Out Magazine compiled a list of some of the 2023 LGBTQA+ Grammy nominees. Among those on the list were Brandi Carlile (who earned another seven Grammy nominations this year, raising her career total to 25), Lady Gaga, Lizzo, Steve Lacy, Sam Smith and Kim Petras (for the collaboration, "Unholy"), Kaytranada, Brothers Osbourne, Randy Rainbow, Omar Apollo, Brazilian singer Anitta, Perfume Genius and the Tony-winning Broadway production A Strange Loop. Beyonce led everyone with nine nods, tying her with husband Jay-Z for the most nods ever (88). Ally Bad Bunny made history has his album, Un Verano Sin Ti, became the first Spanish-language album to be nominated for Album of the Year; however, Megan Thee Stallion was shut out.
Gabrielle Union told Variety that she and Eva Longoria are developing an LGBTQ+ wedding comedy feature for Amazon Studios. The media outlet also noted that the two will likely star as dueling soon-to-be mothers-in-law whose sons are getting married. Union also talked about Got to Be, a Billy Porter-directed road trip movie she's producing about three Rhode Island high schoolers who travel to New York City for their first Pride parade. "It's a group of diverse kids. One is a chubby Asian, another is a Black non-binary—I don't want to say a diva or divo, but an extravagant, dynamic larger personality—and then there's a white bisexual boy," Union said, adding that she hopes the film features authentic casting.
Trevor Noah will host a special Black Theater Night performance at A Strange Loop on Tuesday, Nov. 29, at NYC's Lyceum Theatre, per a press release. The Tony-winning "Loop" is about Usher—a Black, queer writer writing a musical about a Black, queer writer writing a musical about a Black, queer writer (and so on). A Strange Loop will play its final Broadway performance on Jan. 15, 2023.
Actor Brendan Fraser said he won't attend next year's Golden Globes, even if he's nominated for his acclaimed performance in The Whale, after having alleged that he was sexually assaulted by the former president of the organization that runs the awards, The Guardian reported. In 2018, Fraser publicly alleged that Philip Berk—a longtime Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) member and a former president of the group behind the Globes—once groped him at a lunch in Beverly Hills in 2003. In 2018, Berk called Fraser's account "a total fabrication" but acknowledged he had written an apology to Fraser over the incident at the time. The HFPA concluded in that Berk—who was expelled from the group last year for a separate matter—had "inappropriately touched" Fraser, but said Berk's action "was intended to be taken as a joke and not as a sexual advance."
HBO's Emmy-winning anthology series The White Lotus, from Mike White, will return for a third installment following a new group of guests at another White Lotus property, per an HBO press release. The first installment, which premiered July 2021 and was set in Hawaii, received 20 Emmy nominations across 13 categories and 10 wins—the most wins of any program that year—including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series as well as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie (for openly gay actor Murray Bartlett) and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie (for Jennifer Coolidge).
Multi-platinum, chart-topping and Grammy-winning duo Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo (who were recently inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame) plan to join P!NK for select dates on her 2023 Summer Carnival Stadium Tour—including an Aug. 12 stop at Chicago's Wrigley Field, according to a press release. For more information and tickets to Benatar and Giraldo's run, visit www.benatargiraldo.com/tour. For a full list of P!NK's upcoming tour dates, go to www.pinkspage.com . Later this month, the world-premiere presentation of Invincible - The Musical is set to take place at The Wallis, in Beverly Hills, California.
Modern Family star Jesse Tyler Ferguson and husband Justin Mikita are parents again via surrogate, according to Extra. Along with announcing that he'd miss a recent performance of the Broadway play Take Me Out, he wrote on Instagram, "Sad to be away from my @takemeoutbway fam tonight but we ran off to welcome our newest little one, Sullivan Louis Ferguson-Mikita." The couple are also parents to son Beckett, 2.
JoJo Siwa called out Full House alum Candace Cameron Bure—the sister of actor/conservative activist Kirk Cameron—after Bure told the Wall Street Journal that her new tenure at the Great American Family channel will include a slate of Christmas movies that won't focus on LGBTQ+ love stories, per Deadline. "Honestly, I can't believe after everything that went down just a few months ago, that she would not only create a movie with intention of excluding LGBTQIA+, but then also talk about it in the press. This is rude and hurtful to a whole community of people," Siwa posted on Instagram. The message received support from Bure's Fuller House co-star Jodie Sweetin, who added, "You know I love you." In a separate statement, GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said, "It's irresponsible and hurtful for Candace Cameron Bure to use tradition as a guise for exclusion."
