I Didn't Say It ....

Marc Solomon, national campaign director of Freedom To Marry, on preparing for the group to go “out of business":

"We’ve always been set up as a campaign, and we are a campaign, and when we’ve won nationwide, we’re finished. I want to see some of the really good people stick around in LGBT stuff, or in other progressive causes, but Freedom To Marry’s done."

Not just yet, mind you, but their campaign for full nationwide marriage quality is looming closer every single day.

I’d be happy to go out of business after helping to accomplish that.

Zachary Quinto, on HIV and PrEP — or Pre-exposure prophylaxis — a way for people who do not have HIV prevent infection by taking a pill every day:

"AIDS has lost the edge of horror it possessed when it swept through the world in the ’80s...Today’s generation sees it more as something to live with and something to be much less fearful of. And that comes with a sense of, dare I say, laziness ... We need to be really vigilant and open about the fact that these drugs [PrEP] are not to be taken to increase our ability to have recreational sex...There’s an incredible underlying irresponsibility to that way of thinking…and we don’t yet know enough about this vein of medication to see where it’ll take us down the line."

HIV is not a cake walk, even today with all the medications and advances being made. So why anyone would act so casually about it is being me.

Howsabout just being safe and not playing with fire?
PS: ZQ is hot.

Stephen Colbert, a South Carolina native son, on US District Judge Richard Gergel striking down the sate’s marriage ban:

"A federal judge has ruled that South Carolina must recognize gay marriage. That is outrageous! When did South Carolina start recognizing the federal government? … This is the worst thing that has happened to South Carolina since someone found Mark Sanford."

Leave it to Colbert.

Pope Francis, during his opening message to this week's Vatican marriage symposium:

"Family is an anthropological fact - a socially and culturally related fact. We cannot qualify it with concepts of an ideological nature, that are relevant only in a single moment of history, and then pass by. We can't speak today of a conservative notion of family or a progressive notion of family: Family is family! It can't be qualified by ideological notions. Family has a strength of its own. May this colloquium be an inspiration to all who seek to support and strengthen the union of man and woman in marriage as a unique, natural, fundamental and beautiful good for persons, families, communities, and whole societies."

There you have it, in his own words.

Frankie can spew all his peace and love and understanding about The Gays being welcomes in the church, as long as we don’t become equal.

Stop acting like this man is going to change the Church, because it ain’t happening.

Paul Bettany, British actor, educating a Twitter troll who attacked him with this:  “Your a faggot pussy I would beat your fucking ass if i ever see you in real life. Faggot":

"Dear Travis,

Thank you so much for your message. 
I have a few thoughts – I think you mean ‘you’re’ as in ‘you are a faggot pussy’ not ‘your’, which seems to suggest I have a faggot pussy. Also a comma after “pussy” would really help the clarity of the sentence. 
Lastly, you are mixing up your tenses “would and see” – I think you mean that you would beat my fucking ass if you ever saw me in real life or you will beat my fucking ass (why so much focus on my ass? Something you’d like to get off your chest?) if you ever see me in real life.

Sorry for all the notes but I was a little confused.

Hugs and kisses, 
Paul Bettany."

I think I just fell in love with Paul Bettany.

PS: He's hot.

Some Thoughts On Tony

Loyal ISBL readers know that I am a proud Awards Show Whore®. I watch them all, from Emmy to Tony to Oscar and Grammy; hell, I even watch the Daytime Emmys. If the television industry wants me to watch, put the word "awards" the title and I'll be glued to my set.

The Scandal Awards. 

The Modern Family Awards. 

The Project Runway: Awards.

The FoxNews Awards....okay, so it doesn't work all the time. Still, I'll be there.

And last night was the gayest awards show of all, The Tony Awards; and I don’t call it gay just because it’s Broadway, but because it’s one of the few, maybe the only, awards show where the winners who just happen to be gay actually kiss their partners/spouses/lovers on the way up to the stage and then thank them in a lovely speech.

So, let’s rip …. with random thoughts ...

Hugh Jackman and his Huge Ackman, Seriously, is there anything this man cannot do? His hopping opening had me tired before he even got into the building and then he sings and dances and taps and, yeah, raps, and tells jokes, and, well, is just beautiful to look at, though I could do without the beard. No shade on the gay rumors, I meant the actual facial hair. I like my Hugh clean shaven.

Patti LaBelle and Gladys Knight showed all those younger divas how it’s done, and done right.

Les Miserables was up for Best Revival; I didn’t know it had ever gone away …

James Monroe Iglehart brought the house down in a  number from Aladdin — right before he won a Tony for the role — but I was kinda busy looking at Adam Jacobs’, as Aladdin, abs.

