Neil Patrick Harris visited Ellen for a session on her daytime talk couch and US Magazine has all the juicy highlights:

Ellen: So in November you decided to make a public announcement to say that you were going to come out. What made you do that?
Neil: I don’t know.

Ellen: Nothing's changed right?
Neil: No, nothing's changed.

Ellen: It’s a freer way to live.
Neil: The normalcy of it I think is important.

Ellen: Yep?
Neil: Yep.

Neil Patrick Harris: Why I Came Out [US]

Gay gossip monger Perez Hilton has been called out for calling gay celebs out of the closet - most notably Lance Bass and Neil Patrick Harris - but now he's being called out for not calling someone out: Mika.

Hilton recently introduced the sexually mum British pop star at a Time Warner Center in-store show and the boys at AfterElton wonder why he's become some chummy with someone that should, ideologically speaking, be his enemy:

Those of us who have been following Mika's Stateside invasion have noticed that Perez has been oddly prominent at the early appearances of this particular musician. Odd, in that Hilton isn't a music critic and doesn't run a music site - he's a gossip writer who has made his politics crystal clear when it comes to celebrities whose sexualities fall under public scrutiny... How interesting, then, that Hilton is now an honorary member of the PR posse of a man who flat-out refuses to discuss his sexuality publicly. Isn't Mika exactly the kind of celeb that Perez would usually attack for his coyness? Could it be that Hilton has compromised his well-documented principles for the chance to be part of an album launch and for a place in the pocket of a pop star?

Is there something rotten in the state of Gayville?

We have to say, however, that picture of Mika and Hilton's kind of cute. Mostly Mika, of course. Speaking of photos, Mika apparently showed up late to the TW gig - he got tied up at an Out shoot. Something to look forward to...

So, the world's buzzing over Tim Hardaway's homophobic remarks concerning John Amaechi and the rest of Gayville. While most people, including Amaechi himself, can agree that his words will help launch a much needed discussion, others are ready to forget.

Take, for example, ESPN journalist, Gene Wojciechowski. He doesn't seem to understand the gravity of Hardaway's blatant bigotry, nor does he appreciate the magnitude of Amaechi's coming out. Wojciechowski starts by stating the fact that there are gays in every profession, but this declaration then becomes the crux of a seriously misguided argument. While he concedes Hardaway's words pack a punch, Wojciechowski doesn't seem to think they're newsworthy. He writes:

The news isn't that Amaechi is gay and wrote a book about it. The news isn't that Tim Hardaway is a self-confessed homophobic and told a radio sports talk-show host about it. The news is that it won't be news a week from now. And that's a good thing.

Is it? Because we tend to agree with Amaechi when he says Hardaway's comments should open the way for a more honest, progressive dialogue. But, Wojciechowski doesn't seem to know the meaning of the p-word. Or maybe he just doesn't want it. From the sound of his argument, he'd prefer a little stagnant balance.

CONTINUED »

Only twenty more days until the debut of WGAY-TV - "America's first free gay television station based out of Key West, Florida". Exciting, no?

Well, The Miami Herald's certainly about it: they have published an article profiling the station's mission. While one would expect the piece to highlight the necessity for another gay-themed media outlet, it seems there are more important fish to fry. The station's straight manager and co-owner Jason Sherwood says:

We started from scratch...We do have some investors behind us. Most of them are private investors..You can't build a television station for less than a half-million dollars. And we are below that.

...We're just trying to make some money.

That's good. We wouldn't want any sort of magnanimity in the gay media. In fact, we love that straight Sherwood and his straight former disc jockey father Burt want nothing more than to make a buck on the gays.

But just becuase Sherwood and his pops are straight, that doesn't mean their station can't endorse a Queer of The Year contest with such illustrious nominees as Neil Patrick Harris, Rosie O'Donnell, Mary Cheney, good old Lance Bass and -um - Carmen Electra...

Since when's Carmen Electra queer? Sure, she may snog a girl here and there, but we smell a bit of Sherwood fantasy.

Previously: Gay TV Taking Over TV, Gays
Is There Hope for WGAY-TV?

CONTINUED »

Sharon Sakson may be out and about this evening, but that certainly wasn't the case for the likes of newly-outed Neil Patrick Harris and TR Knight at last night's Cracked Christmas fundraiser.

The two fagalas whizzed by the red carpet, a game of dodge the reporter that apparently doesn't sit well with Alexis Arquette. America's most forgettable paper, USA Today reports:

Alexis Arquette, who is transgender, was outraged when Knight hurried by, refusing to do press interviews. Harris did the same. Upon exiting his car, he separated from boyfriend David Burtka, who sneaked inside the Wilshire Theater. Harris explained that his "highly paid PR firm" had advised him to "lay low for a while."
...
People like that are weak; it's pathetic," Arquette blasted, wishing for "a world where people didn't have that fear."

Hey now, you can't expect them to ignore the advice of their public relations flacks! Can you imagine the kind of carnage that would befall our planet if adults didn't listen to other adults on how to dodge the public and thus be relatable in public?

We shudder just thinking about it.

Since the dawn of man - or, at least, since the gay rights movement - people have questioned whether or not pundits and publications have the right to out people, particularly politicians. In the wake of TR Knight, Ted Haggard, Neil Patrick Harris and the rest, the debate has been raised to a pitch higher than a drag queen's hair.

