I Didn't Say It ...

Pete Buttigieg, former Transportation Secretary, responding to criticism of his recent remarks about trans athletes:

“I see this issue being used to divide. I see it being used to hurt people. It’s especially hurtful for trans people and people with transgender members of their family who witness themselves or people they love being used as a political football. We’re talking about one of the smallest, as well as one of the most vulnerable minorities in this country and in the world. In order to bring people together on this, we also have to take everybody seriously, including parents who have questions. Above all... those questions should be handled by communities and by sports leagues and not by politicians.”

The exchange followed a July NPR Morning Edition interview in which Buttigieg framed the inclusion of transgender girls in sports as a matter of “fairness,” while rejecting blanket federal bans. Some Democrats, Pete supporters and LGBTQ+ advocates criticized his framing as playing into right-wing narratives.

Buttigieg’s clarification comes as the fascist regime enforces executive orders banning transgender women and girls from women's sports teams. Though the policy has national reach, NCAA President Charlie Baker testified last year that fewer than 10 transgender athletes were competing among more than 500,000 college athletes.

All this for ten athletes … focusing on that rather than the hundreds who died in the Texas floods, or the countless victims of Jeffrey Epstein and The Felon, the children shot in schools. Where the fuck are our priorities?

Sidenote: University of Washington endocrinologist Dr. Bradley Anawalt says performance gaps between cisgender and adult transgender women narrow, but don’t entirely disappear, after several years of hormone therapy. Military fitness data showed that trans women’s running times aligned with cisgender women’s after two years, while their push-up scores remained higher for the duration of a four-year study.

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Trey Cunningham, American hurdler, on how his performances have improved since coming out as gay in 2024:

“It was for me, just to be one hundred percent authentic, transparent, and not holding back any part of me. My coach was really big on this, like, ‘You have to be totally confident in yourself and whatever that means to you on that track.’ There’s something incredibly powerful in being so authentic. A lot of people have told me that they appreciate me being around because I’m authentic. I’m always going to be truthful, I’m honest. I’m shooting it like it is and I’m being me.”

Cunningham’s huge success as an out gay athlete—rising to a level he’d never been—is an incredible testament to coming out and being out in pro sports.

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Chely Wright, country music star, on coming out back in 2010:

“When I came out, I didn’t want to feel like I was having anything taken from me. It was my choice … but, it’s like, I’ll be damned if the world or the industry is going to take something from me that I earned. [But] it’s really hard. You know, from like age four, I was telling everyone in my hometown, ‘I’m gonna be a country music star!’ And then, 35 years later, going on the Today show and realizing I’m gonna [have to] give some of that back—like, give a piece of that fan base and that sweat equity back … I can tell you what I wasn’t solving for in coming out and telling my story: Getting people who didn’t like the idea of a country music singer being gay to be OK with being gay. I knew very clearly I wasn’t solving for that. The outcome that I was going for was telling the world who I was, all the pieces of me—this person of faith who toured in support of the troops and was from the Midwest, who loves the Grand Ole Opry and loves country music and loves Connie Smith and Loretta Lynn, and also happened to be gay. Beyond that, I had to let go of people liking me. …I feel really lucky and grateful and honored to have done what I did when I did it, and I hear so frequently from other people in the industry and new or emerging artists that my story and my coming out gave them a little bit of comfort and insight and maybe community. Of all the things I’ve done in my life, coming out, not just when I did but how I did, I think it’s the thing of which I’m most proud … And every time I see someone come out in country music or in the industry, I feel like that I got to be a tiny drop in this giant wave of change. It’s pretty cool to see.”

The person who steps up and out always blazes a trail for others to follow, even in the depths of country music.

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Jonathan Hertwig-Odegaard, Norwegian decathlete, on being openly gay:

“I think it’s great that you can be a role model, but at the same time I hope in the long run that it doesn’t have to be necessary, and that it gets so much publicity and attention. I think that being openly gay is not really anything new. I mean, there are no athletes who are heterosexual who need to come out about it. Among athletes, people talk about ‘it’s so brave and tough’ when people come forward. I feel that there is a bit of a wrong focus, that the responsibility should not lie with individuals. I think it is the responsibility of society at large to facilitate that people are comfortable being open about their sexuality, also as athletes. Now I’m proud and happy with who I am, and I don’t think there’s a problem, so if others do, then that’s their problem.”

Wouldn’t it be nice to live in a world where your sexual orientation or gender identity didn’t matter; where you could just be you and it didn’t matter.

