Billy Masters 10.31.24

"I'm a good singer, you know. I'm a good singer. I'm not a great singer, right. But, you know what? I'll take good."

- Cher during her induction speech to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.


Last week, a friend was in an accident using my Los Angeles car—the favorite in my fleet of cars. He was OK, but the car was less fortunate. Eh, that's what insurance is for. But due to its age and the amount of damage, the insurance company wanted to total it. "It's old," said the adjuster. "It's not old," said my mechanic, "it's a classic." Both words roughly mean the same thing, but have different connotations. Am I old? Sure—but like my mangled car, I'm also a classic. I told the insurance guy I wasn't totaling it—she still has a whole lotta years left in her. If I have to pay for repairs out of pocket, so be it. They re-evaluated and decided to fix it. 'Cause it's a classic!

I returned to the glittering gay scene in South Beach for the Task Force's annual gala at the Miami Beach Convention Center. As you know, the National LGBTQ Task Force fights discrimination, anti-gay legislation, and most importantly, helps people get out and vote. The gala honors people who support their mission, and this year the honorees were my pals Jim Tyrrell and Roger Thomson, along with Karamo from "Queer Eye". Jai Rodriguez, a "QE" OG, hosted alongside the irrepressible Ginger Minj. Athena Dion set the tone with her pre-show set. Powerhouse vocalist Frenchie Davis sang, and then joined Jai and company for a rendition of "Seasons of Love" from "Rent" (Frenchie and Jai did the show together on Broadway). You can see that video on our website. SoBe royalty Edison Farrow and David Sexton made sure I met everyone. David even flew in his pal Kimberley Locke (more on her later).

I was seated next to the "Real Housewives of Miami". Full disclosure—I've never seen the show and didn't know who any of them were. But they were all lovely—in that vaguely Telemundo sort of way. I was particularly drawn to the diminutive Adriana de Moura. She's one of the most gorgeous people I've ever met, and has the most captivating eyes. During our chat, I was delighted to learn that we have something in common—a background as classical pianists. We may collaborate on something special in the near future.

The next day, many of the performers from the Task Force Gala came out for "Freedom Rally" in South Beach. While I was unable to attend, I did get a video of Frenchie and Kimberley Locke joining forces on "Band of Gold", which they first did during Hollywood Week on "American Idol" way back in 2003. After over 20 years, they sound (and look) as good as ever. Well, they're classics—as you can see from the video on BillyMasters.com.

While I was cavorting with the glitterati in SoBe, Taylor Swift was at nearby Hard Rock Stadium regaling the masses—well, the masses who could afford tickets! This would normally not be column-worthy, but spotted in the crowd were Ivanka Trump (Kushner) and her 13-year-old daughter, Arabella. While nary a female Trump can ever be found at any of Donald's rallies, the one he wants to sleep with went to see someone he loathes. Although, to be fair, he's also said nice things about Taylor. Once he said, "I think she's beautiful—very beautiful. I find her very beautiful." Then he said, "I was not a Taylor Swift fan...She's a very liberal person, she seems to always endorse a Democrat and she'll probably pay a price for it in the marketplace." Actually, I think Ivanka is the one who did the paying—and from her seat location, it was a pretty penny, to be sure.

Meanwhile, a legendary lady was treated rather poorly at another glittering affair. Darlene Love, a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class of 2011, was invited to this year's Induction Ceremony—specifically because they were honoring her friends and collaborators Dionne Warwick and Cher (who she recorded with last year). All seemed fine at first. She and her husband were flown out, put up, etc. While it seemed they had rolled out the red carpet for her, Darlene was not actually allowed on the red carpet. And that was just the beginning. She was seated way back in the hall, she couldn't visit her friends backstage, and she was kept from the press. When she got home, Darlene went public with the snub saying, "It's disheartening to see how much the event has strayed from its roots. The music industry is about our contributions, not just the fanfare. Do better next time, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame." Within moments of her post going public, she got a call from the president of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Greg Harris. He "personally apologized to me and all the other inductees who felt mistreated at Saturday's event...We ended the call with love, understanding, and no hard feelings." So, I guess I'm the only one who's still pissed off! To quote Bette Midler, who inducted Darlene into the Rock Hall of Fame, "We hold a grudge".

