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News, Reviews & Commentary on Lesbian and Bisexual women in Entertainment and the Media

Rachel Maddow on "The Colbert Report" and the cover of "The Advocate"

A good friend of mine — a comic book artist who takes his superheroes very seriously — texted me early this week to tell me he'd cracked Rachel Maddow's code. "She's Clark Kent + Lois Lane," he wrote. "A charmingly self-deprecating journalist who becomes a full-blown superhero at night."

We've written about Maddow extensively here at AfterEllen.com, because media about media is in, and everyone is smitten with Rachel Maddow.

You'll notice on the latest cover of The Advocate that Maddow has donned suspenders. Usually suspenders on a woman scream "gay," but on Maddow, they're simply a nod to Mr. Suspenders himself, Larry King. Within two weeks of the first Rachel Maddow Show airing on MSNBC, she was consistently pulling in more viewers than the longtime 9 p.m. go-to guy.

In The Advocate's cover story (read it, it's good), Suzan Colón writes about the thing that has impressed me most about the Maddow phenomenon.

Even more exciting than having achieved this level of success as an out lesbian is the fact that her intelligence, wit and fresh take on politics have overshadowed the fact that she’s an out lesbian.

She is proudly out, speaking affectionately of her partner, Susan, at every turn, but that's not the story. The story is that she is now the Queen of Cable, a moniker given to her by one of cable's most royal newsmen, Stephen Colbert.

And because omnipresence is apparently one of her super powers, Maddow was on The Colbert Report last night.

When The Advocate asked Maddow about the outcome of the election, she had this to say:

People said, "Oh, won’t you be disappointed if John McCain loses? You won’t have anybody to rail against anymore." OK, because idiocy will die? And those wars — Puff the Magic Dragon will come in and everything will be fine! If you’re a policy liberal instead of a partisan liberal, there’s no reason to expect life to be any different after the election than it is now.

Translation: Rachel Maddow is here to stay. Which is fine by me, because like Aunt May once told Peter Parker, "Everybody needs a hero." And it's nice to have the occasional one who plays for our team.

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  • miniplenty's picture

    Rachel Maddow is Pwnage

    She's completely converted me to being a loyal MSNBC watcher, and it was great to see her on the Colbert Report. She brightens my day, each and every day. :)
    ThinkArt's picture

    yep!

    can we say Maddow 2016?
    JasmeenKru's picture

    I'm totally in love with

    I'm totally in love with this lady. Cdn viewers might find this link useful as I wasn't able to view the video clip embedded in this blog
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IjICLgNBWQ
    Jill Bennett's New Vlog @ SheWired.com
    ♫ Kit ♫'s picture

    A year ago

    A year ago I was going from glimpse to glimpse of Rachel and now she's everywhere! I'm loving it!
    marcia's picture

    she is the reason

    i even understand the new smart and smart. i LOVE HER!!!
    AllegraEcho's picture

    Rachel Maddow in

    Rachel Maddow in suspenders is my new obsession. I need a cold shower...

     And the fact that she's a Rhodes Scholar helps in the attraction too, lol.

    Susan Gabriel's picture

    Brilliant

    I think Clark Kent + Lois Lane is a brilliant description of Rachel Maddow.

    She is everywhere right now, but something tells me that it won't go to her head. She seems very grounded to me. Maybe her partner, Susan, has something to do with that.

    www.SeekingSaraSummers.com

    idyphoto's picture

    Too funny!

    This clip almost makes me want to get a TV!
    world.bridger's picture

    can I just say "wow"...

    ...not only does she have an amazingly hypnotizing personality, her wit, sense of humor and most powerful discourse might have (if haven't already) outshone that of Keith Olbermann's (whom I dearly adore)...Rachel in so many ways redefines women's presence in the media and I'm more than convinced that MSNBC didn't pick her just to meet some "diversity quota"...this woman kicks some MAJOR @$$!!!

    Keep up the STELLAR work!

    "Well behaved women rarely make history" (Laurel Thatcher Ulrich)

    You are already making history, Rachel...Thank you :-)

     

     

     

     

     

    apply_directly_to_forehead's picture

    Oh AfterEllen, you're so right...

    I am totally smitten with Rachel Maddow... her commentary is refreshing and her smile is just so darn cute!
    christian's picture

    Her smile is so cute and

    Her smile is so cute and those glasses too! There is nothing more appealing than a smart woman.
    apply_directly_to_forehead's picture

    Agreed! :)

    Agreed! :)
    moony's picture

    Rachel Maddow

    rocks my socks.

     

    Sonu's picture

    Maddow on ELLEN?

    Ok, so RM has been on couple of shows since this October. I am wondering when will our dear ELLEN invite RM on her show? If it ever happen (I hear Ellen mentioning CNN a lot these days!), that would be a powerful lesbian moment.
    sunnychic's picture

    Actually

    I sent a suggestion to the people at ELLEN just this week to have Maddow on. I think she is having Chris Matthews on again, so why not have another MSNBC host? Maybe we should all just send suggestions to the ELLEN web site until we get what we want!!
    Isabelle's picture

    Rachel & Stephen Colbert

    This is perfection. Two of my favorite people together.

    That Advocate cover is super hot.

    royaroo's picture

    "She's Clark Kent + Lois

    "She's Clark Kent + Lois Lane," he wrote. "A charmingly self-deprecating journalist who becomes a full-blown superhero at night."

