THEGAYUK

Category: Entertainment

  • Big Brother’s Sam Giffen criticised against for “stereotypical” gay comment

    Big Brother’s Sam Giffen criticised against for “stereotypical” gay comment

    Sam Giffen is in trouble with some viewers again after revealing that he has a problem with gay men acting “stereotypically” gay.

    CHANNEL 5
    CHANNEL 5

     

    The housemate, Sam Giffen who is gay himself has attracted criticism on social media after having a heart to heart with fellow out housemate, Andy West.

    One user even suggested that the housemate “hated being gay” after revealing that he didn’t believe gay men who act “stereotypically gay” were being true to themselves.

    Speaking to Andy, Sam said,

    “I don’t judge people, but what I do think is sometimes people think just because they are gay they have to act a certain way, because those people expect them to be.

    “In certain situations they feel they have to act more stereotypically gay. Each to their own. I think you should be true to yourself and be real.”

     

    Earlier in the week he was blasted for using the homophobic slur “bum boys” which he directed at on air lovers Hughie and Ryan during a heated row.

     

    One viewer Tweeted,

    “Maybe they’re not acting, Sam… Maybe they’re more camp because they feel they can be themselves!”

    https://twitter.com/JackWetherill/status/749706948476604416

    Another called him a bad advocate saying,

    “This conversation is stupid. Why doesn’t Sam realise that flamboyant queens are being themselves? That is themselves!? Bad advocate.”

    https://twitter.com/MdG_89/status/749710092304543744

    ALSO READ: Andy West visibly shocked as his boyfriend proposes to him in the Big Brother house.

    ALSO READ: LGBT Big Brother Past and Present – Where are they now?

  • The first gay marriage proposal makes history for Big Brother

    The first gay marriage proposal makes history for Big Brother

    Big Brother has broadcast its first ever marriage proposal as Andy West’s partner drops the big question.

    Andy West was visibly shocked as his partner Ed dropped the big question live on television last night. It’s the first proposal ever for the long running Big Brother programme.

    And it was a double one. First Andy, who has been away from his boyfriend for 26 days, asked his boyfriend, but Ed had one better – he actually had the ring.

    Ed proposed to Andy when they were enjoying a private meal organised by BB. As Ed slipped the ring on Andy’s finger, he said, “Grey and old, baby!”

    Andy responded, “I’m so lucky, I knew it before, but being in here – I can’t live without you.”

    Ed told Andy, “You have made me stupidly proud.”

    Andy West came to public attention last year after been suspended by the BBC for his criticism of them for including Tyson Fury on their Sports Personality short-list.

    He resigned from the BBC, saying: “I am ashamed to work for the BBC when it lacks bravery to admit it is making a mistake.”

  • BB’s Andy and Sam talk sexuality

    BB’s Andy and Sam talk sexuality

    Big Brother’s Alex and Sam have been having a heart to heart about their sexuality.

    CREDIT: Channel 5
    CREDIT: Channel 5

    This year’s Big Brother has a number of out gay and bisexual men as housemates, four to be exact. The largest number since the show started over a decade ago.

    In this evening’s show Alex and Sam have a heart to heart about growing up gay and why certain gay men act in particular ways when they come out.

    Andy West, who was suspended by the BBC after he criticised the broadcaster for their decision to add Tyson Fury on the Sports Personality shortlist reveals,

    “I do remember feeling unpopular when I was 9 or 10, I tried to be different so I could have friends.”

    Sam adds;

    “I don’t judge people, but what I do think is sometimes people think just because they are gay they have to act a certain way, because those people expect them to be.

    In certain situations they feel they have to act more stereotypically gay. Each to their own. I think you should be true to yourself and be real.”

    Andy replies;

    “People say to me that I don’t seem gay…”

    Sam Giffen was blasted by social media users this week after he called on-air lovers Hughie and Ryan “bum boys”.

    Big Brother continues on Channel 5 tonight at 9PM

  • North Wales Pride flies Orlando flag sent directly from the US

    North Wales Pride flies Orlando flag sent directly from the US

    Organisers at North Wales Pride have been proudly flying a City Of Orlando flag.

    Today North Wales Pride have been paying tribute to the victims of the Orlando massacre last month.

    They flew the official City of Orlando flag which was sent to them by the State Dept. especially for North Wales pride.

    Tonight the pride have organised a vigil in tribute to the 49 people who were slain when a lone gun man opened fire in the crowded gay club in Florida in what is the worst mass shooting in American history and the greatest loss of LGBT+ life this century.

