DNA: Are we about to re-enter the boy-band era?
BROADWAY WORLD: The Human Rights Campaign honored Marcia Gay Harden, André De Shields and Junior LaBeija.
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: How do you avoid clicking on, “Death in a Hollywood Sex Dungeon”? How?
EW.COM: Will Reeve, Christopher and Dana Reeve’s son, has announced he just battled aggressive testicular cancer. He lost a testicle and “dozens” of abdominal lymph nodes, but reports feeling lucky to have been cured.
SAN ANTONIO CURRENT: See, I’m confused. I came up in a time when George W. Bush was the dumbest, war-crimiest, most incompetent possible president, and when Karl Rove was Satan hisself. And now here we have Rove being icked out by how Nazi-ish the GOP has become and calling out Texan criminal Ken Paxton? I mean, he’s still trash but — how could I not have detected there would be wiggle room for even worse people beneath him?!
INSTAGRAM: Madonna’s ex and longtime pal Tony Ward was a surprise cameo during her fab “Danceteria” number that opened the MTV VMAs, and he responded to my request for his thoughts on the experience:
“It was fun. Crazy, lots of moving parts. I had a really great time. The dancers were great with me. It was very inspiring to see them dance. Everybody was quite sweet She is, live, a machine, when she gets going. I was very impressed with her. Had a good time with Debi, too. I shared my dressing room trailer with Seth Rogen. I had many good moments with Madonna. Such good energy. I felt a full circle. Very happy I did it. And she made sure I had some camera moments with her onstage. All good.”
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: Fueled by Madonna and Taylor Swift, the VMAs hit an 11-year ratings high. This has to be the only award show in recent memory to increase its viewership.
INSIDE THE VMAS: Peter Stickles, a longtime Madonna fan in L.A., was lucky enough to score tickets to the MTV VMAs. Here are his thoughts on the unforgettable evening ...
“As we were ushered onto the red carpet we actually ran into the black-costumed ‘camera’ dancers and the white ‘veiled’ dancers. I immediately knew they were M’s.
“We took out seat pretty early just to get settled. A crew member came out early to give instructions to the people in the pit (keep your hands up when you clap, its good for the camera, etc) - he then talked about how a table would be coming out and moving around the stage, so keep your hands to yourself at that point (I think they may have even tested out the table).
“That massive inflatable moon-man was just breathtaking. I haven’t seen anything quite like it.
“The show itself was pretty much like you saw on tv. I was seated next to Jojo (thank god her handler told me who show was otherwise I would have no idea) and she was a huge M fan. So we talked about her before the show started (we were high-fiving each other thru-out).
“Baby Spice sat next to me after she gave M her award. I struck up an convo saying how lucky she was to have met her. She told me the story about their FIRST meeting! She seemed like a true fan.
“I have never experienced the kind of fandom like when Taylor Swift entered the room. The place just exploded.
“I couldn’t believe how they made that small grassy area (for the vag laser dancers) look so big for tv! That area was so small - about the size of 4 or five parking spaces.
“Just a really fun night. Many people I recongnized. Many more I did NOT lol.”
OUT.COM: Jay Vinnedge of The Traitors has been prancing around like a proud queen — and then suddenly mentioned he’s married to a woman. It was a jaw-dropping moment. Mine, not his.
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: Dennis Haskins, who was the principal on Saved by the Bell, has died.
NEW YORK TIMES: Dee Brock, who created the world-famous Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, has died at 96.
PEOPLE: Archaeologists have unearthed the school where Aristotle taught Alexander.
ADVOCATE: Trump is stripping LGBTQ+ language from Title IX rules, creating long-lasting damage for queer people. Cathy Renna, communications director at the National LGBTQ Task Force, says:
“This has weakened protections for all students, especially trans students, women and girls, and those who experience sexual harassment or sexual assault.
THE RANDY REPORT: Trump’s Department of Education has formally rescinded LGBTQ+ protections.
THE HUFFINGTON POST: George Santos defends Trump’s lies by saying he’s really just disrupting the matrix. We really need to — one day — stop making stupid people famous.
QUEERTY: HIV-positive performer Billy Porter urges newly diagnosed people with HIV to “choose hope.”
MIDDLE EAST FORUM: Turkey’s Erdoğan is so obsessed with being anti-gay, is he … gay?
Good ol' Tony Ward, who doesn't love him? He was also in "Fastlove" by George Michael.
Choosing the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders Love Boat photo to accompany your story is <chef's kiss> :^)