It has since taken on a life of its own, with the likes of Ellen DeGeneres and Andy Cohen making their own versions of the Dolly Parton Challenge.
Eminem decided to have a shot at the Dolly Parton Challenge, but the rapper swapped out Tinder for Grindr.
For some reason, Eminem – whose album Songs to Be Murdered By topped the UK chart last Friday – decided he needed to get in on the fun. But he couldn’t just do the standard challenge; instead, he swapped out Tinder for Grindr, because Eminem is, of course, notoriously popular with the LGBT+ community and definitely doesn’t have a history of using homophobic slurs.
“Did I do this right?” the Detroit, US, musician tweeted, using a photo of the young naked Slim Shady holding a firecracker for his Grindr image.
The official Grindr account did not hold back in its response. In just three letters, Grindr shut Eminem’s gay joke down in the best possible way.
Grindr simply shared a screenshot of Eminem’s Dolly Parton Challenge and wrote: “who?”
Hilariously, the tweet – which has been liked more than 100,000 times – has been met with joy by queer fans and been widely slammed by Eminem stans, who are not happy at all that he has become the subject of the joke.
Eminem’s original Dolly Parton Challenge attracted both criticism and praise from followers in what may have been a subtle nod to the time he said he used Grindr after his divorce.
The rapper has a history of using anti-LGBT+ slurs.
Eminem has had a turbulent relationship with the LGBT+ community. His track record includes dropping an album which included anti-gay attacks on fellow rapper Tyler, The Creator.
In 2015, he also attacked Caitlyn Jenner, calling her “a b***h” and deadnaming her in a transphobic freestyle rap.
He previously claimed that his use of slurs such as “d**e” and “f****t” were not actually aimed at the LGBT+ community.
Kim Chi and Miz Cracker will go where no drag queen has gone before, becoming the first to appear in a Super Bowl advert.
The Drag Race stars will make herstory on February 2, when their Sabra hummus commercial airs during Super Bowl LIV.
An estimated 100 million Americans will watch as Miz Cracker and Kim Chi kiki with Caroline Manzo and Teresa Giudice of the Real Housewives of New Jersey, and – inexplicably – T-Pain.
A teaser for the 30-second clip shows Cracker trying to put a football helmet over a wig while Kim Chi watches on.
“Ready Cracker?” Kim Chi asks.
“Chick peas, I was born ready. I hope this doesn’t give me helmet hair.”
A separate teaser shows Giudice (who was artfully brought to life by Josyln Fox during Drag Race’s Snatch Game) keeping a safe distance from Manzo.
The pair had a memorable falling out during the 2014 series of Real Housewives – Manzo’s last – and have reportedly not spoken since.
T-Pain’s teaser shows the rapper solo, singing in his signature auto-tune: “Are you ready for some hummus?”
Trying to explain the miso-mash of personalities, Sabra’s chief marketing officer Jason Levine said that the brand wanted to bring “a diverse group of personalities to the table” and show “how incredibly versatile, relevant and relatable hummus is today.”
“We think we’ve got something for everyone,” he said.
Kim Chi will return to the werk room later this year for Celebrity Drag Race, along with lyssa Edwards, Asia O’Hara, Bob the Drag Queen, Monét X Change, Monique Heart, Nina West, Trinity the Tuck, Trixie Mattel, and Vanessa Vanjie Mateo.
Miz Cracker is heavily rumoured to be taking part in the forthcoming All Stars 5.
Before either series airs, 13 new queens will compete for the title of American’s Next Drag Superstar inDrag Race season 12, which begins on February 28.
The acclaimed singer and songwriter Rufus Wainwright has shared his sadness at a new Tennessee bill that allows religious adoption agencies to deny service to queer couples.
Tennessee governor Bill Lee signed the controversial measure last week, which enshrines the right for adoption agencies to discriminate against same-sex couples on the basis of “religious liberty”.
Earlier this week Wainwright and his husband Jörn Weisbrodt were approached by the tabloid TMZ.The couple were briefly asked for their views on the contentious new bill.
Weisbrodt replied first: “It’s horrible… you know, this is about love, gay people love, and you love your child. How can you suppress love? It’s universal and not tied to gender.”
Wainwright agreed, and urged Tennesseans to take advantage of the fact that so many LGBT+ couples are ready and able to provide loving homes to children who need it.
“I actually strongly think that the concept of gay people adopting children is one of the great forces that needs be taken advantage of and promoted,” he said. “Because there are so many people who need to be loved and need help, and gay people are always willing to help.”
According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, on any given day around 437,000 children are living in the foster care system, and the numbers are continuing to rise.
LGBT+ advocates have raised concern that the true impact of the Tennessean bill will be felt by children, many of whom are likely to remain in the adoptive and foster care system for far longer now that restrictions are being placed on families who could provide loving care.
