Melissa Etheridge and Rachel Maddow Question if We’re All OK in “Do Lesbians Give a Damn”
I missed this news earlier this week (because clearly, no one loves me) and I don’t want you to make my mistake! So if you will please, allow me to set the scene: On Tuesday, it was National Coming Out Day. Rachel Maddow and Melissa Etheridge were on Andy Cohen’s “Watch What Happens Live” and he made the lesbian icons with much better things to do, rank our silly little pop culture internet lives. It’s great.
Questions I thought while watching, in order:
- Melissa Etheridge is so swaggy? Effortlessly. 90s dykes live their best lives.
- Rachel Maddow and Melissa Etheridge both have perfect lesbian slouches. Should I practice my slouch more? Is that a thing one… practices?
- Melissa Etheridge: “[Halloween] is the only time we want to put make up on, ever.” M’am!? Speaking on behalf of high femmes everywhere, this is erasure!
- They do not care that Madonna maybe came out in a TikTok over the weekend, which? Fair. But also it got Autostraddle a lot of hits this week. So.
- Rachel Maddow on Billy Eichner’s Bros: “I’m just excited that there’s a big studio gay movie now… because that means the lesbians will get one in 40 years.” (This is not a question. She’s correct.)
- The next set of Andy’s prompts involves a brand of white people pop culture that I know nothing about: White people, y’all alright over there?
- OK I’m back in focus! Lesbian Velma!! Is this most Rachel Maddow has ever laughed in her entire life? Did I ever know her laugh was this sexy? Should I be thirsting for this nerd on this website right now?
- Melissa Etheridge believes that the lesbian community is holding the up base for the gay mourning of Queen Elizabeth, umm????
- Rachel Maddow saw Tatiana Maslany as a 7ft green She-Hulk and immediately said “gimme!” (again, this is not a question)
- I’m of an age where I should know better, but will I mature past the phase where I just want Rachel Maddow to make me waffles and read me the Sunday headlines in her robe?
- I will not.
There’s also a seven-minute after show that includes such greatest hits as Melissa Etheridge recalling the time she out partied Wesley Snipes. Enjoy!
32 Queer Covers Of Songs by Straight Artists Because Everything’s Better When It’s Gayer
This post was originally published in September 2014 and has been updated and re-vamped with new artists and songs in February 2021.
My friends, I love a cover. I love covers so much I watched every season of Glee. But most of all I love queer covers, aka queer people covering songs. Give me a gay cover! Let us share in this love together? I attempted to only pick songs that had videos where things happened, like people singing for example, but some covers were too good to skip even though their video was audio-only. ALSO I was looking for songs usually by male artists about women so we could have some pronoun fun but also there are exceptions to that as well because of goodness and my personal desires. I also was looking for covers of songs by straight artists but I have indicated where that premise was slightly compromised. Lez begin!
Miya Folick, “I Will Follow You Into the Dark” (Death Cab for Cutie)
Tracy Chapman, “Stand By Me” (Ben E King)
Alex G, “Perfect” (Ed Sheehan)
Joy Oladokun, “My Girl” (The Temptations)
Marika Hackman, “Between the Bars” (Elliot Smith)
Be Steadwell, “Use Somebody” (Kings of Leon)
Brandi Carlile, “Wildflowers” (Tom Petty)
https://youtu.be/ZPRkpyHUpJU
Julia Nunes & dodie & Orla Garland, “God is a Woman” (Ariana Grande)
(as far as i know, orla is not queer, but the other two people in this are!)
Hayley Kiyoko, “Mr Brightside” (The Killers)
Rebecca Black, “Love Me Two Times” (The Doors)
Note: Jim Morrisson may have been bisexual.
Jessica Betts, “I Kissed a Girl” (Katy Perry)
Japanese Breakfast, “Head Over Heels” (Tears for Fears)
King Princess, “Happy Together” (The Turtles)
Joan Jett, “Crimson and Clover” (Tommy James)
https://youtu.be/mHZBBNRrano
Janelle Monae, “I Want You Back” (The Jackson 5)
Sara Ramirez, “Chasing Cars” (Snow Patrol)
Unfortunately she is not the only singer on this track but we have what we have
Demi Lovato, “Take Me To Church” (Hozier)
Kai Mata, “Riptide” (Vance Joy)
k.d. lang, “Crazy” (Patsy Cline)
Katie Melua, “Just Like Heaven” (The Cure)
Melissa Etheridge, “Brown Eyed Girl” (Van Morrison)
Indigo Girls, “Romeo and Juliet” (Dire Straits)
Holly Miranda, “Lover You Should’ve Come Over” (Jeff Buckley)
Me’Shell NdegéOcello, “Who Is He and What Is He To You” (Bill Withers)
St. Vincent, “Lithium” (Nirvana cover, performed with surviving members of Nirvana)
Note: Kurt Cobain was possibly bisexual but this has not been definitively declared. Also Pat Smear is bisexual.
Lily Brown, “Rude” (Magic)
This song is actually unbearable in its heterosexual version but delightful when it’s gay.
Mary Lambert, “Teenage Dirtbag” (Wheatus)
Tayla Parks, “What’s Going On” (Marvin Gaye)
Halsey “Sucker” (Jonas Brothers)
K’s Choice, “Yellow” (Coldplay)
Tegan & Sara, “Dancing in the Dark” (Bruce Springsteen)
Santana Lopez and Brittany S Pierce, “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” (Whitney Houston)
When You’re Black and Queer but Masquerading as Straight While Listening to the Music of White Lesbians
“And I try. OH MY GOD do I try? I try all the time…in this INSTITUTION!”
As I recently cleaned my apartment whilst nearly bringing myself to tears with my own rendition of “What’s Up?” (we’re talking full voice emoting, in the apartment by MYSELF), I paused mid-sweep with the realization that I hadn’t fooled anyone. Family, friends, my Brooklyn neighbors all knew, in fact, what was up with me (see what I did there?) before I’d fully admitted it to myself. This Four Non-Blondes anthem was only one of several favorite diddies by white lesbians I was prepared to belt out that morning.
A quick Spotify check confirmed my suspicion that I’d been musically signaling my queerness since the 90s. Indeed, I was reminded that Ani DiFranco had only been playing a few minutes before and that Melissa Etheridge was second in line in the queue, with Tracy Chapman* also thrown in there. I racked my brain: how could I not have followed my own breadcrumb trail? And why didn’t anyone tell me?! I could have been having so much lezzie sex way sooner!
I’m a baby queer, having only come out to many family and friends last year, in my thirties. In many ways, though, I’ve been coming out in search of community since the days of yore, when I was but a wee queerdo in a sleepy Memphis suburb. Early on branded as “weird” and not particularly adherent to certain southern belle conventions, my taste in music set me that much further apart from my contemporaries. Memphis remains a very polarizing place and in the ‘90s, the radio only offered the best of sonic extremes: pop, hip-hop, whatever my parents listened to (all generally produced before 1985) and gospel. So it’s not really a surprise that my entire childhood vibe could easily be referred to as coffee shop music on an episode of Felicity. I wanted folk, I wanted soft rock, essentially anything Delilah would play.
