Then when she took the stage to perform some stand-up, she was jokingly irritated by everything from the smoke machine to the interpreter for the hearing impaired audience members.

Then the band scheduled to go on after her was tuning up behind the curtain of the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel while Sykes was on stage and she got really irritated – and it was no joke.

‘That really pissed me off!’ she said at one point after an expletive-laden tirade that included her walking behind the curtain to confront the band face-to-face.

‘You think I’m playing?’ she asked the band. ‘That’s wrong. … You know what? I’m gonna go punch somebody in the face.’

Once she got back on track, Sykes praised President Barack Obama for endorsing gay marriage and joked that opponents of marriage equality ‘act as if it’s mandatory’ to marry the same sex.

‘I’m so proud of President Obama,’ she said. ‘I knew he was going to get there.”

The event sold out for the first time and raised more than $450,000 for services for women and girls provided by the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center. Executive Director Lorri L. Jean told the crowd that more there are more than 10,000 client visits to The Center each month from women and girls.

‘This is one of my favorite evenings of the year. A room full of gorgeous, wonderful women – and the men who love them,’ Jean said. ‘Some of you might be surprised to learn that The Center provides more services to girls and women than any LGBT organization, bar none. Every single month, the LA Gay and Lesbian Center welcomes 10,000 client visits from girls and women. The depth and the breadth of our services – many of which are life-saving – is unparallelled.’

In addition to the Sykes comedy routine, entertainment included musical sets by Courtney Love, Aimee Mann, Gina Gershon and Linda Perry with the all-star band Camp Freddy. Tattoo celebrity Kat Von D also performed one song in what was billed as her performance debut.

Roseanne Barr jumped onto the stage at the end of the show to dance alongside Love as she performed. Among the other celebrities in attendance: actress Sara Gilbert whose girlfriend, Linda Perry, is the driving force behind the event; four-time Olympic gold medalist Greg Louganis; singer Carnie Wilson; and television personality Jane Velez-Mitchell.

(I’ll share my interviews with Greg and Jane later this week – they are terrific!)

‘It wasn’t like this when we first started,’ Perry told me before the night’s festivities began. “I was on my knees begging for people. It’s fun because right now, we have people calling saying, ‘Can I get a ticket still?’ That’s what you want to be – you want to be the hot ticket. It’s a hot ticket for an LGBT event.’

Perry explained why she is so passionate about the fundraiser which she has helped to grow exponentially in recent years by attracting top-tier talent to perform. In past years, such stars as Cyndi Lauper, Christina Aguilera and Sarah Silverman have performed.

‘They needed support and I wanted to be somebody who came in and supported them,’ Linda said. ‘We all need support. I had some friends and I’m very driven. I felt like I am going to dedicated myself to it and do that best that I can do.’

‘There’s so many things that need to be done,’ she added. ‘The Center, the fact that they provide health care, legal assistance, taking kids off the street and helping senior citizens, it’s just endless what they do. What I’d love for this to do is for it to become like a McDonald’s chain where it’s all over the place. This is just for LA. This is the easiest. Being gay in LA is a hell of a lot easier than being gay in Utah or Missouri.’

This year’s event marked the first time Perry attended with Gilbert, her girlfriend of less than a year. Photographers clamored for photos of the couple together as they walked down the red carpet.

‘It’s great,’ she said after Gilbert ducked off the red carpet to enter the VIP party. ‘We weren’t together then but I wanted her here last year. She couldn’t make it.’

Gilbert participated in one of the evening funniest videos involving Perry a live auctioning off her 1983 customized Harley Davidson Fat Boy with black sparkle custom paint. It sold for $30,000 with Perry herself bidding to win the bike back but dropping out at the $15,000 mark.

Sykes wasn’t just one of the evening’s headliners, she was also a big bidder at the live auction plunking down $20,000 for a tattoo by Kat Von D.

‘What the f***? I just spent $20,000 for a rainbow,’ the comedienne joked. Maybe I should pump it up and get like a dolphin jumping over the rainbow.’

