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

Lady Gaga celebrated the 15-year anniversary of her historic debut album, The Fame, which was released Aug. 19, 2008, a press release announced. The album has such classics as "Poker Face," "Just Dance," "Paparazzi" and "Lovegame." To celebrate 15 years of The Fame, Interscope Records is releasing a limited edition translucent blue vinyl of the record and a select array of new merchandise. Shop now at ladygaga.com .

Zaya Wade—the trans daughter of NBA Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade and actress Gabrielle Union and who works as a model—is now being featured in Puma's new ad campaign, Out noted. Wade appears in the campaign for Puma's "Forever. Classic." line of suede sneakers alongside Iris Apatow (daughter of director Judd Apatow and actress Leslie Mann), Caleb McLaughlin (Stranger Things), and the late Angus Cloud. "It means that I get to highlight the good experiences of being a young trans girl, while also being able to help inspire other trans kids to live their life unapologetically," she said of being part of the campaign.

Multi-platinum-selling singer/songwriter and Tony-winning performer Idina Menzel released her dance project, Drama Queen, via BMG, a press release noted. Menzel worked alongside hitmakers such as Nile Rodgers, Jake Shears, Justin Tranter, Sir Nolan, Simon Wilcox and others to create an album with soaring anthems, disco-infused beats and more. A hot-pink vinyl LP autographed by Menzel is available for pre-order exclusively through Idina's D2C store at shop.idinamenzel.com .

Ron Cephas Jones—an Emmy-winning actor for his role as character William Hill on the NBC show This Is Us—died at age 66, Deadline noted. (Other media outlets noted that the character was gay.) "Beloved and award-winning actor Ron Cephas Jones has passed away at the age of 66 due to a long-standing pulmonary issue," read a statement from the actor's rep that People shared. "Throughout the course of his career, his warmth, beauty, generosity, kindness and heart were felt by anyone who had the good fortune of knowing him." Co-star Sterling K. Brown posted, "Life imitated art today, and one of the most wonderful people the world has ever seen is no longer with us."

Four-time Oscar-nominated actress Annette Bening told The Hollywood Reporter that she's learned much from her "brilliant" transgender son, Stephen Ira, per The Advocate. Ira, 31, came out as trans in his teens. "My son is incredibly brilliant," Bening said. "I mean, I have four amazing children, and I love all my kids. Stephen has always been a highly literary person. I just read his latest poem that was just published; wow, it is so extraordinary. I'm so proud of him, and yes, he was in The Paris Review!" Bening has often spoken out strongly for LGBTQ+ equality, and has increased her support over the years.

Country-music duo Brothers Osborne (John and gay brother T.J. Osborne)—the reigning CMA and ACM Duo of the Year—will be honored with the 2023 Angels Among Us Award for outstanding commitment to the children and families of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital this October, a press release announced. They will join past winners such as Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker, Scotty McCreery, Florida Georgia Line and Lady A, among others.

Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, actress and activist Paris Jackson released her new single, "Hit Your Knees," out now via Republic Records, Guitar Girl Mag noted. For the release, Jackson partnered with co-writer/producer Linda Perry, who's also the co-founder of EqualizeHer, an organization working to solve gender inequality in the music industry by creating more opportunities for women. "Hit Your Knees" was written, performed, produced, mixed and mastered entirely by women.

RuPaul's Drag Race alum Jinkx Monsoon ended her summer-long tour of the U.S. and Canada—and was recognized as a saint by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, them noted. The last stop on Monsoon's "Everything at Stake" tour was her hometown of Portland. It was there where she was granted the highest honor by the city's chapter of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, also known as the Order of Benevolent Bliss.

Ryan Gosling is taking fans behind-the-scenes for an exclusive look at his performance of "I'm Just Ken" in Greta Gerwig's critically acclaimed blockbuster film, Barbie, starring Margot Robbie and Gosling, of course, as Barbie and Ken, per a press release. The song reached the top five on Billboard's "Hot Rock & Alternative Songs" and became Gosling's official Billboard "Hot 100" chart debut. The official "'I'm Just Ken' Exclusive" video is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ru1LC9lW20Q.

Disney's ABC News Studios announced details on a new four-part documentary series called Never Let Him Go, which is debuting on Hulu on Wed., Sept. 6, according to What's on Disney Plus. The series focuses on the late gay American mathematician Scott Johnson, whose body was found at the rocky base of a cliff in Australia in 1988. Authorities initially called the death a suicide, launching older brother Steve Johnson's decades-long pursuit for answers in motion—which ultimately resulted in Scott's killer's confession 35 years after the murder.

