Boy Culture Links
JANUARY 10, 2026
I’m going to try a return to daily (?) links to see how it goes on Substack. Initially, I wanted to avoid sending daily emails, thinking that would be a turn-off, but I think I can do it without emailing everyone constantly.
Let me know if this is a welcome development?
NEW YORK TIMES: Heated Rivalry is the Taylor Swift of romantic dramas. The Crave production, licensed by HBO Max for about $600,000 per episode, racked up 30 million streaming minutes in Week 1 … and had hit more than 10 times that by the time the last of six episodes aired.
The show’s champion at HBO Max, Casey Bloys, now looks like a damn genius, but he admits it surprised him how it exploded — without even any major promo at first.
Heated Rivalry is a huge win for queer culture. Though adapted from a novel by Rachel Reid — who is not queer — the series was created and entirely written and directed by a gay man, Jacob Tierney. Series stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie had declared their sexual orientations off-limits, but whether or not they’re on our team, it’s clear everyone involved is on our side — the show feels as authentic as any fantasy drama about gay hockey players in love ever would be.
OUT: On the Heated Rivarly tip, novelist Reid told the I’ve Never Said This Before with Tommy DiDario podcast:
“I’ve seen a lot of talk online about my own sexuality, and that of members of my family as well. And some stuff is stated as fact, and some stuff is speculated. I’ve never said … I don’t talk publicly about my personal life for the sake of my family, and my children, and, you know, privacy.”
“But the thing I haven’t said, that I think is important to me, is that I don’t think it ultimately matters, because what I’m writing is … I’m not a man, and I’m not a gay man, and I’m not a bisexual man. That’s who I’m writing about. I don’t think that the people that I am attracted to, at this stage in my life, gives me like any kind of credibility to write about gay men or bisexual men. So, as much as I know people want to know, I don’t think it ultimately matters.”
“I would not ever, like, try to use my sexuality as a way of being like, ‘See, I have the right to write these books,’ because I don’t think that that’s how it works.”
INSTAGRAM: In response to outrage over his dismissal of the chances of Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) in the Texas Senate race vs. a fellow Dem, state Rep. James Talarico, Matt Rogers is apologizing via Instagram Stories.
HUFF POST: Renee Macklin Good’s final words were, “It’s fine dude. I’m not mad at you.” Then ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot her in the head and said, “Fuckin’ bitch.”
MPR NEWS: Renee Macklin Good’s widow, Becca Good, has posted a statement following her wife’s murder by ICE. The key takeaway is, “We had whistles. They had guns.” Full statement:
“First, I want to extend my gratitude to all the people who have reached out from across the country and around the world to support our family.
“This kindness of strangers is the most fitting tribute because if you ever encountered my wife, Renee Nicole Macklin Good, you know that above all else, she was kind. In fact, kindness radiated out of her.
“Renee sparkled. She literally sparkled. I mean, she didn’t wear glitter but I swear she had sparkles coming out of her pores. All the time. You might think it was just my love talking but her family said the same thing. Renee was made of sunshine.
“Renee lived by an overarching belief: there is kindness in the world and we need to do everything we can to find it where it resides and nurture it where it needs to grow. Renee was a Christian who knew that all religions teach the same essential truth: we are here to love each other, care for each other, and keep each other safe and whole.
“Like people have done across place and time, we moved to make a better life for ourselves. We chose Minnesota to make our home. Our whole extended road trip here, we held hands in the car while our son drew all over the windows to pass the time and the miles.
“What we found when we got here was a vibrant and welcoming community, we made friends and spread joy. And while any place we were together was home, there was a strong shared sense here in Minneapolis that we were looking out for each other. Here, I had finally found peace and safe harbor. That has been taken from me forever.
“We were raising our son to believe that no matter where you come from or what you look like, all of us deserve compassion and kindness. Renee lived this belief every day. She is pure love. She is pure joy. She is pure sunshine.
“On Wednesday, January 7th, we stopped to support our neighbors. We had whistles. They had guns.
“Renee leaves behind three extraordinary children; the youngest is just six years old and already lost his father. I am now left to raise our son and to continue teaching him, as Renee believed, that there are people building a better world for him. That the people who did this had fear and anger in their hearts, and we need to show them a better way.
“We thank you for the privacy you are granting our family as we grieve. We thank you for ensuring that Renee’s legacy is one of kindness and love. We honor her memory by living her values: rejecting hate and choosing compassion, turning away from fear and pursuing peace, refusing division and knowing we must come together to build a world where we all come home safe to the people we love.”
CBS COLORADO: Unbelievably, gay Democratic Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado, who was called a “scumbag” by Trump over Mesa County clerk Tina Peters’s nine-year sentence for breaking the law to try to validate Trump’s false 2020 election-fraud claim, is considering granting her clemency. The more we cave to Trump, the more powerful he gets — and the less trustworthy the Democratic brand gets.
