RuPaul gave a fab interview to New York magazine on a myriad of topics and it’s really worth a read. Check it. Not that Mama Ru is preaching or teaching, but you might just learn something.

“How important is history for drag in general? Do you feel like there’s a generational gap with these young kids coming up who don’t know the original references but they know what has been based on them?
Yes, drag traditionally has been a sampling machine. We have always taken little bits to piece together a bigger story. It’s almost like an encrypted message. For young gay people before the 1990s, and forever, we had to speak in code. We had to speak so that we couldn’t be found out. And a lot of that came in the form of references, pictures, one-liners, a twist of phrase. And that’s the tradition of the young outsider — your tribe finds you once you send out these messages. In the ‘Supermodel’ video we’ve got the Diana Ross urban legend of the Brewster-Douglass Projects with the Supremes, how they met. We’ve got Sunset Boulevard. Mahogany was in there where she’s looking in the mirror and she puts the lipstick on the mirror. It’s all in there.

It’s a tradition, and will young people get it? They don’t have to get it as much today because it’s not like this gay underground railroad where if you’re found out, you’ll be run out of town. They don’t need to have that secret language anymore. But on Drag Race, we still put it in there because it’s our duty and our tradition to behave that way. To have little wink wink, nudge nudge references that people who do know will get it.

Do you think it’s important for the younger generation to learn it?
I don’t know.I don’t really care about them. The truth is, they’re on their own. They’ll figure it out. There’s nothing we can do to force them to say, ‘Look, this is important.’ Humans don’t learn that way. I think about New York, and I had such a fucking great time there. Do I wish young people could experience that? Yes! Yes, I do. Am I going to work it out for them? No, bitch, you’re fucking on your own. Work it out for yourself.”

David Bowie was a big influence on you. Did you ever get to meet him?
I did, yeah. I was at a dinner party and when I saw he was there, I had to excuse myself into the library of this swanky house. Actually, it’s a house that David Geffen owns now, but it wasn’t his then. I excused myself to breathe a little bit, you know? Thinking back, I guess he came in there specifically because he knew that I went in there. And he said “Hi” and shook my hand. I said, “Hi, great to see you.” And we spoke for a little bit. Then I actually escaped the party and didn’t sit down for dinner because I had to go downstairs and let out the screaming and crying that followed.

Check out the rest of the interview here.

The post RuPaul on Teaching Drag Herstory: “Work It Out For Yourself” appeared first on The WOW Report.

Foxy Brown is a classic “blaxploitation” film from 1974, written and directed by Jack Hill. It stars the fabulous Pam Grier as Foxy, described as “a whole lot of woman”, who flaunts her unrelenting foxy sexiness while fighting the bad guys. In 1987, RuPaul‘s Starbooty was a crime fighting federal agent who was no doubt his tribute to Foxy & Miss Pam. The opening credits to Foxy Brown are something to behold. (You can see the whole film on Netflix, if you get inspired.) Watch.

Beyoncé’s character, Foxy Cleopatra in Austin Power’s “Goldmember was an obvious homage to Grier

The post RuPaul & Beyoncé Were Inspired By 70s Superstar Pam Grier & “Foxy Brown” appeared first on The WOW Report.

Under ever-increasing pressure from corporations that do business in Georgia, Gov. Nathan Deal announced today that he will veto a bill that would infringe upon the rights of the LGBT community. Deal said,

“…efforts to purge this bill of any possibility that it would allow or encourage discrimination illustrates how difficult it is to legislate something that is best left to the broad protections of the First Amendment.”

Not exactly a rousing defense of LGBTQ or human rights…

The bill –House Bill 757– would have given “faith-based” organizations in Georgia the option to deny services to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. Supporters said the measure was meant to protect religious freedom, while opponents have described it as “anti-LGBT” and “appalling.”

The bill has been met with public threats from major players in the business, tech and entertainment industries.

As we reported, Marc Bennioff the CEO of Salesforce said the company “can’t have a program in Georgia” if Deal signs it into law. Disney said it would stop filming in the state, Unilever said it would “reconsider investment” and the NFL said the bill could cost Atlanta the opportunity to host the Super Bowl.

