ABOVE: Happy 51 to Steve Burton — and more like this here, if you follow.
BELOW: Keep reading for the NFL's pro-gay ad, Pride walk defaced, Al Gores Trump and more ...
ABOVE: I'm wishing a belated happy birthday (he was born today, June 17) to belated gay icon Barry Manilow (he formally came out like 10 minutes ago).
Sweet and low, sell high! (GIF via GIPHY)
Blondie & Barry Manilow just made huge deals, how gay the Village People really were, the world's oldest Marine and more ... HERE.
ABOVE: One day, Ashley Longshore will be seen as another Da Vinci.
BELOW: Keep reading for dad dong, Louganis's Speedo reunion and butts to watch out for ...
ABOVE: Love his power bottoms.
It is shocking how much Bradley Cooper suddenly resembles Barry Manilow! His facial stuff combined with the hair — it's just uncanny.
(Image via Tomorrow Today PR)
Reuters: Barry Manilow says coming out last month has been a beautiful experience, confirms he had feared disappointing his female fans.
BBC: Five gay activists attempting to deliver a petition to Russia's prosecutor general on the subject of the gay camps in Chechnya have been detained.
TMZ: Trans models Carmen Carrera & Zion Moreno defend Richard Simmons against claims his National Enquirer lawsuit is anti-trans.
Long, hot summer (Image via Instagram @carmen_carrera)
OMG Blog: You won't believe what's popping up in NYC's trash cans!
CNN: In good-bye letter to staff, eternal tool Comey says presidents can fire FBI directors “for any reason, or for no reason at all.” Really? To avoid prosecution?
Huff Post: Deputy A.G. Rod Rosenstein, who Trump has said advised him to fire Comey, may have threatened to quit over that narrative.
On my list of jaw-dropping names who people refused to believe have never actually come out — including Richard Simmons and Rip Taylor — was Barry Manilow.
Until today.
Manilow, 73, has not been hiding too deeply in the closet, but even though he started his career accompanying Bette Midler at NYC's gay baths, he had never, ever come out professionally, publicly.
In a new People Magazine profile, Manilow — who writes the songs that make the whole world sing, including the gays — says that when news leaked (thanks to fellow Republican Suzanne Somers!) that he had married his partner Garry Kief, it catalyzed his coming-out:
“I thought I would be disappointing them if they knew I was gay. So I never did anything,” says Manilow. Turns out, “When they found out that Garry and I were together, they were so happy. The reaction was so beautiful — strangers commenting, ‘Great for you!’ I’m just so grateful for it.”
Manilow's explanation for never having come out before is rooted in his fierce desire for privacy. I'm glad he got over that enough to make it official. He's no Harvey Milk, God knows so few public figures are, but it's always a positive thing when a famous person comes out.