I doubt I’ll ever see it, but I can dream …

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Sarah McBride, Democrat Representative from Delaware and the first out transgender Congress member, blasted The Felon regime’s ban on trans military members:

“These are Americans who have served with honor, with distinction and with unshakable patriotism; brave, honorable and committed patriots who have also dared to have the courage to say out loud that they are transgender … They have deployed into combat, flown missions overseas and led troops through danger, and now this administration is telling them that despite their qualifications and their exemplary quality of service, that they can no longer serve simply because of how they express their gender. In our state, service isn’t abstract—it’s personal, and we see every single day what honor, discipline, and sacrifice looks like regardless of someone’s gender identity. These [trans] individuals met the same rigorous standards as their peers, the same physical exams, the same screenings, the same background checks, and in many cases, under intense scrutiny, they didn’t just meet those standards—they exceeded them. This decision to remove proven patriots for no justification causes, causes serious weakness to our forces. It turns away proven courage, it wastes billions in taxpayer investment—decades of hard-earned experience—and is a direct blow to readiness, because this decision isn’t about readiness. It’s not about discipline or merit … It’s about exclusion. It’s about using identity as a wedge to divide and distract. It’s a cynical ploy, not sound policy. Some step forward while hiding who they are, forced to choose between their truth and their country. Others served openly when policy briefly aligned with principle. All of them, all of them served with honor. We are not made safer by sidelining qualified patriots. We are not made stronger by narrowing the ranks of who gets to serve. And we are not made freer by telling brave Americans that their truth disqualifies them from service. This ban weakens our military. It betrays our values and it sends the cruelest possible message to some of our most dedicated citizens: that their service is unwelcome and that one identity matters more than what they’ve done, what they’ve sacrificed and what they fight for.”

These are Americans who choose to serve their country and they are treated far worse than a five-time draft dodger who got his daddy’s doctor to write a not that his feet hurt so he couldn’t go to Vietnam.

I’d take one platoon of trans servicemembers over an entire army of Felon draft dodgers and cowards.

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Ty Herndon Comes Out ... Then Billy Gilman Does, Too

After nearly two decades in country music and after nearly twenty years of speculation over his sexual orientation, Ty Herndon has come out as gay:

"I have an awesome relationship that I've been in for a good number of years. I] love him very much and he loves me."

Herndon was married twice in the past and revealed that both is ex-wives knew he was gay when they married him; sounds like marriages of convenience to stave off the rumors of his homosexuality.

"I had a lot of people around me that I trusted at a time and I was like, 'Hey, you know this about me but the world doesn't. So I'm gonna need to call on your services for a little while.' It was unfortunate that I had to do that, but I felt that's what I had to do to have my career. Standing on some pretty solid legs today, so I get to tell my truth today."

Truth. That’s what it means; being able to be yourself, love yourself, and let everyone know exactly who you are, damn the torpedoes.

"I've dreamed about being in country music since I was 6 years old. It's my life, it’s what I do, it's who I am, and I went to great lengths to cover up that fact to be to be a country star."

Rumors began circulating about Herndon's sexuality back in 1995, when an undercover male police officer alleged that Herndon exposed himself in a park where he’d gone to buy crystal meth:

"I wish I had really great recall or memory about that. I think I had been up for like 6 days doing drugs the night and the day was really a huge blur for me."

Now fully clean and sober, Herndon is looking forward to a future with Matt, his partner of five years.

Happiness, truthfulness; it’s all in those two words: I‘m gay.

And then, hours later, it happened again …

On the heels of Ty Herndon’s coming out, fellow country music performer Billy Gilman announced that he, too, is gay.

He had his Coming Out on YouTube, and during the five-and-a-half-minute long video, Gilman credited his friend Ty Herndon for making his road a little easier to follow. But, at the same time, he talked about the mere rumor that he might be gay hurt his career, and likely cost him a record deal:

“I threw a showcase in Nashville, and no major label showed. … It’s difficult for me to make this video, not because I’m ashamed of being a gay male artist, or a gay artist or a gay person, but it’s pretty silly to know that I’m ashamed of doing this knowing that I’m in a genre and an industry that’s ashamed of me for being me.”

Several months ago, a reporter took a picture of Gilman and his partner. He says at that moment he knew what he needed to do.

“It was in that moment that I knew that I’d rather it be from me, than you reading it from somewhere else. I can honestly say I’m scared to death.”

Scared, sure, because you never know what the future holds for you, especially in the country music arena.

I mean, look at it: it appears that Ty Herndon was encouraged to get married twice to maintain a heterosexual image; it seems that just the rumor that Billy Gilman was gay stopped him from signing with a major Nashville record label even though he’d been a very popular child star in country music.

And then there’s Chely Wright.

In the late 90's, after years of singing in Nashville, Chely Wright had her first Number One country hit, "Single White Female".  She followed that up with three other top 10 hits and sold over a million singles in the United States. She made her first appearance at the Grand Ole Opry on September 16th, 1989 and made many subsequent appearances, especially after having that Number One. But, since coming out as gay in 2010, Chely Wright she has not once been invited back to perform at the Grand Ole Opry, even though she was considered a regular, pre-2010.

The good news is, that may be changing, slowly. Ty Herndon notes that he’s seeing increased support for gay country singers, and the LGBT community in Nashville and Country Music:

"Traditionally in country music, we don't see a lot of support for the LGBT community, but that's changing so much. Nashville is changing so much. I mean my goodness… Kacey Musgraves won Song of the Year for [the lyrics] 'follow your arrow, wherever it points' and two amazing songwriters that happened to be gay wrote that song."

So, maybe there is hope that gay country artists can record music, can be openly gay, and can be invited back to the Grand Ole Opry.