Wainwright has a daughter himself, whom he is raising with the daughter of legendary singer Leonard Cohen. He is also the son of musicians Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle, and the older brother of singer Martha Wainwright.
The first trailer for the performance of pop queen Lady Gaga and RuPaul’s Drag Race royalty Shangela at Super Saturday Night has dropped and, well, you know the drill.
We have no choice but to stan.
Held the day before the Super Bowl, Super Saturday Night is an annual concert taking place each year since 2011. The Miami gig will be streamed live by the mobile carrier giant AT&T.
How do you follow a show like Queer Eye? If you’re Tan France, it’s by recruiting a drunken Alexa Chung to help you present a major Netflix series.
France and Chung have joined forces up for Next In Fashion, which finds 18 designers competing for a $250,000 prize and the chance to sell their designs on online fashion Mecca Net-a-Porter.
The presenters arrive at the show from opposite sides of the TV merry-go-round: France riding high on the back of Queer Eye‘s world-conquering success, Chung having largely stepped away from presenting in favour of a successful career as a designer.
It was Chung’s eponymous womenswear line that bought the pair together. They first met at a Victoria Beckham party during London Fashion Week, where Chung was celebrating her own well-received AW19 show.
“I was really letting loose, I’d completed this runway show,” Chung recalls to PinkNews.
“She’d completed the bar,” interrupts France.
Laughing, Chung continues: “I was elated. Tan walked in and I screamed because I love him and I had literally just been watching Queer Eye.”
As it turned out, France had recently signed on to front Next In Fashion. He mentioned it to Chung, who was “too drunk to realise” at the time, and once reminded she agreed to join him.
Tan France says crushing dreams took him back to ‘a great period of depression’.
Despite having never worked together Tan France and Alexa Chung are a solid double act – warm, funny and impressively knowledgable about the fashion industry, having both worked in it for much of their careers away from the camera.
Together they serve as both presenters and judges, casting their critical eye over the contestants’ designs as they tackle challenges such as red carpet, tailoring and rock.
While the pair clearly relish in their roles, there are points where cutting contestants proves difficult: in one episode an elimination is cancelled by a teary-eyed France, the task having taken its toll on both presenters as well their guest judges.
Tommy Hiliger joined France and Chung as a guest judge on Next In Fashion. (Netflix)
“We know the pressure of this game,” France explains. “It took me right back to all the feelings I used to have when I was a struggling designer.
“I went through a great period of depression. I’m not somebody who has struggled with depression ordinarily, but running a design business can do that to you. It can make you really question yourself and your position in the world, so it was hard. You’re about to break somebody’s dream.”
“It’s knowing that this could life-changing and feeling the responsibility of that,” chimes Chung. “It was tough.”
Queer Eye cast visited Tan France on the Next In Fashion set.
A happier time on set was to be found during the filming of the grand finale, which saw Tan France surprised by his Queer Eye cast mates Jonathan Van Ness and Bobby Berk.
“It was so lovely,” he beams. “You know when you’re a kid and you’re in a school play, and you see your parents – and you want to wave at them but people are going to think you’re such a dork? That’s how it felt.”
We now know why France didn’t appear on-screen at the same time as his Queer Eye castmates in the ‘You Need To Calm Down’ video. (YouTube)
“It was a really surreal experience,” France says of the day. “Karamo and Anthony were filming their scenes at the time so they couldn’t be there [for the final]. We all work so crazily.”
The theme of LGBT+ Pride is felt throughout the series. A number of the contestants identify as queer (sadly, there are no openly trans designers), including Marco Morante of the LA-based Marco Marco.
In one episode Morante creates a rainbow-themed underwear look that’s “very, very gay and very, very celebratory,” and reminiscent of his designs for stars such as Britney Spears, Katy Perry and pretty much every RuPaul’s Drag Race queen imaginable.
It’s about self-expression and freedom.
When PinkNews asks the pair why they thought the show – and the fashion industry at large – is so well-populated by LGBT+ folk, Chung replies simply: “It’s about self-expression and freedom.”
“When my family wasn’t around and I was on my own, I would play with my sister’s clothes, I would play with dressing up.
Carli Pearson and Daniel W. Fletcher are among the queer contestants in Next In Fashion. (Netflix)
“I think a lot of us us within the LGBTQ community grow up finding ways to express ourselves through our clothes, whether it be in private or publicly, because we don’t get to express who we truly are with our family. That was true for me.
“And so I think that we have come up knowing that that’s a way of expressing yourself. And often, that turns into a career.”
Inclusion at the heart of Next In Fashion.
As well as being LGBT-inclusive, the show is also incredibly diverse in terms of race and nationality. Along with British and American designers, there are contestants of black, Mexican and Pakistani heritage, along with talents from China, South Korea and India.
