HOT
Scouts’ Dishonor
While the Boy Scouts of America is taking its time deciding whether to join modern society and accept gay members, a few music stars immediately decided not to participate in the organization’s National Scout Jamboree this summer when made aware of the exclusionary practices (which have been in place for more than 100 years). Train and Carly Rae Jepsen were to play, but each bailed because of the Scouts’ gay issues. Replacements have yet to be announced (maybe some Jamaican Dancehall artists … or Michelle Shocked?), but organizers can rule out Madonna, who dressed as a Cub Scout at the recent GLAAD Media Awards and eloquently stated, “I think they should change their stupid rules.”
WARM
Gyration Irritation
One of my favorite winter sports is reading the annual FCC complaints about the Super Bowl halftime show. As one would imagine, this year’s complaints (published by Deadspin) were especially hysterical, thanks to Beyonce’s S&M gear. Highlights from the released complaints: “She basically humped the air, simulating sex for 13 minutes. Completely inappropriate as family entertainment” (12 minutes? Totally fine); “There is NO REASON whatsoever for pelvic thrust dancing on national television” (surprisingly not a leftover complaint from Elvis’ TV appearances in the ’50s); and “that raunchy beyonce girating her vagina in front of the cameras and that is entertainment (sic)” (not sure if it that’s a question or a supportive — if incompetently constructed — statement).
Perhaps the Super Bowl halftime show should shoot performers only from the waist up?
COLD
The Wayning of TMZ’s Cred?
On March 15, fans of Lil Wayne were shocked by a TMZ story that said the superstar had suffered another one of his mysterious seizures and was near death in an L.A. hospital. But soon it appeared that the site’s tales — of Weezy being in a coma, overdosing on sizzurp and having “last rites” readied (the latter was removed from the original report) — were bullshit. Despite the insistence of Wayne’s peeps that, while he did go to the hospital after a seizure, he was not trading rhymes with the Grim Reaper, TMZ has stood behind its original story and continues to run updates referencing the MC’s dire condition. TMZ will unlikely suffer too much backlash, distracting the world with wall-to-wall “Lindsay Lohan might go to jail!” coverage. Again. (As you may have heard, she didn't go to jail.)
