December 19, 2003 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE 11

on the airoff the press

Court battle opened Rosie's eyes to the marriage issue

by John Graves

Rosie O'Donnell's contentious legal battle with the publishers of her now defunct magazine has changed the recently out lesbian comic's views on same-sex marriage, according to a report on 365gay.com.

"I have a partner, a wife, which is strange word for me to use," O'Donnell told the audience of Michelangelo Signorile's December 11 show on Sirius Satellite Radio's gay and lesbian talk channel. "I never really used it until I got sued, and you want to know why? If you are a heterosexual talk show host and you're sued by a major corporation, anything you have said to your husband is privileged information. But if you are a homosexual talk show host and you're sued by a corporation, anything you have ever said or written to your spouse, partner, or wife is allowed to be entered into the record. It is totally unfair."

"Never in my wildest dreams-if you said to me you're going to become an advocate for gay marriage, I'd say you're on crack."

When Signorile asked O'Donnell about what made her become more involved in the LGBT community, O'Donnell said, "Kelli and I went to P-town for the first time after the show ended. And I was amazed at the place, because I didn't expect the feeling of community or family that was there. I was stunned. I was overwhelmed, literally. It's a little gay enclave on the ocean. And the feeling is love and peacefulness and acceptance. I got this feeling of community from the gay community that I'd hadn't really felt ever, because I really didn't get to do what normal people do when they come out. . I feel like I missed something in that way. I do think that my pleasure in being involved in the gay community now is, it's huge."

Queer Eye's empire expands

Queer Eye for the Straight Guy fashion expert Carson Kressley debuted his new column in the December 15 issue of Us with an interview with Cher.

When the fashion maven noted how the pop diva was so "in sync with gay men," she told Kressley, "It's been that way since I was 12 years old. I have a great sense of humor, and I think gay men have a great sense of humor."

Cher explained, “I also think gay men feel that they are on the fringe of life, and I've always been kind of a loner or a fringe person too. I was never really part of any group. I'm a singer. But I'm not thought of as a singer; I'm an actress, but people don't think of me as an actress."

Asked why she thought her reaction to her daughter Chastity's coming-out as a lesbian was so "un-Cher-like," Cher told Kressley, "It was stupid because all of my friends are gay. But I had such a fear for her. I thought, 'Oh my God, this is going to be so hard for you because you happen to be my daughter.'

Carson Kressley

"But," Cher added, "she took it and made it work for her."

Kressley was also featured in People magazine's "Quote of the Week" for December 15: "You know that Barbie you put makeup and curlers on? I wanted one so badly from age 4 on. Finally, when I was 9, my mom gave in and got it for me. That was a holiday to remember."

Barbara Walters chose Carson and his Queer Eye cohorts for her year-end special, The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2003, which aired on ABC Wednesday, December 17.

Although Queer Eye has been a tremendous hit in the U.S., an attempt to create a British version of the show has run into problems according to a report in a British newspaper, The Guardian. The British cable channel Living TV, which currently airs the U.S. version, and the production company Time lost up to £500,000 after they stopped production of their home-grown version.

A network spokesperson for Living TV said, "We halted production due to a translation of the format. We wanted to try to get a balance between the American format and the British attitude. It is quite a challenging cultural translation."

Another company, Via Digital, will produce the show, to be aired sometime in April instead of its originally scheduled debut in January.

Queen on King

Larry King talked to another pop diva, Bette Midler, about her huge gay following and her views on gay marriage when she appeared on his CNN show November 26.

Midler told King she thinks she was the first person to really talk about gay life on national television when she appeared on the old Johnny Carson late-night talk show and

told about how she got her start singing in New York's Continental Baths.

"I was working in the theater for $200 a week, and I was so poor," Midler told King. "And when this man who owned a bathhouse called me up and said, 'I'll give you $300 a night,' I said, 'You'll give me what? I mean,

I was so stunned that there was this kind of money in the world. And when he said, 'It's a gay bathhouse, is that a problem for you?' And I had no idea what he was talking about, so I said no. 'No, that's no problem! Where do I go?'

"So I went on Johnny Carson. He asked me what I was doing, and I said, I work in a bathhouse. I sing in a bathhouse. And I think people were stunned, and I think gay people were they sat up and said, Oh, my God. Someone is telling our tale."

Like Cher told Carson Kressley, Midler told King she felt she found the same things that were funny to her were the same things gay men found amusing and said, "I really wanted to be funny. I loved to be funny and I loved to be amusing, and I was very-I wasI think I just have a queer eye.”

"I mean, since they have that show now, now I can say, 'Oh, yes, I have a queer eye, too.' I just think what's funny--what they think is funny, I think is funny," she continued.