In reflecting on my younger days, I’ve highlighted the five sapphic singers whose intense presence in my life was my queer slip showing, moments where everybody in my life knew, sometimes even before I did.
Melissa Etheridge
“I know you’re home / You left your light on / You know I’m here / The night is thin”
Picture tiny Jehannie in grade school. It’s the mid- nineties and she’s in the passenger’s side of her mother’s car belting out “Come to My Window,” by the only lesbian palatable enough to hit those bible-thumping airwaves. She demands her mother play the song again and again, until her mother reminds her radios are not tape players. But still! Melissa Etheridge’s raspy voice, her powerful songs of yearning continue to hit me in a soft spot to this day. I sang with the longing of a new crush in the body of an eight year old. But let’s just get on the same page now and declare “I Want to Come Over” as the true gem in her crown. The naked desire of the chorus: I want to come over/to hell with the consequence/you told me you love me/that’s all I believe! I MEAN.
Sophie B. Hawkins
“Till you call my name/ And it sounds like church bells /Or the whistle of a train/On a summer evening/I’ll run to meet you/Barefoot, barely breathing”
My commitment to the ‘90s remained fierce well into high school in the 2000s. Senior year I ordered a multi-disc CD set called Forever ‘90s or something to that effect. The second song was Sophie the songstress’ “As I Lay Me Down.” It was the lesbianic (technically omnisexual) siren call I needed and that I promptly put on repeat. We’re talking months of this whisper song in my car, in my house, as homework mood music. I definitely made ill-fated attempts at both poetry and songwriting to this song. I kind of didn’t understand the lyrics but knew, I too was capable of this type of love.
Ani DiFranco
“Come here/ stand in front of the light/Stand still/So I can see your silhouette”
I’m aware Ani is not a lesbian and is a problematic fave, but we’re not talking contemporary Ani. We’re talking mid-aughts Ani! And where would she be without her white lesbian fan base? Case in point, during freshman year of college my white lesbian roommate’s single act of generosity was copying 19 of her albums to my computer. Remember when you could do that? It was a simpler time. I remember it like it was yesterday: returning to the dorm to hear “Alex” playing this music that seemed to lovingly stroke my cheek and beckon me into its warm embrace with a knowing glance. I fell hard, made her music my studying soundtrack. I had a “friend” actually say, “you know she’s gay right?” To which I replied “Love is love, Beth!” [Her name wasn’t Beth but she was white so, you know.]
*Tracy Chapman
“But you can say baby / Baby can I hold you tonight? / Maybe if I told you the right words / Oooh at the right time / You’d be mine”
So Tracy Chapman is obviously not white. But she has to make the list because she was such a staple of my ‘‘90s-era listening and because she is TRACY MUTHAFUCKIN CHAPMAN. Again, she is very much a Black lesbian and one of our patron saints, but she is nonetheless peak white lesbian listening. Back in the day was a regular on Delilah and other folk-adjacent stations. While those days were more “Fast Car” and “Give Me One Reason,” who hasn’t openly wept to “Baby Can I Hold You?” Who, I ask?!
This song marks the era of being in (unarticulated) love with my best friend at the time, and her pretending like it wasn’t mutual. While lying in bed, fully clothed and discussing our plans to co-own the Felicity coffee house, we played “Baby Can I Hold You?” and she’d suggest that maybe I was a lesbian. Which I totally played off until, you know, we made out.
Brandi Carlile
“I crossed all the lines, and I broke all the rules / But, baby, I broke them all for you”
Perhaps the most obvious moment of my inability to play it straight was during a powerful obsession with the relationship of Arizona Robbins and Callie Torres. I’d become a half-hearted fan of Grey’s Anatomy before suddenly rededicating myself to the show to watch one of the hottest couples on screen in a long time. Then the musical episode happened and I refuse to believe that I was the only one whose eyes glazed over at Sara Ramírez singing “The Story” by Brandi Carlile. DEAR GOD SO HAAAWWWT! It was almost too much. Nay, it was just enough. At this point I’d already done a soft launch of my queerness and was just yearning for the right cutie to come along and give me literally any reason to belt out this song to her.
Thankfully in the years since, I have *mostly* recovered from Callie and Arizona’s breakup, but have not even remotely tempered the urge to sing.
No Filter: Maybe Rachel Maddow Will Go Fishing With Melissa Etheridge!
This week in News, all your favorite stars went and canoodled at Coachella, except for the ones who did whatever the opposite of that is. Also, someone made this Very Important thread of Tessa Thompson as Pringles:
https://twitter.com/ttomholIand/status/1116801121497096193
Then, we were blessed with this moment:
She said she will go fishing with me sometime!!! @maddow @AriMelber pic.twitter.com/pyMPEYvEko
— Melissa Etheridge (@metheridge) April 12, 2019
I wish I could get as excited about literally anything in my entire life as Samira Wiley is about Red Lobster.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwNcd2Rgjas/
I was going to caption this “Brittani Nichols is a menace to society” before I even saw her caption, so you know, great minds and all of that.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwV1SOvA-YI/
A moment of appreciation for our friend Gaby Dunn, Very Famous Millennial, whose hair is becoming ever more powerful with each passing week.
Just me and my pal Laura hangin’ out, being casual. As Shirley Manson of all people deftly pointed out in the comments, Laura looks exactly like her daughter in this photo.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwNZlKPpDxj/
On her way to steal your girl.
Lena Waithe is on her way to Burger King for the Impossible Whopper or whatever and she looks as ambivalent about it as I feel.
The weird thing is she’s actually standing in an empty room with white walls, this is just what happens everywhere she goes.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwSbFT7hh4t/
Westworld, Sunday nights on HBO.
No Filter: Samira Wiley and Lauren Morelli Met Melissa Etheridge and the Lesbian Vortex Has Never Been Stronger
Welcome back to No Filter, in which we survey the week in queer celebrity Instagram and maturely discuss all the activities of a bunch of hot, rich people we do not know personally. This week, I must begin by mentioning Kristen Stewart’s incredibly lesbian hair situation as she navigates the red carpet in Cannes with your good friend Carol Aird. In other very gay news, Cara Delevingne and Paris Jackson hung out in public.
Speaking of couples who refuse to acknowledge that they’re dating, Tessa Thompson and Janelle Monáe did not walk the red carpet at the Met Gala together but did attend afterparties together. Don’t think we weren’t paying attention.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BihVaRfh1__/?tagged=tessathompson
Also worth noting: Evan Rachel Wood Bisexual recently discovered A-Camp alum DeAnne Smith and it is a dream come true:
https://twitter.com/evanrachelwood/status/993899576603168769?s=21
Additionally, Evan decided to weigh in on the revelation that DJ Khaled refuses to perform oral sex upon his long-suffering wife, and upon reading this quote I fell to the ground and had to rest there for a moment.
Riese wanted to make sure you were aware of this important moment in lesbian history.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BiS4o3AF-fb/?taken-by=evanrachelwood
There’s some kind of irony in Evan’s Westworld character venturing out into the real world (no spoilers) vs Evan’s actual human self venturing into a fictional TV show, right? I think?? Maybe?
