Lockdown has generated a lot of negative tweets. About people, governments and society in general.
A recent study of over 100 celebrities who run and maintain their own Twitter accounts has found that two of our favourite gay icons top the lists of positive and negative tweeters.
While Kylie sits on top of the positive list, with 89.7 per cent of her tweets skewing positive, Cher (gawd love her) is number 3 on the negative list, with only 51.3 per cent of her tweets skewing positively, she follows Nigel Farage and Piers Morgan.
Nigel Farage and Piers Morgan were the most negative celebrity tweeters during lockdown.
Meanwhile, Nigel Farage tops the polls for the most negative tweeter under lockdown, joined by Piers Morgan and Cher.
The research was conducted by digital agency Evoluted, who took the 200 most famous personalities in the UK (according to YouGov) and filtered the list down to 131 who are active on Twitter and clearly run their accounts personally.
The agency then collected their tweets, quoted tweets and retweets that had been posted since March this year in order to evaluate the content that the person was putting out to all of their followers.
Evoluted then used the bing lexicon method to attribute positive or negative meaning to the words used across all tweets, in order to analyse which tweeters were more positive than others.
A positivity percentage was then assigned to each account – this was created by taking the ratio of positive words used on their timeline by the total number of negative and positive words.
James Stone, Content Specialist at Evoluted, said, “We aim to be as thorough and accurate as possible within our research and our team really enjoyed carrying out this study.
“It’s extremely interesting to see which celebrities are using their platforms to display positivity and which ones heavily feature negativity.”
Research also ranked the jobs of the most positive celebrities, revealing that sports personalities, musicians, TV personalities, actors and public figures made up the top five.
Cher has called time on her next Here We Go Again concert due to concerns surrounding Covid-19. Taking to Twitter she wrote that although concerts were fun she had to go with her gut and cancel for the safety of her fans.
She told fans that she could not “in good conscience play” her concert, which was due to be in Oklahoma City.
However, at the time of publishing tickets, some of which are selling for a staggering $496 + fee each, were still be sold on Ticketmaster and there has been no official word, as of yet, on the singer’s website about refunds or whether further shows would be cancelled.
I AM SO SORRY,BUT YOUR HEALTH IS PARAMOUNT. I HAVEN’T FELT SCARED,(In Crew We🛑💋ING & HOLDING🤲🏻,BUT ON STAGE WE’RE”FACE 2 FACE”,BUT 2DAY I HAD 2GO WITH MY GUT.CONCERTS R AMAZING FUN,BUT NOTHING IS WORTH YOUR HEALTH.I ♥️ALL OF YOU,BUT THIS MORNING IT FELT IT WASNT SAFE
ALL DAY WE WERE ON PHONE WITH ARENA BECAUSE I WANTED 2 CANCEL TOMM NITE.ON OUR LAST CALL THEY DECIDED 2CANCEL BASKETBALL. ARENAS I’VE PLAYED,CHECKED HEALTH OFFICIALS IN THOSE CITIES. TODAY I WATCHED NEWS & WORRIED ABOUT YOU & YOUR HEALTH. I COULDN’T IN GOOD CONSCIENCE PLAY💋💔
The singer revealed that she and her concert crew were no longer kissing or holding due to fears surrounding Coronavirus.
She then warned her fans to wash their hands with “hot water or purell” and not to touch their faces. She then warned against shaking hands, getting to close and letting other people breathe on you.
We Dont Realize How Many Ppl we Come In Contact with.On The Bus We Talked About All The Ppl We’ve Met💋🤝Since This Flu Started.Cant Visit Mom,Incase I’m Positive.PLEASE 🧼🧽 YOUR HANDS WITH HOT WATER,OR PURELL,& DONT TOUCH UR FACE,Shake🤲🏻,Get 2 Close,& Let Ppl Breathe On You🤗
With the ticket price of live music events becoming ever more expensive and the options of places to see the more prominent names performing, requiring more travel, you have to redefine your attitude when it comes to going to a gig. Rather than make it the sole purpose of your trip away, if you combine it with comfortable travel (Eurostar), and a convenient place to stay, the whole adventure feels much more like a short holiday rather than a quick dash to get a music fix.