France says that the decision to cast so diversely was an easy one.
“Netflix is a global platform and it made sense to make sure that this was a global competition.
“I think it makes for a much more interesting show, [and when it came to the finalists] it didn’t matter if the person was white, black, Asian… it did not matter.”
Without giving too much away, this diversity carries right through to the final, in which two designers are challenged with creating 10 looks in three days.
Adolfo Sanchez is Mexican-American, while Claire Davis is black-British. (Netflix)
“Everyone is so talented,” France says. “You don’t get onto that show unless you are so, so talented. And there were some people who were incredible, but caved in under the pressure. I couldn’t do it.”
Despite this pressure, both France and Chung are insistent that the show “isn’t based on drama”, which France says sets it apart from its rival Project Runway.
“You’re really rooting for people in our show, and I think when you break it down it comes from the fact that Alexa and I, and our relationship, sets the tone. I love that and I feel like it makes for a very different show.”
Next in Fashion launches on Netflix on January 29.
Mighty Hoopla organisers ‘thrilled’ to welcome Cheryl.
Organisers said: “We are thrilled that this year’s Hoopla will be closed by one of the millennium’s most iconic pop stars.
“Having risen to fame in one of biggest girl groups of the 21st century, Cheryl has since gone on to release five number one singles in the UK – the first British female solo artist to achieve this feat.
“Revellers can expect to hear smash hits “Fight for This Love”, “Call My Name” and “Crazy Stupid Love” in a pop-tastic set that’s sure to blow your military hats off.”
Cheryl performs on stage during Manchester Pride Live 2019 at the Mayfield Depot on August 25, 2019 in Manchester, England. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for AG)
sorry, Cheryl, Alphabeat, Anastasia, Natasha Bedingfield, Sonique, Eve, Becky Hill, Atomic Kitten and Gabrielle on one line-up, I think I might actually die at @mightyhoopla, glasto could and would NEVER
Another added: “I was already super excited for Mighty Hoopla, but Cheryl, Eve and Alphabeat as well? I’m shooketh ”
Originally starting it’s life at Butlins in 2016, Mighty Hoopla moved to Victoria Park a year later before finding its home in Brockwell Park in 2018.
2019’s Mighty Hoopla welcomed 20,000 party-goers and saw Chaka Khan, Bananrama, Ultra Nate, All Saints, Jamelia, Kate Nash, Liberty X and Artful Dodger perform.
Non-binary queen Aja attacks RuPaul for ‘denying’ trans people.
“Denying trans women the ‘highest’ platform of drag (which was pioneered by them) is wrong and we all know it,” they said in a series of scathing tweets.
“Remember not all work spaces are trans-friendly, and drag is the main income of many trans people. Denying trans woman of making their coins, showing their art in the name of capitalism and Emmys.
“Most of the queens on RPDR come from the legacy and inspiration of trans drag performers. That shouldn’t be erased.
“It should be celebrated.”
Denying trans women the “highest” platform of drag (which was pioneered by them) is wrong and we all know it. Remember not all work spaces are trans-friendly, and drag is the main income of many trans ppl. Denying trans woman of making their coins, showing their art –
They continued: “Drag has never just been a ‘guy dressed as a girl’. It’s always been so much more.
“Don’t say you support drag if you think only male dressed as female drag is valid.”
The non-binary queen was a fan-favourite on the show. After their stint, they distanced themselves from the scene to work on their career as a musician.
RuPaul’s turbulent relationship with the trans community.
As criticism of the show continues to grow, each season’s contestants present a fresh test for RuPaul, who previously said he would “probably not” allow a trans woman to compete.
RuPaul attempted to tamp down frustration and anger over his remarks by clarifying that they were “taken out of context”.
“We share a history. The two worlds [of drag and trans people] intersect, but also maintain their own unique qualities,” he told The Sunday Times in 2019.
RuPaul Charles at RuPaul’s DragCon UK at Olympia London on January 18, 2020 in London, England. (Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for World Of Wonder Productions)
Of the few trans queens to compete on the show, only Monica Beverly Hills, Peppermint and Gia Gunn (during her All Stars 4 run) have competed openly as trans women.
Sonique, Stacey Layne Matthews, Jiggly Caliente and Kenya Michaels all came out as trans following their times on Drag Race.
There are also a number of queens who have identified as non-binary or gender-queer post Drag Race, including Courtney Act, Sasha Velour and Jinx Monsoon.
“For BlacksOnBoys if you’re wondering what my response is to working for you, I think you’re smart enough to know that it’s going to be a big NO THANKS!
For @BlacksOnBoys if your wondering what my response is to working for you I think your smart enough to know that, it’s going to be a big NO THANKS! I don’t care that you even raised my fee up. It’s just unjust you pay bottoms less and for that I decline working for you!
