Recently in Out in Reality TV Category

It's gonna be a little weird for me to see Buck from "Chuck and Buck" as a contestant on the CBS show "Amazing Race" when its new season premieres Sunday night.

Okay, he's not really Buck - he's Mike White and he write the screenplay for that indie flick as well as "School of Rock." His father, Mel White, is a high-profile leader in the LGBT equal rights movement.

Mel, who founded the gay social-justice organization Soulforce, talked to Advocate.com about how he came to join his son on the show:

"Mike's a massive fan of the show," says White, 68. "He auditioned on his own and was accepted, but the person he signed up with bailed at the last minute. I was the backup plan..."I've traveled a lot more than most people, but there's nothing that can really prepare you for this show. You're racing the clock -- the whole thing is such a rush."

White doesn't think producers knew who he was when they signed him on: "...At least it never came up during our conversations. I don't think they did any research into my activism. They wanted me as Mike's dad, which was fine with me -- I was delighted to be billed as "the gay father." It gave me a chance to talk about not just being gay, but being a gay parent, without the perceived stigma of being an activist. Of course, I wore my Soulforce hat everywhere, hoping it'd spark some interest. "

Since both enjoy a measure of fame, White was asked if either he or his son got recognized while competing: "I don't see myself as a celebrity, but people recognize Mike all over. Back home, he has paparazzi shooting and asking him questions. When we were going through India, this woman leaned over to us on a bus and said to him, "I like your movie." I'm a dad, so of course I got a puff of pride. I mean, I don't see him as an actor or screenwriter, I just see him as my kid. When I see him on the screen, I don't see the character, I see Mike. Which was really uncomfortable when I saw Chuck & Buck. [Laughs] I was so taken aback."

Go to Advocate.com to read the rest of what is a terrific interview.

Lance Bass was at last night's Environmental Media Awards but breezed by me on the green carpet. He was one of the first presenters and it was near showtime. But I still shouted a question to him: "Lance! Are you gonna do any Prop. 8 marches?" He stopped for a half-second and said: "As much as I have time for." Then he was off.

Fortunately, "Dancing With the Stars" judge Carrie Ann Inaba (Lance is still in contention for the title!) had more time to gab when I saw her at the People's Choice Award nominations Monday morning. I asked her about Lance's chances to win.

"Lance is great but he's got Lacey (as a partner) and she's sometimes a trouble-maker out there," Carrie said. "And there's nothing wrong with that, I think rebels are good. She's brought a new energy that challenges some of the beliefs of our show which sometimes works for her, and sometimes doesn't. I don't always agree with her choices, but I love the fact that she's making them and she's doing what she needs to do and that's not easy."

In other words, Lance is toast unless the viewers vote for him in a big way!

Carrie Ann Inaba also handicapped the rest of the field and reflected on the amazing run of Cloris Leachman who was finally eliminated a few weeks back.

"Cloris is a phenomenon, truly," she said. "The woman is 82 years old. If you really get realistic about what that is, you look at your grandma who's having trouble walking. And (Cloris) is out there throwing herself into the death drops and everything and having a great time. I think she was so inspirational for older people and younger people."

But Cloris is now gone. So who's gonna win?

"I think it's gonna be real interesting," she said. " Cody Lynley may not be one of the front-runners but he's got this real great energy. I'm real excited to see where he's gonna go. Brooke Burke and Derek Hough are just phenomenal. They are, I think, the best dancers we've ever had on the show. But that doesn't necessarily equate to them winning."

Lynley, Burke, Warren Sapp and Bass are the final four competing for a spot in the finals.

It's been a tough season physically for some dancers and celebs alike. Among the mishaps Olympic gold medalist Misty May-Treanor was seriously injured during a rehearsal and forced to drop out, sprinter Maurice Greene hyper-extended his leg before being eliminated last week, dancer Julianne Hough missed some shows in order to have surgery and her brother Derek and dancer Kym Johnson also have had injuries.

"I don't think it's a cursed season, I think this was the most ambitious season we've ever had," Inaba said. "The producers really put the challenge in front of all these people because as America's been watching our show, they want to see more too. I think this season, more than ever, has shown America that dancing is a physical sport and maybe people have more respect for it now which is great."

