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Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever. (January 30, 2009)

PUSH: BASED ON THE NOVEL BY SAPPHIRE SWEEPS SUNDANCE Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire swept the Sundance Film Festival last weekend, winning the grand jury and audience choice awards. Directed by the openly gay Lee Daniels and based on the novel by openly bisexual author Sapphire, the film has been touted as the new The Color Purple, but set in Harlem.

The film’s main character is newcomer Gabourey Sidibe, who plays the obese, illiterate 16-year-old Precious Jones. Precious is pregnant with her second child – by her father. Comedian Mo’Nique plays Precious’ abusive welfare mother. It’s such a surprising role for her that she also picked up a special jury prize at the festival. It’s dark and disturbing, alright, but also incredibly hopeful. Precious triumphs over her extreme adversity thanks to her lesbian teacher (Paula Patton) and social worker (Mariah Carey, who, apparently, can actually act). According to The Huffington Post, Daniels had this to say when accepting the second award for his film:

This is so important to me because this is speaking for every minority that’s in Harlem, that’s in Detroit, that’s in Watts, that’s being abused, that can’t read, that’s obese and that we turn our back on. … And this is for every gay little boy and girl that’s being tortured. If I can do this … ya’ll can do this.
Still, Push has yet to be picked up for distribution, which might be because, as some critics have noted, it could earn an NC-17 rating. However, as Daniels himself noted, the story is so “universal” that it really deserves to be seen nationwide. Here’s hoping it is able to reach us all in the next year.

– by jamie murname

LESBIANISH QUOTE OF THE WEEK NO. 1 “She’s not right for her. Hodgkins is her guy. Roxie’s a bump in the road for her.”

Bones creator Hart Hanson to Michael Ausiello (“The Ausiello Files”) on the end of the relationship between Roxie (Nichole Hiltz) and Angela (Michaela Conlin).

Note: There are spoilers below about the resolution of the mystery in the final season of The L Word. Click here to skip this page and go directly to the next section.

ILENE CHAIKEN WON’T GIVE US WHAT WE WANT We were skeptical at first when Mama Chaiken revealed that the final season of The L Word would morph from a trashy lesbian soap opera with incoherent plotlines into a trashy lesbian murder mystery with incoherent plotlines. Initially, we clenched our fists in defiance and resisted, but eventually we accepted it. (Did we have a choice?) After all, there is a rumor going around that 2009 is the “year of change.” And change is a good thing, right? So as you already know, Jenny is sleeping with the fishes. A few viewers managed to warm up to Jenny’s character in the last season, and they wait with bated breath to see who did the dastardly deed. Most viewers, however, fell to their knees in relief and thanked Lilith for doing away with the terminally psychotic Jenny. “Ding dong! The witch is dead!” they sang in glee. These viewers patiently tune in every week and endure unfortunate developments such as Max’s new Unabomber-inspired look in order to discover the identity of the good doctor who lanced the festering boil on premium cable known as Jenny Schecter. The two camps may disagree on how they feel about Jenny, but they can agree on one thing: They want to know who killed her. That is, after all, the point of this season.

Or not.

As our good friend Suze Orman says: Yesterday, the Los Angeles Times reported that Mama Chaiken will leave us all in the dark about the identity of the killer:

Though The L Word will soon end, at least one character’s journey could continue. Chaiken has written and directed a pilot presentation for Showtime costarring [Leisha] Hailey, whose chirpy, gossipy Alice has often provided the show its funnier side. That it’s a women-in-prison show that Showtime recently likened to a female version of Oz – the über-bleak HBO drama – has not only caused utter confusion among fans, but worry that, in fact, we already know who killed Jenny. (Spoilers abound ahead.) Not that the finale will provide an answer. According to Chaiken, the whodunit will end unsolved. “There are ways I could still answer it if the need were to arise,” she said. “But I don’t actually feel compelled to answer it. The show is about character and relationships, and I used this story to deeply explore those relationships. It’s a risk not to solve a mystery, admittedly.”
Come on, Ilene. Don’t you know that President Obama signed an executive order to outlaw torture? We gave you the benefit of the doubt and sat through Jenny’s intolerable carnival montages. We twitched uncomfortably in our seats as we watched her meltdown leading to her stint stripping as “Miss Yeshiva Girl.” We continued watching even after the unforgivable Sounder storyline. We suspended our disbelief when we witnessed the perpetually disheveled and bewildered Shane bag hottie after hottie after hottie, and then Jenny. Yes, lesbians are used to eating bitterness, but couldn’t you have just thrown us a bone?

Uh-oh – I think I’m hearing En Vogue again. But I suppose you know that no matter what abominations you throw our way, we just can’t quit you.

Damn you, Ilene. Damn you. We’ll be back next Sunday, as usual. Le sigh.