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office denied Mariah Carey's application to trademark the moniker "Queen of Christmas," the BBC noted. The application was denied after Carey's company did not respond to another singer's opposition. Carey's company, Lotion LLC, applied for the yuletide trademark last year—leading to another singer, Elizabeth Chan, putting in a legal challenge in August in an attempt to block her from obtaining the registration. The New Yorker called Chan the "Queen of Christmas" in 2018 for having put out original festive records every year for a decade.
Queer Eye's Antoni Porowski announced his engagement to boyfriend Kevin Harrington with a photo of the pair, Page Six noted. "I really hope the wedding photos are less blurry," Porowski captioned the pic. Harrington followed in his fiance's footsteps with three casual photos of the couple. The last snap was a selfie from when they made their red carpet debut dressed as zombie Blockbuster employees at Heidi Klum's annual Halloween party in 2019. They began dating in July 2019, but their relationship was quickly fast-tracked because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dolly Parton is the latest recipient of the Bezos Courage and Civility Award that's worth $100 million, ABC 7 Chicago noted. "I try to put my money where my heart is. I will do my best to do good things with this money," Parton tweeted. "Thank you @JeffBezos #LaurenSanchez." During the COVID-19 pandemic, Parton donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center's vaccine research efforts. It was partly used to fund Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine.
Legendary singer Roberta Flack has announced through a spokesperson that she is battling ALS, NPR noted. The brain disease called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or popularly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, has made it "impossible to sing and not easy to speak," a spokesperson said. Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of the release of Flack's most famous album, Killing Me Softly. In January, Flack will publish a children's book that she co-authored with Tonya Bolden and which tells the story of her childhood, called The Green Piano: How Little Me Found Music.
In an emotional event, Christina Applegate (of TV's Dead to Me and Married … with Children) attended her Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony on Nov. 14, Variety noted. This marked the Emmy winner's first public appearance since disclosing her multiple sclerosis diagnosis in spring 2021. Prior to Applegate's appearance, she was honored at the Walk of Fame ceremony by her Married…with Children co-stars Katey Sagal and David Faustino. Sagal choked up when she told Applegate, "You're not alone. We're all here."
Actor and LGBTQ+ ally Colin Farrell has been named as the recipient of the Desert Palm Achievement Award for Actor for his performance in The Banshees of Inisherin, Deadline noted. The Film Awards will take place in-person (after a multi year absence due to the pandemic) on Jan. 5, 2023 at the Palm Springs Convention Center. Some of the past actor recipients of the Desert Palm Achievement Award include Bradley Cooper, Daniel Day-Lewis, Colin Firth, Andrew Garfield, Matthew McConaughey, Brad Pitt and Eddie Redmayne.
On a related note, Sarah Polley will receive the Director of the Year Award for the film Women Talking at the Palm Springs International Film Awards, Variety noted. Past recipients of the Director of the Year Award include Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog), Alejandro G. Inarritu (Babel, Birdman), Steve Mc Queen (12 Years a Slave) and Chloe Zhao (Nomadland), among others.
Alicia Keys, Backstreet Boys, Dan + Shay, John Legend and Meghan Trainor are among the musicians slated to perform at iHeartRadio's Holiday Special, according to the outlet. Mario Lopez will host the event. Fans can tune in to the 2022 iHeartRadio Holiday Special on Wed., Nov. 23, at 7 p.m. local time via iHeartRadio's AC and Classic Hits station, as well as on the iHeartRadio App on the Today's Mix station.
A crowd of 4,100 including James Corden, director Baz Luhrmann, Apple CEO Tim Cook and British artist Stormzy (seated with the headliner's beau, Rich Paul) watched singer Adele start her Las Vegas residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Variety noted. "I'm truly sorry for any inconvenience and any disappointment that I've caused, but we're here tonight and together" she said from the stage. Delaying the run, she added, "was the best decision I ever made." Originally scheduled to kick off in January, production issues—and Adele's own dissatisfaction with the staging—caused a nine-month delay.