Hey, I didn't watch a single episode of Bravo's "Make Me A Supermodel" but I'm sure plenty of you did and want to know what Ronnie Kroell has to say about his bromance with fellow contestant Ben.

He's so good looking, apparently, that people are shocked that he has a brain inside his pretty head: "It's funny how many times I meet people, and I start to talk, actually having an in-depth conversation about politics or religion, and it takes them off guard," he says in the story. "I used to take it as an offense, but it's just the idea that's out there. People don't expect us to have brain cells I guess."

On his embarrassing first attempt to break into the modeling industry: "I had no clue about proper etiquette or dress when you're going into casting calls and go-sees. So little Ronnie at 15 got in his prom tuxedo and went into an open call. The agent was about ready to have a coronary laughing so hard at me!"

There is a little more depth in the mag's Soapbox feature which allows the wonderful Judith Light to make an intelligent, compassionate call to arms for the LGBT community:"I encourage the younger generation to know their history. What your people have done, who your friends and straight allies were. Know it so you can have real pride in your being: of who you are and where you came from," she says. "That's your family. I urge you to draw courage and power from it."

Remember the Bravo "dating" show "Boy Meets Boy" where one dude (James Getzlaff) gets to be the "bachelor" and get wooed by dozens of guys? The annoying thing was that some of the guys were NOT gay! They were part of the reality show twist or whatever. Is it any wonder that we never saw a season two of this 2003 disaster?

I don't remember much from the show - and I did see every episode - but I do remember one particularly hot contestant who flashed his backside in the shower. His name is Dan Wells and he was one of the straight ones. So, in the current issue of Entertainment Weekly, Dan is among the former reality show participants interviewed for an article titled: "What Were They Thinking?"

Here's part of what Dan says now about that experience: "I reached a point where I was like, 'Dude, this isn't cool.' People started getting emotional. Then you see the difficulty James had with his decisions, and here I am toying with him. It wasn't very nice. ... But it wasn't tough to act gay. You just pretend that you feel about guys the way you feel about girls. You learn as you go and you watch how the gay men were acting and behaving and so forth, and you role with the vibe of the situation."

No one has ever accused "Big Brother" houseguests of taking the high road! Steven, the only openly gay person in the not-very-diverse house, was unanimously voted off (9-0) on Wednesday and in his parting comments just said what was on his mind: "Suck it bitches!"

...are to stare at Jessie's right bicep and Jessie's left bicep! I caught last night's episode (the first I've seen of the show in a year or so I think) and this dude was shirtless the entire time almost. I am not complaining. He seems to be the alpha male of the place who, unfortunately, nominated the only gay guy in the house (Steven) for eviction and he is mighty cute!

I don't wanna get hooked on this stupid show again but I will say that they have two very appealing older contestants - a man and a woman - and it adds nicely to the mix.

Good thing Mr.GuyTVblog, where I got these pics, is following all the action! Check it out!

Just about every one of the blogs I check in the morning has this video so I'm gonna be a big follower and post it too. I think it is proof that most of the people who appear on these reality shows seem like complete idiots. But then again, I was a complete idiot in my 20s too - i just didn't have a camera recording it all.

Aside from "American Idol," I'm not watching any reality shows on a regular basis these days and this video reminds me of why!

How cool is this? Sabrina, Jill and Kelly back together again...

There will be another rare reunion of the original stars of "Charlie's Angels" when Farrah Fawcett and Kate Jackson appear on an episode of "shear Genius," the Bravo reality show hosted by fellow angel Jaclyn Smith.

These women have had famous heads of hair for more than 30 years so this is the perfect show for them to appear on and marks their first time together on television since a heart-warming reunion on the Emmys two years ago during a tribute to Aaron Spelling.
It was shortly after rare joint appearance (pictured, right) that that we learned Farrah had been diagnosed with cancer. She has been fighting hard and good to see she's well enough to appear on TV in something other than TMZ.com with cameras following her at the airport.

