ABOVE: Still hard to believe Clarence Clemons died so long ago. Ten years already.

BELOW: Keep reading for Pelosi's plans to impeach and her account of the insurrection, the man arrested for declaring he wanted to execute her on live TV, Rep. Boebert's complicity with the January 6 mob and yes, some non-insurrection news ...

“I'm game!” (Image via video still)

Bette Midler granted a long, newsy interview to Rosanna Scotto on FOX 5's Good Day New York to talk about her annual Hulaween charity event, this time themed to Hocus Pocus. Tickets for the Friday, October 30, event are at NYRP.org.

In Search of the Sanderson Sisters: A Hocus Pocus Hulaween Takeover will stream one time only, and is hosted by Elvira with guests:

ABOVE: I can see his bag!

BELOW: Keep reading for the stud who saved a gay newlywed's life, Minaj backs out, Sam Harris's new movie, another egotist running for prez and more...

Unyielding advocate for personal power and giving back (All images by Matthew Rettenmund)

I bought my ticket for the 30th GLAAD Media Awards upon learning that Madonna would be honored there as a tireless Advocate for Change, a much-needed reboot of our appreciation for all she's done for LGBTQ people over the years.

I always cover the carpet, but figured she would not walk — and was right — so wanted to be sure I had a nice spot inside.

Getting with the programs

In the meantime, sadly, one of my dogs has been caught in a life-or-death health battle, so I thought I'd have to pass up the awards. As it turned out, he was in good hands Saturday, so I was able to take a breath, go and enjoy a very memorable night.

Pictured with my longtime buddy Lav ->

I did the carpet with my old friend Peter Dee, who manned the Q&A part while I filmed. (It's Boy Culture, not Dad Culture.) I wore my familiar CK jacket but accessorized with a vintage Madonna purse to hold my video cam.

The carpet's always fun — you're stressed out that you don't deserve to be next to major news orgs, then overhear that they'd accidentally been recording their interviews on slow-mo, or that someone will hog too much time with the best gets, leaving you with the dregs, then find out the ones you really want have no problem circling back to you anyway.

My own snafu — my video sometimes records with all the audio pitched to one side, not stereo. And I can't figure it out. So watch our supercut of snippets from Shangela (she tackles MAYOchella), Gus Kenworthy (got to say hello to his boyf Matt Wilkas), May Hong of Tales of the City, the Pose cast, Trace Lysette and Alexandra Billings of Transparent, Yuval David (Madam Secretary), Jonathan Van Ness, Sonja Morgan, Adam Rippon, Benito Skinner and more ... but do so with one ear:

With the carpet behind me, I dashed inside to find I was seated at a great table, where I met the owners of the Stonewall Inn. (We also had a Jennifer Coolidge caricature at the table who was apparently a Trumper, as she loudly complained about a very pregnant Chelsea Clinton's passionate speech about tolerance.

The dress was exquisitely, appropriately over-the-top-and-beyond ...

The show was one of GLAAD's best, with participation from the Pose cast, Rachel Brosnahan, and a hilarious presentation by Sarah Jessica Parker of the Vito Russo Award to Andy Cohen, who she teased for his younger wild ways. Shangela was a most capable hostess. One could even say she had the mostess.

I realized right away my camera gave me carte blanche, so I went from table to table getting lovely posed pics of Sarah Jessica Parker and Anderson Cooper, Sarah Jessica Parker and Andy Cohen, Rosie O'Donnell and more.

I was thrilled with my SJP shots

When Madonna strolled into the banquet room about 25 minutes before her presentation and took a seat, shielding her eyes with red sunglasses, I did not hesitate. I was the first photographer to approach and politely ask for a shot. She turned her head and said, “Nope, nope, nope.” Asked and answered!

Yes, Madonna got teary-eyed.

Still, I was able to park by the stage, so I got excellent close-ups when she was affectionately lampooned by Shangela (in a cone bra) and celebrated by Anderson Cooper, Rosie O'Donnell and queer rapper Mykki Blanco. Taking the stage to the strains of her new empowerment anthem “I Rise,” Madonna gave a lovely, funny, bittersweet speech, in which she thanked Christopher Flynn, Keith Haring and her best friend Martin Burgoyne for helping to form her values, remembering through some tears the plague years, when she went to St. Vincent's and embraced dying men in their beds to give them humanity. 

At Madonna's feet

She spoke of her refusal to turn her back on marginalized people, promising to never let her LGBTQ fans down.

The gays — including actual gay Gus Kenworthy & honorary gay SJP back there — watching Madonna speak

She was most emotional when talking about how her commitment to fighting AIDS led her to champion Malawi, from which she adopted four of her six kids.

Like it or not ...

For comedy, Madonna recalled making Truth or Dare and having had no idea it would inspire men to come out as gay, let alone suck off so many Evian bottles.

Best of all, Madonna delivered a rousing reminder that we need to be who we are, whether people like it or not. She raised two middle fingers as she made this evergreen pronouncement, which came minutes after she'd pledged $25,000 to GLAAD during an auction run by celebrity benefit auctioneer Erin Ward that evening.

Madonna's gratitude to gay men in particular (no mention of her gay, estranged bro Christopher Ciccone) was palpable, her wit was in good order and she was, as ever, unready to back down from anyone or anything.

Wrapping up

I also loved her use of a James Baldwin quote about how we don't own anything, but are mere shepherds of our talents — and we owe it to everyone to give back.

All this, and she was 15 feet away from me!

Madonna was feeling both Rosie and Shangela — and Shangela had made fun of her cone bra!

After that, she sneaked back through the stage and vanished, hand-in-hand with Rosie O'Donnell, but everyone else stayed and after-partied. She had, after all, told us in parting that Madame X is a freedom fighter, and a freedom fighter's work is never done.

Check out a chunk of Madonna's speech here:

Freedom (Image by Nicola Formichetti for V)

Sam Smith is opening up, and who better to open up to than Sarah Jessica Parker?! That's when you know you've made it as a gay man in entertainment, when V hires SJP to pump you.

In the interview, Smith talks about the ups and downs of fame, and of having to endure media spankings when he said or did things people misconstrued:

You can't get HIV from a POZ person who is undetectable.

Though many other sources have asserted this for some time, the CDC is finally on board.

Read about that and more of the day's hottest links, including a naked A-Teen (pictured), the debate over what to call the Las Vegas shooter, how to shoot Sex and the City 3 without Kim Cattrall, Mia Farrow's son's new allegations and more ...

The strip-naked-in-a-laundromat routine has been done 1,000 times, but never by Pietro Boselli.

Until now.

Keep reading to watch this tease strip and to check out more of the day's hottest links, including Sex and the City 3 news, a nude pro jock, a review of the Golden Girls Café and more ...

Most of us have fond memories of Sex and the City, a sitcom that broke all the rules and became a younger The Golden Girls for a generation.

Now, because what else are we supposed to do as we await WWIII, one man is recreating some of Carrie Bradshaw/Sarah Jessica Parker's best looks and moments via his creation: Carrie Dragshaw.

Keep reading to check him (and her) out ...