We love this:

John McCain, whose ads skewer Barack Obama for his "celebrity" status, has his own close ties to show business, the new issue of Us Weekly reports exclusively.

The 72-year-old was recently made TV-ready by makeup artist Tifanie White who's worked on So You Think You Can Dance! and American Idol.

McCain paid the 2002 beauty-school grad $5,583.43 for her services, according to the Federal Election Commission.

That's a pretty good bargain…

One has to admire American Idol's restraint.

While they're perfectly happy to trot out an underwear-clad David Archuleta out for a Guitar Hero commercial, they draw the line at putting the 17-year old in briefs.

Because that would be too exploitative.

Paula Abdul's come under heavy fire in recent days.

As we all know, the American Idol host kind of screwed up last week when she misspoke and said she had heard both of Jason Castro's songs when, in fact, he had only performed one.

Well, Colin Schoenberger of NewNowNext recently spoke with the entertainer and got to the bottom of how the snafu went down. We would go into the details, but it's complicated and, quite frankly, not as interesting as this:

…People talk about Madonna being the queen of reinvention - and while I applaud her - I don't know anyone who's reinvented themselves more than me, and created monumental, ginormous success in completely different areas of the industry. And that's something nobody's done – not in our generation and not that anyone I've been reading up since I was a little girl. I don't know anyone who started below the line and became - first of all, a cheerleader, and then revolutionizing cheerleading - and then became one of the most world-celebrated choreographers.

Abdul later discusses Idol castoff Danny Noriega, who she says she "fought" for because "this kid is needed – especially Danny- because he is very open about being gay."

The American Idol machine appears to be falling apart as of late, and a new interview with Brian Dunkleman will likely not help matters.

Dunkleman, as you may recall, co-hosted the competition’s first season with Ryan Seacrest but stepped aside to allow Seacrest the chance to take over the world.

Dunk gave an interview on Adam Carolla’s radio show to talk about his time on Idol, where he said he “developed such self-hatred” for taking part in a show he claims was mean-spirited and targeted specific contestants in an effort to break them.
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Is a gay porn past seems to be a requisite for international gladiators? Perhaps…

First, we learned of American Gladiator Militia's homo history. And now we hear that tossed Australian Gladiator contestant Sam Brodie got off on a little Aussie site called Seduced Straight Guy.

Actually, these men are probably the most historically accurate part of these franchises.

He may not play for our team, but American Idol cutie Jason Castro is winning our hearts. And while the dreadlocked guitar player croons for the masses, these candids show him pre-fame.

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Time for some girl talk! Former American Idol contestant David Hernandez popped onto Ellen DeGeneres' show yesterday to chat about being booted from the competition, working toward a prosperous future and, yes, all the gay stripper gossip, which DeGeneres awkwardly makes Hernandez spell out for anyone who missed the scandal.

Neither Hernandez nor DeGeneres can quite understand why people care about his skin soaked past, and the comedienne showers Hernandez with praise. We think she's got a crush. Too bad Davey's more interested in dancing than fulfilling DeGeneres' straight fantasies. Poor girl.

American Idol's faggotry got some mainstream attention this weekend.

Following male stripper David Hernandez and not-officially-out Danny Noriega's respective sackings, CNN took some time to again address the nation's most burning question: Is America ready for a gay American Idol.

Neither Noriega, nor Hernandez used the occasion to express any opinion one way or another (Hernandez says he was judged by his singing), openly gay former contestant Jim Verraro came out to talk about his personal fear of being outed - and how one's private sexuality shouldn't trump one's talent. That's kind of funny coming from Verraro, who wouldn't even be on CNN if he didn't do dudes.

We won't spoil the fun, but you do know one thing: Two fellas and two ladies left American Idol tonight. Who will we miss the most, for all the wrong reasons? Don't click if you don't want the spoiler.

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The Associated Press continues to revel in gay Idol fever.

Today, the news agency asks whether or not the public can handle having an openly homo American Idol contestant. Former participant and current queer Jim Verranos insists the show's moving closer toward a closet-free environment, "It feels like we're closer now than ever to having an openly gay contestant on the show…I feel like there are some definite possibilities for this to happen this year." Well, yeah. It's not as if former stripper Daniel Hernandez can deny his homosexuality now, right? (And don't front like he could be gay-for-pay. We're not buying it.)

Homo-journo Michael Jensen of AfterElton flame isn't so much concerned with Americans' reactions, but with the show's internal attitudes:

The show hasn't seemed very conducive or gay friendly to contestants coming out. Simon and Randy have not hesitated to mock effeminate contestants and crack the occasional gay joke. It has not communicated to contestants that it would be a good place to come out.

That's definitely a valid point, although some of those queens make for such easy punchlines!

Idol producers told the AP that they don't comment on contestant's personal lives, but the news agency reminds readers that Idol thrives on weekly back stories. Why none of those have been pink-tinged remains a matter of contention.