“I don’t care that you even raised my fee up. It’s just unjust you pay bottoms less and for that I decline working for you!”
‘I’m getting very passionate because I have literally had to do all the work on set.’
The performer’s public accusations sparked debate online, prompting him to broadcast a Twitter live video titled “Tops vs Bottoms”.
In the lengthy video, he gave a candid account of the demands that the two preferences face in the adult film industry, but elaborated on the notable differences.
Rizzo described in detail how the two positions are judged differently, arguing that tops are afforded particular privileges, especially in the porn industry.
He emphasised that, traditionally, tops spend less time getting ready for shoots whereas bottoms must prep comparatively more and even monitor what they eat.
“I’m getting very passionate because I have literally had to do all the work on set,” Rizzo said.
“And all the top had to do is lay there and watch the bottom bounce and do all the f***ing work”.
“[The bottom] as well, has to hold their own weight, so you’re light as a feather, so the top looks big and masculine.”
Followers denounce porn studio for not paying queer men equally.
His allegations provoked fury from followers, with fellow adult film stars providing their own accounts of the pay gap between tops and bottoms.
I worked for @BlacksOnBoys back in the day as a top, and had to demand higher pay, they were a shitty company back then. I would’ve preferred to bottom but they didn’t want Black bottoms. I honestly didn’t know the bottoms were underpaid, I swore the White boots made more.
That is insane!!!! I think with all the work that bottoms do they should get paid more every time! It is always crazy to me that people still don’t realize how much prep and work there really is in being a bottom. Fuck that studio babe!
Tyler, The Creator wasn’t the only one thrilled to score his first-ever Grammy for Best Rap Album, his “boyfriend” Jaden Smith was as well.
Tyler and Smith have teased fans at the prospect of them dating for years.
In 2018, Jaden Smith got people talking while performing at a Los Angeles, US, music festival that was run by rapper.
“Tyler’s my motherf*****g boyfriend and he’s been my motherf*****g boyfriend my whole f*****g life!” he proclaimed, much to the delight of the crowd.
Jaden Smith: ‘My boyfriend just won a Grammy.’
Tyler, 22, was seen in the video laughing and shaking his head. He later replied to Smith’s tweet: “Hahaha you a crazy n***a man.”
Years since, and the actor has once again referred Tyler as his “boyfriend”, this time in the wake of Tyler’s latest win at the Grammy’s for his album Igor.
Taking to Twitter, Smith joined in the chorus of cheers for Tyler by simply writing: “My boyfriend just won a Grammy”
The tweet was sent at January 27, and quickly tallied more than 300,000 likes since.
And some have been joking that Jaden needs to admit that Justin Bieber is his “real boyfriend”, after some light-hearted banter happened between the two singers on Instagram.
The bisexual YouTuber and late-night talkshow host Lilly Singh is set to star as an astronaut in a feminist Super Bowl advert for the cosmetic brand Olay this weekend.
The US broadcast of the Super Bowl is the most watched TV event of the year, and the big-budget advertising slots throughout the game are known as “the Oscars of commercials”.
According to Adweek, women only appear in a lead role in 27 percent of Super Bowl ads, despite making up almost half of the expected viewership. Olay is bucking this trend with a prominent female-centric advert inspired by the first all-woman space walk last year.
Singh, who hosts A Little Late with Lilly Singhon NBC, will appear alongside journalist Katie Couric, retired astronaut Nicole Stott and actress Busy Phillips, as actress Taraji P. Henson runs mission control.
An early teaser for the ad shows the three astronauts striding towards an Olay space shuttle, as Phillips asks “Who has the keys?” Singh replies: “I don’t know, I thought you did!”
The ad is promoting Olay’s #MakeSpaceForWomen campaign to help get more girls into STEM subjects to enable the next generation of female scientists, engineers, programmers and space explorers.
Olay will donate $1 every time someone tweets the hashtag to Girls Who Code, an organisation that helps women in computer science (up to $500,000).
Olay is owned by the corporation Procter & Gamble, which has a long history of LGBT-positive ads.
In 2013 the company joined a coalition of businesses backing a bipartisan effort of end workplace discrimination based on sexuality and gender identity.
And last year it removed the Venus female symbol () from its packaging of sanitary towels to be more inclusive of trans and non-binary people who have periods.
The company boldly reaffirmed its commitment to “diversity and inclusion” in the face of wild claims from anti-trans critics who said it was “erasing women” and “moving towards the total elimination of women’s biology.”
A national art charity has launched a £3.5 million fund to save the house of the late Derek Jarman, a visionary filmmaker, director, artist and gay activist.
Jarman made his break into the film industry as production designer for Ken Russell’s The Devils (1971), and would later become one of the most influential figures in 20th century British culture. His historical film Sebastiane (1976) was one of the first British films to feature positive images of gay sexuality.