    Tickets are still available on the door, at Hendre Hall in Bangor, North Wales,

  • THEATRE REVIEW | 1984

    ★★★ | 1984

    George Orwell’s classic book 1984 was not always going to be easily transferable to the stage. But a new production of it has just opened at the Playhouse Theatre.

    CREDIT: Manuel Harlan

    If you’ve ever read the book (either in school or for leisure), you will know the story. Written in 1949, when the year 1984 seemed like a long way off, Orwell wrote about a world where, simply, big brother is watching everything you do, everywhere you go. It’s like the present day North Korea where the government dictates how and where you will live your life, but it takes it to a bit more extreme in that anyone with an individual thought or who speaks bad about the government is punished, it’s a totalitarian state.

    The protagonist of the show is Winston Smith (bravely acted by Andrew Gower). He knows and understands that the world he lives in is bad, cruel, harsh. And he really hates it. He has put his thoughts onto paper, an illegal act if there ever was one. But there’s lots more to this complicated story, on the surface and underneath, and to explain it would be to write a very long explanation.

    But in summary, Smith has an affair with Julia (Catrin Stewart) and it all goes wrong for both of them. You see, they thought that a secret bedroom they were shown by a shopkeeper was free of surveillance, but it wasn’t. They’re rustled up and taken to prison where they are interrogated, and the shopkeeper turns out to be a spy for the government. Smith is labeled a ’thought criminal’ and is tortured, and comes face to face with his self-confessed worst nightmare – rats.

    A production of 1984 was produced by Nottingham’s Headlong Theatre company before embarking on a UK tour in 2013 and then had a sell out run at the Almeida Theatre. It’s a show that’s hard to watch. The story, and characters, are a bit complicated and not very well understood; we seen them but don’t really know who they are. And perhaps that’s the point. But it takes shock theatre to all new levels with lots of blood in the torture scene (the woman next to me had her eyes closed), and the use of very bright strobe lights used intermittently during the play which is very jaring. But it’s Chloe Lamford’s sets that keep 1984 in its time period – it’s a minimalist world where total surveillance is common.

    Credit goes to directors Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan for putting together a show from a book that’s been described as complicated at best. And Gower gives an amazing performance as the literally tortured soul who is punished for his thoughts.

    If you can stomach a production of 1984, then this is well worth the effort. If you’re looking for something a bit light-hearted, then this show is not the show for you.

    1984 plays at the Playhouse Theatre until the 29/10/16

  • Complaints made after gay contestant calls gay men “bum boys”

    Complaints made after gay contestant calls gay men “bum boys”

    Complaints have surfaced on social media after Big Brother contestant Sam Giffen, who is openly gay called BB love birds, Ryan and Hughie “bum boys”.

    Sam Giffen.

    Tensions have risen in the Big Brother house and contestants Sam Giffen is being accused of being homophobic after calling on air lovers, Ryan and Hughie “bum boys” during a dispute.

    (C) Channel 5
    (C) Channel 5
    (C) Channel 5
    (C) Channel 5

    During the dispute, Griffen yelled, “Everyone’s shouting in my face. I’ve done nothing wrong”, before adding that he wouldn’t be abused by “bum boys”.

    Channel 5
    Channel 5

     

    It did not go down well with viewers who were on on social media who called Giffen out on his langauge and accused him of “making homophobic comments” and were surprised that a gay man would use the term “bum boy.”

    One BBUK fan tweeted,

    “Sam calling Hughie and Ryan bum boys. That’s whats wrong with the gay community. Gays making homophobic comments to other gays. Sick.”

    Another added,

    “BBUK on catch up! Just cos Sam’s gay doesn’t mean it’s ok for him to call Hughie and Ryan Bum Boys!! Bang out of order!! Sort him BB!”

  • 60 SECOND FILM REVIEW | Independence Day : Resurgence

    60 SECOND FILM REVIEW | Independence Day : Resurgence

    INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE – The aliens are back to try and take over the world and destroy some more well-known landmarks 20 years after the first campy sci-fi classic. The effects have moved on greatly but has the story gone with it?

    (C) CREDIT: Fox

    Nutshell – Same format almost exactly but everything is a lot bigger and noisier this time. A random bunch of unconnected characters all have their moments just like last time and are all needed in some way to defeat a much bigger threat from outer space. This time the aliens mean business with only one ship but here it lands in the Atlantic ‘Which bit ? a character asks ‘the whole of it as this warship is 3,000 miles across’ is the reply and their plans are even more full on this time, but us humans have some new extraterrestrial help too.

