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While the Supreme Court decides on marriage equality, actor and activist Jesse Tyler Ferguson dishes on his July wedding, Shakespeare’s gay twin, and his affinity for bow ties!
Each summer The Advocate celebrates the reasons to have Pride. For many, including the magazine’s June/July cover star, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, 2013 will be the “Summer of Love.” The Emmy-nominated Modern Family star recently sat down with The Advocate’s Jase Peeples to discuss setting a new standard for LGBT visibility on TV, growing up gay in New Mexico, and how a run-in with the law at a young age helped shape his role as Modern Family’s Mitchell.
“I feel like there are a lot of people who still aren’t comfortable with gay characters on television,” Ferguson tells The Advocate. But what I admire about our show is that it has a plethora of characters for people to attach to, and slowly those people are becoming attached to Mitchell and Cameron as well. It’s kind of like a Trojan horse. We sneak into a lot of people’s living rooms when they aren’t expecting it and maybe change some minds through the back door.”
Read The Advocate’s full Jesse Tyler Ferguson cover story now at Advocate.com.
In his first gay-press interview, Zac Efron talks to The Advocate about marriage equality, gay rumors, and why he almost went commando for his new film, The Paperboy.
"I don’t like to live in fear about things like rumors and backlash to begin with — that’s the way I was raised — but I just can’t see what’s so wrong about being gay."
On playing a gay role:
"I’d never take a role just for the sake of playing gay, but I’m always looking for a role that’s challenging, different, and entails some risk, so there’s no doubt in my mind that one of those characters will be gay at some point in the future. It’s always interesting to delve into unexplored territory, and that would be a new avenue for me. I definitely wouldn’t be afraid."
On marriage equality:
"It’s an issue that affects so many people in my life — a lot of my close friends and some of the most influential people around me. I just want them all to be happy. It would make me so happy to see them able to live their lives and do what they want to do."
Four and a half decades dedicated to reporting the cultural advancements in and sparking the conversation of the LGBT community
For 45 years The Advocate has been an agent of change, a voice for the marginalized, and a connective threat that brought isolated people together. Through the years, the brand expanded from a 12-page mimeographed newsletter with few resources, to full multimedia, powerhouse brand including the print, online, digital, and mobile incarnations. The Advocate’s September 2012 special anniversary issue celebrates the impulses, philosophies, triumphs, and setbacks that propelled the publication’s past and drives the brand’s platforms to the future.
For this commemorative anniversary issue, the brand’s editors and reporters dug through the archives getting a closer look at the past. The staff immersed itself in a time of radical politics and sexual revolution, in a legacy that began well before many of the publication’s current staff members were born, making the brand’s predecessors all the more real to them now and the urgency of their mission all the more tangible. What came together was anniversary issue, dedicated to the past and allowing readers to learn for the future.
The Advocate’s September 2012 anniversary issue features include:
Trending Topics — In the 45 years since our first issue, much has changed for LGBT people, including the very words that described us (homophile, anyone?), inspired us, and enraged us.
The Swinging Closet Door — Some notable folks have come out in The Advocate, from k.d. lang to Sean Hayes. Read the stories behind the interviews, and what people including Judas Priest’s Rob Halford have to say about the impact of their announcements.
The Cases That Shaped Us — Many victories—on issues from parental rights to abortion rights—are due to brave LGBT litigants demanding equality in a court of law. What drove those people to put their reputations on the line, and where are they now?
Drawn Together — In the magazine’s early years, gay life was often depicted in comic strip panels. Have things changed since the swinging ’60s? Judge for yourself.
35 Big Homophobes From Our 45 Years — From Phyllis Schlafly to Ronald Reagan to Maggie Gallagher, our detractors have ranged from the feckless to the downright evil.
Our Most Controversial Moments — We’ve long tracked the controversies that rocked the world of LGBTs—even when we started them.
The Advocate’s full special anniversary issue rolls out this week on www.advocate.com.
American Horror Story’s Dylan McDermott is comfortable with gay come-ons and nude scenes without body doubles, but he’s clueless when it comes to the queer appeal of Steel Magnolias.
The Golden Globe-winning actor spoke with The Advocate about this and much more. CLICK HERE to read the full story.
A few sound bytes:
On onscreen nudity and his refusal of a body double forAmerican Horror Story>:“I knew going into it that there was nudity and that a lot of people would be watching, so I knew I had to be in really good shape. I’m no fool, so I hit the gym and watched what I ate. Actually, when I first got the role, production
called me and asked, ‘Who’s your body double?’ I said, ‘Oh, hell no. It’s going
to be all me, baby.’”
