Hollywood In Furor
Thousands of protesters are angry about California’s ban on gay marriage — and so are the stars.
Many celebrities grieved the passing of Proposition 8 in California this week. Some — such as Wanda Sykes, Rose McGowen and Lance Bass — attended a Wednesday protest criticizing the state’s gay marriage ban. Others — like Ellen DeGeneres, Rosie O’Donnell, Samantha Ronson and Melissa Etheridge — vented their frustrations online, on TV, and onstage.
Blocks away from the Thursday rally of more than 2,000 gay-rights advocates outside the gates of a Mormon temple, several stars — including James Cromwell, Patricia Clarkson, Anjelica Huston and Sean Penn — said they supported the protesters while walking the red carpet at the BAFTA L.A. Brittania Awards at Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel.
“I think it might be an idea to go out and join them shortly,” Penn said. “It was a shameful decision that was made.”
Etheridge, who exchanged vows with her longtime partner in a 2003 ceremony, declared she wouldn’t pay her taxes in a blog entry posted Thursday on TheDailyBeast.com. The gay Oscar- and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter said without the right to marry in California, she didn’t think she should have to pay taxes because “I am not a full citizen.”
“I don’t mean to get too personal here,” Etheridge wrote. “But there is a lot I can do with the extra half a million dollars that I will be keeping instead of handing it over to the state of California. Oh, and I am sure Ellen will be a little excited to keep her bazillion bucks that she pays in taxes, too.”
DeGeneres posted a brief message of support for President-elect Barack Obama and the gay-rights advocates protesting against Proposition 8 on her show’s Web site Friday. The talk show host, who married actress Portia de Rossi in August, previously donated $100,000 against the ballot initiative and starred in a commercial lamenting the measure.
“So there was a demonstration here on Wednesday night,” DeGeneres wrote, “and just before I walked out here, I was watching the news and there is a huge, huge, peaceful demonstration going on in the streets, and I say, good for you, and I support you, and if I weren’t here, I’d be out there with you.”
O’Donnell, who lives in New York, responded to comments and questions about her stance on the issue on her Web site. When one person said he understood why she didn’t come out against the proposition, O’Donnell responded: “I AM AGAINST PROP 8. DUH.” She also wrote she believes the estimated 18,000 gay marriages would be annulled “like mine was years ago.”
The former talk show host, who lives in New York with partner Kelli Carpenter and their four children, publicly wed Carpenter in San Francisco in 2004, two weeks after Mayor Gavin Newsom authorized granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The licenses were later voided by the California Supreme Court.
Also ranting online was celebrity disc jockey Samantha Ronson. Lindsay Lohan’s gal pal blogged Thursday that she was shocked California voters approved an animal-rights initiative but that ballot measures about gay marriage and adoption in California, Florida, Arizona and Arkansas were shot down.
“I guess people care more about farm animals than they do their fellow man, that’s really sad to me,” Ronson wrote on her MySpace blog. “Yes, I am glad that the chickens will have more room and better conditions as they wait to die, but I just think it’s frightening that people show more compassion for tomorrow’s dinner than for the chef.”
Other celebs used time in the spotlight to decry the decision. Madonna took a moment during her concert at Dodger Stadium to declare to the audience that she was sad “because African-Americans are equal finally, but gay marriage is not.” Former teen queen Christina Aguilera also spoke out against the ban.
“I think it’s discrimination,” Aguilera said in a Thursday interview with MTV News. “I don’t understand how people can be so close-minded and so judgmental. We chose an African-American president who means so much in a time in history of great change and open-mindedness. Why is this any different? It just doesn’t make sense to me.”
This year, just to gay it up a little more, they are going to be throwing Lance Bass into the mix. It is important to remember that it only becomes officially gay when Lance drops by because Kathy only wants to be gay and Anderson is only rumored to be gay.
Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin will co-host CNN's New Year's Eve broadcast from Times Square, the network has announced. Fomer 'N Sync performer Lance Bass will join the broadcast as a correspondent from Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas.
Other CNNers on the broadcast: Don Lemon, Poppy Harlow, Gary Tuchman, Ed Henry, and John Zarrella.
The special airs 11pm to 12:30am ET and a special AC360 "All the Best, All the Worst of 2009" will lead-in starting at 10pm ET.
• Remember this?: Jan. 1, 2009 - CNN Edits Kathy Griffin's Blue Moment
Anderson Cooper Hosts New Year's Eve Coverage Live from Times Square Kathy Griffin Teams with Cooper as Co-host
Anderson Cooper will host CNN's live coverage of the New Year's Eve celebration in New York City's Times Square on Thursday, Dec. 31, from 11 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. (ET). For "New Year's Eve Live with Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin," which will air in HD, CNN anchors and correspondents will provide reports from celebrations across the country and around the world.
Entertainer Lance Bass will also be part of the show this year, joining Cooper and Griffin from Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. CNN anchor Don Lemon will report from the crowd in Times Square along with CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow. Correspondent Gary Tuchman will report live from New York City's Central Park for the annual Midnight Run. Senior White House correspondent Ed Henry will report from Honolulu and correspondent John Zarrella from Key West, Florida. The show will simulcast on CNN International.
Leading up to "New Year's Eve Live with Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin" will be "All the Best, All the Worst of 2009", an Anderson Cooper 360° special which will air at 10pm ET. The special will count down to the new year by reviewing the old one with humor, insight, and fun. CNN correspondent Tom Foreman will shine a spotlight on the highlights and lowlights of the past twelve months in politics, pop culture, the economy, entertainment, and much more. Joining Foreman will be a lineup including: host of "The Joy Behar Show" on HLN and co-host of ABC's The View" Joy Behar; economist and actor, Ben Stein; MTV’s Sway Calloway; AC360's own Jack Gray; Time Magazine and LA Times columnist, Joel Stein; comedian and actress, Margaret Cho; the Daily Beast's Tina Brown; and conservative author and strategist, Leslie Sanchez. CNN International will simulcast.
Online at www.CNN.com/yearinreview, CNN.com features a special report which includes an interactive timeline of the top stories of 2009, along with a look at the year's milestones in areas such as politics, health and entertainment. CNN iReport, the network's user-generated news community, is asking iReporters to sum up their entire 365 days into a quick 30-second video. Additionally, on New Year's Eve, users will be able to watch live video of celebrations around the world.
CNN Worldwide, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company, is the most trusted source for news and information. Its reach extends to nine cable and satellite television networks; one private place-based network; two radio networks; wireless devices around the world; CNN Digital Network, the No. 1 network of news Web sites in the United States; CNN Newsource, the world's most extensively syndicated news service; and strategic international partnerships within both television and the digital media.
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