The Republic of T.

Ru Through?

This space has been a little heavy lately, what with the presidential election and the war in Iraq. So when I saw this next story I thought it might lighten things up a bit.

Now I'll admit, I was a fan of RuPaul when he first appeared on the scene. I bought his first CD. I even bought his holiday CD. I figured, if there was another crossdresser making it in show biz (after Sylvester and Boy George) I'd show some support. But somewhere along the road, Ru and I parted ways.

Now it seems Ru—after some success in movies and on television—is having difficulty promoting his latest project.

Celebrity drag queen RuPaul - who's having a tough time promoting his latest album, "RuPaul Red Hot" - is blasting Us Weekly, Ellen DeGeneres and other members of the mainstream media for allegedly blackballing him.

The 43-year-old, 6-foot-7 diva - who was a gender-bending star of stage and screen back in the last century - accuses the Jann Wenner-owned Us of all manner of treachery in an E-mail obtained by Daily News contributor Jawn Murray.

"Us Weekly said they didn't have interest in reviewing my album, but would I consider joining their lineup for [the magazine's feature] FASHION POLICE," writes the diva, whose given name is RuPaul Andre Charles.

"No, thank you. That's like telling a black person that they're not welcome at the all-white party, unless they clear the table and wash the dishes."

…The missive, which has been circulated by gay activists in recent days, also takes out after the openly gay DeGeneres, who has a syndicated daytime television show.

"Bottom line, all the national shows passed on having me on to promote my new album," RuPaul writes. "Am I disappointed? Yeah, a little, especially after I read that Mase - the Bible-thumping rapper - was scheduled to appear on Ellen. ... Does she owe me anything just because she's queer? Absolutely not!"

Reps for DeGeneres did not respond by deadline yesterday.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that maybe, just maybe the reason for the trouble Ru is having pushing his new DC doesn't have anything to do with his being gay or even a drag queen. If that were the case, how would he have achieve his past successes? No, I think there's something else going on here. I think it's the company he keeps.

Since the death of LaWanda Page—television's "Aunt Ester" from Sanford & Son, who featured prominently in Ru's first album and a couple of his video's—Ru has found a new sidekick. Unfortunately his choice is an act that has already drawn the ire of gay & lesbian activists and anti-racism activists across the country. Shirley Q. Liquor fills the LaWanda Page's shoes on Ru's new CD, supplying intros to at least two tracks. Ru has also been pretty vocal in his support of Shirley, who's performances tend to draw protests.

Shirley Q Liquor is a persona created by Long Beach, Mississippi resident, Registered Nurse and ordained Quaker minister, Chuck Knipp, a white man who performs in shabby drag and blackface. The character, a happy go lucky mother of 19 children, is exceptionally popular, especially on the internet and in the gay community. The character came into criticism in the year 2002 when protesters picketed a New York City performance, protesting Knipp's blackface performance as racist and misogynistic. The character was condemned by the left-wing National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and and a scheduled Shirley Q. Liquor performance in Boston was vetoed by the mayor. Democrat activist Keith Boykin has written that " Rather than challenging the ignorance of stereotypes, Knipp uses the stereotypes to show why he thinks blacks are ignorant."

This led to public response in support of the comedy of the character by various members of the civil libertarian, drag queen and gay community, including drag performer RuPaul, who calls Knipp's comedy "genius."

Like I said, I may be reaching a bit here, but I'm guess in that the combination of the controversy surrounding Shirley Q. Liquor, RuPaul's defense of Shirley, and Shirley's appearance on Ru's new CD is probably enough for Magazines like Us Weekley and shows like Degeneres' to politely pass on this particular project.

Maybe it's me, but those two media outlets seem to make their bread and butter on being noncontroversial. (Have you seen Ellen's show? It's pretty bland. And most of the time her being a lesbian doesn't come. But why should it? Everyone already knows.) And the first rule about being non-controversial is: if you can plainly see it, then you don't step in it.

Christopher Reeve

Damn. And I'd always hoped that he might walk again someday.

Well, now he can fly.

Braff Blogs

I get the strangest celebrity crushes at times, and for a while now I've had one on Zach Braff—currently starring in the new movie Garden State and on NBC's comedy Scrubs, but who first caught my eye in The Broken Hearts Club. Whenver Scrubs is on I usually find myself in front of the television. I'm not sure what it is about him, or his type (whatever that is) that appeals to me. I guess it's a sort of quirky vulnerability that's conveyed.

