Category: James Arthur

Gay Brady Dad Robert Reed; Bathhouse Bust; James Arthur Anti-Gay Mixtape

Gay Brady Dad Robert Reed
 
I remember being a little shocked when it was disclosed that the actor who played the dad on the retro TV show, The Brady Bunch, was gay in real life. Looking at reruns now, I think Robert Reed should get one of those lifetime acting achievement awards, posthumously. He had us all fooled.

This is from wiki:

After his death, Reed’s Brady Bunch co-stars — most notably Barry Williams and Florence Henderson — publicly acknowledged Reed’s sexual orientation, and admitted that most of the cast and crew of The Brady Bunch were aware, but they did not discuss it with Reed. Barry Williams said, “Robert didn’t want to go there. I don’t think he talked about it with anyone. I just don’t think it was a discussion – period.”

 
One of the kids on the show recently stated that he thought of Reed as more of a father figure than his own dad.
 

Reed died in 1992 at the age of 59 and Knight told HuffPost Live this week that he ‘was as good or better a father figure than my own dad.’

He also called the late actor his ‘personal hero.’

‘I learned very early that if that was what gay was, it has no measure in the ability of somebody to be a fine representation of a good human being,’ Knight said.


You can read more here. I’d almost forgotten about Robert Reed and I’m going to look for more information about him for a future post. In many ways, he’s the epitome of the classic Hollywood gay lie that’s still happening now in some cases because gay men just can’t take the chance of coming out. In some cases, it would ruin them and their careers.

Reed died in 1992 of colon cancer. But it was disclosed he was HIV positive, which allegedly contributed to his death.

Bathhouse Bust

In Beirut, police have raided a bathhouse and those arrested could be dealing with a prison sentence…or worse.

The raid of the Shehrazad Hammam or ‘Turkish bath’ in Burj Hammoud, a Christian suburb of Beirut, took place around noon yesterday.

 It comes after a raid on Saturday (9 August) on the Agha Hammam baths where 27 people were arrested. They have now been charged with homosexuality and could be jailed.

I think bathhouses in general, at least here in the US, have dwindled down a bit since the 1970’s and 80’s. I remember hearing how many were closing down during the height of the AIDS epidemic. In the late 90’s they started to resurface again, but as “health clubs” and “gyms.” One thing about bathhouses here, or anywhere else in the world, is that they always have to deal with raids. For some reason, the police can’t wait to raid the gays. The worst part about all this is that at one time places like bathhouses were a viable way for gay men to meet each other.

Like it or not, it’s a distinct part of the culture. I’ve never actually been to one.

More here.

James Arthur Anti-Gay Mixtape

I posted about this before.  Singer, James Arthur, who won UK X Factor released a rap mixtape with homophobic slurs and at the time Simon Cowell dropped him from the label. He’s evidently been trying for a comeback without much success.

There were plans for him to appear on rapper Professor Green’s forthcoming album.

But then, after Arthur released a diss track laden with homophobic slurs including ‘You fucking queer’, he was removed from the record.
 
You can read more here, with more comments from Simon Cowell.
 
Frankly, I can’t understand what would motivate a young singer with a new career to release anything that controversial. Do they really think they can’t be replaced?
 
The Sheriff and the Outlaw
 
by Ryan Field
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

An Author Bullied; Simon Cowell Drops James Arthur

An Author Bullied

I’ve always remained objective with the bully issue and I always will. But I came across a post today that left my jaw hanging and my heart weeping because it was so emotional. I don’t know the author; I’ve never read her work. So even in this case I can remain objective…to a certain extent. She wrote a post that basically states she’s quit writing for good because of the stress, and a lot of the stress that has been caused by the bullying she’s seen. I normally wouldn’t post something like this because I don’t like to call attention to anyone going through any kind of pain. But I think that it’s so emotional and so honest it should be read by as many people as possible. Although this is the first time I’ve seen anything like this in a post, it’s not the first time I’ve seen an author do the same thing in private.

When I started out, I wasn’t sure of my goals. I thought I was ready to publish and start sharing. However, it’s been awful. Sure, there are bad reviews, but that isn’t the reason. Everyone has bad reviews and my good ones outweigh the bad so I cannot pretend that was a factor. The utter cruelty, harassment, and sabotage associated with some of those “reviewers” and their minions has played a role, though. I survived bullying for too many years in high school, but I simply am not strong enough to survive it again. That’s not the only reason, but it didn’t help. As they sit back, thrilled with the destruction they wrought, maybe someone will feel a sliver of shame or regret. However, like my dreams, my hopes are also often futile.

The post continues, and not always on the negative side. You can read the rest here.

I wish her well.

And I hope in time she’s able to rethink her situation and go back to doing what she loves.

Simon Cowell Drops James Arthur

James Arthur, who won X Factor in the UK, was recently dropped from Simon Cowell’s label.

 Arthur’s new rap mixtape, All The World’s A Stage, is due for release later this month, but has landed the singer in hot water due to some of the lyrics which seem to glamorize terrorism and drugs.

In Follow The Leader, Arthur raps: ‘Look at what you do to me, I’m crying over stupid shit/ You’re such a fucking homophobe, wish I’d never let you in/ To think that I was thinking maybe I should let you live/ I’m gonna blow up your family like I’m a terrorist.’

Evidently, all this has placed Arthur in the middle of his own self-imposed shitstorm.

He defended himself with this:

Arthur tweeted: ‘The song ‘follow the leader from the mixtape is not promoting terrorism, it’s a story, a reciting of a Stan Esc letter from a demented fan.’

It’s important to note that Arthur also received backlash from the LGBTI community for something else he did with homophobic slurs. THAT link it interesting, trust me.

I think Cowell may be right this time:

Cowell recently commented that the star should have ‘shut up and just put the records out’.

The rest is here.