Liza Minnelli Joins NOH8 Campaign

Via press release, Liza’s message: “Here’s what I believe … no shame, no blame, no guilt. Be happy. And be who you are. I love you.” [Photo credit: Adam Bouska courtesy of NOH8 Campaign.]

Cher & Georgia Holt On The Tonight Show With Jay Leno - Cher’s Mugshot At Age 13

Marie Osmond For Marriage Equality

It’s Debra Messing, You Gays

The Divine Miss “M” Bette Midler To Return To Broadway

Joe.My.God. reports:

Bette Midler returns to Broadway this spring for the first time in over 30 years to star in a new one-woman show about casting agent Sue Mengers titled I’ll Eat You Last. Via press release:

Sue Mengers was an American original. She was the first female “superagent” at a time when women talent agents of any kind were almost unheard of. She came from near poverty, a refugee from Hitler’s Germany, and worked her way up through pluck, charm, and a legendary wit. In that uniquely American way, she invented herself; and when the career she wanted didn’t exist, she invented that as well: “Superagent.” It was a term Hollywood all but coined for her. By the 1970’s, she represented almost every major star in Hollywood and went on to become the town’s most renowned hostess.

The show will be directed by multiple Tony winner Joe Mantello. Opening day is April 24th at a Schubert theater to be announced. Ticketing has not yet commenced. Midler last played Broadway with a limited engagement of her Divine Madness show in 1980.

Dolly Parton On Gay Rumors & Competing With Drag Queens

RUSSIA: Court Acquits Madonna Of Threatening National Birth Rate By Promoting Homosexuality

The Guardian reports:

It is the country that has sent members of the punk band Pussy Riot to crumbling prison colonies and its richest man to an isolated northern jail. But Russia met its match on Thursday when it attempted to silence the world’s biggest pop star.
Madonna was widely criticised in Russia this summer for voicing support for Pussy Riot during a Moscow concert and speaking out for gay rightsduring a performance in St Petersburg. A senior official called her a “moralising slut” for the former, and nine claimants brought a $10.7m lawsuit against her for the latter.
On Thursday a court St Petersburg ruled against the plaintiffs, members of various conservative groups who argued that Madonna’s comments violated a new law banning the promotion of “homosexual propaganda” to minors and would lead to the destruction of the nation. Violation of the law is punishable by fines of up to 500,000 roubles (£10,000).
During a day-long hearing, the court examined YouTube footage and was shown screenshots of Madonna’s Facebook page as proof that the material girl was crazy for gay rights. “I am here to say that the gay community and gay people here and all around the world have the same rights – to be treated with dignity, with respect, with tolerance, with compassion, with love,” Madonna said during the performance in August, as concert-goers waved gay pride flags and flashed pink wristbands the pop star had handed out as symbols of support.
The claimants argued that Madonna’s performance would adversely affect Russia’s birthrate and therefore its ability to maintain a proper army. They cited posts on the Facebook page condemning the law as proof she had prior knowledge of the potential criminality of expressing herself.
Madonna ignored repeated requests to attend the hearing, held in a tiny courtroom in Russia’s second city. “St Petersburg’s laws were brutally violated,” one of the claimants, Marina Yakovlyeva, told the court, news agencies reported. “In the coming years, this type of violation could become the norm. But we have created a precedent – any artist coming to our city will know now what laws exist.”
Russia has been harshly criticised over the law, which has also been adopted in eight other regions. Some MPs have floated introducing it on a federal level. Adoption of the law in St Petersburg, long seen as Russia’s most westernised city and its cultural capital, has led to a global outcry. All Out, a gay rights group, as called on travellers to boycott St Petersburg. The Canadian government has issued advisories to gay citizens planning to take a holiday there.
The judge in the case, Vitaly Barkovsky, deliberated for more than an hour before delivering his verdict, but appeared to treat the case with scepticism from the start. After one claimant, Vitaly Orlovsky, said Madonna’s concert would prompt the divorce rate to skyrocket, Barkovsky asked him why he was suing no alcoholics, since alcoholism was a well-known cause of divorce in the heavy-drinking country.
Vitaly Milonov, a local MP who has led St Petersburg’s anti-gay campaign, accused Madonna of showing no respect for the court and said the star’s actions answered the question “who’s that girl”. “You can see what kind of person she is – for her, Russia is a cow from whom she can come and get milk – that is, money – and then leave, while not following our laws,” he told the Guardian.

