MTV’s ‘Made’ featured Cyndi Lauper mentoring a gay teen

Today’s episode of MTV’s Made featured the incomparable Cyndi Lauper as she mentored troubled gay teen Eli Medina who wants to become a singer. On the show Eli claims to be “openly fabulous” but had to move out of his parents house after his mother disowned him for being gay.

I’m not a fan of the show (or MTV in general), but I thought this was cute and deserves a gander. I love, love, love Cyndi Lauper and her overflowing of support of the lgbt community. If you don’t all of what this woman has done for us then I behoove you to take some time to type “Cyndi Lauper” and “lgbt” into Google. The wonderment of her soul will amaze you.

A clip from Cyndi and Eli mentoring session is below. If you missed it, the full episode should be available at MTV.com starting tomorrow.

Funny or Infuriating? – SNL Estro-Maxxx skit

GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) is demanding action from NBC (now owned by Comcast) concerning a Saturday Night Live skit they found offensive.

The skit in question was called “Estro-Maxxx” and was a faux-commercial about estrogen for transgender women. Male casts members with beards dressed in dresses for comedic relief. The main gag of the joke was that this new drug could turn you into a woman faster. GLAAD wants a public apology from the network and wants all video of the skit removed from the internet and future broadcasting.

I personally thought the skit was kind of funny. I thought the skit was making fun of prescription drugs in general that are typically marketed as the quick-fixes for anything. I also thought they were playing off the fact that many think the transition process for a transgender individual means have a simple surgery and taking a few pills. When the reality of the situation is much more complicated. I don’t think they were trying to make fun of all transgender women or put down an entire community.

Watch the video below and judge for yourself. Is GLAAD justified in taking SNL to task?

SAG Awards: Gay Roundup

The cast of Modern Family (which features gay dads Mitchell and Cameron) took one of the top TV prizes, but other than that there wasn’t much “gay” at the Screen Actors Guild Awards last night. Glee’s Jane Lynch and Chris Colfer both lost in the acting categories they were nominated for. Check out the full list of winners below:

MOVIES

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
The King’s Speech

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Colin Firth, The King’s Speech

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Natalie Portman, Black Swan

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Christian Bale, The Fighter

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Melissa Leo, The Fighter

TELEVISION

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Boardwalk Empire

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
Modern Family

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
Betty White, Hot in Cleveland

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Al Pacino, You Don’t Know Jack

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Claire Danes, Temple Grandin

Screen Actors Guild Awards 47th Annual Life Achievement Award
Ernest Borgnine

Ugandan lesbian’s deportation halted just in time

In the wake of gay activist’s David Kato’s vicious murder in Uganda, Brenda Namigadde, a Ugandan native and lesbian has faced deportation from the U.K. Uganda is currently in the midst of tension over possible new legislation being called the “Kill the Gays Bill.” If passed openly gay citizens could be imprisoned and certain “homosexual acts” could be punishable by death.

Namigadde lawyers argued that she might face death if she was forced to return, but her case was still pending as she was boarding her flight back home. Luckily the British High Court ruled in her favor just before the plane took off Saturday.

From the NY Times:

A 29-year-old Ugandan woman who says she is a lesbian won a last-minute stay of deportation on Friday night from a British High Court judge who heard her lawyers plead that her life would be at risk if she was forced to return to her homeland.

The judge’s ruling came after Brenda Namigadde, who came to Britain as a student in 2003, had been taken from an immigration detention center outside London to Heathrow Airport ahead of a flight to Kampala, the Ugandan capital. Her lawyer said she had already boarded the flight when immigration officials were notified of the judge’s ruling and then escorted Ms. Namigadde off the aircraft and returned her to the detention center.

Appeals and protests on Ms. Namigadde’s behalf intensified in the past 48 hours after the most outspoken gay rights advocate in Uganda, David Kato, was beaten to death on Wednesday with a hammer at his home outside Kampala. In October, a Kampala tabloid newspaper, Rolling Stone, ran an angry diatribe identifying 100 individuals it described as “Uganda’s top homos.” The article was accompanied by a front-page picture of Mr. Kato and a banner saying, “Hang Them.”

Queer Film Spotlight: ‘Role/Play’

Role/Play is the latest film from queer director Rob Williams (Make the Yuletide Gay, Long-Term Relationship) who also wrote the film. Real-life partners Matthew Montgomery and Steve Callahan star respectively as a famous gay rights activist in the midst of a scandal for cheating on his long-time partner and a soap star in the midst of a sex tape scandal. The two meet and begin a torrid fling while at a gay bed-and-breakfast, both hiding from the press.

The story seems typical. Boy meets boy. Boys hate each other. Hate turns into passion. Boys sleep together. Boys fall for each other. Boy loses boy. Boys learn something about themselves because of the relationship. The reviews are pretty even toned. Some like it, some don’t. You can see for yourself when the DVD is released Feb. 8. (Pre-order it here.)