The Hallmark Channel is announcing a new rom-com titled Notes of Autumn just in time for the fall season—and it will star out LGBTQ+ actors Luke Macfarlane (Bros) and Peter Porte (The Young and the Restless; Days of Our Lives), Out noted. Notes of Autumn is set to premiere Saturday, Sept. 16, and it will co-star Ashley Williams and Marcus Rosner.

In a recent in-depth interview with Vulture, Riverdale actor KJ Apa revealed that getting the role of Archie at the age of 19 inadvertently led to him struggling with body image due to filming numerous shirtless scenes—although at first he was excited to show off his lean, ripped physique, per Men's Health. As the show increased its steamy storylines and winking homoeroticism, the actor found himself shedding his shirt more and more, requiring him to stay ripped year-round with a "brutal" workout routine. Apa's co-star Camila Mendes, who played Veronica, added that series creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa was "always very understanding" of the cast's personal boundaries, and none of the performers ever felt forced or pressured to do those scenes. Riverdale officially ended on Aug. 23.

Showtime's highly anticipated queer limited series Fellow Travelers is set to make its streaming debut on Paramount+ with Showtime on Friday, Oct. 27, and it'll debut on Showtime on Sunday, Oct. 29, according to The Advocate. Fellow Travelers—billed as an epic love story and political thriller, and starring Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey—chronicles the forbidden romance of two very different men who meet in McCarthy-era Washington.

Out queer rapper and new mom Da Brat will be among the acts performing Oct. 7-8 at Atlanta's Central Park during Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Festival, a celebration of hip-hop and R&B music, a press release noted. The festival will also feature performances from well-known artists such as Xscape, Jagged Edge, Anthony Hamilton, TLC, Dem Franchize Boyz and Youngbloodz.

Once Upon a One More Time—the Broadway musical that uses Britney Spears hits to retell and revise various fairy tales and opened in June to mixed reviews—announced an early closing, per Deadline. In an Instagram post, the production noted that the final performance will be Sept. 3 at the Marquis Theatre. Although Spears approved the musical, she did not directly participate in it.

The first round of performers has just been announced for the 2023 MTV VMAs, Extra noted. Demi Lovato, Karol G, Maneskin and Stray Kids will all perform at the show, which will be held at Prudential Center in New Jersey on Sept. 12. Taylor Swift leads all performers with eight nominations.

Comedian Matteo Lane married his partner, Rodrigo Aburto, The Advocate noted. Lane posted a video to his social-media accounts, where he and professional dancer Aburto dressed in coordinated outfits and kissed as confetti flitted through the air in a slow-motion clip. Celebrities such as Queer Eye's Jonathan Van Ness and Olympian Gus Kenworthy expressed congratulations.

Charity Lawson got engaged to Dotun Olubeko on the season finale of the ABC show The Bachelorette and sent Joey Graziadei packing on the final day, per The Daily Mail. Olubeko then surprised Lawson by telling her that she would be on the next season of Dancing With The Stars, joining Vanderpump Rules star Ariana Madix. The finale also featured an appearance by same-sex couple Robby Hoffman and Gabby Windey, a former Bachelorette; Windey recently came out as LGBTQ+ on The View.

Fashion designer Tom Ford has paid $52 million for Lasata—the Hamptons estate where Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis spent her childhood summers, according to ELLE Decor, citing The Wall Street Journal. The property went on the market for $55 million in May, more than double what the seller, film producer David Zander, paid for it in 2018 from another fashion designer, Reed Krakoff. The sale occurred less than a year after Estee Lauder struck a roughly $2.8 billion deal to acquire Tom Ford's fashion label.

A California appeals court ruled that Wade Robson and James Safechuck—who accused Michael Jackson of sexually abusing them as children—can resume lawsuits against companies owned by the estate of the late singer, Deadline reported. The men claimed employees of the two companies (MJJ Productions Inc. and MJJ Ventures Inc) were complicit in Jackson's alleged sexual abuse of them. Robson's and Safechuck's stories were detailed in the 2019 HBO documentary Leaving Neverland, alleging that Jackson molested them and co-opted their families to allow his access to them. In 2020 and 2021, the Los Angeles County Superior Court ruled that the companies were not obligated to protect the children.