– by Grace Chu

SARAH SHAHI TO SHOW HER FACE AGAIN ON THE L WORD After yesterday’s revelation, many of us were about to go Gloria Gaynor on Ilene Chaiken and kick her to the curb. After all, there is only so much a girl can take.

So what will it take to get us to rip up those divorce papers and take Ilene back? What if she gave Kit some meaningful lines, for example? Or if she got Max to shave? Or if she brought back lesbian Turkish oil wrestling and put Helena and Dylan in the ring? No?

OK, what about this? Or this? Or, dare I include – this? Would you forgive Ilene Chaiken if she brought Carmen back to The L Word? If so, you better lower your weapons and hold your fire, because it has been confirmed that Carmen will make an appearance in the final episode:

Sarah Shahi has a new TV show on NBC, as many of her fans already know. She does make an appearance, but we’re not doing a big Carmen story. I don’t want to mislead anybody, but I am delighted to say that Sarah does appear in our final episode.
Carmen may only be waltzing in for a brief cameo, but judging from the comments in the forum, it seems that even an itty-bitty-teeny-weeny-itsy-bitsy slice of Carmen is just peachy. And who knows – since it is clear that Shane cannot end up happily ever after with a corpse, perhaps there is at least a fighting chance that the following fairy tale can come true: – by Grace Chu

GLAAD HONORS LESBIANS IN SEVERAL CATEGORIES This week, The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation announced the nominees for the 19th Annual GLAAD Media Awards. The awards recognize fair and inclusive portrayals of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community in journalism, comic books, theater, television and film.

In their final seasons, South of Nowhere and The L Word are up against each other for Outstanding Drama Series. (Bottom line: sap-tastic happy ending vs. death. Tough choice, really.) Despite speculation earlier this year that ABC was on a queer-cleanse, the network led the nominations for the third year running. Brothers and Sisters, Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives, Greek, Life on Mars and All My Children received nods in the various TV categories.

Not surprisingly, Milk, Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Brideshead Revisited were nominated for Outstanding Wide Release Film, along with hipster-friendly Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. With the presidential election and the heated-debate over California’s Proposition 8, there was no shortage of GLBT coverage in the media this year. Both Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow are nominated for Outstanding TV Journalism Segment.

Olbermann’s passionate segment, “Special Comment: Prop 8”, spread across the internet in less than a day in 2008. “You are asked now not to stand on a question of politics, not a question of religion, not a question of gay or straight; you are asked now to stand on a question of love.” Olbermann pleaded with his audience in November. “All you need to do is stand and let the tiny ember of love meet its own fate.”

Rachel Maddow answered the question aimed at every liberal journalist’s head after the presidential election – “Can you take Barack Obama to task when he steps out of line the same way you did with George Bush?” – with her intense coverage and commentary on Obama’s choice of Rick Warren to lead the invocation at his inauguration.

In the video below, Maddow expounds on her previous day’s story on Rick Warren. “That’s the hole Pastor Rick already put Obama in,” Maddow says. “Here’s today’s fresh digging.”  

In happier gay wedding news, “Ellen & Portia’s Wedding Day” is competing for Outstanding Talk Show Episode. The two tied the knot in August, and in addition to allowing People magazine to the ceremony, Ellen talked about the wedding extensively on her show, showing clips and talking through all the emotions she felt on that day. In the same category with Ellen is Oprah’s episode “The Pregnant Man” (watched at the very least by Ilene Chaiken) and three episodes of The Tyra Banks Show.

Tyra Banks is also being honored with the Excellence in Media award for her long-standing reputation of increasing visibility and understanding of GLBT people and issues. Suze Orman will also be receiving special recognition in the form of the Vito Russo Award, which honors an out lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered media professional who makes a difference in promoting equal rights for the community. Orman’s straight-forward, no-nonsense advice made her a favorite during last year’s financial crisis. She was a frequent guest on Oprah, and her own show ratings skyrocketed.

Lesbian-favorite Buffy the Vampire Slayer is up for Outstanding Comic Book. After the reveal that Buffy and fellow slayer Satsu slept together, the comic book allowed the two characters to process their night together. “I can be less enticing, in a lesbian sense,” Buffy told Satsu. (I am so sure.) Finally, our brother site, AfterElton.com, was nominated for Outstanding Digital Journalism Article for James Hillis’ two part series “Gays in Primetime.” (Part One, Part Two). Congrats, guys!

After reading the full list of nominees, I realized that 2008 was the year of go-to-gays. Need help planning a dream wedding? Ellen DeGeneres. Solving an economic meltdown? Suze Orman. Deciphering dense political policy? Rachel Maddow. It wasn’t just the GLBT community that turned to these women, it was the entire country.