Check out the trailer:

NKOTB member ‘comes out’ to fans

New Kids on the Block fans take notice! Jonathan Knight is officially out of the closet. He released a statement Saturday on the NKOTB Web site (viewable by members only) where he stressed that he’d never hidden his sexuality and has been out to friends and family for 20 years.

The singer’s sexuality has been in the tabloids a few times before because of speculation about his sexuality, but he was able to silently drift out of the celebrity rumor mill when NKOTB left the spotlight in the ’90s. That is until Knight and the group reunited in 2008.

The rumors hit a fever point when ’80s pop star Tiffany, Knight’s former girlfriend, mentioned that he was gay on Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live” a couple weeks ago. She and Knight made up through a Twitter exchange, but apparently people began berating him further so he felt the need to officially come out to the public.

Here’s Knight’s full statement:

“I have never been outed by anyone but myself! I did so almost twenty years ago. I never know that I would have to do it all over again publicly just because I reunited with NKOTB! I have lived my life very openly and have never hidden the fact that I am gay! Apparently the pre requiste to being a gay public figure is to appear on the cover of a magazine with the caption “I am gay”. I apologize for not doing so if this is what was expected! My belief is that you live your life by example, and not by a caption on a magazine! If there ever has been any confusion about my sexuality, then you are someone that doesn’t even know me!”

“I love living my life being open and honest, but at this time I choose not to discuss my private life any further! My fellow band members don’t discuss their private lives with their loved ones and I don’t feel that just because I am gay, I should have to discuss mine!”

NKOTB is set to tour with the Back Street Boys this summer. (Those living in Columbus can purchase tickets to their July 24th concert here.)

Queer Film Spotlight: ‘Kaboom’

Kaboom is a new film directed by Gregg Araki about a group of college students on the road to discovering their sexual identities. The movie stars Thomas Dekker (Heroes, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) as a young man who considers his sexuality “undeclared,” much like his major. The film is a sort of trippy, sci-fi, teen-angsty version of Twin Peaks, where Araki has said he got his original inspiration for the film. The main character has a disturbing dream, the details of which begin to seep into his real life. He and his friends go on a quest to discover if some mystical is afoot of if it’s all the after effects of ingesting some LSD-laced cookies.

Kaboom was released last year in France and has made a splash several major festivals, including last year’s Cannes Film Festivals and most recently the Sundance Film Festival. A public release in scheduled for Jan. 28 in Manhattan.

Araki is also the director of Mysterious Skin, one of my favorite queer films starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, so I am definitely looking forward to getting a chance to look at some of his more recent work. Also some are saying this is probably the first leading bisexual character in a film since Colin Farrell’s character in A Home at the End of the World, making it a significant endeavor as well.

Check out the film’s trailer below:

DADT Repeal Update #2: Top brass lay out timelines

As promised Defense Secretary Robert Gates discussed the military’s first steps in the process to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell at a press conference Friday. He said he’s ordered the military’s top leaders to have a full plan for implementing the repeal on his desk by Feb. 4. The military’s top brass will have to go through training and it’s being reported that the policy should be completed repealed across the entire military by the end of the year.

Some of the finer details include making sure units leaders understand that they are not aloud to segregate the bedrooms or showering quarters once DADT is repealed and putting a halt to leaders searching out service members sexualities for discharge.

Various court cases are pending concerning DADT, the government of which are asking to have postponed until the Pentagon finishes implementing the repeal. The judges on one such case now at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco is refusing to put a hold on the lawsuit. The defense agrees for the simple fact that the repeal won’t allow gays and lesbians equal rights when it comes to partners pension and partners will not be able to live in housing on military bases reserved for married couples.

UPDATE (1/31):

The Commandant of the Marine Corps made this video promising their going to work to end DADT rapidly.

Queer Film Spotlight: ‘Beginners’

(From left) Christopher Plummer and Ewan McGregor in 'Beginners.'

Beginners is on track to be this year’s The Kids Are All Right, as acting legend Christopher Plummer takes on his first gay role as Hal, an elderly widow who comes out to his son, Oliver, after his wife dies. Oliver’s parents had been married for 44 years.  The film was written and directed by Mike Mills and is set for a release in June.

It’s already getting some pretty good early reviews from being on the festival circuit because of a supposedly stellar performances by Plummer (who received a Oscar nomination for The Last Station in 2009), but also because the brilliant Ewen McGregor (just off his leading role in I Love You Phillip Morris) and his portrayal of Oliver. Obviously Oscar talk is premature, but this does look like a great film that I’m definitely go to make sure I catch this summer.

Check out the trailer below.

