ABOVE: With his, er, legs, Steve claims he was tired at the end of a spin class. I'm skeptical.

BELOW:  Keep reading for Noah Centineo's muscle, Trump's hustle, a leather daddy, a staining Billboard sexual harassment scandal, a PrEP cautionary tale, a tribute to Joan Crawford and more ...

Above: Beautiful, pre-fame Madonna blows a spit bubble.

Below: Keep reading for Troye Sivan's allegedly taboo love affair, a Céline jukebox musical parody, a cake with one hell of a message, a hilarious Claws Ru-cap, and the insane way Trump is blowing it with North Korea ...

A dead mobster gur wanted the world to know that Tom Cruise is not gay.

In a new biography of Johnny Fratto, the frequent Howard Stern Show caller is quoted as saying Tom Cruise cozied up to some party girls in front of him, so can't be gay.

Keep reading for that and the day's hottest links, including gays attracted to the far right, Ted Cruz squirming on sex toys, a hung hula-hooper and more ...

Three days ago, Billboard published a piece arguing, with eight sensible points to support the claim, that Ariana Grande is the gay icon of her generation.

Casting aside arguments about what constitutes her generation (like, is Lady Gaga really of a previous generation?), and whether there is only one per generation, do you think this is accurate?

I have nothing bad to say about her, and she is definitely pro-gay, but I don't think of Ariana specifically in these terms. I'm not sure if there IS a gay icon anymore, so much as there are icons who gays love (of which Ariana is surely one).

Like, Judy, Donna, Madonna, these are people who were and are adored by (many, not all) gay people for their talents but also for their specifically gay appeal. I'm not sure many if any new stars these days have that — maybe the latest I can think of would be Gaga, who has spoken directly and specifically to and about gay people.

Am I wrong?

(Image via Billboard)

Billboard cleverly asked dozens of pop luminaries to write love letters to the LGBTQ community for Pride Month, and the results are engrossing, to say the least.

Britney Spears responded with a handwritten note — millennials, she knows cursive — in which she states:

This is my letter of love to all my LGBTQ fans. Continuously throughout my career, you've always been so vocal about what a positive impact I've had on you — that I've instilled joy, hope and love in you at times when there was none. That my music is an inspiration. That my story gives you hope. But I have a secret to share w/you. You see, it's actually you that lifts me up. The unwavering loyalty. The lack of judgment. The unapologetic truth. Acceptance! Your stories are what inspire me, bring me joy, & make me and my sons strive to [be] better people. I love you. Britney

Nice!

Check Billboard for letters from lots of other gay-household and just plain household names.

#BBMAs: @Cher sings "Believe," marking her first award show performance in 15 years pic.twitter.com/MlvRt3U3er

— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) May 22, 2017

Cher's spirited performances of “Believe” and “If I Could Turn Back Time” were among the highlights of Sunday night's Billboard Music Awards, along with her frank acceptance speech.

Not wild about her warmly mentioning the heinous Phil Spector, but otherwise, she won the night.

Watch her speech after the jump ...

(Image via Billboard)

I've always said I don't think of Cher as a musical artist because she seems so detached from her work in that field, and her new interview with Billboard bears out my theory:

In the ’70s, her Hollywood friends -- Geffen, Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, Joni Mitchell — were making great art; Cher felt ashamed of her songs. She wanted to sound like Bob Seger, Bruce Springsteen, Mitchell or, especially, the Eagles. Anything but Cher. “I’m not a Cher fan,” says Cher. “I just don’t think my aesthetic taste lies in her direction.”

... Cher knows and accepts what people want from her. “My idea, every night before I go onstage, is that this is a gift I was given, and can give to people. While they’re watching my show, they don’t have to think of anything else. It’s something that makes people feel good. That’s all I do -- make people feel good.”

Great stuff on her Twitter, her disdain for Trump and her refreshingly candid approach to aging — she hates it! (Most stars pretend they love it.) She remains best at giving interviews — and being Cher.

(Image via Billboard)

George Michael's passing was somewhat stepped on by Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds in the same way people didn't really absorb the loss of Farrah Fawcett while focusing on the out-of-nowhere loss of Michael Jackson. With Carrie and Debbie being buried as we speak, Billboard shifts to George, giving him his final cover.

In the story, George's former manager Rob Kahane speaks out about George's music and how he perceived himself, saying George had just finished an 18-month rehab in Switzerland.

According to Kahane, George thought he'd come through it well and played him some new songs that he describes as:

...totally pop, like something that would’ve been on Faith. The songs weren’t depressing. That’s why I thought everything was okay with him.

Kahane also said George never shook a poor image he had of himself:

He never thought he was good-looking. When he looked in the mirror, he’d still see a pudgy, homely kid.

Read the rest here.