Tony Award nominations have come out—and the gay-inclusive The Book of Mormon (from South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone) snagged 14 nods, including best musical and one for out gay actor Rory O'Malley, according to Advocate.com . The Scottsboro Boys earned 12 nominations, including one for Colman Domingo, a Windy City Queercast contributor known for his roles on TV's The Big Gay Sketch Show. Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart—which chronicles the early years of the AIDS epidemic in New York—received five nominations for its Broadway debut; Priscilla, Queen of the Desert got two nods, including one for out actor Tony Sheldon as transgender character Bernadette. According to the L.A. Times, out actor Neil Patrick Harris will host the June 12 awards show.
Lisa Cholodenko—who received Oscar nods this year for her movie The Kids Are All Right—will actually focus on kids in her next film, according to Advocate.com . She will adapt the classic children's novel Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. First published in 1972, "Alexander" looks at family members who collectively deal with the worst day of their lives.
Country singer Blake Shelton, who is also a judge on the reality show The Voice, posted anti-gay lyrics in a tweet that parodied a Shania Twain song, according to Advocate.com . Shelton said he was rewriting his favorte Twain song when he tweeted, "Any man that tries Touching my behind He's gonna be a beaten, bleedin', heaving kind of guy…" Recently, he cracked an anti-gay joke about actor Jake Gyllenhaal when Shelton hosted the Academy of Country Music Awards. GLAAD has called on Shelton to apologize.
Project Runway will return with an all-stars edition later this year, according to Digital Spy. Lifetime confirmed the show's ninth season, and has so far ordered eight one-hour episodes. The network also announced plans for a competitive show called Project Accessory, in which people will vie for a cash prize to help launch a fashion-accessories business.
British company Fairbanks Productions has announced that director Nick Hurran will helm Dusty, its biopic of late singer Dusty Springfield, the Hollywood Reporter announced. Hurran will direct the movie from a script written by former newspaper columnist Ray Connelly, based on Sharon Davis' book A Girl Called Dusty. Springfield's hits include "Son of a Preacher Man" and "What Have I Done to Deserve This?," the latter which she recorded with Pet Shop Boys.
Veteran actress Marian Mercer has died at the age of 75, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Mercer, who passed away April 27 from complications of Alzheimer's disease, was on such TV shows as It's a Living and St. Elsewhere, and won a Tony for her performance in the original version of Promises, Promises.
In Texas, several gay-rights groups criticized Houston's KRIV Fox 26 for a segment it aired asking if the hit show Glee was "too gay," according to the Houston Chronicle. The nearly six-minute "Fox in Focus" segment followed the April 26 episode of Glee—which was inspired by Lady Gaga's chart-topping "Born This Way" single—and featured a debate between gay-rights advocate Ray Hill and Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association. "Fox Houston should not only apologize and correct the misinformation in this segment, but needs to think twice before elevating hurtful messages and anti-gay attitudes," GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios said.
A transgender woman is reportedly outing celebrities in her new book, according to BET.com . In the book I Rise, The Transformation of Toni Newman, the titular individual talks about alleged encounters she and others had with Hot 97 DJ Mister Cee, comedian/actor Eddie Murphy and rapper/actor LL Cool J. Among other things, Newman writes, "LL Cool J was a onetime encounter and very enjoyable" and "I know at least five transgender who did have sex with Eddie Murphy. He was interested in the girl with the biggest male genitalia."
Madonna has reportedly recorded a duet with daughter Lourdes, according to Digital Spy. Supposedly, the "Holiday" singer wants to help the teen kick off a successful pop career. The pair have recorded a track, "It's So Cool," with the pop star currently contemplating whether to feature it on her next studio album or to include it as part of the soundtrack to her new movie, W.E.
Former All My Children co-star Elizabeth Rodriguez has said that soap vixen Susan Lucci has signed a deal with ABC to join the cast of Desperate Housewives, according to Digital Spy. Reports have surfaced that Lucci would join the nighttime drama following the cancellation of All My Children later this year. However, sources close to Desperate Housewives later claimed that the rumor is bogus.
Paris Hilton has publicly apologized to Lindsay Lohan after making comments about the actress's jewelry theft case, according to Digital Spy. In a preview of her new reality show The World According to Paris, Hilton was mistaken for Lohan when giving earrings to a homeless woman; Hilton then said, "If I were Lindsay, I would be stealing earrings... not giving them away." Later, on her website (after Lohan called Hilton "mean"), Hilton wrote, "I apologize to Lindsay for the comment that I made. I was joking around but it was thoughtless and unnecessary."
Musician Moby has described Britney Spears as "kind of like a broken-down shell of a human being"—but added that her perceived damaged nature is part of her appeal, according to Digital Spy. Moby, who worked with Spears on her 2003 album In the Zone, added, "She was lovely, but really broken. Like, Blanche Dubois-style broken." Years ago, he said of her, "Britney is like this Tennessee Williams tragic figure. The fatter she gets, the weirder she gets, the more I love her."
