Morning Brew – Thursday, Oct. 6: Melanie C on lesbian rumors, ESPN profiles boxer Christy Martin
Good morning, all.
I have to say I was sad to hear that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs passed away yesterday from his struggle with cancer. Without him, I wouldn’t be able to type on my MacBook to deliver the Morning Brew every day. I’m Apple 4 Life, Steve. R.I.P.
Melanie C told The Daily Mail she struggled with body images issues when she joined The Spice Girls. She was really affected by how people wrote about her in tabloids.
There were lots of lies printed about me. I’d read that I was “gobby” and masculine. There were questions about my sexuality.
I’m not sure what gobby means, but she was “sporty spice.” Of course people are going to think you’re a lesbian. It’s par for the course! Real talk, I’m sorry Mel had such a bad time the first go with SG. I’m glad to hear she’s doing much better. She has to know, though, she was a lot of little girls’ first crushes.
Yesterday Bridget showed you Naya Rivera’s FHM cover, but now we have some tidbits from the interview. Naya said that Santana being gay has helped so many other girls come out, and she has the fanmail to prove it. She also talked about being a little wild child.
‘I’m really easygoing nowadays. Mind you, when I was 17 things were a little different. I used to be an extrovert wild child which is probably why I got into acting and singing. I was very outspoken and didn’t really like conforming to a bunch of rules. And since that’s basically what high school involves, it meant I was always getting into trouble.
Who wouldn’t want to spend detention with Naya?
ESPN has a great video about Christy Martin’s comeback in boxing. Not only that, but it’s a history of her life, her career and how she realized she was a lesbian.
Such a great piece. Thank you, ESPN.
JD Samson wrote a piece for PopBytes about how being a queer performer means you will always be poorer than straight counterparts. An excerpt:
I spent days trolling around Williamsburg, looking at shitty apartments with cockroaches lining the doorways, fighting neighbors, rats in the ceiling, bedbugs infesting the linoleum floors, fifth-floor walk-ups and cat-pee-soaked carpets. The rent was exorbitant, availability was scarce, and I was turned down by two different landlords for being “freelance.” To be honest, I don’t blame them. Not only am I freelance, but I’m lesbian freelance. Double whammy. What was the reason they turned me down? Because it was easier to rent to a rich, trust-fund, straight-guy banker who wants to live in the coolest borough in the world? Because when he met me he saw a tattooed gender outlaw who makes “queer electronic punk music” and isn’t sure when the next check is going to come in? Yeah, I don’t blame him. He doesn’t give a shit about how kids email me all the time thanking me for keeping them from committing suicide. It’s not part of his capitalist business practice.
There’s a nice interview with Pratibha Parmar about her documentary on Alice Walker, Beauty in Truth, at SoSoGay.org. She spoke about how queer cinema has changed since she made Nina’s Heavenly Delights:
Oh yes, it has changed and for the better. There are so many queer filmmakers now making interesting work. It’s good to see a diversity of stories about our lives being put out into the world, not by others but through our own queer lens. I absolutely loved making Nina’s Heavenly Delights and traveling all over the world with it and sharing it with audiences. There is much more openness to our stories.
Evan Rachel Wood spoke with GQ about coming out as bisexual in Esquire earlier this year. They asked if it was a “one-girl thing.”
No, that’s for real. I’ve been that way since I can remember. I remember growing up and loving when I knew there was a girl like me who I looked up to. I figured I should return the favor. You don’t have to be ashamed.
When asked if she would go for her co-star Marisa Tomei, she said:
[laughs] Um, I mean, she’s beautiful. I don’t know. I don’t think so.
Today in Lesbianish TV: The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Talk (CBS 2 p.m.), Chopped (Food Network 7 p.m.), The Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC 9 p.m.), Grey’s Anatomy (ABC 9 p.m.), Jane Lynch on Chelsea Lately (E! 11 p.m.) and *Golden Girls (Hallmark midnight) (Thanks Roni!)
*Denotes rerun