In addition to the Kat Von D tattoo and Perry’s motorcycle, other big-ticket items also auctioned off during the event were a Celine Dion concert in Las Vegas with backstage passes sold for $7,000 and a dream Italian vacation in Tuscany fetched a whopping $17,000.

Kudos to Perry and L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center Board of Directors Co-chair LuAnn Boylan who teamed up for some truly hilarious videos about the live auction items and shared a wonderful chemistry up there on the stage.

They should go on the road together!

I took all of the photos you see on this post so they are not the best but I did want to share with you memories of the event as I experienced them. My thanks to my pal, Jim Key (pictured with me) for inviting me to sit with him at a prime table where I was able to get some half-decent shots of the performances!

PHOTO IDs: 1. Wanda Sykes 2. Linda Perry and Sarah Gilbert 3. Lorri L. Jean and Courtney Love 4. Aimee Mann 5. Gina Gershon 6. Linda Perry and LuAnn Boylan 7. Courtney Love 8. Greg Louganis 9. Jane Velez-Mitchell 10. Carnie Wilson 12. Greg Hernandez and Jim Key.

So many great memories from years gone by. I remember meeting Sharon Stone several years back then two years ago when Christina Aguilera sang a soaring rendition of her hit song Beautiful and I got to interview Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart.

Last year was one of the best with the one and only Cyndi Lauper performing and I was thrilled to meet Chely Wright.

This year’s event also has a stellar line-up: Wanda Sykes, Linda Perry, Courtney Love, Kat D and Aimee Mann.

Miss Perry is, as always, the evening’s co-host along with Brent Bolthouse. These two have really elevated the event in recent years and made it a can’t miss event on a big scale. The event starts off with a cocktail reception and silent auction, and is followed by dinner and a program that includes performances.

I’ll be covering the red carpet too and have plenty of post-event coverage.

Click HERE for more information. Online tickets have closed. If you have questions, please call (323) 993-7408.

Anyone who has ever felt like an outcast can relate to her Grammy-winning classic At Seventeen. Its lyrics about teen-aged angst sure struck a cord with me when I heard them even though I wasn’t a 17 year old high school girl who never got any Valentines. I was a gay kid who didn’t get a Valentine from who I really wanted: the high school quarterback!

Miss Ian, a 9-time Grammy nominee, burst onto the scene in the late 60s when she was just a teenager with Society’s Child, a song she wrote about an interracial romance. She released her autobiography in and named it after her first big hit.

She still records and came out as a lesbian in 1993.

Here is Janis performing At Seventeen in the 70s and Society’s Child as a teen in the 60s. Wow!

All I know is that Elton John was the luckiest gay man in New York last night as he shared the stage with hunky Channing Tatum (My friend, Danny, has a real problem with the actor’s name because he thinks it was chosen as a hybrid of Stockard Channing and Tatum O’Neal!).

Anyway, Channing and Sir Elton performed during the 2012 Concert for the Rainforest Fund at Carnegie Hall.

See more photos over at Socialite Life.

But, it’s not too late to get your tickets to tonight’s Laugh Out Loud event at The Comedy Store.

It is presented by and benefits LifeWorks, the LA Gay & Lesbian Center’s youth development and mentoring program.

This year’s show is being hosted by the great Bruce Vilanch and event chair Jason Stuart.

This night of LGBT comedy will feature Jackie Beat (Alexis Arquette: She’s My Brother), Page Hurwitz (Last Comic Standing), David Koechner (Anchorman), Daniel Leary (Ellen: The Ellen DeGeneres Show), Cathy Lewis (Last Comic Standing), Shawn Pelofsky (The Best of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen) and Renee Santos (30 Is the New 12).

Tickets are just $35 for general admission, or $75 for VIP (includes access to VIP reception, priority seating, complimentary cocktails and a gift bag).

Here is a LINK to buy tickets!

I’ll be there and hope you will too!