Failing that, at least allow the good folks at Homo HQ to offer a big “Howdy” and a “Welcome Out” to Ty and Billy, and to make sure they receive the Obligatory Coming Out Toaster Oven and a copy of The Gay Agenda.

Welcome out, boys, welcome out.

Ty Herndon

Billy Gilman

I Didn't Say It ....

Sean Hayes, on going back into the closet when he hit it big on Will and Grace:

"I was so young. It made me go back in the closet [with the media] because I was so overwhelmed at 26 or 27. I didn't want the responsibility, I didn't know how to handle the responsibility of speaking for the gay community. I always felt like I owed them a huge apology for coming out too late. Some people in the gay community were very upset with me for not coming out on their terms. They don't stop to think about what's going on in somebody's personal life, and the struggles that they're having. It was all very scary. We got death threats. It was a really rough time for me, but I was also having the time of my life."

Sean Hayes eventually came out publicly in March 2010.

I was one “Those Gays” that was annoyed by his refusal to be open — even though I know it’s his choice. I felt he did a great disservice to LGBTQ youth by not being out, open, and himself.

It’s nice to see him come to that understanding.

Maggie Gallagher, basically waving the anti-equality White Flag:

"I believe the Supreme Court is going to impose gay marriage in all fifty states within the next two years. I think the battle's going to shift to religious liberty and we're gonna need politicians with backbone. What happened first in the gay marriage issue is liberals used their dominance in the mainstream media to persuade GOP pundits that they should be silent on the issue and retreat."

A couple of things, Mags:

Number 1: put your tongue in your mouth you’re no Miley Cyrus.

Number 2: Please whine some more about religious liberty because I have yet to see one case of a gay couple suing a religious group demanding that the church perform their wedding. It.Doesn’t.Happen.

Number 3: STFU.

Chely Wright, openly lesbian country star, to openly gay country singer Steve Grand:

“This is uncharted territory, as you know. I came out after having been in the business for years. He’s trying to get into the business. The fact that he’s openly gay prior to getting a record deal will likely be tough for him. That said, there is progress every day and I think it takes a tremendous amount of courage for him to identify as gay when he did. Very brave! It’s a new day, and I hope that someone on Music Row will give him a chance. He’s clearly motivated and honest. That’s what country music is supposed to be about—honest people telling honest stories about life. He’s certainly doing that. Stay strong, Steve!”

Chely paved the way for Steve Grand and he might have, might have, an easier path because she came first. And if he does, then maybe, maybe, she’ll regain the acceptance that Country music showed her before she came out.

Steve Grand, openly gay singer, on the rumor of undergoing "conversion therapy":

"I want to make it clear that it’s been misrepresented that I went through what most people know as conversion therapy. I saw a Christian therapist who, among many other beliefs, believed I’d be happier in a straight life. He didn’t shame me for being gay. Most of the focus, we weren’t even talking about my sexuality. But certainly his belief that I’d be living a happier life as a heterosexual was indeed harmful. In no way, shape, or form—I can’t even believe I have to clarify this—do I condone ex-gay therapy. I think it’s a horrible practice. There’s no scientific basis for it. A person’s sexuality is a part of who they are. And I certainly suffered for not having my sexuality affirmed."

More proof, as if anyone with a brain firing on all cylinders needed it, that gay Conversion Therapy doesn’t work.

You can’t turn a gay person straight nay more than you can turn a straight person gay.

We are all born the way we are born.

Lance Bass, who got engaged to boyfriend Michael Turchin, on their upcoming wedding to be aired on a "particular network":

"I love a party. It's going to be nice and big and over the top. The network offered us a big wedding special. Knowing myself in the 1980s growing up a gay kid in Mississippi, I would loved to have seen something on TV I could relate to and go, 'Oh, my gosh, I could do that!' ... I don't know if we will even have groomsmen or bridesmaids. Since there's no wedding dress and half the excitement of a wedding is to see the wedding dress and what it looks like ... we're wanting all of our guests to come completely over the top, high fashion like you're heading to the MET Ball or the Royal Wedding."

Leave it to Bass to make a circus out of a same-sex wedding, which is just the thing that the rightwingnuts will jump on: the idea of The Gays making a mockery of marriage.

I mean, if he wants an over-the-top wedding, go on have one, but do we really need to see it?

I don’t, but then TV does come with an ‘Off’ button.

Tony Perkins, tired of all The Gays clutterin' up his DVR:
"When Gallup asked people to guess how many Americans were homosexual, most said 25%. Turns out, they were about 22% off. And while gays and lesbians make up about 3.4% of the population, they seem to get 100% of the consideration when producers write and cast new television shows. The debate over same-sex 'marriage' has been perfectly scripted by Hollywood. Television shows are full of lovable gay characters, whose dangerous lifestyle is just another funny footnote. Unfortunately for America, those make-believe people are having a real-life impact. It's no accident that almost 20% of Americans credit television with changing their minds on same-sex 'marriage.' It's time for families to let networks know that what they gain by being pro-homosexual doesn't compare with what they'll lose. And that's viewers."