The National Hockey League team The New York Rangers posted two tweets and an item on Facebook supporting marriage equality, according to a Human Rights Campaign press release. The Rangers become the first professional sports team to actively promote marriage equality by advancing a video in favor of marriage equality in New York State by Rangers player Sean Avery. (The video is at www.hrc.org/ny4marriage/sean-avery.html .)
However, in a related incident, sports executive Todd Reynolds—who represents several pro hockey players—has slammed Avery for his activism, according to Advocate.com . Reynolds tweeted, "Very sad to read Sean Avery's misguided support of same-gender 'marriage.' Legal or not, it will always be wrong." After receiving negative feedback for his statement, Reynolds wrote, "To clarify. This is not hatred or bigotry towards gays. It is not intolerance in any way shape or form. I believe we are all equal...But I believe in the sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman."
Singer Whitney Houston has checked back into rehab, according to MTV.com . Houston, 47, entered rehab in 2004 and again the following year and has admitted to substance-abuse problems, but said around the time of her 2009 album release that she was feeling stronger. TMZ.com has reported that the singer has been banned from all Prince shows because of alleged erratic behavior at several of his concerts, coupled with excessive ticket demands.
Family Guy and The Cleveland Show—two animated shows that frequently incorporate LGBT themes—have each been renewed for their tenth and fourth seasons, respectively, according to Digital Spy. "For nine seasons, our viewers have been cracked up, delighted, surprised and, at times, gloriously disturbed by the mind of Seth MacFarlane—and they keep coming back for more," said Fox President of Entertainment Kevin Reilly. Family Guy will air a one-hour season finale May 22.
Lady Gaga has broken the record for the highest-grossing tour from a debut artist, according to Digital Spy. She launched her "Monster Ball" tour in November 2009, and played about 200 shows, grossing $227.4 million. (She recently wrapped up the tour in Mexico City.) Gaga's manager, Troy Carter, said, "We're humbled by the tremendous success of the 'Monster Ball' tour. The reasonably-priced tickets, coupled with a great live experience, led it to being a must-see event."
Barbra Streisand has responded to AIDS activist Larry Kramer's claim that she is the reason the film adaptation of his work The Normal Heart has stagnated for decades, according to Advocate.com . Streisand said, "I only wanted to direct it and I was willing to play [Dr. Emma Brookner] only if that would help get it made." She added that Kramer refused HBO's offer of $250,000 for the rights, holding out for $1 million.
Glee star Matthew Morrison will perform his new single on the show as part of its season finale, according to Digital Spy. Morrison, who plays teacher Will Schuester, will sing the ballad "Still Got Tonight" on the New York-themed episode May 24. "It was going to be just a big dance piece with me doing this big dance number," Morrison told The Hollywood Reporter. "But they said, 'We want you to sing it and make it a big moment'."
Speaking of Glee, Tom Cruise has denied rumors that he is appearing on the show, saying that he is too busy, Digital Spy reported. Last month, sources close to the show claimed that Cruise was close to appearing in several episodes as a failed pop star forced to lead one of McKinley High's rival glee clubs. However, Cruise did say that he is enjoying working on the movie musical Rock of Ages, saying that he is "excited about the cast and working with [director] Adam [Shankman]."
Singer Ricky Martin recently said on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno that he felt evil during his struggle to come out of the closet, according to the New York Daily News. "I was the sex symbol and I needed to dance and I needed to make girls crazy and I couldn't say that I was gay," Martin said. "[It] was a struggle. If you add to that...culture, religion, society, what people say. What I was feeling, according to what I had in my mind, was evil."
In Canada, CTV Regina news anchor Manfred Joehnck has filed a defamation suit against a local newspaper over its criticism of comments he made about lesbian singer k.d. lang resembling actor Charlie Sheen, according to The Canadian Press. Joehnck and sports anchor Chris Hodges were talking during a broadcast when Joehnck suggested "the older [lang] gets, the more she looks like Charlie Sheen." In court documents, he said, "I didn't mean that in a bad way."
Ryan Seacrest appeared and Kelly Clarkson sang at a free concert scheduled for Coca-Cola company's employees at Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park, according to WPLJ.com . (Coca-Cola sponsors American Idol, which Seacrest hosts and on which Clarkson competed.) The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that singers Natasha Bedingfield and Atlanta resident Ne-Yo also sang at the show, which marked Coke's 125th anniversary.
Rock legend Stevie Nicks regrets taking medication to help her battle drug addiction, saying it "ruined" a large part of her life, according to Popeater.com . Nicks, 62, took Klonopin in the late '80s to help fight her cocaine addiction. "That ruined my life for eight years," she told FOX411's Pop Tarts. "That was just a stupid doctor making a groupie mistake and just wanting me to come in there, tell him about all my music friends and young Hollywood, and that nearly ruined my life and nearly killed me." Nicks has a new CD, entitled In Your Dreams.
