Openly gay actor Dan Levy and his father, Eugene Levy, will host the 76th Emmy Awards Sept. 15 on ABC, per Deadline. The Schitts Creek actors—who, in 2020, became the first father-son duo to win Emmys in the same year—will now be the first father-son team to host the awards show. “For two Canadians who won our Emmys in a literal quarantine tent, the idea of being asked to host this year in an actual theater was incentive enough,” they said. “We’re thrilled to be able to raise a glass to this extraordinary season of television and can’t wait to spend the evening with you all on Sept. 15.”
MTV and Paramount+ have renewed RuPaul’s Drag Race and RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars for new seasons, per Deadline. RuPaul’s Drag Race has been picked up for Season 17 on MTV alongside its companion series, RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked. Paramount+ has okayed a 10th season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars alongside its companion series, RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars: Untucked. Recently, RuPaul received his ninth consecutive Emmy nomination for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality Competition Program this year, tying the record for most nominations in the category; Drag Race is nominated in eight categories, including Outstanding Host For A Reality Or Reality Competition Program.
Out singer Jake Shears is working with close friends Doorly and Shadow Child as the project Lovequest, according to Clash. The trio will release a series of singles over the coming months via Ultra Records. Talking with Clash, Shears said, “I think it’s very important to have a good time and really like the people that you make music with. Because making music should be, and can be, really fun. I adore Simon and Doorly. The bottom line is that they’re wonderful people, they’re very talented and they’re really fun to work with.” The video for the first single, “Happiness,” is at this link.
LGBTQ+ actress Maria Bello has joined out showrunner Kevin Williamson’s upcoming Netflix drama series The Waterfront, Variety noted. Bello is now the second confirmed cast member, joining Holt McCallany in the series. The show is inspired by true events and “dives into the flawed Buckley family as their attempts to retain control of their crumbling North Carolina fishing empire drive them to increasingly dangerous means to keep themselves afloat,” according to its official tagline.
Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars teamed for an unexpected new single titled “Die With a Smile,” Hypebeast noted. The Grammy winners have delivered their first collaboration as a duo, surprising fans with their love-ballad duet. In a statement, Gaga said, “I was finishing up my own album in Malibu and one night after a long day he asked me to come to his studio to hear something he was working on. It was around midnight when I got there and I was blown away when I heard what he had started making. We stayed up all night and finished writing and recording the song. Bruno’s talent is beyond explanation.”
When Joaquin Phoenix abruptly exited Todd Haynes’ gay romance movie, it opened the actor up to the possibility of legal action, per The Hollywood Reporter. Phoenix’s departure was surprising, given that he first brought the project to Haynes and his longtime producers at Killer Films, headed by Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler. The untitled film, also starring Captain America: Brave New World’s Danny Ramirez, was said to focus on an intense gay romance in the 1930s. According to various sources, Phoenix got cold feet in the lead-up to the production, although it’s not known exactly why.
Out actor Anthony Rapp is among those taking part in six works selected for the fifth annual Solo Flights Festival that will be held Sept. 5-11 at Theatre Aspen’s Hurst Theatre, per Broadway World. On Sep. 9 and 11, Rapp will star in Touch, a one-person play that follows Sydney Blatter—a gay, middle-aged, middle-school theater teacher. When he encounters a former student after a panic attack on the subway, Sydney’s life takes an unexpected turn, forcing him to confront his past and present.
Queer country artist Orville Peck released the new original song “Permanently Lonely” from IFC Films Skincare, per a press release. Recently, Peck earned his first ever #1 on the Current Country Albums Chart, first #1 on the Americana / Folk Albums chart and first Top 5 on the Overall Vinyl Albums Chart with his new duets album Stampede, which was released Aug. 2.
Will Ferrell and his best friend Harper Steele grace the cover of The Advocate’s History Issue, in a story about their upcoming Netflix documentary Will & Harper, which premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, the magazine touted. The documentary tells the story of how Steele came out as trans during the pandemic, and how she and Ferrell decided to go on a cross country road trip together to get reacquainted with each other.
Queer alt-R&B artist Forest Claudette has released the & Stone Between EP, per a press release. This three-track collection includes the single “Press on Me.” The release of & Stone Between comes on the heels of Claudette’s announcement of their North American headlining tour that will kick off on Sept. 11 in Atlanta, with subsequent stops in Toronto, Chicago, LA, Oslo, Amsterdam, Paris and London, among other cities.