And that’s how I found myself checking in to The Crowne Plaza in Antwerp, a plush four-star hotel only a direct and convenient 25
-minute tram ride away from my musical destination and an appointment to see none other than Cher! The Crowne Plaza hotel was modern and functional, perfect for my overnight stay and catering for short-haul travellers, such as myself, high-flying business executives, and everyone in between.
I was never a massive fan of Cher, but she has had such a long and varied, not to mention successful highly career, so much so that the word icon feels justified in her case, that I thought I should experience her show at least once. So I snapped up a 9th-row ticket, booked the hotel, hopped on a tram, and here I was.
Someone like Cher doesn’t just play a gig, she brings a show to town, and then some, and for someone coming to her show afresh and open-minded, as it were, she made a convert out of me with ease. Keeping an audience in the palm of your hand for two hours is not an easy thing to do but this is Cher’s world, she is the mistress of all that she surveys and the wonderful between-song anecdotes (old people love to talk,) the constant costume changes, her larger than life personality and a set of fantastic songs meant that the time flew by.
It was a very theatrical show, hints of Vegas abounded, and she still knows how to belt out a tune, no lip-synching or technological cheats here, but all the time I found myself thinking, “I wonder if I will still look this great in heels when I’m 73!” And if the songs took us back through her career, the nostalgic costume changes underlined just how long a career she has had. We travelled back to her formative years, the Sonny and Cher era, right through to the here and now, Cher displaying an incredible ability to turn back time, pun intended, whilst putting on a very contemporary show.
One surprise came with her rendition of ABBA hits challenging the already dancing queens of Antwerp to up their game. By this point, the show had gone beyond merely an average gig and had turned into the hottest gay party in Western Europe that night!
We partied, and then we parted, me back to the comfort of my hotel, her to set the next town alight with her show as her tour continued across Europe and on to the UK. You should try new things; it’s what living is all about. And although I may have wandered into the arena with an open mind about Cher, I certainly left as a bit of a fan.
The question of Cher’s gay iconicness was a recent discussion on Quora and a couple of people, shared their reasons why Cher is loved and revered by gay men across the globe.
With her popularity on the rise again after the campest appearance on Mamma Mia, Here We Go Again, (I mean could you find a gayer show) we ask why the gays just love Cher.
One commenter simply wrote, “In her day she broke the mold. She’s a strong woman”, which may answer why she’s popular – everyone loves a winner right? But what makes a diva?
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Drag Queen Friendly
Darrin Huss, a singer and lyricist, wrote, “I find it fascinating that there seems to be some kind of DNA in Gay Men for Divas” and wrote about how easy Cher is to imitate for drag queens across the globe, he added, “from a drag queen’s point of view Cher is the ultimate clothes horse with many recognizable personality traits that can be imitated”.
Her voice, which is a lower alto also makes it relatively easy for men, who have naturally lower singing voices, to sing along with her tracks.
LGBT folk are always looking for powerful, hopeful, outsider or underdog role models and Cher fits all of those categories Darrin continues, “I assume it still has to do with the initial idea that coming out, and knowing you are different from the majority makes you seek powerful role models, and women who have been considered outsiders that fought their way into the hearts of the mainstream are powerful role models.
“They can dress up, perform, and create their own unique universe when they are successful enough. It’s harder for gay men to find role models in their own gender, who rarely are so daring, and over the top.”
Rolling Stone‘sJancee Dunn wrote, “Cher is the coolest woman who ever stood in shoes. Why? Because her motto is, ‘I don’t give a shit what you think, I’m going to wear this multicoloured wig.’ There are folks all over America who would, in their heart of hearts, love to date people half their age, get multiple tattoos and wear feathered headdresses.
Approachability
Another of Cher’s traits is that she seems approachable. Just following her on Twitter gives an insight to a woman who doesn’t think she is better than anyone else, and she’s funny as hell. She’s one of us – despite being more glamorous than any of us could hope for.
Perhaps it’s also the way she treats people as equals, Tim Janes, wrote, “Maybe because she doesn’t make broad statements about them that reinforce ignorant stereotypes”.