    Absolutely perfect, dead-on description.  And so hot  :P

    swirlingstar's picture

    Maddow-mania!

    I'm a fan from her early Air America days and I'm so thrilled that Maddow-mania has caught on. She's charming and blindingly smart. A great inspiration and role model.
    Amaris's picture

    Much Awesomeness

    Rachel Maddow is so freaking amazing! I have such a crush on her and I don't usually like such mainstream people. And I think she's doing a great job as far as representing the community in a positive way. Example, my older brother (who voted Yes on 8) was sitting down with me and my mother while we were watching her show tonight and just out of nowhere said, "I like her. I think she's pretty." So I guess that means something good is happening. Ten points for Rachel!
    Lunakiss's picture

    Stephen Colbert and Rachel Maddow

    www.myspace.com/lunakiss7

    They know to feed off each other's wit. Rachel Maddow is hot right now and will be so for a long time coming. Why not? We sat for years listening to right-wingers and hypocrites dog everybody else out that is not like them. So yeah,R.M. is the talk of the town. We need her!

    Love me some Rachel

    Chel's picture

    WOOWWW

    That cover is super hot.

     

    I loved seeing Colbert and her together, they have such good chemistry and have the same sense of humor. I love that she has caught on so well with the public cause we'll get to see more of her. 

    FactoryGirl's picture

    Yes! Rachel!

    I watch her show every chance I get and thank god there is someone like Rachel on T.V. There aren't too many female nightly newscasters with their own show on T.V, unless you count Nancy Grace, but that woman irks my nerves.

    And besides, Rachel is ten times better looking in a suit then Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity.

    imthey's picture

    Rachel...

    Rachel Maddow, has turned me into a loyal MSNBC viewer... I not only watch her show, but I also download her RMS podcast along with the Air America podcast, to make sure that no matter where I am I will always have the intelligent and sharp witted Rachel Maddow with me!

    I look forward to buying a copy of the latest Advocate with the stunning Rachel Maddow as it's cover woman... what a fine choice indeed!

    Rachel is such a breath of fresh air among the otherwise stagnant right wing rhetoric spewed by so many others and even among the more liberal group at CNN and MSNBC, Rachel just brings such a wonderful quality to her broadcasts that she is my number 1 go to person! 

    (Self Appointed) "#1 Bridget McManus Fan"
    I M THEY ("Think Sideways")


    sarahlk's picture

    major crush

    is it possible to be a lesbian and not have a major crush on this woman!?! wow!

    it's incredible she is being received so well by the public! go rachel go!

    chilaxing's picture

    Queen of Cable

    Rachel Maddow is like the Ellen Degeneres of cable news. They are both cute, witty and tomboyish. Just waiting for Rachel to be a guest on Ellen then she can dance over the table :-P

     

    Celebridyke.'s picture

    I love Rachel, and I watch

    I love Rachel, and I watch her show every night. However, I must say I'm disappointed at her lack of coverage over the Prop 8 decision. She talked about it super briefly during her show last night, but I really think it deserved more attention and a big panel discussion and actual air time. I really hope she brings this up ASAP, because it directly affects us all, especially Rach.
    jamlawgirl's picture

    All hail Rachel Maddow!

    LOVE that woman.

    She is gorgeous (check out that Advocate cover!) and super smart.

    And Colbert of course was in his usual funny form. Great interview.

    And the Advocate article was great as well. Thanks for the heads up.

    pernoctator's picture

    RM = Hot x Brains²

    By now it's almost a curse that I inevitably fall for the smartest gal in the room. Rachel, you're lucky to be a couple of thousand miles away...

     

    Kathryn's picture

    Such a crush on Dr. Maddow.

    Such a crush on Dr. Maddow. Oh, man... That Advocate cover is amazing. And so is she.
    7Up's picture

    The best

    She's the best!!!!!!  I'm now an MSNBC addict!!!
    Lauren's picture

    I found her radio show on my

    I found her radio show on my XM the other day and became super giddy. There's just something about her. 
    A Muse's picture

    wow

    that woman even gave Colbert a run for his money. she is sooo witty and funny. LOVE THAT LADY!!!!!

    ------------------------------------------------------
    My Photography

    Hurtbroken's picture

    Rachel Maddow for President 2016

    thats my two cents......thats all i have to say
    yankeelady's picture

    Rachel Maddow

    The woman defies words...she is in a unique category all by hersef; she has no peers. I watch her show every single night and I would not miss it for the world. She has the pull and the credibility of a Walter Cronkite...and MSNBC had best latch on to her...else someone else will.
    dustydesertboots's picture

    She just gets better

    ....first spotted RM a few months ago and thought, wow - who is that beautiful, intelligent creature?  Having her on Ellen would be an utter coup and would quite frankly stop traffic! 

    yaddayadda's picture

    Aha...

    I just got around to reading this blog and the linked article. So this is what all the buzz what about! I don't have cable right now, so I haven't seen the RM show, but dang, she sure seems pretty cool!
    BeautySchoolDropout's picture

    Smart+funny+yummy= Rachel (who says girls can't do math, Larry?)

    I've been addicted for a long time, and the tv show is gonna send me to rehab!!!  Thank goodness I have an understanding partner........nothing better on the tube or radio than Rachel.  (tv esp....she's too cute for words, trite as that may sound)
    amaya's picture

    Rachel Maddow is amazing

    I admire her so much so it's a pity that I don't have access to MSNBC. I love listening to her speak.

     Yes, intelligence is sexy.