THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

Taylor Swift's sophomore album, Fearless, which won album of the year at the 2010 Grammys, has been certified diamond, Page Six noted. Big Machine Label Group President/CEO Scott Borchetta surprised the singer after a recent show with a plaque for Fearless indicating sales and streaming equivalent sales of 10 million units. Swift actually earned six new plaques from the Recording Industry Association of America, including a triple-platinum certification for her latest album, reputation.

Actor Luke Evans recently hung out shirtless in a pool in Portofino, Italy with fellow actor Victor Turpin, who he has been rumored to be dating since the beginning of the year, JustJared.com noted. The couple have been traveling all around the world together this summer, including recent stops in Shanghai and Australia. Evans was in town to star in Adam Sandler's new Netflix movie, Murder Mystery, which co-stars Jennifer Aniston.

First Run Features announced the theatrical premiere of Hot to Trot, a new 88-minute documentary about same-sex ballroom dancing directed by Gail Freedman, a press release noted. The film opens at New York's Quad Cinema beginning Aug. 24, followed by the Los Angeles premiere at Laemmle's Music Hall beginning Sept. 14. The movie will run in select cities nationwide subsequently.

Actor Justin Theroux recently talked about his new friendship with the guys from the show Queer Eye, ExtraTV.com noted. Therous said he reached out to the guys, adding, "Gradually, we started getting some of the other guys to come over and it turned into this little clutch at my house." Theroux revealed whether the crew of stylists has tried to make him over, saying, "Tan has tried to get me to wear color, 'cause he's very colorful, obviously."

Speaking of Queer Eye, Skyler Jay—a trans man who was featured on the second season of the Netflix show—is leading a lawsuit against the University System of Georgia ( USG ), NewNowNext.com noted. Jay, who previously worked at USG in a staff role, is suing the university's healthcare providers and administrators over healthcare guidelines that were considered discriminatory against him and other transgender employees, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported. Jay has claimed he was denied reimbursement for surgery done in May 2017 to treat gender dysphoria.

Lifetime announced that it's signed a production deal with ABC News journalist Robin Roberts for a series of movies and documentaries, Page Six noted. The first project will focus on gospel singer and activist Mahalia Jackson; after that will be an account of the real-life story of Alexis Manigo, abducted at birth from a Florida hospital. The deal with Roberts is part of Lifetime's expansion of its movie slate, which will number 75 in 2019, the channel said.

Singer Billy Joel told Vulture magazine that Elton John is "dragging down" his own legacy, Page Six noted. "There are artists who continue to record because they feel like that's what keeps them relevant," Joel said. "Elton [John] would say to me, 'Why don't you put out more albums?' I would say, 'Why don't you put out less albums?' I didn't want to come out and say, 'You're dragging down your legacy.'" Joel's final album, River of Dreams, came out in 1993.

Promoting HBO's Jane Fonda in Five Acts, Fonda took questions about the anticipated 9 to 5 sequel, Deadline noted. She, as well as other cast members Dolly Parton and Lily Tomlin, "are all intending to be in it," she told TCA attendees. It's still relevant, Fond insisted, because the workplace is still fraught with problems for women. Among other things, she said, today a lot of the workforce is subcontracted, so women don't know where to take complaints.

RuPaul's Drag Race season-10 winner Aquaria was filmed walking off stage at London nightclub G-A-Y during "Porn Idol" after fans allegedly booed a transgender friend who she picked to perform alongside her, PopBuzz noted. Explaining what went happened at G-A-Y from her perspective, Aquaria tweeted, "[O]ne of my beautiful trans friends had the bravery to offer an entertaining show for the ( many, clearly ) undeserving audience members at the club because they're too busy making fun of the lads and demeaning the women brave/boozed enough to perform for them." While some believe the booing came from a transphobic place, others have said that fans were booing the nepotism.