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bih_dhRFAMF/?taken-by=ddlovato
Every once in a while I like to be reminded that no matter how hot Demi Lovato is, she still has this fucking lion tattoo.
Oh, hello, didn’t see you there.
Am I the only one here who develops crushes on guitars?
https://www.instagram.com/p/BihmY-EAScY/?taken-by=gabyroad
This is actually true.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BifVxcMnrVx/?taken-by=kehlani
This is possibly the most billiards-appropriate outfit I’ve ever seen.
Your ex girlfriend Hayley Kiyoko is here, quoting herself on Instagram. Do you think she’s thinking about me? She’s probably thinking about me.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BiVfi7OBCvY/?taken-by=laurenjauregui
OK, I won’t.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BiXiDB9BQkQ/?taken-by=janellemonae
Only Janelle Monáe could turn casually walking up some stairs into some kind of MC Escher-esque art.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BiQcwydjuQS/?taken-by=cameronesposito
Cameron Esposito has perfected the art of lesbian camouflage.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bih10G6jZpM/?taken-by=kristinnoeline
It started out with a kiss how did it end up like this
It was only a kiss
It was only a kiss
Join us next week, when YOU’RE STILL GONNA HAVE MR. BRIGHTSIDE STUCK IN YOUR HEAD, sorry.
Why Did Applebee’s Destroy the Lesbian Love Story in Their New Take-Out Commercial?!
Last week Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar released a commercial to promote their new To Go Window, set to the tune of Melissa Etheridge’s 1993 super smash hit, “Come to My Window.” Did you know at the Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar’s To Go Window you can order: pasta, wings, quesadillas, celery sticks, mozzarella sticks, nachos, salad, a steak, more pasta, and more wings? I learned that from the commercial. Did you also know that “Come to My Window” was the first single from Melissa Etheridge’s Yes I Am album (as in Yes I Am Gay) which she dropped right after she came out as a lesbian and that the very gay lyrics were written about her gay girlfriend Julie Cypher who crawled through her window for the explicitly gay purpose of scissoring? I did not learn that from the commercial; I already knew it in my brain and heart because “Come to My Window” is one of the most popular gay songs ever written.
Why then, Reader, did Applebees’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar straightwash the lesbian love story right out of the ad?!
Here is Samantha, let’s call her. Sam. She’s walking through the parking garage at the mall after an early evening of shopping and she’s hungry and the first thing she thinks of — okay, the first thing, even though there’s for sure a Sbarro and Chick-fil-A in that mall, and she could have either of those delicacies with an Orange Julius — is driving to an Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar.
In the rain. Driving there in the rain, in the dark. To an Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar.
Is it for the food? Reader, we both know it is not.
What’s it for then? Why go out of your way in treacherous weather to get a to-go steak? Oh, of course, Alex — let’s call her — is the one delivering the food.
I wonder what Alex means to Sam. I wonder if we can tell by the look on Sam’s face when she sees Alex coming to her window, by the light of the moon. I wonder if we can tell by the way she gasps when Alex reaches toward her. And Alex, with a smile on her face, in a torrential downpour, at her job where she probably makes minimum wage and gets tipped ten percent on a bill for a literal one-dollar margarita. The eye contact. The things they do not say.
Love. It’s love. And the whole time they’re beaming at each other in this thunderstorm, let me remind you, Melissa Etheridge is crooning a song that features the lyrics, “I don’t care what they think. I don’t care what they say. What do they know about this love, anyway?” and “I’ll be home, I’ll be home, I’M COMING HOOOOOME.”
It’s a beautiful lesbian love story. It’s basically the plot of Carol — and then Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar ruins it by sending Sam home to her husband.
Nice queerbaiting, Applebee’s. I hope you don’t choke on your stupid wings, Chad.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xtmuYaEZxI
Sunday Funday is Saluting Helen Grace James, 90-Year-Old Lesbian American Hero!
Hello, fluffy Norwegian forest cats! What’s a Norwegian forest cat? So glad you asked! It’s a very fluffy breed of cat related to the Maine coon and we’re pretty sure our adopted weirdo shelter cat, Jeter, is one. I mean, based on very scientific Googling we did one night when we first learned of the breed.
I don’t know! Remi is still on a quest to forcefully befriend our Norwegian forest cat. It’s not going well, TBH, for either of them. Jeter’s terrified of loud noises and quick movements. Remi’s loud and grabby when she gets excited. Cats excite Remi. I believe they’ll eventually be friends, but I thought we’d have made a lot more progress than this at almost 17 months.
90-Year Old Lesbian WINS Decades-Long Battle for Honorable Discharge
Helen Grace James at home (via Legal Aid at Work)
More than six decades after being forced to leave the U.S. Air Force due to Lavender Scare-era targeting and intimidation, Helen Grace James finally had her honor and rights as a veteran restored. Her records now reflect that she was honorably discharged, not “dishonorably discharged,” a designation that made it impossible for James to continue her employment as a teacher, apply for veterans benefits, and find peace. James is one of the thousands of LGBTQ veterans whose papers weren’t automatically corrected after the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell in 2011.
“I’m still trying to process it,” James told NBC News. “It was both joy and shock. It was really true. It was really going to be an ‘honourable discharge.’ It’s hard to take in. I’m wondering if I’m in a dream or a wish.”
YES HELEN!!!
To Be Young, Gifted and Black
Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart, the first feature-length documentary about Lorraine Hansberry, best known as the author of A Raisin in the Sun (the first play by a Black woman to be performed on Broadway). Hansberry was a civil rights activist, author, and a lesbian, which the documentary casts light on, though it wasn’t openly discussed in Hansberry’s lifetime.
According to filmmaker Tracy Heather Strain, Hansberry kept journals which made clear not only that she had relationships with women, but that she specifically identified herself as a lesbian. She was active in the 1960’s lesbian scene in NYC and contributed under a pseudonym to The Ladder.
Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart debuted as part of PBS American Masters series this weekend and is available to stream.
Here, Queer, Etc
Tipping the Velvet film adaptation, 2002
“It was an electric time to be gay”: Sarah Waters on 20 years of Tipping the Velvet.
I remember the mid-90s as a rather electric time to be gay, and young, and living in London. There was a lot to be angry about, but also a lot to celebrate and relish. Grassroots direct action groups such as OutRage! and the Lesbian Avengers were giving lesbian and gay culture an energy and a political charge. Queer theory was beginning to have an impact on ideas about sex, gender and identity. Sh!, the “women’s erotic emporium”, had recently opened its doors in Hoxton, selling sex toys in a fun, safe space. “Were dildos OK?” we pondered, thrillingly, in my Hackney lesbian house share. Were they sexually oppressive? Might it make them more feminist if they were shaped like dolphins?
The LGBT Candidate Running Against a Man Who Denounced Gay Marriage. Meet Joan Greene, Arizona’s candidate for Congress!
Washington State Senate votes to protect LGBTQ youth from practice of conversion therapy.
First-ever Super Bowl Inclusion Party set for Minneapolis. Hosted by an openly gay former NFL player, Esera Tuaolo!
