Now, it may not have been the best kept secret in the world of entertainment but R.E.M front-man and long time legend Michael Stipe has spoken out about coming out. Although the star described himself as a ‘queer artist’ in an interview with Time magazine in 2001 he has recently spoken about his sexuality and explained why he thinks that it’s important to open up. Stipe told Spin magazine of the restrictions he had earlier on in his career: “It was super complicated for me in the '80s. I was totally open with the band and my family and my friends and certainly the people I was sleeping with. I thought it was pretty obvious.”. However, now Michael believes that it’s important for celebrities to be more open about their preferences as it may help someone who's struggling coming to terms with their feelings: "Now I recognise that for public figures to be very open about their sexuality helps some kid somewhere," he said.
R.E.M are set to release Accelerate their fourteenth studio album in Europe on March 31st 2008 .

Source MTV

Logo TV & GLSEN release a Public Service Announcement in memory of Lawrence King, the 15-year old gay boy murdered at his high school on February 12th. The PSA features community activist, writer and actress Calpernia Addams (who appears in Logo’s Transamerican Love Story), Andre 3000 (of OutKast), R&B artist Ashanti, singer/songwriter Sarah Bareilles, actress Portia de Rossi (Arrested Development, Nip/Tuck), international performer Estelle, singer/actress Janet Jackson, actor T.R. Knight (Grey’s Anatomy), R&B artist Little Sister, actor Darryl Stephens (Logo’s Noah’s Arc) and singer/songwriter Taylor Swift. "One more murder, one more life lost, one more attempt to provoke fear and one more reason hate crimes must end. We hope this PSA will help inspire more people to join the fight against hate crimes," said Brian Graden, President, MTV Networks Music Group Entertainment; and President, Logo. Graden added that the 60 second PSA will be made available to Logo’s sister brands across MTV Networks as well as other networks that wish to air it. Watch the video...



Source Logo, GLSEN & 365Gay.com

At this year's MTV Movie Awards, Sacha Baron Cohen won a pair of Awards, one for best Comedic Performance and one with Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby co-star Will Ferrell for Best Kiss. Watch how they received the Award...


Source MTV

Davis, the gay contestant who stars in The Real World Denver (see all posts about davis) has been cast to be part of the Good Guys Team in MTV's Real World / Road Rules Challenge: Inferno 3. Unfortunately, CT, one of the Bad Ass Team, punched him in the eye for no reason.



Here's what Davis says about it:
"The night was winding down, and I was sitting by the pool with Abram, when I, too, experienced the wrath of this drunken lunatic, CT. He walked up to me out of the blue and asked if I could "take a punch?" This was the first time we'd even communicated since I'd been here. I thought that it would be a light, friendly punch somewhere in my chest, or shoulder, to which I'd be given the opportunity to reciprocate the friendly gesture, and so I said… "Yeah." Bad Idea. Next CT says, "You're the gay guy aren't you?" Understand that this was before a single episode of the Real World Denver had aired, none of these "alumni" cast members really knew much about myself or any of my Denver roommates. So it was no surprise that Abram was somewhat shocked when I told CT I was in fact gay. Abram questions me, "You're gay?" It was then as I turned to Abram to say yes, but before I could say anything, CT punched me right in the face harder than I've ever been hit in my entire life. I didn't know what to do, I couldn't even think clearly. My gut reaction was to hit him back but I didn't want to get in a fight with this maniac seeing as how I was completely sober and he was clearly out of his mind. I walked to my bathroom to check my face out and to try and cool down. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why this had happened. I expected my first challenge to be tough, and to be picked on by the veteran players, but never in my entire life would I have thought this would have happened especially from the guy who everyone seems to think might in fact be gay. Well under the rules of the house, CT was kicked off the show. I had one hell of a black eye for two weeks, but knowing that CT spent more time on the plane than in Africa seemed satisfactory retribution."
Watch Inferno 3 trailer...



Real World / Road Rules Challenge: Inferno 3 tonight at 10 pm on MTV.

Source Inferno 3 Blog

Watch this MTV's Staying Alive fetishist ad for condoms saying Whatever you're into, Make sure it includes a condom...