During his lifetime he was outspoken about homosexuality, his public fight for gay rights, and his personal struggle with AIDS. He was a leading campaigner against Section 28, which sought to ban the “promotion” of homosexuality in schools.
The former Victorian fisherman’s hut where Jarman lived – Prospect Cottage in Kent – was a source of much of his artistic inspiration, and it was here that he write the book Modern Nature and filmed The Garden starring Tilda Swinton.
As he succumbed to his illness the house was a a sanctuary to him as well as a creative hub for his fellow artists to collaborate together. Today, it continues to be a site of pilgrimage for LGBT+ people and artists from all over the world.
When he died of AIDS in 1994 Jarman bequeathed the house to his close friend and companion Keith Collins. Collins himself died in 2018, and the house is due to go on sale on March 31.
The Art Fund is now appealing to the public to raise £3.5 million in order to save Jarman’s former home. It’s hoped the money raised will establish a permanently funded programme to conserve and maintain the building and its contents for the future.
With major grants from the National Heritage Memorial Fund (£750,000), Art Fund (£500,000), the Linbury Trust (£250,000), and several private donations, the campaign is halfway towards its target.
Art Fund director Stephen Deuchar told House Beautiful: “Prospect Cottage is a living, breathing work of art, filled with the creative impulse of Derek Jarman at every turn.
“It’s imperative we come together to save the Cottage, its contents and its extraordinary garden as a source of creative inspiration for everyone.”
NikkieTutorials has urged fans to stop hunting for the person who threatened to out her as transgender, after rife speculation about his identity
The YouTube make-up guru, real name Nikkie De Jager, came out as trans in a video earlier this month after someone threatened to out her publicly.
On Tuesday, in her first video since coming out, the YouTuber urged fans to end the speculation about the identity of the mystery person – warning that “innocent people” are being hurt by incorrect rumours naming well-known YouTubers as the blackmailer.
NikkieTutorials: Stop the witch-hunt.
She explained: “I think we need to stop the witch-hunt I’ve been seeing going around. I’ve been seeing so many videos saying ‘this is Nikkie’s blackmailer, we found the guy’, and to be honest, I don’t think that’s your story to tell.
“If anyone’s going to have the right to tell more about these blackmailers, it’s gonna be me.”
The YouTuber added: “With the help of police, we have found out who exactly was blackmailing me… let me tell you, when I found out exactly who was behind this all, I was shocked, because this is not a person that any of you know. It is someone that I don’t even personally know. Finding out exactly who did this was frightening but freeing at the same time.
“It’s frightening because you know someone is out there, so evil as to out someone. You are sick in your head for doing that. But it’s also freeing, because now that I know exactly who did this, I can keep an eye out. It gives me a perspective as to what people are really like.”
YouTube make-up guru NikkieTutorials, real name Nikkie De Jager, addressed her fans’ investigations
‘I have the power to destroy a life.’
On whether she would name the blackmailer, she said that using her platform constructively was “the greatest responsibility I’ve ever had in my life.”
She said: “With this platform right here, I have the power to destroy a life. Not only the life of my blackmailer, but also the life of his family, his kids, his friends, his surroundings.
“Ever since finding out his name, that has been going on in my mind. Am I out this person, am I going to be doing the same as this person did to me? Do I want that? Do I want to put a human being in the same situation that I was in?
“I wouldn’t wish it upon my worst enemy. Nobody should get away with blackmailing, but when I look at my situation and my life, that person has been punished.”
NikkieTutorials continued: “I don’t want to lower myself to his level. I am creating my own level. I’m better than that. In a way, they already got their punishment.
“They now know that I know exactly who it is, and I think they’re going to have a little bit of that fear that one day their name is going to leak to the press. I think it is my right to determine if I want my name to come out or not.”
She added that the blackmailer had “already got his punishment” because “his goal was for my career to get destroyed and me to no longer have a life, and look at me now.”
For those of you who have been living under a rock or a Nuclear bunker, Lil Nas X came out as gay last year at the height of his popularity.
He confirmed his sexuality in a low-key tweet, writing: “Some of y’all already know, some of y’all don’t care, some of y’all not gone fwm no more.
“But before this month ends I want y’all to listen closely to ‘c7osure’.”
The track includes the lyric: “Ain’t no more actin’, man, that forecast say I should just let me grow/No more red light for me, baby, only green, I gotta go.”
A G2 profile of Stonewall co-founder and former EastEnders star Lord Cashman unearthed an article that a budding young P Morgan penned for The Sun in 1989 after the soap’s first same-sex kiss.
Piers Morgan hit out at ‘yuppie poofs’ on EastEnders.
