Image of the Week: November 20th

Previously > Adam Lambert Responds

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

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

An Open Letter Regarding an Open Letter to Adam Lambert

[Editor's note: Already, in less than 24 hours, the incredible response to our interview with Adam Lambert -- and our Editor in Chief Aaron Hicklin's open letter to Adam -- has made a few things clear: 1) His fan base is awesomely, ferociously dedicated to the singer and 2) perhaps there is some confusion surrounding the intention and/or overall point of Hicklin's letter.

In an effort to shine a bit of a brighter light on the subject, the author of the interview with Lambert (Part One can be read here and Part Two can be read here), Shana Naomi Krochmal, penned the following to address some of the literally thousands of comments that have been already left all over the Internet regarding this story.]

Let's get the most obvious thing out of the way first: Yes, it is totally absurd to imagine that anyone thinks they can somehow control or manage how gay Adam Lambert seems on any given day. You've seen him, right? Maybe read an interview with him? That's exactly what I love about Adam, that in addition to being able to sing his face off (his words), he is defiantly, outrageously campy and queer -- and that he seems to have such a sense of humor about it, and a willingness to shake things up.

That said: Despite plenty of back and forth between the magazine and the label about the cover and the photo shoot, I still wasn't prepared for what happened when I showed up at the 19 Entertainment offices for the interview. I briefly met Adam, and then the publicist and I walked out to the balcony, at which point I was cautioned against making the interview "too gay," or, "you know, gay-gay." Specifically I was discouraged from asking about the March on Washington that upcoming weekend or other political topics. I pointed out the difference between the Advocate, Out's sister newsmagazine, and Out, which is more broadly a men's fashion and lifestyle book, but obviously made no promises one way or the other. It was pretty awkward, as if we were discussing two totally different people -- an Adam who doesn't seem to have any real filter when talking about his life or his opinions, and an Adam who could somehow be contained, made safe for mainstream America.

The 2009 Out 100

Photos: Jason Bell

Today's the day: we're revealing the complete and -- if we don't mind saying so ourselves -- absolutely stunning school days–themed 2009 Out 100, shot by renowned photographer Jason Bell and comprised of the 100 gay, lesbian, and trans people who have made a meaningful impact in their communities and on mainstream culture in the last 12 months.

There's no strict entry criterion for being in the 100. We salute the brave (like Lt. Dan Choi), marvel at the new confident out stars (Adam Lambert), thank our allies (Cyndi Lauper), and recognize the tremendous achievements of the major players who are proud of who they are (Wanda Sykes and Rob Marshall). We also included the bravest young voices, the dedicated campaigners, the openly gay politicians and lobbyists who've brought us so far. And we celebrate the directors, the writers, the Broadway producers and stars, like Neil Patrick Harris, who have shaped popular art and culture. More than that, we thank ordinary LGBT people who have done extraordinary things. And, fittingly, after the moguls, the advocates, the agitators, and the tastemakers, we stand humbled by a class from the Hetrick-Martin Institute's Harvey Milk School. We are honored to bring you the 2009 Out 100. This year's theme is a gentle nod to the days that shaped, delighted, and terrified us all and made us who we are today -- school days.

The December/January Out 100 issue is on newsstands now and you can see the full portfolio at Out.com.

You can also read the first half of our exclusive interview with Adam Lambert. The American Idol star gives us a play-by-play from the center of Fox’s PR storm, gets graphic about just how far curiosity can carry you, and talks about his taste in men (hint: “pretty” is pretty important):

Out: How do you describe your sexuality?
Adam Lambert: I think one of the things about the gay community that’s really interesting is that while people own their homosexuality, there is a strange aversion to letting the masculine and the feminine exist within you in a balanced way. And for me, personally, I feel I have a very strong masculine side, and I also have a very strong feminine side. And a lot of people are scared to live in that gray area. There’s boys out in Boystown that are either really fem or really butch. It’s at the extremes. I love when I meet people that are just kind of comfortable being both. And they don’t have to identify being really butch or really fem. Why? Why would you have to?

And also, if you’re one of these, then you must be attracted to the other. Are you attracted to guys like you?
I don’t even know anymore. I think when I was younger, I could box in what my sexuality was about, what’s my type and all that. But as I’ve gotten older, and just learned more about myself and the world, it’s not really about type anymore. I mean, if someone’s hot, they’re hot. If someone’s interesting, they’re interesting. If you have an energy and a chemistry with someone, then you have chemistry. Done. You can’t really define that or explain it. It just is. You just meet people and you click, or you don’t. You know? [Pauses.] Although -- I like pretty boys.