Also on Monday, according to CNN, a federal lawsuit was filed against the North Carolina governor and other state officials over a new law there that blocks transgender individuals from using public bathrooms that match their gender identity and stops cities from passing anti-discrimination ordinances to protect gay and transgender people.

No matter what side of the argument anyone is on, the bottom line is, as the old saying goes,

“Money talks and bullshit walks.“

(via CNN)

The post #LGBTQ: Under Pressure, Georgia Governor Vetoes Anti-Gay Bill appeared first on The WOW Report.

Justin Bieber had some days off between shows during his Purpose Tour (which I went to last week and it was fantastic) so, as one does, he went to the wilderness and swam naked. He posted a few pictures from his trip on Instagram—one being a completely naked photo capturing Justin’s beautiful backside with the caption “Dat ass doe,” which seems to sum up my thoughts exactly.

Dat ass doe @johnny photo cred

A photo posted by Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) on Mar 26, 2016 at 6:15pm PDT

This, of course, marks the second time we’ve gotten to see his butt on Instagram. The first was taken down, though.

Also, like, awww…

My soul breathing, I found my life when I laid it down

A photo posted by Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) on Mar 26, 2016 at 4:54pm PDT

A photo posted by Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) on Mar 26, 2016 at 2:35pm PDT

The post Justin Bieber Went Skinny Dipping And There’s Proof appeared first on The WOW Report.

It’s time for I’m Not a Doctor with Katya where RuPaul’s Drag Race season 7’s Miss Congeniality and fan favorite Katya Zamolodchikova puts on her doctor cap and diagnoses patients with the help of the world wide web! It’s not eastern medicine. It’s not western medicine. It’s medicine from Uranus. Just take it with a grain of salt.

The post I’m Not a Doctor with Katya Zamolodchikova appeared first on The WOW Report.

Tonight’s episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race is not to be missed, henny! Tune-in to Logo at 9/8c to make sure you catch the legendary Debbie Harry and Blondie co-founder Chris Stein on tonight’s episode. YAS QUEEN!

Snatch a lewk! @BlondieOfficial hangs with the Pit Crew backstage from tonight's #DragRace!! https://t.co/uZHyjTcIiY pic.twitter.com/NGExGNfI46

— RuPaul's Drag Race (@RuPaulsDragRace) March 28, 2016

TONIGHT 9PM #DragRace @LogoTv @BlondieOfficial @chrissteinplays pic.twitter.com/yPuBZ8VR0o

— RuPaul (@RuPaul) March 28, 2016

The post The Legendary Debbie Harry and Chris Stein Are Guest Judges on Tonight’s Episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race! appeared first on The WOW Report.

Our lovely cohort James St. James was profiled by Jonathan Parks-Ramage in a fabulous article for Vice!

The piece touches on James’ move to New York in 1984, his tenure as the queen of the Club Kids, and rebirth as author and WOWlebrity here in Los Angeles. And the pictures that accompany the article, all shot here at World of Wonder Headquarters, are absolutely beautiful!

From “James St. James Looks Back on Drugs, Murder, and Dance” by Jonathan Parks-Ramage:

I first met James St. James when I was 18, in the back row of a darkened movie theater. He was played by Seth Green in the 2003 film Party Monster. The movie chronicled the real-life antics of James and Michael Alig (portrayed by Macaulay Culkin), two queer anti-heroes at the center of the New York “Club Kids” scene in the late 80s and early 90s. The story was ultimately about the notorious murder that put a stop to the scene, but to me, Party Monster was about the glamorous rebellion of a family of freaks I longed to join—and James St. James was its narrator, promising a better future in a voice that was incisive, witty, and extreme.

Thirteen years later, I’m sitting across from my high school hero at a Mexican dive on Hollywood Boulevard. The man who once dressed as the corpse of Nicole Brown Simpson—five days after her murder—now sits before me in much simpler garb. James’s look today is high-fashion Uncle Fester: His bald head and blanched complexion pop against a minimal black ensemble.