Queer Corner Quickie #1: David Kato, gay Doritos ads, Dan Choi, Keith Olbermann, Cher

A quick roundup of this week’s gay happenings…

Video of The Week: A couple of gay-themed ads entered into Doritos Super Bowl Commercial contest are making the rounds online. It was mistakenly reported that they were finalist and possibly might make it on the air, but an outcry from the religious right forced Frito Lays to come forward and officially issue a statement. Below is my favorite of the two. Here’s the other. 

Of course the big horrible news this week is the murder of Ugandan gay rights activist David Kato. His funeral today was also rife with turmoil and as violence broke out amongst the onlookers. This week President Obama and Hilliary Clinton both released statements honoring Kato.

In related news, Ugandan lesbian still faces deportation despite Kato’s murder.

Gay bashing seems to be on the rise everywhere recently as horrendous cases have been reported in Louisiana, London, San Diego, Canada, Atlanta and New Zealand just this week.

Democrats in the Iowa Senate succeeded in voting down a push by Republicans to add a ban to same-sex marriage to the state’s constitution. However, across the pond France’s Constitutional Court recently upheld a ban on gay marriage. (Side note: Paris’ mayor is openly gay.) The debate heads to parliament next.

In the wake of promising developments regarding the DADT repeal, Dan Choi (a former luitenant discharged under DADT) wrote an open letter to Obama publicly refusing to pay a $2,500 bill he recently recieved from the Department of Defense. They want his signing bonus back since he didn’t finish his term. Hmm? Who’s fault is that?

A homeless shelter in Georgia is trying to defend their right to turn away “practicing homosexuals.” Apparently the Christian credo of helping all in need doesn’t apply to us gays.

Gay judges are having a good week. At the federal and state levels.

Prop. 8 trial update.

Responses to Keith Olbermann‘s abrupt departure from MSNBC are still coming in. This article features statements from Bill O’Reilly and Stephen Colbert. I prefer the latter.

Dav Savage is back in the news.  The sex advice columnists may be getting his own show on MTV. He’s also under fire for comments he made about the presidents State of the Union Address. It’s also been announced that he’s turning the “It’s Gets Better Project” into a book.

Speaking of here’s a State of the (Gay) Union by John Culhane, Professor of Law at Widener University.

Apparently recruiting of women for college basketball teems is polluted with homophobia. Jeesh, we can’t even give lesbians their sports now!?

Lady Gaga has released the lyrics of her ridiculously anticipated single “Born This Way” for her upcoming new album. She’ll be releasing it officially when she performs it at the Grammy’s Feb. 13. This shit is really bananas. Glee has already optioned the song for a remake on the show. She also talks about it by phone on Ellen.

Broadway revival of Evita, starring Ricky Martin opens in March 2012.

Jay Z and Will Smith are creating a production company, the first project of which is a remake of Annie starring Will’s daughter Willow Smith, of “Whip My Hair” fame. BLASPHEMY!

Maria Carrillo High School senior Kayla Kearney bravely came out to her entire high school, in an assembly honoring Martin Luther King Jr.

Arkansas supermarket censors cover of US Weekly featuring Elton John with partner and new baby on the cover.

Not one, but two Project Runway spin-offs are in the works.

Cher’s not happy with Burlesque Oscar snub.

Blair’s cousin Geri on The Facts of Life is gay!

Plans are in the works for the third and fourth installments of the popular “Eating Out” movie franchise. No, it’s not a porno, but it’s close.

Photo of the Week: This month’s Marie Claire U.K. features an interview with a gay porn star and his wife. No, that isn’t a typo. Click pics below for full article.

Review: ‘Fish Out of Water’

Tonight I went to a screening of “Fish Out of Water,” a documentary by out lesbian filmmaker Ky Dickens, sponsored by ACT OUT Delaware, the Delaware Gay/Straight Christian Alliance and Equality Ohio. The low budget piece (made for about $45,000) was released back in the Spring of 2009, but is still being screened across the country with the help of various gay rights organizations.

In “Fish Out of Water” Dickens takes on the seven passages in the Bible that are most used by anti-gay religious leaders and the religious community at large to condemn same-sex love and mount campaigns against gay rights. Starting with the famous “God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve,” Dickens pretty much takes the audience through the Bible, deconstructing each bigoted claim in turn. To do this she travels the country interviewing religious theologians from large metropolitan areas and small cities in the southern Bible Belt.

The documentary pretty succinctly follows a compelling an easily digestible tale through the scriptures, using animation and mixing in testimonials from regular voices from the lgbt community amongst the theological jargon. This is specifically where “Fish Out of Water” shines. A young filmmaker making the very complicated and over-interpreted verses easier to understand for a lay audience, most of whom are probably gay or straights allies. If you’re looking to be equipped with the brain power needed to combat the hateful speech of a religious family member, this is definitely your film.

