The faggot furor over Out's controversial cover continues. Genre editor Chris Ciompi laid the smack down against the monthly fag-rag and competing editor Aaron Hicklin, telling married gossip mongers Rush and Malloy:

Your right to privacy is a constitutional right. Maybe Jodie and Anderson would prefer to be known for their work, not their sexuality. The climate of the United States today still would not allow that to occur. With Anderson, many people would perceive his credibility to be undermined.

I think [Out editor] Aaron Hicklin wants to use [Cooper and Foster] to sell magazines. It's politically reprehensible, when he has a list of 50 gay people, to choose two people who are not out.

Sounds like someone's a bit jealous, if you ask us. Sure, both Genre and Out have their draws, but we have to say Out's a bit more... Oh, we won't say it. We're sure you thinking men already know where we're going with that one.

Meanwhile, those curmudgeons over at GLAAD piped in, insisting they do not condone outing people, but Neil Giuliano made sure to add that Cooper and Foster's names have not been smeared, because that would imply that being gay's "a bad thing". And we all know GLAAD loves to support the gays.

For his part, Hicklin defends his placement of Cooper on the cover, telling R&M:

...If you live in New York City, and if you're gay, it's not too long before you spot Anderson Cooper at certain bars or concerts.

In the case of Anderson, we felt that was a bogus argument because he's talked about his life numerous times, he's been the cover subject on lifestyle magazines and men's magazines like Maxim. He's allowed his personal life to be scrutinized with one exception - his sexuality, his relationships.

Hicklin also said that the magazine's legal team advised against putting Clay Aiken on the cover - not because Aiken would sue, but because he looks too much like Jodie Foster. Can't have two lesbians on the cover, now can we?

Imagine the shit storm that would start.

Out-and-out debate over Jodie, Anderson [NYDN]

While we're on the subject of emotions, we'd like to turn the floor over to a loverly gentleman named James Withers. Don't know Mr. Withers (pictured, dressed as an elf...for some reason)?

Well, we don't really know him either, but he wrote to us saying he's contributed to Genre and wanted to know if we were interested in a little somethin' somethin'.

Now, those of you who know us know that we're always interested in a little somethin' somethin', so we told Withers to pitch us something for the then forthcoming The Emotions Issue. He did and this is it. (See how easy we are?)

After the jump, see what Withers has to say about losing his friend Michael to the ultimate baddie: AIDS.

(PS: If you're down with Withers' piece, you should check out his blog: What the world does not need.)

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We're not sure about you guys, but we definitely read your comments. Sure, we may gloss over a few of the less pertinent ramblings - for example, the schmuck who keeps plugging his Genre scandal-ridden MOTY candidacy, you know who you are - but we like to think we're pretty in touch with what's happening on the other side of the technological fence.

You can be sure, then, that we caught actress Cady Huffman's comments regarding our comments on her attendance at HRC's gala dinner (phew, that was exhausting). Under a picture of her, we wrote, "From winning a Tony for playing Ulla in The Producers to an HRC dinner. What a tragic fall for actress Cady Huffman".

Well, apparently Ms. Huffman didn't like that so much, because she left us this note:

Gotta say I'm a little hurt by your catty comment regarding my presence at the Gala. I was presenting an award to Creative Alternatives New York (CANY) for their community service. CANY is a terrific organization that helps individuals regardless of race, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, education etc...Hope you're not really that jaded. Just trying to do what good I can. Peace.

Unfortunately we are that jaded, but not jaded enough to want to make it up to Ms. Huffman. So, we've pasted a very special video for her and anyone else we've ever offended or may offend in the future (preemptive ass covering...works every time).

Oh, and for those of you who doubt that Huffman actually commented - we checked it out and it's definitely her: she sent it from her basketball coach hubby's email address. (Okay, we're actually not sure...)

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We've received more than a few emails from readers urging us to vote for them in Genre Magazine's Man of the Year contest. We forgot until just now, so we headed on over to cast our vote and found this message:

Dear Gays and Str8s recruited to help your favorite gay,
We have recently discovered that several illegal programs were being used to alter the GENREMAN voting system. We are disappointed that a select few would go to such extreme and (sadly) desperate measures to win. We have made the decision to begin GENREMAN again with a blank slate and hope that this competition will recommence with a higher level of integrity and respect.

We're not sure what's more shocking: that someone would try to degrade the "integrity" and "respect" of a contest based on objectification or the fact that someone wanted to win so badly that they tried to fix the contest.

