THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

Grammy-, Brit-, Golden Globe- and Oscar-winning LGBTQ+ artist/songwriter Sam Smith has teamed with fellow LGBTQ+ pop star/songwriter Kim Petras on "Unholy" — the lead single from Sam's fourth studio album, per a press release. The release read, "Crafted around a sultry Arabic scale, the track delivers a multi-voiced, menacing sound collage with instant club appeal, underpinned with a throbbing bass. After a blistering choral hook, [Smith] calls out a cheating husband who, unbeknownst to his wife and kids, ducks out to have some fun at a 'body shop.'" Petras' verse tells the story from a dancer's point of view. The lyric video is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QXDnWRy6MI.

The Netflix series Wednesday will premiere globally this fall, per a press release. The series is a sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery charting Wednesday Addams' (played by Jenna Ortega) years as a student at Nevermore Academy, where she attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart a killing spree that has terrorized the local town and solve the murder mystery that embroiled her parents 25 years ago—all while navigating her new and very tangled relationships at Nevermore. Guests and co-stars include Catherine Zeta-Jones (Morticia Addams), Luis Guzman (Gomez Addams) and Gwendoline Christie (Principal Larissa Weems). See www.netflix.com/Wednesday.

Sean Hayes will return to Broadway this spring starring in Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Doug Wright's new play Good Night, Oscar, in which Hayes will play Hollywood Golden Age actor, pianist and wit Oscar Levant, Deadline noted. Directed by Lisa Peterson, Good Night, Oscar will begin performances at the Belasco Theatre, on April 7, 2023, and an official opening set for April 24; the 20-week limited engagement will end Aug. 27, 2023. The production, with Hayes, ran in Chicago's Goodman Theatre in 2021; he has been nominated for a Jeff Award for Performer in a Principal Role—Play.

Actor/director Bradley Cooper interviewed tennis legends Serena and Venus Williams for the A+E Networks and the History Channel's History Talks in Washington D.C., Variety noted. "I just needed to stop," Serena recalled of her decision to move away from tennis. "I always said I wanted to stop when I'm playing really good tennis and winning and beating good players. For me, it's really about things I want to do spiritually and spending time with my daughter and family." However, she added that she's given herself permission to return to the court if she wants to.

The inaugural Willis Wonderland Foundation's "Night of Wonders"—honoring the legacy and creative vision of Grammy/Tony/Emmy/Webby-winning/nominated Hall of Fame songwriter Allee Willis—took place in Los Angeles, per a press release. The event host committee included Emmy winner RuPaul, legendary actress Lily Tomlin, comedian Luenell, actor Paul Reubens (aka Pee-wee Herman) and actress/singer Jenifer Lewis. Tomlin, RuPaul and Luenell attended along with such celebrities as actresses Nicollette Sheridan, Lesley Ann Warren, Kate Flannery and Jackee Harry; actress/singer Telma Hopkins; actor Daniel Franzese; guitarist Wendy Melvoin; and singer-songwriter Brenda Russell.

Broadway legend Harvey Fierstein—whose Kinky Boots is currently playing off-Broadway—thinks Harry Styles would be perfect for a long-talked-about movie adaptation of the musical, according to Page Six. "I think Harry Styles would be glorious," the Tony winner said, adding that he thinks Bruno Mars would make a great Lola. Earlier this year, Fierstein released his memoir, I Was Better Last Night, and wrote the revised book for Funny Girl, which currently stars Lea Michele.

The OutTV reality show X-Rated: NYC is about male adult-film stars, Out noted. The six-episode series follows four male porn performers—Boomer Banks, Dante Cole, Joey Mills and Max Konnor—as they live their lives in New York City. They discuss everything from safe spaces to gay-for-pay work and the meet-up app Sniffies. "Watch the show because it was made by a bunch of queer sex workers," said Topher Cusumano, of Daddy TV (the production company that created the series).

Pop superstar/actress Lady Gaga broke down in tears after she cut short a Miami performance, describing "dangerous" rain and lightning conditions, The New York Post noted. In an apology for the cancellation on Instagram, the "Rain on Me" singer acknowledged her fans may have hoped she would perform through the rain. She said, in part, "I know that for a really long time I've always wanted to be that hardcore bad b—ch, but what I really want is to also be responsible and loving, and I don't know what I would do if anything happened to anybody in the audience, or to any member of my crew or my band or my dancers."