    Time – 121 mins; Certificate – 12A

    Tagline – ‘We had twenty years to prepare….so did they’.

    THE GAY UK FACTOR – The younger Hemsworth brother the hunky Liam for a full two hours in military uniform is the main attraction here. His brother Chris (Thor) has been at the very top of our wank bank for years but his younger sibling has the same Aussie man’s man muscle look!

    Cast – Liam ‘megabulge’ Hemsworth, Jeff Goldblum, Vivian A Fox, Judd Hirst, Bill Pullman basically everyone is back except Will Smith who obviously knew something the others didn’t (and wanted far too much cash – see below).

    Key Player – Jeff Goldblum is pure class, he eats up the screen and brings his much loved puzzled scientist from, The Fly and Jurassic Park films front and centre here as he slowly works out at the same pace as we do what the big bad’s are really up too.

    Budget – $165 Million a full $100m more than the first film now that’s inflation for you and it doesn’t make it a better film one bit. It will make profit as all brands tend to do but it won’t make enough to kickstart a third film which is somewhat trailed here (and was the original plan).

    Best Bit – 0.31 mins; A very tense rooftop hospital rescue which is genuinely nail biting and you won’t guess how the scene ends as it has the movies best twist.

    Worst Bit – 0.33 mins; As London gets demolished instead of Washington DC and New York last time we hit special effect overload as the good guys attempt their escape. Its effects look poor because they are, the scenario does not work at all and it is ludicrously unbelievable, unthrilling and you won’t care about the outcome which is pretty obvious anyway.

    Little Secret – The original film ID1 was the second highest grossing film of all time when it was released behind Jeff Goldblum’s other hit Jurassic Park. Will Smith was due to reprised his role here but Fox Studio turned down his record-breaking fee of $50 Million.

    Further Viewing – ID 1, War Of The Worlds, Mars Attacks, Alien 2, Predator, The Day The Earth Stood Still & V The classic TV series.

    Any Good – ID 2 is fine, no more no less. It is not a classic like the first one and it hugely misses the presence of Will Smith and his ‘Welcome to earth’ one liners. The fault is with the same director Roland Emmerich who this time is simply just phoning it in, this needs a much better story and more threat. We cannot remember a film when less would have been so much more than we have here – the first film was truly superb and had so many great ideas crammed in this one doesn’t and isn’t.

    Rating – 74/100 (74th out of the last 100 films reviewed with 1 being best and 100 being a damp squib).

    ORDER From Amazon | iTunes

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Get Em Off, Above The Stag

    ★★★ | Get Em Off

    Well, it’s not exactly The Full Monty – it’s called ‘Get ‘Em Off!’ Set in the suburbian enclave of Croydon, ‘Get ‘Em Off’ takes place in the only gay bar around for miles – The Golden Canary – and it’s a dive.

    Run by proprietor/proprietress Quinny, a/k/a Baz (Dereck Walker), it’s a bar that needs some spicing up. So it’s his employee Mitch (Joe Goldie) who comes up with the idea of turning Monday night into a gay strip competition to bring in more customers. And so that’s what they do. And they encourage their customers to enter in the hopes of winning the cash prize. Milosh (Michael Nelson), from Kosovo, is one of the first ones to enter, he’s definitely not shy about showing his body. Then there’s Ricky (Ashley Daniels), who is a regular customer to the bar when his boring partner (David Michael Hands) is out of town on business and who actually forbids Ricky from going to the gay bar as he doesn’t think they should lead ’that kind of lifestyle.’ But there’s a spark between Milosh and Ricky that’s palpable.

    Meanwhile back at the bar, Baz, all dolled up in sequins and a head wrap, hosts the competition. Mitch urges his all so sexy and very hot straight friend Luke (Tom Bowen) to enter, hey Luke’s wife is about to give birth to their first child so he says why not? And it’s poor Brian (Stuart Harris), Mitch’s school teacher, newly single after six years, trying to find his way back into the gay scene, and finds himself at The Golden Canary. With the strip competition such a success, Quinny decides to enter her men in a national strip competition. So ‘Get Em Off’ follows The Full Monty’s plot where the men practice and practice for the competition where we all know what’s going to happen.

