At Kelly Clarkson's "Chemistry: An Intimate Evening" residency show in Las Vegas, two men got married with the help of the singer/talk-show host as a witness, EW.com noted. In an audience video from the show, fans Brian and Marcello say they've been together for 15 years, and that they hope to get married with Clarkson's assistance during the show. "By the power of Kelly Clarkson's show, Las Vegas, New Year's 2024, I pronounce you both husband and husband," an officiant says. The singer wished the newlyweds good luck before returning to her performance.
Billy Porter and Luke Evans—who co-star in the movie Our Son as a divorcing queer couple embroiled in a custody fight—released their joint ballad "Always Be My Man," which is from the film's soundtrack, according to a press release. "Always Be My Man" was produced by Grammy-winning musician Robert Glasper, and was written by Porter, Connor Reeves (Tina Turner; Joe Cocker) and Joe Killington (Dap Kings; James Smith). Porter recently released the album Black Mona Lisa; in November 2022, Evans released his second album, A Song For You, which debuted in the top five on the UK charts.
Gay British director Andrew Haigh's film All of Us Strangers may be loosely based on Taichi Yamada's Japanese novel Strangers—but the Paul Mescal/Andrew Scott-led film has a much more personal touch, according to Out. "All of the people in the film are longing for something— to be understood, to be known," Haigh told The Guardian. "The coming-out scenes are about the importance of being known. It's very hard to move through life if you feel you're not understood. And if you're not understood, you feel you're alone." And once he decided to make the film, Haigh contacted the current owners of his childhood home, who agreed to let him film there.
When the Broadway production of the Tony-winning The Book of Mormon played its 4,643rd performance Dec. 28 at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, it surpassed Jersey Boys to become the 12th longest-running show in Broadway history, Playbill noted. To mark the occasion, four members of the current Broadway cast of "Mormon"—Noah Marlowe, PJ Adzima, John Pinto Jr., and Ben Laxton—pay tribute to the Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons musical in a new video featuring a "Walk Like a Man"/"Man Up" mashup. "Mormon" (currently headed by Kevin Clay, Cody Jamison Strand and Kim Exum) opened on Broadway on March 24, 2011; it went on to win nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical, as well as the Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album. The Phantom of the Opera leads all productions with 13,981 performances.
French pansexual, genderqueer musician Christine and the Queens has released an interpretation of the Bee Gees classic "Staying Alive!," per a press release. There is now a studio version of "Staying Alive! (Chris' Version)" as well as a video shot in Venice directed by the musician himself. The song's release marked an end to a year that saw the artist release his second album in less than 12 months; curate and perform at London's Meltdown Festival; headline stages at Coachella, BBC 6 Music Festival, Glastonbury Festival and Wilderness Festival; and tour the globe.
Former Survivor winner Parvati Shallow came out as queer in an Instagram post—and also revealed that she's dating comedian Mae Martin, according to Out. The reality-TV personality shared pictures of herself kissing Martin with the caption, "We're here. We're queer. Happy New Year." Besides winning Survivor Micronesia: Fans vs. Favorites, Shallow also competed on Survivor: Cook Islands, Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, Survivor: Cagayan and Survivor: Winners at War. She is currently set to star in the second season of The Traitors, on Peacock. Martin is currently one of the co-hosts of the Handsome podcast alongside Tig Notaro and Fortune Feimster.
Dave Chappelle released his third comedy special on Netflix, The Dreamer—a follow-up to 2021's The Closer and 2022's What's in a Name?—a, fnd for the third consecutive time, the special includes heavy-handed commentary from Chapelle against trans people, per Out. Trans actress Trace Lysette was among those who called out Chappelle "So, at this point, it's giving client," Lysette says in a TikTok video. "I don't know what doll hurt Dave Chappelle. I really don't. But it's giving disgruntled client. It's giving angry trick. On X, Professor Eugene B. Lee-Johnson, Ph.D., posted, "I hate that the greatness of Chapelle's [show] and Dave removing himself from the public eye made us act like Dave Chappelle was an amazing stand-up comedian. We're at the 11th straight special of Dave making unfunny jokes about Transpeople and preaching for an hour."
Out rapper Lil Was X also responded to Chappelle's special, Billboard noted. The comedian took jabs at the musician's "Montero" visual, noting that Lil Nas walked up to him at a party and said that he wanted Chappelle in the video, which Chappelle did not remember. Lil Nas responded on X, saying, ""yall gotta let call me by your name go, me and the devil broke up 3 years ago. yall acting like children of divorce."