New York City drug dealer Irvin Catagena was sentenced to 10 years in prison for providing actor Michael K. Williams (who played the gay drug dealer Omar on the show The Wire) with fentanyl-laced heroin, causing his death, CBS News reported. Cartagena had pled guilty in April to conspiring to distribute drugs; as part of a plea deal, Cartagena agreed that some of the drugs he sold resulted in Williams' death. Williams overdosed in his Brooklyn apartment in September 2021, a day after purchasing the drugs.

Celebrating 50 years of creating and touring, Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and actress Melissa Manchester signed a deal with Green Hill Productions to release her upcoming 25th album, RE:VIEW, a press release noted. The musical icon is set to star as Mrs. Brice in the North American tour of Funny Girl kicking off Sept. 9 at Providence Performing Arts Center in Providence, Rhode Island, before continuing on to more than 30 cities, including Detroit, Cleveland, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Dallas and Philadelphia.

Celebrating the 25th anniversary of his UK chart-topping single "You Don't Know Me," Armand Van Helden has returned with the high-energy single "I Won't Stop," out now on FFRR/ Major Recordings, per a press release. The release added, "Armed with one of the season's catchiest vocal hooks, 'I Won't Stop' is a throwback to the golden era of rave—a love letter sealed with a kiss of sirens and old school synths."

Tony-nominated, multiplatinum-selling pop/jazz singer-songwriter Ann Hampton Callaway will release her new album—Finding Beauty: Originals Volume —on Sept. 29 via Shanachie Entertainment, per a press release. Finding Beauty is a milestone for Callaway, recently inducted into the Women Songwriters Hall of Fame, in that it's her first album to feature all-original songs. She's also on her 2023-24 tour, with stops scheduled in Chicago, Pittsburgh, NYC, Fort Lauderdale and London.

Drew Barrymore stalker Chad Michael Busto was arrested outside her Long Island farmhouse, The New York Post noted. The incident happened a couple days after the actress was escorted offstage in New York City after Busto attempted to interrupt her interview with actor/singer Renee Rapp, per Insider. A video of the incident showed Busto shouting Barrymore's name and briskly approaching the stage while the talk-show host was speaking with Rapp about her career. After a momentary pause in proceedings, the pair returned to their conversation, and Barrymore praised Rapp for being vigilant.

Both Josh Groban and, now, Annaleigh Ashford—the two lead performers in the massive hit Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street—have tested positive for COVID and missed performances, Deadline noted. Groban and Ashford were nominated for Tonys for their performances. Although COVID rates throughout New York remain significantly lower than during recent summers, the positivity rate has spiked by, according to some reports, as much as, or more than, 50% over recent weeks.

Former Big Brother contestant Paulie Calafiore came out as bisexual after being eliminated from MTV's The Challenge: USA, Page Six noted. "I almost felt guilty that it's taken me this long," he told GLAAD, recalling how he made the shift to decide to come out. The reality star, who has been dating fellow "Challenge" alum Cara Maria Sorbello for five years, subtly spoke on his struggles with sexuality on the show before his elimination in episode three.

"I came through athletics, so that forced me to repress who I was, sexually," he said.

James Gunn confirmed Superman: Legacy is not a "young Superman" movie, even though the planned reboot is said to be focusing on "an earlier part" of the character's life, IGN noted. DC Studios unveiled its new cinematic universe's leading man in late June, with David Corenswet replacing Henry Cavill as the superhero for the character's next outing. Gunn previously indicated one of the main reasons behind the casting change was because of when the story takes place.

E! is putting 10 controversial reality-show stars under one roof in House of Villains. Hosted by Joel McHale, the series is set to premiere Thursday, Oct. 12, at 10 p.m. ET/PT with a 75-minute episode airing simultaneously on Bravo, SyFy and USA, Deadline noted. Some of the contestants will include Johnny Bananas (The Challenge), Corinne Olympios (Bachelor in Paradise), Tiffany "New York" Pollard (Flavor of Love), Jonny FairPlay (Survivor: Pearl Islands) and Omarosa Manigault Newman (The Apprentice).

Kroy Biermann has again filed to end his marriage to reality-star wife Kim Zolciak—just more than six weeks after the reality stars called off their respective divorce filings from May, Page Six noted. The former NFL star filed the new paperwork in Georgia, where they live, stating that their marriage is "irretrievably broken." Biermann is requesting sole legal and sole physical custody of their four minor children.