Image of the Week: November 20th

Previously > Adam Lambert Responds

You Can't Cure Bitch?

 

I'm in trouble then. Especially with my Twilight Hangover. Which is a totally real thing. It's what happens when you go to the midnight screening of New Moon at Lincoln Center, the guy in front of you keeps turning around to throw flirty glances and you think, "If I get picked up at The Twilight Saga I will have to recreationally throw myself off a cliff," they close the subway on 66th Street, and by the time you're home, at 3:30 AM, you start realizing that Taylor Lautner is actually pretty adorable with his shirt on. Or maybe I just need a nice guy in my life. But now I'm at work. Twilight Hangover. 

But the movie did remind me of one relevant fact. Boys with expertly styled hair and powered-down skin? Boys who spent 18 hours at the gym each week and then say they're just growing? They have secrets. Monsters inside of them, and when you have to start keeping their secrets things get messy. Just ask Peter Stone. Tonight on Degrassi we see if Peter can help his friend Riley safely out of the closet without anyone else getting a broken nose or a clocked jaw. Riley's a wild guy, and he's not going gay without a fight.

Degrassi: The Next Generation "Beat It Part 2" airs tonight on Teen Nick at 8/7 central. You can catch up with this season by watching episodes online at The Click at TeenNick.com or downloading past seasons from iTunes or Amazon.com.

You'll want to check back in on Monday for the full recap, where we'll be talking about what's really going on with the kids today, what they've inherited from you, the dirty truth behind student LGBT groups, and how a weekly dose of Glee factors in to all of this.

-- ALEX WILBURN

Previously > Degrassi: Beat It Part 1

Project Runway: Happy Ending

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My household, which contains only one loyal Project Runway viewer -- me -- where once there were three, had to be coaxed away from a stored-in-TiVo doggie Halloween costume episode of The Martha Stewart Show and coerced into giving a damn about the cream of this, the most mediocre season, for 60 entire minutes.

In the other viewers’ defense, one of those dogs was dressed like a frog, another like a camel, and third wore a little sombrero. You can’t really blame a person for wanting to watch that instead. It was part two of the finale and Carol Hannah continued her stomach-flu story arc from last week. But she failed to play the game properly. Had she been a little more cunning she would have aimed her viral vomit all over Irina’s superior collection and eliminated the one thing standing in between her and second place. And now, a countdown of the most exciting stuff that happened on this finale, in ascending thrill order:

5. More suggestions that Althea just steals all her ideas from Irina. She doesn’t, of course, but it comes to a foamy, room-temperature head when Althea decides she wants her models to have a smudgy smoky eye. JUST LIKE IRINA. She’s got a nerve, that one, wanting her models to have eyes and hair. Later, as Irina announces to the interview-cam that she’s having to work so fast to get her collection finished, you half expect her to continue with, “…and then I looked over and noticed that Althea was also working quickly!”

The Battle of Living Sexy Men Heats Up!

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Oh snap! In response to People's annual thumb-twiddling list of sexy predictable dudes, Salon has posted its own take on the "Sexiest Man Living" -- "because there's more to life than pretty boys." Their shortlist includes Ted Danson, Rahm Emanuel, and -- inexplicably -- Levi Johnston (isn't he over yet!?), not to mention, in an overlap with our own selection of 2009 faves, Neil Patrick Harris and Dan Choi. Their number 1 pick, however, is a Popnog regular who happens to be as smart as he is pretty and as almost-gay as he is not gay. Oh, and he also makes a performance artistic debut on daytime hospital drama today.

Previously > The Anatomy of the "Sexiest Man Alive"

Adam Lambert Responds

Photo: Jason Bell

[Ed Note: Ed's note: We've no desire to prolong this discussion, but whether or not we crossed a line in throwing light on the conversations that preceded Adam's cover shoot and interview, we're glad to see such a robust and spirited debate. We admire Adam's achievements, which is why we honored him as Breakout Star of the Year, but using the editor's letter to discuss the old school tactics in the way he is marketed and promoted was important for an annual issue that celebrates gay progress -- the Out 100. 

In his interview with Entertainment Weekly, reprinted in full below, Adam says, "the letter that Aaron wrote is holding us back. Because it’s recognizing the big difference as opposed to letting us all ignore preference and just be people." We're glad he's sees sexuality that way. So do we -- it's why we were so dismayed by his management whose actions reinforced those distinctions rather than erased them. This was never about turning Adam into a political figure, or about whether he should have been on the cover of Rolling Stone first (of course he should have -- what pop star wouldn't want that?). It was, however, about challenging the double standard applied to gay and mainstream media, or to use Adam's words, moving past those distinctions between gay and straight.

As this controversy erupted a young gay man was murdered in Puerto Rico precisely by the kind of people who refuse to see past sexual preferences, and while we know that such hatred offends Adam as much as it does us, we hope his fans will consider the relationship between slurs such as "too gay" and the second class status -- yes, a form of apartheid -- of gays in America. Adam is not required to address this cruel and lethal discrepancy -- he does enough simply by being himself -- but was it too much for us to expect his managers, with or without Adam's consent, to treat Out with the same respect they would treat mainstream media?

Regardless, at this point, we'd like to focus our attention on celebrating Adam's achievements -- and the achievements of all of our 2009 Out 100 honorees -- over the past year and look forward to seeing what 2010 will bring for him and all the gay, lesbian, and trans people who strive to make a positive impact on our lives.]

