I feel so special! (Image via my spam folder)

ABOVE: Guys, I'm out of here — I have been chosen.

BELOW: Keep reading for a fascinating story about gay publishing, why Tucker Carlson should quit Fox News, RIP Cynthia Harris and more ...

ABOVE: Gosh, 40+ years after Madonna arrived in NYC and went to the center of it all, Times Square, and 34 years after the massive Who's That Girl movie premiere there, and 33 years after I arrived in NYC on my first trip here to see her in Speed-the-Plow, I'll be back in Times Square tonight for her Madame X movie premiere. Wish me luck.

BELOW: Cassandra Peterson introduces her partner of 19 years, gay Republicans mad that Biden called out anti-LGBTQ countries for some reason, here comes the Academy Museum and more ...

ABOVE: A crazy number of stars were born on this day. Follows appreciated here.

BELOW: Keep reading for a shirtless Simu, a gay gubernatorial wedding and more ...

Morrible argument (Images via Joan Marcus & video still)

British theater legend Cameron Mackintosh — a billionaire who's never forgotten what it was like to stand in line for the cheap seats, guffaw — recently said in an interview that casting a transgender actor would “damage the integrity” of a classic show, calling it a “gimmick.”

Discussing his (pretty darn shitty) musical version of Mary Poppins and whether Mary could be played by a trans actor, Mackintosh said:

You can’t implant something that is not inherently there in the story or character, that’s what I think. Just to do that, that becomes gimmick casting. It’s trying to force something that isn’t natural.

“Unnatural” — definitely what trans people love to hear from potential employers.

His comment is as dated as he is (he's 74) because it harkens to the olden days, when transgender and other gender-related issues in pieces were, by definition, gimmicks. How many old movies and TV shows with twist endings encouraged us as viewers to declare, “That's a MAN!” half-way through?

It's not like that anymore. A trans performer's transness isn't necessarily a plotpoint; they are simply the character. Trans women are women, trans men are men. They don't have to be acknowledged within the show as trans. Nobody is asking that Mary Poppins be rewritten so that she's an out and proud trans woman kicking up her heels in 1910.

Mackintosh's interview also reveals he is fan of so-called color-blind casting — which makes drawing the line at trans actors even more of a head-scratcher.

Trans icon Alexandra Billings, who has seen a lot of success in recent years on TV and on the stage (she's currently on Broadway, remember that?), had the absolute best response to Mackintosh, a firm and respectful counterpoint to his pointless line in the sand:

Chris and David shouldn't require much convincing to get naked, or to sing! (Images via Project Publicity)

American Idol's David Hernandez and Chris Salvatore, both out gay men, are joining an 11-week run of Naked Boys Singing! in Las Vegas after previously announced headliner Aaron Carter was asked to resign.

I'm hearing that he reportedly wouldn't get vaccinated against COVID-19. I hope that is not the case.

I'd rather see David (see below, in particular) and Chris naked, and hear them singing, anyway — wouldn't you?

Tickets and other info by clicking this image:

ABOVE: I thought the late Patrick Swayze's early, pube-tastic modeling shot was well-known to all, but lots have asked me about it. It's from a 1974 issue of After Dark. Enjoy.

BELOW: Keep reading for a governor's sickening double-dealing on COVID, Leslie Jordan schooling T.I. (and T.I. accepting it graciously), Orlando Bloom's nekkid ass and more...

Chorus bois (Image by Kenn Duncan for After Dark)

ABOVE: Flashing back to Good News, a 1973-1974 musical revival of a 1927 show. Starring Alice Faye and Gene Nelson (John Payne had appeared in it out of town), the show as panned (“combined, [Faye and Nelson] have the stage presence of a balcony seat”). But the boys — oh, the boys.

BELOW: Keep reading for Jackée Harry, Louis Virtel, how COVID-19 is helped along by wildfires and more  ...

The end of Seth's career (Image via Seth Sikes)

Seth Sikes is back with a new parody, this time of The Music Man's “Trouble,” and he's brought his Speedo ...