Handsome Mad Men actor Jon Hamm recently sat down with The Advocate's Brandon Voss for a little homo heart-to-heart.

In addition to discussing the requisite "man crushes" - MM writer Matt Weiner and costar John Slattery - Hamm talks advertising, his fictional character Don's forte:

BV: How would you create a Mad Men ad campaign geared specifically to the gay community?

JH: Well, it’s a very high-drama show, and it’s very stylish. Three things that the gay community responds to are attitude, sexiness, and style. We’re a prime property for a big gay following—I love it.

BV: We’re an easy sell, Jon — just show us some skin.

JH: [Laughs] I don’t know about that. I don’t know if you want me anywhere near any kind of skin thing — that’s a nightmare.

Mr. Hamm, we respectfully disagree…

The redcoats are coming! Oh, wait, that's just George Michael: the perpetually scandalized, pot loving pop star landed in the states this month for his first yank tour in seventeen years. In honor of his aural resurrection, Michael recently sat down with HX's Brandon Voss and, like an enthusiastic trick, informed the homo-journo that he do anything. So, like an eager beaver, Brandon did:

BV: How do you maintain such a good sense of humor about your mishaps?
GM: Well, with the stuff that I get up to, if I didn’t have a sense of humor I’d really be up shit creek, as they say. I can always see the funny side, especially if it’s about sex.

BV: So who looked better while performing community service—you or Naomi Campbell?
GM: She turned it out—absolutely! Good for her. I think I should’ve done a bit of shopping, shouldn’t I?

Scandals aside, Michael also offered his advice to closeted pop-stars: "Come out and accept that you’ll lose some of your audience.” Sounds good to us….

The surprisingly popular Ashlee Simpson recently released a new album. And, as such, has been making the press rounds, including a pop in with fag rag HX. Having survived his run-in with Jeffrey Kalinsky, Brandon Voss forced Simpson to confront a scary fact: gay men love her boyfriend, Pete Wentz. Why do they like him? We're not sure, maybe because he said he has no problems kissing men, which is apparently enough for some people.

BV: Do you mind those gay rumors or that so many gay guys wish Pete were gay?

AS: It doesn't bother me, because he doesn't act—I mean, I think I'd be more of the gay man in the relationship. He definitely wears the man-shoes in the relationship, which is great. I love that guys love him, too—that's wonderful. It's flattering.

She was totally going to say "act gay," wasn't she?

Fashion forward Jeffrey Kalinsky does not appreciate journo Brandon Voss' P.O.V.

Kalinsky, who owns the Jeffrey retail chain, sat down with Voss to discuss "Fashion Cares," an annual fund raiser benefiting GMHC, Lambda Legal and the Hetrick-Martin Institute, which Voss describes as "one of the hottest parties of the year." Jeffrey's not amused, and quickly corrects Mr. Voss, "I don't see it that way, I guess… It's a charity event trying to raise money for some really great causes." Me-ow!

Things get even stickier when Voss veers off topic to wonder whether Jeffrey's customers are largely lavender, but Kalinsky refuses to engage: "I don't approach life like that." Bless foolish Voss, for he kept going back for me more, describing Kalinsky as "politically correct," which garnered this tart, surprisingly philosophical retort: "No, I'm just being honest with you. Just because I’m gay, I can’t make my answers gay if they’re not gay."

Professional slag Kim Kardashian opened up to HX's Brandon Voss this weekend and told him exactly why she loves the gays: we're so handy!

My hair and makeup guys are the best… Everyone in life needs a gay friend because your boyfriend’s never threatened by him, you can hang out with him all the time, and you can change clothes in front of him. All my guy friends are gay. Gay men give me the best fashion advice, and nothing is better in life than shopping with your gay friends.

And we gays think there's nothing better than propping up a broken girlfriend's self-esteem and ensuring sartorial survival. Nothing.

Oh no! There's a fag rag war brewing in New York!

