AfterElton Briefs: Sir Ian regrets, "Little Britain" is scandal-free, and more!

Elizabeth Moss, Raul Esparza and Jeremy Piven (Photo: GETTY)

Following this assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear after the jump. Yes, we're serious.

• Jeremy Piven recently left the Broadway production of Speed the Plow and one source says that remaining actors Raul Esparza and Elizabeth Moss shed some light on the circumstances. Talk about drama... (Caution: Links to FOXNews)

• Turns out the "gay and lesbian outcry" over Little Britain USA was actually a lie fabricated by a British publication oddly enough owned by the company behind gay magazine Attitude. The article fabricated two gay rights groups and quotes from them, and the high court granted Matt Lucas and David Walliams damages from the publisher for the damage to their reputations.

• Sir Ian McKellen, who came out as gay in a radio debate about promoting homosexuality in schools twenty years ago, says that he regrets not coming out earlier: "You don't like yourself. It rots you."

• Above, President-elect Barack Obama discusses his decision to invite Reverend Rick Warren to speak at his inauguration in light of LGBT concerns.

• Gay rights activist Cleve Jones (who is played by Emile Hirsch in Milk) wrote a letter to the L.A. Times taking them to task for their suggestion that Sean Penn's support of Chavez and Castro diminishes his portrayal of Harvey Milk or makes him a homophobe.

• This review of Robin Hood - The Pantomime Adventure isn't terribly fond of star John Barrowman, and takes issue with his singing, his skating, and his inclusion of "gay gags" in family entertainment. Apparently readers took issue with his review, which led to this follow-up, which is actually worse.

And today's Briefs are brought to you by...

This guy!