William Loud, the patriarch of one of the first reality-TV families, died at age 97 of natural causes, Deadline noted. An American Family was a television documentary that was filmed from May 30 through Dec. 31, 1971, and first aired in the United States on the Public Broadcasting Service. The documentary was a cultural hotspot in its time, showcasing family turmoil and the coming out of Lance Loud, one of the family sons, who is credited as one of the first openly gay people on television.

Appearing at the Television Critics Association press tour, Amazon executive Jennifer Salke briefly talked about about the Jeffrey Tambor-less future of Transparent, Variety noted. In addressing the future of Jill Soloway's Transparent, Salke said, "We are planning a season five of the show. What form it takes, we haven't quite announced yet, but it exists, and we're very excited about it."

HRC Louisiana honored TV actress Rutina Wesley ( True Blood; Queen Sugar ) as its 26th annual gala on July 14 with its Visibility Award, HRCNOLA.org noted. In part, she said, "I have always wanted to see myself, and to be myself—and where better than here tonight, with our community." Jared Sampson ( from Bravo's Southern Charm ) also received an award. American Idol finalist Ada Vox and comedian/auctioneer Dana Goldberg provided entertainment at the event, held at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans.

Madonna announced a partnership with Facebook and global payments company Ripple to activate her fans, kick off a month-long celebration of her 60th birthday, and raise funds for orphans and vulnerable children in Malawi, a press release noted. The fundraiser, which benefits Madonna's foundation Raising Malawi, is hosted on her Facebook page and will run through Aug. 31; visit www.facebook.com/donate/280231332752230/ .

Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour gave Beyonce unprecedented control over the cover of the upcoming September issue, sources say—and the music icon hired the first Black photographer to shoot a cover in the publication's 126-year history, The Huffington Post noted. The publication is contractually obligated to give Beyoncé full control over the cover, the photos of her inside the magazine and the captions, which she has written herself and are in long form.

NBC's next musical production, Hair Live!, will air Sunday, May 19, 2019, TVLine reported. The Peacock Net's staging will also feature a live audience. Alex Rudzinski, who has previously helmed NBC's live versions of Hairspray and Jesus Christ Superstar ( and won an Emmy for his work on Fox's Grease: Live ), is on board to co-direct Hair. He will work alongside Diane Paulus, who directed the Tony-winning Broadway revival of the musical in 2009.

Veep will return for its seventh and final season in spring 2019, Deadline noted. HBO announced last September that season seven would be the last for the multi-Emmy-winning series. The production schedule was pushed due to star Julia Louis-Dreyfus' cancer surgery and treatment; Louis-Dreyfus disclosed her diagnosis last September and posted updates on her progress on social media.

In an unprecedented show of unity, all four daytime soaps—The Bold and the Beautiful, Days of Our Lives, General Hospital and The Young and the Restless—have come together to threaten to boycott the Daytime Emmys, demanding changes in the voting and accounting practices for the awards and the way the competition is held, Deadline noted. The joint letter ( sent to National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences ( NATAS ) chair Terry O'Reilly and interim president and CEO Adam Sharp ) is in response to a recent mistake in which Patrika Darbo's 2018 Daytime Emmy for her guest-starring role on Amazon's soap opera The Bay was rescinded after NATAS found submission errors in her and other categories.

HBO limited series Sharp Objects will not have a second season, Deadline noted. "Unlike Big Little Lies where all of the stars wanted to come back, Sharp Objects, it's a very dark character, very dark material. Amy doesn't want to live in this character again and I can't blame her, it's a lot to take on for an actress," HBO president of programming Casey Bloys told Deadline. "So no plans for a second season. We are very happy with this living as a limited series." HBO's star-studded Big Little Lies started off as a limited series before the network ordered a second season to continue the story; Meryl Streep has been added for Big Little Lies' second season.

Kristen Stewart and Naomi Scott are officially confirmed to star in Elizabeth Banks' Charlie's Angels reboot, with newcomer British actress Ella Balinska completing the crime-fighting trio, Deadline noted. Banks is pulling double duty on the Sony Pictures pic, serving as the film's director while playing Bosley, the handler and intermediary between the detectives and their elusive employer, voiced in the original series by Dynasty's John Forsythe.

