When Bravo launches the reality-TV show Million Dollar Listing: New York, it will feature a former gay-porn star. According to Queerty, Fredrik Eklund (porn name: Tag Ericksson) will be the newest real-estate broker on the series block, joining agents Josh Flagg and Madison Hildebrand. As a managing director of Core Group Marketing, Eklund—a member of a prominent Swedish family with ties to prime ministers and even late film director Ingmar Berman—has a portfolio worth more than $58 million, the New York Times reported.
Actor James Franco is slated to star in a dramatic feature about the late controversial photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The project has been chosen to receive grants through the Tribeca Film Institute's 9th annual Tribeca All Access Program. Mapplethorpe—in which Franco would play the gay artist who died of AIDS in 1989—is the narrative film debut of Ondi Timoner.
Warren Beatty and Annette Bening's transgender son has revealed he has a boyfriend, the Daily Mail reported. Stephen, 20, tweeted about the relationship, adding that he received a homemade pair of socks for his recent birthday. Stephen revealed his sexuality last year, and has also criticized Chaz Bono, saying that Cher's son shouldn't speak for all transgender people.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) released a web ad featuring actress and comedian Aisha Tyler for its Americans for Marriage Equality campaign, according to a press release. In the ad, The Talk host says, "Let's save traditional marriage by letting gays marry … because we straight people are f***ing it up." The video can be viewed online at www.hrc.org/MarriageEquality. This is the ninth video released by HRC for the Americans campaign.
Singer Katy Perry was the big winner at the 38th annual People's Choice Awards, People.com reported. Perry won for favorite female artist, music video for "Last Friday Night" and TV guest star for How I Met Your Mother, among other honors. However, Perry was a no-show—probably because of the marriage to actor/comedian Russell Brand ending. Other award winners included Betty White, Ellen DeGeneres, Emma Stone, Johnny Depp and Glee's Lea Michele.
Facts of Life actress Geri Jewell, who came out as a lesbian in her recent memoir, will be in Fox's new show Alcatraz, according to SheWired.com . Jewell, who played Blair Warner's cousin on the '80s hit sitcom, will play the "eccentric sister of deputy prison warden E.B. Tiller" in 1960s-era flashbacks on the Fox series.
The controversy that 30 Rock actor Tracy Morgan caused with his anti-gay comedy routine last year has inspired the plot of an upcoming episode of the show, Advocate.com reported. Out MSNBC reporter Thomas Roberts, who appears in the episode, said, "Liz Lemon [Tina Fey's character] writes Tracy's apology on the show and says he's not a homophobe, he's an idiot. That offends idiots, so while NBC is being picketed by the LBGT community, now it's also being picketed by idiots led by Denise Richards. She's the leader of the idiots."
People are coming forward with additional information regarding the drowning death of actress Natalie Wood, who died in 1981, CNN.com reported. However, authorities have not yet reinterviewed Dennis, the captain of Wood's yacht, or then-husband Robert Wagner. Davern gave a new account last year about Wood's death, saying that Wagner waited hours to call the Coast Guard after she went missing.
Openly gay writers Kevin Williamson and Greg Berlanti are involved in separate TV projects, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Williamson, who created the CW's The Vampire Diaries and Dawson's Creek years ago, is behind a serial-killer drama on Fox; in the forthcoming project, a killer uses technology to create a cult of serial killers, with an FBI agent in the middle of it all. Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim have a legal drama called Guilty; it centers around a defense attorney who uses unique methods to solve cases.
Berlanti and Guggenheim are also slated to executive-produce Green Arrow for the CW, based on the comic-book superhero, the Hollywood Reporter noted. The professional duo was behind the big-screen DC Comics adaptation of Green Lantern starring Ryan Reynolds. Berlanti's Berlanti Productions will produce the project, in association with Warner Bros. Television.
Madonna has revealed the title of her new studio album, which will be her 12th, according to Digital Spy. She confirmed on BBC One's The Graham Norton Show that the CD will be entitled MDNA. Among the cuts on the album is "Gimme All Your Lovin'," which features rapper Nicki Minaj and singer M.I.A. However, anti-drug groups have criticized the title, saying it's too similar to the class A drug MDMA, widely known as Ecstasy.
Beyonce and Jay-Z's daughter, born Jan. 7, has already made history. According to Digital Spy, the newborn Blue Ivy Carter is the youngest artist ever to place on Billboard's charts. "Glory," a song Jay-Z recorded and that features Blue's cries, is on the R&B/hip-hop chart.