Hmm, gays get 1005 of the consideration when producers write and cast shows?

Then, Tony, where are all the gays? I mean, I see some, Ellen and NPH and Sean, and there are others, but if The Gays are getting all the jobs I ain’t seeing it.

Maybe you’re just suffering from wishful thinking because you’d love see more gay shiz on TV?

Chely Wright: Banned From The Opry Because She's Gay?

To be clear, I am not a big fan of Country Music; there’s some I like, but I’d bet that die-hard country fans would say my likes aren’t “real” country; that’s okay, there’s plenty of other kinds of music to go around.

But, one issue I have with Country Music, as an industry, is that it isn’t so accepting of the LGBT community, or LGBT artists and singers. Sure, there are pockets of acceptance; Carrie Underwood is for marriage equality, and Blake Shelton recently told the Westboro Baptist Church that they could, ahem, “blow” him for their anti-LGBT stance. So there is promise, but it seems like it’s a long way off, and it seems like country singers are staying closeted out of fear of reprisal; and there definitely are reprisals.

Like this one:

In the late 90's, after years of singing in Nashville, singer Chely Wright had her first Number One country hit, "Single White Female".  She followed that up with three other top 10 hits and sold over a million units in the United States. She made her first appearance at the Grand Ole Opry on September 16th, 1989 and made many subsequent appearances, especially after having that Number One.

But, in 2010, Chely Wright came out as a lesbian and since then the Country Music Industry hasn't invited her to perform at any events; she has not made one single appearance at the Opry, even though she was considered a regular, pre-2010.

She has released three more albums, appeared in a film about coming out in Country Music, and wrote a book about her life, and yet she is not invited to appear on the Opry stage any more. In the past, Wright has spoken at length about how her 'coming out' affected her career as a country singer, but says she doesn't dwell on the negatives:

"I don't wallow around in any lack of public support by my industry. The headlines that get picked up and the sound bites suggest that I'm devastated, but I'm not really that hurt by it...I'd love to see some real public support for the LGBT community from my industry."

Wright says she's received some private support from industry people in Nashville, but there's a long way to go:

"I do think that there are homophobic people in the industry - some of them in power. I feel that the greatest setback that plagues the country music industry is their collective fear of the consumer's expected homophobia. I call this fearphobia. The industry is afraid of the record buying public's fear of gays and lesbians. They're afraid of fear. And that fear is enough to cause silence. And it's deafening, if you ask me."

And now her fans, both straight and gay, are hoping to change that with an online petition asking the Grand Ole Opry to invite her back.

Like I said, I’m not much of a country fan, but I am a fan of the LGBT community, and I’m not much of a fan of homophobia. It seems clear that the minute Chely uttered the words “I’m gay” she became persona non grata in country music and it’s about time that changed.

Not every person in the country, who lives in the country, or listens to country music is a homophobe; I think people just want good music, and it shouldn’t matter whether the person singing is gay or straight.

They should just be good.

Go HERE to sign the petition asking the Opry to have Chely Wright back on their stage. Even if you don’t like country music. 

I Didn't Say It......

Kobe Bryant, on his 'fucking fag' slur:

"Even though I didn't mean it that way, I've since learned what that word still means to a lot of people. I went on-line myself and I did my own research and I saw and I read about kids who were committing suicide because of being teased for who they are. I don't play that. I used to beat up a lot of kids even in high school who used to tease my friends because they were gay, or because they were black, or because they were Jewish, or because they were yellow, or because they were whatever. For people who don't think my apology is sincere, they don't know me. This isn't over for me. I really plan to do more. What I said was ignorant and I really didn't realize what I was saying. Now that I do and realize how it affects people I really plan to do more and to help with the awareness."

Wow, so you had gay friends in school and beat up people who called them gay and then you grew up and called someone a fag and, well, that's just how it is, and you're being sincere when you apologize?
Keep talking, Kobe, and keep digging yourself in deeper. But if you want this to end, try saying, "I'm sorry I said something reprehensible. I'm sorry I didn't think before I spoke. I'm sorry that when someone upsets me the first thing I think of is to call them a 'fag'"
Failing that, just say,"I'm sorry"and don't do it again. Ever.


Former NBA Player, and out gay man, John Amaechi on Kobe Bryant's anti-gay slur:

"I suppose that's the typical, "I apologize if you're offended" type of comment. I doubt very much when he said that that he thought Bennie was a pile of sticks. There's only one contemporary meaning for that. The problem we have now is because of the way we don't address homophobia, the ultimate insult to a man is to tell them either they're like a woman or worse, that they're gay. We have to take it as unacceptable as a white person screaming the N-word at a black person. … I can tell you that I've been called a f——- fairly routinely, and yet people seem to hold off on calling me the N-word. We've got to mirror that progress.

I'm not interested in seeing Kobe punished. What I'm interested in is if you're really sorry, that this is a one-off mistake for you, use the power you have to make a difference. That means a proper apology and doing something with his brand. Good Lord, he's got the power with one executive decision to get people moving and do something good here. Do something good.

