Best. Gay. Week. Ever. (December 8, 2006)

HEY, ALEXIS. CHILL OUT, OKAY?
It's been fascinating reading folks' various responses to breaking news over on our daily blog BEST.GAY.DAY.EVER. However, I have been dismayed by one theme I've read again and again: that actors are obligated to come out and come out now, dammit.

I think we can all agree that in theory coming out in a good thing for everyone. But as soon as you enter the real world (not MTV's The Real World which is anything but), things get more complicated. This week, The Trevor Project (which works to prevent suicide among GLBT youth) held its Cracked Christmas fundraiser. In attendance were Neil Patrick Harris and T.R. Knight. According to a report in USA Today, both Neil and Harris declined to do any press and Harris' boyfriend David Burtka slipped in a side door. Harris told folks he had been advised by his PR firm to lay low for a while.

So what did Alexis Arquette, also in attendance, have to say? Reportedly Alexis said, “People like that are weak; it's pathetic”. Alexis then wished for “a world where people didn't have that fear.” Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I wish for a world where chocolate didn't make people fat.

Do I wish Harris and Knight had posed for pictures with their significant others and that every kitten had a home? Well, sure. But taking potshots at two actors on current series who just came out of the closet is dumb. These guys have done something positive and it's only been a couple of months, folks. Aren't they entitled to pause and see what impact the actions they have taken so far have had on their careers? I mean, we're talking about their livelihoods here; a lot of people seem awfully cavalier about that fact. For us, there'll always be another celebrity to gossip about and harangue, but these folks spend their whole careers desperate to keep from being Yesterday's News.

And let's not forget: we'd all like more actors to come out, right? Perhaps abusing those already out might not be the best way to get that to happen.

IS BLACK THE NEW GAY ? OR IS IT GAY IS THE NEW BLACK?
Via Michael Ausiello comes word that Orlando Jones is the next African-American actor to take on a gay role on network television. Jones (Magnolia, Liberty Heights) will play the gay son of Amos Burke for at least two episodes over on Anne Heche's (oh stop hissing!) Men in Trees.

This comes after Wayne Brady played Neil Patrick Harris' gay brother on How I Met Your Mother. That got me to thinking: while there are no black gay male leads on network television (outrageous!), it seems like there has been a plethora of shows with black gay guest and supporting roles of late. Just last week we had Dr. Pratt's younger brother come out to him. Earlier this season on ER Albert Hall played John Mahoney's dying lover. Then there is Michael K. William's great turn on Omar over on HBO's The Wire, Taye Diggs guest arc on the season finale of Will & Grace, and everyone on Noah's Arc. Obviously this isn't the diversity we're hoping for, but the situation is getting better bit by bit.

Speaking of diversity, things are set to get a tiny bit better for gay Middle Eastern representation. This Sunday, Showtime's Sleeper Cell kicks off a new season. And to get things going they are going to run a new episode every night starting on Sunday at 9PM. Oh, and one of the Middle Eastern characters will be revealed as gay, yet closeted. Then on January 4th, Kenny, played by Rami Malek, over on The War at Home will come out to his folks.