GLAAD (The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) has released the 16th annual “Where We Are On TV” report, a review of scripted LGBT prime-time characters in the 2011-2012 television season, according to a press release. “While the number of LGBT characters is down, some of the most popular shows with critics and viewers such as Glee, True Blood and The Good Wife weave storylines about gay and lesbian characters into the fabric of the show,” said GLAAD Acting President Mike Thompson. Also, it turns out that the new season has no transgender or African-American gay characters. The full report is at www.glaad.org/tvreport11.
Singer Melissa Etheridge has gotten a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, according to OnTheRedCarpet.com. At the ceremony, Etheridge joked, “It’s going to be here forever. So like, after the Zombie Apocalypse, they’re going to come here and they’re going to dig up Hollywood and they’re going to see my name.” The lesbian singer, 50, has had hit songs such as “Come to My Window” and “I Need to Wake Up,” for which she received a 2007 Academy Award.
Speaking of Etheridge, she is denying that she and Tammy Lynn Michaels were ever married, according to an On Top Magazine item. Etheridge and Michaels each filed to end their nine-year relationship last April; Etheridge wants joint custody of the couple’s 4-year-old twins while Michaels has asked for full custody. Michaels has filed for a dissolution of marriage but Etheridge has said that their vows were “nothing more than a non-binding commitment ceremony.”
The 25th Annual Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction raised more than $547,000 for the nonprofit organization Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, according to the Wall Street Journal. The event, in Manhattan’s theater district, featured an outdoor market with auctions, Broadway memorabilia and celebrity autographs. The top-selling item was a day at The Phantom of the Opera that included a walk-on role in the musical with make-up and costume; two people bid $10,500 each, raising $21,000.
The world premiere of Jeff Talbot’s comedy The Submission, starring True Blood actress Rutina Wesley and openly gay Glee star Jonathan Groff, took place off-Broadway Sept. 27 at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, according to Playbill.com. MCC Theater is producing the world premiere of Talbott’s play, which the late Tony-winning playwright Arthur Laurents (and a committee) selected as the inaugural winner of the Laurents-Hatcher Award in February. The award is named for Laurents and his late partner, Tom Hatcher.
If you’re into the Kardashians, you’re in luck. During the week of Oct. 3-7, a different member of the reality-TV family will co-host the fourth hour of Today with Hoda Kotb, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Khloe Kardashian will lead off on Monday, followed by Bruce Jenner, Kris Jenner, Kourtney Kardashian and Kim Kardashian.
Nelson Mandela’s grandchildren will star in a reality show, according to a Hollywood Reporter item. Swati Dlamini, granddaughter of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, told reporters, “The show will be about our lives as young Black women … We’re not wearing ‘I’m a Mandela’ T-shirts.” Dlamini will be featured along with older sister Zaziwe Dlamini-Manaway and cousin Dorothy Adjoa Amuah, the granddaughter of the late Evelyn Mandela.
Kelly Clarkson said that she would like to audition for the hit show The Voice, according to Digital Spy. Clarkson, who won American Idol nine years ago, said, “I love auditioning. I so want to audition for [The Voice] and see if I can get the chairs to turn around!” Asked if she would consider a judging role on the program, she said, “The thing I love about The Voice is that they’re more mentors; they’re not judges. I would never really want to be a judge … just because I don’t want to break people’s hearts!” Her new CD, Stronger, will be out Oct. 25.
An actor on the CW show The Vampire Diaries has dashed hopes of a same-sex romance—at least for now, according to Digital Spy. Joseph Morgan (who plays Klaus) said that his character has no romantic feelings for Stefan (played by Paul Wesley), insisting that there is only a “bromance.” Morgan added, “I have to disappoint you. There’s a bromance going on sure, but I don’t think there’s going to be a romance.”
Out actor Sean Hayes has started developing a new Western for NBC, according to Digital Spy. The untitled production is set in the 1880s and combines drama and comedy, with the show focusing on a young doctor named Jacob Morris who specialized in mental disorders. Hayes will executive-produce with collaborator Todd Milliner.
Actress Dyan Cannon—promoting her new book, Dear Cary: My Life with Cary Grant—is saying she never saw Grant engaging in any behavior that would indicate he was gay, according to Fox News. Discussing her marriage to Grant, the 74-year-old Cannon said, “I just want to tell you that part of our life was very fulfilling, so I don’t know. In Hollywood they talk about everyone in some form or another. If that was the case, I never saw any indication of it.” The book covers Grant’s LSD use, among other topics.
LaToya Jackson will come out of musical retirement to perform at Michael Jackson’s tribute concert Oct. 8 in Wales, according to Digital Spy. She will join acts like Black Eyed Peas, Christina Aguilera and Leona Lewis at the Millennium Stadium. Brothers Randy and Jermaine have said they oppose the concert, and sister Janet said she also will not be there.
Scientists have determined that Queen’s “We Are the Champions” is the catchiest song ever, according to the Daily Record. Researchers discovered that some songs have a scientific “X-factor” that makes them catchy; among the elements that make up the X factor are male vocalists and long, detailed musical phrases. The Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.,” Sum 41’s “Fat Lip,” Europe’s “The Final Countdown” and The Automatic’s “Monster” completed the top-five list.
Susan Boyle has debuted her version of the Depeche Mode classic “Enjoy the Silence,” according to Digital Spy. Boyle, 50, will include the cover on her upcoming album, Someone to Watch Over Me. It will be Boyle’s third album; her first two sold more than 14 million copies worldwide. “Someone” will also include a cover of the Tears for Fears hit “Mad World.”