The Advocate

It was a star-studded affair with Macy Gray performing, Ross Mathews hosting and such guests as Dustin Lance Black, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, David Burtka, Sean Maher, Bruce Vilanch, Mark Deklin, Rex Lee, Perez Hilton, Betty DeGeneres, Gloria Allred, Michelle Clunie, Gregg Araki, Billy Bean, Coco Peru, and Camille Grammer, among others.

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles kicked things off with a performance of Katy Perry’s Firework and there were a series of video tributes from the likes of Ellen DeGeneres, Ricky Martin, Sean Hayes and Judith Light.

“Congratulations to you for all that you do,” DeGeneres said from the set of her daytime talk show. “I’m always in awe of all that you do and continue to do.”

Larry Kramer, the famed playwright and activist, noted in his tribute that it is also the 25th anniversary of ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power), a group of individuals united in anger and committed to direct action to end the AIDS crisis.

“We musn’t forget those years,” an emotional Kramer said of the height of the AIDS crisis.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein told the crowd in her piece that she is committed to ending the Defense of Marriage Act: “Once I start something, I don’t quit.”

Unfortunately, the party was in full bloom when the video tributes were played so they didn’t have the impact they could have had. The same goes for some of the presentations as LA City Councilman Paul Koretz, HERE Media CEO Paul Colichman, Advocate editor Matthew Breen and Point Foundation Executive Director Jorge Garcia made their remarks amid a loud din of guests well into their second and third drinks.

But Colichman got some strong crowd reaction when he listed some of the homophobic forces still taking aim at the LGBT including the National Organization for Marriage, the Family Research Council and Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum.  All were booed by the crowd with Santorum’s name getting the loudest chorus of boos.

Host Ross Mathews, his distinctive voice loud and clear so it could be heard above the noise, remained spirited and funny throughout the evening.

Of The Advocate turning 45 Mathews said: “The Advocate is officially a hot daddy!”

He wondered if the magazine was going to embark on a mid-life crisis by driving a Miata and dating “a twink.”

Mathews was also aggressive in his drumming up support for The Point Foundation which grants scholarships to LGBT students of merit getting guests to take out their phones and text a pledge to this very worthy organization. The goal was to raise $25,ooo on Thursday night.

Before the festivities began, I talked to Matthew Breen a little bit about the history of the magazine he now edits.

“It was founded in 1967 after the raids of The Black Cat Bar in Silverlake,” Breen said. “For 45 years, we’ve been reporting on every aspect of LGBT life – politics, arts and entertainment, advances in rights. So it’s a really fantastic night for us to celebrate that rich history.”

He added: “I think it’s still the biggest brand name in gay media. It’s a household name even for people who aren’t LGBT – a lot of people are just familiar with the legacy of The Advocate. We’re still, I think, the publication of record for the LGBT community.”

I chatted with several of the celebrities on the red carpet about The Advocate turning 45.

Dustin Lance Black: “I read it a lot when I was doing all the research for Milk and Pedro. The very, very old issues that were mostly like personal ads – gay guys looking for gay guys at a time when that was very taboo. You could really watch the gay and lesbian movement turn into the LGBT movement, mature, become more inclusive, include more and more radical ideas, more progressive ideas as you watch The Advocate. It’s been amazing to watch it go from … kind of just for gay men, to what it is now. It has a website and reaches out to the trans community, the bisexual community, the QIA community for the young people. They’re keeping up. It’s important.

Jason Stuart: “When I was growing up, it was my Bible. It was the only place we could go for art, culture, politics and cute boys. It was the first thing that we saw that made us feel like we existed. I still have a subscription – I think it’s important.”

Ross Mathews: “The Advocate’s amazing. They’ve been telling gay stories for 45 years. When you think about how the world was different 20 years ago when I was a kid. I didn’t know what it meant to be a grow-up, happy, gay successful person because it wasn’t represented in the mainstream media. Then you think about what it was like 45 years ago and here comes The Advocate telling those stories, trailblazing. I think it’s incredible what they have been doing.”