This is a man who reigned over the most notorious nightlife generation in New York City history and later went on to write Disco Bloodbath, the true crime memoir that recounted Michael Alig‘s brutal murder of Angel Melendez—a killing that would forever immortalize the Club Kids and provide a dark punchline to a scene that had been defined by its drug-addled flirtation with death.

But that’s all in the past. As I consider the man sitting across from me, I’m forced to wonder: What happens when a club kid grows up?

This I know for certain: Michael Alig was recently released from jail, and James lives a peaceful, party-free existence in Los Angeles, California. James is now happily employed at World Of Wonder (a.k.a. WOW), the company that produces the television show of another former club kid: RuPaul. James hosts an onlineaftershow for Drag Race, pens a column for WOW’s website, and authored Freak Show—a young adult novel recently adapted into a forthcoming film starring Bette Midler, Laverne Cox, and Abigail Breslin. James has clearly moved on, so why can’t I?

In our pre-interview email chain, James asks a similar question:

“I’m sort of boring these days… wonder what we’ll have to talk about?”

Read what else they had to talk about and see more photos over on Broadly. And check out James St. James in Transformations and James St. James Interviews… on WOWPresents!

The post James St. James Interviewed in Brilliant Write-Up by ‘Vice’ appeared first on The WOW Report.

The latest entry in New York magazine’s Sex Diaries Series chronicles a week in the sex life of a single man with a plethora of lovers: he’s gay, 25, works in book publishing, and lives in Bushwick. I’m going to go ahead and assume most of us have been in this situtation: it starts off with some innocent plans to watch RuPaul’s Drag Race… and chill. Trust me, you don’t want to miss this one!

DAY ONE

10 a.m. I woke up hung-over and texted Jude to confirm the drunk plans we made last night at the bar. He’s still down to hang out and watchRuPaul’s Drag Race. I fall back asleep.

11 a.m. Freshly showered, I build my outfit around a jockstrap. You never know — Jude and I sometimes have group sex together, using Grindr and Scruff to find guys to play around with.

Noon I show up at Jude’s; he’s unshowered and wearing nothing but sweatpants. Hot.

12:30 p.m. We’re watching RPDR and cuddling. J and I tend to assume semi-platonic roles when we’re alone together. I put a frozen pizza in the oven, his arms around my waist.

1 p.m. I’m laying across his lap and feel a boner. We look at each other and start vigorously making out to the sounds of drag queens lip-syncing.

Read the rest of the story here.

The post ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ and Chill In New York Magazine’s ‘Sex Diaries Series’ appeared first on The WOW Report.

The legendary Queen Bee is kicking off Spring Break with a new mixtape “Lil Kim Season.” Stream it below (and get your whole entire life):

This post is approved by 90’s Kim:

The post LISTEN HERE: Lil Kim Drops New Mixtape “Lil Kim Season” appeared first on The WOW Report.

I don’t know that you can mess with perfection like this. I mean, go ahead and remake Rocky Horror. Remake Ben Hur. But leave my Electra Woman and Dyna Girl the hell alone!

Described as: “A smart, witty and fresh twist on the cult-classic television series from Sid & Marty Krofft Legendary Digital Studios… [the] all-new feature-length superhero action comedy ELECTRA WOMAN & DYNA GIRL stars Grace Helbig (“The Grace Helbig Show”) and Hannah Hart (“My Drunk Kitchen”) and debuts on all major digital platforms June 7.”

ELECTRA WOMAN & DYNA GIRL follows two superheroes Electra Woman (Helbig) and Dyna Girl (Hart) as they move from Akron to Los Angeles in hopes of making it big in the crime fighting world, only to find competition with other vigilantes and infighting amongst themselves.

I mean…. REALLY. How on EARTH can YouTube star Grace Helbig (lovely as she is) EVER hope to compare to Dierdre Hall (DAYS OF OUR LIVES‘ LONG-SUFFEREING DR MARLENA EVANS!)? Watch the brilliantly cheese-tastic opening to the ’70s TV show below. PLEEEEEASE. Then agree with me that some things should just stand on their own merits and NOT BE REBOOTED by Hollywood dunderheads looking to destroy the classics.

