Arts & Entertainment
‘Rocketman’ star Taron Egerton says he feels ‘at home’ at gay clubs
The actor isn’t comfortable in ‘the bro’ role
Taron Egerton, who stars in the upcoming Elton John biopic “Rocketman,” opened up about how he feels more “at home” going to gay clubs than he does going to a football match in a new interview for GQ UK.
Egerton says he’s always felt “like something of an imposter” as “The ‘guy’, the ‘bro’, the ‘stunt guy'” like his role in “Kingsman.”
“I’m not someone who really subscribes to this binary view of male and female archetypes or ways of behaving. … Our concept of what a straight man or gay man looks like or is expected to behave in 20 years will be nothing like it is now,” Egerton says.
Egerton also commented on the gay sex scene from “Rocketman” between John (Egerton) and John’s manager and lover John Reid (Richard Madden) which was said to be censored but director Dexter Fletcher called the reports “nothing but rumors.”
“Well, the stuff we shot was pretty explicit. I mean, that’s why I made the film,” Egerton says. “And for me, especially as a heterosexual actor, not to push the envelope as far as I can or try to make it a wholehearted celebration of being a gay man would be wrong. … What’s an extra $25 million at the box office? What are you willing to do for that? Sacrifice sleeping at night because you watered the whole thing down?”
GQ UK also spoke with John’s husband David Furnish, who is a producer on the film, about why Egerton was the choice for John.
“When I first met Elton I was quite taken by his masculinity. He’s quite a blokey gay man. You can take him and put him in these costumes, pile up the feathers or the crazy stuff, and it all just kind of lands on him in a very masculine way. Taron has real gravitas and it’s very similar. He has the incredible -sensitivity and gentleness that Elton has, but he also has this manliness too. It’s a very complex quality,” Furnish says.
Furnish also added that he doesn’t want “Rocketman” to face the same censorship in other countries that “Bohemian Rhapsody” did in China.
“I heard Bohemian Rhapsody is going to China with any reference to Freddie being gay taken out of it. Well, you can’t do that with our film, I’ll tell you that. It’s integral to Elton’s journey as an individual and as an artist,” Furnish says.
“Rocketman” hits theaters on May 31.
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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