Sean Maher: “What an amazing, amazing celebration. To be celebrating something that has been around since before Stonewall. Forty-five years fighting this fight is extraordinary. The name for the magazine kind of speaks for itself.”

Perez Hilton: “It means a lot to every gay person. There aren’t that many gay publications anymore and this one was the first. It’s been around 45 years, there’s so much history there and there’s a real opportunity for the magazine to continue to not just entertain and inform, but also create change.”

Michelle Clunie: “What’s not to love about The Advocate. They started out as this magazine, a newsletter really, where you could go and find out what bars are being raided and what’s happening in the LGBT community underground. And then it became this amazing magazine that’s one of the best, I think.”

Coco Peru: “I still read it and every once in awhile I make it in there. They’ve been kind to me over the years.”

Billy Bean (two-time cover subject): “It’s amazing how many people keep the covers and send them to you to have them signed and sent back. They were so much fun, to be treated like someone very special for a day or two. It was just a memorable experience each time. I’m proud of them. I just love the magazine and I think they still deliver.”

Below are some more photos from the party: 1) The Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles performing. 2) Me with former major leaguer Billy Bean. 3) Suburgatory star Rex Lee. 4) Betty DeGeneres (Ellen’s mom!) 5) David Burtka on the red carpet. 6) Queer as Folk alum Michelle Clunie. 7) Me with attorney Gloria Allred.

Not even for sweet charity am I going to shell out $5,000 to anybody!

But, if I had that kind of money to party with, John Stamos would certainly be near the top of my list!

At last night’s GLAAD Media Awards in New York City, a man bid $5,000 to smooch sexy Stamos.

“Come to daddy over here baby, come to Uncle Jesse!” Stamos said to the man as he took the stage.

People com reports: It all started when Naya Rivera, who was co-hosting the 23rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York along with Cory Monteith, announced she would sell her “sweet lady kisses to the highest bidder” to help raise funds.

Monteith wasn’t going to let the offer go unchallenged, offering his own smooching services – complete with freshly applied ChapStick – to interested bidders.

A sporting Monteith told the audience, which was in attendance to support gay and lesbian issues, “I have kissed Naya and it is fricken’ awesome,” but Rivera had fighting words: “It’s officially a kiss-off,” she announced, between “my juicy lips and his thin ones.”

As the auction heated up and went into the thousands of dollars, a surprise suitor popped up: Stamos, bid for Monteith’s services. As the crowd whooped and cheered, the bidding for a kiss with Monteith went higher, until Stamos had an even better idea: He decided to jump on stage and offer himself up for bidding. All three stars quickly drew a price of $5,000 each.

Damn! I would’ve loved to see a Stamos-Monteith kiss!

Anyway, the photo is beside the point.

I wanted to share with you part of Chelesa’s monologue from inside the dinner which she emceed.

She never mentioned them by name, but she had some choice words for Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich.

“There are a lot of people out there who are fighting against what we so strongly believe is a basic human right and three of these people are currently running for the Republican nomination for president – and one of them has been married three times. So obviously he knows what he’s talking about. If it were up to these guys and their supporters, contraception would be banned, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell would be re-instated and we’d all be sitting in front of our black and white TVs watching Lucy and Desi sleep in separate beds. And that’s why I say that these people can go f*** themselves!”

It featured most of the cast of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy who put on one terrific concert that I enjoyed far more than I thought I would.

Patrick Dempsey and Ellen Pompeo did not participate but plenty of other cast members did starting with Tony Award winner Sara Ramirez who plays Dr. Callie Flores and sings one helluva number.

She brought the house down with the penultimate number called The Story.

The event took on the feel of a rock concert due to the hundreds of Callie and Arizona fans who paid $250 for VIP tickets and filled the front of the theater.

I ran into a group of them walking into the theater and found out they had flown in from all around the country for the event.

Arizona, of course, is played by Jessica Capshaw who was also part of the Grey’s ensemble who performed. Others were Kim Raver, James Pickens, Chandra Wilson, Justin Chambers, Kevin McKidd, and Sarah Drew. Sandra Oh did not sing but did do most of the introductions and Eric Dane, another non-singer, served as the hunky comic relief.