Also regarding Lil Nas X, the HBO Original documentary Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero, will debut Saturday, Jan. 27, per a press release. (It will also be available to stream on Max.) Produced by RadicalMedia, the film focuses on the rapper (birth name: Montero Hill) as he prepares for and embarks on his first-ever headlining U.S. tour.
Country singer Samuel Saint recently released a satirical song called "Pray the Gay Away," per Instinct Magazine. Throughout the video, Saint sings about how he tried to "pray the gay away" when he was 17 and felt attracted to a quarterback at his high school's football team; he also had a hard time repressing emotions when he joined the military and had a bunkmate named Gary. One YouTuber responded, "When I was in high school back in 1968, I couldn't stop dreaming about our quarterback. Wish your song was around then because I suffered for years in silence. Hopefully, your song and understanding will help others. God bless you."
Britney Spears denied reports by Page Six and the Sun claiming that the singer asked pop stars Charli XCX and Julia Michaels to write songs for a new album, The Guardian. In fact, Spears posted on Instagram, "Just so we're clear most of the news is trash!!! They keep saying I'm turning to random people to do a new album … I will never return to the music industry!!!" Instead, she said that she had written more than 20 songs for other artists over the past two years, possibly under a pseudonym.
Real Housewives of Miami's Julia Lemigova and her wife, tennis icon Martina Navratilova, are ready to revisit adoption plans after celebrating their first Christmas in the wake of Navratilova beating two forms of cancer, per Page Six. "Our adoption plans were on hold, but we're still not closing the door on those plans," Lemigova—who has two adult daughters—told the outlet. Lemigova is a native of Russia who made history as the first out lesbian "Housewife" to be cast on the reality TV franchise when "Miami" was rebooted in 2021.
The comedy series Open to It has premiered on OUTtv, per a media release. According to the release, It's "a queer comedy series about a loving gay couple, who experiments with becoming a hot gay throuple. But threesome sex and open relationships come with more complications than extra limbs." The series stars Frank Arthur Smith (who also created it), Tim Wardell, Jason Caceres, Elizabeth Boone and Kimberly Nieva. The trailer is at Website Link Here .
Actor Jeremy Renner visited the hospital where he was treated following his near-fatal snowplow accident on New Year's Day 2023, Page Six noted. "Stopped by to see kids/superheroes, first responders and doctors, nurses and staff at Renown Hospital [in Reno, Nevada]," he wrote on Instagram. "Paying my respects and celebrating love, life and the blessings it brings to us all. Thank you and this community for keeping me here.. I'm forever in your debt with gratitude #loveandtitanium." Renner broke 30 bones in his body after diving in front of his own 14,330-pound PistenBully to save his nephew from being run over.
Death and Other Details will debut on Hulu on Jan. 16, per a press release. Set amidst the glamor of the global elite, Death and Other Details centers on the brilliant and restless Imogene Scott (Violett Beane), who finds herself in the wrong place/wrong time and becomes the prime suspect in a locked-room murder mystery. The series stars Violett Beane, Mandy Patinkin, Lauren Patten, Rahul Kohli, Angela Zhou, Hugo Diego Garcia, Pardis Saremi and Linda Emond.
Former American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance judge Paula Abdul filed a sexual-assault and gender-violence lawsuit against American Idol executive producer/judge Nigel Lythgoe over multiple alleged attacks, Deadline reported. (He has been hit with a second lawsuit since.) "Lythgoe knew and was aware that his treatment of Abdul was inappropriate and even criminal," the Grammy winner said of the British producer's purportedly well-known "indecent conduct" in the four-claim complaint. The suit names Lythgoe as well American Idol producers American Idol Productions, Dance Nation Productions, 19 Entertainment and Fremantlemedia North America as defendants. Lythgoe has denied the claims, adding that he was "shocked and saddened" by the lawsuit, per Variety.
Canadian Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model Lauren Chan—who came out as part of the LGBTQ+ community last year—shared an Instagram reel recapping candid and intimate moments of her relationship with film director Hayley Kosan, Yahoo! Life noted. Fans flooded the comments with congratulatory messages and praised Chan's authenticity, with many saying they were "thrilled" for the model for finding love. Chan officially revealed her relationship with Kosan on Dec. 21; she shared a makeup-free, topless photo of them sharing a hug, captioning it "Hard launch."
