Even by soap opera standards, everything about Beau Breedlove is implausible, starting with the name. His affair with Portland Mayor Sam Adams quickly embroiled the first openly gay mayor of a city the size of Portland in scandal, accusations of underage sex (which he denies), eye-brow raising political hiring that looked like they were buy-off’s, calls for his resignation and an investigation by the state’s Attorney General’s office– not too mention a recall effort. Beau, who Adams met while he was still 17 and who maintains that he and Adams only had sexual relations after he became an adult, started off with an “Aww, shucks, I just want to live a private life” routine, but as we all know, quickly scooped up an offer to pose naked in Unzipped, a gay porn magazine owned by Regent Media, owners of The Advocate and Out.
Forget for a moment that Breedlove is an obvious opportunist looking to cash in on his fifteen minutes of fame. In fact, more power to him. The shockingly irresponsibility belongs to Unzipped and parent company Regent Media, who, like Sam Adams, show they’re willing to drop their ethics if Breedlove drops his trousers.
Oh sure, Unzipped is a porn magazine and as thousands of Playboy covers attest to, tossing a scandal-soaked naked body on the cover of your rag sells copies. This isn’t your average everyday porn magazine, however. It’s part of the Regent Media gay empire, which supposedly gives a shit about the gay political movement. In fact, just this week, Stephen Macias, Executive Vice President of Regent Media, angrily defended his company on this very site in the comments section on our article about the future of gay media, arguing that The Advocate “cared deeply about our community having a voice” and that this ethos extended to all its brands, saying:
“Regent Media takes the responsibility of continuing that tradition very seriously as well as the responsibility of providing a progressive, secure workplace for its hundreds of employees and thousands of freelance journalists, contractors, and artists. While we strive for perfection every day, we are under no illusion that we are perfect. We try every day to do a better job at what we do and eagerly look for constructive criticism to make our brands better.”
Cue our impersonation of Seth Myers saying, “Really?” over and over again. So, Regent believes the best place for a now 21-year-old who single-handedly brought down what is arguable America’s most prominent– and certainly most powerful — gay politicians is posing naked on the pages of Unzipped? This is responsible?
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Don’t think for a second that this is a defense of Sam Adams, whose lying and indiscretion brought his self-inflicted damage on him, but in a very real way, Regent is doing the same thing. If Regent really cares about “our community having a voice”, what message is it sending by telling Breedlove’s story in the context of a jerk-off mag? Breedlove’s a willing participant in the act, but rather than talk about Breedlove and Adams in a serious context, Regent’s message is that political sex scandals are for whacking off to.
And so, you have The Advocate writing breathless advertorial for it’s sister porn magazine, anticipating the mid-April arrival of Breedlove’s butt on newsstands and Unzipped offering up the “exclusive interview”. Something is wrong here. There’s nothing inherently wrong with being a trashy, tabloid sensationalistic media organization, but don’t pretend to be standing as a stalwart of the community while doing so. In what way does Breedlove’s porn cover make it easier for gay politicians across the country? In what was does it fight back against the accusations that the gay community is obsessed with sex– especially young sex? What way does Breedlove’s penis give “voice to the community?”
One thing we’ll give Breedlove– he has an uncanny ability to get gays– be they mayors or gay media companies– to readily abandon their self-professed ethical high-ground; all for a little flesh.
hlm
Hey, I like naked men as much as the next gay guy, but this guy is very unattractive. It’s sleazy enough for him to push himself at the expense of Adams but why should anyone want to see someone like him in the nude. He’s an anti-sex symbol.
Jeff
The more I read about Beau Breedlove the more I am coming to the conculsion that he;s not as innocent as he would like to come off and is severly damaged. I actually have done extensive research about the Adams Scandal and posted mostly everything on my own blog.
The facts are:
That Breedlove who was just shy of his 18th Birthday met Adams while he was a waiter. Breedlove was interested in going into politicis and struck up a friendship with Adams. Breedlove made the first move. And no one knows how responsible he was for for the “flirting” or “attraction” (Now truthfully what 40 yera old man isn;t going to be flattered when a hot and horny 17 year old persues him)
Breedlove and Adams shared two kisses and then slept together ONLY ONCE after Breedloves 18th Birthday and BEFORE Adams was Mayor and that was the end of it.