Clint Eastwood. Why? Broadway and Eastwood? Plus, man did he seem old and disoriented.

Fran Drescher? Seriously. Oh, she was on Broadway, signing, no less, this Spring in Cinderella. No, she’s the evil stepmother.

Jonathan Groff — cute and gay — steps out to introduce Idina Menzel singing a song from her Tony-nominated role in If/Then and does the perfect impression of Travolta at the Oscars with “the wickedly talented” Idina Menzel; yes, he got the name right.

Sting — a favorite of mine ... a friend and I once saw him in concert seven times in eight days at six different venues — was on to present a song from his upcoming musical he wrote, The Last Ship. I.Love.Sting. I did not like this song. I mean, if you want me to come see this thing, don’t give sad and drab musical numbers, give me something to excite me.

Like … say … Alan Cumming reprising his role as the Emcee in the remounting of the revival of the original musical Cabaret. I remember when he first appeared on Broadway in that role back in 1998 and it seemed kind of risqué and shocking. Times have changed and now it seems, well, still sexy, but kind of quaint.

I have a wee crush on Mister Cumming because he's openly gay, a happily married man and has the most delicious Scottish accent ... and I am a sucker for a man with an accent.

The scene they chose to use from Rocky: The Musical might have been better if it featured an actual song? Just sayin’. But ... a New Hottie Alert goes out to Andy Karl, who stars in Rocky; The Musical. He's like a younger, more smoldering Dylan McDermott.

Kenneth Branagh, unlike Hugh Jackman, was hotter with his beard, and again, facial hair, people.

Patricia Clarkson presented with Bradley Cooper and Alessandro Nivola, and I kept thinking I’d like to be the meat in the sandwich … minus Clarkson, though.

Now, i have nothing against Miss Clarkson, in fact, she's one of my favorite actresses — see Far from Home  — but, c'mon, she is kinda the odd, er, man out in that threesome, you know.

RuPaul came out in male drag to introduce NPH performing from Hedwig and the Angry Inch. I don’t think it was lost on anyone who’s been paying attention to TrannyGate that he used the word transgender last night. That said, NPH was fantastic as Hedwig; tour de force performance. Fun and edgy; and the kiss he laid on his husband, David Burtka, was hot. Plus, later on NPH won as best Actor in a Musical, so it was tres gay!

My Hot Gay Alert Alarm sounded when Matt Bomer and Zachary Quinto appeared together looking all cute and sexy and gay.

It was almost like a dream I once had where Matt, Zach and I … we … um … yeah .. I think it best if I just leave it at that, and then hope I get that dream again.

Audra McDonald — one of my all-time favorite singers and actresses — won a history making sixth Tony Award for her portrayal of one of mu other favorite singers, Billie Holiday, in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill. 

She is truly an amazingly talented singer and actress.

And Jennifer Hudson sang a song from an upcoming musical Finding Neverland. I don’t know if JHud is going to be in it, but someone needs to get that girl in a Broadway musical and fast. That is a show-stopping voice if there ever was one and Broadway could use her.

And there you have it, the high points, at least in my shallow Broadway-loving, show-tune-singing, Huge-Ackman-craving mind. It was very gay, and very gay, and fabulous and fun and entertaining. Hugh was fantastic; not as wild and crazy and madcap as NPH, but, man, singing, dancing, joking, and looking hot? He's the total package with a total package. As Ethel Merman might have sung, had she seen him:

♪ ♫ Who could ask for anything more! ♪ ♫

Best Musical "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder"

Best Revival of a Musical "Hedwig and the Angry Inch"

Leading Actor in a Musical Neil Patrick Harris, "Hedwig and the Angry Inch"

Leading Actress in a Musical Jesse Mueller, "Beautiful -- The Carole King Musical"

Best Featured Actress in a Musical Lena Hall, "Hedwig and the Angry Inch"

Best Featured Actor in a Musical James M. Iglehart, "Aladdin"

Best Direction of a Musical Darko Tresnjak, "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder"

Best Play "All the Way"

Best Revival of a Play "A Raisin in the Sun"

Leading Actress in a Play Audra McDonald, "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill"

Leading Actor in a Play Bryan Cranston, "All the Way"

Best Featured Actor in a Play Mark Rylance, "Twelfth Night"

Best Featured Actress in a Play Sophie Okonedo, "A Raisin in the Sun"

Best Direction of a Play Kenny Leon, "A Raisin in the Sun"