“How our lives are portrayed in the media doesn’t make a bit of difference,” GLAAD president Neil G. Giuliano told reporters. “It makes all the difference.”

Despite some minor (temporary) setbacks, it was a good year to be a part of the LGBT community.

On going out with boys in high school:

My most serious high-school boyfriend was a Marine. And so my senior prom picture is him in full dress uniform and he’s looking at the cameraman like he’s going to kill him with his eyes. And I’m there in a dorky powder-blue prom dress, looking like I don’t know.
On people occasionally mistaking her for a guy:
No, I’m very androgynous looking. Trust me.
On how she spends her free time:
I have an 18-month-old black Lab, who requires a lot of attention, and a lot of dog walks in the woods. So I go home on the weekend to Massachusetts and I live really off the grid there, in a very rural part of the state, where we don’t have cell-phone service or anything like that. And I spend time with the dog and I work around the house and I make classic pre-prohibition-era cocktails for my girlfriend.
The full interview is really worth a read, especially if you – like every person on our blogging team – spend half your days Googling phrases like, “Maddow + baseball cap” or “Maddow + puppy” or “Maddow trounces Pat Buchanan.”

– by StuntDouble

OLIVIA WILDE SAYS THIRTEEN DISLIKED BECAUSE OF “GAY SEX SCENE” Michael Ausiello of EW.com just posted a short new red carpet interview with Olivia Wilde about her character on House, M.D. (Fox), calling Thirteen “a bit of a lightening rod” and mentioning that her character isn’t very well liked.

“I think it’s because [Thirteen] had a gay sex scene,” Wilde offers as an explanation, laughing a little. “I gotta be honest with you, I think that’s what it is…if [House co-star] Peter Jacobson had a gay sex scene, you’d be saying that to him.”

As much as I hate to disagree with anyone who looks like this… or this… …I think Olivia’s wrong about why House viewers don’t like her character (assuming her comment wasn’t a joke, which it doesn’t appear to be, but Wilde has a very dry sense of humor, so watch the video and decide for yourself).

I think House viewers don’t like Thirteen because she’s a polarizing character, her relationship with Foreman is boring, and her unevenly written storyline has been given increased screen time at the expense of some of the characters who’ve been there longer and are better liked by viewers.

None of which is Wilde’s fault, but I don’t think it’s due to the audience’s homophobia (or biphobia), either. I think the only problem most viewers had with the gay sex scene was that it was edited down for broadcast – and that it hasn’t occurred again. If the writers really wanted to make Thirteen more likable, I’d suggest they forget Foreteen and have Olivia unexpectedly fall in love with one of her lesbian one-night stands and struggle to reconcile that with her mortality – with a few minutes less screen time in each episode, so the other characters can have a little more. (Bonus for queer viewers – we’d get to skip all the boring coming-out angst! Because who cares what people think when you only have a few years to live?)

by Sarah Warn

ICELAND PUTS A LESBIAN IN ITS PRIME SPOT Iceland is about to make history. Again.

Nineteen years after the country elected the world’s first female president, Iceland is about to appoint the world’s first openly lesbian prime minister, Johanna Sigurdardottir.

Sigurdardottir, who is currently social affairs minister, and her partner, Jonina Leosdottir, a playwright and journalist, were joined in a civil ceremony in 2002. A former flight attendant, Sigurdardottir is one of the few politicians in the country who remains popular despite Iceland’s economic crisis. She also has great hair. In case you’ve been too preoccupied with the U.S. economy to notice, Iceland has been in turmoil since its banks collapsed last fall. The country’s currency followed and on Monday, Prime Minister Geir Haarde resigned.

Both parties of Iceland’s coalition government support Sigurdardottir and expect her to be installed as interim prime minister on Saturday. She will serve until the May election. Although her tenure may be brief, her appointment is a step toward rebuilding public trust in the government. While the press puts Sigurdardottir’s sexual orientation front and center, what do Icelanders have to say about it?

Nothing.

Iris Erlingsdottir, an Icelandic journalist, sums up her country’s attitude toward the matter. (It’s a long quote, but too good to cut.)

I guess I still have the attitude of most Icelanders when it comes to matters of sexual issues, because I failed to pick up on the newsworthiness of Sigurdardottir’s sexual orientation. “Oh, vow,” said an American friend of mine, “that’s really something! First openly gay world leader!”

Huh? Why, who cares? Even after living in America all these years, where hounding politicians into surrealistic hell about their private lives is the norm, it didn’t really ring bells for me. “I don’t see what her sexual orientation has to do with anything,” my mother told me yesterday. “It’s no one’s business but her own.”

My usually taciturn father agreed strongly. “She is the most trusted and respected politician in the country,” he said, “and she is simply the best person available for the job. Ja, that is just twisted thinking,” he replied when I told him that her sexual orientation would probably be more newsworthy in America than anything else surrounding her appointment.

