Rod 2.0:Beta

Mary Wilson Talks to "Gay Times" About Dresses and "Dreamgirls"

Last week, Rod 2.0 previewed The Story of The Supremes from the Mary Wilson Collection at The Victoria and Albert Museum in London, a retrospective which showcases dozens of the beautiful and elegant performance costumes of The Supremes, as well as sketches of the original gowns and archival video. The fabulous Mary Wilson, one of the original members of The Supremes who remained with the group into the 1970s, is interviewed in the current issue of Gay Times (PDF) and dishes supreme fashion and "Dreamgirls."

On comfort and the weight of the gowns:
Once you put them, they weren't as heavy as when you held them. And some were like 35 pounds!

On keeping track of the original gowns:
Quite a few were stolen in different places. Many of them are gown, but many have shown up on eBay, which I've been able to buy back. ... Very shocking. But it's been  really great because the fans, in a couple of cases, have helped me buy them back You know, you have to get them immediately, and so the fans jumped in there and helped me out tremendously. ... Once our bus was broken into and gowns went missing there. We had a fire in a nightclub in Mexico, and some were burned there. And THEN some were stolen from our dressing room in San Francisco.

On the Dreamgirls screen adaptation:
I absolutely thought it was wonderful as a movie, and speaking about that time period, but it wasn't the story of The Supremes. ... The gentlemen who wrote the original Broadway play were probably inspired by The Supremes, and I think as much as they could use our storyline, they did,  but then they created their own story around that. But I do think in the beginning that it was based on The Supremes. That was unauthorized!

Oh, and on several occasions, Mary Wilson refers to Miss Ross as "Diane." Ouch.

Some Background ...
The Fashion of The Supremes at the Victoria and Albert Museum [R20]

Pharrell Williams in "GQ"

Pharrell Williams, the ridiculously talented gay-friendly rapper, fashionista, designer and environmentalist,  continues in his march toward pop iconography in the current GQ. PW channels his inner Frank Sinatra in this golf-inspired editorial lensed by photographer Anders Overgaard. Style mavens will appreciate the slideshow and the Prada, DSquared2 and Louis Vuitton pieces.

Pharrell is the spokesman slash spokesmodel for Louis Vuitton, and, the outfit at left is from their collection.

Last month, Pharrell Williams covered Paper and "stripped down to his boxers" during the interview.

Shaking Up the Club [GQ]

More PHARRELL WILLIAMS
More FASHION

Some Background ...
Pharrell Williams (and Oversized Birkin) Cover "Paper" [R20]
Paper's Barack Obama-Inspired Fashion Editorial [R20]
Pharrell in "Vogue Hommes" [R20]
Pharrell Debuts Jewelry and Art Film for Louis Vuitton [R20]
Pharrell Shows Off His Oversized Hermes Birkin [R20]
Pharrell Williams for Louis Vuitton [R20]
Pharrell Sets the Record, umm, Straight [R20]
Milan Fashion Week: Emporio Armani [R20]
Pharrell Teams with Louis Vuitton  [R20]
"Not a Sex Symbol" ? [R20]
Has-Been Rapper Beanie Sigel Demands Kanye and Pharrell "Come Out of the Closet" [R20]
Live Earth Concert [R20]
Pharrell Williams at Diana Concert [R20] 
News: iPhone, Pharrell Wiliams [R20] 
Environment: Pharrell Concert [R20]
Attention All Size Queens [R20]

Josh Sarrazola Does Bling

Hot new face (and body) Joshua Sarrazola is spotted in the new GIANT in the print ad campaign for Simmons Jewelry. Showing off the latest bling for the fashionable man desiring conflict-free diamonds ... they're a girl's best friend, and, a boy's.

The bi-racial Colombian hotness is based in New York City and Miami and represented by Major Models. Josh was recently featured in the sizzling OUT summer fashion editorial and can be seen in the new television commercial for Disarono.