TV-producer icon Norman Lear, 96, and his Act III production company have signed a two-year first look deal with Sony Pictures TV, Deadline noted. The pact includes the option to re-imagine titles from Lear's extensive library, including All In The Family, The Jeffersons, Good Times, Maude and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, among others. So far, Lear has denied that he plans to remake any of those shows.

Film director Eli Roth has forecast a horror hit in two or three years that would tap into our current political climate—in much the same was The Walking Dead, debuted in 2010, was seen by some pundits as being connected to the 2008 mortgage crisis and fear of displacement, Deadline noted. Roth was promoting AMC Visionaries: Eli Roth's History of Horror, debuting Oct. 14. Participants in Roth's seven one-hour episodes include Stephen King, Quentin Tarantino, Jordan Peele, Jason Blum, Englund, Linda Blair, Tippi Hedren, Rob Zombie, Haley Joel Osment, Jack Black, John Landis and Jamie Lee Curtis.

ABC will wait until mid-October to premiere its Tuesday night lineup, led by Roseanne spinoff The Conners, Page Six noted. The first of the network's new episodes will debut Monday, Sept. 24, with the premieres of a new Dancing with the Stars and The Good Doctor. Long-running drama Grey's Anatomy will have a two-hour season premiere at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 27.

Island Records, Interscope and UMC announced the vinyl reissue of The Best of 1990-2000 from U2, remastered and pressed on 180g double LP black vinyl and available on Sept. 28, a press release noted. The release will follow that of Achtung Baby ( 1991 ), Zooropa ( 1993 ) and The Best of 1980-1990 ( 1998 ), which are all out now. Some of the tracks on The Best of 1990-2000 include "Beautiful Day," "The Hands That Built America," "One" and "Mysterious Ways."

Gwyneth Paltrow is denying Amber Rose's claim that she is the alleged mistress whom Beyonce references in her Lemonade track "Sorry," People noted. Rose recently named the Oscar-winning actress as the identity behind "Becky with the good hair," the woman at the center of the JAY Z cheating rumors in April 2016, when Beyoncé released the latest solo album that contained many revelations of her marriage to the rapper. However, a rep for Paltrow said that Rose's allegations are "completely absurd and 100-percent false."

MTV announced that Lohan Beach Club ( working title ), with Lindsay Lohan, is slated to premiere in 2019, a press release noted. The docuseries, executive-produced by Lohan in partnership with MTV and Bunim/Murray Productions, began shooting this week in Mykonos, Greece. The series follows Lohan as she works to expand her business empire with the launch of Lohan Beach House.

To mark what would've been Andy Warhol's 90th birthday, New York City's Whitney Museum is hosting a summer party in advance of its November Warhol retrospective, according to Page Six. "If everybody's not a beauty, then nobody is," the museum described the dress code for the members-only bash, quoting Warhol. There will also be a life drawing class with models including "trans chanteuse" Daphne Always, drag performers Pearl Habor and Miz Jade, and "glam-rock dandy" Elle Emenope. The retrospective, "Andy Warhol—From A to B and Back Again," will run Nov. 12, 2018-March 31, 2019.

Atlantic City's newest hotel and casino canceled a Pat Benatar concert minutes before the show was to start, Page Six reported. An "unforeseen technical issue" is blamed for the cancellation at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Benatar, Neil Giraldo and Rick Springfield were scheduled to perform before the casino posted on Facebook the show would not go on, leaving people in line waiting to go into the venue. Hard Rock opened last month in what had been the Trump Taj Mahal.