"You will be surprised when you see it," Jaclyn told Entertainment Tonight of the reunion. "We recreate our styles from the '70s with a modern touch. I thought it was challenging, because you think the simplicity of those styles. I think having some 'Angels' there was intimidating to some of the stylists. I think it was harder for them than just recreating [the hair styles] because we were there."

The second season of "Shear Genius" premieres June 25 at 10 p.m. on Bravo. Until then, here is the 2006 Emmy appearance of the ageless Jaclyn, Farrah and Kate:

I don't know what Brody Jenner did to become "famous" except that he's Bruce Jenner's son. And Bruce is barely famous these days, right? But I do know this: he's a real hottie so if MTV wants to give him a reality show, who am I to protest?

And boy, does it sound homo-erotic! Here is the description of the show, called "Bromance," in Variety: "...He auditions a group of dudes to fill his "bro" vacancy. The show will follow the usual dating series conventions, as seen in shows like MTV's Tila Tequila showcase "A Shot at Love" or ABC's "The Bachelor." But in this case, it will be a bunch of guys taking part in contests and angling for alone time with Jenner.

And it comes from Ryan Seacrest Productions. What a world it;s become: a metrosexual like Seacrest producing a show bromance. Why doesn;t everyone just come out already! (just kidding, sorta)

Seacrest told Variety that the idea came out of the whole "man date" phenom, and movies like "Superbad" and "Knocked Up," which feature straight male pals at their core: "I can speak from experience -- girls can come and go, but a 'bromance' can last forever."

Oh Ryan, that's so sweet!

Brody has appeared in many reality shows that I have not seen a single episode of: "The Hills," "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" and Fox's "The Princes of Malibu."

The "Bromance" winner will be invited to join Jenner's entourage. Losing contestants will be kicked out of the show's bachelor pad home base each week in a "hot tub elimination ceremony" -- in which the guys will leave in just their swimsuit, dripping wet, luggage in tow.

Gay. Gay. Gay. I'm SO gonna watch!

The great thing about working the red carpet at the GLAAD Awards is you get enough interviews to last for weeks! I've got quite a few more still in the can but have to be stingy and put them out at a rate of about one a day - hope you don't mind.

One of the people I spoke with was Jeff Lewis of Bravo's "Flipping Out." I had only seen the first episode of the show, admitted that to Jeff, and just had to wing my way through our conversation. I know he's a house flipper who is always a bit on edge shall we say.

Here is our little chat:

Q.There's a second season of the show coming up I hear. What has it been like to be yourself on TV and to have that be embraced by viewers. People think you're interesting at the very least, right?
A. Well, I think I've become the poster boy for OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and I actually am proud of that because I think it has shown the general public that you can still - I don't like to use the word suffer because I don't feel like I'm suffering from OCD - but because I do have this disorder, I still have been able to channel it into a very positive and lucrative field. I don't really view it as limiting because in a way it has been such an asset for me and it's helped me take my product to the next level because I see things that people don't see because of the OCD.
Q. Do you ever watch the show and cringe, just say, 'Oh my God!'
A. There has been several moments where I wish I could hit rewind and take it back. And usually - and this again is one of the symptoms of OCD and ADD (Attention Deficit Disporder) - I do sometimes have trouble controlling my temper but I've been working on that. I'm in therapy every Wednesday at 10 a.m. and I really feel like at this moment, I have much more control over my reactions and my anger. So it's really been very beneficial, the show.

Q. You're able to see yourself.
A. Absolutely. Unfortunately, it had to be that dramatic, to see myself in front of that many people and cringe like you say in order for me to want to improve myself. Which I've been doing.

Q. Are you already filming the second season?
A. We are already filming it, i think we have another 6-7 weeks. It's supposed to air in the summer.

Q. Anything different from the first season?
A. Yes, this one actually is a little different. I think this will, believe it or not, top last season because it's been difficult. We;ve had to adjust to a changing (real estate) market and I have employees and I still have to generate business so we are branching out into other forms of business. We have been forced to find other ways to survive and I think the viewers are really gonna enjoy watching it and going along with us on this struggle.

