Music Video Premiere: Ricky Martin's "The Best Thing About Me is You"

When Johnny Weir says things like being gay is the smallest part of “what makes me me,” it’s a big turn off for many (including me). Still, we're glad he’s finally come out publicly and is no longer being coy and now everyone can all get on with our lives.

Ricky Martin is a different story.

He’s also a famous person who everyone assumed was gay but since he came out last year publicly, he’s really become a powerful voice and can influence how the world views gay people and how gay youths view themselves.

Ricky being gay is the most important part of him because he is mature enough to know that it influences all that he does and all that he is.

He has already shared his thoughts so eloquently in his memoir Me and in various interviews he gave last fall. Now we get to see how being an openly gay man impacts his work as a musical artist with today’s release of the music video for his song The Best Thing About Me is You.

It’s about equality and it’s pretty gay.

Enjoy!

Logo Announces 3 New Gay Shows

Logo, the LGBT entertainment network from MTV Networks, has announced three new original series for 2011.

Be Good Johnny Weir explores the life of one of America’s most outspoken and colorful sports figures, three-time U.S. National Figure Skating Champion and World Medalist Johnny Weir.

Pretty Hurts is a comedic reality series that follows the staff and clients of a high-end Beverly Hills medical office that specializes in “liquid face lifts.”

The third series is Setup Squad, a workplace docu-soap focused on a Manhattan-based matchmaking service that pairs up professional “wing people” with those who are unlucky in love. Setup Squad will follow the hard-working angels who make the dating world a better place, whether you’re gay or straight.

Logo also acquired Nip/Tuck, which started airing on Logo this month and Will & Grace, which will begin running in 2013.

OUT 100 Cover Revealed!

OUT Magazine has revealedts complete list of the annual Out 100.

The list is mostly made up of openly gay people but also included are some straight allies. Click HERE to see all of the honorees who were all photographed in one of three distinctly different gatherings — Studio 54, the Stonewall Riots, and Truman Capote’s Black and White Ball.

Out chronicles the 100 LGBT movers and shakers who made big impressions on the cultural and social fabrics of this year.

Here are the 16th Annual Out 100 Cover Award Honorees:

Entertainer of the Year — Ricky Martin: “I am Hispanic, and I am a gay man, and they both struggle. Is it a big responsibility? It can be as big as I want it to be,” Martin tells Out. Embracing both fatherhood and new status as a gay role model, Martin, who opens up in his new memoir, Me, looks forward to teaching his twin boys acceptance and love and a day when he proudly walks them down the red carpet!

Diva of the Year — Johnny Weir: “Every little boy should be so lucky as to turn into me,” Weir declared unapologetically after two Canadian broadcasters suggested he undergo a “gender test” during the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. With his flair for flamboyance and commitment to glamour, Weir never shies away from controversy—or pageantry. As to the ubiquitous questions surrounding his sexuality, Weir’s opinion remains clear. “I’m not ashamed of anything, but I want it to be out there in my own words.”

Artist of the Year — Julianne Moore: “I don’t think a movie like The Kids Are All Right could be made if this wasn’t the way that families are living today all over the United States,” Moore states. The actress, a four-time Oscar nominee, began her activism some 25 years ago after her first experience with what would become the AIDS pandemic. Now, although she works to keep politics and career separate, Moore notes, “I choose a part because I’m interested in the role, the director, the script. I don’t go looking for something that seem political, but by virtue of the roles being intensely personal, it becomes that way.”

Newsmaker of the Year — Rachel Maddow: Growing up in the time of the AIDS pandemic gave Maddow a compelling perspective on the state of gay activism, especially now in the age of Obama. “We continue to have a sort of lackadaisical gay political movement that has a relationship with Democrat politicians that doesn’t serve gay rights: ‘We want to be close to you.’ Beautiful! But if we’re not getting anything for that, then it’s actually counterproductive.” Now Maddow’s self-titled MSNBC news hour serves as appointment TV for anyone even halfway interested in the surreal theater of American politics amid the surging tide of anti-Washington sentiment.

Stylemaker of the Year – Nate Berkus: Oprah protégé Berkus recently became the first openly gay man to host a daily nationally syndicated television show, and the guru is not taking that responsibility lightly. “Having a daily show is an opportunity for me not to push a political agenda, but to speak out for tolerance and understanding and equality,” he notes. “I’ve been given an enormous opportunity, and I plan to use it responsibly.” Berkus has already proved his commitment to responsibility, having recently appeared on Larry King Live and delivered a compelling plea to America to stop antigay bullying.

Out Editor Aaron Hicklin says of the selections: “For this year’s cover, the five honorees all reflect major breakthroughs in the profile of the LGBTQ community, including one of the most successful pop stars of all time, a leading commentator on politics and current affairs, a wildly entertaining Olympic ice skater who captured everyone’s imagination in Vancouver this year, the first openly gay male host of a daytime TV show, and the fabulous LGBT ally Julianne Moore, star of The Kids Are All Right, a boundary-pushing movie that quietly and profoundly lent legitimacy to our relationships and families."

Evan Lysacek and Johnny Weir are 'At War'

When skating rivals Evan Lysacek and Johnny Weir were battling for a spot on the Olympic podium at the Vancouver Winter Games in February, Weir remarked that showdown would be a great "catfight."

The dust-up intensified this week off the ice as Olympic gold medalist Lysacek, competing on Dancing with the Stars, and Weir, a three-time U.S. Champion, traded slurs and barbs.

"We are at war," Weir said on Thursday. "My claws are out."

The latest round of mudslinging began when Lysacek suggested earlier this week that a lack of talent kept Weir off the cast of the traveling Smucker's Stars on Ice. "They only hire the best of the best to skate," Lysacek told the Indianapolis Star. "A lot of us in the skating world were really disappointed in the way he reacted, basically whining that he wasn't chosen."

Harsh Words Exchanged

The flamboyant Weir claims the show didn't hire him because he didn't fit the tour's "family-friendly" profile – a charge Stars on Ice denies. Weir also went on the attack against Lysacek, calling him a "slore" – an apparent combination of "slut" and "whore" – on the The Wendy Williams Show on Wednesday.

Then on Thursday in New York, where he announced their "war," Weir added, "I've never whined. I wasn't the one who falls dancing and gets a concussion and breaks toes and has hip replacement surgeries. If anyone whines, it's definitely Evan. He's done that his whole career, and I've never said anything about it just because there was no need."

Weir, who is opening the season for Ice Theatre of New York at Chelsea Piers, added, "I have no respect for Evan Lysacek." He is encouraging fans not to vote for his rival on Dancing with the Stars.

But there may a truce on the horizon. In a statement to People Magazine, Lysacek says he wants to end the feud, even though Weir had said hurtful things. Extending an olive branch, he's calling Weir "an accomplished and talented skater" and wishing him well at his New York show.

"I let my personal feelings cloud my judgment in how I answered a journalist's question about Stars on Ice and Johnny that I should never have answered," says Lysacek. "I should have known better."