Michael Lewis

In a continued effort to bring you all that is important in the world of gay entertainment and ensure that you are being spoon-fed images of gorgeous, commoditized manflesh, we present the newly-minted AfterElton Briefs. Following the usual 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.

• Israeli actor/model/badunkadunk Michael Lewis (above) has signed on to appear opposite Alan Cumming in the upcoming fashion-industry Alice in Wonderland adaptation, Hatter. He plays the Dor Mauz, and as a bonus treat, he's also appearing as today's after-the-fold hunk.

• Not only is we-all-know-who going to be revealed as teh gay on Gossip Girl, but he'll be caught in a lip-lock with another equally cute (and equally inconsequential) character. Wanna know who?

• Funny, Ryan Seacrest isn't just sounding like Jay Leno with his lame gay panic humor, but he'e even looking like him these days.

• We linked to the preview video of Neil Patrick Harris's unfortunate beheading on Ellen yesterday, but here's the full clip for ya, above.

• Happy Birthday, Barbra. Still buttah after all these years...

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

This week we start a new weekly video blog with Jim Verraros, top ten finalist from the first season of American Idol. Post-Idol, Jim has gone on to a successful recording and film career, but he's making time to join friend Penny Frulla each week for Idol Chat.

Last week on American Idol, the top 20 remaining contestants sang "songs of the seventies" and also shared something "surprising" about themselves. Jim & Penny dish on the best and worst performances and offer up some surprises of their own: Among them, Jim recalls being serenaded by an 11-year-old David Archuleta, and Penny awards the coveted "Marcia Brady Trophy" to the most tearful contestant.

Please join us in offering a warm AfterElton.com welcome to Jim & Penny, and check out Idol Chat after the break!

American Idol is back for its seventh season but if you're looking to catch a glimpse of the next Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Clay Aiken or Chris Daughtry you need to sit back, do your taxes, write a novel, contemplate what's living in Amy Winehouse's hair and then return in a couple weeks once the audition rounds are over.   

There are two camps of people that watch American Idol: those that find glorious joy in seeing the painfully tone deaf humiliated on national television, and those that truly enjoy watching a rising star in the making. I tend to fall somewhere in between. 

I will freely admit that I've been an American Idol Addict since its inception and I'm man enough to admit that I cried big baseball-sized tears when my girl Kelly Clarkson took the crown in Season 1 (chalk it up to the confetti and pyrotechnics)!  I'm also smart enough to know that while Idol has changed the landscape of reality television, it's come with a price.

The overbloated premiere took to the streets of Philadelphia and even though it's the "City of Brotherly Love," we witnessed not one noticeably gay contestant. Even worse, we barely saw any male contestants audition or make it through to the Hollywood round at all. Sure there was the Bear Cub that dressed like Princess Leia and a drag queen or two but overall the men were scarce in Philly.

That had me thinking... Has American Idol learned its lesson and decided against openly ridiculing the effeminate contestants?  Are Simon and Ryan done with their witless gay jokes? Is mocking the sexually ambigious a thing of the past? Is the visual absence of LGBT contestants a sign of things to come or did the gays of Philadelphia learn a lesson from season's past and stay home?

Love it or hate it, American Idol is back.  You can run, you can hide, but I doubt you'll be able to avoid this reality monster.  If you thought Idol was on too much last season, just wait to see how Fox fills that huge gaping hole in their winter schedule left by the ongoing Writer's Strike.  Brace yourself because it feels like something wicked this way comes.