AfterElton Briefs: Return to "Oz," Jesse St. James Is Surprising, Kathy Griffin Is Back, and Is This Muppet Too Gay?

Liza Minnelli gets honored, Paris Barclay gets two honors, another homophobe caught with his pants down, and should our slogan be "Gay Is Good" again?

Happy birthday Lance Bass, who turns 31 today.

• Oz creator Tom Fontana brought his cast, including Christopher Meloni (Keller) and Lee Tergesen (Beecher) together to do a reading of his on-act farce The Godfather, Part IV to benefit nonprofit theater company Primary Stages. The interview shows hints of the raunchy familiarity the show had.

• According to E! even Jonathan Groff was surprised at what Jesse St. James is up to on Glee. He loved the experience, but yes, he was a graduating senior. 

• A widely reported interview with Empire has David Duchovny saying "If he were gay" he'd go for any of the male Twlight cast, Woody Allen, or Gary Shandling. That's a weird mix of types, David.

• I'm not sure what organization gives out the Straight for Equality in Entertainment Award, but they gave it to Liza Minnelli. The event was hosted by Caroline Rhea and had an auction hosted by Reichen Lehmkuhl. Congrats!

• Kathy Griffin My Life on the D List returns to Bravo June 15th at 10pm EDT, mostly because even with beeping Kathy out, they're afraid to put her on any earlier. Here's a preview of what's to come, mildly NSFW.

• I had mentioned the Television Academy Honors yesterday, but what I had missed was that out writer/director Paris Barclay was nominated for two of the eight shows, Glee's "Wheels" and CSI's "Coup de Grace."

• Today's Stories from the Frontlines is Former SSgt. Anthony Loverde, who was discharged upon coming out, but now does the same job but as a civilian contractor, in the same location, with the same men he once served with. And no doubt for five times the pay.

• The Austrian Postal Service is putting out a commemorative stamp in honor of the 15th Annual Rainbow Parade in that country.

Can't see the USPS doing the same, but they will honor Homer Simpson.

• The news that GSN was launching a "saucy puppet show" called Late Night Liars produced by Henson Alternative has ignited some debate around the AfterElton.com office. Take a look at the cast picture, and the description for William A. Mummy.

William A. Mummy, a confirmed bachelor and bon vivant who “just can’t seem to find the right woman.” “Mister Double Entendre” is flamboyant, brash, and jittery—and he knows how to tie an ascot. Mummy’s a fan of the finer things in life: fashion, gourmet food, and of course, the theater.

• These aren't the first gay Muppets, assuming William A. Mummy is indeed gay. On Logo's Alien Boot Camp Henson Alternative gave us Bobby and Samson who were partnered and raising a child together. It was fun.

• Today's big news has been George Rekers, Family Research Council co-founder and board member of the gay-conversion group National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) was caught returning from a Bermuda vacation with a rentboy. Catching a homophobic bigot with a rentboy is still news?

• Over at the Huffington Post they make an argument that we should return to pushing the "Gay Is Good" argument for equal rights. Approaching it from a moral perspective rather than continuing to push empirical evidence might give us a leg up.

• The Human Rights Campaign had a booth at the uber-fancy Virginia Gold Cup Steeplechase. True story, a previous company I worked for had a catered booth at the event several years back. Even though I already owned a suit and a tux, I had to go buy new clothes to wear to the event. It's fancier than it looks in the photos.

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