It has been confirmed that out actor Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton) will play Fiyero in the Wicked movies, Variety reported. "He's perfect, they're perfect. They'd be perfect together. Born to be forever….. I am too excited to pretend this hasn't been happening," director Jon M. Chu tweeted along with Variety's story. "We have a Fiyero!!!! #JonathanBailey #Wicked." Bailey will play Fiyero in the two-part feature adaptation headlined by Ariana Grande (as Glinda) and Cynthia Erivo (as Elphaba); the Universal Pictures films (prequels to The Wizard of Oz) are set for release on Christmas in 2024 and 2025.

Six years after WWE retired the Divas championships and stopped referring to its female wrestlers as "Divas" officially, the time of the "Super Diva" formally arrived on WWE NXT broadcast as out pro wrestler Quincy Elliott made his much-anticipated debut, Outsports reported. With his trademark scooter in tow and debuting a new entrance that saw him basking in his own glamour, Elliott did his trademark grind on the ring post and quickly dispatched Sean Gallagher in less than 90 seconds. For more about WWE NXT, visit https://www.wwe.com/shows/wwenxt.

Singer Greyson Chance spoke about what he called "manipulative," "self-centered" and "opportunistic" behavior from Ellen DeGeneres, who promised to help launch his career as a child star, according to Out Magazine. According to a new interview with Rolling Stone, Chance felt DeGeneres was offering to provide stability and guidance as a guardian and mentor to the young rising star and his mother, who had no idea how to act in the world of show business. Chance said that the former talk-show host watched over every aspect of his career until his second album underperformed, with DeGeneres reportedly rarely talking with him after that. Chance recently released the album Palladium, which is receiving career-high praise from critics.

TV/stage icon Carol Burnett launched a social-media campaign to get Broadway's Majestic Theatre renamed for legendary producer/director Harold Prince (who died in 2019), according to Deadline. In an Instagram video, Burnett cites other Broadway theaters that have been renamed for major stage artists, including the Neil Simon, the Richard Rodgers, the Stephen Sondheim and, most recently, the James Earl Jones. Burnett then invites her Instagram followers to use the hashtag #TheMajesticisFitForaPrince or post videos saying the phrase—which Kristen Chenoweth immediately did.

For the first time in one complete set, all seven Paranormal Activity movies come together in Paranormal Activity: The Ultimate Chills Collection on Blu-ray Oct. 11, per a Paramount Home Entertainment press release. The set includes Paranormal Activity and its three numbered sequels as well as Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension and Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin as well as Unknown Dimension: The Story of Paranormal Activity.

Transgender Pose and American Horror Story star Angelica Ross made her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in the Tony-winning revival of Chicago at the Ambassador Theatre Sept. 12—the same day the production welcomed Brandon Victor Dixon and Amra-Faye Wright, Playbill noted. Ross is playing an eight-week limited engagement through Nov. 6. Since its debut in 1996, Chicago has played in 36 countries and been seen by 33 million people worldwide. It is now the second-longest running show in Broadway history (after The Phantom of the Opera, which is closing next year).

Twenty years after Kelly Clarkson won the inaugural season of the singing-competition show American Idol, she was recognized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, according to TODAY. The singer/talk-show host received the honor Sept. 19 in a ceremony in front of her new star, the 2,733rd on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. Notable guest speakers at the ceremony included Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson—the three judges from "Idol" when Clarkson competed.

Rege-Jean Page (the series Bridgerton) and Glen Powell (the movie Top Gun: Maverick) are poised to star in an untitled reimagining of Butch and Sundance for Amazon, per The Hollywood Reporter. Sources say the untitled Butch and Sundance series will take place in an alternate America akin to Apple's For All Mankind and Amazon's former Man in the High Castle. The Page-Powell series takes inspiration from the 1969 western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid that starred Paul Newman and Robert Redford.

Earlier this year, Pentatonix singer Scott Hoying proposed to longtime boyfriend Mark Manio in a beach proposal—and he has shared the details with People, Out noted. The proposal came as they were celebrating their fifth anniversary at The Ocean Club—Four Seasons Resort in Nassau, Bahamas. "Actually, it was the most nerve-wracking thing that I've ever done in my life," Hoying told the magazine. "Even though Mark and I had talked about [the engagement] a million times, I still put the pressure on myself to make it perfect."