In the piece, Morgan derided the characters Colin Russell and Guido Smith, played by Cashman and Nicholas Donovan, as “yuppie poofs”.
He wrote: “Furious MPs last night demanded a ban on EastEnders as the BBC soap showed two men kissing full on the lips. The homosexual love scene between yuppie poofs was screened in the early evening when millions of children were watching.”
The piece – naturally accompanied by a large photo of the kiss – quotes Tory MPs attacking the “revolting scene” and “perverted practices”.
Piers Morgan penned the article for The Sun in 1989
It also notes that “homosexual actor” Michael Cashman “lives with his real-life boyfriend”.
The article then invites readers to vote on whether “TV should show scenes of men kissing each other.”
Morgan told PinkNews: “I’m ashamed of some of the inappropriate language I used in The Sun 30 years ago about gay stars. They were different times, but that’s no excuse – it was offensive, it was wrong, and I apologise for it.”
The former journalist highlighted a piece he wrote for The Telegraph in 2005, in which he admitted he was”rather ashamed” of his past writing about gay people, noting the EastEnders coverage and attempts to expose “whether male pop stars were gay or not”.
31 years on, he still won’t leave queer people alone.
More than three decades on, Morgan largely stays away from ranting about “yuppie poofs” – though he has found a new fixation for his interests in the form of genderfluid and non-binary people.
The TV presenter regularly uses his platform on Good Morning Britain to ridicule minorities – redeploying the one joke he knows ad nauseum to claim to identify as a “two-spirit penguin”, “trans-slender,” and “an Arsenal tragic gender”. Seriously, sing a new song Chiquitita.
Morgan has also claimed that the mere existence of non-binary people is “damaging to society”.
His archaic views were clearly too much for 92-year-old actor Dick Van Dyke, who stepped in to shut down one of Morgan’s tantrums.
Caitlyn Jenner reportedly snubbed Rickey Gervais at the National Television Awards last night following the comedian’s track record of anti-trans jokes.
When Jenner, 70, bumped into the comic at the NTAs yesterday, she allegedly didn’t hold back. Although, Gervais himself has since rebutted, saying she was “lovely and gracious”.
‘Oh my god she’s going to shake his hand! This is really happening!’
Jenner’s I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! cast-mate Roman Kemp told Capital FM all about the alleged exchange.
“Everyone was there including Caitlyn Jenner, so obviously there’s a lot of people who want to come up to Caitlyn and want to be able to say hello, meet her for the first time, she’s one of the most inspirational human beings on the planet,” he said.
“Yeah, so I’m minding my own business, you know, just kinda chatting around and then all of a sudden I look over and Ricky Gervais is walking over to Caitlyn Jenner, but then I realise I’m in a conversation with someone else.
“So I’m going: ‘Oh, yeah, so, sorry, it’s a lovely night.’
“Oh my God she’s going to shake his hand! This is really happening!”
Kemp was caught mid-conversation as Gervais beelined towards Jenner. He did what anybody would do and kept his focus on the pair, all in the name of gossip, of course.
“And it happened,” he continued, “the most awkward encounter ever.
“Ricky Gervais reaches out his hand and says. ‘Caitlyn, so lovely to meet you.’ Caitlyn literally looks out the corner of her eyes and goes, ‘Yeah.'”
Ricky Gervais on Caitlyn Jenner snub: ‘This is absolutely false.’
Shortly after Kemp’s claims were picked up by news outlets, Gervais responded, saying the story is “absolutely false”.
This is absolutely false. She was lovely and gracious. She said she loved my Golden Globes monologue & I said I loved her stint in I’m a Celebrity. And that was it. No snubbing. No awkwardness. No rudeness. @Caitlyn_Jennerhttps://t.co/wo3cuwQVRH
Multiple high-profile performers have now stood behind Rizzo on the issue, with Mills tweeting Monday that performers should “know their worth”.
Studios are ‘taking advantage of young performers’, says Joey Mills.
“As performers can we go ahead and say that no one who is preforming for a studio should be getting paid any less than 1k a scene,” the actor, whose credits include working with Men.com and Helix Studios, said.
A “scene” is just one story or unit of action within a video.
You can try and say this hurts up and coming studios but if you have to take advantage of people and fuck them over to start a studio you shouldn’t be running one
“I hear about some of these new models scene rates and how multiple well known studios are knowingly taken advantage of young performers.
He continued: “You can try and say this hurts up and coming studios but if you have to take advantage of people and f**k them over to start a studio you shouldn’t be running one.”
“If you’re a performer making less than 1k this isn’t me coming after you in any way I just want everyone to realise what your worth instead of letting your studio decide for you.
“Especially in the USA.”
Adult film actors sound off on the issue of pay in porn.
Joey Mills’ tweets prompted many performers to be transparent about their pay, especially around how it has changed across their careers.