Anyway, Braff is blogging. Now, a movie star blogging is not exactly new. But Braff's blog seemed to exist mainly for the purpose of promoting his new movie. I don't get the impression that it will be updated much beyond the initial rollout of the film. (Though were I working for the studio, I'd want it at least revived when the DVD release rolls around.)

Film makers are now using blogs (actor blogs, more specifically) to promote movies. It's just something I found worth nothing at a time when bloggers are now getting press credentials at political conventions and people are wondering about the effect and significance of blogging and bloggers in general.

Hot Pink

Via Queer Day.

Asked her opinion about gay marriage, pop singer Pink had the following to say.

"If you wanna marry Joe Millionaire, go ahead. If you're a celebrity and you wanna marry your high school sweetheart for 55 hours, go right ahead. If you're J.Lo and you wanna marry 18 people, for six days each, hey! Go right on ahead!

"But if you happen to be reasonably minded and have fallen in love and wanna marry your soul mate and make a life of it, and you just so happen to be the same sex, then NO! How dare you! You demon creatures! We'd rather you just buy gasoline and support our war and continue to consume and fear in our country so we can make money off you. But do us a favour - don't hold hands in public. "

OK. I already liked some of her music, but now, I am officially a fan. And if Britney and J. Lo are pissed…well, they can just build a bridge and get over it. I love the woman for what she said.

Celebrity Look Alike?

This is a weird website. You upload a picture, follow the directions and it supposedly tells you what celebrities you resemble.

Here's what it came up with for me.

New Celebrity Crush

OK. It's time I admit it. I've got a new celebrity crush. It's an actor, whose movies I keep renting. I rented one today, to watch during Parker's nap, and he was in it.

Wanna know who it is?

Fade to Gray

Damn shame. While I hadn't blogged about it, I'd been following the news stories about Spalding Gray's disappearance. For those who don't know of Spalding Gray, if you've seen The Killing Fields, you've seen him in one of his acting roles. If you haven't seen Swimming to Cambodia, or Monster in a Box, rent them. They are monuments to the man's talent as a monologist.

Gray disappeared a couple months ago. He'd been suffering intense depression since suffering multiple injuries in a 2001 automobile accident in Ireland. The news today is that Spalding Gray has been found dead, his body fished out of the east river.

The body of actor-writer Spalding Gray was pulled from the East River over the weekend, two months after he walked out of his Manhattan apartment and disappeared. He was 62.

Gray, who laid bare his life and mingled performance art with comedy in acclaimed monologues like “Swimming to Cambodia” and “It’s a Slippery Slope,” was identified Monday through dental records and X-rays.

The cause of his death was still under investigation, said Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner. But Gray was known to have been deeply troubled and had attempted suicide before.

His family told police he was last seen Saturday Jan. 10. Throughout his disappearance, his wife, Kathleen Russo, had held out scant hope that he might still be alive.

All I can think is that it's a damn shame. I am definitely saddened to find out that he's been found dead, and most likey committed suicide. He leaves behind a wife and two kids. I have to admit I don't completely understand it. I understand depression, definitely. But I can't imagine a depression strong enough to make me decide to never see my husband and my son again.

So, perhaps I'll go out and rent a Monster and Swimming tonight, and have a little screening in Spalding's honor, after the kid goes to bed.

And the Oscar Goes To ...

I have to admit I didn't watch the Oscars. Since becoming a parent, I just don't get out to see movies as often as I used to. So, when the Oscars rolled around this year, I realized that I hadn't seen any of the nominated performance, and only of of the movies nominated for best picture. So who was I going to root for? Still, when I checked the news I was pleasantly surprised to find that a couple of my favorite actors won: Sean Penn and Tim Robbins.

Celebrity Gest

It's the end of my work week and I'm bored. Surfing the web, I happened across this interesting tidbit: David Gest & Diana Ross may (wait for it) marry ... each other.

The Daily Express says it understands the pair have become close despite Ross being a friend of Miss Minnelli's.

The newspaper reports Gest and Ross are already planning a wedding as glamorous as his one with Minnelli.

Ross apparently turned to Gest for comfort after being stopped for drink-driving in Tucson, Arizona, in 2002. She recently served two days in jail for the offence.

Gest said recently that he would probably marry within two years and US Weekly magazine editor Janice Min said: "Sources close to us have said it could be Diana Ross."

There's no way you could make up this kinda stuff. Two things come to mind here.

1. Ross is thinking Gest could do for her career what he did for Liza's.


2. If Liza kicked Gest's butt, Miss Ross will put him in the ground for sure.

O Captain, My Captain

First Mister Rogers, now this. Bob Keeshan, a/k/a Captain Kangaroo, has died.