I Wanna Start an Uprising of Love
I don’t know how I feel about the Women’s March L.A. or why the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles is there or where the long opening is going ok, but Melissa Etheridge led a “Yes, I Am” call-and-response and I’m a sucker for nostalgia, so…here ya’ go!
No Filter: Oh My God Danielle Brooks
Welcome back to No Filter, in which we unpack the week’s celebrity social media like a pack of hyenas tearing apart a zebra. All week long, famous people post flattering photographs of themselves in vivid Valencia, and we collect said images and pore over them as though we were meaningfully involved in said celebrities’ lives. It’s extremely fulfilling. Let’s hop to it!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BCnobJ0pqK2/
I cannot handle Danielle Brooks right now and hereby award her this week’s coveted Crush of the Week Award.
Sarah Paulson maybe got a trim, maybe got an alternative lifestyle haircut, maybe is a total weirdo who walks around hair salons and steals the discarded clippings off the floor (Update: she got a cute trim, not the Marcia Clark Makeover Special).
https://www.instagram.com/p/BCmgYu9xx_s/
For #squawkgoals, Carrie Brownstein gets a gold star this week.
Samira you are actually killing me.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BCjanTGi4Js/
This might be one of the gayest photos I have ever posted in this entire column, which is saying a lot. Thanks, Kaki King!
Ran into this little lady the other day! @KREAYSHAWN pic.twitter.com/IoxR1iumf9
— Danny Trejo (@officialDannyT) March 8, 2016
When Danny Trejo brags about meeting YOU, you’ve really made it, kid. Someone please tell me Kreayshawn will be in the next Machete movie.
As a longtime America’s Next Top Model fan I’m personally pretty excited to see Isis King, but everybody’s look is on point here.
Just thought you might need to look at Jiz Lee and their trainer’s biceps today. Jiz Lee goes to a queer gym?!?! This is almost inspiring me to exercise.
What would you do if you saw Camila Grey leaning against a wall, casually twirling her chapstick?
Join us next week, when hopefully we’ll find out what’s going on with Sarah Paulson’s hair, among other pressing issues.
Top 10 Lesbian, Queer or Bisexual Celebrities We Remember Being Out Back Then
In our recent Autostraddle Grown-Ups Survey for readers over 29, we asked “who was the first lesbian or bisexual celebrity or public figure you remember being aware of?” Although the question was intended to be about women, many named men regardless!
Below are the Top 10 most popular answers, in order of popularity. Some honorable mentions who almost made the cut: Danish-British writer / comedian / producer Sandi Toksvig, pop star Madonna, singer/songwriter Ani DiFranco, singer/songwriter Tracy Chapman, German entertainer Hella von Sinnen and comedian Lily Tomlin. There were also many mentions of Freddie Mercury, Boy George and David Bowie.
The Top Ten Most Popular Answers To “Who was the first Lesbian or Bisexual Celebrity / Public Figure you were aware of?”
10. Angelina Jolie
Jenny Shimizu and Angelina Jolie, 1995
Angelina Jolie had her bisexual awakening in 1995 on the set of Foxfire, when she met Jenny Shimizu and “fell in love with her the first second I saw her.” Jolie said she would’ve married Jenny if she hadn’t married her first husband, Johnny Lee Miller. Shimizu says their relationship continued for quite some time, even while Jolie was with other people, but that it was definitely over by 2005. When asked in 2003 if she was bisexual, Jolie said, “Of course. If I fell in love with a woman tomorrow, would I feel that it’s okay to want to kiss and touch her? If I fell in love with her? Absolutely, yes!”
9. Sandra Bernhard
© Deborah Feingold/Corbis (1988)
Sandra Bernhard has never been shy about who she is. This includes her legendary appearance on The David Letterman Show in 1988 with Madonna, during which the pair alluded to their sexual relationship, and Bernhard “joked” that Madonna is better than Sean Penn in bed. A 1993 Newsweek article refers to Bernhard as an “avowed bisexual.’ In a 2013 interview with Between The Lines, Bernhard said, “I’ve never really come out. That’s never been my thing. I never made a definite statement about my sexuality. Obviously, I’m the torchbearer for people just to be comfortable in their own skin, and that’s what my whole philosophy has always been. I never needed to come out, because I came out as a person with many different facets to her personality since the beginning of my career. And that’s what I stand for.”
8. The Indigo Girls
© Neal Preston/Corbis (1993)
Nobody was surprised but everybody was appreciative when Amy Ray and Emily Saliers came out in an April 1994 issue of OUT Magazine, right before releasing their hit album Swamp Ophelia. “Here’s something you probably already know,” wrote The Advocate. “The Indigo Girls — Amy Ray and Emily Saliers — are lesbians…. the girls’ publicist tells us they feel ‘beautiful’ after finally unburdening themselves. Beautiful, yes, and a whole lot closer to fine, we bet.” Real talk: they remain my favorite musical situation of all time. SORRY I CAN’T HELP IT. OLD HABITS DIE HARD. For the record, The Indigo Girls were my first lesbians. Having a lesbian Mom in 1994 meant our CD rack was a flaming homosexual.
7. Billie Jean King
Original caption: “Tennis star Billie Jean King answers questions at a press conference here, in which she admitted that she carried on a homosexual relationship several years ago. The admission came as a result of allegations by Marilyn Barnett, a former hairdresser who claims she and Mrs. King were lovers. The suit says the former tennis star had promised to give Miss Barnett a Malibu, California, beach home.” (Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS)
Billie Jean married attorney Larry King in 1965, realized she liked women in 1968, and had an abortion in 1971, believing that her marriage wasn’t solid enough to bring a child into it. Also in 1971, Billie Jean fell in love with her secretary, Marilyn Barnett. In 1981, Barnett filed a “palimony” lawsuit against Billie Jean, which resulted in Billie Jean being outed, becoming the first prominent professional lesbian athlete — and losing $2 million in endorsements and contracts. “I was outed and I think you have to do it in your own time,” King told The Sunday Times. “Fifty percent of gay people know who they are by the age of 13, I was in the other 50%. I would never have married Larry if I’d known. I would never have done that to him. I was totally in love with Larry when I was 21.” She also spoke about growing up in a homphobic family, suppressing her feelings through eating disorders, and struggling to be honest with her family. “I couldn’t get a closet deep enough. I’ve got a homophobic family, a tour that will die if I come out, the world is homophobic and, yeah, I was homophobic… At the age of 51, I was finally able to talk about it properly with my parents and no longer did I have to measure my words with them. That was a turning point for me as it meant I didn’t have regrets any more.” Now 71, Billie Jean lives with her life partner, 58-year-old tennis player Ilana Kloss.
6. Elton John
Although the survey (perhaps not clearly enough) intended to ask about the first lesbian or bisexual female celebrity you were aware of, Elton John — a gay man — was such a popular answer that it seemed worth including.
Elton John with his wax figure, 1976, via The Mirror
After divorcing from his wife of four years in 1988, Elton John told Rolling Stone that he was “comfortable” being gay. In 1976, he’d told the same magazine that he was bisexual. He and his partner, filmmaker David Furnish, were one of the first couples to form a civil partnership after England’s Civil Partnership Act went into effect in 2005. They legally married in December 2014, and have two sons.
