Gay Activists Gaga for the Lady

Group blasts chain's new spokeswoman

(NEWSER) - A group calling itself "One Million Moms" isn't happy about JC Penney's new spokeswoman, openly gay talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres. "Funny that JC Penney thinks hiring an open homosexual spokesperson will help their business when most of their customers are traditional families,” the group says. "More sales will be lost than gained unless they replace their spokesperson quickly. Unless JC Penney decides to be neutral in the culture war, then their brand transformation will be unsuccessful." More»

Concert riders reveal what performers like to eat

(NEWSER) - Mariah Carey and Jennifer Lopez certainly aren't the only divas in Hollywood: Nicki Minaj's concert rider, recently revealed in a magazine interview, show that she has some pretty involved backstage demands as well. Those include three 12-piece buckets of spicy fried chicken, no thighs, and scented candles smelling like baked goods, the Daily Mail reports. The Huffington Post rounds up the food requests of 13 other celebrities:

• Jordin Sparks: The American Idol alum only wants healthy food, including a jar of kosher pickle spears.
• Lady Gaga: Her rider doesn't demand food at all, just beverages including Red Bull.

Joseph and Cynthia Germanotta need help, says critic

(NEWSER) - New York's new restaurant, Joanne, gets a scathing review in the Post by restaurant critic Steve Cuozzo, a fact about which few would probably care ... except that the restaurant in question is owned by Lady Gaga's parents, Joseph and Cynthia Germanotta. In his amusing critique, Cuozzo starts off by noting that the restaurant appeared to be "running mainly on acrid-smelling burnt vinegar wafting intermittently through the raucous dining room." As for the celebrity chef running the debacle, "I felt sorry for Art Smith, the fine chef who somehow hooked up with Lady Gaga’s parents," Cuozzo muses. More»

Actress backtracks on controversial comments

(NEWSER) - Cynthia Nixon stirred up quite a bit of controversy with her recent statement that being gay is, for her, "a choice," and now she's backtracking a bit. "While I don't often use the word, the technically precise term for my orientation is bisexual," she says in a statement to the Advocate . "I believe bisexuality is not a choice, it is a fact. What I have 'chosen' is to be in a gay relationship." More»

Activists not happy with actress' choice of words

(NEWSER) - Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon stirred up some controversy with her interview in Sunday's New York Times Magazine , in which she said that homosexuality is, for her, "a choice." Nixon, promoting her appearance in a Broadway play opening Thursday, explained that she recently gave a speech to a gay audience that included the line, "I’ve been straight and I’ve been gay, and gay is better." She was asked to change it because "it implies that homosexuality can be a choice. And for me, it is a choice," she said. More»