Ricky Martin becomes Spanish citizen to marry partner.
Singer Ricky Martin is reportedly planning to marry his long-term partner Carlos Gonzalez after becoming Spanish citizen and is currently applying for a Spanish passport, all of which are needed for him to get married in Spain.
Martin, who is father to twin boys, has been in a relationship with his boyfriend Carlos Gonzalez for four years.
Spanish newspaper ‘El Pais’ reports, Martin applied for a Spanish passport in order to be able to wed Gonzalez under the country’s same-sex marriage legislation.
The Spanish government apparently chose to confer citizenship on Martin without asking him to renounce his Puerto Rican or US citizenship, which The AP notes is not usually the case.
Earlier this year, Martin claimed that he and Gonzalez were not planning a wedding in the near future, saying: “The other day we were reading a magazine and, we were like, ‘You’re cool with this, right? No pressure?’ And I’m like, ‘I’m cool, everything is cool’. Not yet. Whenever it’s time.”
Martin previously told Oprah Winfrey of his relationship: “All I can say is he loves my children and they love him. It can’t get better.”
Martin came out in a statement to his fans in March 2010 and said that his position as a sex symbol for women stopped him from previously revealing his sexuality.
DARREN Hayes is fine with being known as one half of Savage Garden but what he doesn't want is to be a poster child for gay artists.
While the 39-year-old star has been out-and-proud for five years now, he says the responsibility of being a gay man in the music industry doesn't sit comfortably with him.
I don’t want to be a gay or a straight artist,” Hayes told news.com.au. “I don’t make gay records - I make records. I don't want to feel like I have to be a poster child for anything other than being a great artist. “I don’t take that on board as being my responsibility as a gay man, because I think it’s really limiting.”
The video clip for his latest single, Bloodstained Heart, has received widespread praise for the intimate way it depicts a relationship between the singer and a female companion.
But Hayes says despite being happily married to his male partner for five years now, it may be a while yet before we see a gay love story in one of his clips.
He says instead the video clip is neither gay nor straight – it’s about a friendship – “a universal relationship”.
Hayes came out to his fans via a blog post in 2006, but he says he lived in fear that someone else would out him before he had the chance.
The announcement itself came out of years of torment, but there was one star that Hayes credits with getting him through it all – Michael Jackson. "For me as a kid growing up, I was gay and I didn’t even realise it, let alone accept it,” he said. “I was told I was gay before I could even imagine it. I was incredibly bullied - ferociously bullied - as a child. “I looked to this man (Jackson) that the whole world thought was a freak and I thought, ‘that’s normal’ and he was this hero to me. He taught me to sing.”
The day Jackson died Hayes was recording his second international solo single Black Out The Sun at a studio in Stockholm:
“I’m about to step up to the mike, and (thought) ‘I’m the one who survived? I’m the one that’s singing now? He's dead, but me, the guy from Brisbane, I still get to make records?’ That didn’t seem fair.” On the cusp of turning 40 next year and with 25 million album sales under his belt, Hayes says he still feels as passionately about his music career as he did when he was 19. His fourth album, Secret Codes and Battleships, is out now.
Grammy-award winning artist and cultural icon Lady Gaga proudly announced today the launch of the Born This Way Foundation (BTWF), which will support programs and initiatives that deal with all aspects of empowering youth. The non-profit charitable organization will lead youth into a braver new society where each individual is accepted and loved as the person they were born to be. BTWF will focus on youth empowerment and equality by addressing issues like self-confidence, well-being, anti-bullying, mentoring and career development and will utilize digital mobilization as one of the means to create positive change.
"My mother and I have initiated a passion project. We call it the Born This Way Foundation. Together we hope to establish a standard of Bravery and Kindness, as well as a community worldwide that protects and nurtures others in the face of bullying and abandonment," said Lady Gaga.
Led and directed by Lady Gaga and her mother Cynthia Germanotta, BTWF will partner with the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and The California Endowment, which are both ranked among the top foundations in the country and focus on unique aspects of youth empowerment. The foundation will also partner with the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, one of the most cutting edge institutions in the country focusing on the power of the internet as a means to promote change. An advisory board will also be appointed and announced soon.
“Speaking not only as a foundation leader, but also as a paediatrician, we are thrilled to serve as a strategic partner in Lady Gaga’s philanthropic commitment on behalf of young people,” said Dr. Bob Ross, CEO and President of The California Endowment. “Lady Gaga will help empower and give voice to young people who find themselves overwhelmed, under-supported, disconnected, isolated, bullied, or struggling….this brand of leadership is sorely needed in today’s world.”
