ASHLEY JUDD LETS THE BED BUGS BITE
Ashley Judd plays a bisexual drug-addicted bartender named Agnes in the new movie Bug, which opened last weekend. There appears to be no particular reason Agnes is bisexual, except that it’s one of the items on the Horror Movie Checklist all the directors are using these days. Judd’s character, Agnes, who has an abusive ex-husband played by Harry Connick Jr., is introduced to a psychotic drifter named Peter (Michael Shannon) by her lesbian friend R.C. (Lynn Collins). Next thing you know, it’s all sex, drugs and insects – yes, insects – in a sleazy motel, and the movie pretty much goes downhill from there.
But Ashley looks cute in this scene with R.C., in a bisexual-woman-in-peril kinda way:
Still couldn’t pay me to see this movie.
AND COMING UP NEXT WEEK: LESBIAN METH ADDICTS WHO LOVE BAD BOY CUTTERS!
Reader Courtney C. tipped us off that next Tuesday, June 5th, the WE channel’s Secret Lives of Women is airing an episode called “Lipstick Lesbians” exploring the world of women who don’t look gay (watch a few preview videos here). The show features women such as Amanda from Venice, Calif., pictured here with her girlfriend:
It’s great to have more visibility on TV, but should I be worried that the show’s previous episodes are titled “Meth Addicts,” “Cutters,” “Fetishes” and “Women Who Love Bad Men”? It’s like a grown-up version of the after-school special.
FREE TO BE BETH DITTO
The Gossip’s openly gay lead singer, Beth Ditto, graces the cover of this month’s NME magazine. Karman posted the full scoop about it earlier this week on the blog, but in case you didn’t see it, here’s a preview from the magazine’s photo shoot:
Look for The Gossip on this summer’s True Colors tour.
OH, THE PERILS OF PIRATE BLING
Dara (aka bad machine) did a hilarious interview this week with lesbian Pirate Master contestant Jupiter Mendoza, asking her questions like “What’s the best way to avoid scurvy?” and “What does ‘Shiver Me Timbers’ mean?” since Jupiter wasn’t allowed to talk about the show. I don’t know what I find funnier: Jupiter’s story about her name being “gifted to me through the desert” or Dara’s comment, “I don’t know if you can swab a deck wearing a lot of pirate bling.” Now there’s a sentence I never thought I’d write.
Jupiter did reveal that she didn’t come out to the other contestants during the filming, because:
I didn’t want guys to automatically not want me on the ship. I didn’t want it to be … it can be kind of intimidating. I can come off as a very in-your-face kind of person. So, sometimes guys don’t like that. For the women, I didn’t want to tell them because I don’t know if it would make them feel uncomfortable. And I don’t know if there’s anyone that’s homophobic on the boat. I didn’t want it to work against me, at any rate.
Well, I guess that answers our question as to whether there’s any lesbian pirate action on the show. Now what’s the point in watching?
LITTLE SURFER GRRLS
In preparation for the June 18th debut of Logo’s new, six-episode reality series Curl Girls, we’ve just launched our new Curl Girls section with lots of photos and videos, like these:
If you recognize Erin in the video above, it’s because she was featured in Logo’s original 2005 Curl Girls special, which was the inspiration for this new 2007 series (Erin and Vanessa are the only two from the special who ended up in the series). Since our site is now owned by Logo, we get extra photos and videos, but we’ll still write a (fair and balanced) review of the series when it debuts and make fun of it with lengthy weekly recaps, like we do with The L Word and Work Out.
And trust me: on a show about six lesbian/bi women who spend their free time surfing, drinking, fighting and hooking up, there is plenty to make fun of.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!
Rosie may have abruptly departed The View, but I hear through the industry grapevine that Rosie has already inked a deal to host her own talk show to air possibly as early as this fall. She’s also working on a book about her struggles with fame titled Celebrity Detox, according to People magazine. Is America ready for All Rosie, All the Time? I’m not sure …
I had lunch with Xena‘s Renee O’Connor when she was in town yesterday, and she caught me up on the various projects she’s working on now, including a role in the new Western Ghost Town, opening this weekend in limited release. She plays a role that was originally written for a man, and she says they didn’t change a thing when they cast her in the role (unfortunately, seducing a woman was not part of her character’s story line). Find out more about the movie here.
In case you missed our blog post about it, Heroes is adding a lesbian cheerleader named April as a recurring character next season. We’ll let you know when we know more.
Openly gay Cuban-American contestant Daisy made it to the final three on Bravo’s Shear Genius, but she lost the big prize to fellow contestant Anthony this week. AfterEllen.com readers still love her, though.
Good news for Kristanna Loken fans, not-so-good news for fans of TV writing that doesn’t suck: The Sci Fi channel has picked up Painkiller Jane for a second season, according to my sources. Yeah, I don’t really understand it, either, but I’m happy for Kristanna, and at least we’ll have an out actress on cable TV awhile longer.
On June 9th, Australia’s SBS TV will debut Kick, a new multicultural ensemble drama that includes a story line about a young woman named Layla who is engaged to a man, but finds herself falling for another woman. (Thanks to Raven and Amanda for the tip!)
There’s one openly bisexual woman on the new season of the U.K.’s Big Brother.
We said we were going to compile your/our list of AfterEllen.com Hotties by the end of this week, but it turns out we couldn’t sift through the 783 comments (!) worth of names that quickly. But look for it on the blog early by early next week (we hope).
After four years of devoting a dozen hours each week to writing this column, I’ve decided to share the pain wealth with my staff. Starting next week, Karman, Malinda, Scribe Grrrl and I will take turns writing Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever., which means we’ll each be writing it once a month. Why the change, you ask? So you can get a fresh take on your lesbian entertainment news, and so I can take a breather now and then – it’s a lot of work trying to come up with new ways to make fun of bisexual women getting killed in horror movies, and lesbians getting pregnant on TV. But don’t worry, nothing else about this column will change – same format, same schedule (new every Friday) and same great (or not-so-great, depending on the week) lesbian/bisexual entertainment news. Just different snarkers.
That’s it for this week! Check back next Friday for a new installment of Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever.