Song Of The Day: Cher - Woman’s World

Russia: Madonna To Face Trial In Saint Petersburg For Promoting Gay Rights

NME reports:

A Russian court has ruled that there is sufficient evidence to sue Madonna for promoting gay rights during her ‘MDNA’ tour, according to reports. 
In August of this year, it was reported that the singer had enraged some citizens byhanding out pink anti-homophobia wristbands to crowd members during a show in St Petersburg and telling them to “fight for the right to be free”. Her stunt was in response to a new regulation adopted in St Petersburg in March of this year, which saw the city’s yearly gay pride parade banned as it promoted “gay lifestyles” and the “propagation of homosexuality” - both of which have now been outlawed. 
A lawsuit was subsequently submitted by members of the Union of Russian Citizens, the People’s Assembly and the New Great Russia party against the singer, with a lawyer for the group claiming that her actions caused “psychological stress and emotional shock” amongst the audience. 
Now, according to The Times, a court in St Petersburg has given the go-ahead for the £6.5 million lawsuit to continue as the singer “crossed a line” by handing out the bracelets to “children as young as 12”. Madonna did not attend the hearing and is not expected to be present at future court dates relating to the trial, either. 
Madonna courted controversy throughout her tour of Russia. Previously, she used the Moscow-leg of the jaunt to express support for the jailed members of Russian punk collective Pussy Riot. In a speech to the 20,000 strong crowd, Madonna said: “I think they have paid the price for this act and I pray for their freedom,” before stripping to her bra to reveal the words ‘Pussy Riot’ written on her back. For ‘Like A Virgin’ she donned a balaclava similar to those worn by the band. She was later dubbed a “moralising slut”

Madonna was recently named as the biggest-selling female singles artist in UK chart history. New data from the Official Charts Company showed that she has shifted over 17.8 million singles in the UK since releasing her first track, ‘Holiday’, in 1984.

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Ellen DeGeneres Receives Mark Twain Prize

The Huffington Post reports:

Some of the nation’s top comedians hailed Ellen DeGeneres as a trailblazer Monday night as she received the nation’s highest humor prize.
The Kennedy Center is awarding DeGeneres the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. The show will be broadcast Oct. 30 on PBS stations.
“Thanks to everyone at PBS. I am so happy to be part of your farewell season,” DeGeneres joked in accepting the prize and taking a jab at Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s plans to stop funding public broadcasting.
On the red carpet before the show, DeGeneres said she doesn’t see herself as political with her comedy, though, even though she’s been a trailblazer.
“I just want to make people happy and make people laugh,” she said.
DeGeneres, 54, began her career as a comedy club emcee in her native New Orleans. After a performance on Johnny Carson’s show in 1986, he invited her over to his desk to chat. She was the first female comedian to receive that invitation from Carson.
Turning to acting, DeGeneres landed sitcoms on Fox and ABC, eventually starring in “Ellen” from 1994 to 1998. She broke new ground and a taboo in 1997 when she came out publicly as a lesbian and her TV persona then became the first lead character on prime-time TV to reveal she was gay. A record 46 million viewers watched the episode.
Coming out on TV 15 years ago feels like another life, she said Monday night before the show.
“I did it because it was the right thing for me to do,” DeGeneres said. “It was the right thing for me to do to not live with shame. I happened to help a lot of people, and it happened to create a ruckus.”
Jimmy Kimmel called it a milestone.
“For a lot of people, Ellen is their only homosexual friend,” he said. “She’s there in their living room every single day.”
On stage, he said DeGeneres was his inspiration.
“Because of Ellen, in 1998, I mustered the strength to come out of the closet – despite the fact that I’m not gay,” he joked. “Thanks to Ellen, vests aren’t just for magicians anymore.”
Sean Hayes said DeGeneres made his former show, “Will and Grace,” possible. He said her “fearlessness” was her biggest contribution and that she changed America.
“We didn’t have a voice, until there was you,” he said before breaking into a rendition of “Till There was You.”
“Glee” star Jane Lynch said DeGeneres “took one for the team.”
“She’s the one who went in there with a machete” and cleared the way for other shows with gay characters such as “Glee,” she said. “Look where she is today.”
Kristin Chenoweth said DeGeneres has always remained kind.
“She’s not a mean girl comic,” she said.
When DeGeneres first heard she was receiving the same honor that Bill Cosby, Tina Fey and Will Ferrell won in recent years, she joked, “Why didn’t I get this sooner?”
After DeGeneres came out on TV in 1997, the show began to tank and was canceled a year later. The feeling of rejection was enough to send DeGeneres into a depression. Still, “Ellen” paved the way for future shows to feature gay characters, from “Will and Grace” to “Modern Family.”
DeGeneres came back with a CBS sitcom, movie roles and even a stint as an “American Idol” judge. Forbes magazine has ranked her as the 47th most-powerful woman in the world and estimated her earnings at $53 million last year.
Her hit talk show that debuted in 2003 is now in its 10th season. Among other achievements, that’s where she eventually persuaded President Barack Obama to dance.
“She’s brilliantly shined a light on society, and that’s what Mark Twain did,” said Cappy McGarr, an executive producer for the Mark Twain Prize show, when the award was announced.
The prize honors comedians in Mark Twain’s tradition of satire and social commentary. Past winners include Steve Martin, Lily Tomlin and Whoopi Goldberg.
John Leguizamo saluted DeGeneres and PBS for planning to air the show.
“How about that? A gay woman on PBS – with public money and the Kennedys,” he said. “It’s like the tea party’s worst nightmare.”

I’m excited to be winning the Mark Twain Award in DC! I’m gonna go get ready, as soon as I finish whitewashing this fence for Jimmy Kimmel.

— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) October 22, 2012

NEW YORK CITY: Madonna Served Summons To Appear On Gay Propaganda Charges In Russia

Joe.My.God. reports:

Russian anti-gay activists yesterday served a summons at Madonna’s New York City home, demanding that she appear in St. Petersburg for trial on charges that she violated that city’s ban on public utterances of support for LGBT people.Russia Today reports: 

The pro-Kremlin group Trade Union of Russian Citizens wants the Material Girl in court for blasphemy and for damaging the cultural foundations of St. Petersburg. Nine activists filed a suit against the pop star after her concert on August 9. They are seeking 333 million rubles (around US$10 million) from Madonna and from the company that organized her show. All the fuss is because of Madonna’s actions on the stage. The pop diva started her show asking fans to raise their hands with pink bracelets, which they were given on the entrance, in support of homosexual rights. It is, however, illegal to promote homosexuality in St. Petersburg. The local law, which bans so-called “propaganda of sodomy, lesbianism, bisexualism and transgenderism, and pedophilia to minors,” was passed in March this year. “She insulted believers’ feelings, she promoted homosexuality when there were children at the concert and this is forbidden in St Petersburg. We, the residents of the cultural capital, suffered a colossal moral damage,” union spokesperson Darya Dedova was quoted as saying.

In the event that Madonna is found guilty, much less even appears for trial, an additional 50% of the $10M suit would, by law, be levied in order to further protect St. Petersburg from “homosexuals and pedophiles.” 

NOTE: The lawsuit appears to be a civil action from local crackpots and not an official action of the government, although the plaintiffs surely have their support.  The above-linked article does not mention if Madonna was home when the summons was served.

VIDEO:  Here’s Madonna speech from that show.