Wait – the people of Iceland are more concerned about a leader’s qualifications than her sexual orientation? What is the world coming to?

Whatever it is, I hope it gets to the U.S. soon.

– by the linster

LESBIANISH QUOTE OF THE WEEK NO. 2 “Who’d have thunk it? I can’t believe it. I mean, in 10 years, we’ll have a what, a lesbian president?”

– Larry King on President Obama’s 87-percent popularity rating.

ROUNDUP OF LESBIANS ON INTERNATIONAL TV: EMMERDALE, VERBOTENE LIEBE, PODIA ACABAR O MUNDO, AND MORE! While lesbian and bi visibility on American television might be pretty poor these days, there are some interesting developments happening with lesbian/bi TV characters in other parts of the world.

Here are updates on some of the more popular ones:

Grande Fratello (Big Brother Italy) – Italy

AE reader Laura tipped us off that Italy’s ninth season of its version of Big Brother has two female contestants who came out as lesbians: 31-year-old street artist Siria, and 23-year-old butcher Leonia, 23. (Siria has had girlfriends and boyfriends in the past, but has reportedly indicated a preference for women moving forward).

These women are the first openly gay female contestants on a reality show in Italy. Italian readers, keep us posted on how these two do in the game!

Plus Belle La Vie (More Beautiful Life) – France

Celine (Rebecca Hampton) and Virginie (Virginie Pauc) have decided to have a child together. (Yay, more pregnant lesbians on TV!) AfterEllen.com reader KJaneway wrote in to tell us she bumped into Rebecca Hampton in Paris recently, and had a quick chat with her about her character Celine:

[Hampton] said she is very enthusiastic about playing the role, one of her close friends being gay, and that although the producers were a little unsure about it, the ratings are awesome, and approval very good. She also noted that since she started playing a gay character, she has had tons of very positive mail, and that she is very happy about it. (BTW I told her you announced the relationship on afterellen.com, she was very excited about it and proceeded to check on it as soon as I mentioned, on her iPhone, which I thought was very cute!)
That is cute!

Emmerdale – U.K.

AfterEllen.com reader redraisin wrote in to update us the revival of the short-lived romantic relationship between teenagers Debbie and Jasmine, who are now living together as roommates.

Last month Jasmine discovered just how dodgy [her boyfriend] was and he flew into a rage and tried to rape her. Debbie walked in and smashed a chair over his head knocking him out. He then recovers and starts attacking Debbie, at which point Jasmine stepped in and beat him to death with the broken chair.

It’s gotten exceptionally interesting as the two have tried to cover up the murder and in the process Debbie has declared that she never stopped having feelings for Jasmine and she would go to prison for her if it meant them not parting.

Eli, their accomplice, catches them kissing and thinks they’re about to double cross him on the murder cover-up, which I believe could be the beginning of the end.

Ah, rape and murder – nothing brings a lesbian couple closer! Except maybe pregnancy.

Podia Acabar o Mundo (The World Could End)Portugal

In a November BLWE, we mentioned that that the primetime soap Podia Acabar o Mundo has a doctor, Cláudia (Diana Chaves), and a medical student, Sónia (Ana Guiomar), who were going to share a kiss – and they did. AE reader Shiffie wrote in to describe the scene:

Sónia prepares a romantic evening for Cláudia, since they haven’t been together since London! Claudia kisses Sonia and tells her she misses her, then they sit on the sofa and talk about the decision to come back to Portugal, to face Sonia’s family and how different life is in Portugal.
Later, Sonia came out to her parents and introduced them to Claudia. They didn’t take it too well, since they are fairly tradition and don’t understand how two women can get married and have kids. (Clearly they haven’t watched enough American TV!)

Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love) – Germany

There may be a bit of a love triangle going on on the German soap Verbotene Liebe, between Carla (Claudia Hiersche), Charlie (Gabriele Metzger), and newcomer Stella (Anne Wis), who joined the show in December as the new manager for the castle Koningsbrun.

Carla is gay, Stella is probably gay, and Charlie appears to be straight. Or Charlie could be Stella’s mother. Or something else entirely.

Regardless, it looks like Carla and Stella are headed for a relationship. Keep up on the show’s twists and turns in our forum topic on the show.

by Sarah Warn

NIP/TUCK WTF? – PART 2 Just when you thought Nip/Tuck (FX) couldn’t do any worse by lesbians after Liz (Roma Maffia) slept with Christian two weeks ago, they managed this week to kill one lesbian and show another one having sex with a guy. Only one short of a lesbian hat trick!

