So don’t scold me!

I tuned in for the last half hour and saw a very unlikely duet of Lean on Me between finalists Clay Aiken and Arsenio Hall (see below).

Anyway, Donald Trump praised both men for their performances during the season and ultimately chose Hall as the winner.

So this means Clay has twice been runner-up on reality show competitions since he came to fame as runner-up during season two of American Idol to Ruben Stoddard.

But since Clay is not only a far bigger star than Ruben – and one of the most successful Idol alums ever – second place really isn’t so bad!

GLSEN is an is an organization that seeks to end discrimination, harassment, and bullying based on sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.

What isn’t so wonderful is what happened on Sunday’s episode of the show after O’Day won the money: she bullied fellow contestant Arsenio Hall much in the way a bully would to another kid at school because Arsenio refused to do a cheerleading or tap dance routine as part of their winning project.

‘Arsenio is the biggest girl on this show, so I don’t know why he doesn’t like tap dancing or wearing cheerleading outfits,’ O’Day said. ‘We all know he does it at home.’

Uh boy.

You can read what GLSEN has to say about all of this in a story I posted over at Gay Star News.

Martina Navratilova will have to be content with her nine Wimbledon singles trophies because she won’t be adding the Dancing With the Stars mirror ball trophy to her collection of prizes.

The mighty Martina was the first celebrity to be elimination from the competition this season after a poor performance this week doing the jive.

I was afraid this would happen but at least I won’t have to watch the show anymore this season without any LGBT contestants remaining. I reserve the right to check out sexy William Levy’s performances on YouTube though!

“It was an amazing experience,” she said of her short stint on the show. “I just wish it had lasted longer. I gave it everything I had, but I blew it [Monday].”

While Martina’s Fox Trot last week and Jive this week failed to impress judges – or viewers it turns out – the show did give people the opportunity to see just how glamorous Martina can be when she wants to be.

I worship Martina but even I could see that this was not a great performance by the tennis legend.

“I blew it,” Martina said after losing her footing to start the dance with partner Tony Dovolani and never really caught up.

Will she survive tonight’s elimination show? It will combine the first week’s totals with the second week’s totals and the fans’ voting.

Navratilova and Dovolani have a total of 37 out of 60 points for two weeks (20 the first week and 17 on Monday). That puts them at the bottom of the 12 contestants. Melissa Gilbert (40) and Gavin DeGraw (41) are also right there.

Hopefully the affection the public seems to have for Martina and all she has accomplished and stood for will help her survive.

“I’ve been very patient and have given my best effort,” she said. “I’m such a perfectionist. Of course, I want to win. I want to feel like a dancer.”

Martina’s great rival, Chris Evert, was not in the audience as she was last week but her former doubles partner, Pam Shriver, was. And so was fellow tennis great Jimmy Connors!

They were just beside themselves last night over Martina Navratilova’s more feminine look as she performed a Fox Trot with her professional partner Tony Dovolani.

Martina and Tony scored just 20 out of a possible 30 and were in the bottom three overall. I think they did just fine but the level this season is going to be pretty high. Gladys Knight, at 67, is one of the best dancers!

But I will be rooting for the marvelous Martina who has always dared to be herself.

But for Snookie?

No problem.

“I would consider myself bi,” Snookie said in an interview with Huffington Post. “I’ve done stuff with girls before. But I would never be with a girl because I like… penis. But I’ve experimented.”

Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi was interviewed with her Jersey Shore castmate and Jennifer “JWoww” Farley.

They were asked about the sexuality of Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino.

Farley: “…His posture and the way he holds his cigarettes… everything. Listen, I know I keep talking about my best friend Joey, but his husband was closeted for 27 years of his life. And I knew him before he came out. So because of that I know… the signs. … It drove me nuts! I’m like, “Be happy with yourself!” He had a girlfriend! I was just like, “I would love you more if you could be yourself.” I can’t confirm or deny with Mike, but if he was, it would all make sense. He brings it up. He’ll say, “People think I’m gay and I don’t know what they’re talking about.”