On whether he hurries into a bathrobe or “let's it all hang out” between takes: “I’m probably somewhere in the middle. When I’m in the role, in the moment, I’m comfortable. After they yell ‘cut,’ I don’t need to put my balls in someone’s
face.”
On whether he gets hit on by gay men: “Oh, yeah. Honestly, I’m cool with everyone, and people pick up on that. I’d say, ‘I’m not gay, but it’s all good.’ It’s kind of like going to Paris when you don’t know the language; some Americans get into trouble over there, but I’m just like, ‘Sorry, I don’t speak French.’”
On whether he knew that his 1989 film Steel Magnolias was a major gay favorite: “No, I had no idea. You have to tell me about it. ... That’s hysterical. I swear
to God, I did not know this.”
The inside story on her battles with alcohol, becoming a TV star at 48, and how a 9-year-old changed her life forever
After decades of work in television and movies, Jane Lynch became an overnight sensation, and an Emmy and Golden Globe winner. Through all the hardships of Hollywood and her stellar achievements, Lynch admits that it’s her new roles as a mother and wife that may just give her the biggest sense of accomplishment yet. Lynch opened up to The Advocate’s Diane Anderson-Minshall about her new family, working with Charlie Sheen, and being openly gay in Hollywood.
While Lynch may be best known for her role on Glee, it was her spot on Two and a Half Men that got her into the biggest role of her life: motherhood. While at a gala for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Lynch first met Lara Embry, a fan of Two and a Half Men. Within a year, Lynch was married with children. In between filming season 2 of Glee, Lynch became immersed in motherhood. “I became wifely,” she recalls, having run the errands while Embry worked. “I loved taking care of my girls.”
Jumping back to her Hollywood life, Lynch, whose role on Two and a Half Men brought her a different audience than her work on Glee, recognizes that costar Charlie Sheen is going through a tough time. Nevertheless, she has nothing but praise for the actor. “He’s one of the nicest guys and a true leader on that set,” she says. “He’s going through his stuff now, but there’s a really solid, wonderful person in there, and I love him very much.” [ CONTINUE READING ]
“My love for my gay fans is just pure, authentic love for them as supporters of me from the beginning, and me feeling connected to their struggles as someone who is a part of their fight.” — Lady Gaga
Through skepticism and criticism, pop superstar Lady Gaga remains one of the most outspoken advocates for LGBT equality today. She’s been accused of not being gay enough to claim one of the letters the aforementioned acronym, and critics say her activism is superficial, but through it all her devotion to supporting marriage equality, fighting the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, and increasing AIDS awareness remains strong. The Advocate’s Jeremy Kinser spoke with Lady Gaga about her activism, her critics, and her music. [ COVER + STORY ]
In this Advocate interview, incredible gay-rights activist Mark Ruffalo speaks out on his addictive directorial debut, his hesitations about doing The Normal Heart, and the prospect of shaving his chest to play the Hulk in The Avengers.
Read the whole interview, “Ruffalo Stance,” here, and find some choice quotes below.
You’ll play gay activist Ned Weeks in Ryan Murphy’s film version of The Normal Heart, Larry Kramer’s seminal 1985 play about the dawn of the AIDS crisis. Frankly, you can’t screw it up. No, I can’t. It’s huge. It’s the same scrutiny with me as the Hulk in The Avengers but from a whole different group of people. It’s a great honor, but I was hesitant about doing Normal Heart because it probably should be a gay actor. I brought that up to Ryan, but he said that I was the actor he wanted.
Why have you taken such a personal interest in gay rights? We have a lot of friends who are gay couples with kids. When my son would go to his friend’s house down the street, where his friend’s parents are a married gay couple, not once did he come home and say, “Why does he have two papas?” That didn’t occur to him, because their house is no different from ours…
As you prepare to play the Hulk in The Avengers, some fans have expressed concern that you may have to shave your hairy chest like Chris Evans did for Captain America. No one’s asked me to shave my chest yet, thank God. They want this Hulk to be as close to me as possible. I’ll be playing him in motion-capture, so this Hulk will just be a bigger avatar version of me. As they’re modeling him, they’re using many of my own features, down to my scars and wrinkles. He will have body hair, but I don’t know to what extent.
In a very manscaped Hollywood, your chest is famous in certain gay circles. I was not aware. But that’s good, because young girls are probably like, “Ew, chest hair! I didn’t even know guys grew hair there.”
Facebook cofounder Chris Hughes and his fiancé, Sean Eldridge, are among those saluted on this year’s list of forty LGBT leaders and newsmakers under the age of 40.