Ariana Grande's brother, Frankie Grande, was violently mugged by a 13- and 17-year-old, according to an iHeart item that cited the New York Post. Police said that the two teens smashed Frankie in the back of the head and robbed him of his Louis Vuitton bag that had his iPhone, Airpods, sunglasses and wallet inside. The two alleged muggers were soon caught after they tried to use Frankie's card nearby; authorities said the two had an imitation pistol and razor blade on them.
Actress/reality-TV star Denise Richards and husband Aaron Phypers were involved in a road -rage incident where shots were fired at the couple, Deadline confirmed. After the incident, Richards responded on Twitter to a user (with the username @Andrewwraus47) who wished harm on her: "Thank you. I would never wish any harm on anyone. What I experienced yesterday with my husband, not that you care. Was the most terrifying situation I have ever been in. I'm sorry a shot didn't graze my neck…a**hole."
On Dancing with the Stars, head judge Len Goodman announced that this will be his final season, Variety noted. The two accused muggers were soon caught after they tried to use Frankie's card nearby. Police said the two had an imitation pistol and razor blade on them. Also on the episode, two couples—Trevor Donovan and Emma Slater as well as Daniel Durant and Britt Stewart—were eliminated. Drag queen Shangela is among the finalists.
The Backstreet Boys posed for a revealing photo in a campaign for MeUndies, The Hollywood Reporter noted. Fresh off the release of their first holiday album, A Very Backstreet Christmas, the five-man pop band is offering a limited-edition range of underwear and loungewear. The L.A.-based MeUndies is known for its super-soft material made from sustainably sourced pulp from beechwood trees and its charitable business model.
The release date for singer Aaron Carter's controversial memoir—which he tried to shut down before his untimely death at age 34—has been postponed, Page Six noted. "Out of respect for the Carter family, my client has decided to defer the further release of the book at this time," Scott Atherton, the attorney representing Ballast Books and author Andy Symonds, said in a statement to Page Six.
Disney's Strange World is getting positive attention in Hollywood for including a gay, biracial teen character; however, One Million Moms (OMM)—a project of the anti-LGBTQ+ hate group American Family Association (AFA)—is calling for a boycott of Disney over the movie, according to LGBTQ Nation. Strange World follows a biracial family of adventurers exploring a land filled with bizarre and dangerous creatures. In June, Disney screened several scenes from the film at France's Annecy International Animation Film Festival, one of which shows 16-year-old Ethan awkwardly flirting with another boy.
Singer Morrissey upset fans by abruptly ending his concert at L.A.'s Greek Theatre 30 minutes into the show, CNN noted. The former Smiths front man did not explain his departure. Instead, a bandmate of his told the crowd, "Sorry, but due to unforeseen circumstances, the show is not going to continue. Very sorry. We'll see you next time. Apologies." Morrissey is currently on a North American tour that started Nov. 11; some of his future stops include Denver (Nov. 23), Milwaukee (Nov. 26), Brooklyn (Nov. 30) and Boston (Dec. 4, the last show).
While in Fort Worth, Texas, to see the WTA Finals tournament, tennis legends Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert and Rosie Casals visited the National Cowgirl Museum. The women did everything from hear about the history of cowgirls to ride a fake horse for video. See video footage of the visit at www.wtatennis.com/videos/2897257/evert-navratilova-casals-visit-the-cowgirl-museum.
Whoopi Goldberg missed the Nov. 14 episode of The View after being diagnosed with COVID, Entertainment Weekly noted. Goldberg previously tested positive for COVID in January in a breakthrough case. Co-host Joy Behar was also absent the same day, as she has regularly taken the start of the week off since the premiere of season 26.
Grammy-nominated 5x diamond-certified artist Post Malone has made history once again, per a press release. His anthem "Sunflower," with Swae Lee, officially emerges as "the highest-certified single in RIAA history," going 17 times platinum as of this month. Post Malone's blockbuster 2022 album, Twelve Carat Toothache [Mercury Records/Republic Records] is available now.
Olivia Wilde and Harry Styles are reportedly still friends despite their split, per Page Six. Styles and Wilde are going their separate ways as he embarks on his South American tour and she heads to London to work on a documentary.
Actor Taylor Lautner (Twilight) married Taylor Dome at Epoch Estate Wines in Templeton, California, according to a Page Six item that cited The Daily Mail. Approximately 100 of their closest friends and family members watched the couple exchange vows at the winery just outside of Paso Robles. Dome expressed her pre-wedding excitement on her own Instagram page, calling Lautner her "absolute best friend."