French acting legend Catherine Deneuve will receive this year's Chaplin Award in April in New York, according to Deadline.com . The annual gala, which the Film Society of Lincoln Center hosts, will take place April 2. Deneuve's roles have included Jacques Demy's classic The Umbrellas Of Cherbourgh (1964), Roman Polanski's Repulsion (1965) and Indochine (1992), which earned her an Oscar nomination and her second César Award.
Actor George Clooney, a longtime supporter of marriage equality, believes that the institution's conservative opposition is declining, the Huffington Post reported. Clooney told E! Online, "I think the world is changing and it's becoming less and less of an issue and I think it shouldn't be long now. I think younger people are looking at this like, 'Who cares?'" Clooney will participate in the L.A. staging of the play Prop 8 later this year.
Rosie O'Donnell can't stop the compliments when it comes to her fiancee. According to US Magazine, she said of bride-to-be Michelle Rounds, "She's like Ann-Margret. I constantly go, 'Are you sure you want to do this?' I'm not a Barbie; she has Mattel stamped on her ass. She's literally perfection." O'Donnell added, "She's so unbelievably connected and refined. I so love her embracing her femininity in a real feminist manner. To be able to be a lesbian, feminine, feminist is pretty sexy."
ABC has canceled the controversial comedy Work It after two episodes, according to EW.com . The Tuesday night comedy focused on two men who dressed as women to get jobs at a company. Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) Senior Director of Programs and Communications Herndon Graddick issued a statement saying, "While many of ABC's positive and groundbreaking portrayals of LGBT people have been critical and popular successes, the public had little interest in this outdated show."
You can have Joan Rivers' New York City penthouse—for a cool $29.5 million, according to Curbed NY. The listing for the unit describes how "the original architectural detail was painstakingly restored by museum-trained artisans." Rivers actually first tried selling the penthouse in 2009, then asking $25 million for it. The unit—which has a $7,500 monthly tax charge—is 5,190 square feet, and features a terrace, library and expansive view of Central Park.
Madonna said she "doesn't feel bad" about beating Sir Elton John to win the Golden Globe for Best Song Jan. 15, despite his camp's anger over losing to her, according to ABC News. "I hope he speaks to me," Madonna said backstage. "He's known to get mad at me, [but] he'll win another award. I don't feel bad." John said before the event that Madonna didn't stand a chance of winning; afterwards, partner David Furnish posted on Facebook, "Madonna. Best song???? F— off!!!"
Speaking of the Golden Globes, did host Ricky Gervais out Jodie Foster? While joking about "Jodie Foster's beaver" in his monologue, Gervais noted that he hadn't seen it himself—and that he had "spoken to a lot of guys here, they haven't seen it either. That doesn't mean it's not any good." Foster has never come out publicly, and gave Gervais joke two thumbs up, according to Newser.com .
Celebrity chef Paula Deen has confirmed that she has type 2 diabetes, according to Reuters. Speaking on NBC's Today show, Deen, 64, said she found out three years ago during a routine physical that she had the disease. Deen, who will be a paid spokeswoman for drug company Novo Nordisk, said, "I'm here today to let the world know that it is not a death sentence."
Comedian Todd Glass—who's appeared on such shows as Last Comic Standing, Politically Incorrect and Jimmy Kimmel Live!—came out of the closet on an episode of WTF with Marc Maron, Advocate.com reported. On the show, Maron said, "I have a very hard time saying that [I'm gay]. I don't want anyone to be ashamed of who they are—especially younger people. I always hated using that term and that's partly why I've always been sympathetic to people who don't [want to be labeled certain things]." Maron has been with his partner for 15 years.
The Gay and Lesbian Critics Association's third annual Dorian Awards named Weekend as Film of the Year and LGBT-Themed Film of the Year, according to Advocate.com . Among the other winners were Meryl Streep for Film Performance of the Year for The Iron Lady; 50/50 as Unsung Film of the Year; Modern Family as TV Comedy of the Year; and Kathy Griffin as Wilde Wit of the Year. The full list is at www.GALECA.com .
Will & Grace star Sean Hayes will soon be on another NBC show: Park & Recreation. According to TVLine.com, Hayes will guest-star in an upcoming episode that looks at star Amy Poehler's run for city council. He will play a TV journalist who interview's Poehler's character, Leslie. Hayes' former Will & Grace co-star, Megan Mullally, has a recurring role on Parks and Recreation.
