Reality TV: June 2008 Archives

American Gladiators will feature its first openly gay male contestant in the show’s 20 year history. Sean Heatherington, who hails from West Hollywood, Calif. will run, spar, and joust his way on NBC tonight (8PM ET). If you’ve never seen the original show in the early 1990s or its latest incarnation, American Gladiators pit big and buff men and women contestants against each other. The contestants also wage war against the Gladiators -- who are even bigger and buffer -- and come with names like Crush, Steel, Justice and Tor.

Not only is Sean the show’s first openly gay contestant, he’s got one heck of a back story. Until recently he was the quintessential couch potato. As a young gay male he grew up afraid of sports and took comfort in food. But in 2003 he overcame his fears of the gym and lost 100 pounds!

Sean’s story is not unique. There are many young gay men and women who feel like they can’t be athletes or are afraid to try because of their sexual orientation. So it’s exciting that tonight NBC will show millions of Americans, gay and straight, that LGBT people are incredible athletes and can rock the Gladiator arena.

For those in the Los Angeles Metropolitan area, head down to the Abbey in West Hollywood for a viewing party from 7 – 9 PM. The viewing party benefits Lifeworks mentoring, www.lifeworksmentoring.org.

Tuesday’s episode of the GLAAD Media Award-winning 30 Days on FX, entitled "Same Sex Parenting," provided an opportunity for Kati, a devoutly Christian mother of two adopted sons, to spend a month living with Tom and Dennis Patrick, an Ann Arbor, Michigan couple lovingly raising four adopted sons of their own.

By the end of the thirty days, we see that Kati genuinely seems to like this family and admits they are great parents, but yet she is not able to reconcile the reality of the situation with her own belief system. Doing so, she says, would compromise a fundamental part of who she is, and the episode ends with her returning home to advocate for laws that prohibit gays and lesbians from adopting.

“What’s fantastic [about this episode] is that everything doesn’t just get wrapped up in a nice little bow,” creator Morgan Spurlock told AfterElton.com. “What I think makes 30 Days so great is it shows how imperfect things are, but at the same time it shows how much further I think we all need to go to continue to achieve some level of tolerance and understanding with one another.”

Viewers saw the joy and love in the Patrick family and were left wondering what it would take to change Kati's mind. How can Kati's belief system be so strong that she would rather let kids languish in the foster care system than be placed in a good, loving home? Perhaps inaccurate statements like those made by the anti-gay Family Research Council's Peter Sprigg contribute to views held by people like Kati. Within the episode, Sprigg rattles off his demonstrably false assertions:

"Homosexuality is associated with higher rates of sexual promiscuity, sexually transmitted diseases, mental illness, substance abuse, domestic violence, and child sexual abuse, and those are all reasons for us to be concerned about placing children into that kind of setting."

There is no scientific research that backs Sprigg's claims, yet Spurlock and the show's producers have placed no credible social science expert or child health authority to counter his lies presented as fact. At best, viewers are left to imply that merely seeing the happy Patrick family contradicts Sprigg, which it doesn't. There is no one in place in the episode to tell people like Kati that they are being lied to by those passing themselves off as experts.

GLAAD was unsuccessful in getting FX to either add a reputable expert to the program or remove Sprigg's falsehoods altogether before the program aired. On Monday we issued an Action Alert bringing the problem to the public's attention.

Columnist Dan Savage knows the adoptive parents Tom and Dennis featured, and after viewing the episode, agrees with GLAAD's position:

"Sprigg’s comments come early in the program and linger like mustard gas over every scene that comes after....Basically Spurlock didn’t just talk to Sprigg, and let him lie and lie and lie some more, he brought in someone to second Sprigg [anti-gay activist Dawn Stefanowicz]—someone using right-wing religious code—and allows her to assert that it would be better for Tom and Dennis’s kids if they hadn’t been adopted at all. And, again, the casual viewer is left to conclude that it would probably be for the best if Tom and Dennis hadn’t been able to adopt those boys..."

