Jesse Tyler Ferguson Responds After Tuc Watkins Deems 'Modern Family' Couple The Gay Equivalent Of 'Blackface'
Jesse Tyler Ferguson took to social media after a fellow actor criticized the portrayal of a same-sex couple on “Modern Family” as being “the gay equivalent of ‘blackface.’”

The 39-year-old Ferguson, who has nabbed five Emmy nominations for his work on “Modern Family,” said he knew “lots of guys” who could relate to Cam (Eric Stonestreet) and Mitch (Ferguson).

“We can’t be expected to represent every gay person,” he wrote on Facebook. “We can only represent these two people. Also, Mitch is basically a version of me…so I never know how to take it when people say
that he is stereotypical. And in defense of Cam, I still can’t figure out how a clown & football coach who also happens to be gay is a stereotype.”

He went on to note, “As a closeted kid of the ’80s I would have loved to have had a show like ‘Modern Family’ to watch with my parents. It would have meant a lot to me to see who I secretly was reflected on television. TV has come a long way and it continues to forge new ground.”

You can check out Ferguson’s full Facebook post here.

Ferguson’s remarks followed those of “Desperate Housewives” actor Tuc Watkins. The openly gay Watkins, who played Bob Hunter on “Housewives” and can currently be seen on “Awkward,” said he had “a hard time laughing at the gay guys” on “Modern Family,” arguing that the show’s portrayal of a same-sex couple “doesn’t feel ‘modern’ at all.”

“It feels a little bit like the gay equivalent of ‘blackface,'” he added, according to reports. “Sure, people come in all shapes, sizes, etc. So why are we fed such ’80s stereotypes every week?”

Earlier this year, “Modern Family” came under fire from the American Family Association’s Bryan Fischer, who argued that the ABC series was “designed to make you think that same-sex households are wonderful” and “the optimum nurturing environment for children,” while depicting heterosexual marriage as “bondage, dreary,” and “gloomy.”

“People are just watching TV to be entertained,” Fischer said at the time, “not realizing that their view of life is being twisted in a way that’s very harmful to them and harmful to our culture.”

www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/22/jesse-tyler-ferguson-tuc-watkins_n_6367156.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

First Same-Sex Couple Featured in “A Home for the Holidays”

This year, CBS’s annual holiday special featured its’ first ever same-sex couple and their story of adoption.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/first-same-sex-couple-featured-in-a-home-for-the-holidays?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Archbishop Of Canterbury Refuses To Explain Why He Opposes Same-Sex Marriage – VIDEO

Jim Redmond

www.towleroad.com/2014/12/archbishop-of-canterbury-refuses-to-explain-why-he-opposes-same-sex-marriage-video.html

What Everyone Said About Madonna's New Songs This Weekend
Madonna’s new music sprung a leak last week, before she’d even had the chance to make an official announcement about her forthcoming album. The singer handled the situation in the most Madonna way possible: She shirked her critics and dropped six songs on our iTunes doorstop early Saturday morning with no precedent. (The Guardian called it a “partial Beyoncé.”)

Within hours, #RebelHeart — the name of her 13th album, now set for release on March 10 — became a trending topic on Twitter and Facebook. Each track became an iTunes best-seller, and as of Monday morning, all six are among the service’s current 20 most-downloaded songs.

Three (“Illuminati,” “Unapologetic Bitch” and “Bitch I’m Madonna,” which marks Madonna’s third collaboration with Nicki Minaj after “Give Me All Your Luvin'” and “I Don’t Give A”) are infused with EDM and dance-groove sensibilities, thanks in part to production work by the likes of Kanye West and Diplo. Jim Farber of the New York Daily News said the trio is “less dignified” than the other three songs. Many have noted that “Living for Love,” the album’s first single, is anthemic in a way that’s reminiscent of “Express Yourself” and “Like a Prayer.” Farber also praised the other two tracks, “Ghosttown” and “Devil Pray,” which are folksy by comparison. “The best of the new songs present the 56-year-old Madonna in a way that’s finely tailored to her essential style,” he wrote.

