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

R&B singer Mary J. Blige has teamed with the iconic Barbra Streisand on the song "When You Wish Upon a Star," according to Broadway World. The single is on Blige's new Christmas album, A Mary Christmas, out now. The album, which features Blige's take on classic holiday songs, is a collaboration with David Foster and has other songs such as "Winter Wonderland" and "My Favorite Things."

Lady Gaga recently shot a television holiday special with the Muppets for ABC, according to E! Online. Gaga has a long history with the Muppets. Kermit the Frog was her date to the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards and Jim Henson's Creature Shop created pieces for her The Monster Ball tour in 2010. In addition, the "Applause" singer also once wore an outfit made from plush Kermit toys on German television as a statement against fur.

Actor Michael Fassbender told GQ Magazine he won't campaign for an Oscar for his role in the movie 12 Years a Slave, calling the awards-season campaign "a grind," according to The Guardian. "I'm not a politician. I'm an actor," he said. In the film, Fassbender plays plantation owner Edwin Epps.

Ronan Farrow will be joining MSNBC, according to TheWrap.com . Farrow will host a new weekly show that is still in development but will debut in early 2014; he will also contribute to both MSNBC's website and other NBC News platforms. The 25-year-old Farrow—a graduate of Yale Law School who has written about human rights and foreign policy for The New York Times and other publications—has been in the spotlight lately because mother Mia Farrow hinted that Frank Sinatra ( and not Woody Allen ) might be Ronan's father.

The 10 top-earning male models earned a combined total of $8 million from September 2012 to September 2013—compared to $83 million for their female counterparts, according to Forbes.com . The top male earner was Sean O'Pry, a 24-year-old from Kennesaw, Ga., who earned an estimated $1.5 million; the top female earner, however, was Gisele Bundchen, who raked in $42 million. Female models, with an average salary of $41,300, earn 148 percent more than male models, according to PayScale.com .

Multi-platinum selling singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles is releasing a new live DVD and CD package titled "Brave Enough: Live at the Variety Playhouse" Oct. 22, according to a press release. Filmed live at the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta during Bareilles' "The Brave Enough Tour," the DVD captures her entire May 20, 2013 performance. Among other things, the set features "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," her never-before-released version of Elton John's classic song.

The Portland Trail Blazers have become the first NBA ( National Basketball Association ) team to publicly take a stance on the battle for same-sex marriage rights, the Huffington Post noted. The team aligned itself with the Oregon United For Marriage initiative, a coalition attempting to get the Freedom to Marry and Religious Protection initiative on the state's ballot in the upcoming election. Additionally, the move reportedly makes the Portland Trail Blazers the first team of the "Big Four" branches of the sports world—basketball, baseball, football and hockey—to endorse marriage rights for same-sex couples.

The Hollywood Walk of Fame has said that reality star Kim Kardashian won't be receiving recognition any time soon despite claims from rapper boyfriend Kanye West that she deserves a star, according to a Fox News item. "We don't have a category for reality stars on the Walk of Fame," spokeswoman Ana Martinez has said. "They're not giving a performance; it's just them going through their daily lives and rituals on TV."

The winners of the 2013 RightOutTV Music & Video Awards will be announced on a video broadcast at RightOutTV.com Oct. 30. Among the LGBTI artists receiving nominations are Matt Zarley, Rachael Sage, Scott Free, Jen Foster, The Cliks, Melissa Ferrick, Sir JET and Drake Jensen.

Michael C. Hall, Toni Collette, Marisa Tomei and Tracy Letts have been announced to star in the Broadway production of Will Eno's The Realistic Joneses, which will arrive at a theater-to-be-announced in early 2014, according to Playbill.com . The Realistic Joneses will mark the Broadway playwriting debut of Eno, whose works include Middletown, Title and Deed and the solo show Thom Pain ( based on nothing ), which was a 2004 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

Actor Daniel Radcliffe has talked about the process of filming Kill Your Darlings, in which he plays the late gay poet Allen Ginsberg, the Huffington Post noted. Radcliffe told Flaunt magazine, "I don't think there's any difference between how one falls in love. People express love differently, person to person, but it's not gender or sexuality related." He added, "The only difference it made was obviously the actual sex scene, of course… Basically, gay sex, especially for the first time, is really f**king painful [according to the director]. And [the director] said that he had never seen that portrayed accurately on film before. He wanted it to look like an authentic loss of virginity."