Olivia (Portia de Rossi) went in for plastic surgery so she could look younger and prettier (yeah, that Portia’s an ugly one!), and died on the operating table. Her girlfriend Julia (Joely Richardson) accused surgeon and ex-husband Sean of killing Olivia because the two women were about to move to New York together for Olivia’s new job (and because he kissed her and said “I won’t stop until we’re together” right before the surgery). But Olivia’s secret anti-depressant prescription turned out to be what caused her death. (Note to self: tell plastic surgeon about Lithium habit before surgery.)

Meanwhile, life-long lesbian Liz announces to womanizer Christian “I don’t like men, [but] I like you” – and proceeds to have sex with him again.

Yes, I know some lesbians do sleep with men in real life, or figure out they’re bisexual late in life, but according to American television, it happens to most lesbians, rather than a few.

On next week’s episode of Nip/Tuck … oh, who am I kidding – who cares? This show hates women, and appears to hate men, too. And probably animals. I hate myself right now for sitting through that episode. Is it time yet for my next dose of Lithium?

10 EGYPTIAN POUNDS SAYS SHIREEN COMES TO A BAD END AlBawaba.com reports that “young controversial Egyptian actress Ola Ghanem will play the role of a lesbian, Shireen, in her new film Bedoon Raqaba.” The news outlet reports that “Ola revealed that she was attracted to the role because it was ‘daring,’ but admitted that she is concerned over how viewers will react.”

We don’t know much else about the role, or the film, but she looks cute in a hoodie!

by Sarah Warn

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE! A recent episode of The Simpsons guest starring Emily Blunt was a nod to Heavenly Creatures.

Women & Hollywood.com published a great interview with out lesbian filmmaker Roberta Marie Munroe about her new book, How Not to Make a Short Film: Secrets from a Sundance Programmer.

EurOut has a list of the most influential lesbians in Norway.

Vote for the next cast member on The Big Gay Sketch Show at biggaycasting.com.

The creators of Gothic lesbian graphic novel Skim talk about its success (thanks to Renée for the tip!)

Sandra Bernhard and the cast of Prop 8: The Musical joins gay Broadway benefit, Broadway Backwards.

A new LGBT documentary, Out of Annapolis, is in production. The film, made by gay academy alumni, is about the lives of gay and lesbian Naval Academy midshipmen and graduates.

The all lesbian blog awards, The Lezzy’s, will be hosted by TheLesbianLifestyle.com with nominations starting on Monday February 2nd.

Mae Whitman (George Michael’s girlfriend Ann on Arrested Development) has been cast as as Roxy, the “half-ninja” lesbian roommate/artist in the film version of Bryan Lee O’Malley comic book series Scott Pilgrim.

AE writer Christie Keith will be live-blogging from the 14th Annual Xena: Warrior Princess Convention in Los Angeles this weekend on AfterEllen.com, bringing us exclusive interviews with Lucy Lawless and Renee O’Connor, convention reporting, and photos.

Also, Lucy Lawless performs her musical Welcome to the Pleasuredome in Los Angeles this weekend. Tickets are still available for the show, and check back next week for Bridget and Karman’s You Can’t Take Them Anywhere! video interview with Lawless at her Pleasuredome rehearsal.

The final winner of our first short film contest will be posted today. Watch them all, then look for a poll on Monday to vote for your favorite!

Next week we’ll be launching a new weekly web series called Advanced P.E., in which Work Out‘s Briana Stockton puts eight women through fitness boot camp five nights a week between now and Dinah in April. You can follow along at home, or just burn .05 calories by pressing play.

That’s it for this week! Got the inside scoop on a hot new lesbian/bi actor/musician/TV show/film? Tell us at [email protected]. Check back next Friday for another edition of Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever.

The GLAAD Media Awards will be presented at three ceremonies: in New York on March 28, in Los Angeles on April 19 and in San Francisco on May 9. We’ll have full coverage at AfterEllen.com.

– by StuntDouble

SARA GILBERT DEMOTED ON THE BIG BANG THEORY In disappointing news from the television front, Michael Ausiello, in his column for EW.com has reported that out actress Sara Gilbert (Roseanne) has been demoted from regular cast member of the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory to a recurring character.

In case you haven’t watched it, The Big Bang Theory about a group of brilliant but socially-inept physicists. Like most shows, it’s one that could definitely use more women in the cast.

In his column, Ausiello writes:

An insider tells me that the actress was bumped to recurring because producers weren’t able to generate enough story for her character, who had been paired romantically with Leonard (played by Gilbert’s former Roseanne co-star, Johnny Galecki). “They couldn’t write for her, so they changed her status to recurring,” whispers the insider. “It’s a little mystifying.”

Ausiello reports that Gilbert will occasionally be featured on the show because of her good long-standing relationship with the show’s executive producer, Chuck Lorre (Roseanne, Dharma & Greg, Two and a Half Men). Hopefully, her talent has something to do with it too.