Billboard’s Keith Caulfield echoed Farber’s ovation in his review of “Living for Love,” also comparing the song to her earlier hits. “When the song weaves its way toward a throbbing drop, Madonna continues crooning, refusing to be relegated to the background,” he wrote.

Therein lies the weekend’s consensus: Madonna has bridged the contemporary dance-pop trends she feverishly chased on 2012’s “MDNA” while evoking the more traditional dance palate for which she is known. (The country-tinged “Devil Pray,” for example, recalls the 2000 hit “Don’t Tell Me.”)

“For a start, that was always her calling card, her ability to be on or just ahead of a musical or fashion style that might have been breaking in the clubs or alternative/underground scenes but had yet to transfer to the mainstream,” Bernard Zuel wrote for the Sydney Morning Herald. “That and a great ear for the right producers and co-writers to help her transfer the trend into marketable music.”

Over on Twitter and Instagram, a score of fans, critics and A-listers joined the chorus, incorporating hashtags that Madonna has used on Instagram throughout much of 2014: #unapologeticbitch, #rebelheart, #livingforlove. On Saturday, Madonna posted a collage of fans who’d re-created her album artwork.

I love my fans creativity!!! Thanks for your support! ❤️#rebelheart ❤️#livingforlove

A photo posted by Madonna (@madonna) on Dec 12, 2014 at 3:14pm PST

Diplo, Pharrell Williams, Diddy, longtime friend and “A League of Their Own” co-star Rosie O’Donnell and “Glee” star Kevin McHale all expressed their support, but it was Ariana Grande who walked away with the splashiest shoutout from the queen of pop.

@Madonna thank u santa

— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) December 20, 2014

.@arianagrande You’ve been such a good girl this year I wanted to give you something special ❤️ #RebelHeart

— Madonna (@Madonna) December 21, 2014

Madonna will have a busy few months leading up to the release of “Rebel Heart,” which will contain 19 tracks, according to its current iTunes page. She revealed in a Q&A with Billboard that she will “possibly” perform “Living for Love” with a cabal of other singers at the Grammy Awards on Feb. 8, right around the time she is planning to unveil another set of songs.

Listen to Madonna’s six fresh tracks below:

www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/22/madonna-new-songs_n_6366422.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

Florida Could Jail Clerks Who Let Gays Marry

Imagine going to jail for a year because you let a gay couple get married.

That’s the insane situation that Florida clerks will face in the first few days of 2015. It’s happening because the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed marriage to start on January 6th, in accordance with a federal ruling a few months ago. But the law remains on the books, including the bizarrely stuff penalties for any clerk who issues a license to a gay or lesbian couple.

So now, the statewide association for clerks and comptrollers has warned its members that they could face a fine and jail time for allowing marriages to begin. (To be fair: they’re only following their lawyers’ advice. And those lawyers have in the past recommended that the state repeal its marriage ban.)

This is, obviously, completely nuts. Can you imagine the outcry if a SWAT team stormed into a wedding in a clerk’s office to arrest everyone? The outcry would be enormous. And yet, considering that it’s Florida, we wouldn’t rule out something so ludicrous. After all, this is the state that can’t seem to go five minutes without a machete attack, alligator-related crime, or someone getting their face eaten.

So now the big question is: will there be a clerk brave enough to make themselves the test case? And if they do, will some enterprising homophobic Sherriff take it upon himself or herself to raid the wedding? Stay tuned.

matt baume

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/l1slPuJ0Ng8/florida-could-jail-clerks-who-let-gays-marry-20141222

Celebrate the End of 2014 With This Mega Mash-up of 330 Films Released This Year: VIDEO

Kyler Geoffroy

www.towleroad.com/2014/12/celebrate-the-end-of-2014-with-this-mega-mash-up-of-330-films-that-were-released-this-year-video.html