Richard Simmons’ brother, Lenny Simmons, told People that the fitness expert’s death was accidental. In a statement to People, the Simmons family spokesperson, Tom Estey, said, “Richard Simmons’ brother Lenny, received a call from the LA coroner’s office. The coroner informed Lenny that Richard’s death was accidental due to complications from recent falls and heart disease as a contributing factor. The toxicology report was negative other than medication Richard had been prescribed. The Family wishes to thank everyone for their outpouring of love and support during this time of great loss.” The fitness guru was found on Aug. 13 by his longtime housekeeper—one day after celebrating his 76th birthday.
The late legendary Cuban singer Celia Cruz has become the first Afro-Latina woman to appear on U.S. currency, USA Today noted. The Mint facilities at Philadelphia and Denver manufacture these circulating quarters, according to a press release from the U.S. Mint. The reverse (tails) features a dynamic depiction of Celia Cruz flashing her dazzling smile while performing in a rumba style dress. Her signature catchphrase “¡AZÚCAR!” is inscribed on the right. This is the fourth coin in the 2024 American Women Quarters (AWQ) Program; other honorees include the queer figure the Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray, the Honorable Patsy Takemoto Mink, Civil War-era surgeon/activist Dr. Mary Edwards Walker and Native American writer/educator/activist Zitkala-Ša—also known as Gertrude Simmons Bonnin.
Iconic British duo Tears For Fears—known for hits such as “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” and “Shout”—will head to Las Vegas this fall with Songs for a Nervous Planet, an exclusive three-night live event (Oct. 30 and Nov. 1-2) at BleauLive Theater inside Fontainebleau Las Vegas, per a press release. This exclusive run of shows follows The Tipping Point World Tour and The Tipping Point Tour Part II, an extensive run of global dates in 2022 and 2023 that featured stateside performances at Madison Square Garden in New York and the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
Another iconic British duo, Pet Shop Boys, released their new single and video, “Feel,” from their latest album, Nonetheless, which debuted in April, according to a press release. The single is available now as a five-track digital bundle that includes the radio edit of “Feel,” the previously unreleased song “Everybody will dance” and a German demo version of “The schlager hit parade,” from Nonetheless, sung by Chris Lowe. The video for “Feel” features emerging UK actors Sam Bottomley and Tareq Al-Jeddal.
Broadway en Spanglish—a musical project by Florencia Cuenca and Jaime Lozano—is set to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with an album-release concert at the renowned 54 Below in New York City on Sunday, Sept. 22, per a press release. The concert will feature a lineup of songs from popular musicals such as Hamilton, Waitress, Frozen and more. Audiences can expect new arrangements by Lozano, bringing a fresh and vibrant Mexican flavor to these Broadway hits. The album, produced by Concord Theatricals Recordings, will be available to the public on Friday, Sept. 27.
Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story will debut on Netflix on Sept. 19, per Variety. Season two of the true-crime anthology series (following Dahmer—Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story) will focus on the 1996 conviction of the Menendez brothers for the murders of their parents. Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Cooper Koch lead the series as Lyle and Erik Menendez, while Jose and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez will be played by Javier Bardem and Chloe Sevigny. Nathan Lane, Leslie Grossman, Dallas Roberts and Ari Graynor are among the other cast members.
Richard Hatch (the original winner of Survivor), The Real Housewives of New Jersey’s Teresa Giudice and RuPaul’s Drag Race’s Kandy Muse are among the contestants on the second season of the reality-competition show House of Villains, a press release announced. The two-night premiere begins Wed., Oct. 9, at 10 p.m. ET/PT with a 75-minute episode that will air simultaneously across Bravo, E!, SYFY and USA; it continues the following night with a new episode airing at 10 p.m. ET/PT only on E! Surprise guests include Janice Dickinson, Tori Spelling, and former villains Bobby Lytes and Jax Taylor. The villains must scheme, strategize and shade each other for a chance to win $200,000 and the title of “America’s Ultimate Supervillain.”