You May Want to Read ...
Joshua Sarrazola in Disaronno Commercial [R20]
Vs. [Out]
Behind the Scenes with Vs Model Terrence [Popnography]
Jonesin' for Joshua [Popnography]

Bobby Roache for South Pole Pt 2

As we mentioned before, South Pole's new spring-summer campaign is fronted by tall, dark and oh-so-handsome "it boy" Bobby Roache, the frequent music video model-actor who turned heads opposite Beyoncé  in "Irreplaceable" and "Ring the Alarm." Bobby Roache's swimwear editorial in the May 2006 issue of Clik is absolutely killer. Let's just say that Bobby wears shorty-shorts very, very well. 

Spotted this full-page ad in new issue of VIBE, which seems to run a new Bobby Roache editorial every other month. TGIF and enjoy.

You May Enjoy ...
Bobby Roache for South Pole [R20]

Usher: Women Love "Each Other" After "Not Having Enough Men"

For someone who is avowedly very! straight!, R&B star Usher Raymond spends a disproportionate amount of time obsessing on the gays. Especially during magazine interviews. Via Lynne D. Johnson and The Daily Voice are Usher's latest musings on lesbianism and homosexuality, this time found in new cover profile at VIBE. Mitzi Miller's poorly-written article is a typifies the celebrity puff pieces regularly published in that magazine. The online excerpt offers an unchallenged, scientifically inaccurate quote that takes the cake for chutzpah:

"It can never be bad to have a foundation as a man—a black man—in a time when women are dying for men," he says. "Women have started to become lovers of each other as a result of not having enough men. Are you not studying the stories? Wake up! Black love is a good thing."

Usher amplifies the "foundations" of manhood by boasting about his infidelity during his well-publicized on-again, of-again relationship with Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas of TLC. A record label exec says the breakup "made him interesting" and implies the rumors of Usher's "unfaithfulness—which he freely admitted—[were] in order to sell records."  So the message Usher broadcasts to his fans is that women only become lesbians if they aren't "enough men" and "black [heterosexual] love is a good thing" even if it includes lying and cheating. Brilliant.

VIBE online is has been noted for some of its attempts to legitimize gay concerns but the offline magazine clearly acts as a  reaffirmation of anti-gay street cred to the masses who are looking for heroes in all the wrong places. Too bad.

Caught Up [VIBE]
Quote of the Day from Usher [TDV]

Some Background ...
Usher's Confession: "I Don't Get Down Like That" [R20]
Tom Cruise Helps Convert Usher to Scientology [R20] 
News: Usher and His Boyz, Philly Schools [R20]
News: Usher in the Mix, CFDA [R20]

Pharrell Williams (and Oversized Hermes Birkin) Cover "Paper"

It's time for another Pharrell Williams fix. In addition to his behind-the-scenes drama while collaborating with Madonna on Hard Candy, the ridiculously talented gay-friendly rapper, fashionista, designer and environmentalist continues in his march toward pop iconography with this freakin' fierce cover of Paper, the New York City-based fashion-forward lifestyle bible. Co-starring on the cover and in the six-page editorial shot by photographer Dan Monick is the rapper's oversized, custom made Hermes Birkin travel bag—which Pharrell holds at arms length in that famous BryanBoy pose.

Journalist and novelist Erica Kennedy (Bling) had the enviable task of heading down to Miami to interview the stylish producer. After dishing Madonna, Vogue editrix Anna Wintour and the controversial LeBron James cover, Pharrell "strips down to his boxers, revealing the lanky body of a teenage boy ... although he just celebrated his 35th birthday." PW is asked to show off his big, err, piece.

For his last shot of the day, he's asked to step out on the balcony and hold his enormous Haut a Courroies tote at arm's length for four frames. "Four?" he says, letting the photographer feel how heavy it is. He nods at his beefy security guy. "I'm not him." After the camera's final click, he drops to the bag to his side and ambles inside, mumbling, "I think I pulled something."

