Cover Of The Day: Chris Kluwe For Out Magazine

Out Magazine Lays Off Entire Staff

Joe.My.God. reports:

Capitol New York reports that Out Magazine has laid off its entire editorial staff.

The editorial staff of the influential gay lifestyle magazine Out is being laid off with one month’s severance as of Friday, Capital has learned. But according to Out editor-in-chief Aaron Hicklin, it’s more complicated than that. Hicklin said he will hire back an unspecified number of editors on a contract basis into a new company he is founding called Grand Editorial. It will operate the magazine as a contractor for Here Media, a subsidiary of Regent Media, which acquired Out in 2008. Hicklin told Capital there will be no reduction in the frequency of the magazine or other major changes to the content. “This was not a cost-cutting measure,” he said.

Not a cost-cutting measure?

Out is Hicklin’s first, and so far only, client. He said he plans to offer long-term contracts at Grand to “most” of his 12 editorial employees at Out. Should any of them take it, he said, the gig will come with flexible hours and the opportunity to work on other projects in the Grand stable, but not full-time salaries or benefits. (They will be contracted freelancers.) [snip] Hicklin said he doesn’t have any outside investors and that revenue at this point will be project-based, a prospect that has been met with gentle skepticism from some Out staffers: Here Media has had problems paying its freelancers and vendors over the past several years.

RELATED: In November 2009 it was announced that The Advocate would henceforth be shipped only in combination with sister publication Out, ending after 40+ years the stand-alone status of the nation’s most highly regarded LGBT news source.

OUT Magazine: When Stars Collide (Neil Patrick Harris & David Burtka 

Out Magazine’s Photo Shoot: Gay Icon Kathy Griffin & Out Actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson 

Architect Of Anti-Gay State Amendments Forgiven By Morons At Out Magazine

Seems like Out Magazine either was paid a hell a lot of money to feature this son of a bitch on the magazine’s next “Out 100” edition, or they completely ignore Mehlman’s record on LGBT Issues. I’d dare to say it might be the first option and therefore they decided to wipe out this motherfucker’s record from the LGBT Community’s conscience. They write about him the following:

Call Ken Mehlman the stealth activist. In 2004, on The Daily Show, Mehlman won laughter by inviting Jon Stewart to donate to the Bush-Cheney re-election bid, for which he was campaign manager. Six years later, he became the most influential Republican in history to identify as gay and went on to play a quietly instrumental role in winning support for marriage equality in New York State, lobbying politicians in Albany and raising money for New Yorkers for Marriage Equality. “As someone who came out late in life, I can attest to the fact that it gets better,” he says. “For a state as big and iconic as New York to be able to have accomplished marriage equality with a bipartisan approach was a momentous event, and one I was honored to play a small part in.” Next, he’s determined to help other states follow New York’s example, starting with California, where he’s been instrumental in his role as board member on the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which is fighting to have Proposition 8 repealed.

Just a reminder to y’all: He was the head of the Republican National Committee during the Bush Administration, where he organized lots of successful campaigns across the US to demonize the LGBT Community.

Joe Jervis rightly writes:

For all those millions of people made miserable by Ken Mehlman? Forgiven. The kids who killed themselves because of relentlessly vicious campaigns spawned by Ken Mehlman? Forgotten. The anti-gay politicians funded last year by Ken Mehlman? Ignored.

Mehlman needs to be a hell of a lot more loud than this if he wants to aspire to be forgiven. I honestly think that even if he lives a hounded years, it won’t be enough time for him to repair the damage he’s caused.

For Your Entertainment: OUT In Bed With Ford Models

Sports: The Allies

Via Out Magazine:

The world of pro sports is notoriously unwelcoming to out athletes, one of the last bastions of homophobia. From hate-filled fans to teammates who won’t share the showers to bigoted sportscasters, the toxic environment can ruin a career or even end a life. But at the vanguard of a move to change that is a small band of straight sports stars who have stood up for fairness and tolerance, shoulder-to-shoulder with their LGBT peers. Here, we salute them.

Picture Caption: Ben Cohen, Hudson Taylor, Michael Irvin, Mike Chabala, and Nick Youngquest.

Head Case: Lisa Kudrow

The Emmy-Award winner, just made an interview for Out Magazine, on which she talks about her one-season HBO series, and how her web show became a TV show for Showtime. Click here for the complete article.

Out Magazine’s 50 Most Powerful Gays

Interesting notes: New Apple “acting” CEO Tim Cook heads the list on his first appearance. Billionaire GOProud moneyman and libertarian whackadoodle Peter Thiel ranks at #7. Another GOProud member and the 21st century Roy Cohn, Ken Mehlman, debuts at #37. Dan Savage ranks #42 and HRC’s President Joe Salmonese is at #9. Ellen DeGeneres is #2 followed by Anderson Cooper in #3, thou Cooper has never declared himself as a gay man, but you know, there’s no need. 

Click here to read their bios.

Darren Criss: Big Man on Campus

The Advocate reports:

Move over, Puck — there’s a new hunk on Glee. As handsome, “Teenage Dream” Blaine — the object of Kurt’s affection — Darren Criss has become an overnight sensation for girls and gays alike.
Out magazine sat down with the 24-year-old actor for a sexy photo shoot, a frank interview about his rise to stardom, and having to come out as straight in the media.
From the interview: “Knowing that ‘Are you gay?’ would be among the first questions lobbed at him, Criss initially thought he would tell reporters something ambiguous and ‘idealistic’ like ‘It doesn’t matter if I’m gay or straight — I’m playing a role.’ Though new to Hollywood, he’s wise enough to know that such a tactic could have backfired. He concluded, ‘I didn’t want to make it troublesome.’

“So Criss came out, as it were, as straight, and now he regularly says things like ‘I think it’s more empowering to everybody, including myself, if I’m articulate about identifying myself as a straight male playing a gay character. Ultimately, that’s more powerful for both communities.’”
The actor also talks about Blaine’s budding relationship with Kurt, his love of Broadway and movie musicals, and why he thinks seeing Blaine and Kurt on network television is a huge deal for gay teens everywhere.
Click here for more photos and to read more of Out’s interview with Criss. 

Catching Up With Sherry Vine