If you missed last week episode, watch Davis' boyfriend P.J. visiting...

Beautiful Thing on logo tonight at 8 pm
In this coming-of-age drama, a pair of teenage boys growing up in a working-class neighborhood become aware of their homosexuality. One of the best gay movies ever. Watch a kiss scene...

Beautiful Thing, starring Glen Berry, Scott Neal, Tameka Empson, Linda Henry, Ben Daniels. Directed by Hettie MacDonald. Available on DVD.

The Object of My Affection on HBO2 tonight 9:30 pm
She's pregnant and straight; he's single, but gay! Moving in together, their friendship soon leads them to a strange reality: they might be falling in love. Watch a short clip...

The Object of My Affection, starring Jennifer Aniston, Paul Rudd, Nigel Hawthorne. Directed by Nicholas Hytner. Available on DVD.

The Real World: Denver on MTV tonight at 10 pm
Because of his friendship with Davis, Stephen reexamines his anti-gay stance. Meanwhile, Davis' boyfriend P.J. comes to visit and Stephen feels uncomfortable when they start having sex. Watch a trailer...

J. Davis Mallory, aka Davis, a Georgia boy from a conservative Christian background is this season’s gay guy in The Real World: Denver on MTV. He gave a long interview to AfterElton.com about him being gay:
"Growing up as a kid, I always liked having attention from girls... Thinking that if I found the perfect girl, perfect body, perfect face, perfect personality, that that girl would be enough for me — that I would never desire a man. And [then] just a year ago, I had my first boyfriend, and felt that I fell in love for the first time. And no woman had ever been able to do that, and that was what I’d been missing that whole time."



"I remember when I was thinking that I might be gay, I was experimenting, and my actions with guys kind of would repulse me afterwards. I would meet a guy, and we would go on a date, and I’d be like, “I don’t like this guy; he isn’t anything like me.” … I just was never finding anything. And also I was wondering: Could I ever have a healthy relationship with a man?
I mean, I know I have this sexual thing going on in my head, but could it actually evolve into a relationship that is functioning? And when I finally met my boyfriend, he was just a lot like me. We had the same interests, the same personality, and this relationship that I have with him is just beautiful. It’s the type of relationship that [I always] envisioned one day as a kid with another man. It really made me think that being gay is a beautiful thing. It made me really happy with being gay — I wasn’t ashamed of it anymore."

Source AfterElton.com

MTV Networks and Orbitz.com were honored for “inclusive excellence in portrayals of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals” in their promotional advertising during the Commercial Closet Association's Second Annual Corporate Visionary Honors event, held Nov. 20 at The New York Times’ historic, 93-year-old building.
"We applaud MTV Networks and Orbitz.com for their ground-breaking and long-standing commitments to inclusiveness and portrayals of LGBT individuals in advertising—they provide an important model for corporate advertisers," Michael Wilke, founding executive director of Commercial Closet Association, said in a release.
Cyndi Lauper presented the honors for LGBT inclusive advertising to Lisa Sherman, Senior Vice President and General Manager of MTV Networks' LOGO, and Randy Susan Wagner, Chief Marketing Officer, Orbitz Worldwide, a division of Travelport, Inc. Source 247 Gay

Watch MTV's Ad against discrimination with two cute gay skateboarders:

According to the Massachusetts non-profit organization TeenAIDS-PeerCorps, two US teens get HIV every hour, and half of all newly-diagnosed HIV positive people in the world are 12 to 24. Furthermore, the CDC reports that nearly half of all high school students are sexually active, and a portion has had four or more partners. As a result of the teen AIDS/HIV problem, the U.S. Center for Disease Control has issued a new recommendation that all US teens be tested for HIV on a consistent basis. And on December 1st (World AIDS Day) and December 2nd, young volunteers from over 50 countries will band together in an effort to educate their peers about HIV/AIDS prevention.
MTV International will be promoting the event through their "Staying Alive" campaign. MTV’s Staying Alive are launching Vlogit, a multi platform, interactive competition that asks you to get in front of a camera and talk candidly about HIV and AIDS.

Source Edge Boston