Pictured Pink
'At first we were worried that it would taint the experience for the passengers. [ When HBO's John Hoffman and Sheila Nevins suggested making the film ] we still didn't know what the cruise would be. We didn't even know if we were gonna sell a cabin!' — Rosie O'Donnell telling Advocate.com about All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise, airing April 6 on HBO. The documentary follows 2004's inaugural R Family cruise, founded by Gregg Kaminsky and Kelli O'Donnell ( Rosie's wife ) .
''Policies that preclude adoption by gay or lesbian parents disadvantage the tens of thousands of children mired in the foster-care system.' — A conclusion from the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute that was released on March 24, as quoted by the Associated Press.
'I don't pander to the camp side that other people do. I can sit here and giggle with you about it and think that [ camp ] is heavenly sometimes and really well done, but there is another side to the gay and lesbian community that is trying to juggle the projections that people are putting on you. ... Everybody is ready to judge you guys, man.' — Singer Tori Amos in an interview published in the March 2006 issue of Out magazine.
'If you ever wondered how gay Britain is, you just have to know that a Queen rules over us all.' — An article on gay Britain on the site www.50connect.co.uk.
'Dancing is my favorite thing to do.' — George Clooney, attempting an unscripted answer without knowing the question, which Matt Damon then asked: 'What's your favorite thing about the gay nightlife?', as quoted on Moviefone.com .
'There are so many young guys who are scared to come out because they might suddenly turn into a stereotype. Others are scared to come out because the only role models we have are Dame Edna, Elton John and a few drag queens and lesbians. There are no young, successful gay men to look up to. At least now we have cowboys to aspire to be, but that doesn't really cut it in a city. What we do see are successful men desperately screaming their heterosexuality at the world and threatening legal action on anyone who questions them.' — Columnist Roo as quoted on the Queerplanet Australia Web site.
'I had a girlfriend when I was 13 and she left me for my brother! That kind of f**ked me up ... We held hands and we kissed and that was my girlfriend, that's what you do when you're 13! And she left me for my f**king brother! It was bizarre and twisted and f****d up and gross.' — Singer Pink, as quoted in the Post Chronicle.
'I think it's pretty cool the way it turned out. It couldn't have been better, actually. The release has been really good, the response has been really good. It has been controversial. It's made a lot of money. Everything's been perfect. I always had good will toward the project and never really felt like I didn't want it to happen.' — Director Gus Van Sant telling OregonLive.com about Brokeback Mountain.
'On many days, instead of us fighting the marriage amendment, we spent a lot of time figuring out racism in our own community. The gay community is just a microcosm of society at-large, and one of the largest problems facing our country today is racism.' — Georgia State Rep. Karla Drenner, D-Avondale Estates, the state's only openly gay state legislator, telling Southern Voice ( March 24 issue ) about leading the coalition that unsuccessfully fought a proposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.
'SOMETIMES IT'S NOT ABOUT A CRISIS. It's just about a group wanting to move to the next step in advocating for gay rights.' — Paula Ettelbrick, executive director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, as quoted in the April 2006 issue of Scene magazine.
'The thing that I've counseled gay candidates to do is become experts on something other than their own sexual orientation.' — Log Cabin Republicans President Patrick Guerriero, as quoted in the April 2006 issue of Scene magazine.