There were so many highlights. I can’t tell you how sweet it was to see Chambers take the stage with three of his daughters to perform Young Folks. One of the daughters, I don’t know her name, has the most lovely voice and really should perform professionally.
Wilson is a real belter and I loved every minute she was on stage. She did a solo Everywhere I Go and dueted on Wait with Drew.

Then there was McKidd who is the real deal as a musician. He rocked the house on Looking at the World From a Bottom of a Well and How We Operate.

Great stuff!

For some reason, there was a ban on recording any of the concert and yet people were not banned from bringing in their hand-held devices. So, of course, scores of people tried to video parts of the show. The poor ushers would politely walk up to the end of the row, point to them and ask them to stop. They would turn around and walk away and about five more people would start recording!

It was a losing battle and a total waste of time.

But very entertaining!

I settled into my seat in the second row with friends and prepared for what I knew would be a fun night since I had seen the show last spring.

Before Coco made her grand entrance and went on to enchant us with a series of hilarious anecdotes, observations and songs, an official from the LA Gay & Lesbian Center reminded us that all of the proceeds from the three sold out shows over the weekend would benefit the Center’s programs for homeless lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning young people.

I made a mental note then surrendered to the magic that is Coco for the next 90 minutes or so.

But when I got home, I started reading about some of the backlash against Kirk Cameron who had said a few days earlier that homosexuality is ‘unnatural, ‘detrimental,’ and ‘ultimately destructive.’

This is a guy who has six children.

What if one of those kids turn out to be gay and refuses to try and pray the gay away. Would Cameron kick the kid out of the house?

Who knows?

But there are plenty of parents – far too many – who do kick their gay kids out of the house if these kids dare to be themselves. These are parents who claim to love their kids and who hide behind their religious faith as an excuse to reject or emotionally abuse their child.

So a lot of these kids end up homeless – because they have intolerant and anti-gay parents like Kirk Cameron and Rick Santorum.

That’s why we need the services of the LA Gay & Lesbian Center’s youth center.

And that’s why it’s so wonderful to have people like Coco Peru donating their talent and their fame to raise money for a very good cause.

Thank you Coco!

Just stunning.

What an experience these actors give us with excellent direction from Rob Reiner and the outstanding script by Dustin Lance Black.

Here are some photos from the play and also from the after-party.

1) Jamie Lee Curtis and Christine Lahti played one of the couples who are the plaintiffs in the Prop. 8 case. I found Lahti especially powerful while Matt Bomer and Matthew Morrison were wonderful as the other plaintiff couple. Morrison had some deeply moving moments.

2). Jane Lynch was an absolute standout as gay marriage foe Maggie Gallagher. It was a delicious performance.

3) Brad Pitt was very good as the judge in the Prop. 8 case Vaughn R. Walker.

4) George Clooney solid as attorney David Boies while Martin Sheen was a revelation as attorney Theodore Olson. Chris Colfer made the absolute most of his scenes as a witness for the plaintiffs.

5) Cast members Brad Pitt and Jesse Tyler Ferguson at the curtain call.

6) California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom greets playwright Dustin Lance Black.

7). Cast member George Clooney chats with director Rob Reiner and playwright Dustin Lance Black.

American Foundation for Equal Rights Board President Chad Griffin and producer Bryan Singer.

Among those who were photographed on the red carpet: 1) Glee star Darren Criss 2) Cast members Brad Pitt and George Clooney 3) CA Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom 4) Broadway star Gavin Creel 5) Cast members Matt Bomer and Jane Lynch 6) Cast member Jane Lynch with two-time Oscar winner Sally Field 7) The reading’s director Rob Reiner and playwright Dustin Lance Black

Click to this link to the American Foundation of Equal Rights (AFER) website.

The play, written by Dustin Lance Black, is based on the transcripts of the trial which led to an appeals court striking down California’s Proposition 8 last year.

