SNL Reveals The Wizard of Oz’s Alternate Ending: WATCH
The 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz is a family favorite around the holidays, and it could have ended much differently, as Saturday Night Live revealed over the weekend.
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Alec Baldwin’s Donald Trump Meets Will Ferrell’s Gordon Sondland for the First Time in SNL’s Cold Open: WATCH
Alec Baldwin’s Donald Trump faced a throng of reporters in SNL’s Cold Open asking him about the impeachment hearings that took place this week. Baldwin’s Trump was prepared, however, with the set of “black licorice” notes that went viral this week, and a very loud helicopter that prevented him from hearing any of the reporters’ questions.
WATCH THIS NEXT: SNL Goes for Viral Moments with its Star-Studded 2020 Democratic Debate: WATCH
“It sounds like you said Sondland’s testimony completely exonerated me, and I totally agree.”
Baldwin’s Trump continued: “This is me and Ambassador Sondland talking. He says to me, ‘What do you want?’ And I answer, ‘Two large pies, extra cheese, extra sauce.’ No, wait, that’s a different phone call. I said to Sondland, ‘I want nothing. No quid pro quo, bro.’ See? It’s right here in black licorice.”
Baldwin’s Trump told reporters that it “doesn’t matter” what Sondland told the House impeachment inquiry: “I told him no quid pro quo at least once. So any quid I did after that is on them, that’s how it works. It’s like when you meet a girl and you say if you’re a cop, you’ve got to tell me. Besides, I don’t know this Ambassador Sondland guy, that’s fake news.”
But it just so happened Ferrell’s Sondland was within earshot.
“It’s so great to finally meet you for the first time, by the way,” as Ferrell’s Sondland appeared.
Replied Ferrell’s Sondland: “Oh, right, right, right. Keep the quid pro quo on the low-low, got it. I just want to go on the record and say you guys need to lay off my boy. Everybody loves his ass… Ukraine, Russia. They’ll do anything for this man. I know, I asked.”
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WATCH: Dolly Parton speaks about her queer fans…to Queerty!
We meet Dolly Parton–actress, musical legend and queer icon–in the purple-trimmed suite at the DreamMore Resort just outside her theme park, Dollywood.
Normally this kind of interview, not to mention the trip it involved, would have us anxious and exhausted. Yet Ms. Parton has a habit of disarming anyone. Meeting her feels like meeting an old friend. “I have a brother named David!,” she chirps.
Related: Sir Ian schemes, lesbians sing and Dolly Parton tugs our ‘Strings:’ What to Watch this week
The occasion: the world premiere of Parton’s new Netflix series, Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings, a series of mini-movies based on her life and music. Dolly introduces each episode herself, produces, and turns up to show off her acting chops as well. The series debuts on Netflix November 22.
We were thrilled to score some time with the grande dame herself just ahead of the red carpet premiere for a little chat.
Sacha Baron Cohen ADL Speech Blasts Mark Zuckerberg in Blistering Rebuke of Hate-Facilitating ‘Propaganda’ Platforms: WATCH
Sacha Baron Cohen ripped Mark Zuckerberg and the “propaganda machine” platforms of Facebook, Twitter, Google for facilitating hate online and allowing it to flourish. Cohen made the remarks in a keynote speech to the Anti-Defamation League. Cohen was receiving the group’s International Leadership Award.
Said Baron Cohen: ‘Think about it. Facebook, YouTube and Google, Twitter and others — they reach billions of people. The algorithms these platforms depend on deliberately amplify the type of content that keeps users engaged — stories that appeal to our baser instincts and that trigger outrage and fear. It’s why YouTube recommended videos by the conspiracist Alex Jones billions of times. It’s why fake news outperforms real news, because studies show that lies spread faster than truth. And it’s no surprise that the greatest propaganda machine in history has spread the oldest conspiracy theory in history- — the lie that Jews are somehow dangerous. As one headline put it, “Just Think What Goebbels Could Have Done with Facebook.” On the internet, everything can appear equally legitimate. Breitbart resembles the BBC. The fictitious Protocols of the Elders of Zion look as valid as an ADL report. And the rantings of a lunatic seem as credible as the findings of a Nobel Prize winner. We have lost, it seems, a shared sense of the basic facts upon which democracy depends.’
Baron Cohen blasted a speech given by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg last month: ‘First, Zuckerberg tried to portray this whole issue as “choices…around free expression.” That is ludicrous. This is not about limiting anyone’s free speech. This is about giving people, including some of the most reprehensible people on earth, the biggest platform in history to reach a third of the planet. Freedom of speech is not freedom of reach. Sadly, there will always be racists, misogynists, anti-Semites and child abusers. But I think we could all agree that we should not be giving bigots and pedophiles a free platform to amplify their views and target their victims. Second, Zuckerberg claimed that new limits on what’s posted on social media would be to “pull back on free expression.” This is utter nonsense. The First Amendment says that “Congress shall make no law” abridging freedom of speech, however, this does not apply to private businesses like Facebook. We’re not asking these companies to determine the boundaries of free speech across society. We just want them to be responsible on their platforms. If a neo-Nazi comes goose-stepping into a restaurant and starts threatening other customers and saying he wants kill Jews, would the owner of the restaurant be required to serve him an elegant eight-course meal? Of course not! The restaurant owner has every legal right and a moral obligation to kick the Nazi out, and so do these internet companies.’