 

 

More PHARRELL WILLIAMS
More FASHION

Some Background ...
Paper's Barack Obama-Inspired Fashion Editorial [R20]
Pharrell in "Vogue Hommes" [R20]
Pharrell Debuts Jewelry and Art Film for Louis Vuitton [R20]
Pharrell Shows Off His Oversized Hermes Birkin [R20]
Pharrell Williams for Louis Vuitton [R20]
Pharrell Sets the Record, umm, Straight [R20]
Milan Fashion Week: Emporio Armani [R20]
Pharrell Teams with Louis Vuitton  [R20]
"Not a Sex Symbol" ? [R20]
Has-Been Rapper Beanie Sigel Demands Kanye and Pharrell "Come Out of the Closet" [R20]
Live Earth Concert [R20]
Pharrell Williams at Diana Concert [R20] 
News: iPhone, Pharrell Wiliams [R20] 
Environment: Pharrell Concert [R20]
Attention All Size Queens [R20]

Gov. Deval Patrick's 18-Year-Old Daughter Comes Out

Just in time for Pride season is this beautiful picture and front page story at Bay Windows. Katherine Patrick, the 18-year-old daughter of Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, publicly comes out as a lesbian.

"As private of an issue as it is, we’ve sort of had to come to terms with the fact that we are a public family and there you give a part of yourself away," Katherine tells the newspaper. "And we also ... wanted people to know that it’s not only something that we accept, but it’s something that we’re very proud of. It’s a great aspect of our lives and there’s nothing about it that is shameful or that we would want to hide."

Katherine Patrick she had never before felt more proud of her father than in June 2007 when he flexed his political muscle to defeat the anti-gay marriage amendment. "Because, of course, he didn’t know that I was gay then. So, for someone so publicly to fight for something that doesn’t even affect him was just like, ’That’s my dad,’ you know?. That’s all I could think. I was very, very proud to be part of this family, and this state in general."

Deval Patrick, who became the first elected official in the country to win statewide office after having campaigned on support for marriage equality, says he never considered his daughters' sexuality into his advocacy on the issue. "I don’t think we thought about who they loved," he explains. "You know, it’s interesting even just thinking about having this interview. Katherine and Diane and I and her aunt and Sarah were all talking about, you know, would we give an interview to announce one of our kids was straight? It’s just not about the public ... it’s just about making sure that they had the fullness of their personality and their humanity.

With love and pride, Governor Deval Patrick’s daughter comes out publicly [BW]

You May Want to Read ...
Patrick to Introduce Dem Candidates [R20] 
Deval Patrick to March in Gay Pride [R20]
News: "Colorblind Electorate?" [R20]
Gov. Deval Patrick: True Hero [Keith Boykin]
Patrick Vows to Protect Same-Sex Marriage [R20]
Governor Warns Anti-Gay Ballot Will Create "Circus" [R20]
Victory in Massachusetts [R20]
Deval Patrick Wins Massachusetts {R20]
Patrick: Clinton Wrong on DOMA [R20]
Patrick Wins Nomination [R20]
Deval Patrick Endorses Obama [R20]

Now Bulging at a Theater Near You

For the discriminating size queens who like their men, umm, huge, and, for those who just simply prefer their men men enormous, here is something both of you can agree upon: "Bigger, Stronger, Faster" is now bulging at a movie theater near you.

The first documentary film from WWE producer and writer Christopher Bell is described as as an "incisive and compulsively watchable look at America's love affair with steroids" and travels to Gold's Gym in Venice Beach to interview celebrities and top bodybuilders, such as "Big" Will Harris, seen above, to discuss the pros and cons of juicing.

Popnography attended an early screening of the film. "Bell uses his personal qualms with taking steroids as a launching point for a searing portrait of America, where being the best is more important than being good. Bell scours the country, talking about (and trying to meet) Arnold Schwarzenegger, following and questioning his own brothers (both of whom are on the juice), meeting with athletes accused of doping, talking to a man who claims steroids saved him from AIDS and even going so far as hiring illegal immigrants to help him produce his own "vitamin supplements." ... Our country's need to be the best at everything and our willingness to shovel steroids, beta-blockers, or the latest designer pills to get there is catalogued in all its hilarious and tragic glory. We are a nation of cheaters, Bell's film tells us, but he's more interested in finding out what is it about this country that makes us need to cheat."

"Bigger, Stronger, Faster" can pass as soft core j/o material for die hard muscle groupies, but, then you are missing the social and political commentary. It is not exactly a tribute to bodybuilders, more like somewhat of an indictment of the mass culture, and many gay men will empathize will the peer pressure to construct a fabulous physique. Actually, the gay gym culture is totally derivative of the pro bodybuilding lifestyle and bodybuilding competitions have become the beauty pageants for gay men over 30 years old.