5. Rosie O’Donnell
© Frank Trapper/Corbis (2002)
Rosie O’Donnell thanked her then-partner Kelli with an “I love you, Kelli!” in her 2001 Daytime Emmys speech, but she came out officially at a Ovarian Cancer Research benefit in 2002, announcing, “I’m a dyke!” She was two months way from finishing her enormously popular afternoon talk show, The Rosie O’Donnell Show and wanted to be able to speak freely about her personal stake in gay adoption issues happening at the time. She went on Diane Sawyer to do just that six weeks after the comedy club. She cut her hair shortly thereafter and it was the alternative lifestyle haircut heard ’round the world.
4. Martina Navratilova
© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis (1982)
Although she later identified as a lesbian, tennis legend Martina Navratilova had just become a United States citizen when she told a New York Daily News reporter in 1981 that she was bisexual. She also told him she’d dated Rubyfruit Jungle author Rita Mae Brown, but asked him to hold the article ’til she was ready to come out. He published it without her go-ahead. Consequently, Navratilova and her girlfriend Nancy Lieberman gave an interview to The Dallas Morning News in which Navritilova affirmed that she was bisexual, that she and Nancy were in a relationship, and that Nancy still identified as straight. Navratilova’s next relationship, a six-year situation with Judy Nelson, ended in a very public legal battle. Navratilova married her current wife, Julia Lemigova, in 2014. She is considered by many to be the best tennis player ever.
3. k.d. Lang
© Frank Trapper/Sygma/Corbis (1993)
k.d. Lang came out in The Advocate in June 1992. “As bold as k.d. lang is, the Grammy-winning singer was clearly nervous about coming out in the June 16, 1992 issue of The Advocate,” the magazine reflected in 2012, “you can’t blame her — the AIDS crisis was raging, there was a Bush in office, and LGBT celebrities were mostly nonexistent. With equal amounts of determination and trepidation, lang became one of the first celebrities to crack open the closet door, laying a blueprint for Melissa, Ellen, and Neil.” She expressed nervousness about not wanting to hurt her connection to gay culture but also not wanting to hurt her mother. In 1993, she appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair with Cindy Crawford. The iconic photograph by Herb Ritts featured Lang in a barber chair and Crawford, in a tiny black thing, appearing to shave Lang’s face. Lang told the magazine that coming out hadn’t negatively impacted her career.
2. Melissa Etheridge
© Neal Preston/Corbis (1993)
Although Melissa Etheridge was openly gay in her personal life, she didn’t come out publicly until 1993, when she was 32, referring to herself as a “proud lesbian” at a gay inaugural bash for Bill Clinton. A year later she appeared in People magazine with her “live-in lover,” Julie Cypher. Cypher was married to Lou Diamond Phillips when they met (on the set of the “Bring Me Some Water” video, Cypher was the assistant director) but she found herself drawn to Etheridge, having never considered before that she might be a lesbian. They were together until 2000, during which time Cypher birthed two children. David Crosby was the sperm donor. Etheridge went on to date and eventually marry and have more children with actress Tammy Lynn Michaels — they started dating in 2002 and separated in 2010 — and is presently married to actress/producer Linda Wallem.
1. Ellen DeGeneres
Image by © Terry Lilly/ZUMA/Corbis (1997)
A full 56% of you cited Ellen DeGeneres as the first lesbian celebrity you were aware of. Ellen DeGeneres came out publicly on The Oprah Winfrey Show in February 1997, in anticipation of her sitcom character, Ellen Morgan, coming out. She said shortly thereafter to Entertainment Weekly, “If I do it right, I’m gonna have a career that will grow, and I’ll look back on this as my infancy stage. I don’t believe you have one moment. You have many moments.” It ended up being more like her infamy stage, because America was clearly not ready for a lesbian celebrity like Ellen. But she was right about the moments. She came back, she had many moments, and now she is bigger than ever. Ellen married actress Portia De Rossi in 2008.
Women of Soul Invade White House, Your Television
feature image via AP
After 200+ years of running the American government via several committees of boring old white guys, the Obama administration has finally figured out how to govern this country in a way that makes sense for everybody. On March 6, the White House celebrated Women’s History Month by hosting Aretha Franklin, Janelle Monáe, Patti LaBelle, Melissa Etheridge, Jill Scott, Ariana Grande and Tessanne Chin for a concert intended to celebrate the struggles, achievements and contributions made by women in music. Earlier in the day, First Lady Michelle Obama hosted “I’m Every Woman: The History of Women in Soul,” an interactive workshop for 124 middle school, high school and college students. Participants gathered in the State Dining Room to meet with Robert Santelli, Executive Director of The GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles and several of the performers to discuss the social and political climates of America that led to the advent of soul music, and its impact on the world. Michelle Obama described soul as “the kind of music that makes you move, no matter who you are or where you come from.”
Describing the inspiring works of Patti LaBelle, the first lady added: “Find your own voice and be proud of it. And then, sing your butt off. Or work your butt off. Or whatever you do, do it until your butt comes off. OK, that quote is going to be kind of funny in the papers. I already know it. My communications people are like, what?! But you guys all know what I meant – be good at what you do.”
As for the performance itself, President Obama was pretty excited about it, possibly so excited that he forgot how to spell “respect.”
The concert began with Patti LaBelle performing “Over the Rainbow,” and climaxed with Melissa Etheridge, Janelle Monáe, Jill Scott and Tessanne Chin coming together for a gorgeous, triumphant rendition of “Proud Mary.”
For those of us who were not invited, the Women of Soul concert will be screened on PBS on Monday, April 7 at 7PM (check your local listings).
Ellen DeGeneres Lesbian Interview Extravaganza: Celebrating The Women Who Showed Up
BY LIZZ AND JESS
There’s probably no greater TV moment then when a queer woman on TV interviews another queer woman. Well, I mean there are probably some other great moments (the Olympics comes to mind), but Ellen DeGeneres interviewing Rachel Maddow was still pretty life changing. A week ago I told you that Lindsay Lohan would be appearing on the Ellen Show to promote her Playboy spread. (Pun intended). Did you see the Playboy spread?!? It was awesome and fully deserving of Ellen’s calm and steady voiced discussion. Unfortunately Lohan missed her flight from Hawaii and thus will not be appearing on Ellen. Michael Jackson’s daughter Paris Jackson appeared in her place and the Ellen Show will not be rescheduling her taping. Lohan offered to tape the show the following day, but unfortunately that was scheduled to be the last taping of the season. I think we can all agree this is a bummer for everyone involved.
But! Since we can’t deliver on our Lilo promise, we offer you instead this Christmashaukkanazaka gift of other appearances on Ellen by queer women and Ellen Page.
Rachel Maddow (We originally posted this here):
Jodie Foster:
Wanda Sykes:
Portia de Rossi:in 2009
Portia de Rossi in 2010:
Ellen Page:
NEXT: The Eth, Queen Latifah, Jane Lynch and Vintage Lindsay!