Forever youthful
Cher has refused to look old, despite being in her 70s – for many gay men, or at least men who are careful or mindful with their appearance, Cher is the perfect role model.
Staying the course
Cher has been a constant figure in the industry for over 50 years. Reinventing herself and not being afraid to move with the times. She ultimately gives her audience what they want, regardless of what general society expected of her. Gay people, and perhaps gay men, in particular, will appreciate that and is something to aspire to- being yourself regardless of what the world expects from you.
The glitter balls are spinning all around the world as the ultimate gay icon Cher announces her 26th album to be released next month on the 28th September and it is an ABBA tribute.
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Five years after her hugely successful 2013 Closer To The Truth album with its hit lead single ‘A Woman’s Work’ we get Cher’s 26th album released on digital, CD and even vinyl if you want it. The album will be called Dancing Queen and features 10 previously unreleased Cher versions of ABBA’s greatest hits all very different from the originals.
Following on from the massive success of Mamma Mia Here We Go Again the movie which is on target to out-gross the original. In its first three weeks has made $243 million from a budget of just $70 million which of course stars Cher and includes two new songs by her.
In the film, Cher duets with Andy Garcia on her current top 40 hit ‘Fernando’ and also closes the movie and album out with ‘Super Trouper’. The soundtrack is holding steady at number one in the album charts holding the likes of Drake and George Ezra off comfortably.
Dancing Queen, Cher’s new album does contain a different version of ‘Fernando’ to the one from the film. The lead single, released digitally this week is ‘Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight)’ and it has instantly leapt our gay goddess to number six on the iTunes’ charts (up from 93) likely to go number one next week. See the full new CD track listing at the bottom.
Cher spoke about the project on The Today Show, “After filming Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, I was reminded again of what great and timeless songs they (ABBA) wrote and started thinking, ‘Why not do an album of their music?’ The songs were harder to sing than I imagined but I’m so happy with how the music came out. I’m really excited for people to hear it. It’s a perfect time. I have always liked ABBA and saw the original Mamma Mia musical on Broadway three times”. She added, “It’s not what you think of when you think ‘ABBA,’ because I did it in a different way.”
Of course, that is an understatement that many agree with who have heard her new great version of ‘Gimme Gimme Gimme’.
As she previously announced on The Graham Norton Show she is doing an Australia and New Zealand only tour, titled the ‘Here We Go Again Tour’ which is now being rebranded the ”Dancing Queen tour, in support of the new album, is set to launch on September 21, 2018, in Auckland, New Zealand. She is planning on doing six of the below Abba numbers in that show and of course promoters worldwide are now trying to pin her down do extend the tour to Asia, Europe and North America as the demand created by the film, soundtrack and predicted pre-orders of the tribute album make her hotter than at any time since ‘Believe’, maybe hotter as she is now a triple threat.
After the disappointment of her only other movie musical to date Burlesque in 2010 she decided to move away from acting in 2012 and concentrate on her music career which was a very wise move indeed as it is turning out. Due to the success of the new movie talks with theatre producers are now underway to bring Here We Go Again to the world’s stages to play alongside the original massively successful Mamma Mia musical which is not likely to be leaving any stages soon as ticket sales are back through the roof again and the original 2008 soundtrack is also back in the Top 5 itself with ABBA Gold the original artist compilation just three places lower (making 3 ABBA-inspired albums in the Top 10).
ABBA is coming back soon!!!
If that is not enough excitement for ABBA fans then we are now just 12 short weeks from the release in November of their first new material for 36 years when in 1982 they put out their final song ‘The Day Before You Came’ (In 1983 they recorded ‘Put On Your White Sombrero’ for single release but withdrew it for it later to turn up only on a box set). The new song ‘I still Have Faith In You’ is currently the bookmaker’s favourite to be the Christmas Number One 2018 which would be their first ever Xmas chartopper and 10th number one in the UK. All four members of Abba said, “The decision to go ahead with the exciting Abba avatar tour project had an unexpected consequence.
“We all four felt that, after some 35 years, it could be fun to join forces again and go into the recording studio. So we did. And it was like time had stood still and that we had only been away on a short holiday. An extremely joyful experience!“
It resulted in two new songs and one of them, ‘I Still Have Faith In You’, will be performed by our digital selves in a TV special produced by NBC and the BBC aimed for broadcasting in December.
