On Friday Brian post about T.R. Knight appearing on Oprah as a surprise guest for his BFF Katherine Heigl. Now we've got the clip of T.R. serenading Katherine as he sings about beating her at Monopoly, how they're just like Oprah and Gayle, and even jokes about whether he can get married some day. And I especially love that last part.

There is no reason for a gay celebrity to be "gay, gay, gay" all the time, but I do appreciate out stars — like John Barrowman — who treat their sexuality as something perfectly normal that does come up in day-to-day conversation as opposed to those who come out once and barely ever speak of it again.

Check out the clip after the jump!

Yesterday's Oprah Winfrey Show was quite amazing to watch, as it featured the kind of coming out experiences we don't hear about very often. The show started with Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil of India, who came out after a nervous breakdown prompted by a miserable, closeted marriage. The Prince's coming out was a huge scandal in India, with his mother buying an ad in the paper announcing that she had disowned her son and wouldn't allow for anyone to refer to him as her child.

His mother was the first thing that Oprah asked him about and the Prince answered that he wasn't surprised by her reaction: "I don't blame her, I blame her ignorance." It wasn't so difficult to accept her reaction, he explained, since they were always distant (he was raised by governesses). When they did speak to each other, he explained, they never referred to each other by familiar names. Instead he referred to her as "Her highness" while she called him "The Prince".

The Prince also explained how he struggled with his sexuality, eventually getting married in the hopes that his homosexuality was a phase he'd get past. Unlike many other gay men in India, he wasn't coerced into getting married, but went into his wedding willingly. Oprah questioned him quite a bit about his wife and how she felt in the marriage, getting him to admit that he made her miserable by ignoring her and showing no interest in her physically.

Next she talked with Staceyann Chin, a New York-based poet, playwright and performer originally from Jamaica. Stacyann fled Jamaica after she was sexually assaulted by a gang of boys in a public restroom for being a lesbian. She explained:

"The culture is so actively homophobic ... I grew up listening to these songs -- songs like 'Boom bye-bye in the back of the head' ... the sound of shooting a gay man in the back of the head."

Hearing Stacyann talk about her attack was one of the episode's most chilling moments. Stacyann talked about being frozen by fear: "I thought I was going to fight but I was petrified." She said she still blames herself for the attack, wondering if she did something to bring it upon herself and feeling frustrated that she didn't fight her attackers harder. She had always thought of herself as someone with a big voice, someone who'd fight to defend herself until she found herself unable to act when facing hostility.

Before introducing Stacyann, Oprah told the audience that there were over 100 violent incidents against LGBT people in Jamaica in a period of just six months, and hearing Stacyann talk about being the subject of one such attack brought the reality crashing down.

Here's a clip from the interview:

Tomorrow's Oprah looks to be an interesting one both in that it will be live and that it will discuss what it means to be gay in different countries and cultures. Slated for appearance are a gay prince, out former NBA player John Amaechi, a man who was imprisoned for being gay in his home country, and a lesbian who so feared harm that she moved out of her homeland.

According to the show's press folks, this is what you can expect:

"Tune in LIVE on Wednesday, October 24 when The Oprah Winfrey Show travels the globe for a look into the lives of gays and lesbians in the U.S. and worldwide. Go behind the headlines to see the secret lives of gays in Iran. Meet an Indian prince whose coming out caused a controversy in his homeland. Plus, meet inspiring gay couples and families from around the world. Check local listings for exact time and station."

You can check out a trailer for the episode over here. Oprah has long been an ally in gay visibility, and I expect she'll demonstrate the same sensitivity in this discussion.

Forbes just released their Celebrity 100 (aka: 100 people whose holiday card lists you are most certainly not on), and there are a few gay big hitters in the bunch. The list measures the world's most powerful and best-paid celebrities using a secret formula that factors earnings, media metrics, press mentions, and overall zestiness.

Elton John placed at #7, nestled between Johnny Depp and Tom Cruise (where John has likely imagined himself nestled many times before), moving up from #12 on last year's list. The collective Grey's Anatomy cast, like some kind of white-coated, passive-aggressive Voltron, hit the list at #12. This was due no doubt to their frequent press mentions after the Isaiah Washington incident (I hope they send him a thank-you card) as well as their savvy contract negotiations for the next season.

Gay-faves Oprah and Madonna are at the top (at #s 1 and 3, respectively), the cast of Desperate Housewives appears later in the list, as do Tyra Banks (#61) and Barbara Walters (#75, right below confirmed drug fiend Kate Moss -- atta girl, Barb!).

But wait -- is that Larry the Cable Guy at #81? Watch out for raining frogs, folks -- this is gonna get ugly.

Check it out. But be warned: the list has the most annoying, slow-loading ad I've ever seen on every page. What the hell is a Vertu, anyway? I'm not waiting to find out.

• Oprah has chosen Jeffrey Eugenides's 2002 Pulitzer-winning (and pretty darn interesting) gender-switch novel Middlesex as her next book club read. May the transgender talkshow PR train roll on!
  
• Ad spending in the gay and lesbian press broke all records in 2006 -- over $223 million -- and has grown on average three times faster than general consumer magazines. I guess my cut of that must be in the mail or something.
• Kissing cousin John Polly over at NewNowNext interviewed gay BFF Cyndi Lauper on her True Colors Tour and gay rights advocacy efforts. Could she BE any cooler?!
• Weinermobiles + gay characters + a former football player with history of steroid-induced rage = comedy gold.