Rosie O'Donnell has said that the Oprah Winfrey Network's cancellation of her series was "fair," according to Advocate.com . Winfrey recently ceased production of The Rosie Show, with the last episode slated to air March 30. O'Donnell said, "Oprah gave me an amazing shot and put me back on TV. She believed in me. ... Oprah has treated me with nothing but respect from day one."
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, starring Donny Osmond, is coming to local movie theaters Wed., April 4, at 7 p.m. (all time zones). This exclusive sing-along version with subtitles also features an introduction and question-and-answer session with Osmond live from Salt Lake City, plus an animated opening sequence which features an 80-piece orchestra. The event will be broadcast to nearly 550 select movie theaters across the country.
The comic strip Doonesbury is again in the middle of controversy, thanks to a weeklong series about a woman who enters a Texas abortion clinic and deals with various incompetent pro-life advocates, according to the New York Daily News. Approximately 50 newspapers asked for an alternate Doonesbury strip (out of 1,400 newspaper subscribers). Creator Garry Trudeau told the AP, "Abortion remains a deeply contentious subject. Having said that, the goal is definitely not to antagonize editors and get booted from papers. It's just an occupational risk."
Gillian Anderson, who played Agent Scully on the TV show The X-Files, has revealed that she has had romantic relationships with women, according to US Magazine. "I was in a relationship with a girl for a long time when I was in high school," she said. Twice-divorced and now partnered with Mark Griffiths since 2006, Anderson has a 17-year-old daughter and two young sons.
A judge tossed out weapons charges against accused Madonna stalker Robert Linhart, according to the New York Daily News. Linhart, 61, was busted in 2010 when officers found a knife and ice pick in his possession as he was outside the singer's New York City apartment. After being arrested, he initially said, "I won't stop until I actually meet Madonna. I am going to go right back there and do it again."
Christina Aguilera mocked Adam Levine, a fellow judge on the NBC show The Voice, after he launched a scent a year after tweeting he "would like to put an official ban on celebrity fragrances," the Daily Mail noted. The Maroon 5 lead singer recently released a fragrance called 222, prompting Aguilera to tweet, "Ha ha. Adam Levine, what a difference a year makes. Welcome to the celebrity fragrance family!"
GLAAD announced that The Weinstein Company co-chairman and anti-bullying advocate Harvey Weinstein will present a Special Recognition Award to high school student Katy Butler at the 23rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards March 24 at the Marriott Marquis in New York City, according to a press release. Butler, 17, launched a Change.org campaign last month to advocate that the R rating of the upcoming documentary Bully be changed to PG-13, and recently delivered more than 200,000 signatures to the Motion Picture Association of America's Los Angeles office.
Speaking of Butler, members of Congress and celebrities have signed Butler's petition, according to Advocate.com . At least 20 people in Congress, along with Ellen DeGeneres, Demi Lovato, Meryl Streep, Justin Bieber and New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees are among the signatories.
Out stylist Brad Goreski's former boss, Rachel Zoe, said that she will never watch his reality-TV show, It's a Brad, Brad World, US Magazine reported. Zoe said, "I won't ever see it. ... I don't think it even matters enough to me, to be honest." The two had a huge falling-out when Goreski left Rachel Zoe Inc., to launch his own career in 2010.
The second printing of Bluewater Productions' "Female Force: Cher" comic book has sold out, according to a press release. A third printing is forthcoming, with an alternate cover. New York Times best-selling author Marc Shapiro wrote the 32-page, $3.99 comic book, which is part of a series that has featured Madonna, Britney Spears, JK Rowling, Ellen DeGeneres and Olivia Newton-John, among others.
Actor Daniel Radcliffe said he was happy newspapers suspected he was gay because he had a "gay face," according to Pink News. He told the Daily Express, "I had to smile when stories emerged questioning whether I was gay. Obviously I knew I wasn't, but people were curiously desperate to suggest I was. The papers used to say I had a gay face, whatever that is. ... [However,] when you know a gay guy has a crush on you, it's the most flattering thing."