“This is a time of potential transformation in how young people learn, socialize, and engage in civic life because of digital media,” said Connie Yowell, PhD, Director of Education for the John D.& Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. “With new tools come new responsibility and sometimes painful unintended consequences such as bullying and challenges to safety. Lady Gaga is at the forefront of harnessing the power of digital media for her fans and encouraging them to be healthy and safe and to make meaningful change in the world. We look forward to working with her and the Born This Way Foundation as a strategic partner.”
"It seems Hollywood launches foundations all the time, but I can't recall an artist of Lady Gaga's reach or calibre who has done the months of due-diligence and behind-the-scenes meetings with the experts before they've launched such a foundation,” said John Palfrey, Harvard Law Professor and Co-Director of Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. “If this dedication and thoroughness is any indication of what is to come when this program launches, the Born This Way Foundation has the potential to transform the foundation community the same way Lady Gaga is transforming the music industry."
Additional details concerning the Born This Way Foundation will be announced shortly and the official launch will take place in 2012. Please visit www.BornThisWayFoundation.org to take the pledge and become part of the movement.
Out gay actor Luke Evans is forced back into the closet when his career takes off with Hollywood blockbusters.
The story of Luke Evans, who stars as Aramis in the just-released The Three Musketeers, as Zeus in the upcoming Immortals, and who is now filming The Hobbit, is a perfect example of the oppressive influence that Hollywood has over its actors.
In 2002, as a young theater actor in the UK, Evans talked frankly about the fact that he was gay and stated in an interview that his honesty, at the onset of his career, meant that he wouldn't, one day, have "that skeleton in the closet they can rattle out." In 2004 he went so far as to talk about his gay porn collection. Evans was not only open about his sexuality, but unapologetically so.
Then something changed. In April 2010, he made his first big foray into film playing the Greek god Apollo in the blockbuster movie Clash of the Titans. He was thrust into the spotlight, and this meant more attention being focused on his personal life. The website WalesOnline.co.uk did an article in which they linked Evans to a PR executive named Holly Goodchild; "Luke's lovely - we're really old friends and it just sort of happened," she was quoted as saying. She then added: "We are nowhere near engaged but things are really good."
In August 2011, this strange discrepancy was picked up on by AfterElton.com, which attempted to contact Evans and/or his team for clarification. During this time, Evans' Wikipedia page was changed from simply saying that he was "openly gay" to saying that he "rarely speaks about his personal life," and that "he has made it clear in the past that press and private life are very separate and should never be mixed."
AUSTRALIAN GQ has been forced to apologise to Taylor Lautner after asking whether two gay movie bosses had made a pass at him and then publishing the question in the magazine.
GQ asked the 19-year-old star whether Hollywood director Gus Van Sant and writer Dustin Lance Black had made any advances at him when the trio were spotted dining together.
"No, definitely not,” Lautner said. “I think they know I'm straight. But they're great guys. They're a lot of fun."
But Black, an out-and-proud Oscar-winning writer, took to his blog just days after the interview made its way online, furious with the line of questioning.
"I'm curious, will you be asking all of the handsome actors I've ever had the privilege of working with or meeting if I made passes at them as well?
"Above and beyond this clear attack on my character, I'm shocked that GQ would allow their writer to lean on the scurrilous, outdated stereotype that gay men are by nature sexual predators.
"Leaning on lies, myths and stereotypes about gay people is hateful, harmful and outdated."
After attracting global attention, Australian GQ editor Nick Smith was forced to apologise, taking to the magazine's Facebook page to insist the reporter was only attempting to flatter the Twilight star.
"We apologise if anyone was offended by anything in the article. It certainly wasn't our intention to paint anyone in the story as a sexual predator," he wrote.
"The point we were actually trying to push was that Taylor is irresistible to virtually everyone - regardless of sexuality or gender." Source news.com.au
Zachary Quinto, recently made headlines when he said he was gay, is best known for playing Spock in the 2009's "Star Trek" and for his role as the evil Sylar on the recent TV series "Heroes."
The 34-year old actor has leveraged his fame to start his own production company, Before the Door Pictures, whose first film, "Margin Call" opens in theaters on Friday.
The film, in which Quinto also stars, boasts an all-star cast including Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Stanley Tucci and Demi Moore among many others. It takes place in an investment bank over a 24-hour period at the start of the 2008 financial crisis. Quinto spoke to Reuters about the film, reprising Spock for the "Star Trek" sequel and playing gay characters.
Q: You play a young analyst who discovers some serious information that causes major panic at the company. How did you decide which role you'd play?
A: "It was never a question because every other character was at least 10 years older. But I felt really drawn to the role, as well. Obviously the social relevance of the film drew me in, but there is something about the perspective and the compelling way in which the story is laid out. It invites the audience to have their own opinions. It generates dialogue."
Q: And you're also producing for the first time. Was it tough wearing both hats at once?