Q. So how's your love life?
A. Uh, it's been a little slow to be honest. I've been working a lot. It's a little slow.

Here is a bio of Jeff from the show during which he talks about his background:

Good thing Jack Mackenroth is a good sport. I had what seemed to be one of those Joan Rivers red carpet moments at the GLAAD Awards when I said, "Here's Jack from 'Workout." He chuckled and corrected me. In my defense, I knew which show, it just came out wrong.

Jack, 39, got as much attention for his design skills as for his studly body during his time on the show which was sadly cut short when he had a health crisis (a potentially dangerous staph infection). But he's fine now and looking as terrific as ever.

I asked him what he's been up to and what life has been like for him post-"Runway: "I have so many projects going on, it's been a great experience overall.Any exposure on TV is amazing. I'm designing, I'm here in LA meeting with networks and pitching show ideas and seeing where it all goes."

What kind of show, Jack? "Can't saaaaay."

Jack filmed a scene for the "Sex and the City" movie that has him kissing another guy on the streets of New York. This is where he met star Sarah Jessica Parker who did a guest-stint on "Runway" this past season.
"I've actually seen her at an event since then and chatted with her a little bit," he said. "She's great. We're BFF's!"

Jack has not yet seen the movie, out May 30, and doesn't know if his cameo made the final cut.
"It took 12 takes," he confessed.

So, did he keep messing it up on purpose?
"No, he was straight so he kept messing up. It was good, By the time we were done, I told him, 'Now you've officially kissed a boy.'"

Does he enjoy being a TV heartthrob?
"I don't mind. No. I don't think I am but thank you for saying so. Hey, in a few days I'll be 39 so I'm just rocking it out."

I'm sad that Steve Guttenberg got eliminated from "Dancing With the Stars" last night! He may not have been the best dancer, but he was the most enthusiastic one. He clearly has loved the entire experience. When his regular dance partner got sick, she sent her husband, fellow dancer Jonathan Roberts, to teach Steve to Tango. We saw their practice on a tape Monday night and on Tuesday, the judges asked them to do the entire dance again for the audience.

They do a great job even if they are too scared to hug at the end!

"Project Runway" winner Christian Siriano paid a visit to Craig Ferguson Thursday and he announced that replacing his catch phrase "fierce" has been replaced with "expired." I dunno, how many catch phrases can you have during your 15 minutes of fame?

Caught a little bit of "Dancing With the Stars" results show last night and enjoyed seeing Monica Seles all dolled up and dancing as opposed to tennis whites and a hair bun! But Monica trailing all comers on the judges' leader board and became one of the first to be eliminated from the sixth season of the show.

Monica, winner of nine grand slam tournaments in her hall of fame career, earned just a combined 30 points (out of a possible 60) for two dances in two weeks, After her departure, I saw Monica appear on Jimmy Kimmel's show where her dancing shows were burned! "A part of me is disappointed, another part of me is absolutely relieved...I was definitely disadvantaged. I had no acting experience and this show is about being a dancer and an actress and I didn't have either so I think that really hurt me because I just could not sell the performance. I never missed a step but yet I could not sell the actual storyline."

While Monica didn't get enough votes to stay on the show, I know one person who did vote for her: fellow tennis legend Martina Navratilova.

"I''m pulling for her," Martina told me yesterday before the vote was made public. "She got so much better the second week., There's no way I could do that, to go out there out of your comfort zone. She is such a perfectionist as I am and went out there and put herself on the line."

Martina and I spoke for an interview to be posted here tomorrow and in my newspaper column on Friday. Look for it!

I'm just gonna say it: I am so over Oprah Winfrey. I used to absolutely love her - for decades I loved her - but between Oprah's Book Club, Oprah Winfrey Presents, Oprah's Favorite Things, the upcoming Oprah TV network and tonight's new show: "Oprah's Big Give," I'm starting to agree with a joke Kathy Griffin made a few years ago: Oprah thinks she's Jesus."

However, I am not sick of Oprah's annointed designer, Nate Berkus, a gay man who is the host of "Give" and who heart-breakingly shared the trama of losing the love of his life in the tsunami. According to ABC, the show premieres tonight and defies television convention with the bold idea of people competing to give rather than get. Cast members include host Berkus and expert judges including world-renowned chef and philanthropist Jamie Oliver, NFL star and Boys & Girls Club Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez, and wife of Chris Rock and charity founder Malaak Compton-Rock.