I've said this before and I know people think it's hyperbole, but especially in America, people look at sports stars like their gods. I keep saying every time, "If sports stars are gods it's time we see a miracle every once in a while." This is an opportunity for that....what I would want is to encourage Kobe to use the power he has to really make an apology that means something. Tell black men, men in general in America, that resorting to that sort of language is the lowest of the low and is unacceptable. And it doesn't make you any more of a man. That's really the answer. Saying you didn't mean it is not the answer."

I can't add to this.
Amaechi said it all, and much better than I could.


Marilyn Davenport, Tea Party activist and Orange County GOP committee member, on being busted for emailing an offensive "joke" with the caption: "Now you know why there's no birth certificate"--sidenote: you will not see that offensive picture on this blog:

"Oh, come on! Everybody who knows me knows that I am not a racist. It was a joke. I have friends who are black. Besides, I only sent it to a few people–mostly people I didn’t think would be upset by it. You're not going to make a big deal about this are you? It's just an Internet joke."

Oh, I get it, Marilyn.
You have black friends so you can't be racist.
Like Kobe has gay friends but still says, 'fag'?
With friends like you the Black Community doesn't need enemies.
Racism isn't funny.
Stupidity isn't an excuse.
You are a moron.

Barney Frank, on Obama's stance on DOMA:

"There are lawsuits against it that I think will win anyway, because the federal government can’t discriminate. Beyond that I don’t see anything about gay marriage happening on a federal level. More and more states will go that way, though. When they do, people will see, as with health care and the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” that there are no negative consequences. Places that have gay marriage have had none of the negative consequences that people warned us about. Zero. The divorce rate hasn’t gone up. There have been no calamities. Marriage hasn’t lost its meaning. Same-sex marriage as a divisive issue is losing its steam. Overall I think antigay prejudice is on its way out."

I'm not sure anti-gay prejudice will ever be all the way out.
Look at the racial prejudice many still feel toward the Black community, or even the Muslim community.
But I do see change, and I do see hope, and I do see more and more people understanding that my marriage, or any gay marriage, will have zero effect on their marriage.


Reese Witherspoon, on her 'disgusting'love scenes with Robert Pattinson:

"Rob possibly had the most hideous horrible cold of any co-star I've ever had to do a love scene with ever in my entire life ... He was literally snorting and snotting through every second of it -- and it was not appealing. I'm talking green, infectious, disgusting -- I'm not kidding! ... I'm going to say it's a little bit of a downer. I was a little disappointed. It wasn't sexy."

Quelle surprise.
Pattinson always looks, to me anyway, like an unwashed dog. so I can't imagine a love scene with him being sexy at all.


Robert Redford, on Sarah Palin's insinuation that higher education is elitist:

"Well....the country is made up of three categories. Traditionalists, cultural creative people and the moderns. The moderns are the hi-tech Silicon Valley people. The traditionalists on the lower end of it are the people who don't want change, they're afraid of change therefore they have anger. The fear card is a very big powerful card and when you have people afraid of change; they'll do anything to prevent it. They're doing it because they're limited, frightened of people who are not as limited. I think Sarah Palin, part of her strength is how limited she is."

Her strength is that a lot of limiuted, fearful people, think she has a clue as to what she's talking about, when clearly, she's an idiot.


Andrew Sullivan, on the long-awaited granting of his green card:

"I do not know right now what to do or say. Except to express my love and gratitude for my family and friends and husband who lived through this with me; and to those who helped lift the HIV ban; and to my lawyer who was simply magnificent; and to those who did what they could - and they know who they are - to keep this show on the road. "But I do know this. America remains the great dream, the great promise. For all its dysfunction, it remains an ideal, a place where the restlessness of the human mind and soul comes to rest in a place it constantly reinvents and forever re-imagines. I know this in my bones, perhaps more than many who take this amazing mess of a country for granted. But for the first time in my life, I do not feel somewhere in my psyche that I am displaced, unwelcome, an impostor."

Now, if we can allow gay couples, binatinal gay couples, to be treated as equally as straight binational couples, we will be headed in the right direction.

Sarah Palin, on how the media is treating Donald Trump unfairly:

"They are hammering him about the one issue that he has brought up and not been shy about and that's the birth certificate. He's merely answering reporter's questions about his view on the birth certificate and then reporters turn that around and saying that's all he's got! He's only running on a birth certificate issue when that's not the case...Donald Trump is running on the issue, bottom line, that Obama is so far over his head."

Um, Obama is in over his head?
How so, Grizzly Bore? I mean, do you have any solid evidence, or is the only thing you're grasping at Donald Trump's weave? If Trump had anything else to offer, then you know he'd be talking about that.
He's one-note, you're less than that. Seriously, when you pander to someone who is pandering to morons, what does that say about you?

Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton, on LGBT rights:

"I'm proud to be with you, to stand with you and pledge we will continue to work to fulfill the aspirations of Minnesotans and Americans who want the same rights, freedoms, opportunity, respect, dignity and legal protections and legal opportunities as every other one of their fellow citizens which the founding principal of this country."