[Laughs.] What kind of pretty?
Pretty. Pretty is pretty. And I’m generally drawn to [guys who are] younger than me. Generally…but there are exceptions.

To read the first full half (we'll have part two up tomorrow), head over to Out.com.

Previously > The 2009 Out 100: Tony Kushner

The 2009 Out 100: Tony Kushner

Photo: Jason Bell

Today's featured honoree from our 2009 "School Days"–themed Out 100 -- our pick of the 100 gay, lesbian, and trans people who have made an impact in their communities and on mainstream culture in the last 12 months -- is Tony Kushner, voted "The Rebel."

A new Tony Kushner play is always an event. His latest -- The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism With a Key to the Scriptures, in which a 75-year old man gathers his offspring to announce that he’s killing himself -- is destined for Broadway next spring following a preview in Minneapolis last April. Also next year, his opus Angels in America -- “a gay fantasia on national themes,” in his words -- gets a much-anticipated off-Broadway reissue. The director, who in 2008 won the Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award, lives with his partner, Mark Harris, whom he married in 2003, complete with rings from Tiffany’s in New York and then again, legally, in Massachusetts in 2008. “One cake designer I called said, ‘We specialize in elaborate beautiful white flowers all over the cake,’ ” Harris told a reporter for the New York Times Vows section in 2003. “So I said, ‘I should tell you, this is for two men.’ There was a slight pause, and she said, ‘I can put little baseball players all over it?’ ”

Monday we'll reveal the full 2009 Out 100 portfolio, shot by Jason Bell, in stores and online at Out.com.

Previously > The 2009 Out 100: Pedro Almodóvar

The 2009 Out 100: Pedro Almodóvar

Photo: Jason Bell

Today's featured honoree from the 2009 school day–themed Out 100 -- our salute to the 100 gay, lesbian, and trans people who have made an impact in their own communities and on mainstream culture in the last 12 months -- is Pedro Almodóvar, voted "Biggest Flirt."

Almodóvar’s sensual, glittering body of work has made him one of the world’s most successful and well-known filmmakers. He has been a novelist, pornographer, cartoonist, and crooner; his films draw on all of these experiences. Over the course of his long career -- including 17 films -- he has cultivated and defined a uniquely gay sensibility: life as outrage, beauty, and passion. Again and again, from the lives of transsexuals to the vagaries of childhood friendships, absurdity crescendoes into comedy. His latest film, Broken Embraces, shot in the style of hard-boiled American noir, further evolves his irresistible oeuvre.

We'll continue to bring you more featured honorees in the coming days until we unveil the entire 2009 Out 100 portfolio, shot by renowned photographer Jason Bell, in stores and online in mid-November.

To see an exclusive slideshow of images featuring Tamar Novas, Spain's newest heartthrob and star of Almodóvar's latest film, Broken Embraces, head to Out.com.

Previously > Getting Superfraiche with Out 100 honoree Arjan Timmermans

Getting Superfraiche with Arjan Timmermans

Photo: Jason Bell

Arjan Timmermans, one of our 2009 "School Days" themed Out 100 honorees (the dashing blogger and head of Arjanwrites.com was voted "Most Likely To Be in the Computer Lab" and is pictured above left with blogger Pam Spaulding of Pam's House Blend), will take to Santos Party House in NYC on Thursday night to oversee the second of his Superfraiche concerts.

Earlier this year Timmermans, who launched his site in 2003 and was the first-ever credentialed blogger to cover the MTV VMAs and the Grammys, debuted the Superfraiche series, which aims to introduce and provide a platform for worthy new pop acts, with a show featuring Fritz Helder and the Phantoms, Noah, Kate Havnevik, and Kaci Battaglia.

On Thursday the show will feature Dangerous Muse, Brad Walsh (who, when he isn't making irresistible pop songs, spends his time boyfriending Project Runway's Christian Siriano), Menya, Reni Lane, Sam Taylor, and DJ Josh Madden. All proceeds from the event will benefit War Child, a worldwide organization that provides humanitarian assistance to kids in war-torn areas around the word. More specifically, this Superfraiche will support the music programs of Artists United for Children and Youth Development (AUCAYD) in Sierra Leone. British music retailer 7Digital.com will also be giving away free mp3 album downloads to everyone who attends the show.

We caught up with Timmermans at the first Superfraiche concert this summer and here's what he had to say about his inspiration for creating and curating the series:

Superfraiche takes place Thursday night at 7 pm at Santos Party House, 96 Lafayette St, New York, NY. You can get more details about the show at Arjanwrites.com and you can buy tickets to the event here.

Previously > The 2009 Out 100: Kehinde Wiley & Bebe Zahara Benet