With the whole Bill Maher/Ken Mehlman brouhaha: you know, when Maher called the former RNC leader gay on Larry King Live, a comment that later got the old censorship ax from CNN, The New York Blade's premier homo-journo, Kerry Eleveld takes a look at the ways in which different media outlets covered the story.

Aside from providing a compelling piece, Eleveld does something that we don't think has ever been done in the history of man: she uses our name in the same sentence as The New York Times.

The following Monday, pro-gay blogs such as Queerty.com declared, "Maher pussed out" even as the mother of mainstream publications, The New York Times, ran a story about Maher’s statements on CNN that steered clear of mentioning Mehlman’s name.

It's a rare occassion, readers, so enjoy it. We'll probably never be used in such a context again. That's okay, though, because we've just had a journalistic orgasm big enough to drown a whale (if that's not big, we don't know what is).

We will offer one correction, however. The actual headline read "Bill Maher Totally Pussed Out". There's a huge difference between only just pussing out and totally pussing out. Of course, as a legitimate reporter, we don't imagine Eleveld's ever had to make such a linguistic judgement call.

We were just taking a bit of a poke around the internet, seeing what lovely notables we could offer to you as a Friday morning sacrifice.

We found ourselves over at Salon - you know, the granddaddy of webzines and their bloggie brothers. Well, it seems the kid aren't satisfied with People Magazine's annual Sexiest Man Alive celebration. (We're sure they won't approve of this morning's Morning Goods.) Thus, they've gone ahead and compiled their own registry of red-hot handsomes, ingeniously entitled, "The Sexiest Men Living".

As part of this monumental occassion, Hillary Frey nominates everyone's favorite "new" gay, Neil Patrick Harris, Lauren Sandler wants to smooch evolutionary scientist Richard Dawkins and Bruce Springsteen still pushes Rebecca Traister's buttons.

While these staffers may have different tastes, they all agree that singer Sufjan Stevens (pictured) has the looks, talent and conviction to win their hearts. Ain't that sweet?

It would have been sweeter had we been included, but whatever. We won't hate. And, we're assuming, neither will you. So get cracking, kiddies, and have a ball exploiting the beautiful people of this world. They deserve it.

While we're on the subject of coming out and all that, we'd like to direct you guys to this article. In it, a reporter ruminates on the way the blogosphere has changed the shape of outing.

Referencing the homo-three: Lance Bass, TR Knight and Neil Patrick Harris (not the mention their lezzie sister, Michelle Rodriguez, Jocelyn Noveck compares the olden days of water-cooler speculation to the rapid spread of internet speculation. She writes:

Where anti-gay sentiment used to fuel these revelations, these days they are more likely to be merely a byproduct of a voracious Web-based gossip culture where no part of a celebrity's life is off limits - or, in the case of politicians, an attempt by one side or the other to score political points.

Noveck goes on to weigh the differences between outing politicians who push for anti-gay legislation and speculating on closeted entertainers, such as the three gents mentioned above. On celebrity outings, GLAAD's entertainment director Damon Romine describes them as "very problematic". He goes on to say:

While this kind of gossip and speculation about a celebrity's orientation might lead some people to come out of the closet, it may drive others even further in.

Sure, he's got a point, but it seems to us that the recent series of outing haven't hurt these entertainers' career. On the contrary, Lance Bass is more popular than ever. But that's just our opinion.

Of course, our opinion's worth about a cup of coffee and maybe some toast. You're opinion's worth its weight in gold. So, readers: do celebrities have more of a right to privacy than politicians or is all fair in gay and gayer?

Sure, it's an old debate, but with fresh material. Lay it on us, readers.

So, by now we all know that Neil Patrick Harris (pictured) came out of the closet. Well, now "notable" cadet/model/activist/author/Lance Bass boyfriend, Reichen Lehmkuhl's suggesting that perhaps NPH didn't so much come out of the closet as he was "lanced".

What's that? You've never heard of someone being lanced? Neither had we, until we read this article over at 365 Gay in which Reichen defines the new addition to the Gay Speak dictionary:

It's to be outed by someone in the public media and to a celebrity, and Neil Patrick Harris, I understand, has been 'lanced'...They're calling it a 'lancing'. It's to be 'lanced'.

The distinction between being outed and lanced, it seems, lies in the method of disclosure. When someone's 'outed', the news typically comes from an outside source. When someone's 'lanced', they are forced out of the closet but speculation into their private lives.

(Does that mean that only famous people can be 'lanced'? Also, should 'lanced' actually be 'Lanced'?)

You've probably heard the biggest gay news since the Ted Haggard scandal: Neil Patrick Harris totally sucks dick. That's right. Despite an over-zealous publicist's denial, NPH told People Magazine that he's of the homosexual variety.

We may kid, but his statement's pretty fucking admirable:

The public eye has always been kind to me, and until recently I have been able to live a pretty normal life. Now it seems there is speculation and interest in my private life and relationships.

So, rather than ignore those who choose to publish their opinions without actually talking to me, I am happy to dispel any rumors or misconceptions and am quite proud to say that I am a very content gay man living my life to the fullest and feel most fortunate to be working with wonderful people in the business I love.

See, Teddy Boy, that's pride. Good for you, Neil!

Of course, we thought he came out years ago. Speculation began two weeks ago when an article maintained that the former Doogie Howser, MD star used his swing to get his lover, the actor David Burtka a gig on his current show, How I Met Your Mother.

We're sure it'll do wonders for those Doogie DVD residuals. Mark Foley just ordered an entire box!