Breedlove went to work as a legisative intern. But nobody knows if Adams helped him get that job but there was nothing sexual or romantic going on between Adams and Breedlove at that time. For whatever reason the job did not last for Breedlove and he left the intern position.
Two years later Adams starts his run for Mayor and another Queen named Bob Ball wants to be mayor also so he starts a whisper campaign about Adams and Breedlove. Now the thing that alot of news sources didn’t report is that Breedlove had WORKED for Ball after he left his intern position. And at that point there was no relation or contact with Adams. Perhaps Beau was just being a bitchuy queen and trying to get back at Adams.
Adams was asked about the relationship and basically got scared, made a mistake and lied. He went to Breedlove and asked to to deny it. Weather it be for Adams own career or to protect Breedlove, or to confront him about his pwn place in what was happening. Adain we will never know. Bredlove did remain quiet intil after the election and then in January Breedlove talked about it after the so called “scandal” broke. And he has had interveiwa before so this is harly an “exclusive”
IMO right noiw Beau is just a sociopathic whore trying to cash in on. But I also believe he manipulated and helped alot qith what happened to Adams.
Alec
Hold up.
“There’s nothing inherently wrong with being a trashy, tabloid sensationalistic media organization, but don’t pretend to be standing as a stalwart of the community while doing so.”
Like um, the naked flesh feast posts on this blog? When mixed with serious commentary and criticism? What is that, exactly?
Chris
This topic is really conflicting for me. On the one hand I want the media to take the higher moral ground and say that we should not cannibalize ourselves for sensationalistic purposes. Why would we want to embarrass ourselves with a media frenzy around this important issue.
However, it is exactly this level of transparency we need in all forms of government. Gays and lesbians have decried the Christianists cover ups and denials, so why should we allow ourselves the same latitude.
That is why I support Japhy’s point, we need to be thinking about how can we be both honest about our community, but also treat ourselves with respect. Would it have been too much to provide an honest interview with Breedlove about the affair in Unzipped and leave the salacious boudoir photos to Play Girl?
ousslande
IN other words don’t report about anything bad or sleazey a gay politician does, the gay media should turn a blind eye. You even stated why should this porn rag be dif than playboy putting a scandal bimbo on its cover.
If Adams had kept it in his pants then we wouldn’t have to worry about this. BLame Adams for damaging gay politicos.
Tyler
@Alec: I’m afraid that I’ve got to agree with Alec, to an extent. The difference is that qweerty focuses on reportage and commentary, with the a side order of the soft-core, Unzipped is porn.
The other difference, and the one that interests me is that Beau is embroiled in this political scandal. What worries me about this post is that Japhy acknowledges the commercial drive of everyone in this circumstance (and seems okay with it). If everyone’s got a fair motivation and an audience to make money what’s the problem? It seems to me that Japhy is saying being ‘good gay media,’ means ignoring content that you normally wouldn’t. All of this to make gays look better to stupid people who will assume that one gay political sex scandal means that they were right, and we’re all lying, pedophiles.
That said, I think the real problem here is the larger problem of reportage blending with entertainment, which is perfectly fair to be pissed about, but not very gay.
Tyler
@Chris: I think we’re mostly on the same page here. Where I would disagree with you is that Regent Media is us. I mean you and me. We have more in common than either of us do with a big media conglomerate. Since when have we worried about the journalistic scruples of pornography. Or even things like US Weekly. They all cannibalize us in a similar way.
Playboy or Hustler
Have you ever perused the erotic services section of your local Craigslist, you know just to pass some time and get a few chuckles (or I-wish-I-had $200 bucks to spare *sighs*)? If you do, surely you’ve noticed that some hustlers hustle more than others. They cook up elaborate scenarios on various postings, often on the same day. At once they might be a “surfer dude,” then an indy hipster, then a college jock, and on and on. The standard bearing gay mags, both adult and mainstream, exhibit the same, shall we say, inconsistency, as they go a grasping for readership and attention in an increasingly ambivalent and complex media culture. So it is with Unzipped, as it was with Genre, and Advocate, and Out. A new look here, a lurch toward the salacious there, and pretty soon you’re all over the place. But with ownership rotating (in the case of Out, Advocate et al) three times in three years, how can one find a voice. Its like being a foster child, shunted from home to home, embraced warmly upon your arrival by new parents that suddenly turn on you or simply disappear into the dark night of their own dour financials. While I have my own doubts sometimes about their judgement, I do admire how they just keep tap-dancing with the stars — stars that seem aligned against them. The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in our shelves.
