THAT'S ONE WAY TO BOOST RATINGS
Jai Rodriguez of Queer Eye recently confirmed rumors he's bisexual. "I like girls, too," Rodriguez told the New York Daily News. "When I signed on to the show I didn't realize I was going to have to always be gay." That's what you get for not reading the fine print in those contracts, Jai. Or could this be one of those staged controversies? Maybe those gimmicky makeovers of the Red Sox and hapless gay men haven't boosted ratings as much as Bravo hoped. Let's all pray a Carson Kressley sex tape isn't about to surface.

CHERRY JUBILEE
Marc Cherry, creator of Desperate Housewives, appeared at the recent gay and lesbian film festival, Outfest 2005. Also with him were Marcia Cross as well as members of the writing staff. Marc's reception was triumphant to say the least as fans were delighted that a gay man produced one of American's biggest hits. Some thought that with Desperate Housewives Cherry was pulling off some sort of joke on America, but Cherry and his producers disagreed, saying they just wanted to entertain people.

Actor Shawn Pyfrom. who portrays teenage troublemaker, Andrew, had this to say about his character: "(Andrew) is a very narcissistic character. So, you know, basically anything he wants to do, anything that feels good, he does. I think that's more what he is. I don't think he's gay or straight. I think he's just Andrew." For those who don't speak actor, this translates roughly to, "I'm very narcissistic and insecure and don't want anybody even thinking for a minute that I might be gay because I play a gay character, but one who really, you know, isn't gay. Okay?"

CHER, COCKROACHES, AND REICHEN LEHMKUHL
A wag once joked that after a nuclear holocaust all that would be left were cockroaches and Cher. After seeing Reichen Lehmkuhl's haughty mug yet again adorning the latest cover of The Advocate, I'm beginning to think the same applies to him. After all, Reichen's landed on The Young and The Restless, Frasier, and The Drew Carey Show after winning on The Amazing Race. As if that isn't bad enough, he's now got Kill Reality, which debuted this week on E! Kill Reality (oh, don't I wish!) is a reality show about the filming of the horror film The Scorned with, I kid you not, a cast of nothing but reality stars. It sounds like a horror film all right, just not the one the director intended to make.

MAYBE THAT'S HOW ALL PILOTS GET MADE. AND THAT EXPLAINS A LOT.
Comedy Central just okayed filming of the pilot for Gay Robot, based on a sketch from an Adam Sandler album. The $500,000 budget is the highest ever for a Comedy Central show. Paul Swardon, the St. Paul comic who wrote the Gay Robot bit for Sandler will not only write for the new show, but will provide the robot's voice as well. Paul explains that they just expanded the bit from the album until they had enough for the show. And why not? Look how well it worked for It's Pat: The Movie, The Coneheads, Superstar, The Ladies Man...

YOU MEAN THIS IS WHAT LIFE COULD BE LIKE?
CTV's DeGrassi: The Next Generation won the prestigious Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming at the Television Critics Association in Los Angeles on Saturday. The long running hit Canadian show has featured numerous gay characters and story lines. Canada being Canada, the daring Degrassi caused little stir up north. The same couldn't be said once the show started airing in the U.S. where it kicked up controversy and episodes had to be edited. Oh, those wacky Canadians--what will they do next? Legalize same-sex marriage? Provide health care for everyone? Treat their Native populations fairly?

IN BOLLYWOOD NEWS
Indian cinema continues to break taboos with next month's release of Pick Me. The movie tells the story of an English woman, played by Heyley Cleghorn, who attempts to pick up a gay gigolo played by Ajay Verma. Cleghorn's seduction attempts fail, and, in punishment for insisting on being gay, the gigolo dies of AIDS. Seems Bollywood is right where Hollywood was back in the 1950's. And where Michael Medved would like it to be again.

FOR THIS HE'S SORRY?
Mel Gibson recently stated that he's ashamed of his first ever on-screen kiss because it was with a man. The 1977 movie, Summer City, was Gibson's first ever movie role. So the man who gave us the homophobic Bird on a Wire, as well as Braveheart, not to mention the insipid Tequila Sunrise, is embarrassed because he kissed a man. Oh, Mel, you're as big an ass today as you were cute and dumb thirty years ago.

WHY IS LIFE SO UNFAIR?!
According to IMDb, William Macy thought himself a victim of a practical joke when he was left handcuffed and naked during the filming of his latest movie, the low-budget Edmond. William, wearing nothing but a sock over his privates, had finished filming a prison scene when the key to the manacles couldn't be found. At first, Macy thought someone was playing a joke on him, but when the prop manager started to panic Macy realized this was no joke. The key was eventually found. Said William, "I tell ya, low-budget is not for sissies." Says me, "Why didn't this happen to Colin Farrell. Or Jake Gyllenhaal. Or..."

I'M NOT DEAD YET!
Employees and patrons of the Oscar Wilde Bookshop in Manhattan are none too happy over the misunderstanding concerning that bookstores supposed shuttering of its doorstep. The brouhaha started in the New York Times Book Review when author David Leavitt penned an essay asserting that gay bookstores are closing as fast as new Broadway dramas. Leavitt believes the time for gay bookstores has passed. The only problem is that Oscar Wilde isn't closing, nor does it have plans to anytime soon. Says Oscar Wilde's manager, Kim Brinster, "Rumors of our death have been greatly exaggerated. And it's too damn hot here today to say anything more original than that."

Mr. Leavitt's comments that gay fiction has entered a post-gay world where every Barnes and Noble will carry a veritable cornucopia of books featuring gay characters set off the usual round of wrangling amongst writers. Responding on The Book Standard, Johnny Temple disagrees that the time for gay bookstores has passed. Temple says we "need our institutions now more than ever, what with Patriot Act...and Republican political domination."

Meanwhile, I'm just happy to hear anybody is reading at all. (To read more about great gay books check out the terrific monthly newsletter Books To Watch Out For.)

ON A SERIOUS NOTE
The San Francisco Main Library is presenting "Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals 1933-1945". The show is a traveling exhibition from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and tells the story of the tens of thousands of queers murdered by the Nazi's. Opponents of gay rights have often claimed we aren't persecuted and therefore don't deserve legal protections. Here is a chance to set the record straight, so grab a straight friend and go. The show runs through August 18th.

SURE, BUT DID YOU EVEN MENTION IT?
“When we did Ellen it was a huge, huge issue, and it was the event of the year,” said ABC’s executive vice president of entertainment, Jeff Bader, at the TCA press tour in Los Angeles this week. “In Crumbs, the fact that the main character is gay never even came up. It’s amazing. Maybe because it started with Ellen, but by the time you get to Will & Grace it’s become a non-issue."

Now I’ll shut up so you can have the BEST. GAY. WEEK. EVER.

That's it for this week! Check back next Friday for a new installment of Best. Gay. Week. Ever., or read previous installments here.