Entertainment Weekly: Let’s talk about the OUT magazine kerfuffle.
Adam Lambert: Isn’t that fun? [laughs]

We now know the behind-the-scenes dialogue between the magazine and your management team. The thing I’m curious about is, from your perspective, how does it feel to have your image managed by someone other than you?
What people don’t realize is, I am managing my image, more than maybe the editor of OUT magazine likes to give anybody credit for. My team is a team. And I really feel fortunate that 19 Management and Simon Fuller said to me, from the get-go, “We want to do what you want to do. You need to tell us how you want to do things, what interests you have,” and they’ve been incredibly supportive of me. I really mean it. I’m not being puppeted around. I didn’t want to jump onto a gay magazine as my first thing, because I feel like that’s putting myself in a box and limiting myself. It was my desire to stay away from talking about certain political and civil rights issues because I’m not a politician. I’m an entertainer. That is not my area of expertise. I can talk about relationships and personal experiences because as an artist those things involve writing lyrics and that part of my process. But I didn’t feel comfortable talking about the March on Washington. I didn’t feel comfortable, so I asked my publicist to ask the interviewer to stay away from the political questions. I take full responsibility for that. I think that the editor has his agenda and has his opinions, which I respect, but they’re not necessarily my opinions. And I wish there was a little respect for that. Not every gay man is the same gay man.

They’re gonna take away your laminated membership card.
Apparently. It’s just sexuality. We’re all very very different, just like all straight people are different.

Who told you that?
You know? That’s the thing. But the funny thing is, in order for us to progress, we need to stop segregating ourselves. And a letter like that, that viewpoint — the letter that Aaron wrote is holding us back. Because it’s recognizing the big difference as opposed to letting us all ignore preference and just be people. So I think in attempt to champion a cause he’s actually taking a big step backwards.

With things like the phrase “gay-gay”?
That was taken out of context. It was all taken out of context. And also, the other thing that I feel about it? If there are things going on behind the scenes with my management, it has nothing to do with my interview with them. He really crossed a line.

To see the school days–themed 2009 Out 100 portfolio, shot by Jason Bell, featuring Adam Lambert, Cyndi Lauper, Wanda Sykes, Rob Marshall, Dan Choi, Neil Patrick Harris, and more, head to Out.com.

To read our exclusive interview with Adam Lambert, head here for part one and here for part two.

Previously > The 2009 Out 100

Chatter: Kate Moss

"Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels."

-- Kate Moss on why the tastiest things in life are free -- and potentially eating disorder inspiring.

Previously > Chatter: Dolly Parton

The 2009 Out 100: Janis Ian

Photo: Jason Bell

The 2009 school days–themed Out 100 has finally been revealed and we couldn't prouder of the 100 gay, lesbian, and trans people we're honoring this year for making an impact in their communities and/or on mainstream culture at large -- including Janis Ian (above).

Ian’s journey is really a series of milestones. She made her recording debut at the age of 15 in 1966 with “Society’s Child,” a Top 40 single about interracial teen dating that many radio stations wouldn’t touch. Her classic, Grammy-winning “At Seventeen” was the first song ever performed on Saturday Night Live and still remains one of the most astute, heartfelt tales of outsider angst and growing up ever written (listen for it in Mean Girls). Last year, 15 years after Ian came out on her album Breaking Silence, “At Seventeen” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In September, Columbia/Legacy released The Essential Janis Ian, a two-disc anthology spanning Ian’s four-decade-long career and coinciding with her U.S. tour and the paperback release of her book, Sociey’s Child: My Autobiography.

To celebrate Ian's inclusion in this year's Out 100, we're giving away an amazing Janis Ian prize pack featuring:

• An autographed copy of The Essential Janis Ian -- The definitive, career-spanning collection compiled by Janis Ian including "At seventeen", "Society's Child" and 29 more classics and rarities!

• Society's Child: My Autobiography by Janis Ian -- The long-awaited autobiography chronicling Ian's fascinating journey through fame, love, and life.

To enter, simply leave a comment on this post telling us your favorite Out 100 photo of the year (you can see the full portfolio, shot by Jason Bell, here) by 11:59 pm on Friday, November 27, 2009 and we'll choose two lucky winners at random from the entries.

If you'd like to buy The Essential Janis Ian (it'd make a great Holiday gift), head here.

Previously > The 2009 Out 100

The Anatomy of the "Sexiest Man Alive"

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Enough chatter about Levi and his hockey stick on the imaginary cover of Playgirl. Child's play! We all know the sexy grown-ups are on the cover of People -- at least once a year, when the magazine names its Sexiest Man Alive. Yesterday Johnny Depp reprised his 2003 victory, taking the title for 2009. So what's it take to win the distinction? Hint: Levi's gonna need a few more years under his belt and, um, at least a few blockbuster movies -- or some such career -- before he's eligible.

In an attempt to discern the magic sexy formula, Slate analyzed a sampling of quotes from People editors explaining how honorees from years past earned the distinction. ("He can wear gold teeth and still look good," was cited among the considerations for Depp's previous crowning.) Suffice it to say, you might be competitive if you've got a "a hard body with a soft center," a "down-to-earth Aussie vibe," an "elegant, but down to earth" air, "a twinkle in the eye," or are just "wonderfully ordinary." You're still gonna need decent bone structure though. And a really good publicist.

Previously > Stripping Down With the Men of New Moon