The Hare
I’m a little confused – doesn’t this site have a piece “Beef, it’s what’s for dessert?”
Yikes!
Tisk Tisk!!
Look who is calling the perverbile kettle black, with this sites sensationalized exposure of every gay person in the media, including pornography editorials, and exposé of the next drag queen winner on BRAVO.
Don’t let us gay boys be stooped for one second believing that a penis could destroy the gay establishment. Quite the opposite. The gay ‘establishment’ consist of businesses that cover the wide spectrum of gay-ness, and the opportunity of Beau to get glorification, making a few bucks from his history with the mayor by being in a jerk off mag is the underbelly of what most anyone will do at the expense of fame, as shameful as it may seem. Who are we to judge another’s action when clearly it does not effect us in any way whatsoever.
It’s quite comical that one would bash someone for exposing themselves in a magazine, yet has no quams about objectifying and sensationalizing porn stars, drag queens, and other media-attetion-grabbing devotees by posting certain gay men and women, in and out of clothes on this site.
It’s hypocritical at best to suggest it’s wrong of someone else to devulge information about a private affair, and then at the very same indignant manner espouse your contempt of them for doing such, then writing about it to further your readership.
It’s hypocracy at it’s best. Job well done Japhy Grant!
Bob
Another Japhy attack on Regent Media. Seriously, Mary, you need to get a grip and get over your Nixonian “Enemies” list.
Stop! Or My Daddy Will Shoot!
@Yikes!: Yes. Seriously Jaff, stop riding Breedlove’s ass, so the rest of us can get a turn.
Yikes!
@Stop! Or My Daddy Will Shoot!: I’m next, I’ll take sloppy seconds! ;p
Anthony in Nashville
For as long as I can recall, gay media has always blurred the lines between entertainment, news, and porn. I can think of very few media outlets (online or print) that don’t indulge in skin whether its the ads they carry, sister publications, or photo spreads.
JCAdams
I did some reporting on this back in January at my site:
http://www.gayporntimes.com/hardnews/2009/01/14/planetout-regent-merge-without-unzipped-media/
(It’s not hardcore porn, despite the name.)
A company rep told me explicitly that Unzipped Media (the porn mags and related websites) was NOT part of the newly formed Here Media. However, Here Media’s Stephen Jarchow and Paul Colichman do own Unzipped Media. But technically it is not part of the merged company. That was as of January 2009.
I don’t know why the Advocate.com story says that the “Unzipped” print mag and “Advocate” mag are owned by the same company, when their own press rep told me otherwise a couple months ago. Perhaps the writer is wrong (perhaps the story should have read, “…are owned by the same people”), perhaps something changed or they led me astray, who knows, but there you have it.
Regards,
JCA
Ken Knox
Wow. This is great. We couldn’t have asked for better press for our upcoming cover.
Thank you so much, Japhy. You’ve just helped us sell even more copies. Now don’t you feel “complicit” too?
Ken Knox
Associate Editor, Unzipped magazine
Anthony in Nashville
I was looking at the cover again. Is there still great debate about spit or swallow?
Zach Sire
First of all, no one at Queerty has read the interview, and no one at Queerty has seen the photo spread. So, it’s highly ironic that a blog post posing as journalism (rife with grammatical errors, by the way) is trying to take to task a media empire’s ethics before even reading the article or seeing the photos. Isn’t David Hauslaib supposed to be some sort of journalism expert?
More: http://siresays.blogspot.com/2009/03/when-jealousy-and-bad-journalism-lead.html
Pragmatist
I’m sorry, I just don’t see any issue at all. Unzipped is a skin mag. In my opinion, it has no obligation, moral or otherwise, to do spin control for the amorphous “community.” Rather, the magazine’s only obligation is a practical one, and that is to provide its readers something fun to look at. Breedlove’s cute and controversial; mission accomplished.