Asked about whether or not gay people should be allowed to be married, Midler told King, "I'm a really big believer in all the civil rights that everyone else has. I believe in gay people sharing the civil rights. I believe that they're entitled to them. I believe they're entitled to the insurances. I believe they're entitled to all those things... My feeling is, Well, who's it really going to hurt? But then, if you're a religious person, you're get all knocked out because of the things that... It's a real dilemma, but I think it's a dilemma to a lot of people. I don't think it really hurts anybody."

Midler probably raised some eyebrows when she added that many of the gay men she knew were fairly promiscuous, and she wasn't sure how well they would be able to make a commitment. She did, however, play into the old joke: What does a lesbian bring on a second date? A U-Haul.

Rape backlash's backlash

Soap Opera Weekly columnist Mimi Torchin says she got some negative feedback over her November 25 column criticizing head writer Megan McTavish's handling of the rape and the ongoing lesbian storyline on All My Children.

In her December 9 column, Torchin says fans insist Bianca's rape was handled with sensitivity and that its portrayal by a major character helped many women who have gone through the experience themselves.

In her response, Torchin says, "I'm not sure that running a PSA at the end of a few episodes saying, 'Don't do what Bianca did'

and including a rape hotline number necessarily makes this a 'message' story, but if even one woman felt less alone or learned what not to do after a rape because of Bianca's ordeal, that's a positive result."

Meanwhile, Bianca has re-connected with Lena and told her about the baby, generating what seems to be a bit of jealousy in Maggie. Is there a romantic triangle developing between Bianca, Lena and Maggie? Could it be that Maggie is not as straight as she previously declared? Tune in to All My Children on ABC weekdays at 1 pm and find out. Cable's Soapnet channel, which re-airs same day episodes of All My Children at 8 pm, now re-airs all five of the previous week's episodes at a new time, Sundays starting at 1 pm. Ellen's talk show is renewed

NBC has renewed The Ellen DeGeneres Show for a second season on the 14 stations owned and operated by the network.

Jay Ireland, president of NBC Television Stations told Daily Variety that the show has been a "terrific addition to our lineup, and we are thrilled to have her back for another season. The series is not only bringing more viewers to our stations, but has great demographics."

My little runaway

A few weeks ago, Boston Public aired a show about a young teen who clung to a teacher and his family because he was living on the street after his father beat him for being gay.

The teacher mistakenly called the boy's parents, thinking they would understand if he explained to them about the pain their son was feeling. The plan backfired and, at the end of the show, the despondent teen called the teacher in the middle of the night and told him he was beaten by his father. Then he walked off into the night, leaving the pay phone dangling in the rain.

The story did not end there, however, as the teacher, guilt-ridden by what had happened, continued to search for the teen over the next few weeks. Last week, the boy's mother showed up at the teacher's door saying she had left her husband and wanted him to help her find her son again. The two printed flyers and searched the runaway shelters until they finally found the young man in a tearful reunion that showed the mother and son promising to make it on their own.

Bravo to Boston Public and the Noggin channel's Degrassi: The Next Generation for their continuing storylines about LGBT children, something that would not have been dared a few years ago.

John Graves is the producer and host of Gaywaves, a lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender public affairs show on Cleveland's WRUW 91.1 FM Saturdays at 9 am, and at www.wruw.org.

Dr. Eric B. Baud, M.D.

Procedures Provided: Botox Skin Rejuvenation Tumescent Liposuction Laser Tattoo Removal Peels, Laser Resurfacing •Collagen Replacement Therapy

(216) 382-3806 1611 S. Green Rd. SOUTH EUCLID

Now Laser Hair Removal at Our Westlake Office!

2001 Crocker Rd., #500 Westlake, Ohio 44145 (440) 617-1522

Facial & Leg Spider Vein Therapy

•Microdermabrasion ⚫Laser Hair Removal

•Cosmetic Removal of Moles, Warts Skin Cancer (Moh's) Surgery

Occupational Dermatology Phototherapy for Psoriasis

•Patch Testing

•ThermaCool TC

University Dermatologists, Inc.

(440) 442-1200 5850 Landerbrook Dr. MAYFIELD HEIGHTS

(330) 665-0555 3600 W. Market St.

AKRON

Physicians: Melissa D. Babcock, M.D. Eric B. Baud, M.D. Cecelia L. Hamilton, M.D. Amy H. Kassouf, M.D. William V. Krug, M.D. Barry C. Lamkin, M.D.

(440) 543-5561 17747 Chillicothe Rd. BAINBRIDGE

Dr. Melissa D. Babcock, M.D.

William S. Lynch, M.D. Jennifer L. Popovsky, M.D. Kirsten M. Trotter, M.D. Lauren S. Whalen, M.D.

Janet S. Wieselthier, M.D.

M. Tarif Zaim, M.D.

(440) 266-5500 9485 Mentor Ave. MENTOR