As for our vote - we're rooting for Los Angeles homo, Andrew Gonzalez. Not only do we love his name, but he's only got four votes right now. As we proved with the Mr. Brazil competition, we always go for the underdog.

• It is time for another issue of Homovizion, our favorite homozine celebrating show tunes and leather sex! [Homovizion]

• Beth Orton has a new album about to drop, which means that PopBytes has the scoop before anyone else. [PopBytes]

• Yes you too can say “I Put a Lesbian of Color Thru Law School." [eBay]

• Chad Allen talks to Genre about End of the Spear. [Genre]

• James Lipton proves just how deep K-Fed has become. Lucky Britney. [Devil Ducky]

• A trans male is raising money for his surgery by selling merchandise on Café Press. The “Self Made Man” shirt is hilarious. [Café Press]

• In England it’s good to be gay. On average we make £10k more a year than straights. [The Guardian]

• Genre Magazine's John Polly is blogging Sundance. But he has not blogged since Thursday, so the parties must be really good. [Genre]

• Midnight Lounge has begun a Hot Myspace guy of the week column. And you know how much we love hot guys. [Midnight Lounge]

• The GLAAD Awards have been announced. Though we wonder why they have not incorporated blogs into the event. [Good As You]

• Ever wonder where in the world is the best Country & Western gay bar? The best place to travel alone? Or which city throws a killer Pride? Gay.com has compiled a list of the top gay and lesbian travel destinations from 2005. [Gay.com]

• Does your belt need to match your shoes? No. We agree with Johnny Suede. Mix it up. Just never mix black and brown. [Out.com]

• Dolly Parton has been Golden Globe nominated for a song she wrote for the film Transamerica. This is a cute mini-interview she did for Genre recently. [Genre Magazine]

• The Gays have long appreciated the moustache. This film looks hilarious. We missed the premiere last night, but are dying to see it nonetheless. [The Glorius Moustache Challenge]

• This is so not safe for work. And this is so not right. I mean, really, really, really just not right. Like we said. Not safe for work. And not right. [Gay Porn Blog]

• Congratulations to Tray Butler, editor of the New York Blade. He was the first person to guess Vertigo in the Brini Maxwell contest yesterday.

• Virgin's new television commercial features a gay elf. No, it's not Clay Aiken.

• Donald Trump is the new Armani. Seriously. His suits go perfectly with bad haircuts.

• Genre is having a clothing sale today to benefit Callen Lorde, NYC's only primary health care center for homos. From 11-8 at Space Downtown many up-and-coming brands (including our beloved Yoko Devereaux) will be 30%-50% off. Have a drink, buy a jacket, supports AIDS charities. Sounds like our kinda party.

• Chris Klein is "an alpha heterosexual." And an asshole. Thanks Blog Soup.

• The film Straight Acting is out now. All you butch queens should love this. "The film is a documentary about the subculture of gays who play contact sports - rugby, ice hockey and rodeo."

Taye Diggs talks about his comfortability with running around in the buff in this month's Genre. Let's hope he's comfortable enough to bare all in this month's Rent.

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We were at the Genre Magazine party hosted by the Karshner Triplets at East/West in West Hollywood last night. We hung with 2/3 of the brothers (Ryan and Nick) and you’d never have guessed from their photos that these adorable guys are almost hobbit-sized.

Remember their hot W Magazine photo shoot with Tom Ford from a couple of months ago? We sure do. We had to ask them what it was like to watch as Mr. Ford took a buffer to their brother’s ass. They just “laughed” the whole time. (Buffee triplet Craig was home sick with the flu.) According to Ryan and Nick, Ford took quite a liking to them during the shoot, openly flirting and chasing them around the LA mansions. Can’t blame the guy.

Alas, they repeatedly affirmed their heterosexuality but did say how much they love their gay fans. Nick told us they have tremendous respect for gay people because they not only have “come out to their family” but “come out to the world."

After our long chat ended our jaws dropped at the sight of Ryan bent over in front of Nick to use his back so he could sign their new calendar for us. It was almost a fantasy come true. We wonder if Tom Ford managed to get them in that position.

After the jump, the famous buffing pic.

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The latest issue of Genre features an amazing photo-shoot of Tyler Hilton by photographer Karl Simone. Mr. Hilton, who plays Elvis in the upcoming Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line, has the same swagger and raw good looks that helped make Elvis a star.

We anxiously await the film, not only for Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon’s Oscar buzzing performances, but also now for a glimpse of this new heartbreaker.

A few more pics after the jump.

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