Well, this must surely count as big news coming from the governor of Minesota, home of Tom Emmer and Target.
Hopefully the people of the state will follow and cheer their governor, rather than travel into homophobia and bigotry with Emmer and Target.

Ted Nugent, has-been rock star, and right-wing-nut, on Kobe's slur:

"If the NBA had any true gay convictions, the NBA should host a Homosexual Night. During halftime, the homosexuals could come down on the court, hold hands and prance around the court to music by the Village People. The NBA could then give each homosexual a pink basketball as a symbol of solidarity. Like other professional athletes, numerous NBA players have done all kinds of things on and off the court that do not cast a positive light on themselves or the NBA, but they have not been fined $100,000 by the league. Homosexuals are a protected class in America. If you think what happened to Mr. Bryant was a travesty, just wait until you see what homosexuals in the military do when they claim they have been mistreated because of their sexual orientation."

Wow, I'm a protected class in America?
I guess no one told me. Or America.
See, I, um, can't get married, save for a few states. In many places I can be fired, denied housing, unable to adopt a child, simply for who I am. I can get beaten just by walking down the street because of who I am.
And it's okay to call me names on TV. It's okay to make fun of me for sport. It's okay to use a derogatory term about me as an insult, because I'm protected.
What I need is protection from asshats like Nugent.

Chely Wright, on being snubbed by country music since she came out--except for people like Faith Hill and Brad Paisley:

"My first performance on the Grand Ole Opry was in 1989, and I was kind of an Opry darling. I'd be called to perform at least every 10 weeks, until my coming out. Since then, I've not heard a peep."

I'm sure the good ole folks at the Opry have their own version of the story, of why Chely Wright has not been asked to perform there in well over a year.
But, when she was asked to perfrom about five or six times a year, for about twenty years, and then is met with silence shortly after she said she was a lesbain, well.....
Shame on the Grand Ole Opry.

I Ain't One To Gossip, But......

Wow, am I shocked.
Charlie Sheen's, um, yeah, 'tour' is a bit of a bomb.

Opening night in Detroit saw a sold-out crowd of more than 4,500 packed into the Fox Theater, dying to see the trainwreck perform, um, live. But from all reports, it was a thoroughly disastrous night for the "warlock."
Some audience members, obviously the ones who've been screaming at their TV sets during Charlie's wackadoo interviews, began the show by heckling the warm-up guy. It got so ugly, in fact, that someone woke Charlie from a drug-induced coma and shoved him onstage and reprimand the crowd--to no avail.
The comic was booed off the stage, and house lights soon came up, causing the impatient masses to grow even more restless, as they waited for the Sheen Show to start.
And, finally, when the headliner launched into his first 'Violent Torpedo of Truth' performances--more than an hour after the disjointed show first started--the ovation turned to boos and jeers and walkouts.
Quelle surprise!
Many in the crowd demanded their money back--and let me say this, if you paid money to see Charlie Sheen....Charlie Effin' Sheen...and felt taken, too bad--but were denied.
But many of those demanding s refund might have wanted the money to spend on souvenirs, and by souvenirs,m I don't mean bricks of cocaine; those all go directly to Sheen. But you could buy t-shirts emblazoned with Charlie-isms like "F---ing Brilliant!" and "I'm on a drug. It's called Charlie Sheen".
And me, nowhere near Detroit. Boo-freaking-hoo.
The, um, 'show,' such as it was featured scores of video clips, including fan tributes from YouTube, violent film excerpts and one of Sheen just playing Call of Duty. As the crowds began to rant and rave about the horrid performance, Sheen told them, "I've already got your money!"
And sent it straight up his nose.
Other Charlie-isms, for which Detroitians paid $45:
"Tonight is an experiment"
"I am finally here to identify and train the Vatican assassin locked inside each and every one of you"
"Show of hands here who has tried crack? :::crickets::: I don't do crack anymore, but this is a good f---ing night to do some crack"
Is anybody else as confused by this s--t as I am? I wrote every word!"
OMG He is high-larious. See what i did there? High...........larious?


And speaking of trainwrecks, wannabes, and whores.

Heidi Montag, Jake Pavelka, and Danielle Staub are apparently starring in their own reality show. Or, maybe because they're all famewhores they just gathered togetherher and paid people to film them.
Montag, best known for using plastic surgery to transform herself from a pretty young girl into an inflatable sex doll with the IQ of a bar of soap, sat alongside Pavelka, who is best known for speed dating through twenty-six women and falling in love with one and then proposing and then breaking it off and then calling her all sorts of evil names on TV.
He's.A.Keeper.
Not far behind was former Real Housewives of New Jersey's very own Danielle Staub, AKA prostitution whore, drug mule, and star of her own poorly selling sex tape.
Heidi, Jake and Danielle.
Definitely Must-Not-See TV.

And, now for some good gay news.