    ‘Get Em Off’ should’ve been called ‘The Gay Full Monty.’ It’s a camp musical comedy with very funny lines but not very funny nor memorablesongs (one is titled ‘Get Your Dick Out).

    The book, by Jon Bradfield and Martin Hooper, gives Quinny some of the best lines in the show, though Milosh and Mitch have some as well. Walker steals the show even when his/her men get naked – he’s hilarious! Hands also deserves a mention as he plays various roles and is unrecognizable in each one of them. ‘Get Em Off’ is not the best show the Above the Stag has produced, but it’s perhaps perfect for the summer season when all gay boys want to do is see to watch light-hearted fare with cute guys and lots of nudity. This is the show for them.

    Get Em Off run at Above The Stag until 28/08/16

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Dancing with the Devil

    ★★★ | Dancing with the Devil

    Josh Brandao and Nicolai Kornum
    Josh Brandao and Nicolai Kornum

    Rudolph Nureyev was one of the greatest ballet dancers of the 20th century. His colourful life and volatile personality make him a fascinating study and a perfect subject for drama. Aletta Lawson has taken an inspired premise of looking at Nureyev’s life in retrospect via his dying delusions. Starting in his Parisian flat in the early 1990s we see Nureyev in his early 50s, weak and frail, in denial about his imminent death from an AIDS. related illness. He opens and closes a jewellery box, conjuring up hallucinations of his most famous dance partner Margot Fonteyn (who sits on a lit podium like a ballerina on a spring in a child’s music box). His memories drift back to his early life, through to his present illness.

    The program contains a writer’s note stating that the play isn’t intended to be a biography. Bizarrely, the play then runs as a biography with a whistle stop and often superficial imagining of key events in Nureyev’s life. We briefly glimpse a troubled childhood, the discovery of his talent, his defection to the West, his love affair with Eric Bruhn and some of the more show-business aspects of his stardom. It’s a lot to fit into ninety minutes and the play suffers for this, often failing to have impact or to convincingly engage with emotional events.

    Benny Maslov is spookily reminiscent of Nureyev and he works well within the confines of an often-clumsy and occasionally mawkish script. The moments where he dances are illuminating and captivating although sadly sparse. He captures a multi-faceted character perfectly, veering from petulant arrogance, passionate perfectionism through to glimpses of vulnerability and fragility.

    There are some good scenes such as the one where Rudolph and Eric first meet or the occasional interactions with Nureyev and Fonteyn. Sadly, these are few and far between and the play feels bogged down by its awkward dialogue and occasionally clumsy presentation. Some of the accents feel like they belong in terrible 1980s sit-com ‘Allo ‘Allo and the acting is variable with some uncomfortable moments that are painfully pantomime where the comedy falls entirely flat.

    This is worth seeing for Maslov’s performance alone but that aside this is a 5 star performance from an accomplished actor and dancer in a 2 star play.

    Dancing with the Devil plays at Sadlers Well until 29th of June 2016

  • Ryan is furious that Hughie showed his willy to the other housemates

    Ryan is furious that Hughie showed his willy to the other housemates

    All is not well for Big Brother’s newest couple, (sort of)

     

    Day 21 Hughie and Ryan.
    Day 21
    Hughie and Ryan.

    It’s fair to say Hughie Maughan and Ryan Ruckledge are having some teething problem… Ryan is livid that Hughie has been showing his tackle off to the rest of the house.

    “I’m livid,” Ryan fumed. “He’s just got his willy out to the whole group… Get in here now… Go and get your dick out to everyone.”

    The strip tease came after Ryan and Hughie had a little chat in the pod to see where their relationship was going. Ryan was pushing that the pair were now boyfriends.

    Big Brother continues tonight at 9pm on Channel 5.

  • BIG BROTHER | Ryan and Hughie “We’re Boyfriends…”

    BIG BROTHER | Ryan and Hughie “We’re Boyfriends…”

    Ryan and Hughie have been having a little chat about where their relationship is heading

    Channel 5

    In the pod, Hughie and Ryan had a chat to clear up their relationship. Ryan told Hughie,

    “I don’t think we should speak anymore…I think we should just distance ourselves…I don’t think we should sleep in the same bed… if you flirt with anyone I’m gonna go mad”

    Day 21 Hughie and Ryan.
    Day 21
    Hughie and Ryan.

    When Hughie responded with,

    “Are we kind of friends with benefits”

    Ryan said,

    “No. Boyfriends…we’re going out with each other”