Note: This is an updated post. Greg Plitt's publicist asked me to "correct" a few things. I stand by the original post but didn't want to be completely uncooperative. Apparently Greg was not supposed to talk about the new season of "Workout" so I have deleted a few sentences that gave away some plot points. I refused, however, to take down the entire post as was requested. I wish Greg well.

Greg Plitt is so stunningly beautiful that you figure he's gotta be a dolt with nothing upstairs. You know, just a real musclehead. Well, he's got muscles and he's got looks (can you believe these pictures?) but he's also got some things to say. We chatted a few weeks back at the Diversity Awards where Jackie Warner of "Workout" was honored as the out star of a reality show. Greg, [28], is one of the trainers on the next season of the show which debuts with its third season in March.

I wanted Greg to tell me a little about himself and he gave me a very concise little bio: "I've done about [50] fitness covers and that's my background, sports and fitness, and I was a West Point graduate, an Army ranger, I served overseas. So, a casting friend of mine saw an opening on the show and brought me over there and it's working out well. I've got a good story, an inspirational story about being in the war, coming from a military background and promoting fitness and a healthy lifestyle. I've been able to bring that to the table."

So, what's in store next season for fans of "Workout"?
"We just came back from a weekend trip, up near [deleted] and it's gonna be juicy this year, there's a lot of drama....[deleted sentence] ...It's unfolded into a lot more drama than I think we all expected."

Since the show will bring him at least 15 minutes of fame, how does Greg feel about becoming a celeb?
"Whatever comes from that, bring it on," he says. "I'm excited about it. I think reality shows were cool. My whole premise of being on the show is that it portrays fitness in a positive light, not the vanity of it where you're working out to look good in the mirror. But where you're working out as a lifestyle to be healthy."

I tell Greg that he is going to have a lot of gay fans because we are very shallow and he is so good looking.

He smiles.

Then I tell him he could be dumb as a doornail and we'd still love him because we're an awfully shallow bunch.

He stops laughing and reminds me that he is a West Point graduate.

Oh, yeah. Sorry. OK, what does he have to say to all his future gay fans I wondered. Here it is: "I'm a friend to everybody. Sex, gender, whatever your preference is, it's not about that. It's about the character of the person. That comes in every flavor. Everyone has something to give everybody and far too often people have tunnel vision and turn off their peripheral vision and miss out on learning and meeting people. I welcome everybody and try to learn from everybody. Maybe sometimes I learn from their mistakes and learn what not to do."

I'm sold. I'm easy.

Greg came to the event with the outrageous Sally Kirkland, the Oscar-nominated actress who is quite skilled but has gotten more attention in the past decade or so for her wacky fashion choices on any red carpet that will have her. She will appear on at least one episode of the show.

"I've been training Sally and she's been training me too. She's been giving me a lot of yoga instruction and bending me in places I didn't think I could bend."

Lucky bitch.

Greg wants to be an actor and says, "I was in a couple of movies. I was in 'The Good Shepherd" with DeNiro, also did about 21 episodes on HGTV's "Design to Sell" (he's a carpenter on that show). We go in there, we tear up houses."

Actor/trainer/carpenter/scholar. Is there nothing this dude can't do?:

Oh well.
Dick won "Big Brother 8" over his daughter, Danielle by a score of 5-2. I found out tonight while I was at the 40th Anniversary Gala for The Advocate and bumped into Marcellos Reynoilds who had come straight to the party from the taping of the finale at CBS.
"I knew he was gonna win," Marcellos said. "A girl cannot win 'Big Brother' unless they get to the end with another girl. There has to be two girls at the end for a woman to win 'Big Brother.' If Danielle had put guys into the sequester house instead of mostly women, she might have won. Guys can kind of let go of things. But she put miostly girls in there and at the end you get the 'Mean Girls' syndrome."
He says he thinks Daddy Dick will give his daughter some of the $500,000 he won but "she made $50,000 for three months. That's quite a nice chunk of change."
Here are some photos from the final show including the seven evicted houseguests who made it to sequester house and onto the jury. The finale also featured all of the houseguests from the entire some including 'Out In Hollywood' faves Nick and Mike...