Newly out, and still enjoying her Coming Out tool-belt and Home Depot gift card, country singer Chely Wright is engaged.
Her fiancée, Lauren Blitzer, a LGBT Civil Rights activist, and Chely have set a date and plan to be married this summer in Connecticut, where equality lives for all people, not just the heterosexual kind.
It seems that Chely and Lauren met through LGBT youth advocacy work, and realized they both have a love for, um, Scrabble?
Scrabble. Is that some sort of Lesbian sex game? Just asking.
Chely Wright, who once considered suicide rather than coming out as a lesbian, now says, "The freedom of being out and open about who I am allowed me to find and fall in love with Lauren...the most amazing woman I've ever known."
Congrats ladies.
And, as a wedding gift, I've registered you two at Ace Hardware, and will be gifting you with a belt sander and some Doc Martens.
Enjoy!
 
It looks like Lindsay Lohan's association with crime isn't quite over yet.
But maybe, just maybe,m this time crime will pay. It seems that La Lohan is in "final talks" to play mob-daughter Victoria Gotti in 'Gotti: Three Generations,' an upcoming  feature film about Victoria's mafioso father, John.

If this holds up--and it depends on whethe Lindsay goes back to jail or rehab for the summer--she'll star opposite seriously heterosexual John Travolta, who has agreed to play John Gotti.
And to make this film even more of a circus, rumors are swirling--as rumors are apt to do--that Kim Kardashian recently met with executive producers to discuss playing John's daughter-in-law, Kim Gotti.
A Kardashian and a Lohan, together.
This just reeks of an Oscar winning film.
Oscar.Mayer.
Producer Marc Fiore, who obviously has grandiose dreams, says his $75 million production is "going to be the new 'Godfather.'"
Oh, but he did.
There was another story out that Lindsay would play Sharon Tate in a film about Charles Manson.
Or that she would be in the new 'Superman' movie.
But those have to wait, while Lindsay sees if she stars in Prison Bitch.
That's not a film, that's her future.

This has crazy written all over it.
After Britney Spears', um, lethargic-looking demeanor during promotional performances for her new album, comes word that Brit-Brit doesn't want to be bothered performing any more.

She wants to act.
A source--and by source, I mean the team of men who hoist her Frito-laden ass about the stage with she lip-syncs to songs she does not remember--says, "Britney is very mindful that she has to evolve as an artist now she is heading towards her thirties. Music will always be a part of her life but she has come to love acting, and comedy especially. She is currently considering a few scripts. One is a comedy and a kind of parody of the popstar she is and the other is a more serious role which is an action movie."
A serious role in an action movie? Aint no such thing.
But the question I pose is this: if Spears cannot be bothered to learn to sing, much less learn the dance moves, to take this new album on tour, how will she ever become an actress?
Seriously, she has all the intelligence of a pork rind.
I see Brit-Brit's future like this: wackadoo tours, more head-shaving, more drama, another wackadoo tour, and then she'll fade from view, only to resurface in 2041 on some Bravo reality show, like, well, maybe, the Real Housewives of Backswamp.

And the gay is coming out after more than fifty years.

The 1951 novel From Here to Eternity, by James Jones, is set to be re-issued digitally through eBook firm called Open Road, and it will ALLEGEDLY feature two scenes involving gay content that were previously censored from the original publication.
Uh-huh. FHTE is going back to its gay roots.

The novel, which focuses on US soldiers serving in Hawaii in the months leading up to Pearl Harbor, was later adapted into a 1953 film starring Frank Sinatra. In the original book, there were two scenes that didn't make the cut: one focused on Private Angelo Maggio--the role Sinatra played in the film--revealing that he had sometimes been paid to have oral sex with another man; the other excised scene involved a military investigation into possible homosexual activity.

In addition to The Gay, the filthy language of the original novel is being pout back in. Get ready for some F-bombs.

James Jones' daughter, Kaylie, explains: "My father fought bitterly to hold on to every four-letter word in the manuscript. The publisher was concerned about getting through the censors."
And so The Gay and The Profane were cut from the novel and from the film, but now they're back, baby. And maybe that famous beach scene, with Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr, could be filmed again with, say, Colin Farrell and Matt Damon?
Just asking.

What does an actress do after she costars in an Oscar-nominated film?

Well, if you're Mila Kunis, fresh off her hot 'Black Swan' performance, you see what kind of offers come up, and then you take your pick.
One part, though, that Kunis won't be taking, even though an offer was made and all other parties are, um, into it, is being one of Charlie Sheen's goddesses.
Indeed!
At the Columbus, Ohio stop on his horrendously awful  'My Violent Torpedo Of Truth/Defeat Is Not An Option Tour,' Sheen began a campaign to secure Kunis as goddess number three in the Sheen crackhouse, saying, "Here's the good news: my goddesses have already f**king approved [Mila]. She's pre-approved! I'm going to go on her Facebook page and discover her likes. I'm going to buy them all and then she can come steal them. A super f---ing hot thief named Mila Kunis. Mila, please, we have a warehouse full of your favorite s--t to steal," 
And she must be thrilled.
And then, in incoherent Sheen-speak, he added: "I would have great tolerance for many missing items provided it involves Mila f**king Kunis. If Mila Kunis is stealing your s**t , trust me, you're still f**king winning, you're still winning at that moment."
For her part, rumor has it that Mila Kunis was less than thrilled with that particular offer, and even a little disgusted by it. Pals close to the actress say Thanks but no thanks, to Charlie, adding, "Obviously Charlie wanted to name someone who would create publicity for his tour, but the thought of it grosses Mila out."
It grosses me out, too.
And most of America.