More generally, I’m disturbed by this notion that there’s some kind of hallowed-ness to the election of a GLBT person to public office. Sure, it’s nice when that happens, and I look forward to seeing more of it as society inevitably changes. But being a GLBT politician doesn’t exempt you from the ordinary rules of politics. Adams shouldn’t have been cozy with a 17 year-old — and I don’t care whether they actually had sex! It just looks improper.
The fact that one random mayor in one random city at one random point in time had to step down means nothing to the inevitable integration of GLBT people in American society. We’re talking about an avalanche of social change. An event like this just doesn’t register on that scale — it’s a side amusement.
Big Man
@Ken Knox:
so nice to see u’re willing to flaunt this trash and damage the community to ‘sell’ some magazines
BRAVO KEN
Bravo!!!!
BrianZ
What community is it that is supposedly being harmed here? Help me out. The only one that is likely to be reading Unzipped? Hmm, how many hetero’s do you think will picking that issue up, breathless to “read” it? Jesus Christ, really people? We’ve been trading cock shots since … my god how old is porn?
Some of you seem to have swallowed the talking points of the homophobes and personalized them, not to mention the sexual repression some segments of society is trying to push.
If you choose to be a prude, be a prude but don’t stand up and nancy all about “the community” because you don’t represent all of us.
As for Breedlove and Adams: Poorly handled but at the end of the day none of our damned business.
I’m not out to “conform” to some rediculous idea of what some douche might think I should be like. I just want the same legal rights to be just as fucked up as my straight counterparts are.
Mark
Gawd. I read this and had to take a shower.
The Hare
@Big Man: Nobody is forcing you to read the magazine. You clearly have some interest in the topic or you wouldn’t have clicked on the “article” and responded to Ken Knox’s post.
John in CA
If Mr. Breedlove wasn’t on the evening news after the scandal broke with tearful stories about being harassed by the evil media, this behavior would’ve provoked less of a negative response. As it stands, however, he sounds like a hypocrite and opportunist.
“The experience of the past week — including the media attention and the loss of my privacy — has been wrenching.”
Not to go all Keith Olbermann here, but it is difficult to take your “loss of privacy” seriously when you’re dropping your pants for cash, sir.
traffick
I’m going to agree with Alec, Tyler and others, this blog should try not to be so hypocritical. You can’t show hot pics of naked or semi-naked guys and then scream like the church lady, that a little bit of cock is bringing down the whole gay media industry.
When in fact this just shows that gay politicians get involved in sex scandals just like their straight counterparts. Barry Frank was involved a in scandal in the 70’s or 80’s, when he hired a prostitute.
In regards to Breelove, well he is taking advantage of what he was given. Some people would try to get away from the scandal as fast as possible. He is trying to get as much money he can from it. It’s not a good thing or a bad thing, it’s just the American Way.
And lets really get serious, it’s not like he had sex with the President, a Senator or even a Congressman. He only had sex with the Mayor of Portland. And to be honest with you, it only the gay media that is actually talking about this.
So how about we all stop too.
D.B.
I really can’t blame Regent Media, or any media company, gay or otherwise — they’re in the business of selling magazines. They will always make decisions based on the desire to attract an audience.
And more importantly, I don’t think the gay media has any special responsibility to only distribute content that reflects positively on the gay community, or to protect gay “leaders” through favorable coverage. That’s not the media’s job.
The only blame here belongs to Sam Adams — in the end, it’s his actions that have negatively impacted the gay community. Unfortunately, all in the community have to live with the fallout.
John
i see no problem with Unzipped doing what they are doing, the only people reading it is our own community…like we haven’t been in the scandal pages before? the magazine is called Unzipped, so Breedlove did just that. If you are afraid that straight policticos or whom ever will try to use this against us somehow worry not, none of them would admit they got their sources on how the gay community functions from an actual gay magazine. I personally don’t care about the story or this kid, I’m sad that another gay man who KNOWS he is under a microscope would willingly CHOOSE to go after some young kid. I’m sorry but Sam Adams obviously thinks with his dick, and where it is he can get some dick. He SHOULD NOT be in charge of anything more than a bath house or gay bar if that is what he was looking for. No sex is so good that you would screw up your career and your life for it, so again in my opinion, stupid man.
jim
@Ken Knox: Your latest editorial meeting get you all pepped up for this, Ken? Don’t count your chickens, and all that. No offense, but I don’t know anyone who even bothers to buy your magazine anymore.
