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Rod 2.0 Exclusive: The Terry McMillan Interview

If you hoped that a final divorce decree or even the Oprah infomercial/"reunion" would be the end of Terry McMillan's comments on her well-publicized split with Jonathan Plummer, we were all wrong. The formerly best-selling author strikes back and bares it all to the most unlikely choice—Clik.

After last month's cover story on Plummer, the author personally contacted Clik and requested equal-time by writer L. Michael Gibson. The result is cover story The Interruption of Everything, named after her current book. It'll change everything that you thought you knew about the author. "He’s pimping the gay community," McMillan claims. The interview is required reading on so many levels. Terry McMillan denies that Oprah "or the media has sympathized with me" and denies that she seeks publicity. Furthermore, McMillan claims that she has been "persecuted" by gay black men, and, says that the negative press has actually hurt book sales and cost her money. The final bomb: "That’s why I’m suing Jonathan for libel, slander and defamation of character."

Strap yourselves in and grab a martini for the exclusive preview of the Clik/Terry McMillan Interview that will be available next week:

On her image within the gay community:

People have no idea of all he’s done to me behind closed doors. It’s unfortunate that the gay community—particularly the black gay community—seems to have this attitude of taking pleasure in other people’s misfortune. And as a result they have a misconception of me.

On gay men in the closet:

He lied to me. He deceived me. And the only thing the gay community knows is "Oh poor Johnny, he was locked in the closet" as if I put his ass in there.

Clik on Jonathan

Oakland's Club Rimshot hosted the West Coast premiere of the newly-redesigned Clik. Left to right: Joe Hawkins, Club Rimshot; Dwight Powell, editor/publisher, Clik; and Jonathan Plummer. Streaming video here where Jonathan says he is excited to make the February cover. "I've never been on the cover of a magazine. People are curious about what I have to say, so, hopefully we'll see how it goes."

This is the first time that Plummer will be interviewed by a gay publication. He sets the record straight after that unfortunate three-ring circus. Duane Cramer lenses the cover and the accompanying pictorial.

Streaming Video: Jonathan Plummer (Club Rimshot)

Previously:

• Coming to a Megaplex Near You (Rod 2.0)
• DL Chronicles Interview (Rod 2.0)
• January Clikque (Rod 2.0)
• December Clikque (Rod 2.0)

What A Difference A Day Makes

Let's check on the Amazon-ranking of Terry McMillan's The Interruption of Everything.

• One day before the Oprah infommercial: 2805
• One day after the Oprah infommercial: 190

We could say that we told you so but, well ... we told you so.

Coming to a Megaplex Near You

Terry McMillan and ex-husband Jonathan Plummer's much-promoted Oprah reunion was not at all what we expected. While Terry's trademark head- and eye-rolling dominated the show, she only raised her voice occasionally. Jonathan was given a warm welcome and allowed to explain his story; he was cross-examined, not demonized. Terry smiled when her now gay ex-husband walked onto the stage, and spent much of the next hour laughing and joking with him, touching and playing with the man she once-called a "sociopath." This was much like any normal hour of couple's counseling. The highly-anticipated, WWE-style smack down was nowhere to be seen.

Another fine example of Oprah's amazing powers to heal?

Hardly. The talk show hostess strategically disclosed another motivation at the very end of the show, as credits rolled and sponsor tapes were cued. You may have already been in the bathroom or flipping to another channel.

On the Next Oprah ...

What a coincidence: Terry McMillan's book tour begins with a messy divorce that is finalized by November sweeps and tomorrow Oprah "brings" the former couple together.

What is Terry sitting on the couch thinking right now?

1. How high will my Amazon ranking climb?
2. How fast will can we get into a second printing?
3. Seven-figure deal?
4. Movie Rights?
5. Sequel. Sequel. SEQUEL!

Meanwhile, Keith reports that McMillan's current non-bestseller is ranked at 2805 **1003** (as of Wednesday afternoon on Amazon) ... for now. Let's start taking bets on the new ranking.

You know we're gonna have fun with this one. Recap, screen captures and all the drama should be posted by tomorrow afternoon.

Terry Loves Gays, Hates Saddam

Terry McMillan once again proves that she is not publicity hungry by writing to the San Francisco Chronicle to announce the big news. "Our divorce was officially finalized on October 4," the bestselling author says in a note to columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross. Now, her ex-husband Jonathan Plummer is "free to live anyway he sees fit ... since I'm now out of this hellish holding pattern my life has been spinning inside of for the past nine months." Can we get a box of Kleenex, please?

The crocodile tears cannot be over the settlement; the ex gets only $50,000, so it's extremely favorable to McMillan. (For extra drama, she sent an inscribed copy of How Stella Her Groove Back to his lawyer: "I hope you rot in hell." Ebay, anyone?) Just to clear those rumors, McMillan says that she really does like the gays, but hates that other guy. "I do not hate my husband for being gay. I do not hate anybody (except Saddam Hussein).'' Well, now that we've established Terry's patriotism, we can look forward to learning (a) less about the divorce, (b) more about the divorce, or (c) what happened to those WMDs?

• Couldn't I See the Signs? (Rod 2.0)
• How Do You Not Know That You Are Gay? (Rod 2.0)
• More filed under ... Terry McMillan Publicity Stunt

Caption, Please

We couldn't resist this one. Terry McMillan and Usher at Oprah's Legends Weekend. Don't you love their facial expressions? Have at it, via fecundmellow.

Couldn't I See the Signs?