Darlene famously appeared on Broadway in the musical "Hairspray" by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. Another Shaiman/Wittman show is poised to take Broadway by storm. On March 11, 2025, the stage version of "Smash" will finally hit the Great White Way. The musical, based on the short-lived 2012 NBC series of the same name, has been in the making since the show wrapped. Rather than mount the Marilyn Monroe musical "Bombshell" (which is what the series was about), "Smash" will be a m lange of that show and the series drama. The announcement was made last week on Marc Shaiman's birthday—so happy bday, Marc. And congrats!!!


Elsewhere on Broadway, Jim Parsons just opened in a revival of "Our Town", alongside the estimable talents of (among other people), Miss Katie Holmes. During an interview, he was asked about the possibility of returning to the role of Sheldon Cooper. "As we sit here now, no, but also I would never say never to anything, because life just changes so much. You know, one of the things is that it was so special as what it was as what it is. And they call it lightning in a bottle for a reason, and you can be certain it wouldn't be that. And so why would we be doing it?" Perhaps one reason he's not so enthusiastic is he hasn't been away from the character for very long. Sure, "The Big Bang Theory" wrapped in 2019, but he was executive producer and narrator on the sitcom's prequel, "Young Sheldon", which just ended. An unexpected twist was ending that series by showing Sheldon and wife Amy (Mayim Bialik) in the future. "It just felt like a perfect little coda on the end of that entire beautiful experience."


There might be similar reasons to revisit the character coming up. For instance, his onscreen brother and sister-in-law just kicked off their own series—"George and Mandy's First Marriage". And that may not be the only spinoff. There is talk for Kevin Sussman (manager of the comic book store), Lauren Lapkus (his girlfriend) and Brian Posehn (geologist) to have their own spinoff at HBO, or Max, or whatever they're calling it these days.

Buzz is surrounding a return to the small screen of "White Collar". The show's creator Jeff Eastin revealed that a follow-up series, "White Collar Renaissance", is in the works. He's written the pilot script, titled "Masquerade" and, reportedly, Matt Bomer, Tim DeKay and Tiffani Thiessen are all onboard for this reboot. Stay tuned.

Our "Ask Billy" question comes from the world of real-life crime. Patrick in San Francisco writes, "I know you wrote about that guy from Abercrombie in the past. I saw he was just arrested. What's going on?"

Former A&F CEO Mike Jeffries was arrested and charged with 15 counts of prostitution and sex trafficking. Of course, most of these charges have been enumerated in the various documentaries about the case, but let me briefly recap. It's been alleged by many very attractive young men that they were pressed into various sexual activities at various locales with the promise of becoming A&F models. I wasn't surprised that Jeffries pled not guilty. I was surprised that he was placed under house arrest after posting a $10 million bail bond using his home as collateral. Until his next court hearing on December 12th, he is prohibited from contacting co-defendants, witnesses, or victims. Well, that's his whole address book. Who does that leave? Probably not his partner, Matthew Smith, who was arrested but not arraigned...yet (although the judge did rule that the British citizen not leave the country). Another person arrested but not yet arraigned was their "associate" James Jacobson, who allegedly helped "procure" the boys.

When most of these stories take place in Southern Florida, it's definitely time to end yet another column. Didn't I mention that Jeffries and Smith were arrested in West Palm Beach? Not even Palm Beach proper! Oh, the humanity. Of course, more classic Billy Masters content can be found on www.BillyMasters.com—the site that breaks no laws...only commandments. If you've got a question for me, send it along to [email protected] and I promise to get back to you before I get my car back from the shop! Before we wrap up, a reminder—get out and vote. You know what I say—vote early, vote often. Until next time, remember, one man's filth is another man's bible.