“We may have come of age, but the song is new. And it feels good
The full track listing of the new Cher album available to pre-order now is :-
Dancing Queen
1. Dancing Queen
2. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (a Man After Midnight)
3. The Name of the Game
4. SOS
5. Waterloo
6. Mamma Mia
7. Chiquitita
8. Fernando
9. The Winner Takes It All
10. One of Us
Well, how else would one the world’s greatest gay icons make her way onto set.
For those of you who don’t know yet, CHER is in the new Mamma Mia movie and she’s singing the ABBA hit ‘Fernando’ and she’s playing Meryl Streep’s mother – despite being only three years older. I mean, how do we contain our gay-selves.
And we’re not the only ones in an excited mess. Benny Anderson from ABBA said, “So all of a sudden you have Cher and ABBA together, it’s exciting I think!”
MAMMA MIA – HERE WE GO AGAIN – All you need to know about the hottest sequel of the year & Cher’s song is revealed.
Mamma Mia 2 is on the way and advance buzz is very good indeed – is it time to get excited What Abba songs are in and which are out? What’s the story? What does Cher sing? What’s the lead song and all the gossip? THEGAYUK brings you all the info you need for the movie event of the Summer.
So why a sequel? Since Mamma Mia first appeared on the stage in 1999 it has played all around the World becoming the most successful musical of the Millennium. The film was released in 2008 and became the biggest hit at the UK Box Office of all time. Six months later the DVD was released and sold 5 million copies making it the biggest seller in History and attaining a record that will never ever be beaten – the disc is in one in four of every British Household. Abba have recently reformed and have recorded new music to be released in December so are hotter than ever, so purely and simply a sequel was inevitable.
What we know is that the movie is released Worldwide on 20th July, it is two hours long, will get a PG 13 rating and most importantly EVERYONE is back BOTH sides of the camera. The film wrapped just before last Christmas and was shot this time in Croatia rather than the Greek Islands and also Oxford together with other UK locations such as Hampton Court. Meryl Street did do one week of new filming but she has a minor part this time as it is set 10 years in the future when her daughter played by Amanda Seyfried is pregnant but is largely about flashbacks and how the Meryl Streep character (Donna) came to be in the original predicament of not knowing which of the three guys were her daughters father. Streep’s younger self is played by the incredible Lily James (Cinderella/Baby Driver) and a bevvy of stars take over the roles of the younger versions of all the other main characters. Pierce Brosnan, Julie Walters, Dominic Cooper and Colin Firth have full roles once again and there are new additions such as Andy Garcia, Omid Djalilli and Celia Imrie and a certain American gay icon we revealed in THEGAYUK back in January.
The queen of camp and everyone’s gay world Cher is in Mamma Mia 2 and not just as a cameo. She has one featured solo song and joins in 3 others playing the part of Meryl Streep’s mother and Seyfried/James’s Grandmother. Even though Cher is only 4 years older than Streep in real life! Of course, Cher started out as a musician with then-husband Sonny back in 1965 with the likes of the chart topper ‘I Got You Babe’. Midway through her career, she moved heavily into acting to huge success with the likes of Moonstruck, Mask, Silkwood and Mermaids the latter of which produced the infamous “Shoop Shoop Song”.
Weirdly although she has kept up her music career she has only made one other musical in her 53 years at the top, the very unsuccessful Burlesque in 2010. Therefore Cher in a hit musical is very big news indeed and the gay internet will explode come July 20th for sure. The song she sings in Mamma Mia 2 is Abba’s third number one ‘Fernando’ which was not featured in the first movie – it is the groups second biggest seller after ‘Dancing Queen’ and was never included on any Abba studio album. Cher’s version which she debuted at the CinemaCom the exhibitor’s expo in Las Vegas and it is expected to get a single release but it won’t be the lead single from the movie.
Both Benny and Bjorn from Abba appear in the movie in a university clip for Arrival album track ‘When I Kissed The Teacher’ whose superb video is already available online and is a return to form similar to the original ‘Dancing Queen’ let’s all head to the harbour singing clip which is the lead out track and is very good indeed. All well and good but there is a fly in the ointment as the groundswell for the lead single has drifted heavily towards the hit ‘Angel Eyes’ from the original Voulez Vous album.