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Devin Nunes Gives Randy Rainbow His Note for a Damning ‘Quid Pro Quo’ Impeachment Inquiry Anthem: WATCH
This week was a long one. Hours and hours of testimony from Lieutenant Colonel Vindman, Ambassadors Yovanovitch, Sondland, and Taylor, Fiona Hill, and many more who offered evidence of Donald Trump’s attempt to bribe Ukraine by withholding millions in U.S. military aid until it announced an investigation of his political rival Joe Biden.
Fortunately, Randy Rainbow is here with a new impeachment inquiry anthem to lay out the evidence: “He’s Just a Gurl Who’ll Quid Pro Quo”. He’s taking a cue from the Broadway classic Oklahoma, and Trump is definitely not OK.
The post Devin Nunes Gives Randy Rainbow His Note for a Damning ‘Quid Pro Quo’ Impeachment Inquiry Anthem: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.
WATCH: Gay man asks mom and dad to guess which men he’s slept with
Could you imagine assembling a line-up of people and asking your parents to guess which ones you’ve had sex with?
No, we can’t imagine it either. In fact, we shudder to even contemplate it. However, that’s exactly what one brave soul has done for the latest video from YouTube channel Cut.
The film features Reese, parents Lisa and Mike, seven other men and one woman. Although it will make you cringe, it’s also very sweet and funny. If only all parents could be this understanding of their kid’s sexuality.
Reese says at the start of the experiment his folks know “virtually nothing” about his sex life.
Mom and dad soon realize that their son has a thing for thicker, more bear-ish guys, which, as dad points out, is not too dissimilar to his build – to his son’s horror!
Mom throws in a couple of curveballs and asks some unexpected questions of the guys her son has hooked up with, such as “Were you safe?”
Unbeknown to Lisa and Mike, they also get to meet the guy their son is currently dating… and end up asking if he’d like to join them for Thanksgiving dinner!
WATCH: Luke Evans eating himself has to be seen to be believed
Luke Evans is having a very busy month. Not only did he star in the number one box office hit, Midway, but he’s releasing his first album of music. The Wales-born actor, who first made a name for himself in musical theatre in the UK, releases At Last tomorrow (November, 22nd).
The collection includes re-workings of hits such as Cher’s “If I Could Turn Back Time” and Pat Benatar’s “Love is a Battlefield,” among others.
Related: Luke Evans talks heartache and covering Cher’s “If I Could Turn Back Time”
Evans is currently engaged in promotional interviews. Visiting the upmarket Corinthia hotel in London, staff served Evans a tasty treat: A chocolate and raspberry cake decorated with the album’s front cover artwork.
Evans took to Instagram to post a video of himself slicing into the cake and enjoying a bite.
View this post on InstagramNom nom nom ? thanks for my breakfast this morning! @corinthialondon
A post shared by Luke Evans (@thereallukeevans) on
Some fans were more impressed by the fact Evans was shirtless than the actual cake. Among those to comment was actor Taron Egerton, who recently played Elton John in the movie Rocketman.
“Delicious. Lovely cake too,” Egerton commented, prompting Evans to respond, “I’ve kept some for you Taron.”
Related: Taron Egerton says he felt “trepidation around playing a gay character”
‘Makeup by Mario’ Dedivanovic, Kim Kardashian’s Longtime Makeup Artist, Breaks Down in Tears After Coming Out as Gay in Emotional Speech: WATCH
‘Makeup by Mario’ Dedivanovic, Kim Kardashian’s longtime makeup artist, broke down in tears after coming out as gay in an emotional speech after Kardashian presented him with the Artist Achievement Award at the American Influencer Awards at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood on Tuesday night.
Said Dedivanovic: “I’ve been having an internal struggle, recently, and my entire life, to find that light I knew I deserved. This is my 19th years as an artist and I am a 37-year-old man. … As I began to let go and to give all of the cushion and security that I’ve built over the years, I realized that I was starting to feel more confident, less insecure, more willing to show my true self, less afraid to speak and to share, and more comfortable in my own skin.”
“I don’t care as much about what I look like, and what I wear, and what I own,” he continued. “I don’t feel a need to be validated any more. I’m starting to see my true value and purpose in life. And it isn’t about social media, likes, subscribers, fame, fortune, and accolades, and all of those surface things. It isn’t about any of that stuff, because that stuff is just that. It’s stuff. And that stuff clouds your vision and your true purpose here on Earth as a human.”
