5.
The opening of the troubled Broadway musical Spider Man: Turn Off the Dark has been pushed back to March 15, according to the Hollywood Reporter. This is the second delay for the production, which had originally been scheduled to start Jan. 7. There have been technical snafus and injuries—and one injured actress, Natalie Mendoza, officially left the production.
Domestic guru Martha Stewart wrote on her blog that one of her own dogs attacked her, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Stewart wrote that as she "leaned down to whisper goodbye to a dozing Francesca, I must have startled her, because she bolted upright with such force that she hit me in the face like a boxing glove hitting an opponent's face. ... I felt a bit of whiplash as blood gushed forth from my split lip." Stewart made sure a plastic surgeon would be waiting for her at the emergency room.
In an interview with Showbiz Spy, X-Files and Californication actor David Duchovny opened up about his same-sex crushes, according to StarObserver.com .au. Duchovny, 50—who is married to actress Tea Leoni—said that he would switch teams for the stars of Twilight ("I don't know any of their names, but all of them") as well as Woody Allen, among other guys. As for an X-Files sequel, Duchovny said, ""I'm always game. It always rides on Fox. [Creator] Chris Carter is game. I know [co-star] Gillian Anderson is game."
In a new public-service announcement, transgender entertainer/activist Alexandra Billings asks LGBT teens to reach out to the Trevor Project, a national nonprofit that runs a confidential suicide hotline, according to On Top Magazine. Billings, 48, admits in the piece that bullying led her to attempt suicide at age 16. She then urges gay teens to, among other things, "talk to a couple of friends of yours, talk to your parents. I know that it's frightening. If that's too hard, write them a letter and read it to them." She adds that she found her love because she "hung around."
The Gay & Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association has announced nominations for its second annual Dorian Awards, according to On Top Magazine. The Kids Are All Right, Black Swan, I Am Love, Toy Story 3 and The Social Network received nods for movie of the year. Performance of the Year nods went to Natalie Portman (Black Swan), Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right), James Franco (Howl), Christian Bale (The Fighter), Colin Firth (The King's Speech) and Lesley Manville (Animal Kingdom). Winners will be announced Jan. 18.
Creators Richard and Esther Shapiro of the 1980s nighttime soap Dynasty have confirmed that a movie based on the series will come to movie theaters next year, according to ABC News. Richard Shapiro said that the movie will be set in 1961 and will focus on the love story between Blake and Alexis, played on the TV show by John Forsythe and Joan Collins, respectively. The leads have not yet been cast.
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) has announced its panels and events for the 2nd Annual cineGLAAD program, taking place at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival in Utah, according to a press release. Topics will include "Generation in Crisis: LGBT Youth in Film and the Media" and "TRANS-Lucent: The Ongoing Evolution of Transgender Images," and events will include "Cocktails with cineGLAAD." RSVP at www.glaad.org/cineGLAAD. Sundance will take place Jan. 20-30.
The Golden Globes took place Jan. 16 in Hollywood, Calif.—and featured LGBT wins in the areas of movie and television. Annette Bening won the Golden Globe for best actress in a comedy or musical for her role as a lesbian mother in The Kids Are All Right, which also won best film (comedy or musical). In the world of television, Chris Colfer and lesbian actress Jane Lynch won for their supporting roles as, respectively, out gay student Kurt and cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester on Glee. British actor/comedian Ricky Gervais, with his typically acerbic tone, hosted the event for the second consecutive year. At one point, he said, "Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor—two heterosexual actors pretending to be gay [in I Love You, Phillip Morris] ... so the complete opposite of some famous scientologists."
Former pro-basketball player Charles Barkley—who is known for being qute outspoken—spoke out against anti-gay discrimination during a tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. before a Jan. 17 game between the Orlando Magic and Boston Celtics, according to Advocate.com . Barkley said, "We have a thing going on now—people discriminating against homosexuality in this country. I love the homosexual people. God bless the gay people. They are great people." When he thought about being a politician a few years ago, Barkley supported same-sex marriage.
After saying that she'd love to be on the TV show Glee, actress Anne Hathaway will get her wish, according to Advocate.com . Glee creator Ryan Murphy has confirmed that Hathaway will protray the lesbian aunt of out student Kurt, played by Chris Colfer. Ryan acknowledged that several celebrities have asked about being on the show, adding, "I think they support the show because it's about the arts."
Susannah York, the British actress who starred in the controversial 1968 lesbian-themed drama The Killing of Sister George, has died of cancer at age 72, according to an Advocate.com item. The lesbian sex scene between York's and co-star Coral Browne's characters earned the movie an "X"rating in the United States. Among York's other films were Freud (alongside gay icon Montgomery Clift); They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (for which she was Oscar-nominated); and 1978's Superman.
This spring, talk-show host Anderson Cooper will make his Broadway debut as the narrator in the 50th-anniversary production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, according to Advocate.com . Legendary journalist Walter Cronkite was the voice of the narrator in the 1995 revival of the musical that starred Matthew Broderick. Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe will portray J. Pierrepont Finch in this revival, with previews starting Feb. 26.
Following the success of One Day in The Life of Daniel Radcliffe, New York-based photographer Tim Hailand continues his book series with music icons Rufus Wainwright and Jake Shears, according to a press release. One Day in The Life of Rufus Wainwright follows the singer-songwriter from New York City to Boston for his performance at the Boston Opera House; a portion of sales will benefit the Kate McGarrigle Fund for cancer research in honor of Rufus and sister Martha's late mother. Elton John provides the introduction and Kylie Minogue provides the afterword for One Day in The Life of Jake Shears, which follows the pop icon and Scissor Sisters frontman; a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation. See www.onedayinthelifeof.org .