In the April issue of The Advocate, the grandson of legendary actor Omar Sharif comes out as both gay and half-Jewish. Omar Sharif Jr. writes the article, starting with, "I write this article in fear. Fear for my country, fear for my family, and fear for myself." Later, he adds, "[S]o I hesitantly confess: I am Egyptian, I am half Jewish, and I am gay. ... Will being Egyptian, half Jewish, and gay forever remain mutually exclusive identities? Are they identities to be hidden?" Sharif Jr. holds a master's degree in comparative politics (conflict studies) from the London School of Economics.
Gay-film production company and distributor Guest House Films has announced the launch of pre-production on its sixth feature film: a comedy titled The Men Next Door, according to a press release. The Men Next Door is a comedy about a 40-year-old gay man who finds himself dating two men: a secure 50-year-old who came out later in life, and an adventurous 30-year-old; however, it turns out the two men are father and son. Guest House Films also launched an IndieGoGo crowd-sourced fundraising campaign for The Men Next Door; see www.indiegogo.com/TheMenNextDoor.
Judge Elizabeth Allen White declared a mistrial in Nicollette Sheridan's wrongful-termination lawsuit against ABC Entertainment and ABC Studios, according to Deadline.com . The 12-person jury was unable to resolve its 8-4 deadlock. Attorneys for both sides say they will seek a new trial in the case revloving around Sheridan's departure from Desperate Housewives.
Singer/actor Lenny Kravitz has said that he based Cinna, his character from the upcoming movie The Hunger Games, on a bisexual friend, according to Advocate.com . Cinna is a stylist to the film's lead character, Katniss, who stars in a game of televised combat. Kravitz told Movieline he was not sure of Cinna's sexual orientation but he didn't want him to be stereotypical: "He's bisexual and you could think he's gay, you could think he's straight, you're not really sure. It's very subtle."
Cyndi Lauper is teaming with Harvey Fierstein and director/choreographer Jerry Mitchell for a musical stage adaptation of the 2005 movie comedy Kinky Boots, according to an Advocate.com item. The musical will involve a pairing of Lauper's music and lyrics with a book by Fierstein, who wrote Torch Song Trilogy and the book for the musical adaptation of La Cage aux Folles. The musical will open at Chicago's Bank of America Theatre in October, and may transfer to Broadway.
Out comedian/actress Wanda Sykes will star in the new sports comedy The Hot Flashes, according to SheWired.com . The film is about a middle-aged basketball team in Texas who agrees to play a game against the current high school state champs to raise money for breast-cancer prevention. Others in the movie include Brooke Shields, Daryl Hannah, Virginia Madsen, Camryn Mannheim and Good Morning America's Robin Roberts.
LGBTQ rights activist, author, lecturer and transgender-issues advocate Chaz Bono will headline the Fourth Annual Miami Beach Gay Pride Parade as grand marshal, according to a press release. Bono will lead the parade by riding in a vintage Rolls Royce convertible, waving to an anticipated 60,000 fans and supporters who are expected at this year's parade and festival. The parade will take place Sunday, April 15, along Ocean Drive from 5th to 15th streets.
Heavy-metal singer Lita Ford will release her new album, Living Like a Runaway, June 19 via SPV/Steamhammer. The album will be available in four configurations: a double LP, limited edition CD, standard CD and digital download. She is best known for her work with The Runaways and her solo career, featuring hit singles "Kiss Me Deadly" and the duet "Close My Eyes Forever" with Ozzy Osbourne.
A homophobe named Ted Fau has sent gay singer Lance Bass several threatening messages on Facebook, using anti-gay slurs against the star and threatening to kill him, Advocate.com reported. At one point, Fau posted, "I think you're a fucking faggot. I want to stab you and play around with your blood." Bass later tweeted Fau's posts and wrote, "If I go missing this guy did it Jeez! Sad to know many LGBT kids deal w this irrational hatred daily."