Of course Dickens was out to do more then give people arsenal for their next argument, which she does in spades, but she also readily uses her own personal experience with rejection after coming out in college to inform the film’s structure. After learning all she’s learned about the true meaning of the Bible on her journey she sends a six-page letter to the best friend that disowned her after she came out, who in turn replies with a loving apology. Much like Dickens’ letter, “Fish Out of Water” is a loving protest in response to the bigotry that’s come from a misinformed pulpit for centuries. The main message: God loves us too.

I strongly suggest you get a copy of this film. (You can purchase it here.) It’s a well-thought-out and beautifully edited , and offers the Biblical re-education every “Christian” is in need of.

Check out the trailer below:

Ugandan gay activist brutally beaten to death

Ugandan gay activist David Kato was found in his home yesterday after he was brutally beaten. His injuries proved too severe and he died on the way to the hospital.  A motive has yet to be determined, but many are connecting the murder to an article in Rolling Stone (a Ugandan tabloid, not the American music magazine) last year titled “100 Pictures of Uganda’s Top Homos.” The article included names and addresses and called for those pictured to be hanged.

This all comes at the height of tension in Uganda and the world over the “Kill the Gays Bill” recently making it’s way through the country’s parliament. If passed the bill would make being homosexual illegal and would declare some homosexual acts punishable by death. (A lesbian in the U.K. is currently fighting to save her life as she faces deportation back to Uganda this week.)

Kato, who’s lawyer says the activist was bludgeoned by a hammer, was described as a “fearless voice for human rights” by the Human Rights Watch. He was 42-years-old.

The video below is part of a news report from CNN on the murder. The reporter recounts interviewing Kato right after his picture was published in the Rolling Stone article back in October.

In case you’re playing catch up, here’s a bit of Rachel Maddow’s coverage of the “Kill the Gays Bill” from a little over a month ago:

Queer Film Spotlight: ‘You Should Meet My Son!’

“You Should Meet My Son!” is an adorably hilarious small feature that’s currently making its way though the lgbt film festival circuit. According to the film’s Web site the movie is “a comedy about a conservative Southern mom who discovers that her only son is gay.  Determined that he won’t go through life alone and miserable, she sets out to find him the perfect husband.”

I haven’t seen the film, but it’s been getting some rave reviews and based on what I’ve been reading about the movie it’s a riot. The creators are planning to release the DVD later this winter. (You can pre-order it here.) I definitely plan on making sure I get my copy. The conservative mother trying to marry her son off in the beginning of the trailer (see below) reminds me too much of my own mother. If only she’d switch gears like this mom and start introducing me to eligible bachelors instead of trying to convince me I just need to meet the right bachelorette!

What the ‘Trock’!?

For those of you in the Central Ohio area, the famous dance troupe Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo (known to most as “The Trocks”), will be at The Palace Theatre, 34 W. Broad Street, for a one-night-only performance tomorrow at 8 p.m (tickets are $23-$40.75 and can be purchased here). The all-male ballet company is known for their hilarious, yet technically breathtaking, parodies of classical ballet.

I’d heard of this group before, but didn’t know they traveled or the full scope of their impact. They’re based in New York City but travel all over the world and offer an extensive list of ongoing performances in their repertory. It’s seriously a full fledged respected ballet company.

I really wish I was going. If you’re planning to attend hit up the comments after and let us know how it was. Below is a video featuring interviews with some of the troupe’s phenomenal dancers.

DADT Repeal Update #1: Obama issues 3 month deadline for implementation plans

Looks like Obama is already keeping to one of his promises from last night’s State of the Union. Today he announced that he’s given the Pentagon three months to have the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (the military’s ban on gays serving openly) fully implemented. Now, if only he was this on top of it when it came to gay marriage.

Here’s more from The Washington Post:

Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said senior defense and military leaders will provide an update Friday on how the Pentagon is proceeding on the implementation of the new law, which ended the Pentagon’s 17-year-old “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and will allow gays to serve openly for the first time in history.

Morrell declined to say more, but officials familiar with the plan described it on condition of anonymity because it has not been finalized or made public.

Details have been scarce as the military has scrambled to pull together the dozens of legal and policy changes that must be made by all the services in order to put the new law into effect.

The changes affect how troops are recruited, trained and discharged, as well as how same sex partners will be treated in terms of various health and other benefits.

Some will be easy to implement. For example, recruits will no longer be turned down because they are gay.

But others involving benefits, housing and the execution of the training program will be more complex.

According to officials, the training will be broken into three categories. One will be for administrators and other leaders who will have to be able to answer detailed questions about the new policy. The second will be for senior commanders who will have to enforce the policies and also be on the lookout for signs of unease or problems among service members.

The third group will be the general training for the troops. That is the one that is expected to be the most difficult to complete because service members are scattered around the world, and many are in various phases of deployment to war or heading home.