The selling of the late Gianni Versace's mansion in Miami has concerned some people, according to WLRN.org . The Nakash family bought the home for $41.5 million and Nakash representative has said that the Versace Mansion could be an "incredible retail flag location," causing alarm from purists. Charles Urstadt, chairman of the Miami Beach Design Preservation League, has said that the mansion is the "most photographed location on Ocean Drive."

Rex Reed is standing by his scathing review of Melissa McCarthy's performance in the movie Identity Thief, in which he called the plus-size actress a "female hippo," TheWrap.com reported. McCarthy is embroiled in a new controversy because she's pictures on the cover of Elle's latest issue in an oversized cashmere coat, which some critics say is insulting to overweight women. Reed said, "From Jimmy Coco to Dom DeLuise to Totie Fields, I have lost entirely too many friends to obesity-related diseases to pretend Ms. McCarthy's alarming obesity is anything to applaud."

Nicollette Sheridan has been denied a request for a new trial against the makers of Desperate Housewives, according to Digital Spy. The actress launched a suit against producers including Marc Cherry in 2010, claiming that her contract of employment was wrongfully terminated after she alleged to ABC that Cherry had physically assaulted her. The dismissal resulted from Sheridan not filing a complaint with the California Labor Commission after her alleged altercation with Cherry.

Boy George has criticized rapper Eminem for using violently anti-gay lyrics in his latest single "Rap God," according to Pink News. The first verse contains lyrics about breaking "a mother******* table over the back of a couple faggots and crack it in half," and, "You fags think it's all a game." George has tweeted that music fans should avoid buying Eminem's album, and recently posted, "@Eminem Fag? Is this really recovery talk or are you running your own program these days?"

The CW has renewed the Tyra Banks-produced and -hosted show America's Next Top Model for a 21st cycle, according to TheWrap.com . The producers have already started casting for the upcoming season, which will once again feature male and female contenders. ( The return date has not been released. ) Alongs with Banks, the series stars judges Kelly Cutrone and Rob Evans as well as social-media correspondent Bryanboy.

Real-estate mogul and The Apprentice host Donald Trump has stated his opposition to Russia's anti-gay-propaganda law, according to On Top Magazine. "Well, I don't like it," Trump told MSNBC reporter Thomas Roberts, who is openly gay. "I don't like what that is all about and, as you know, and I think you probably feel very similar to me, we can go over there and maybe make a difference." Roberts will host the upcoming Miss Universe pageant to be held in Moscow; Trump acquired the pageant in 1996. Incidentally, Trump added that he's still opposed to marriage equality.

Cher has weighed in on comparisons that people have made between Lady Gaga and Madonna, according to The Huffington Post. "You can't be the young anybody else. That's why Gaga is Gaga and Madonna is Madonna," Cher reportedly told Attitude magazine. "All these people are themselves. You can't be the young anybody." Cher added, "There is no young me. If you get to be that, if you get to a certain level, you have to be the young you ... until I'm dead."

Tickets for Hedwig and the Angry Inch, starring Neil Patrick Harris, went on sale to American Express cardholders Oct. 19, according to Playbill.com . Hedwig and the Angry Inch will begin previews March 29, 2014, at the Belasco Theatre prior to an official opening April 22. The Broadway premiere of John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask's landmark 1998 musical will star Harris as the titular Hedwig, a transgender singer fronting a fictional rock 'n' roll band; Tony Award winner Michael Mayer ( Spring Awakening, American Idiot ) will direct. In the theater world, Harris has performed on Broadway in Assassins and in the New York Philharmonic production of Company; he has also hosted the Tonys four times.