Weighed in Snookie: “He told me one time, “[All the talk is] making me wonder.”"

It’s a stark contrast to American Idol where gay contestants like Adam Lambert did not come out until after the competition was over.

‘It just seems crazy not to,’ Burnett told me during the TV Critics Association Winter Press Tour last week.

Levine also weighed in for me: ‘I think we always supported and nurtured all the amazingly talented people who have been in the show regardless of what they do in their private time.’

The show earned a GLAAD Media Award this morning. To read more, see my story posted over at Gay Star News.

The last time I followed CBS’s summer reality show Big Brother was in 2007 and that was the season where one of the contestants was a hunky guy named Nick Starcevic.



RuPaul’s Drag Race returns for a fourth season with 13 glorious drag queens going heel-to-heel as they compete for the title of “America’s Next Drag Superstar.”

The season’s 90-minute premiere kicks off on Monday, Jan. 30 at 9 PM ET/PT on Logo and will be followed by a new season of the behind-the-scenes companion series Untucked: RuPaul’s Drag Race at 10:30 PM ET/PT.

RuPaul, the world’s most famous drag queen, returns alongside judges Michelle Visage and Santino Rice, to decide who will “shante! stay!” or “sashay away.”

“People ask me, ‘RuPaul, how do you manage to book such amazing celebrity guest judges?,’” RuPaul says in a press release from Logo. “It’s simple. I blackmail them using a series of naughty Polaroid pictures I took back in the ’90s. Works like a charm.”

Here are the celebrity guest judges for the season: Amber Riley, Billy B., Elvira, Dan Savage, Jeffrey Moran, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jennifer Tilly,  Jesse Tyler Ferguson, John Salley, Kelly Osbourne, Loretta Devine, Max Mutchnick, Mike Ruiz,  Natalie Cole, Nicole Sullivan, Pauley Perrette,  Pam Anderson, Regina King, Rick Fox, Rose McGowan, Ross Mathews, and Wynonna Judd.

The following are the 13, season four “RuPaul’s Drag Race” contestants:

· Alisa Summers Tampa, FL #DragRaceAlisaSummers, @alisasummers

· Chad Michaels San Diego, CA #DragRaceChadMichaels, @chadmichaels1

· Dida Ritz Chicago, IL #DragRaceDidaRitz, @HelloDiDa

· Jiggly Caliente Queens, NY #DragRaceJigglyCaliente, @JigglyCaliente

· Kenya Michaels Dorado, Puerto Rico #DragRaceKenyaMichaels, @Kenya_Michaels

· Lashauwn Beyond Tampa, FL #DragRaceLashauwnBeyond, @LashauwnBeyond

· Latrice Royale Ft. Lauderdale, FL #DragRaceLatriceRoyale, @LatriceRoyale

· Madame LaQueer Carolina, Puerto Rico #DragRaceMadameLaQueer, @MadameLaQueer

· Milan New York, NY #DragRaceMilan, @DwayneMilan

· Phi Phi O’Hara Chicago, IL #DragRacePhiPhiOhara, @PhiPhiOhara

· The Princess Chicago, IL #DragRaceThePrincess, @TheDragPrincess

· Sharon Needles Pittsburgh, PA #DragRaceSharonNeedles, @SHARON_NEEDLES

· Willam Los Angeles, CA #DragRaceWillam, @willambelli

Bravo’s newest docu-series, It’s a Brad, Brad World will premiere on Monday, Jan. 2.

It follows Brad Goreski as he embarks on his own in the glimmering, cutthroat world of fashion styling.

According to Bravo, this docu-series is an all-access pass into the life of the small-town kid who loved theater and fashion, and who followed his dreams.

While Brad obsesses with getting his clients red-carpet ready, he struggles to balance work and his home life with long-term boyfriend, Gary.

In the premiere episode, we see Brad stepping out of Rachel Zoe’s shadows and into the limelight.  The first step in getting his office out of his garage and into a proper work space is to get business fast.