It's been a minute since we've had an update on Terry McMillan's anger-management therapy, so let's check on her progress. Yesterday, Kevin E. Taylor—the veteran BET producer and president of TM³—called us at the gym when we were somewhere between dead lifts and lat pull downs. "Pick up the new Essence," he suggested. "Terry McMillan is at it again."

Even though it's teased on the cover as "This Has Only Made Me Stronger," the two-page interview is a rehash of the anger, anti-gay stereotypes and projection that we've been subjected to for months. Only stronger, so yes, the tease was accurate. Robin D. Stone's article is entitled Terry Gets Tough, and the badly-seeking-a-bestseller author starts off by telling us that she's doing okay: "The first thing she wanted to make clear: yes, she has been tested. No, she doesn't have HIV." That's great, Terry. All this week, we've been discussing the hype surrounding sistahs, HIV and the DL. But we're glad to see that you're taking the high road.

In case you can read past the lead paragraph's histrionics, the rants become even more detailed. Terry says that she ignored signs that Jonathan Plummer may have been not-so-straight.

"Everybody's like, 'How come she couldn't see he was gay?' ... He never was as masculine as other men I'd been with. But now his look and whole demeanor have changed. When we were married, his eyebrows weren't plucked. He never wore lip gloss. Never crossed his legs. He was good; he fooled me.

New Data on DL, HIV

If you were unlucky enough to be near a television set on Thursday night, you may have caught yet another episode of The Terry McMillan Show. This time, the soundbite-friendly, bestselling author appeared on CNN's Newsnight with Aaron Brown, delivering her standard tales of woe. The report by Beth Nissen (transcript here) was notable because it referenced "the down low" and ended with dire warnings from the bitter novelist.

NISSEN: Knowing her readers identify with her, McMillan is urging them to protect themselves, to be tested for HIV, if they think their partners may be on the down low, secretly having sex with other men. MCMILLAN: You don't get a little bit of AIDS because your husband had a good time on the weekend.

Ironically, this report aired only one day after a new study was released that undermined prevailing notions that men on the DL fuel seroconversion rates.

Emory University researcher David Malebranche and colleagues from the CDC recently published data that showed black bisexual men do not necessarily fit the stereotype of men engaging in risky sexual behavior. "The role of bisexually active black men in HIV transmission is a more complex issue than depictions of black men on the down-low as sexual predators and black women as uninformed victims," read the findings. (PDF version of full report here.)

"How Do You Not Know You Are Gay?"

Normally people who are involved in lawsuits are prohibited from discussing their case—"No comment" or "We don't discuss pending litigation." That's so both sides can keep confidential information ... well, confidential; attorneys also advise their clients not to say anything that can harm them later. Normal people, we say, not bitter, enraged authors who are currently promoting books and desperately need another NYT bestseller to cover legal expenses and possible settlements. Authors like Terry McMillan, whose Valium-worthy performances last night on Tavis Smiley and this morning's Today had to have been seen to be believed.

Hopefully, Jonathan Plummer and his lawyers are doing better than us—we're on the road, so no TiVo or screencaps. If you missed Katie Couric's morning interview, here are the many faces of the heavily-pancaked-author:

Stella Exhales ... And It's Not Good

Divorces are bitter, acrimonious affairs ... and those of the rich and famous usually even more so. The initial filings in author Terry McMillan's California divorce case are par for the course with celebrity divorces. This is unfortunate because being an attention whore, she's made her case into a cause célèbre. Now it will only add more fuel to the DL mystique and more women will blame gay men for their problems.

We've been reviewing the court filings obtained by The Smoking Gun and McMillan's rage seems almost immature: changing his cell phone password to ILUVMEN? It's just a little difficult to believe that from the beginning Jonathan Plummer intentionally misled the celebrity author who was 23 years his senior. When she met him, he was 20 years old and had never engaged in a homosexual relationship (this was Jamaica, after all); he also didn't know who she was. She also proposed to him and paid for the wedding, so there was no coercion on his part. Hopefully a judge will agree and reward him a decent settlement.

Memo to Terry: These things sometimes happen when you're buying trade young enough to be your son. But here's the upside: you're almost guaranteed another bestseller now. And that's a good thing, because you're recent sales have been ... well, A Day Late and a Dollar Short.

Stella Got Her Groove—But Is Still Waiting to Exhale

"They wear each other's T-shirts, they beat each other up, they laugh at each other's penises -- not that they've ever seen each other's penises."

Author Terry McMillan joked eight years ago to Salon about domestic life with a 12 year old son and a boyfriend 23 years her junior. Little did she know that the truth would haunt her. By now you've heard that the bestselling author is divorcing her boy toy husband—Jamaican-born Jonathan Plummer—after learning that he is gay. Their romance was the basis for the novel How Stella Got Her Groove, later made into a hit film. McMillan claims that the marriage was a "fraud'' because Plummer (now 30) lied about his sexual orientation—and married her only to gain U.S. citizenship and for money.

The downside here is that McMillan's story may fuel more DL-obsessed straight women into believing that a gay man is lurking behind every door. McMillan's heart may have been broken, but she certainly pimped the story for all it was worth. Besides the cache of a BF young enough to be her son, she wrote a bestselling novel, optioned the book into a her second hit movie and made millions from the affair. Look for an Oprah appearance and possibly another novel. In Plummer's defense, it's likely that at 22 years old ... he was undecided about his sexuality and didn't know how he wanted to get his groove on.

BTW, the above photo of Plummer and McMillan was found on the website of author E. Lynn Harris.