Arts & Entertainment
Russian Maxim releases list of ‘Gays we respect’
Harris praised for straight role on ‘Mother’
Neil Patrick Harris (Photo by Angela George; courtesy Wikimedia Commons)
Russian Maxim has published a list of gay men that they still “respect” and consider “real men.”
The article begins by saying that their list of gay men are different from other gay men.
“We, men, do not consider men who love men to be men,” the article says. “But there are exceptions. There are gays who have earned our respect and the right to remain real men in our eyes.”
The list of gay men who have Russian Maxim’s seal of approval include Oscar Wilde, Alan Turing, Freddie Mercury, French actor Jean Marais and author Chuck Palahniuk.
Each gay man is given a description as to why Russian Maxim thinks they deserve their respect despite their sexual orientation.
Not everyone was included on the list easily. Russian Maxim writes that Neil Patrick Harris, although listed, was almost not allowed on the list.
“We weren’t sure about including Neil Patrick Harris in the list – after all, he declared himself a ‘happy gay’ in 2006,” the article says. “But his performance as Barney Stinson in the series ‘How I Met Your Mother’ hasn’t left us indifferent.”
The magazine praises Harris’s portrayal of the womanzing Stinson.
“It’s impossible not to respect someone who elevated the hunt for girls into a true art, who systematized all the tricks and techniques and created the ‘Bro Code,'” the article says. “Even if he was just acting the role. But how he acted!”
According to Gay Star News, the U.S. Maxim has denounced the list and said it was “entirely against [our] views.”
Celebrity News
Madonna announces release date for new album
‘Confessions II’ marks return to the dance floor
Pop icon Madonna on Wednesday announced that her 15th studio album will be released on July 3.
Titled “Confessions II,” the new album is a sequel to 2005’s “Confessions on a Dance Floor,” an Abba and disco-infused hit.
The new album reunites Madonna with producer Stuart Price, who also helmed the original “Confessions” album. It’s her first album of new material since 2019’s “Madame X.”
“We must dance, celebrate, and pray with our bodies,” Madonna said in a press release. “These are things that we’ve been doing for thousands of years — they really are spiritual practices. After all, the dance floor is a ritualistic space. It’s a place where you connect — with your wounds, with your fragility. To rave is an art. It’s about pushing your limits and connecting to a community of like-minded people,” continued the statement. “Sound, light, and vibration reshape our perceptions. Pulling us into a trance-like state. The repetition of the bass, we don’t just hear it but we feel it. Altering our consciousness and dissolving ego and time.”
Denali (@denalifoxx) of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” performed at Pitchers DC on April 9 for the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show. Other performers included Cake Pop!, Brooke N Hymen, Stacy Monique-Max and Silver Ware Sidora.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
In an act of artistic defiance, Baltimore Center Stage stays focused on DEI
‘Maybe it’s a triple-down’
By LESLIE GRAY STREETER | I’m always tickled when people complain about artists “going political.” The inherent nature of art, of creation and free expression, is political. This becomes obvious when entire governments try to threaten it out of existence, like in 2025, when the brand-new presidential administration demanded organizations halt so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming or risk federal funding.
Baltimore Center Stage’s response? A resounding and hearty “Nah.” A year later, they’re still doubling down on diversity.
“Maybe it’s a triple-down,” said Ken-Matt Martin, the theater’s producing director, chuckling.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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