You may recall this morning's post in which HX editor Brandon Voss celebrated his magazine's Black Party issue by trashing the competition, Next Magazine. Said Voss:

We really liked what Next Magazine did for their Black Party Fashion issue this year, but for ours—which is traditionally out the week directly before Black Party, so that it’s still available when out-of-town Black Party revelers begin streaming in—we chose to focus on the “youth” aspect of this year’s “Dangerous Black Party for Boys” theme.

Well, Brandon's bitchery may have been premature.

A Next staffer emailed us this afternoon, insisted he didn't want to start any trouble, but then offered an unsolicited jab: "Brandon's statement about our black party issue is so lame, because we do TWO issues on it, the first one is fashion and the one out today is on the party 'proper' with a young party-goer mindset." (They also did a special field guide with merit badges, which we can only imagine require feats of inhuman flexibility.)

So, to recap, HX and Next are mad at each other, but had the same idea: strapping down twinks. Why do we need two of these things again?

Perpetually troubled New York fag rag HX made some staff changes yesterday. And there are more in the works, according to a reader:

This week, HX Media Creative Director Matt Farris, who just returned to the company last year after a seven year absence, was laid off.

In addition, The New York Blade will be appearing only every other week, so editor in chief Trenton Straube was reduced to half time. The head bookkeeper's hours were also reduced and ad salespeople were recently told that there base salaries were being taken away, leaving them to exist on commissions.

Spin-off rag HX Phildelphia [sic] will be shuttered shortly. Rumors also have that some staff
members are not being paid consistently.

This tipster also took some time to bash Genre editor Neal Boulton, who's acting as editorial director for HX.

According to this person, Boulton's talk about trash talking HX staffers is really just a way for him to leak stories about himself and point the finger. Shocking.

Meanwhile, in other HX news, editor Brandon Voss sent us some pictures from this week's Black Party issue. Voss included a note, which we've included, explaining the issue's shoot and taking some shots at main competitor, Next Magazine.

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The presidential race claims another victim…

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HX Media continues to - um - evolve…

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• Fantastics Mag celebrates the boys who blow smoke.

• Project Runway's Jack Mackenroth sits down with HX's Brandon Voss.

• Democrats in close Iowa race.

• Mollygood editor Cord Jefferson doesn't like the suburbs. We have a feeling the suburbs probably don't like him, as well.

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• Recently arrested hustler Cody Castagna's mug shot makes us wonder why Republican Richard Curtis would hire him in the first place.

• Zoe Leonard's 1992 "I Want A President" still resonates.

• Did Canada's New Democratic Party drop a lawyer for being trans?

• HX editor Brandon Voss talks gay with Friday Night Lights' Kyle Chandler for The Advocate. The gays apparently urged Chandler to try the theatrical arts. Figures…

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Matthew Rhys has no qualms playing gay on Brothers & Sisters. In fact, the only down side, the Welshman tells The Advocate, comes when people find out he's not gay.

Dennis Hensley writes:

At a burger stand in the heart of West Hollywood, Calif., Matthew Rhys was straight-bashed. Sort of, anyway. "This huge, muscley guy came up to me and went 'gay power' and sort of punched me… Then the man went, "You're gay, right?" I went, "No, I'm not." he went, "You're not? Oh, I feel betrayed…"

Rhys also tells Hensley that playing gay has some unforeseen romantic advantages.

When you’re in a relationship with a girl, you go to set and you go, ‘I’m going to make out with [Sex and the City’s] Jason Lewis.’ And they go, ‘Oh, you lucky thing,’ and they feel totally secure about it. But if you go to set and you have to make out with a hot blond girl, then you have the argument.

And what of that kiss with Jason Lewis, who reportedly didn't dig the idea. "He was a consummate professional."

In addition to the Rhys piece, the next issue of The Advocate includes a handy guide to gay-friendly businesses and a chat with actor Bobby Cannavale, who played gay on Will & Grace and in The Night Listener. Like so many journalists before him, Brandon Voss asks the requisite "dude crush" question. Cannavale's response: Derek Jeter.

We have a feeling that could be arranged…