Elton John is unsure when he’ll be able to record again as he continues to deal with vision loss, USA Today noted. The “I’m Still Standing“ singer, 77, shared in a Good Morning America interview that he “unfortunately lost my eyesight in my right eye” due to an infection. John, who said he is “taking an initiative” to improve his vision, added, “It kind of floored me. I can’t see anything. I can’t read anything. I can’t watch anything.” John previously posted on social media in September that he has been dealing with a “severe eye infection” that left him with “limited” vision in one eye. He said he is healing but that it has been an “extremely slow process and it will take some time before sight returns to the impacted eye.”
Regarding the film Wicked, co-star Cynthia Erivo’s relationship to the character’s plight cuts to the core themes of the musical, according to a Variety piece. “We looked at each other and we just knew: [Erivo] claimed the role,” producer Marc Platt recalled. “An actor always brings pieces of his, her or their life to characters they create. So it’s hard to separate out her journey as a queer Black woman where she has felt as an ‘other,’ as an outsider, as not being part of the center.. of being outside, looking in.” Erivo added, “I didn’t want to remove myself from Elphaba. I wanted to connect the two.” So she added a couple points of emphasis for Black women to relate to, including the character’s long nails and a headful of microbraids.
And from Grammy and Oscar® winning Stephen Schwartz, and Grammy and Oscar® nominee John Powell, c will be available to stream at all digital platforms and vinyl for purchase on Dec. 6 via Universal Studios/Republic Records/Verve Records, per a press release. The original motion picture score is a companion to Wicked: The Soundtrack, which is out now. Score tracks (on four sides) include “Nessarose,” “Elphaba’s Power,” “Prince Fiyero of Winkie Country,” “A Wizard’s Plan” and “All Around Defying Gravity,” among many others.
Singer/songwriter Khalid (full name: Khalid Donnel Robinson) has come out as gay after being outed online, NBC News noted. The “Location” musician posted a Pride flag emoji followed by “there y’all go. next topic please lol.” He wrote in another post on X, “I got [outed] and the world still continues to turn. Let’s get this straight (lmao) I am not ashamed of my sexuality! In reality it ain’t nobodies [sic] business! But I am okay with me love y’all.” Khalid’s admission happened shortly after a fellow artist named Hugo D Almonte took to X to claim that “one of your favorite gay R&B singers suck [sic] my d–k and it was really bad,” according to Page Six.
Actress Kelly Marie Tran (Star Wars; Raya and the Last Dragon) discussed her sexuality in an interview with Vanity Fair while promoting her forthcoming rom-com The Wedding Banquet, according to People. “I haven’t said this publicly yet, but I’m a queer person,” Tran said. “The thing that really excited me about it was I got to play a person that I felt like I knew,” the actress added of her new film, a remake of Ang Lee’s 1993 queer comedy of the same name. “I don’t feel like I’m acting at all in this movie. I’m here doing this amazing movie with these amazing people. I’ve never been in a queer space before. I’ve never truly felt this accepted before.” Andrew Ann, who’s also queer, directed the newer version and said he wanted to tell “a story that felt reflective of the community as I’ve experienced it growing up.”
Queer band The FMs released the album 51122, a press release announced. The title corresponds with May 11, 2022—the day that Frankie Rex, founding member of The FMs, passed away from a fentanyl overdose. Current band member Matte Namer said, “51122 is the date Frankie passed away, but is also a type of symbol in a way, or perhaps a word. I’m not sure what that meaning is yet—perhaps the orchid needs to grow.” The FMs celebrated the release of 51122 on Nov. 23 with a record release show at NYC’s Berlin.
The View co-host Joy Behar will lead a cast of Susie Essman, Tovah Feldshuh and Adrienne C. Moore in an off-Broadway production of her own comedic play, My First Ex-Husband, beginning performances in January, per Deadline. The play, directed by Randal Myle at the MMAC Theater on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, will feature a rotating line-up of performers, with the cast of four changing each month. The cast featuring Behar will be in the production from Jan. 29 to Feb. 23, with an official opening night on Feb. 6. Behar said in a statement that the rotating casts of women “will keep telling these stories with laughter, grace, compassion and hilarious honesty.”