One actor explained that he started out his career making $500 per scene.
I will say this…. when I started out I was making $500 per scene but then again I had a regular 9-5 job I just wanted to make good porn… now that I am more experienced I feel like a model should make no less than 1K
“Now I am more experienced,” Nic Sahara said, “I feel like a model should make no less than 1k.”
Another performer, Owen Hawk, said that the first scene he was offered paid him $300 in 2003.
My first scene was for Titan in 2003. They paid me $300 plus airfare to SF. I took it bc I was trying to break into the industry, which was hard, back then, living on the east coast. 17 years later still going and I don’t regret taking that pay for the opportunities it brought.
“I took it because i was trying to break into the industry, which was hard back then, living on the East coast.
“17 years later still going, and I don’t regret taking that pay for the opportunities it brought.”
Mills later explained that regardless of how small or large the paycheque may seem for a scene, when a studio uploads it to their site, it’s there to be streamed “forever”.
Studios own and have the ability to make money off of your videos FOREVER…. you only get paid for them once. #1kornothinghttps://t.co/GAdS5Dwp4p
According to several testimonies from queer porn stars and producers compiled by Queerty, the average actor earns around $500 to $1,000 per scene.
Tallying an average pay in the porn industry can be difficult, and as many evergreen performers and porn stars alike flock to services such as OnlyFans, how those in X-rated entertainment earn money is changing.
The track includes the infamous line “You scumbag, you maggot, you cheap lousy faggot” – and while singer Kirsty MacColl decided to drop the homophobic slur from live performances prior to her death in in 2000, Gavin and Stacey opted to sing the original lyrics in full.
Matthew Horne claims faggot ‘was appropriate to use’.
Speaking to Metro, Horne, who plays the titular role of Gavin Shipman, repeated the BBC’s claim that the word “faggot” is not intended to be homophobic slur.
He told the newspaper: “I mean, that word which is in the song, it doesn’t mean what it means today. I’m not in a position to comment on that, I didn’t choose to use the song.
“The song is a well known and well-loved song that has been used at Christmas time for many, many years. We felt it was appropriate to use the song in the show.
“That word etymologically means different things, it’s a shame people were offended by it.”
Matthew Horne poses in the winners room during the National Television Awards 2020 at The O2 Arena on January 28, 2020 in London, England. (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
More than 900 people complained over the uncensored slur in the pre-watershed comedy special, which aired at 8pm on Christmas Day.
BBC claims it’s OK to shout ‘faggot’ in 2020 because song released in 1987 is actually set in 1940s.
In a response to complaints seen by PinkNews, the BBC defended the airing of the slur because the song is nominally set in the 1940s, when the term was not widely used as a homophobic slur.
A spokesperson said: “‘Fairytale of New York’ is a well-established, much-loved Christmas song which tells the story of a troubled couple in 1940s New York.
“The descent of their relationship is reflected in the increasingly abusive and offensive terms they use to address each other; insults which are intended to reflect the language that such characters might have used in that era.
“The origin of the word includes a definition which describes it as a contemptuous and antiquated word for laziness, and the author of the song has cited this inference behind his inclusion of that line.
“While the word ‘faggot’ is now widely acknowledged as having the potential to offend, the song never suggests or implies that this is, or was ever, an appropriate way to address another person, nor does it link it to homosexuality.”
The spokesperson continued: “Nessa and Bryn were seen singing the original lines and we can assure you there was no intention to offend viewers. We understand that some people will find it offensive in any context but we also recognise that the song is widely played and enjoyed in its original form.
“Ofcom have previously stated that they feel it is ‘unlikely that audiences would widely perceive [the song] as a serious attempt to denigrate the homosexual community’.”
Today, the pop deity that is Madonna stepped out of her jet to begin rehearsals for her first leg of her UK Madame X tour.
Her time in London was plunged into controversy even before she landed, however, after the superstar announced she cancelled her first concert, citing medical concerns.
But while her recent line of gigs have been mired in backlash due to consecutive cancellations, the “Vogue” singer is no stranger to controversy.
Some fans took to Twitter to hark back to when Madonna flouted taboos about sex and religion during her 1990 “Blond Ambition” tour.
You know, the tour that then-Pope John Paul II urged the public not to attend, calling it “one of the most satanic shows in the history of humanity”.
Madonna swore 14 times in a single minute and we simply can’t stan her enough.
In one example of the star teasing the borderlines of convention, at her first London gig for the tour, BBC Radio One broadcasted the show live so that any Madonna fan willing to embrace her as their Satanic ruler could tune into the unholy airwaves.
As a result, the broadcaster asked she not swear during her Wembley Stadium performance on July 20, 1990.
So, in the kind of energy we morally recommend we all bring into 2020, Madonna, in an exaggerated Noo Yawk accent, proceeds to swear 14 times in one minute.