Following its award-winning global theatrical run, Apple Original Films announced that Martin Scorsese's film Killers of the Flower Moon will be available to stream globally on Apple TV+ beginning Friday, Jan. 12, per a press release. "Flower Moon" has been honored as the Best Film of the Year by the National Board of Review, received 12 Critics Choice Award nominations and seven Golden Globe Award nominations, and was named to the American Film Institute's list of Motion Pictures of the Year. Directed by Martin Scorsese and based on David Grann's best-selling book of the same name, "Flower Moon"—starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Lily Gladstone—is set in 1920s Oklahoma and depicts the serial murder of members of the oil-wealthy Osage Nation, a string of brutal crimes that came to be known as the Reign of Terror.
The Palm Springs International Film Festival held its annual gala, with former Entertainment Tonight personality Mary Hart returning to host, per Variety. Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas became the first songwriters ever to receive the Chairman's Award, for their Barbie chart-topper "What Was I Made For?" Eilish dedicated her award to "anyone who experiences hopelessness and the feeling of existential dread, and feeling like 'What's the point?'" The Holdovers" star Paul Giamatti received the Icon Award from Sideways co-star Sandra Oh—and he paid homage to his late mother and older sister as well as his first acting teacher, actor Alan Rickman. Some of the other honorees included actors Carey Mulligan, Emma Stone, Danielle Brooks and Colman Domingo as well as director Greta Gerwig.
The Jamie Lloyd-directed London revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard is heading to Broadway this year, per Playbill. The Masked Singer judge Nicole Scherzinger—who currently stars in the West End production—will reprise her role as faded silent-screen star Norma Desmond for New York audiences, marking her Broadway debut. Scherzinger will be joined by three of her London co-stars: Tom Francis, Grace Hodgett-Young and Olivier winner David Thaxton.
Dominic West revealed to Times Radio that Prince Harry stopped talking to him after The Crown actor shared stories about the royal's "two-day bender"—during which he drank booze from a prosthetic leg—at a 2013 press conference, per Page Six. "Two of the Aussie guys stripped naked and ran round the pole but most of us, Harry included, just went on a two-day bender with the Icelandic truck drivers who had brought some lethal home brew with them," West told the press at the time, according to the Daily Mail. However, West also described Harry as a "really cool guy" and "very much part of the team." West portrays King Charles III, Harry's father, on The Crown.
ESPN apologized for a video clip of a woman baring her breast that was shown during the network's broadcast of the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, ABC News noted. It was aired coming out of a commercial during the second half of Washington's 37-31 victory over Texas in a semifinal game of the College Football Playoff. A clip of people on Bourbon Street showed a woman pulling down her top to expose herself.
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel lashed out at NFL player Aaron Rodgers on social media, accusing the quarterback of putting his family at risk and threatening to take him to court, ABC News noted. On ESPN's The Pat McAfee Show, co-host A.J. Hawk brought up the list of names tied to convicted sexual abuser Jeffrey Epstein that is expected to be released—to which Rodgers said, "There's a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel, are really hoping that doesn't come out." McAfee later apologized for "being a part of" the situation, per The Athletic.
Lux Candle Corner has launched a new candle called "Jacob Elordi's Bath Water," based on the infamous Saltburn scene starring Elordi and Barry Keoghan, Out noted. The candle is being sold on Etsy and offers four different scents: apple harvest, cinnamon vanilla, clean cotton, sea salt + orchid, and white sage + lavender. It's also being sold on Amazon.
Beginning Jan. 29, Amazon Prime and Prime Video members who enjoy ad-free streaming of shows like Reacher will need to pay an additional $3 a month to watch those programs and other shows and movies without commercials, CNET noted. Netflix also increased the cost of its ad-free packages. Peacock, too, has an ad-supported option and also hiked the prices of its premium subscriptions; Disney and Hulu have announced price hikes as well.
Former Beverly Hills, 90210 actor Ian Ziering spoke out after a biker gang viciously attacked him in Los Angeles on New Year's Eve, per Page Six. On Instagram, he wrote, "While stuck in traffic, my car was approached aggressively by one of these riders leading to an unsettling confrontation. In an attempt to assess any damage I exited my car. This action, unfortunately, escalated into a physical altercation, which I navigated to protect myself." The Sharknado star was later seen consoling his crying 12-year-old daughter, who was in the car with him at the time of the incident.