More on Brit-Brit.

Less than a day after Spears debuted her new music video for 'Till the World Ends', she is fighting off rumors that she used a body double in the video.
Is that so far off the mark? I mean, she doesn't actually "sing" so should we be surprised that she also doesn't "dance"?
It is being suggested that choreographer and backup dancer Tiana Brown plays the role of Britney Spears' body in the video--accusations that the Spears camp, Camp HooHaw, denies. Now, to be fair, Brown has danced on the road with Britney on the 'Circus Starring Britney Spears Tour', but the rote answer Brit offered when asked if she's got a body double is, Oh hell to the no. It's Britney, bitch!
But then she turned to her handlers and asked, Which one is Britney?

Wow. Sink much.
He was one-half of a gay-married couple on The Amazing Race.
Then he dated Lance Bass.
Then he "starred" on Logo's The A-List.

And now, you ask--or maybe don't ask, though I'll tell you anyway--what is Reichen Lehmkuhl up to now?
Apparently, while waiting for season two of A-list to start, Reichen has gotten himself a side job spanking his monkey on a webcam, though the paycheck is about as big as the payoff. The pictures of his choking the chicken session made their way on to the Internet this week, and I, for one, was waiting for Reichen to deny that the pictures were of his Little Reichen being strangled.
Not so.
After confirming that the images were, in fact, him, Lehmkuhl released a statement:
"I don't feel that this story represents anything different in me than what the majority of gay men have done at one point or another--as far as posting a private picture over internet lines for private viewing. In my, now, nine years of being in the public eye, I've seen many less-flattering photos attributed to me, so that's a plus. Moving on…"
Moving on?
To what?
A little back-door video? Or, howsabout moving on to something else altogether, like, say, obscurity?

Oh, Paris! Were you jealous that Lindsay was getting all the jewel thief press and just couldn't stand it for another minute?

It seems that old-coke-in-the-vah-jay-jay,Paris Hilton, is being sued by the insurance company of Damiani jewelry, ALLEGING that she hasn't returned $60,000 worth of loaned jewels.
Wow. You beat Lindsanity there. She just, um, "borrowed" a $2500 necklace, but you've upped the ante.
It seems that the jewelry in question was part of the $2.8 million stash that was stolen from her house, while she was "borrowing"them, by the Hollywood Bling Ring back in 2009. The jewels were eventually recovered and returned to Hilton, who then never bothered to give them back to the jeweler.
What is it about the celebutards that they forget to put on underwear and return things they borrow?
And the insurance company, Allianz, even blames Paris for the robbery because she left her front door unlocked and ALLEGEDLY left the jewelry lying about like she does her cocaine.
A representative for Paris, who spends most days trying to explain the alphabet to the heiress, says: "We only just received the complaint but it is clear that it is not based on fact. Among other things, nobody from the Hilton team ever told the insurance company that the Damiani items that were stolen were returned. We are not aware of any of the Damiani items being recovered by the police, only costume jewelry was recovered."
It's the old I-ain't-got-your-stinking-jewels routine!
But if it doesn't play out like that, can you imagine the fun of prison if Lindsay and Paris are  jailed together? I mean, which one would be the other one's bitch? And which one could carve a shiv out of soap?

Star Jones is everywhere on the small screen, filling it up from corner to corner and top to bottom, as she scurries about to promote her new book, 'Satan's Sisters'. But, um, she ALLEGEDLY won't be making an appearance on 'The View'.

And, as Star is apt to do, whenever she isn't eating, which is rare, she's yapping it up about ALLEGED  reports that Barbara Walters is personally blocking her from ever showing up at 'The View' again.
Between bites of a Brontosaurs Burger, she says, "You can't push Barbara into doing anything! Are you out of your mind?"
And then she said, "Nom nom nom nom burp."
Star has, however, appeared on the former co-host Joy Behar's show, and while Star moaned and kvetched and ate a bowl of rigatoni, Joy made it very clear she had nothing to do with the guest bookings at her other job. She did, however, seem to be happy speaking to, and feeding, her former co-host.
Of course, a source for ABC--and by source, i mean the guy who defrosts Walters each day before she appears on-set--says, "Since the show began, Ms. Walters has made it her practice not to book the program."
Riiiight.
Maybe the reason Bab doesn't want Star back, aside from the increased food budget, is that Star's, ahem, novel, 'Satan's Sisters' is the tale of five women on a talk show where "alliances are forged, careers are made, and bridges are burned."
The matriarch, AKA old lady newswoman, of a fictional show, called 'The Lunch Club,' is a character named Maxine Robinson, the first African-American to become a network news anchor. Maxine is conniving and borderline nasty.
Sounds a little Walters-esque, eh?
But I'd love to see Star and Barbara togetehr again. Especially in the heat of summer. The iciness between the two women would certainly cool off a hot August afternoon.