GoodAsYou.org's Jeremy Hooper had this to say about the show's lack of balance:

"One of the things we find most annoying about this ongoing 'gay vs. anti-gay' kerfuffle is how willing some are to present the situation as a two-sided debate in which both sides hold equal merit, rather than what it truly is: A scenario where one side is trying to live their lives, and the other is trying to prevent other's well-beings by passing off faith-based opinions as fact. We will not get past this needless debate until folks see our opposition's views not as casual opinion towards which we can and should 'agree to disagree,' but rather as bald discrimination that decent society should view with unapologetic disdain. FX: We sincerely hope you'll reconsider your decision to embolden baseless bias."

Following Tuesday's press juggernaut about the first day of marriage in California, it's no surprise that frequent Howard Stern Show guest George Takei was a topic of conversation this week on the popular Sirius Satellite Radio show. "Are you going to George Takei's wedding," Robin Quivers asked Stern on Wednesday. "I don't know if I'm invited," he replied. "I got an impression that we're all going to be invited," Quivers added.

Access Hollywood reported on Tuesday that the radio duo would be attending the Takei-Altman nuptials in September, although invitations have yet to go out for the event to be held at the Japanese American National Museum, a venue that holds only 200 guests.

Stern was impressed about how news spread internationally of George and Brad receiving the first marriage license ever issued by the city of West Hollywood. "He's in every newspaper. He's huge now," Stern said, taking credit for a resurgence in George's popularity. "How soon before we see the reality show Brad & George?"

Ah, ideas hatched on the Stern show have a way of taking hold in the outside world. "Now that you said it on the air, George will have a deal with NBC tomorrow," co-host Artie Lange pointed out.

On the red carpet at the 19th Annual GLAAD Media Awards with Project Runway's Tim Gunn. "I'm just thrilled to be able to say that I support this organization," he says about GLAAD, "and that they in turn support what we do."

June 12 brings three very different specials to television, sure to delight viewers from coast to coast.

We're All Angels (Showtime, 8:30 PM ET/PT)
A 2007 documentary about rising stars Jason and deMarco, two Christian pop singers who are lovers. An intimate story on the frontlines of the war between spirituality and sexuality, it celebrates the power of music and the liberation of self-acceptance.

Elton John: Me, Myself and I (Logo, VH1, VH1 Classic, MHD, 9 PM ET/PT) U.S. TELEVISION PREMIERE
This new one-hour documentary delves into Sir Elton John's early childhood, rise to superstardom, much-publicized drug addiction and ultimately finding love with his husband.

The A-List Awards (Bravo, 10 PM ET/PT) PREMIERE

Kathy Griffin hosts Bravo's first-ever A-List Awards, which honor those who have made an indelible mark in the arts. Nominees include gay-friendly shows like Gossip Girl and Weeds and celebs like Project Runway's Christian Siriano and A Shot at Love's Tila Tequila.

Here's a sneak peak at the Jason and deMarco documentary:

Bisexual video vixen Tila Tequila tells Us Magazine.com that her hit MTV series, A Shot at Love, played a part in helping gays and lesbians marry in California.

"Before [my show] came out, everyone was still a little apprehensive about [same sex relationships]," she said. "Then they realized, 'Wow, everyone is really into this stuff, and it is fine.' The next thing you know, [marriage] is legal."

Tila Tequila: Changing hearts and minds, one alcohol-drenched episode at a time.

Watch the season finale of A Shot at Love II on Tuesday, June 17 at 10 PM to see if Tila chooses Bo, Brittany or Kristy as her true love.

You've been forewarned: America's Got Talent is the show to watch this summer. Why? I've got three words for you: The Kinsey Sicks.

The Kinsey Sicks are a fabulous foursome of drag performers who sing in perfect harmony while balancing giant coiffures atop their delicate heads. But they are not just funny -- though hilarious they may be -- these gals can actually sing. In fact, The New York Times declares their voices to be "as sweet as birdsong."

Don't believe me? Check out their video here.

And set your DVR for America's Got Talent, premiering Tuesday, June 17 at 9 pm ET/PT.

On the red carpet at the 19th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in NYC with Eduardo Xol from ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.