After a chance meeting with stylist Rachel Zoe, Brad began working for her in 2008 and was eventually featured in the popular series The Rachel Zoe Project.

Since then, he’s attended the Academy Awards with Anne Hathaway, been photographed by Terry Richardson and made the cover of the Styles section of The New York Times.

There will be nine new episodes of the series that intimately follows a group of high-profile lesbians living uncensored before the cameras. It will go into production in Los Angeles and New York in early 2012.

While seasons one and two focused exclusively on L.A.’s tight-knit lesbian community, season three will introduce several new women from the New York scene while also featuring the return of key “fan favorite” cast members. A search for new cast members is expected to start soon in L.A. and N.Y.

Creator and executive producer Ilene Chaiken said: “We’re excited and gratified to be picking up the stories of our most beloved season 2 cast members at some truly major and life-altering junctures, and we think it’s time to throw down and invite the women of New York to join in and demonstrate the claims they’ve lobbed at us these past few years…that New York’s women have something more to say about lesbian life, something that isn’t being said by our Los Angeles ladies. Bring it on, Brooklyn!”

The Real L Word is created and executive produced by Chaiken and fellow executive producers Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz of Magical Elves (Project Runway, Top Chef).

But it was impossible to avoid seeing all the magazine coverage of Kim Kardashian’s wedding to Kris Humphries just 72 days ago – an event that seemed to be more about publicity and making money than love.

Then earlier today, Kim is filing for divorce!

This nonsense is happening as same-sex couples in this country are fighting for the right to marry each other – couples together far longer than 72 hours.

It is just sickening.

Those are my thoughts on this debacle. Here are some Twitter thoughts of various celebs who seem as annoyed by this as I am:

kathygriffin Kathy Griffin

Ugh! gay couples like Kim K & Kris H ruining the sanctity of marriage is the problem w the radical homosexual agend— oh wait, oops:)

aravosis John Aravosis

From Facebook: “Kim Kardashian earned $17,900,000 from her wedding and divorced 72 days later (but gays ruin the sanctity of marriage).”

richardroeper Richard Roeper

Wouldn’t it be great if each of Kim Kardashian’s 10 mil+ followers decided not to buy the bullshit any more and hit Unfollow?

chelywright Chely Wright

So, I’m not being snarky, but this is a serious question about wedding etiquette: Do Kim and Kris have to return all of the wedding gifts?

Andy Cohen (@BravoAndy): “thanks for the entertainment, Kim Kardashian.”

It has been a beautiful thing to see. Chaz Bono is transforming himself into a bit of a dancer on ABC’s Dancing With the Stars.

The show’s first transgender competitor has put the initial furor (in some quarters) over his participation behind him and managed to survive to dance next week – the sixth week of the competition.

Prior to performing the samba with partner Lacey Schwimmer on Monday night, Chaz got some pointer’s during rehearsals from Lacey’s dad, former swing dance champion Buddy Schwimmer.

“He was shaking his butt,” Buddy told TV Guide, “and I told him, ‘You shake your butt like a wuss. Get out there and show me some butt!”

Chaz went on to move bigger and stronger and his knees, initially balky, are now able to withstand the pounding.

“I told Chaz, ‘[Pretend] there’s some water there, and step over it,’” said Buddy. “Now that’s a bigger step.’ You have to find a way to get through. … He’s feeling a lot better about the competition. The first week, he was just a curiosity. Now he knows people are behind him, so he’s starting to say he’s having a good time and he’s doing better.”

Mentally, Bono told The Hollywood Reporter feels like he’s finally at a good place in the competition. Instead of struggling to get his moves down, he says the performances are starting to come more naturally.

“Stuff is starting to get easier,” he says, referring to the Week 5 Samba. “I don’t know if its the style that works for me, or it’s because I’ve been on longer that I’m starting to learn a little bit more so it’s not quite so hard.”

Here is Chaz’s performance from this week’s show. While he was voted safely through, fellow LGBT contestant Carson Kressley was not so fortunate and was eliminated.