Neither Teacher or Eyes were in the original movie nor indeed the stage musical. Mamma Mia 2 has a mix of songs not in Mamma Mia 1 together with extended versions of songs only briefly featured last time out such as ‘Thank You For The Music’, ‘Supertrooper’ and an epic choir lead full blown ‘I Have A Dream’. A couple of classics return to keep the fans happy including of course ‘Dancing Queen’, ‘Mamma Mia’ done in the style of the Zorba The Greek music and ‘Waterloo’ which last time was just over the credits but this time gets its own set piece when the younger versions of Donna and Sam visit a Napoleon-themed restaurant! Yes, you read that right, this movie is full on camp. There is no room this time for ‘The Winner Takes It All’ as it was thought that there could be no improvement on the original Meryl/Pierce clifftop version.
So what new songs make the cut this time is the 64,000 dollar question on every Abba fans and gay man’s lips. This time you get epic sunlit productions of ‘I Wonder (Departure)’, Abba’s saddest ever song, ‘Kisses of Fire’, ‘The Name Of The Game’, ‘Happy Hawaii’, ‘I’ve Been Waiting For You’, ‘My Love My Life’, ‘As Good as New’, ‘If It Wasn’t For The Nights’, ‘On and On and On’, ‘Like an Angel Passing Through My Room’, ‘The Way Old Friends Do’ and ‘Head Over Heels’ but still no ‘The Day Before You Came’ or Abba’s legendary unreleased 25th hit single ‘Put On Your White Sombrero’ which was dropped from its release spot in 1982 as the band split on the eve of its release (It is available only on the Box set).
There is a star-studded European premier organised and there are strong rumours that all four of the original line up will attend which they have not done so since the theatre production premiered in Stockholm 16 years ago. The team behind the Mamma Mia juggernaut are the same and the writing has now been taken over by Richard Curtis of Four Weddings/Comic Relief and Notting Hill fame so expect the laugh quota to be up. They are now in discussions to produce a second stage musical to tour the World to partner the original so it looks as though Mamma Mia Here We Go Again is here to stay. The musical stage production depends on whether the movie/CD and DVD are hits and with the film being released on the anniversary exactly the same day 10 years on as the original means that hopefully the stars are aligning, of course it is perfect counter programmed entertainment to the World Cup Football tournament too alongside Oceans 8, Book Club and I feel Pretty which will help Mamma Mia 2 cost $40 Million dollars and its predicted box office is $120 Million so the stage musical should be green lit in August all being well.
It’s the usual end of the day question in the office… ‘How much would it cost to hire Elton John to come and sing for us to pass the time’ – yes we have that much money we don’t know what to do with it! Well with a little research I bring you our Top 10 gay icons for hire… You’ll be surprised at who’s the cheapest!
No.1) Madonna – $N/A
CREDIT: Denis Makarenko / Bigstock
Just like any good antique if there’s no price on it, you can’t afford it!
No.2) Cher – $1,000,000+
You’ll be singing ‘If I Could Turn Back time’ when this cheque clears!
Biggest shock of them all. It’s Liza with a Z-list price tag. I’d heard she’d attend the opening of a fridge which is kinda handy as I could do with another cuppa.
So how much would you pay for your favourite stars?
What makes a gay icon I hear you ask? Well, there’s not actually a specific set of rules, if someone is an icon, it rarely needs to be said, it’s just known. But there are some celebrities who try desperately hard to obtain the status, and they are laughed at for the most part. I’ll start with these cases first. The ones who so desperately crave a “YAAAASSSS QUEEN” off the gay community, but mostly fall short. A gay icon is created without the need for effort. For the list, I’ll be concentrating on the icons who are currently alive, with an honour roll of icons past at the end.
1. Any member of the Kardashian/Jenner clan.
There I said it, I can hear the wails of anger already. To some, they are the epitome of an icon, but to most, they are shallow, money-hungry, low rent TV reality stars who only got famous after one of them slept with Brandy’s brother and had the tape “leaked”. No one can actually point out specifically what they do. They are famous, merely for being famous. The only good thing they have going for them is they know exactly how to exploit that. Not even Caitlyn Jenner can rescue them. Her “struggles” with coming out as transgender are so far removed from the actual hell that transgender people go through that she is almost universally hated by the LGBT community. These are not people to look up to.