Playlist: I Kissed a Gay Girl and I Loved It
michigan womyn's music festival - 1976
Last night’s episode of Glee was entitled “I Kissed a Girl” and features hands-down the gayest girly playlist of all fucking time: Melissa Etheridge, Dolly Parton, KD Lang, Cyndi Lauper, and that Katy Perry song we all love so much. Of course not all of those musicians are gay, but that’s besides the point, I suppose.
A while back we did a Lez the Fuck Out: B-Sides playlist, but I was inspired by last night’s incompleteness to assemble the Lez the Fuck Out A-List.
Prove it On Me – Ma Rainey
Fast Car – Tracy Chapman
Hot Topic – Le Tigre
I Kissed a Girl – Jill Sobule
Do It Like a Dude – Jessie J
Take Me On the Floor – The Veronicas
As Cool As I Am – Dar Williams
Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover – Sophie B. Hawkins
If It Isn’t Her – Ani DiFranco
Nineteen – Tegan & Sara
Power of Two – Indigo Girls
Rebel Girl – Bikini Kill
Become You – Indigo Girls
Secret – Missy Higgins
Constant Craving – k.d. lang
Weakness in Me – Joan Armatrading
Take Me or Leave Me – Cast of RENT
Some Kind of Wonderful – Pam Grier & Betty
Drive – Melissa Ferrick
You Don’t Own Me – Lesley Gore
Say So – Uh Huh Her
Young James Dean – Girlyman
Come to my Window – Melissa Etheridge
Playlist:
What are your favorite lesbian songs? Remember that to make these mixes we actually have to own the songs ourselves, so if you see something that isn’t on here and you are absolutely horrified by that omission, you gotta email me the song!
Want to suggest a playlist theme? Hit Crystal up on Formspring and someone of the team might create it for you.
Oprah Celebrates 25 Years of Telling Your Mom About Homogays: Our Favorite Episodes
Yesterday’s Oprah was actually advertised as her “gayest show ever” and it sure was – although Oprah & Gayle’s Yosemite camping adventure was a close second, believe me. You know how sometimes, even when a thing isn’t “gay,” it’s still totally GAY?
Anyhow, this special show about her 25 years of supporting the LGBT community brought back some of her most memorable guests, including the Olympic gold medalist diver Greg Louganis who came out as an HIV+ gay man way back in 1995 and India’s openly gay prince, Manvendra Singh Gohil.
Oprah’s influence on the gay community shouldn’t be taken lightly. Oprah’s prime demo – housewives in Middle America – worship her like a deity and using her show to increase visibility and normalize gay people is more than we could ever ask for. Even as I was preparing this post my mom called me all excited asking if I had my DVR set. Exec Editor Laneia’s mother texted her to let her know about the topic of Oprah yesterday. That’s power people. Let’s not forget that Oprah has also given Rosie O’Donnell a brand new daytime talk show on OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) set to debut in the fall.
Did you know that Oprah actually helped change homosexual laws in India?! See, Prince Manvendra is the only known person of royal lineage in modern India to have publicly revealed he is gay. He came out on Oprah in October 2007, and has since traveled the world as a kind of Indian gay ambassador.
Manvendra credited the big O with helping to change the laws in India regarding homosexuality. Previously, homosexual acts were punishable by 10 years to life in prison. But after he came out on her show and traveled to Australia and Brazil, the publicity made Indians reappraise their thinking about gays and the law was taken off the books. You go Glen Coco!
So, I’d like to take this moment to pull out some of our favorite homosexy Oprah episodes and share with all of you. Most of her theme episodes (with non-celebrity, regular gay commonfolk) aren’t on the internets but they are definitely some of the more memorable shows. Girl, I KNOW you remember watching Wives Confess They Are Gay (featuring a pre-Real L Word Nikki Weiss) after school that day.
+ A Secret Sex World: Living on the Down Low
+ Can You Pray Away Being Gay?
+ Ask Deepak: How to Accept Your Sexuality
+ Accepting Gay Children
+ The Dina McGreevey Interview
+ Free from Life on the Down Low
+ Ted Haggard Talks
+ Chely Wright Comes Out
+ Rosie O’Donnell on Life, Love and Family
+ Why Women Are Leaving Men for Other Women
+ Transgender Families
+ Gender Identity
+ Comedian Carol Leifer’s Midlife Surprise
+ New Faces of HIV/AIDS
+ Same-Sex Parents
Autostraddle’s Fave Homosexy Oprah Episodes
(that we could find on YouTube)
Ellen’s Coming Out Interview, May 1997
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Ellen & Portia’s First Joint Interview, Nov 2009
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Ricky Martin Comes Out, Nov 2010
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Melissa Etheridge & Tammy Lynn, Fall 2003
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Adam Lambert, Jan 2010
So, what’s your favorite gay Oprah show?
The Ballad of Melissa Etheridge & Tammy Lynn Marches On
We generally stay away from gossip here, but this is The ETH we’re talking about here and look — there is some seriously crazy shit going down with Melissa Etheridge and Tammy Lynn Michaels.
First, let’s backtrack. News of Tammy & Melissa’s break up hit the web back in April — we can thank Melissa for that.
Over the next two months, Tammy occasionally ripped open her heart and let the feelings pour freely on her blog, hollywood farmgirl, often scolding Melissa for leaving Tammy & the 5 year-old twins pretty much broke-ass broke.
Now, the dyke drama has taken a new turn: People Magazine says Melissa is in a committed relationship with a new woman, OK. But here’s the thing: the woman is Nurse Jackie writer/producer, Linda Wallem, aka Melissa Etheridge’s best friend of seven years. Right. So she’s been around like all this time. In fact, Wallem acted as her “best man” at their 2003 wedding.
Let’s pause for a WTF and some hollywood farmgirl processing of this news:
i moved out november 23rd 2009
she said it would help
i was convinced it would
too and i trusted there was
no one else
i didn’t know
there was someone moving in
as i was moving out
three weeks later a box of new toys
was delivered and her assistant brought
it to my rental house as a mistake
i opened it and that’s when i felt something was up
i called her
“i have your new dicks on my kitchen counter?”
one thing by one thing
i slowly felt things were not
as they were being represented
one never even said one was breaking up with me
one only says things in song and string
and then i listened to the album
and i understood
oh you don’t want to work it out
oh you already have someone in the wings
oh you already have pined for another
oh you are done here
oh i have become another one of your exes
oh i have become an album many albums
starting with lucky which is why you can’t find that tattoo on my body anymore
Linda Wallem (right) with Nurse Jackie star, Edie Falco
Tammy goes on to vent over People’s “scoop” of Melissa and Linda as a “new couple” since according to Tammy, the relationship has been going on for nearly a year.
but i have had some time to let it digest, rip my stomach apart,
digest some more, and i think i’m in a better spot now.
sometimes reality takes a moment to settle in. you know, like if
you were standing in the pitch black, and suddenly you threw
on some intense 1500W bulbs around you?? you’d need to quint
and adjust and maybe be blind for a minute? okay. maybe vomit up
your stomach until you have a brand new lining, but hey, who
doesn’t do that when their world turns upside down? :-)
so. you know. people magazine tries to get things right. they try to
clean things up for the famous folk- their sources are usually the publicist
for the celebrity. i’m here to clarify. well… i want to clarify without
dealing with getting sued for SLANDER (and paying someone), which would include
me saying that the two were involved while I was living there (it is still my house, by the way).
and i haven’t gone just that far yet.
since april of 09? mmm…. one of my little sweet peas told me otherwise much
earlier than that, Pooper magazine.they should have shut the bedroom door.