Dedivanovic then spoke about his family: “A couple of days ago, on my mother’s 73rd birthday, I walked home after a day of stressful meetings at work and she was there doing my laundry and I broke down to her crying. I told her, finally, that I had spent my entire life and childhood suppressing my thoughts, suppressing my dreams, my feelings, my creativity and trying to be invisible so that no one would know how I’m feeling inside. And so that no one would see how I walk or how I talk, protecting myself so no one would make fun of me because I knew that I was born different. I was traumatized to be me. I had been living in fear my entire life. I had been ashamed. Ashamed of the way that I was born, a human with a good pure heart. She said, ‘Mario, from this day forward you are never again to live in shame or fear and to be afraid of who you are.’”
Dedivanovic said he woke up the next morning feeling lighter. He then addressed his father, and the Albanians in his home country directly.
“I’m asking you to open your hearts and open your souls,” said Dedivanovic. “Because so many little boys and girls around the world are growing up with pain and fear like I did, thinking of killing themselves every single day like I did. Because they are different and they are scared to be themselves, because their culture or their family judged them and shamed them. Little kids are scared that their … family will not accept them because they were born different. We are not different. We all bleed the same and we are all deserving of the right to feel happiness and be loved.”
He concluded: “Right now I stand here for the first time in my life a proud, 37-year-old gay man. And right now, I finally feel that bright light I’ve been dreaming of my whole life. … I’m finally happy to be me.”
Dedivanovic later wrote to his 7 million Instagram followers: “Finally free thank you all. I love you.”
The post ‘Makeup by Mario’ Dedivanovic, Kim Kardashian’s Longtime Makeup Artist, Breaks Down in Tears After Coming Out as Gay in Emotional Speech: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.
Meghan McCain Writes Pete Buttigieg Off as ‘Sparkly, Shiny Object,’ Likens Him to Herman Cain, Howard Dean: WATCH
The View co-hosts took up the topic of Pete Buttigieg after the gay South Bend mayor surged to the top of the Democratic field in a new CNN Iowa poll released over the weekend.
Said Joy Behar: “He’s a moderate. … People are excited about Buttigieg. He’s fresh, he’s new, he’s … gay. He’s a serviceman. He served in Afghanistan. Unless you are a homophobe, he’s married in a very traditional marriage, totally monogamous. That should appeal to the silent majority out there, whoever they are. Also he’s openly religious, which is also another positive in this country. Unless people are going to not vote for someone like him because he’s gay, I think he’s got a shot.”
Meghan McCain disagreed: “I’m not going to try to burst the bubble here. But, here’s always a sparkly, shiny object in primary politics. I can remember when Herman Cain was polling really high, Newt Gingrich at one point. There’s always a bright, shiny candidate. Howard Dean, and then infamously yelled, whatever. I don’t know if we would be talking about a candidate polling with 0% or 1% with white voters the way we’re talking about the candidate with 0% or 1% with black voters. He has a serious problem and blind spots with the African-American community.”
McCain then brought up the issues with the presentation of Buttigieg’s Douglass Plan that came up over the weekend. Sunny Hostin agreed that it was a problem: “How can you say people are endorsing you when they’re not?”
BUTTIGIEG LEADS IN IOWA POLL: The co-hosts weigh in on Mayor Pete Buttigieg being the frontrunner in a new Iowa poll, surpassing 2020 candidates Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders. t.co/MopPyhxIW0 pic.twitter.com/gy0bSxw0cP
— The View (@TheView) November 18, 2019
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A Gay Man Goes ‘Way Way Back’ at a Hometown Funeral and Finds a Love from His Past: WATCH
Singer-songwriter Christopher Sorensen has debuted a new music video for his track “Way. Way. Back.” Towleroad readers may recall the video for Sorensen’s “Afterglow“, in which a closeted 18-year-old teen and an older man meet on a gay hook-up app.
Said Sorensen: “‘Way. Way. Back’ tells the story of a gay man who returns to his hometown for a funeral. He’s haunted by memories of a former love from his youth and the events that tore them apart. The video shows how we collect trauma throughout our lives, weighing us down as we try to move on. Maybe by facing our pasts we can find a new beginning.”
ICYMI: Closeted Teen and Older Man Meet on Grindr with Agonizing Results in ‘Afterglow’ – WATCH
“As an openly-gay singer and songwriter, I’ve been compelled to tell stories about coming to terms with identity and the challenges I and others have overcome,” added Sorensen. “I’m also a screenwriter, so I like to use my music videos as an opportunity to create short films. The music track was created with Australia-based producer, Arizon. The video was directed by Jasmine Sorensen and was the collaboration of a lot of wonderful people, who donated their time and support to make this possible.”
The post A Gay Man Goes ‘Way Way Back’ at a Hometown Funeral and Finds a Love from His Past: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.
A Gay Man Goes ‘Way Way Back’ at a Hometown Funeral and Finds a Love from His Past: WATCH
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