Carson Kressley may have charm and humor to spare, but his low scores on Dancing With the Stars caught up with him as the Queer Eye alum and his partner Anna Trebunskaya were eliminated earlier tonight from the competition.

The pair scored just 19 points this week for their spirited jive routine during 80s week. Carson felt they deserved more points: “We can dance and have fun at the same time. That’s called entertaining. … I think sometimes our showmanship is overlooked.”

Carson explained to On the Red Carpet after the show how his “dreams have been realized” after his many experiences and costumes on Dancing with the Stars.

“So many of my dreams have been realized,” he said. “I got to dress as cheerleader and do cheerleading moves, and do a cartwheel in front of 22 million people. Let me check this off my bucket list — done!”

I reported that disgraced Colorado pastor Ted Haggard and his wife Gayle were going to appear on an episode of Divorce Court and that it was the latest in a series of public appearances that started that January when Ted began promoting an HBO documentary about his time in exile. He had also appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show and Larry King Live.

Then I added this snarky line: I’m sure they will be doing public access show from their basement after people stop calling.

Well, close.

TheWrap reports that Haggard and actor Gary Busey will trade partners on the first season of ABC’s Celebrity Wife Swap.

Haggard was relieved of his position as president of the National Association of Evangelicals following a 2006 scandal involving his alleged sexual relationship with masseur Mike Jones, from whom he also purchased methamphetamine.

Despite this scandal, he has remained to Gayle, his wife of 33 years who has steadfastly stood by him.

Busey and his girlfriend, Steffanie Sampson, welcomed a son, Luke, just last February.

You just can’t make this stuff up!

This is GREAT news if it does indeed come to pass.

It’s not only a personal opportunity for the only child of Cher and Sonny Bono to take on a physical challenge, having him on such a high-profile show will be the most exposure most people will ever have had to a transgender person.

Chaz transitioned from the female Chastity Bono to the male Chaz Bono and his journey was chronicled in the documentary Becoming Chaz and the memoir Transition: the story of how I became a man.

RUNWAY: The line-up for Project Runway: All Stars has been set and I want to share the line-up with you: Last season’s runner-up Mondo Guerra and season one standout Austin Scarlett are among the 13 designers who will compete.

Additional All Stars are Kara Janx (season two, fourth place), Elisa Jimenez (season four, 10th place), Rami Kashou (season four, runner-up), Sweet P/Kathleen Vaughn (season four, fifth place), Jerell Scott (season five, fourth place), Kenley Collins (season five, second runner-up), Gordana Gehlhausen (season six, fourth place), Anthony Williams (season seven, fifth place), Mila Hermanovski (season seven, second runner-up), April Johnston (season eight, fifth place) and Michael Costello (season eight, fourth place).

For more about the show, here is a LINK to a story in The Hollywood Reporter.

You could tell that the piece this week in The New York Times about Logo’s The A-List was not going to be kind from the headline alone: The A List? They Must Be Grading on a Curve.

Ouch!

The show, which just had its second season premiere, and its cast clearly do not impress writer Jeremy M. Peters who he described as “drinking, fighting and swanning around New York.”

He also writes: These people make the Real Housewives, an acknowledged inspiration for the Logo show, look like the graduating class of a fine Swiss finishing school.

Reichen Lehmkuhl doesn’t come off well at the end of the piece:

Mr. Lehmkuhl said he took A-list to mean accomplishment. And in his case, the accomplishment is a new profession, which he described as “promoting my brand called Reichen.”

True to the reality-star entrepreneurial spirit, first on display when he and his then-partner won the fourth season of “The Amazing Race,” that brand now encompasses a book, a jewelry line and a new fragrance. (His acting career seems to have stalled since his tearful, abrupt departure from the Off Broadway play “My Big Gay Italian Wedding,” one of the plot points in the show’s first season.)

He acknowledged that some people scoff at the idea that he considers himself A-list material. But he seems determined to act the part anyway. As he was talking, a young admirer approached him. “I’m sorry, no,” Mr. Lehmkuhl said, cutting him off. “I’m having an interview with The New York Times. Can you just leave me alone?”