So what did we learn? In a nutshell, this relationship has been going on for nearly a year and Tammy was blindsided when her assistant accidentally delivered Melissa’s new dildos to Tammy’s rental house…. really Papi?
Weirdly enough, she later goes on to actually praise Nurse Jackie in general, specifically Linda’s writing/producing partner, Liz Brixus — who just so happens to also be Linda Wallem’s ex.
While Tammy suggests that Melissa was seeing Linda Wallem behind her back, she also adds that she has since “found someone myself” and “most importantly to me: the kids are alright.”
Speaking of the kids, Wallem apparently ‘lives vicariously’ through Melissa and Tammy’s family — “I have to say, I live vicariously through them because I don’t have kids, and they are the most amazing mothers, the most amazing family I know. The kids are just so loved and so magical. I always tease Melissa, ‘You know, you have four kids now!’ and she says, ‘I know! I don’t know how this happened!’ She’s like the sister I never had.”
That quote actually doesn’t make sense but hell, what does.
FYI, there’s been an Etheridge / Nurse Jackie connection for a while now as her song “Nervous” played throughout the second season finale of the [f*ing amazing] Edie Falco series.
Riese’s Special Comment:
Hi. As a the Very Important Editor in Chief, I was just reading this article so that I could press the “publish” button and I had so many feelings that now I am writing them right here. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE. Seriously. Breakups are PRIVATE. I used to think “dyke drama” was an unfair stereotype, but g-ddamn if there wasn’t one thing I learned in 2010…
+
+
+
… it’s that heartbreak makes grown women act like fucking asshats, even if they’re public figures. It doesn’t have to, though — some people are totally able to breakup without any public displays of overblown emotion. Nothing is ever accomplished by sharing the private, painful details of a dissolved relationship with the proletariats, whether that be magazine readers or facebook friends. Aren’t you glad we AREN’T in high school anymore and don’t HAVE to tell everybody everything? Relationships are complicated things and nobody knows what goes on really besides the two people involved. In conclusion, I’m on Team Tammy. WTF Eth. WTF. Okay back to Jess.
Ok
+
So, how do you feel about all of this? Are you busy deleting the Breakdown album off your iPod in disgust? Are you Team Tammy? Is Team Etheridge even an option at this point?
Jane Lynch Hosts SNL, Real L Word’s Nikki & Jill Finally Marry
THE LYNCH CAN DO NO WRONG:
Jane Lynch hosted SNL this weekend where she sang a new Glee theme song, seduced Andy Samberg and played Suze Orman’s former “roommate.” The Lynch fit right in with the SNL crew, confident as ever – with her improv skills to fall back on.
The monologue:
As Suze’s former roommate on The Suze Orman Show:
THE REAL L WORD:
Big news!! Nikki & Jill finally GOT MARRIED Saturday night. The wedding happened. Dunzo.
The deets: It was a private Jewish ceremony in Malibu attended by most of the RLW cast minus Mikey. Jill’s mother and father gave her away and Nikki was given away by her mother. The brides wore gowns and dresses by UK designer David Fielden and Winnie Couture, cause they’re fancy like that. Nikki is now a full fledged law firm, taking Jill’s last name: Nikki Weiss-Goldstein. Mazel Tov! (@advocate)
JARED LETO:
A hot girl with amazing make-up skills transforms herself into Jared Leto.
GLEE:
Glee is doing Rocky Horror! The episode airs October 26th for Halloween and Chris Colfer is psyched:
“Riff Raff is the best character, and everyone was amazed at how incredible the makeup was,” says Colfer. “I was mistaken for a blonde woman a couple times. All I kept thinking was, ‘You did this to yourself, Chris.'”
Here’s what we know, casting-wise:
Kurt as Riff Raff
Rachel as Janet Weiss
Finn as Brad Majors
Mercedes as Dr. Frank-N-Furter
Quinn & Santana as Magestic
(@ontd)
MELISSA ETHERIDGE / TAMMY LYNN MICHAELS:
And so it goes. Tammy, Melissa’s former partner and mother of her twins, has blogged again explaining how her financial situation has left her and her children hungry and depressed after the break up earlier this year. Toward the end of the post she comments that chemotherapy changes brain chemistry and people rarely emerge the same after going through it.
“pays all the bills”
not entirely true
“pays all the bills she chooses to pay”
“pays all the bills her people thinks
are important enough to pay”
is more accurate
when i went to get cash
just last week
for the three of us to eat
nothing
today i was shopping for birthday decor
4th next sunday!
little cash for lunch?
nope- not enough funds
no food
someone told me that chemotherapy just messes with a brain chemistry, changes the brain, the person, and makes them just in general different. they might b meaner, or illogical, often imbalanced, or whatever. but they just don’t come out the same. hardly ever, i am told. and they can’t help it. it just is.
and i think about that alot too.
(@hollywoodfarmgirl)
Panic! On the Lawn: What Happened With Lilith Fair 2010?
LILITH FAIR / KELLY CLARKSON:
What went wrong with Lilith Fair this summer? Everyone I know has been ecstatic for the return of The Mothership, Miss Sarah McLachlan, back with her first album in 7 years, and finally relaunching the summer music festival that celebrates the power of women in rock. Maybe it’s the high ticket prices, maybe it’s the lineup of artists, or maybe it’s hard to re-create the pure artistry that happened from 1997-1999 when we’re now living in a Ke$ha world. The original tour featured singer-songwriters, girls with guitars and pianos including Sheryl Crow, Fiona Apple, Jewel, the Indigo Girls and Tracy Chapman. Subsequent years added bands like then-newcomers The Murmurs and Tegan & Sara into the mix.
The 2010 version features many of the same originals with a few big pop production names thrown in like Rihanna and Kelly Clarkson. But then a bunch of dates got canceled:
“We are in the midst of one of the most challenging summer concert seasons with many tours being cancelled outright,” says Lilith co-founder Terry McBride. “Everyone involved with the tour would like to apologize to the fans and artists scheduled to play in these markets, and express appreciation for all the support for the festival’s return. Lilith remains the only tour of its kind, and we are confident that fans will be amazed by what each date has to offer.”
They’ve been forced to cancel 13 shows (Salt Lake City, 7/12; Montreal, 7/23; Raleigh, 8/4; Charlotte, 8/6; West Palm Beach, 8/10; Tampa, 8/11; Birmingham, 8/12; Austin, 8/14; Houston, 8/15; and Dallas, 8/16) on the original 35-date schedule. So what’s going on? Everything looks good on these videos! That being said, omg Houston in August? Someone was gonna die of heatstroke, maybe it’s better this way.
.
Kelly Clarkson writes on her blog:
“With the news of canceled Lilith dates and my current progress in the studio, we’ve made the decision not to tour this summer. I’m going to miss seeing y’all, but I hope that when you hear what we’ve been working on, you’ll be as excited as I am. I’ve been working with some amazing people and am stoked about this next album!”