Jennifer Hudson has opened a weight-loss center. According to the Chicago Tribune, The Jennifer Hudson Weight Watchers Center opened in the Kenwood/Hyde Park area of Chicago, on the city’s South Side. Hudson, who is a Grammy and Oscar winner, has been a spokeswoman for Weight Watchers, which will donate a portion of the facility’s revenue to a foundation she co-founded to honor her late nephew, Julian King.
The friendship between Jacqueline Laurita and Teresa Giudice on The Real Housewives of New Jersey is apparently on the rocks. According to People.com, Laurita implied on Twitter that Giudice started a rumor saying that Giudice’s sister-in-law, Melissa, was a stripper. “[Giudice] plotted it. She played dumb on camera and even defended Melissa,” Laurita tweeted, adding separately, “Teresa is scum!”
Warner Bros. had issued a statement saying Halle Berry had broken her foot “walking in Majorca on a day off from filming”—but a goat was actually the cause, according to People.com. Berry, who is in Majorca filming Cloud Atlas, saw her three-year-old daughter, Nahla, chasing a goat. Soon, Berry was chasing her daughter, who was still running after the animal. After Berry grabbed her girl, she stumbled over a rock and broke her foot.
Cher is apparently helping transgender son Chaz Bono while he deals with his pain during Dancing with the Stars, according to the Daily Mail. The singer/actress has been sending her team of physical therapists to help him dance through the pain of sore knees. Bono said, “Yeah, she’s been helping out and has been sending some of the people who work on her when she’s dancing and doing her shows. … It’s just literally I’m a 42-year-old guy who’s overweight and who went from not dancing to dancing hours a day.”
Singer Adam Lambert and fashion designers Tom Ford and Marc Jacobs are on OUT magazine’s list of best-dressed gay men, On Top Magazine reported. Ford told OUT, “Style is a personal thing. It is what defines you. It is not only about clothes but is about the way that one handles oneself with other people. To treat people kindly, to look them in the eye, to shake their hand firmly and to try to always be proud of ones actions are key elements of style as far as I am concerned.” Perez Hilton, Boy George and Bruce Vilanch were among the worst-dressed.
Country singer Toby Keith has said that he’s fine with same-sex marriage, according to On Top Magazine. Keith, 50, said, “That whole gay issue thing, that’s never bothered me. I’ve never seen what that affects and [why] anybody should care—and they never do affect me.” He added, “Somebody’s sexual preference is like, ‘Who cares?'”
Sara Gilbert, co-host of the daytime show The Talk, became emotional discussing her split from Glee writer Allison Adler, according to On Top Magazine. Gilbert opened up Sept. 30 for the first time publicly about their relationship, which lasted a decade. Gilbert, 36, said, “I’ve never been married, but I was in a long relationship. It’s emotional for me, because we’re not together. I wouldn’t trade that time … it’s such a special time in my life. … But then you see people in their 70s and you wonder … how do they do it? How do they make it last? And I would like to think that I can.”
Musician Pharrell Williams and muppet Miss Piggy are among the guest judges for the upcoming Project Runway: All Stars, which starts Nov. 3 on Lifetime, according to Digital Spy. Designers Isaac Mizrahi and Georgina Chapman will serve as judges, while Marie Claire Editor-in-Chief Joanna Coles will mentor and model Angela Lindvall will host. Among the competing designers are Rami Kashou, Gordana Gelhausen adn Austin Scarlett.
Glee’s Jane Lynch told E! Online that she has nothing but praise for co-star Chris Colfer for his portrayal of gay student Kurt Hummel, Digital Spy reported. “In full view of the public eye he has allowed his own sexual orientation to be known not only to himself, but to the world completely publicly,” the lesbian actress and recent Emmy host explained. “His character is going through the same thing and he has done it with such grace and such style and with such maturity that’s really beyond his years.”
Madonna may play the halftime show during the upcoming Super Bowl in Indianapolis, according to the L.A. Times. This would be the first time the “Like a Virgin” singer would entertain during the sports event. Recent halftime performers have included Bruce Springsteen, the Who, Prince and the Black Eyed Peas. Madonna would be the first woman to headline since Janet Jackson, who had the infamous “wardrobe malfunction.”
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition host Ty Pennington is joining the new ABC daily daytime series The Revolution, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The Revolution, debuting in January, is a new health and lifestyle series that will aim tohelp viewers completely transform all aspects of their lives. Pennington will join Project Runway mentor Tim Gunn and fitness/nutrition expert Harley Pasternak.
Openly gay exec Howard Bragman has stepped down as CEO of Fifteen Minutes Public Relations, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Bragman—who represents Barry Manilow, Chaz Bono and Camille Grammer—will remain as the company’s chairman. Bill Harrison will be the new CEO.
In the Life—the public-television series that spotlights the LGBT community—is celebrating its 20th-anniversary premiere this month, according to a press release. The season premiere will feature “20 Years of Culture Wars,” looking back at the show’s impact since its first airing on June 9, 1992. The show will also look at New York’s road to legalizing same-sex marraige. See www.itlmedia.org.
Angelina Jolie may assume an expanded role with the U.N. refugee agency for which is already a goodwill ambassador, according to the Hollywood Reporter. She told diplomats and officials with the agency known as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) that her work for them has been “moving, sometimes heartbreaking, but always rewarding, and unforgettable.” Recently, she was in Geneva, Switzerland, to be recognized for her work and to honor a Yemeni aid group, the Society for Humanitarian Solidarity, at UNHCR’s annual awards ceremony.
As for the Playboy Club, it is no more. NBC has cancelled the show after three episodes, according to the Chicago Tribune. Only 3.4 million people watched the last episode. The show did make news recently when one of its actors, Sean Maher, publicly came out of the closet. It will be replaced by the newsmagazine Rock Center with Brian Williams, which also will feature contributions from Today show personalities Meredith Vieira, Matt Lauer and Ann Curry.