INSTAGRAM: Gay power couple Jonathan Bennett and Jaymes Vaughan drum up some social-media attention.
PEOPLE: Two child actors who worked on the series The Cleaning Lady with actor-director Timothy Busfield, 68, have formally accused him of inappropriately touching them on the show’s New Mexico set. An arrest warrant from the Albuquerque Police Department accuses Busfield on unlawful sexual contact with the 11-year-old twins, starting when they were 7.
Busfield, who starred on Thirtysomething and The West Wing, is married to Little House on the Prairie’s Melissa Gilbert. Gilbert has not been accused of any wrongdoing, but the complaint involves her by suggesting she bought Christmas gifts for the children, who Busfield is alleged to have groomed and welcomed into the couple’s life.
Just three months ago, Gilbert commented on the fact that her Little House character Laura was in a romance with Almanzo, played by Dean Butler, when Gilbert was 15 and Butler was 23. She wrote:
“I am actually nauseated. The girl on vacation in Hawaii with her family, is the same girl who was expected to ‘fall in love with’ and kiss a man on film who was several years older than she was . Through the lens of today, this is shocking. I have no words other than to say , ‘I WAS A CHILD.’ ‘I WAS FIFTEEN.’ And I was the good news. Thank God my mom and Michael and so many others were there to make sure I was safe. Can you imagine if I hadn’t had them all? I am so fortunate (Sort of) . Many other young women aren’t.”
FACEBOOK: Porn-director legend Phil Tarley recalls of his time on South Beach Heat (1999):
“Here I was clowning around during the paint boy scene. When they fucked each other, they changed colors. And we staged it without a Pantone chart!”
South Beach Heat was a gay-porn retelling of Andrew Cunanan’s murder of Gianni Versace. In this scene, Tarley’s invention “Tasty Paints” (food dye, water-based lube and a thickening agent) was squirted up a model’s ass so it could be shot out, with various colors blending in real time to create different colors.
Check out my full Q&A with Tarley.
TIKTOK: Apparently the TSA is now offering happy endings.
THE RANDY REPORT: It is insane that this needs to be said, but in response to Trump flirting with the idea of “accepting” María Corina Machado’s already undeserving Nobel Peace Prize — a suggestion she has made as she pathetically tries to suck up to Herr Trump in order to try to run Venezuela in the wake of Maduro’s illegal arrest — the Nobel Committee says prizes can’t be transferred. (And girl, please, Delcy Rodríguez has already sealed the deal with America’s dictator.)
INSTAGRAM: Queer icon Sal Mineo would be turning 87 today.
FACEBOOK: Writer and star Drew Droege of Messy White Gays is decompressing as the off-Broadway show’s final week winds down:
“In my little world, I’m closing my play tomorrow. A comedy about violent, cruel, horrible, literally gut-smashing people, in which we ask crowds to laugh at us. It’s felt cathartic and scary and wild. I’ve learned so much.”
EXTRATV: Dolly Parton will skip her 80th-birthday festivities at the Grand Ole Opry on the 19th, yet another sign her health issues are not insignificant. True to form, her statement to fans about missing out is gracious and folksy.
JOE.MY.GOD.: Trump’s little bitch-in-chief, Ric Grenell, claims the Washington National Opera did not make a principled break with the Kennedy Center, he fired them.
COMPLEX: Newly minted NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani reveals his most important policy position ever — that he likes listening to Kim Petras (good), Lil Wayne (Republican tool) and Madonna (great) while working out. Wayne and Madonna haven’t responded, but Petras is offering to trade a free album in exchange for Mamdani taking action to end the ridiculous carriage-horse tradition in the city.
GR8ERDAYS: Gunsmoke cutie Roger Ewing has died at 83. The 6’4” blond heartthrob was the second-to-last surviving regular cast member of the iconic series. He didn’t act much, but was pretty unforgettable as Monster, a college basketball jock, on a Bewitched episode. He never married.
GR8ERDAYS: Another bummer death is that of The Thing and Punky Brewster actor T.K. Carter, who was found dead in his home Friday at 69.
GR8ERDAYS: Erica Gavin, overwhelmingly sexy star of Russ Meyer’s titty-flick classique Vixen!, sat for a 30-minute Q&A at NYC’s MoMA this week, discussing becoming a stripper at 19, growing up the daughter of a blacklisted actor and what it was like being directed by a man who was having an orgasm from her performance.
Hilariously, who was also Roxane in Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, was described as having played a "gay hairdresser in that film, and having become both of those things later in life.
KENNETH IN THE (212): A weekly roundup of LGBTQ+ and -friendly publications.
Honestly, THIS is what I miss the most. The deep dives are great, but I've felt so out of the loop since the link roundups ended. THANK YOU for bringing it back!!
Why can’t you do this twice a day? This is the best digest for this reader.