Ellen DeGeneres gave a New Hampshire waitress $10,000 for picking up the lunch tab of two National Guard soldiers affected by the federal government's shutdown, The New York Daily News reported. Sarah Hoidahl, a waitress in Concord, N.H., just wanted to do a nice thing for the soldiers, so she recently picked up their lunch tab—which cost her $27.75. DeGeneres then gave $27.75 in cash and a check for $10,000, as well as a 50-inch television.

Actress Sofia Vergara and veteran entertainer Charo have apparently engaged in a war of words, according to The Huffington Post. At the recent ALMA Awards, Charo recoiled at a comparison between the two, saying, "Sofía Vergara is Charo with diarrhea." When asked about the comment at the premiere of her movie Machete Kills, Vergara responded, "Of course she doesn't like it. No one likes being compared with someone else—especially someone younger." Some have felt that Vergara's Gloria Delgado character on ABC's Modern Family is too stereotypical to merit an Emmy.

Actor hunk William Levy has announced that he is temporarily done with Spanish soap operas ( telenovelas ), which catapulted him to fame, The Huffington Post reported. "Making these novelas is hard work," he told reporters. "And as time passes, you find other priorities in life. You start getting a feeling in your stomach to be with your children and spend more time with them." The former Dancing with the Stars contestant added that he plans to focus on making films.

The National Hockey League ( NHL ) team the Florida Panthers recently hosted an event for gay players and fans, CBS Miami reported. The Panthers are one of the first teams to incorporate a new "You Can Play" project that was introduced by the NHL. Panther defenseman Brian Campbell has already taken part in the "You Can Play" project by being featured in a video promoting the position of inclusion throughout the league.

A dispute over rights to an Internet comedy series about a lesbian soccer star who runs a gay bar has led an investor to sue her ex-girlfriend, accusing her of failing to repay "thousands of dollars" and of slandering her by accusing her of jewel theft, Courthouse News Service reported. Cathy DeBuono and Sarah Blakeman sued Jill Bennett and Red String Productions, claiming that Bennett, DeBuono's former girlfriend, and Red String reneged on an agreement to repay their investment in the web series Second Shot." The lawsuit claims that after the series was filmed, Bennett claimed to be its sole owner, and that the other women had no rights to the project "whatsoever."

Legoladies, a user on the e-commerce site Etsy, has crafted a custom set of Rose, Blanche, Sophia and Dorothy Golden Girl Legos, NewNowNext.com reported. With attention to detail—including tussled old-lady hair, ornate sweater decorations, a Lego cheesecake and even Sophia's iconic purse—the set is selling for $99.

Elliott Sailors has set the modeling world abuzz by reinventing herself—as a male model, according to the New York Post. Instead of pouting her full lips, Sailors now binds her breasts and accentuates her strong jawline. The former beauty-pageant contestant from Tucson, Ariz., said that male modeling seemed like a natural transition because "earlier on in my career, I would get frustrated because I thought I looked too masculine." Sailors now shows up to casting calls in flannel shirts, ripped jeans, boots and biker jackets—and says that many think that she and her husband, Adam Santos-Coy, are a gay couple.

Cyndi Lauper's True Colors Fund announced the 3rd annual "Cyndi Lauper & Friends: Home for the Holidays" benefit concert on Dec. 7 at New York City's Beacon Theatre to help raise awareness about LGBT youth homelessness and funds for the organization's Forty to None Project, according to a press release. Lauper will be joined on stage this year by P!nk, Josh Groban, Susan Sarandon, Nelly Furtado, the Indigo Girls, Rosie O'Donnell, Ingrid Michaelson, The Hives, Matt & Kim, Hunter Valentine, The Cliks and returning host Carson Kressley. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com .

Singer Morrissey has issued a statement to clarify his sexuality a week after the publication of his autobiography, Out.com noted. In the autobiography, Morrissey talks about his relationship with a man named Jake Owen Walters, although he left out the details of the relationship. In a statement published on the Internet zine True to You, the singer wrote, "Unfortunately, I am not homosexual. In technical fact, I am humasexual. I am attracted to humans. But, of course ... not many."