Queer comic Punkie Johnson discussed her decision to leave SNL ahead of its 50th season while on David Spade and Dana Carvey’s Fly on the Wall podcast, per Variety. “I didn’t really feel like I fit, like I didn’t feel like that was my zone. That show is for a different type of person,” Johnson said, in part. “I came from standup so I just thought everybody else came from standup. I started having conversations with people and everybody was like, ‘Oh yeah, we went to school for this.’ I’m like, ‘Y’all went to school to be here?’”
Actress, Grammy-winning singer and multi-platinum recording artist Ariana Grande is marking a decade of her multi-platinum chart-topping album My Everything with new vinyl and digital deluxe album releases of My Everything (Tenth Anniversary Edition), out now via Republic Records, per a press release. My Everything (Tenth Anniversary Edition)’s vinyl edition includes songs never previously available on vinyl and in a new color variant. Continuing the celebration, Grande will release a limited 7” vinyl bundle with “Problem,” “Break Free,” “Love Me Harder” and “One Last Time” on Monday, Aug. 26. The following day will showcase the digital release of single bundles including a capella and instrumental versions of “Problem,” “Break Free,” “Love Me Harder,” “One Last Time” and “Bang Bang.”
Musician August Alsina—possibly best known for his “entanglement” with Jada Pinkett Smith that was all over the internet in 2020—isn’t ready to label his sexuality, according to Out. In a recent episode of Nick Cannon’s Counsel Culture, the singer was asked about his relationship with another man, replying that he doesn’t subscribe to labels. “So it’s like, when people want you to define yourself as whether you’re gay, straight, bisexual, or whatever it is you was just talking about, love is much more complex than that and has much more depth,” Alsina said. “So, for me, I’m just the kind of person that, because love is a language. I’m fluent in love when it speaks to me.”
LGBTQ+ singer Chappell Roan spoke out against stalkers and harassers, Variety noted. Roan—whose debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, currently sits behind Taylor Swift at No. 2 on the Billboard 200—said on TikTok, in part, “I don’t care that abuse and harassment, stalking, whatever, is a normal thing to do to people who are famous or a little famous, whatever. I don’t care that it’s normal. I don’t care that this crazy type of behavior comes along with the job, the career field I’ve chosen. That does not make it OK, that doesn’t make it normal. That doesn’t mean that I want it, that doesn’t mean that I like it.”
Madonna shared a rare photo with all six of her children while giving fans an inside look at her 66th birthday celebration in Italy, Page Six noted. She posted a carousel of images on Instagram, including one that showed the pop star with Lourdes “Lola” Leon, 27, Rocco Ritchie, 24, David Banda, 18, Mercy James, 18, and twins Stella and Estere, 11. The “4 Minutes” hitmaker’s rumored boyfriend, Akeem Morris, was also involved in the festivities and was photographed holding hands with the music icon.
Marvel Studios and Disney’s Deadpool & Wolverine has added to its list of records, now becoming the highest-grossing U.S. R-rated movie ever on a global basis, Deadline noted. In doing so, it surpassed the 2019 movie Joker, which stars Joaquin Phoenix. When Joker was crowned the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, it did so by surpassing 2016’s Deadpool final of $783 million. (Deadpool 2’s $785-million global gross includes $47 million from its PG-13 holiday cut.) BTW, Alien: Romulus ended Deedpool & Wolverine’s three-week box-office reign.
Amazon Prime Video has cancelled My Lady Jane after one season, Variety confirmed. The historical fantasy drama series aired one eight-episode season at the streamer, which dropped in its entirety on June 27. Despite not finding a wide audience, the show proved popular with critics; the first season currently holds a 91% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
A Missouri woman was arrested on federal charges in connection with an alleged scheme to defraud Elvis Presley’s family of millions of dollars and steal the family’s ownership interest in Graceland—the former home of Elvis Presley that’s in Memphis, Tennessee, per a Department of Justice press release. Lisa Jeanine Findley—also known as Lisa Holden, Lisa Howell, Gregory Naussany, Kurt Naussany, Lisa Jeanine Sullins and Carolyn Williams—of Kimberling City, Missouri, was charged in a criminal complaint. Findley allegedly claimed falsely that Elvis Presley’s daughter had borrowed $3.8 million in 2018 from Naussany Investments, pledged Graceland as collateral for the loan and failed to repay the debt. To settle the supposed claim, Findley allegedly sought $2.85 million from Presley’s family.