A: "I had to work hard (as a producer) to get the movie together before I could start focusing on my role. But once I did that, I immersed myself in my relationship with the character and it became about my work as an actor. My producing responsibilities waned a bit by that point, and I relied heavily on my producing partners on the day-to-day stuff."
Q: What made you decide that the time was right to become a multi-hyphenate?
A: "It was directly correlated to the rise of my career with 'Heroes' and 'Star Trek.' I decided to start the company after I was cast in that movie, but before it was announced. We were still eight months away from shooting it and another two years from it coming out. I saw very specifically that a window was open, but I knew it wouldn't stay open forever."
Q: Speaking of "Star Trek," what's happening with the sequel? You must've read the script and know.
A: "I do not. The script is in its final stages of being written, but they are sharing specific plot points so I only know what they've told me.
"I start prepping November 1st and we start (shooting) mid-January. I'll be training for a sequence in the movie which doesn't come in until later, so I'll keep training
Q: You're also back on TV in an upcoming two-part episode of the FX series "American Horror Story."
A: "Yes, then I'm going back to do a couple more I think before the end of the season. I play a gay ghost. It's basically like my (gay) character on (the former VH1 series) 'So NoTORIous' and my character from 'Heroes' mixed into one."
Q: Do you think playing gay roles could typecast you?
A: "No, I don't think so. I've played gay characters before. I've played straight characters before. It hasn't shaped my relationship to my work and they've all been interesting characters."
Q: What do you consider your big break?
A: "'Heroes' really changed the game for me in a way that nothing before it had. That job came out of a really lean period for me. I felt a lot of limitations and, of course, they were all self-imposed. And they were able to find an outlet in that role in 'Heroes' and that really changed my journey creatively and professionally."
Q: Then to have your first feature film be "Star Trek!"
A: "That was an unexpected next-level experience that changed the game even further than I ever thought it would. To be on a TV show with a steady gig for four years and earn a good living was as far ahead as I thought for myself. Getting launched into that whole other layer was incredible. And I think I've worked to make the most of it."
Zachary Quinto, best known for starring on the TV series “Heroes” and as Spock in the most recent “Star Trek” movie, has come out as gay in an interview with New York magazine.
Quinto, who recently wrapped an eight-month stint in an Off Broadway restaging of Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer prize winning play “Angels in America,” discussed one of the play’s main topics, the AIDS epidemic n the 1980s, and how he feels lucky to not have witnessed it firsthand.
“As a gay man, [the play] made me feel like there’s still so much work to be done, and there’s still so many things that need to be looked at and addressed,” Quinto said in the interview.
Though Quinto, 34, has never formally addressed his sexuality in the press, there has been much speculation across the Internet since he rose to fame as the villainous Sylar on “Heroes” and in 2009′s “Star Trek” reboot.
Though his filmography lists a diverse array of roles, he has portrayed several gay characters on television shows like Tori Spelling’s short-lived “So NoTORIous” and on the new FX series “American Horror Story.”
Zachary Quinto Gay Kiss from the TV show "So noTORIous."
In the interview Quinto discusses how he feels living in a word where in the same summer New York State can pass a law legalizing gay marriage and 14-year-old gay high school student Jamey Rodemeyer is bullied to death.
“Again, as a gay man I look at that and say there’s a hopelessness that surrounds it, but as a human being I look at it and say ‘Why? Where’s this disparity coming from, and why can’t we as a culture and society dig deeper to examine that?’ We’re terrified of facing ourselves,” Quinto said.
After the story hit the Internet, Quinto posted on his website a message discussing Rodemeyer and his decision to publicly acknowledge his sexuality:
‘In light of Jamey’s death — it became clear to me in an instant that living a gay life without publicly acknowledging it — is simply not enough to make any significant contribution to the immense work that lies ahead on the road to complete equality.”
Ricky Martin becomes Spanish citizen to marry partner.
DARREN Hayes is fine with being known as one half of Savage Garden but what he doesn't want is to be a poster child for gay artists.
“This is a time of potential transformation in how young people learn, socialize, and engage in civic life because of digital media,” said Connie Yowell, PhD, Director of Education for the John D.& Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. “With new tools come new responsibility and sometimes painful unintended consequences such as bullying and challenges to safety. Lady Gaga is at the forefront of harnessing the power of digital media for her fans and encouraging them to be healthy and safe and to make meaningful change in the world. We look forward to working with her and the Born This Way Foundation as a strategic partner.”
Out gay actor Luke Evans is forced back into the closet when his career takes off with Hollywood blockbusters.
AUSTRALIAN GQ has been forced to apologise to Taylor Lautner after asking whether two gay movie bosses had made a pass at him and then publishing the question in the magazine. 
Zachary Quinto, recently made headlines when he said he was gay, is best known for playing Spock in the 2009's "Star Trek" and for his role as the evil Sylar on the recent TV series "Heroes."