If I remember correctly, Gilbert had (and delivered with considerable zing) some of the best lines on the award-winning Roseanne during its long run, so I can’t imagine that coming up with enough “story” for her would be such a daunting task, especially for such an accomplished crew.

If you’d like to give CBS some “feedback” on this development, you can write them here.

– by Karman Kregloe

RACHEL MADDOW TALKS WITH LESLEY STAHL ABOUT POLITICS, HER DOG AND BEING OUT This morning, WowOWow.com posted one of the most in-depth interviews to date with every-gay-favorite Rachel Maddow. (“I feel like I’m inside out,” said Maddow at the end.) 60 MinutesLesley Stahl questioned her about everything from military policy to high school boyfriends to being lampooned on Saturday Night Live. On coming out:

I probably came out publicly within six months of figuring out that I was gay. I mean, it’s a little murky, honestly, in retrospect. I don’t remember exactly how it all went. But I always knew there was something up. But I didn’t know what it was until I was about 16 or 17.
On telling New York Magazine that she sometimes forgets she’s a lesbian:
And it’s just something that I don’t feel like I have to make conscious decisions about very often. I don’t often think about whether or not people know that I’m gay. I assume that everybody knows that I am. It’s integral.

On going out with boys in high school:
My most serious high-school boyfriend was a Marine. And so my senior prom picture is him in full dress uniform and he’s looking at the cameraman like he’s going to kill him with his eyes. And I’m there in a dorky powder-blue prom dress, looking like I don’t know.
On people occasionally mistaking her for a guy:
No, I’m very androgynous looking. Trust me.
On how she spends her free time:
I have an 18-month-old black Lab, who requires a lot of attention, and a lot of dog walks in the woods. So I go home on the weekend to Massachusetts and I live really off the grid there, in a very rural part of the state, where we don’t have cell-phone service or anything like that. And I spend time with the dog and I work around the house and I make classic pre-prohibition-era cocktails for my girlfriend.
The full interview is really worth a read, especially if you – like every person on our blogging team – spend half your days Googling phrases like, “Maddow + baseball cap” or “Maddow + puppy” or “Maddow trounces Pat Buchanan.”

– by StuntDouble

OLIVIA WILDE SAYS THIRTEEN DISLIKED BECAUSE OF “GAY SEX SCENE” Michael Ausiello of EW.com just posted a short new red carpet interview with Olivia Wilde about her character on House, M.D. (Fox), calling Thirteen “a bit of a lightening rod” and mentioning that her character isn’t very well liked.

“I think it’s because [Thirteen] had a gay sex scene,” Wilde offers as an explanation, laughing a little. “I gotta be honest with you, I think that’s what it is…if [House co-star] Peter Jacobson had a gay sex scene, you’d be saying that to him.”

As much as I hate to disagree with anyone who looks like this… or this… …I think Olivia’s wrong about why House viewers don’t like her character (assuming her comment wasn’t a joke, which it doesn’t appear to be, but Wilde has a very dry sense of humor, so watch the video and decide for yourself).

I think House viewers don’t like Thirteen because she’s a polarizing character, her relationship with Foreman is boring, and her unevenly written storyline has been given increased screen time at the expense of some of the characters who’ve been there longer and are better liked by viewers.

None of which is Wilde’s fault, but I don’t think it’s due to the audience’s homophobia (or biphobia), either. I think the only problem most viewers had with the gay sex scene was that it was edited down for broadcast – and that it hasn’t occurred again. If the writers really wanted to make Thirteen more likable, I’d suggest they forget Foreteen and have Olivia unexpectedly fall in love with one of her lesbian one-night stands and struggle to reconcile that with her mortality – with a few minutes less screen time in each episode, so the other characters can have a little more. (Bonus for queer viewers – we’d get to skip all the boring coming-out angst! Because who cares what people think when you only have a few years to live?)

by Sarah Warn

ICELAND PUTS A LESBIAN IN ITS PRIME SPOT Iceland is about to make history. Again.

Nineteen years after the country elected the world’s first female president, Iceland is about to appoint the world’s first openly lesbian prime minister, Johanna Sigurdardottir.

Sigurdardottir, who is currently social affairs minister, and her partner, Jonina Leosdottir, a playwright and journalist, were joined in a civil ceremony in 2002. A former flight attendant, Sigurdardottir is one of the few politicians in the country who remains popular despite Iceland’s economic crisis. She also has great hair. In case you’ve been too preoccupied with the U.S. economy to notice, Iceland has been in turmoil since its banks collapsed last fall. The country’s currency followed and on Monday, Prime Minister Geir Haarde resigned.