Madonna donned in her Jean Paul Gaultier conical bra corset. (Gie Knaeps/Getty Images)
Someone should really tell the Oxford Dictionary to update their definition of “iconic”, because Madonna is not listed.
“So anyways,” she says, “I’ve gotta teach these girls some “f**king manners, they ain’t go not f**king class, you know what I’m f**king saying?
“And while we’re on the subject of ‘f**k’, I just wanna say that ‘f**k’ is not a bad word, ‘f**k’ is a good word!
As Madonna begins her residency in London, I can’t help thinking of another time she performed here. Radio 1 were broadcasting Blond Ambition live and asked her not to swear. So she said “fuck” 14 TIMES IN ONE MINUTE. https://t.co/kxIacmhBMF
The TV show, a spin-off of Dick Wolf’s series FBI, explored the home life of the agent Sheryll Barnes in its fourth episode, which aired on January 28.
The episode saw the character, played by Roxy Sternberg, go undercover to ensnare a gang leader. In the process, the show revealed the hard-nosed detective has a loving wife and daughter waiting for her at home.
Roxy Sternberg: It’s important to show all family backgrounds.
The TV star told CinemaBlend that she is proud of the way that the show approaches her character’s healthy family life, treating her family no differently than any other detective.
Sternberg said: “Barnes has a wife and a daughter and I think there should be more relationships like this shown on television.”
Roxy Sternberg plays Agent Sheryll Barnes in FBI: Most Wanted (CBS)
She added: “I think it’s important for television, full-stop, no matter what the sex, ethnicity, race, or whatever.
“I think it’s important to see these family backgrounds and ultimately we’ve all come from a family, we all come from one, so why aren’t we showing it?”
FBI: Most Wanted shows you can be inclusive – even if you’re busy hunting down criminals
Of course, much of the episode focused on her crime solving, rather than her home life.
Sternberg continued: “It should be included into the storyline even though that’s not the main premise of the show. The main premise of the show is this fugitive task force hunting down criminals. So I think it’s important.”
She added: “As an actor we only dream of having storylines that have a lot of depth to them so that we can tap into our emotions.
“I think this was a great one for me. I had a lot of fun exploring a range of different emotions and if I’m given that opportunity again, I will be very happy.”
Schitt’s Creek star Annie Murphy remixed her critical reviewed single “A Little Bit Alexis” with Kelly Clarkson.
Are you ready? Let’s do it.
Since Alexis Rose (Murphy) premiered “A Little Bit Alexis” – an early-00s pop banger inspired by the ouvres of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton – back in Schitt’s Creek season five, the track has taken on a new life as a bona fide gay anthem.
So when the actor gave a rare performance of the track live on The Kelly Clarkson Show, the internet naturally lost it.
Murphy began the song solo, with Clarkson joining after the first iconic “ah, ah” to deliver a brand new verse of her own.
I’m a classic bronco / I’m on Texas time I’m a whole lot of tipsy / When I drink my wine I got like 20 jobs / And I talk a lot I’m a whole lot of married / My man’s so hot
The pair then joined together for the immortal refrain: “La, la, la, la, la, la, la, a little bit Alexis,” with Clarkson adding her own: “And a whole lot of Texas.”
Twitter’s response was simple: “This is gay rights.”
This will cure your dandruff, sort your mail and vacuum under your bed. https://t.co/dRqmHGj1nz
it’s sending me that the 1917 twunks are just sitting on the couch, looking like they have no clue what’s going on or what to do https://t.co/6A5o8sMIA1
As the show draws to a close – amid record ratings and universal acclaim – Murphy revealed how she came to close to quitting acting entirely before she was cast as Alexis.
“Things were quite bleak,” she told Clarkson. “My house had just burned down, I had like $3 in my bank account.”
Having not worked for “close to two years” and “blowing” a screen test for another project, Murphy said she found herself “crying in the Pacific Ocean – a very snotty cry – and the universe was like, ‘Do not do this anymore, this is not for you.'”
Two days later, she was asked to audition for Schitt’s Creek.
Murphy has previously admitted to being intimidated by her Schitt’s Creek co-stars – father and son duo Eugene and Dan Levy and Home Alone’s Catherine Levy, a long-time friend of the family – before her first day on set.
“When I got the part I was cruising on such a high that I didn’t realise I would have to go in and act with these people,” she said during a roundtable interview.
“The night before it kind of dawned on me… I’ve never been so terrified. I was racking my brain for some excuse as to why I couldn’t go in to work the next day.”
woman
(@Seba__vz) 
🅻
🆃🅸🅽
) from its packaging of sanitary towels to be more inclusive of trans and non-binary people who have periods.
(@AyeLilNasX) 
(@PalmerAlan) 
(@zackpaslay)