On the other side of it all, you can check out their beautiful photostream on flickr and wish they were still coming to your city. It looks like fun!
So what went wrong this summer with Lilith Fair? What is keeping you from checking out the show in your city?
GLEE:
To the surprise of no one, everyone who’s ever stepped foot on the Glee set got an Emmy nomination this morning including our very own Jane Lynch! Who do ya think has the best shot of winning an Emmy for Glee?
Lea Michele (Actress in a Comedy)
Matthew Morrison (Actor in a Comedy)
Chris Colfer (Supporting Actor in a Comedy)
Jane Lynch (Supporting Actress in a Comedy)
Kristin Chenoweth (Guest Actress in a Comedy)
Neil Patrick Harris (Guest Actor in a Comedy)
Mike O’Malley (Guest Actor in a Comedy)
(@latimes)
MELISSA ETHERIDGE / TAMMY LYNN MICHAELS:
Our hearts really went out to these two, and we hoped that they would work this out privately, but that doesn’t appear to be happening. Tammy has written two reactionary blog posts after Melissa filed for divorce last weekend. She also describes, in detail, conversations she had with Melissa in 2001, where they discussed Tammy giving up her career to stay home with Melissa’s two children from her prior relationship with Julie Cypher.
“I was always the house wife after that. The only thing i hated about it was not bringing in money- i have made my own money since i started babysitting at 10, and having a newspaper route at 11. having no steady paycheck killed me for those years with her. and now it’s really killing me.”
Now court documents reveal Etheridge is seeking joint custody of their children and asked the court not to award financial support to Michaels.
They appeared together as recently as last summer in an episode of Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List, where they invited the cameras into their home to make cookies and prep Kathy for her big gay rights speech.
.
SCISSOR SISTERS:
Jake Shears, Ana Matronic and the crew are back on the road later this summer in support of their brand new album, Night Work.
ADAM LAMBERT:
Check out outtakes from Glambert’s album cover shoot.
LINDSAY LOHAN:
Warning: this is really depressing! The complete guide to Lindsay Lohan‘s incarceration. (@gawker)
JOHNNY WEIR:
Johnny Weir talks to Out about officially coming out when his book is released in January.
“I’ve always been comfortable with who I am. When it comes to my sexuality, I just finished the chapter in my book about my sexuality and my idea of it. I haven’t discussed it — not because I’m ashamed of anything you’ll read about when my book comes out — I just don’t want to put it out there in a way where someone can twist my words. While I don’t believe in masculinity and femininity, I don’t believe in a purely gay person or a purely straight person. I have a very clear opinion of my own sexuality. I’m not saying anything about my sexuality because I want it to be out there in my own words.”
(@out)
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT:
This really annoying USA Today article on The Kids Are All Right focuses entirely on the romance between Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo, completely ignoring the fact that the movie is centered on the relationship between Moore’s character with Annette Benning.
Melissa Etheridge & Tammy Lynn Michaels Split; It Only Hurts When I Breathe
MELISSA ETHERIDGE & TAMMY LYNN MICHAELS:
Oh, no. “Melissa and Tammy Etheridge are saddened to announce that they are now separated,” according to People. Melissa and Tammy were married in 2003, Melissa was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004 and Tammy gave birth to their twins – son Miller and daughter Johnnie Rose – in 2006. Previously Melissa had been in a high-profile relationship with Julie Cypher.
Tammy writes regularly in her blog, Hollywood Farm Girl, and has apparently been making veiled references to the break up since January. Our intrepid reader, Eve, actually saved these blog posts and sent them to us:
From January 20th:
“when i think of how you know me”
that’s what i thought she wailed
isn’t that what the speakers rang
but the winds blow
and she whispered low
oh honey sometimes things change
February 2nd:
a few things i figured on out
people treat you the way you treat yourself
so if you are the type to put the oxygen mask on someone else, before yourself
they won’t put the mask on you, they’ll take care of themselves first, taking their cue
from you and your prior actions
if you give and give and give and take care of someone
until plenty spill-eth over-th
then why should your partner give any more?
you’ve given enough for both?”
They appeared together as recently as last summer in an episode of Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List, where they invited the cameras into their home to make cookies and prep Kathy for her big gay rights speech.
They had been together nearly 9 years. First Rosie & Kelli, now this! Ellen & Portia, the pressure is on!
Melissa Etheridge‘s new album, Fearless Love, will be released on April 27 so it’s likely that they chose this time to make the announcement before she starts the promotional tour.
Tammy Lynn Michaels appeared as Shane’s stalker, Lacy, in the first two episodes of The L Word but is most known for her role in Popular, Glee creator Ryan Murphy’s first show, which featured Tammy doing an eerily similar Sue Sylvester “Vogue” video remake:
Also, Tammy Lynn is slated to star in the greatest Executive Lesbian Realness movie not yet purchased by a studio, produced, or filmed, Nicest Thing (starring Julie Goldman & Brandy Howard).
If you’ve gotten this far, you might be asking yourself — [why] do I care? Does it matter? Is it any of our business? Well — maybe. Maybe not.
Musicians, like poets, are special — we know more about Melissa Etheridge’s feelings than we do our own girlfriends’ sometimes. Singer-songwriters sort of open a window, SO TO SPEAK, and let us right on in, for better or for worse. Lesbian folk-rock, in particular, is incredibly personal.
And for many women, Melissa Etheridge’s feelings have always felt particularly near & dear. The Eth is almost pure emotion; gravely & raw and tethered to her guitar like a treehouse, earthy and unabashedly female and gawd just so fucking hungry, you know?
In 1996, Elizabeth Wurtzel wrote of Melissa Etheridge’s ‘Like the Way I Do’: “… to yell this loud — and, no less, to do it inside the macho confines of a rock ‘n’ roll echo chamber — about a love that dare not speak its name is by definition to set your spirit free. Perhaps the joyfulness that I feel seething, overbrimming, from so much lesbian music, even when its at its most heartbreaking, has to do with the simple fact that just to have the courage to find a voice to sing within the context of societally censored desires means that anything you say, no matter how depressing the thought, will never ever come across completely dispirited.”
So that’s one reason why you might care — you might feel like you know her. But also; there’s this thing people do with celebrity breakups that often mystifies us. These questions & answers were raised quite eloquently last month by Irin of Jezebel in “Why Does The Winslet-Mendes Split Make Me So Sad?. Indeed — why? I still am not sure who Sam Mendes is, or really anything about that relationship including that it ever existed. But maybe Eth-Tammy is to you what Winslet-Mendes is to Irin.
Human beings look to other human beings for hints on how their own lives might turn out; that’s why we read books and watch TV and keep tabs with old friends on facebook and cry during romantic comedies.
“We can never know what to want,” Milan Kundera writes in The Unbearable Lightness of Being. “because, living only one life, we can neither compare it with our previous lives nor perfect it in our lives to come… we live everything as it comes, without warning, like an actor going on cold.” It’s that terror, perhaps, that endears us to observe and compare our lives to the lives of others (rather than to our untouchable past lives) in search of a cue, or a line, or at long last; a curtain call.