Amy Nicole Miller is a pop-culture blogger and Editor for VelvetPark as well as a Chicago-based performance artist. You may know her by such characters as Magic Madge or Lez BoBo the Clown. She also has a very gay day job as a Research Associate at Howard Brown Health Center.
10) Carrie Prejean. I’d like to thank Carrie Prejean for coining my favorite term of 2009- “Opposite Marriage.” Miss California somehow managed to make a beauty pageant even more offensive than it already was. The unfortunate part is that next year, more people will probably tune in to Miss USA than ever before. Lucky for us, CP is still making a fool of herself (did you see her threaten to walk out on Larry King?) and hopefully will entertain us well into 2010.
9) Rachel Maddow. I know, it’s so predictable for a lezbian to put Rachel Maddow on a top 10 list. I’m the first in line to complain about MSNBC trying to downplay Rachel’s butchness with those plunging necklines and eye-shadow. All that aside, Rachel was on fire with her intense interviews this year. My favorite was this one with Richard Cohen:
“I realize I was taking the risk of helping promote you and the way that you think about these things but putting you on the air. But I do think that you’ve actually got blood on your hands.” Rachel Maddow to Richard Cohen
8) Beth Ditto became really famous. When did Beth blow up? I guess this year she was more famous than ever. She’s in British tabloids- what? Gossip plays ginormous sold-out outdoor music festivals in Europe and everyone sings along- even to songs from Standing in the Way of Control- come again? They play on late-night American TV shows- what the…? It’s weird. But never fear- Beth is no sell-out; She’s bringing the queer to the mainstream, not losing site of her punk DIY roots. Still a fat femme activist, she launched a plus-size clothing line for Evans and posed nude for Love Magazine. If you asked me 5 years ago who I’d most like to see get famous it would be her.
7) Lil’ Mama. We saw a different side of Lil’ Mama this year. How disappointing was it when she made those transphobic comments on America’s Best Dance Crew? I used to love her, but when she tried to school Naomi on how to be a “real” lady, I cried. So Lil’ Mama should be on the Worst of 2009 list, except that she jumped onstage uninvited during Jay-Z and Alicia Keys’ performance at the VMAs. She went back to “good crazy” and I love her for giving us one of the most awkward moments of the year. It was actually painful to watch.
6) The end of the L-Word. Praise the Lord Jesus Christ and all his saviors that this tragedy of a show has ended. No more Jenny Schecter, TiBette, Shane haircuts, or awful stereotyped characters (Max, Kit.) I celebrated with a bang by watching the finale at Stargaze and almost getting into a fist-fight with an annoying lesbian- couldn’t have been more appropriate.
5) Gays saving the sitcom. I thought that reality TV had finally pushed scripted TV off the cliff. But it’s back on top with two of the funniest and not coincidentally gayest (because gay people are way funnier than straights) sitcoms ever: Glee and Modern Family. Let’s start with Glee: Glee Club automatically equals gay. To make matters better, you got Kurt leading the football players in a dance to Single Ladies on the field. IMO, the true star of the show is Jane Lynch in her best role yet: evil cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester. Next up: Modern Family, my new favorite show of all time. It has three hilarious gay characters: Manny- and really, there’s nothing more adorable than a witty gay kid and the gay couple Mitchell and Cameron who dress up their baby as different divas for photo shoots. G.A.Y!
4) Kathy Griffin. The dick joke heard ’round the world was the first major pop-culture moment of 2009. I’m actually not sure if it happened before or after midnight, but it was discussed on New Year’s day, so I’ll count it. While co-hosting CNN’s Live New Year’s Eve Special with Anderson Cooper, Kathy was heckled by someone off-camera and she replied “I don’t go to your job and knock the dicks out of your mouth” before CNN had a chance to bleep it. It was a huge year for Kathy in general. The 5th season of My Life on the D-List was gayer than gay with guest stars Lily Tomlin, Bette Midler, Betty White, Rosie O’Donnell and Melissa Ethridge- just to name a few. The episode “Norma Gay” showcased what a true advocate she is for equal marriage rights. She was nominated for a Grammy and came out with a memoir – “Official Book Club Selection” which is not only hilarious but touching. She opens up about her early struggles with her career, plastic surgeries and her family.
3) Video of Perez Hilton crying about being punched by will.i.am. The first time I watched this video was the hardest I’ve laughed all year. He’s a Drama Queen with a capital DQ and either he is ridiculously paranoid (he thought the Black Eyed Peas’ “people” followed him to his hotel, a hotel where they also happened to be staying) or working on a career as an actor. If there were an Academy Award for most dramatic viral video performance (perhaps there should be,) this would win.
2) Wanda Sykes. Her performance at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was legendary. Not only was she the first African-American woman and first openly-gay person to ever perform at the event, she also killed. I love that she didn’t change her brand of humor and sparked mega-controversy. Her second HBO stand-up Special, “I’ma Be Me” was one of the best stand-ups I’ve ever seen. She talks about her performance at the WHCD, having a gut with it’s own mind and what it’s like to be on a gay cruise. Watch it now. Rare for a woman, even in this day and age, Wanda scored her own late night show, The Wanda Sykes Show on FOX. She’s a face of the equal-marriage movement and a strong supporter of gay rights all-around. Remember the PSA she did about how it’s not cool to call something “gay?”
1) The return of Pee-Wee Herman! In fact, this could easily be the best moment of the decade. As a Pee-Wee obsessed fan, this is a dream come true. The Pee-Wee Herman Show, in it’s original adult-oriented stage show format is returning with most of the original cast. He’s been doing the talk-show circuit and seeing him again is like reuniting with a lost lover. Look for me in 2010 when the show tours the rest of the country (Presently, it’s only scheduled run is in LA) and I’m chosen as the newest cast member- Lez Bo-Bo the Clown!