Constance Wu has claimed she faced sexual harassment and intimidation from an unnamed producer during her time working on the 2015-20 ABC comedy Fresh Off the Boat, Variety reported. "I kept my mouth shut for a really long time about a lot of sexual harassment and intimidation that I received the first two seasons of the show," Wu said during an appearance on stage at the Atlantic Festival in Washington, D.C., calling the experience "traumatic."

Sarah Paulson is set to star and executive-produce the HBO Max scripted adaptation of its docuseries The Way Down: God, Greed, and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin, according to Deadline. Paulson will play Shamblin, who rose to fame with her Weigh Down Workshop, a Christian-based diet program, and founded the Remnant Fellowship Church.

Todrick Hall, Pussy Riot, Tanzer, Polartropica, Jake Zyrus, BETTY and Ballet Folklorico Proyecto Trans Latina top the 36th annual Greater Palm Springs Pride Festival lineup, per a press release. The festival, a highlight of Pride Week, will take place Nov. 1-6 in downtown Palm Springs. Hall will headline Nov. 5 while conceptual artist/activist/Pussy Riot founding member Nadya Tolokonnikova will headline Nov. 6.

Apple and Selena Gomez announced that the documentary feature film, Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me, directed and produced by Alek Keshishian (Madonna: Truth or Dare), will premiere globally on Apple TV+ on Nov. 4, per a press release. This film marks the second project for Apple with producers Lighthouse Management + Media and Interscope Films following their collaboration on the Emmy Award-nominated documentary Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry.

The Golden Globes will return to NBC next year, Deadline reported. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, dick clark productions and the network said the 80th-anniversary gala will air live coast-to-coast from the Beverly Hilton on Tuesday, Jan. 10. Nominations will be revealed on Dec. 12.

Jonathan Groff and Ben Aldridge portray a gay couple in M. Night Shyamalan's new horror movie Knock at the Cabin, Out noted. In the film, the two out actors play a pair of married fathers who go on what they think will be a simple trip to a cabin in the woods with their young daughter—but things go completely off the rails from there. The movie is based on Paul Tremblay's best-selling 2018 novel The Cabin at the End of the World, and has a screenplay by Shyamalan, Steve Desmond and Michael Sherman; Shyamalan also directs. Knock at the Cabin is scheduled to hit theaters on Feb. 3, 2023.

The woman who sued Tiffany Haddish and Aries Spears for allegedly exploiting her and her brother in sexually charged video skits when they were children has dropped her lawsuit, per The Hollywood Reporter. Jane Doe filed a notice of dismissal with prejudice. According to TMZ, Doe stated, "My family and I have known Tiffany Haddish for many years—and we now know that she would never harm me or my brother or help anyone else do anything that could harm us. We wish Tiffany the best and are glad that we can all put this behind us."

Cara Delevingne's friends have grown so concerned for her that they are "desperate" for her to go to rehab, according to a Page Six item that cited TMZ. Sources told the outlet that the supermodel's pals are worried she is struggling with a combination of mental health and substance-abuse issues. Recently, the Suicide Squad star's friend and co-star Margot Robbie was seen leaving the model's Los Angeles home looking distressed.

Roseanne Barr—who had a controversial exit from a reboot of her popular ABC sitcom—now plans to produce a new comedy special for Fox Nation, the Fox News-backed subscription streaming service, Variety noted. The new one-hour program, A Roseanne Comedy Special, is expected to debut in the first quarter of 2023. Barr left the rebooted program, largely drawn from her own humor and life, soon after posting an offensive tweet that drew accusations of racism. The show was subsequently transformed into The Conners, and her character was killed off in the process.

Woody Allen has done an about-face and said he never announced his retirement from filmmaking, Deadline noted. While in Europe to work on his 50th film, Allen allegedly told Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia that he intended to retire from making movies and to dedicate more time to writing, according to Variety. In a statement, Allen said, "He said he was thinking about not making films as making films that go straight or very quickly to streaming platforms is not so enjoyable for him, as he is a great lover of the cinema experience. Currently, he has no intention of retiring and is very excited to be in Paris shooting his new movie, which will be the 50th."

Former Riverdale and Diary of a Wimpy Kid actor Ryan Grantham, 24, was sentenced to life behind bars without the possibility of parole for 14 years for the 2020 killing of his mother, Deadline noted. The second-degree murder punishment was handed down by British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Kathleen Ker on Sept. 21 in Vancouver. Grantham turned himself into police soon after shooting his 64-year-old mother Barbara Waite in the back of the head on March 31, 2020, in the family's Squamish home, just north of Vancouver.