Amy Winehouse was among the many stars performing at a tribute last weekend in honor of former South African president Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday. When she was finished, according to reports, Winehouse simply bowed her head.

During another part of the concert, 24-year-old Winehouse sang lead in a multi-artist rendition of the Specials’ early 1980s anti-apartheid anthem “Free Nelson Mandela.”

For all of Winehouse’s drama, she got this show right. She took to the stage on time and sang beautifully.

But some may wonder why Winehouse was at the event at all. Earlier this month, a video surfaced of Winehouse and a friend singing a racist ditty. In the video, which was filmed last year by her husband Blake Fielder-Civil, Winehouse appears disoriented. She’s near a coffee table filled with drug paraphanelia. She is prodded by Blake to sing a slur-filled song to the tune of the children’s ditty "Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes," and does so only after he promises he isn’t filming her. It’s testament to Winehouse’s state of inebriation that she believes that someone aiming a video camera in her face is not filming her. … continue reading

I'm a sucker for Bravo shows like Project Runway and Work Out. The cable network has a way with reality television that is just ultra dramatic and ultra gay, but in a non-sleazy way. So when they announced they were joining the latest trend of having their very own awards show, it piqued my interest. And with Kathy Griffin as the host, it seemed that the occasion would be a must-see, for the possibility of a Jackie Warner joke if nothing else.

Like most other awards shows, the A-list Awards won't be aired live, so while it taped last night in New York City, we won't get to watch who wins until June 12. But I happen to enjoy simple spoilers that don't give too much away, such as who came, what they wore, and what I can expect when it comes on in a couple of weeks. (One thing I did notice: no Jackie Warner in sight! Isn't this in her contract with Bravo? Someone, look into this.)

The categories for the show are a little different than most, and include A-List TV Show, A-List Drama King, A-List Fashion, and A-List Chef. And it's not all Bravo shows and their kin nominated, so it doesn't appear to be all one-sided (yet – we still don't know any of the winners). Some of the nominees graced the red carpet and the stage of the Hammerstein Ballroom last night. Most of them looked their best, including: … continue reading

Margaret Cho

Alyssa Milano blogs about baseball.

Margaret Cho vlogs her Sensuous Woman tour and photo blogs getting tattoos.

Pamela Anderson uses her blog to assure us that she's a good mom.

Those are just three of the big-name bloggers on Celebrity Cowboy's list, "66 Celebrities that Blog." Why would people who hire publicists to manage their messages take up blogging? Well, let's see. … continue reading

One of the most common traits people list in the "about me" section of their online profiles is "I like to laugh." Really? Gee, you're special!

Well, if you like to laugh, you'll want to catch Oxygen's 50 Funniest Women Alive countdown show, which premieres this Saturday night. The special will feature never-before-seen interviews and clips of hilarity from sitcom players, stand-ups, movie stars and sketch comedians such as Ellen Degeneres, Whoopi Goldberg, Mo'nique and Teri Hatcher.

Teri Hatcher? Uh, what? Was Kathy Lee Gifford not available?

Okay, Teri Hatcher is a fine actress - Desperate Housewives fans please stand down. But if we're talking about the top, the best of the best, I have to object. Other "funniest women" on the show (according to the website): Amanda Bynes, Regina King, Chelsea Handler. What? No Carol Burnett, Roseanne Barr, Kathy Najimy or Wanda Sykes?

Comedy has historically been the playground of men- any list of top comics (usually compiled by a man) is usually so bereft of women, you can count their names on one hand. I'd expect a better list from a women's network.

It's not clear whether Carol and Wanda made the cut-all 50 names aren't shown on the website. We can only hope.

Meanwhile, here are some of my picks, were it up to me.

Here's an exclusive sneak peek at Logo's new animated series Rick & Steve. First, the requisite disclaimers: (1) Yes, Logo is AfterEllen.com's parent company, and (2) yes, this sounds like a show about gay men. But (a) nobody at Logo is holding a gun to my head as I type this (for one thing, I'm on my couch and don't generally let gun-toting gays into my apartment), and (b) the show does feature a lesbian couple — in fact, they're in every episode.

Rick and Steve and their lesbian friends are poseable plastic folk who are wholly unsuitable for children. Voices are provided by Peter Paige (the adorable Emmett on Queer as Folk), Alan Cumming, Wilson Cruz (My So-Called Life) and Margaret Cho. And the music is by the brilliant minds behind the awesome Avenue Q, which is enough to make me optimistic.

Rick & Steve debuts Tuesday, July 10. This trailer debuts tomorrow — did I mention we're getting an exclusive sneak peek? I know it's silly of me, but any kind of sneaking makes me feel well chuffed. I'm still high from the fact that I got to see Titanic as part of a test audience, before they had even finished all the special effects. Sadly, I don't think Kate Winslet is in Rick & Steve.

Ahem. Anyway, here's the trailer: … continue reading

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, which provides a perfect opportunity to give a shout out to the queer Asian-American women who have been out both in front of the camera and behind it, giving a much-needed face to the queer Asian-American community.

5. Alice Wu

The Stanford-educated computer scientist-turned-filmmaker burst onto the queer scene in 2004 with her debut feature film, Saving Face, about a Chinese-American medical student, Wil (Michelle Krusiec), who falls for a dancer, Vivian (Lynn Chen). The film, which began as a wholly independent feature from an unknown and previously untested director, went on to be picked up for distribution by Sony Pictures Classics, making it the first theatrically released film about an Asian-American lesbian.

Wu is currently working on her second feature film, Paramount's Foreign Babes in Beijing, an adaptation of Rachel DeWoskin's memoir about a 21-year-old poetry major who goes to China to work for an American PR firm, then tries out for an acting job on a whim and becomes an overnight success on a Chinese soap. … continue reading