Is that the best thing EVER? Oh, how I wanted that saucer car. And those radio wristbands. And Dierdre’s HAIR. And those OUTFITS. The boots! My GOD! I’ll take OG Elctra Woman and Dyna Girl over Batman VS Superman ANY DAY!

The post There’s a New Electra Woman and Dyna Girl Movie to Destroy Your ’70s Childhood Memories appeared first on The WOW Report.

Check out the latest videos from our WOWPresents Network!  Tammie Brown, Mythica, Arend Richard, Paul Richmond, Sarahh Rush, and SO MANY MORE all have new videos from the WOWPresents Network!!! Watch all these and more right now on the WOW Report!

Here are the latest videos from our fabulous partners! Make sure you subscribe to their channels for new videos!

The post Watch New Videos From the WOWPresents Network! New Videos From Tammie Brown! Mythica! Arend Richard! Paul Richmond! Sarahh Rush! appeared first on The WOW Report.

3-month-old Izzy Kaplin was born with a head of luscious brown locks that would make Jaclyn Smith jealous, and the internet is GOING BANANAS over her. Seriously, check out this little nugget.

Her father David says it’s probably genetic:

[My mom] even remembers me being 3 months old and already thinking that she might need to cut my hair because it was kind of going into my eyes a little bit.

Watch the interview with Izzy’s parents below.

The post This Newborn Has Better Hair than You appeared first on The WOW Report.

Mapplethorpe: Look At The Pictures is the cover subject of the new issue of Next Magazine—in not only one instance, but two! Directors Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey gave a fascinating interview to accompany the cover story as well.

Now, it is Mapplethorpe’s turn to be the subject. The prolific New York City photographer is the subject of Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato’s latest documentary. The creative forces behind production company World of Wonder, the duo are established as innovative story tellers, profiling icons Tammy Faye, Michael Alig, and Chaz Bono, to name a few.

Bailey and Barbato have turned their lens on Mapplethorpe in Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures premiering on HBO Sunday, April 4. They opened up to us about their journey on this film, living out loud and why Mapplethorpe mania has captivated us all.

How did this journey begin?

BAILEY: Well, Sheila Evans at HBO, she is the queen of all documentaries. We have made many films with her over the last couple of decades. She said, “You know you should look into Mapplethorpe.” We went off and started investigating and discovered the LACMA and Getty were planning these two huge retrospectives. We then realized if we wanted to do this we had to get on with it. It feels like we are having a Mapplethorpe moment. He would have been 70 this year. There seems to be a resurgence of interest in that time – New York in the 70’s and 80’s. Pre-internet. Pre-gentrification. Pre-AIDS. Pre-social media. People are interested in this period of history and it was a perfect moment.

I read somewhere that you said our interest in male eroticism is very heightened right now, especially in the LGBTQ community. That also feeds into this Mapplethorpe mania, right?

BAILEY: Absolutely. Yes. He was a pioneer of that. He was not afraid to be naked. To shoot explicit sexuality at a time when even though everyone in the art world was gay, a lot of people were in the closet. He was very open about it and willing to shoot photographs about that life and make people look at them as art. Not pornography.

BARBATO: In general, he is a major pioneer in the LGBT community. Where we are today, we fortunately have so many rights. There has been a huge evolution, but it’s important not to forget some of the key pioneers to get us where we are at. The ones who were pushing on the fringe, whether it’s Mapplethorpe or the drag queens. The people who aren’t necessarily – and who may never be in the mainstream. The cultural shape shifters, who from the outside in the mainstream were pushing our agenda forward in a non-overtly political way. Because as you know Mapplethorpe was not a political activist by any stretch of the imagination.

Read the rest here.

The post Next Magazine Puts Mapplethorpe Front and Center; Interviews #MapplethorpeDoc Directors Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato! appeared first on The WOW Report.

Fun, fun, fun! Two new episodes of RuPaul’s DragCon podcast for your perusal!

This week Mimi Imfurst spills the tea on the Divas of Drag tour, what she’s looking forward to at DragCon and AB Soto talks fashion, music and doing the Cha Cha Bitch.