You won’t want to miss it with such dreamboats as Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt Bomer, Matthew Morrison, Kevin Bacon, Rory O’Malley, Chris Colfer and Jesse Tyler Ferguson in the cast.

Others in the cast include Jane Lynch, Jamie Lee Curtis, George Takei, John C. Reilly, Cleve Jones, Campbell Brown and Martin Sheen.

The play is framed by the trial’s historic closing arguments in June 2010, and features the best arguments and testimony from both sides.  Scenes include flashbacks to some of the more memorable moments from trial.

Academy Award-winning screenwriter and AFER Founding Board Member Black based it on the actual words of the trial transcripts, first-hand observations of the courtroom drama and interviews with the plaintiffs and their families.

The one-night only reading is being directed by Rob Reiner, a founding AFER member, and will take place at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles.

The play will be livestreamed over the internet and can be viewed beginning at 7:45 p.m. PST at www.youtube.com/AmericanEqualRights.

As if having a cast that includes George Clooney, Matt Bomer, Kevin Bacon, Jane Lynch and Matthew Morrison wasn’t already star-studded enough, Brad Pitt has been added to the cast of the benefit reading of the play 8 taking place Saturday in Los Angeles.

The play based on the transcripts of the trial which led to an appeals court striking down California’s Proposition 8 last month. Pitt will play the part of US District Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker who found Proposition 8 unconstitutional after presiding over the historic twelve-day public trial.

Pitt’s Oceans Eleven buddy and recent fellow Oscar nominee Clooney had previously been announced in the role of plaintiffs’ lead co-counsel David Boies. The other plaintiff’s co-counsel, Theodore Olson, is being played by Martin Sheen.

Read more of the story over at Gay Star News!

It was announced today that they will be joined in the cast by Jane Lynch, George Takei, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Martin Sheen and Christine Lahti.

Black, who won the Academy Award in 2009 for his screenplay for the film Milk, based 8 on the actual words of the trial transcripts, first-hand observations of the courtroom drama and interviews with the plaintiffs and their families.

The performance will benefit the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER). A previous one-night benefit in New Yo starring Morgan Freeman, Ellen Barkin, John Lithgow, and Cheyenne Jackson, among others, raised more than $1 million.

The Los Angeles performance will be directed by Rob Reiner.

Now they are going to be harder to find than a presidential candidate who will publicly support same-sex marriage!

George Clooney has agreed to play the role of one of the attorneys in the play about the Proposition 8 trial which will have a one-night only performance in March.

It’s expected to be a star-studded affair with Jane Lynch also possibly taking part, according to director Rob Reiner.

Read all about Clooney’s participation in my story for GayStarNews.com.

AfterElton.com notes that Trevor Live! has become Hollywood’s Cause Celebre and how great is that?

A benefit for The Trevor Project, which is dedicated to preventing suicide among LGBTQ youth, has got some big names behind it and they are needed with bullying remaining such a problem and some families still turning their backs on their own.

Last night, Lady Gaga was honored at the event held the Hollywood Palladium. It was indeed a star-studded affair that included performances by Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka, Mary J. Blige, Darren Criss, Kris Allen, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Queen Latifah, Amber Riley, Leann Rhimes, Barrett Foa, and Julianne Hough.

Harris tweeted of the experience: Had fun performing with @Davidburtka tonight at the @TrevorProject‘s Trevor Live. A powerful night. An amazing group of people.

Among the other stars on hand were Chris Colfer, Sean Hayes, Zachary Quinto, Kevin McHale, Matt Bomer, Zac Efron, Michelle Pfeiffer, Josh Duhamel, Fergie, Jane Lynch, Amber Heard, Eddie Cibrian, Harry Shum, Naya Rivera, Christina Hendricks, Jayma Mays, Ricki Lake, JC Chasez, Joe Manganiello, and many more.

Pictured here are Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka, Matt Bomer, and Zachary Quinto.

Go to Socialite Life to see more photos of the celebrity arrivals.