"Bigger, Stronger, Faster" is playing at selected theaters. A preview and more information at the website. Oh, and if you're loving "Big" Will Harris, do see his MySpace and personal page.

For the gym rat in all of us [Popnography]
Bigger, Stronger, Faster [EW]

Rev. Wright "Resisting" Retirement

Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama’s former pastor and longtime spiritual adviser, was to officially step down from his post at Trinity United Church of Christ on June 1. TIME reports the controversial pastor is "hanging on to power in the church he helped build" and "resisting" plans to retire.

Instead, on church bulletins on June 1, Moss was identified simply as "pastor" rather than "senior pastor," even as Wright assumed the title "pastor emeritus." Indeed, Trinity members familiar with the developments say that on May 27, Moss was summoned to the church's massive brown sanctuary for a meeting that included Wright, several church board members and other senior leaders. According to those sources, Moss, 37, expected the meeting to finalize transition plans. Instead, Wright suggested the board merely declare Moss "senior pastor-elect" because the younger cleric needed "supervision" — effectively ensuring Wright remains Trinity's preacher-in-chief. Wright's essential argument hinges on a technicality: Moss is an ordained Baptist minister who has yet to be fully ordained in the United Church of Christ.

Rev. Wright and his ministry became an issue in the presidential campaign after videotaped sermons on the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the black experience in America were broke by FOX News and circulated on YouTube. To address the concerns, Obama delivered a then-widely praised March 18 speech on race. In late April, Wright conducted a much-criticized media tour, including a speech and contentious question-and-answer session at the National Press Club. The next day, Obama denounced his "former pastor."

Last weekend, Obama resigned from the church after a longtime friend and a visiting pastor, Father Michael Pfleger, denounced Hillary Clinton from the pulpit in a racially charged rant.  Obama is no longer a member of the Trinity community, but, the church and his association with the pastor will undoubtedly remain a target in the general election.

Wright's resistance to retirement, and, the desire to 'supervise' the young pastor, exposes a major issue in black churches and the black community, i.e. succession planning and mentoring young leadership. IMHO, this was probably why Obama was not fully accepted by the old guard black civil rights leadership when he exploded on the scene in 2006.

The Unretirement of Reverend Wright [TIME]

More OBAMA
More JEREMIAH WRIGHT
More POLITICS

Some Background ...
Obama Resigns From Trinity [R20]
Obama "Outraged" by Wrights' "Ridiculous" "Rants" [R20]
NC Gov Endorses Clinton, NC/IN Polls Tightening [R20]
Wright at the National Press Club and Detroit NAACP [R20]
Wright on PBS: Obama "Says What He Has to Say as a Politician" [R20]
NC GOP Targets Dems with Obama/Wright Attack Ad [R20]
Teddy Endorsed Obama to Preserve JFK's Civil Rights "Legacy"? What Legacy? [HuffPo]
Obama's "A More Perfect Union" Speech [R20]
Obama and the Turban Non-Story [R20]
PA Debate: Meltdown and Morning After [R20]
"Bitter" Billionaire Fundraiser" [R20]
Obama Camp Provides Photo of Wright and Clinton [R20]
Obama to Make "Major" Speech on Race [R20]
Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Black LGBTs [R20]
McCain Aide Suspended, Circulating Wright Video [R20]

Thierry Henry in French "GQ"

It's been too long since we caught up with Thierry Henry. The fabulous French football phenom covers the latest issue of French GQ and is the subject of an interview and fashion editorial. The cover and editorial is red, white and black, so, for obvious reasons, we liked it. Some of the scans.

In spring 2007, Thierry Henry was signed by Tommy Hilfiger as the brand's newest spokesmodel and would front global fashion and underwear advertising.

Some Background...
Thierry Henry for Tommy Hilfiger [R20]
Code Name "Anaconda" [R20]
The New Man of "Steel" [R20]
He Scores! [R20]
Thierry Henry for Pepsi Gold [R20]
Oh la la Thierry [R20]