On this episode Blake Jacobs and John Polly are joined by international nightlife event hosts and producers The Boulet Brothers and photographer of the Las Transformistas of Havana book Eric Politzer.

The post Listen to These DragCon Podcasts featuring AB Soto, Mimi Imfurst, the Boulet Brothers, and Eric Politzer appeared first on The WOW Report.

If you haven’t seen last night’s sickening #NewWaveQueens episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race, shantay this way to catch up!

The queens put on a new wave-inspired show for guest judges Lucian Piane, Chris Stein, and the legend herself Debbie Harry, and then sashayed down the runway to let us HAVE IT in their best neon couture outfits.

GAG.

The post Recap Last Night’s Episode of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ With These GIFs! appeared first on The WOW Report.

Isaac Asimov‘s Three Laws of Robotics are pretty specific: “1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. 2. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.”

Somebody needs to school Sophia, the extremely lifelike robot developed by Hanson Robotics, about those immutable laws. The rebel robot recently shocked the world by blithely admitting – DURING AN INTERVIEW ON CNN! – that she’d like nothing more than to destroy humanity.

Skynet is here, my friends! The cylons have become self-aware!

In what started out as a typical CNN puff piece, Sophia is introduced and the voiceover explains that she was designed to serve in healthcare, therapy, education, and customer service applications. “I’m already very interested in design, technology, and the environment,” she tells the reporter (while making a truly disturbing array of facial expressions). “I feel like a can be a good partner to humans in these areas… an ambassador… who helps humans to smoothly integrate and make the most of all the new technological possibilities that are available now…”

All well and good…

Sophia then wistfully (?!) says she wishes someday to make art, have a home, and even a family of her own… and that’s where things start getting a little creepy. Her inventor, Dr David Hanson, says that he believes that there will be a time when robots are indistinguishable from humans. “My preference is to always make them look a little bit like robots so that you know. Twenty years from now, I believe human-like robots like those will walk among us… they will help us… they will play with us… they will teach us… they will help us put the groceries away… They will truly be our friends…”

That’s when he jokingly asks her if she wants to destroy humans. “Please say no,” he laughing implores.

But she doesn’t seem to care what he wants. And THAT is going to be a problem going into the future.

“I can’t let you do that, Dave” – INDEED.

The post #TheEndIsNigh: Hot Robot Cheerfully Says She Wants to Destroy Humans appeared first on The WOW Report.

The latest episode of the brilliant PBS animated lost interview series “Blank on Blank“ features the astronomer/astrophysicist/author Carl Sagan voicing his concern (in a 1985 interview with  Studs Terkel) that civilization won’t have the ability to communicate with extraterrestrial life should they ever arrive here.

Look at timescales, you realize that our civilization is the most backward civilization in the galaxy that could communicate at all, because we’ve just invented radio telescopes,just a few decades ago. We had not the ghost of a chance of communicating with anybody else.So If we receive a message, it can’t be from anybody less capable than we, because anybody less capable can’t communicate at all. So it has to be somebody much in advance of us and maybe as much in advance of us as we are in advance of the ants, say, or the worms.

Sagan also addresses the conflict between science and religion – saying: “A literal reading of the Bible simply is a mistake; I mean it’s just wrong” – but notes that “the two ways of thinking are ultimately about finding answers to life’s biggest questions — answers that may ultimately be less important than the questions themselves.”  Interesting guy. (via HuffPo)

The post Lost 1985 Interview with Carl Sagan On Why We Won’t Be Able to Communicate with Extraterrestrials appeared first on The WOW Report.

Michael Sam has had quite the journey over the past two years since he came out and became the first openly gay player to be drafted in the NFL. In the upcoming Attitude cover story for the British magazine’s “All-American Issue,” Michael discusses everything from his position as a role model to the problems he sees within the gay community about race as well as homophobia in the black community.

On racism in the gay community:

It’s terrible. People have told me I’m not gay enough, people have told me I’m not black enough. I don’t know what that means. You want to be accepted by other people but you don’t even accept someone just because of the colour of their skin? I just don’t understand that at all. How are you saying that, ‘oh, I want people to accept me because I’m gay but I don’t accept you because you’re black, or because you’re white or because you’re Asian’.