The Orlando Pride won the 2024 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) championship—and its first professional title in club and city history—following a 1-0 victory over the Washington Spirit at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, CNN noted. Pride forward and Brazilian legend Marta Viera da Silva—who is engaged to teammate Carrie Lawrence and who many consider to be the greatest woman soccer player of all time—played in front of her mother, Tereza, who watched her daughter play in the United States for the first time. Pride striker Barbra Banda scored the only goal of the match in the 37th minute; the 24-year-old Zambian was named the 2024 NWSL championship MVP and dedicated the award to her team.
The New York City Gay Men’s Chorus—currently celebrating its 45th Sapphire Anniversary Season—will present its 25th Silver Anniversary Gala on March 31, 2025, Playbill reported. The annual benefit, entitled “Harmony,” will be held in the Edison Ballroom at Hotel Edison and will honor Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley Jackson with the Arts in Action Award—given to artists who found success in their field and then used that success to inspire change, usually in the LGBTQ+ community and beyond. Kelsey Louie will receive the Gary Miller Award, named for the first conductor of the chorus; it honors those whose work has created lasting, measurable and sustainable change in the LGBTQ+ community. Additional honorees will be announced at a later date.
Actor Earl Holliman—who had dozens of TV and movie credits, including an important supporting role on Police Woman—died at age 96 in Los Angeles, The Advocate reported. Holliman had been receiving hospice care, his husband, Craig Curtis, told The Hollywood Reporter. He had guest roles in many TV series, including The Fugitive, Gunsmoke, The F.B.I., The Streets of San Francisco and Murder, She Wrote, and appeared in the 1983 miniseries The Thorn Birds opposite Richard Chamberlain (another gay actor), Barbara Stanwyck and Rachel Ward.
The Palm Springs International Film Festival is set to kick off on Jan. 2 with Better Man (based on the life of British singer Robbie Williams), while the closing film on Jan. 12 will be The Penguin Lessons, Variety noted. Over 11 days, the festival will screen 158 films from 71 countries, including 68 premieres. There will also be a segment on Spanish movies (including a spotlight on queer filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar), and the return of sections such as New Voices New Visions, Modern Masters, Queer Cinema, Cine Latino, True Stories and World Cinema Now.
Pansexual British model/actress Cara Delevingne said she took pop superstar Taylor Swift on a “wild ride” when they lived together, according to PinkNews. Speaking to comedian Nikki Glaser for Interview magazine, Delevingne—who has previously been involved with singer St Vincent and Pretty Little Liars actress Ashley Benson—said, “I was going through a really horrible break-up and [Swift] let me live with her. … “We’re very different people: She’s very homely, because she looked after me so well, but we got into some… not trouble, but I definitely took her for a bit of a wild ride.” Delevingne made her West End (London) debut earlier this year, starring as Sally Bowles in Cabaret.
Following the death of One Direction member Liam Payne, Culture Club member Boy George recalled comments he made about the late singer that have left him feeling apologetic, according to PennLive. On the High Performance podcast, George said, “I’d actually put a message under a post saying ‘he’s off his nut,’ which wasn’t very nice. But I felt it. I felt like he was out of control.” However, once he learned of the singer’s death, the sad news “hit” him much like it did when Amy Winehouse died in 2011. George also mentioned how frustrated he felt after reading some of the comments left under a short tribute he posted to the singer on his Instagram and on Twitter.
In another Boy George-related matter, he will return in the role of Harold in Moulin Rouge! The Musical starting next March, Broadway World noted. He will play a limited 10-week engagement through Sunday, May 25, 2025; as of March 25, 2025, George will not be playing Tuesday nights. The “Don’t Take My Mind on a Trip” singer first appeared on Broadway in Moulin Rouge! The Musical in a limited engagement earlier this year.
Queer celebrities Demi Lovato and Law Roach were among the speakers at the 2024 Teen Vogue Summit, a press release noted. Among other things, Lovato shared that she’s in full planning mode for her upcoming nuptials to fiancé and fellow musician Jordan “Jutes” Lutes, and that she’s working on new music and other creative expressions. Roach talked about his work as a stylist to his new book and his advice to young professionals, and looked back at client Zendaya’s 2015 Oscars red carpet appearance, when Giuliana Rancic made racially insensitive remarks. Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles, Icelandic musician Laufey and rapper/singer Latto were among others who spoke and/or performed.
Out artist John Duff has released the single “Stick Up,” which might just be his raunchiest and most uncensored song and music video to date, according to Instinct Magazine. The new single is so provocative that he launched an OnlyFans account to share the unfiltered version to fans. The media outlet says “Stick Up” has a deeper message connected to it, as it’s “about the darkness of both politics, corruption, capitalism, and the inequality that plagues us mere mortals who aren’t fortunate enough to be born with a silver spoon.”