Missy Elliott, Kehlani and Jada Pinkett Smith were among the first celebs to wish Demi Lovato well after her apparent overdose, Vibe.com noted. "Sending huge recovery love to Demi," Kehlani, who recently joined Lovato on her Tell Me You Love Me Tour, tweeted. People.com reported that, this March, the former Disney star revealed she had celebrated six years of sobriety. But in April rumors of a relapse swirled and, on June 21, Lovato confirmed she had fallen off the wagon in "Sober," a ballad about her recent relapse.

Speaking of Lovato, a second documentary abouther is in development at YouTube, TheWrap noted. The previously unannounced film was expected to premiere in the fourth quarter of 2018, but originals boss Susanne Daniels said it would likely be delayed following Lovato's hospitalization.

Atlanta Braves pitcher Sean Newcomb apologized for racist, homophobic and sexist tweets he sent as a teenager, calling them "some stupid stuff," the L.A. Times noted. The tweets were sent in 2011 and 2012, when he was 18. Major League Baseball, which dealt with a similar situation this month involving Milwaukee Brewers reliever Josh Hader on the night he pitched in the All-Star Game, said it was aware of Newcomb's tweets.

And there's another baseball player who has apologized for offensive tweetsas well, CBS News noted. Nationals shortstop Trea Turner apologized July 29 night for some years-old homophobic and racially insensitive posts. "I believe people who know me understand those regrettable actions do not reflect my values or who I am," he said in a statement issued by the team. "But I understand the hurtful nature of such language and am sorry to have brought any negative light to the Nationals organization, myself or the game I love."

Country-music star Eric Church opened up to Rolling Stone about the tragic mass shooting in Las Vegas last October just two nights after he performed at the Route 91 Harvest music festival, People.com noted. "There are some things we can't stop. Like the disgruntled kid who takes his dad's shotgun and walks into a high school," he said. "But we could have stopped the guy in Vegas." The singer, who is a gun owner, told the magazine he blamed "the lobbyists. And the biggest in the gun world is the NRA." The tragedy left 58 people dead and more than 500 wounded.

Cardi B will no longer be joining Bruno Mars for his "24K Magic" world tour, Page Six noted. In a statement, she said, "I thought that after giving birth to my daughter that 6 weeks would be enough time for me to recover mentally and physically. I also thought that I'd be able to bring her with me on tour, but I think I underestimated this whole mommy thing."

Sharon Needles, the winner of the sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, shared the video for her new single, "666," via Billboard, the publication reported. It's Needles' first release since her 2017 album Battle Axe. Directed by Brad Hammer, the clip also features other queers artists including former boyfriend Alaska Thunderf**k, the House of Avalon, Glamorous Monique and more.

Million Dollar Listing: Los Angeles' Madison Hildebrand is ready to say goodbye to the cameras, Page Six revealed. "I tried to quit with season six. With season six, I tried to get away from it and it just didn't happen, but this is real," Hildebrand said. "This is real." He also said he still hasn't heard from co-stars James Harris, Josh Altman, Josh Flagg, David Parnes and Tracy Tutor Maltas—but he also blocked them all on social media.

Netflix has renewed science-fiction drama Altered Carbon for a second season—with Anthony Mackie taking on the role of Takeshi Kovacs, TheWrap reported. The Avengers/Hurt Locker star replaces Joel Kinnaman, who played the role during the show's first season. The second season will consist of eight episodes.

Former MTV VJ Jesse Camp is reportedly missing, ExtraTV.com noted. The Blast reported that his sister Marisha Camp posted a message on social media, writing, "If anyone has seen or heard from my brother Jesse since Saturday, please, please, please reach out to me or ask him to call home!!! Thank you!!!!!" Jesse hasn't posted on Instagram since May.

Ivanka Trump's fashion company is folding, Page Six noted. Trump said, "After 17 months in Washington, I do not know when or if I will ever return to the business, but I do know that my focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington, so making this decision now is the only fair outcome for my team and partners." Since the inauguration of her father, President Donald Trump, her line of shoes, purses, clothes and accessories has been dropped by stores such as Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Jet.com, DSW, Shoes.com, Belk, ShopStyle and Gilt, according to Business Insider.