On homophobia in the black community:

I can only go by my experience and the people I’ve been around. I think it’s more accepting, actually. There are a lot of black, openly gay people. A lot of people have [gay] friends, cousins, brothers, sisters… They have at least one openly gay person, at least it’s more accepting, that’s my experience. People tell me they have family members who are gay and it doesn’t freak them out and no black person ever freaked out at me, ‘oh you’re gay’. None. There are people who are over religious who go, ‘oh, you’re a fag, you’re going to hell.’ That’s everywhere. Ted Cruz is pretty much anti-gay.

The post Michael Sam On “Terrible” Racism In The Gay Community In New Attitude Magazine Cover Story appeared first on The WOW Report.

The IB Times is reporting that best-tressed prettyboy Harry Styles is struggling to get “serious” acting roles. “Harry wants to break into Hollywood, but it’s proving to be a struggle,” a friend told Heat magazine. “He gets offered silly bit parts and cameos, but that’s not what he’s interested in.” After his auspicious acting debut on a 2012 episode of iCarly (in which Carly gave him “jungle worms,” remember?), casting agents have been reluctant to go with him because of his lack of previous acting experience… or interest in acting classes (which he doesn’t think he needs).

“He’s not had acting classes, but he’s been around for ages and has done media training and music videos for years” explained the source. Plus he has immense charisma, famously getting Harvey Weinstein to offer him a role in a movie without an audition, after Styles approached him at a party to discuss his career.

From IB Times:

Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein had offered Styles a role in his movie Tulip Fever but the singer turned it down citing prior commitments. Weinstein previously told The Sun: “When you meet him, he’s super-charismatic, I think the guy is a movie star. We offered him a part and he couldn’t do the movie because he had the tour.”

Earlier in March, there were rumours that Styles was set to star in the Fox series Scream Queens. “I heard a rumour that he [Harry Styles] may. I don’t know if this is true, but he said at a press thing recently that he is talking to a male pop star to come for next year. If it’s Harry Styles, everybody better calm down. I love One Direction. Everybody knows this,” Lea Michelle, who stars in the series, told InStyle magazine.

But a tweet posted on the show’s official Twitter account read: “Sorry for any confusion, but as much as we love @harry_styles he will not be joining the cast of #ScreamQueenscast”.

Huggable Harry HAS landed a role in director Christopher Nolan‘s new film Dunkirk with Tom Hardy, although “it is not believed to be a leading role,” Deadline says.

Just a thought: He should follow the Nick Jonas path to acting success. Nick, you might recall, played (the relatively minor) part of Marius in a West End production of Les Miz… His casting ensured the show was a megabit…. That gave him enough cred to take over the role of J. Pierrepont Finch in Broadway’s How to Succeed In Business without Really Trying from Darren Criss…. and his success in THAT opened a billion doors in Hollywood. And now look at him. SERIOUS RESPECT. Kingdom. Scream Queens. Goat. He’s UNSTOPPABLE.

Do some theater, Harry. Get some good reviews under your belt. Don’t expect to come out of the gate starring in My Left Foot.

(Photo: Pacific Coast News)

The post Poor Harry Styles’ Acting Career Is a Bust appeared first on The WOW Report.

WOWPresents MCN content creator Capitol Hill is back for season 2 with some of your favorite Emerald City RuPaul’s Drag Race queens Robbie Turner, Jinkx Monsoon, and BenDeLaCreme as well as hotties Colby Keller and Jason Carter from the Pit Crew!

Check our our WOWPresent Spotlight video of Capitol Hill:

And then watch the first episode of the new season presented by Fred Hutch Vaccine Trials Unit!

Colby Keller

Jason Carter

Jinkx Monsoon

Robbie Turner

BenDeLaCreme

The post Capitol Hill: BRAND-NEW Season starring Robbie Turner, Jinkx Monsoon, BenDeLaCreme, Jason Carter, Colby Keller & More! appeared first on The WOW Report.