Playboy or Hustler
I hate to digress, but I think that the article above actually is written in a tone of reverence for print, even though it also pushes the fact — fact — that print media is in big trouble. Which I agree is harsh in that you don’t sit with a cancer patient and talk about their “timeline,” especially if you respect the person. But the call-out that the magazine goes out of its way to play both sides of the issue is also valid. Selling magazines or selling anything else is a game, and there are rules, as old as time. What makes quality and what makes the slippery slope of salacity? Time always tells. The only pride in working for Larry Flint is ironic pride — where you know you’re in on the joke. Sexuality is a hot button because in our Protestant culture sex is still a sin on the one hand, and a secret on the other. So the question is, is our sexuality a joke? I don’t think so. Its a fact, and how we relay that fact in our cultural expressions tells us a lot about ourselves now, if we listen, and eventually, whether we’re listening or not.
Bright Idea Guys
Hey, Ken Knox: As a self appointed (though perhaps not so self esteemed) arbiter of what gay men want, I have your next cover boy for ya! John Katehis, whom the unfortunate WABC radio news host George Weber stumbled upon on Craigslist. AFter all, he is a lot “hotter” looking then Beau, right? So for your next cover: a 16-year-old knife-collecting satanist from Craigslist! That way you can wax on about your moral imperative to speak (er, lecture us) as to our sexuality…
Phoenix (Not Amused By The New Layout)
Keep it classy, Breedlove, keep it classy.
Buddy
Japhy, what the heck did Regent do to you when you worked with them to piss you off so much? You say more power to Breedlove for dropping trou, but the porn mag that gives him a platform ought to be ashamed?
Really??
Seriously man, I think you’re letting your personal issues get in the way of any pretense of objectivity.
What happened? Did someone at Regent tell you that you couldn’t write your way out of a paper bag? Forget it – just ef ’em, pick up a Strunk and White, and move on.
cruiser
Frankly I don’t see what all the hub bub is, this Breedlove character had an affair(if you will)with a somewhat prominent member of the gay community, now he is using that to further his own agenda by posing in the buff(too bad he’s not)for a skin mag, the only difference is this is a gay skin mag & not Hustler or some other straight skin rag and he’s a guy not some star struck, big dreams in her head bimbo. That is what people who end up in these situations do…they CASH IN!
By continuing to feed into this that tool of an editor(or whatever his supposed title is)is goingto be “crying” all the way to the bank, due to his circulation going up due to the “scandalous” nature of his feature “story”(read PIN-UP)in some jerk off rag!
How many other skin rags is this guy going to pose for before his 15 sec’s are up?! Let him have his 15 sec’s then move on.
Aaron
—Realistically this entire Adams / Breedlove dynamic is nothing new in either the political genre, media or our communities.
—Moreover, the transgression of underage sex is a legal matter which will and does put the responsibility squarely back upon our shoulders as a civil society to meet-out a decision of guilt or innocence / punishment OR equity for this alleged crime.
—Has it been that long ago that we heterosexual citizens and same-sex citizens alike, have forgotten about a similar situation that happened in an Eastern university wherein a coach had been having sex with under aged students? And, that same coach having the support of the college administration which whole-heartedly and willingly turned a blind-eye and deaf-ear toward the incoming and ongoing reports, and complaint, of eye-witnesses and the testimonies of those with first hand knowledge of the coach’s crimes against the boys and ultimately, citizens of their community?
—I believe the real questions that we should be asking ourselves are: Are we that desperate for equality that we would abandon our civil laws that protect under aged young men and women? And, are we that jaded with our own stereotypical ideology of what a gay, lesbian or transgendered life-style should be like that we have lost our individuality?
—And worse, our business’s, companies, organizations are now so apathetic toward these foundational laws that govern our civility that they would abandon them for their own personal agendas?
—I believe it is time to wake up to the facts that face us and become engaged by getting on the right side of the issues.