Both parties of Iceland’s coalition government support Sigurdardottir and expect her to be installed as interim prime minister on Saturday. She will serve until the May election. Although her tenure may be brief, her appointment is a step toward rebuilding public trust in the government. While the press puts Sigurdardottir’s sexual orientation front and center, what do Icelanders have to say about it?

Nothing.

Iris Erlingsdottir, an Icelandic journalist, sums up her country’s attitude toward the matter. (It’s a long quote, but too good to cut.)

I guess I still have the attitude of most Icelanders when it comes to matters of sexual issues, because I failed to pick up on the newsworthiness of Sigurdardottir’s sexual orientation. “Oh, vow,” said an American friend of mine, “that’s really something! First openly gay world leader!”

Huh? Why, who cares? Even after living in America all these years, where hounding politicians into surrealistic hell about their private lives is the norm, it didn’t really ring bells for me. “I don’t see what her sexual orientation has to do with anything,” my mother told me yesterday. “It’s no one’s business but her own.”

My usually taciturn father agreed strongly. “She is the most trusted and respected politician in the country,” he said, “and she is simply the best person available for the job. Ja, that is just twisted thinking,” he replied when I told him that her sexual orientation would probably be more newsworthy in America than anything else surrounding her appointment.

Wait – the people of Iceland are more concerned about a leader’s qualifications than her sexual orientation? What is the world coming to?

Whatever it is, I hope it gets to the U.S. soon.

– by the linster

LESBIANISH QUOTE OF THE WEEK NO. 2 “Who’d have thunk it? I can’t believe it. I mean, in 10 years, we’ll have a what, a lesbian president?”

– Larry King on President Obama’s 87-percent popularity rating.

ROUNDUP OF LESBIANS ON INTERNATIONAL TV: EMMERDALE, VERBOTENE LIEBE, PODIA ACABAR O MUNDO, AND MORE! While lesbian and bi visibility on American television might be pretty poor these days, there are some interesting developments happening with lesbian/bi TV characters in other parts of the world.

Here are updates on some of the more popular ones:

Grande Fratello (Big Brother Italy) – Italy

AE reader Laura tipped us off that Italy’s ninth season of its version of Big Brother has two female contestants who came out as lesbians: 31-year-old street artist Siria, and 23-year-old butcher Leonia, 23. (Siria has had girlfriends and boyfriends in the past, but has reportedly indicated a preference for women moving forward).

These women are the first openly gay female contestants on a reality show in Italy. Italian readers, keep us posted on how these two do in the game!

Plus Belle La Vie (More Beautiful Life) – France

Celine (Rebecca Hampton) and Virginie (Virginie Pauc) have decided to have a child together. (Yay, more pregnant lesbians on TV!) AfterEllen.com reader KJaneway wrote in to tell us she bumped into Rebecca Hampton in Paris recently, and had a quick chat with her about her character Celine:

[Hampton] said she is very enthusiastic about playing the role, one of her close friends being gay, and that although the producers were a little unsure about it, the ratings are awesome, and approval very good. She also noted that since she started playing a gay character, she has had tons of very positive mail, and that she is very happy about it. (BTW I told her you announced the relationship on afterellen.com, she was very excited about it and proceeded to check on it as soon as I mentioned, on her iPhone, which I thought was very cute!)
That is cute!

Emmerdale – U.K.

AfterEllen.com reader redraisin wrote in to update us the revival of the short-lived romantic relationship between teenagers Debbie and Jasmine, who are now living together as roommates.

Last month Jasmine discovered just how dodgy [her boyfriend] was and he flew into a rage and tried to rape her. Debbie walked in and smashed a chair over his head knocking him out. He then recovers and starts attacking Debbie, at which point Jasmine stepped in and beat him to death with the broken chair.

It’s gotten exceptionally interesting as the two have tried to cover up the murder and in the process Debbie has declared that she never stopped having feelings for Jasmine and she would go to prison for her if it meant them not parting.

Eli, their accomplice, catches them kissing and thinks they’re about to double cross him on the murder cover-up, which I believe could be the beginning of the end.

Ah, rape and murder – nothing brings a lesbian couple closer! Except maybe pregnancy.

Podia Acabar o Mundo (The World Could End)Portugal

In a November BLWE, we mentioned that that the primetime soap Podia Acabar o Mundo has a doctor, Cláudia (Diana Chaves), and a medical student, Sónia (Ana Guiomar), who were going to share a kiss – and they did. AE reader Shiffie wrote in to describe the scene:

Sónia prepares a romantic evening for Cláudia, since they haven’t been together since London! Claudia kisses Sonia and tells her she misses her, then they sit on the sofa and talk about the decision to come back to Portugal, to face Sonia’s family and how different life is in Portugal.
Later, Sonia came out to her parents and introduced them to Claudia. They didn’t take it too well, since they are fairly tradition and don’t understand how two women can get married and have kids. (Clearly they haven’t watched enough American TV!)

Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love) – Germany

There may be a bit of a love triangle going on on the German soap Verbotene Liebe, between Carla (Claudia Hiersche), Charlie (Gabriele Metzger), and newcomer Stella (Anne Wis), who joined the show in December as the new manager for the castle Koningsbrun.

Carla is gay, Stella is probably gay, and Charlie appears to be straight. Or Charlie could be Stella’s mother. Or something else entirely.

Regardless, it looks like Carla and Stella are headed for a relationship. Keep up on the show’s twists and turns in our forum topic on the show.

by Sarah Warn

NIP/TUCK WTF? – PART 2 Just when you thought Nip/Tuck (FX) couldn’t do any worse by lesbians after Liz (Roma Maffia) slept with Christian two weeks ago, they managed this week to kill one lesbian and show another one having sex with a guy. Only one short of a lesbian hat trick!

Olivia (Portia de Rossi) went in for plastic surgery so she could look younger and prettier (yeah, that Portia’s an ugly one!), and died on the operating table. Her girlfriend Julia (Joely Richardson) accused surgeon and ex-husband Sean of killing Olivia because the two women were about to move to New York together for Olivia’s new job (and because he kissed her and said “I won’t stop until we’re together” right before the surgery). But Olivia’s secret anti-depressant prescription turned out to be what caused her death. (Note to self: tell plastic surgeon about Lithium habit before surgery.)

Meanwhile, life-long lesbian Liz announces to womanizer Christian “I don’t like men, [but] I like you” – and proceeds to have sex with him again.

Yes, I know some lesbians do sleep with men in real life, or figure out they’re bisexual late in life, but according to American television, it happens to most lesbians, rather than a few.

On next week’s episode of Nip/Tuck … oh, who am I kidding – who cares? This show hates women, and appears to hate men, too. And probably animals. I hate myself right now for sitting through that episode. Is it time yet for my next dose of Lithium?

10 EGYPTIAN POUNDS SAYS SHIREEN COMES TO A BAD END AlBawaba.com reports that “young controversial Egyptian actress Ola Ghanem will play the role of a lesbian, Shireen, in her new film Bedoon Raqaba.” The news outlet reports that “Ola revealed that she was attracted to the role because it was ‘daring,’ but admitted that she is concerned over how viewers will react.”

We don’t know much else about the role, or the film, but she looks cute in a hoodie!

by Sarah Warn

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE! A recent episode of The Simpsons guest starring Emily Blunt was a nod to Heavenly Creatures.

Women & Hollywood.com published a great interview with out lesbian filmmaker Roberta Marie Munroe about her new book, How Not to Make a Short Film: Secrets from a Sundance Programmer.

EurOut has a list of the most influential lesbians in Norway.

Vote for the next cast member on The Big Gay Sketch Show at biggaycasting.com.

The creators of Gothic lesbian graphic novel Skim talk about its success (thanks to Renée for the tip!)

Sandra Bernhard and the cast of Prop 8: The Musical joins gay Broadway benefit, Broadway Backwards.

A new LGBT documentary, Out of Annapolis, is in production. The film, made by gay academy alumni, is about the lives of gay and lesbian Naval Academy midshipmen and graduates.

The all lesbian blog awards, The Lezzy’s, will be hosted by TheLesbianLifestyle.com with nominations starting on Monday February 2nd.

Mae Whitman (George Michael’s girlfriend Ann on Arrested Development) has been cast as as Roxy, the “half-ninja” lesbian roommate/artist in the film version of Bryan Lee O’Malley comic book series Scott Pilgrim.

AE writer Christie Keith will be live-blogging from the 14th Annual Xena: Warrior Princess Convention in Los Angeles this weekend on AfterEllen.com, bringing us exclusive interviews with Lucy Lawless and Renee O’Connor, convention reporting, and photos.

Also, Lucy Lawless performs her musical Welcome to the Pleasuredome in Los Angeles this weekend. Tickets are still available for the show, and check back next week for Bridget and Karman’s You Can’t Take Them Anywhere! video interview with Lawless at her Pleasuredome rehearsal.

The final winner of our first short film contest will be posted today. Watch them all, then look for a poll on Monday to vote for your favorite!

Next week we’ll be launching a new weekly web series called Advanced P.E., in which Work Out‘s Briana Stockton puts eight women through fitness boot camp five nights a week between now and Dinah in April. You can follow along at home, or just burn .05 calories by pressing play.

That’s it for this week! Got the inside scoop on a hot new lesbian/bi actor/musician/TV show/film? Tell us at [email protected]. Check back next Friday for another edition of Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever.

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