I know it's all hugs and kisses etc. but I still feel that Dick's behavior was so rude and obnoxious that the hoiuseguests were fools for not voting him out. And his burning Jen with a cigarette should have either gotten him out of the house or suspended from HOH and POV competitions for a week or two,
Instead, CBS and 'Big Brother' producers did nothing.

OK, Evil Dick and his spawn of the devil daughter Daniele (did I just really write that?) are the final two. More on that nauseating development later. First though, I gotta say that watching Zach last night on "Big Brother 8" as he was hanging on to that key under the pouring water, I thought, "He looks HOT!" And the way he got all ferocious on Dick was so cool, he shut the chain-smoking, tatooed, pierced pain in the a** up for once!

But the high of Zach winning part one of HOH was short-lived as he stumbled in part three when he and Dick were asked six questions and had the choice of A or B. They guessed just about every time and it turned out that Dick guessed right just one question more than Zach. That resulted in...

...the duo being in the final two. Dick proclaimed them the best team in "Big Brother" history and blah, blah, blah, blah. The truth is, the other houseguests were complete morons in letting this pair remain week after week. When it comes time for the final vote (I assume the Dicks are going to split the prize money), I think Danielle will win the game because she is the less loathed of the two and won a total of seven competitions. Dick was obnoxious to the point where he should have been disqualified and has damaged the "Big Brother" franchise, in my opinion.

Meanwhile, GuyTVBlog has compiled another Nick/Mike photo essay that you can enjoy after the jump and remember better times in the "Big Brother" house...

It was a pretty sweet episode of "Big Brother *" tonight. It started out in nauseating fashion with the father-daughter duo of Dick and Daniele jumping around and giggling like they had won the entire game already because they had made the final four. They shut Zach out so they could whisper and giggle about him in the next room.
Well, payback's a bitch.
Zach goes on to win the HOH compeition and suddenly, Daniele and Dick are vulnerable. Zach nominates daddy and daughter. They are indignant that he would dare to do this and vow revenge. Whatever does happen, it was awfully s-weet to see them squirm. Daniele made a strategic error when in stating her case pre-nominations, she told Zach that he would lose against her dad in the final two because Dick played the game best.
But the jury votes on the winner and there are likely plenty of former houseguests who probably think his bullying tactics were out-of-line rather than brilliant. What the little blonde waitress should have said was: "Zach, everyone loves Jameka. She does not have an enemy in the house. She will win if you are in the final two with her. She's gotta go."
Oh well.

Now this is how I like it. It was a double-eviction night on "Big Brother 8" with Jessica out on the first vote then her little boytoy Eric out on the second. Jameka was up both times against them as Evil Dick, Daniele and Zach pulled all the strings. Eric is funny but he was also a little worm. On his way out he said to the the evil trio: "Just keep in mind, you sent the Phliadelphia lawyer to the jury house."
As smart as they think they are, I gotta wonder if they were a little foolish in keeping Jameka. If she's in the final two, there's no way she won't win the whole thing. She has no enemies in the house and has managed to survive despite not being able to compete for HOH for five weeks.
Anywho, I gotta give the evil daddy-daughter combo their due: they have manipulated everyone and come back from the brink more than once and they have won clutch competitions when they needed to. That is why they are in the final four and Jessica and Eric - who made a deal with these devils a few weeks back - are not.

Yawn. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.
Oops, sorry. I was about to write a little "Big Brother 8" recap and the thought of it made me a little sleepy. I just want this show to limp along to its conclusion. Let's face it, whoever makes it to the final two opposite evil Dick or mean girl Danielle will win the money. If they make it to the final two, they deserve the money.
Zach, as HOH, nominated nice girl Jameka and mostly nice girl Jessica who put him up last week. I can't pretend to care but I will say that I'd like to see Jessica go because she made a deal with the devil (Dick) a few weeks back and betrayed her friends.
She should find out what it's like to be double-crossed.