They’re young. They’re influential. They’re the men and women shaping the future of LGBT politics, equality, arts, and entertainment. These entrepreneurs, activists, politicians, artists, and athletes are much more than ahead of the curve; they’re out, proud, and changing the world. This year Facebook cofounder Chris Hughes and Freedom to Marry political director Sean Eldridge grace the cover of The Advocate’s annual “Forty Under 40” issue.
Hughes’s story, in part at least, became the talk of Hollywood with the release of The Social Network. While it was one of the most critically praised films of 2010, Hughes confirms that the film is primarily legend. “The point of a movie is to entertain, so they can take a simple story line and blow it up in a way that becomes a complete fiction, which is what they did,” says Hughes. “I think the portrayals of the other guys were far from rosy, so I count myself lucky. I squeezed by.”
While Hughes’s ascent has become public because of The Social Network, Eldridge has remained under the radar, for now. When asked whether he would run for public office, Eldridge stutters, “Yeah, uh, we’ll see. I think these things are hard to predict.” Yet, when asked about President Obama’s handling of the marriage issue, he already sounds like a seasoned politician. “First of all, I think there’s a lot of work that our movement still needs to do, including changing more hearts and minds and [pushing for a] DOMA repeal bill. It’s not all on him; it’s on us as well. … He says he’s on this journey, [but] I think he’s not moving quickly enough. I know that in his heart of hearts he has respect for us, he has respect for gay people. But he doesn’t get a free pass.”
Through Facebook, Hughes has influenced the way the world interacts, while Eldridge, who watched as the New York state senate voted against extending marriage equality, left law school to fight full-time for the right to marry. Together, at a combined age of only 51, the newly engaged couple remains committed to effecting progressive change on a host of issues. Currently, however, while in the midst of their own wedding planning, their focus will stay on marriage.
“We’re at this natural point in our relationship,” Eldridge tells The Advocate, noting that they considered waiting to exchange vows until marriage is legal in New York but now hope the law catches up to them. “We certainly won’t shy away from talking to the governor and other elected officials about it and telling them our story and why we want to get married. But at the end of the day, it’s our wedding. It’s about us. It’s not purely a political thing.”
Check back with Advocate.com on Tuesday and Wednesday as The Advocate reveals this year’s entire “Forty Under 40” list.
In The Advocate’s April 2011 edition, tennis legend Martina Navratilova talks about bouncing back from her breast cancer treatments, the fear she faced while making her Kilimanjaro climb, and the future—and future leaders—of the gay rights movement.
Navratilova struggled through 2010, having battled breast cancer, broken a wrist, faced a brutal lawsuit from her former partner, and, as plastered across the media, ended her trek up Mount Kilimanjaro with a high-altitude pulmonary edema scare and an emergency descent. “Goodbye 2010,” she wrote on her website at year’s end, continuing, “If you were a fish, I’d through you back.”
Despite all her troubles, Navratilova has remained an activist LGBT equality. In an era when you’re still unlikely to learn in an American classroom of times when coming-out stories of celebrities did not automatically garner a magazine cover, Navratilova feels the younger generation needs to take ownership of the movement. “I do get pissed off when I’m at some gay event and there’s a 25-year-old and he has no idea who I am,” Navratilova says. “And I say, ‘You need to know more about your gay history, boy.’ I think the younger generation takes it a little bit for granted.”
Find out what Navratilova had to say about one news network reporting she “quit” her Mount Kilimanjaro attempt, her personal legal troubles, what’s written about her in the press, and whether she would have done anything differently in her career in the April 2011 issue of The Advocate.
Known Monday morning as "the hot guy battling Kirk Douglas for his cane", Omar Sharif Jr. (his grandfather is that Omar Sharif) talks to The Advocate about his awards night high, Franco in a dress, and gay rights in Egypt. Here's a few select quotes:
On advice from his Oscar-nominated grandfather: …He said to me, “I gave you my looks and I gave you my name, that’s all I can give you in this profession. After that, you’re entirely on your own.” I admire him for that. He realizes there are so many young actors out there that won’t get the opportunities that I’ll even get just having his name.
On his wardrobe: I’m so grateful to Calvin Klein collection for giving me the tuxedo and having me wear it on stage. And actually now, they’re letting me keep it. They said I represented them well. Two days before the show, I didn’t have a tuxedo. The one wardrobe gave me for the show was a complete disaster. A contact called the people at Calvin Klein and they Fed-Exed one over night. Otherwise I would have been on the stage in my underwear, which may have interested some but I don’t think the Academy would have appreciated it.
On whether he could sport those James Franco tights: Absolutely. The point of hosting a show is to entertain. You do whatever you can. It’s not about you. Ego aside, it’s about entertaining. It’s Hollywood’s biggest night.