Charlize Theron is the latest big name to join the cast of Christopher Nolan‘s upcoming movie at Universal, Variety noted. The Oscar winner joins a star-studded ensemble that includes Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o and Robert Pattinson. Universal and Nolan’s follow-up to their Oscar-winning drama Oppenheimer is projecting a production start date sometime in the first half of 2025.
Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry would like to reboot the show—but set it in an earlier decade, EW noted. Talking with People, the openly gay creator said, “The character I miss writing the most is actually Wisteria Lane. That was the most fun playground anyone in the history of television has ever had, because we owned the whole street. I know that street like the back of my hand.” Original Housewives star Eva Longoria has said that she misses the show as well. “I’ve told him a hundred times,” she told ET about Cherry. “I was like, ‘Let’s do it again. I miss Wisteria Lane. I miss the girls. I miss Gaby Solis. I miss being her.'”
A sex scene between characters Vi and Caitlyn in the hit Netflix animated series Arcane was originally going to be longer and more graphic before executives asked the creators to tone it down, according to Them. In an interview on Twitch, series showrunner and co-creator Christian Linke said that the same-sex scene—which saw the two characters make out passionately in a prison cell—was the “dialed-back version” of his original plans for the sequence. Arcane debuted to much critical acclaim when it debuted in 2021 and went on to win four Emmy Awards, including outstanding animated program. It also became the number one show on Netflix in 85 countries upon release, per Variety.
Wendy Williams’ legal guardian, Sabrina Morrissey, shared a pessimistic update on the former talk-show host’s dementia battle in a recent court filing, per Yahoo! Entertainment. Morrissey, an attorney, claimed that Williams is now “permanently incapacitated,” in the filing obtained by The Independent. Williams was officially diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and primary progressive aphasia in May 2023. Morrissey’s legal team included a plea that asks the court to protect Williams’ privacy by redacting some aspects of her “health, familial relationships, and finances” already outlined in the case.
Martha Stewart continues to criticize filmmaker R.J. Cutler over Martha, his documentary about her—and now he’s responded, Deadline noted. On the media outlet’s Doc Talk podcast, Cutler talked about that film and Elton John: Never Too Late, co-directed with the British pop star’s husband David Furnish. (Both films are in Oscar contention.) Cutler described Stewart as going “kicking and screaming” into the interviews with him, and yet simultaneously offering Cutler access to her intimate diaries and letters. The new episode of Doc Talk—co-hosted by Oscar winner John Ridley (12 Years a Slave) and Deadline documentary editor Matt Carey—is on major podcast platforms including Spotify, iHeart and Apple.
And speaking of Martha Stewart, she playfully pushed Drew Barrymore away after the host got close and began touching her during an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, USA Today noted. Although the moment was all in good fun, Barrymore is known to get up close and personal with guests and make physical contact while sitting close to them—drawing mixed reactions. During a viral interview with Vice President Kamala Harris earlier this year, Barrymore held hands with her after telling her that “we need you to be Momala of the country.”
Openly gay entertainer Clay Aiken expressed concern over potentially outing musician Shawn Mendes, Yahoo! Entertainment noted. While speaking with Variety about his upcoming Christmas album, American Idol alum Aiken touched on the now-viral video of Mendes’ candid admission about sexuality being a journey during a performance in Colorado. “By the way, did Shawn Mendes come out today?” Aiken asked before apologizing for his assumption.
Marilyn Manson dropped his lawsuit against bisexual actress ex Evan Rachel Wood and agreed to pay more than $300,000 to cover her attorneys’ fees, EW reported. The rocker (real name: Brian Warner) initially filed the lawsuit in 2022, accusing the Westworld actress of defamation, infliction of emotional distress, and the concoction of a “conspiracy” with an associate to paint him as a rapist and abuser. Last year, a judge rejected 10 claims made by Manson in the suit, and now he and Wood have reached a settlement.
Rapper and LGBTQ+ ally NLE Choppa recently received 12 new RIAA-certified gold and platinum plaques, according to a press release. This brings his career total to 24 plaques—a lot for the 22-year-old Memphis native, who has amassed more than 9 billion global streams to date. The celebration took place at Warner Records’ Arts District building in downtown Los Angeles, where the label’s co-chairs, Tom Corson and Aaron Bay-Schuck, honored Choppa’s accomplishments.