2. Tori Spelling
When someone feels the need to boast about their gay icon status, they are not a gay icon. While a vocal supporter of the gay community, she is far removed from icon status. Having her friends tell her she’s a gay icon doesn’t count. She’s not exactly well known, and it’s unlikely she could command much of a crowd at any event. Yeah, she used to be in Beverly Hills 90210, but who really gives a shit?
3. Katie Hopkins
Oh, Ms Hopkins, you may want to be a gay icon, but this you never shall be. While some gays may like your no nonsense mouth, to most you’re just a loud mouthed harridan who revels in spewing vitriol and trying to be as controversial as possible. It takes class to be an icon, and Katie Hopkins is severely lacking in that. You need a certain gravitas to be able to pull off being a bitch and still be beloved.
4. Perez Hilton
His disgraceful Celebrity Big Brother stint pretty much destroyed any small hope he had of achieving icon status. Gossip monger by trade, he has always tried much too hard to be a gay icon, and it comes across as crass and disingenuous. He has a knack for really pissing people off, and like Ms Hopkins, he doesn’t have the proper qualifications for being bitchy and getting away with it
5. Milo Yiannopoulos
An avid Trump supporter and self-proclaimed “dangerous faggot” Yiannopoulos tries to shock and offend as much as possible and has said incredibly offensive things about transgender people. He is the ultimate in petulant, self-obsessed, narcissistic, nasty, vindictive and hateful gays. And while some people may agree with some of the things he says, he comes across as smarmy and greasy.
6. Nick Jonas
Yes, he’s got a hot body, and a bulge for days, but being a gay tease does not an icon make. People are starting to see through the blatant attempt to appeal to the gay community by posing in very little clothing and playing TV roles that involve man on man action, I’m half expecting his nudes to “leak” at some point when he needs a boost of gay male interest in an upcoming project.
7. Miley Cyrus
Her post-Hannah Montana days shenanigans were mildly entertaining at first, but then it all became rather desperate looking and uncomfortable. She fell out of favour fairly quickly with gay fans, and she never really achieved the status of icon in the first place, despite being an advocate for LGBT rights. She seemed to be desperate for the gays to love her and it riled a lot of people.
And now for some of the true gay icons. In no particular order. This is a difficult list to narrow down because many people are considered gay icons. But there are some who stand out above the rest as the ultimate in enduring gay icons. You can’t hear their name without thinking “gay icon”
CREDIT: kathclick /BigStock
1. Dolly Parton
The queen of cheap and tacky, but amazing with it. Her look, her quirky southern charm, her infamous ahem assets and her attitude are forever endearing to the community. There will always be a Dolly tune you can rock out to, or find solace in. She is a true icon without having to be boastful. She is grateful and loving and supportive. That makes us love Ms Parton.
2. Sir Ian McKellan
Come on people, he’s Gandalf and Magneto, and a massive advocate for the gay community. He’s the true stately homo, with dignity and class, and his bromance with Captain Picard makes the nerd in us scream with excitement. He also loves attending Pride events, and has been known to be found at 3am outside a club, smoking and hobnobbing with fans. A proper British institution.
3. Cher
The big kahuna herself, and when the apocalypse happens, there will be only three things left, Cockroaches, Twinkies and Cher. Not much needs to be said as to why she is a gay icon. She’s bitchy, fabulous and a drag queen’s dream. Her costumes, stage performances and films and TV appearances bring out the queen in all of us. Plus she’s so famous she doesn’t need to know how to order pizza (according to Kathy Griffin) and no one cares. She is one of the ultimate gay icons. She’s Cher bitch!!
4. Betty White
If there’s anything better than sliced bread (she was born before it was even invented) it’s the only remaining Golden Girl herself, Betty White. She’s the matriarch of gay icons, and at 95, she is still rocking and beloved by all. There really isn’t anything bad you can say about this woman, and long may she continue to entertain us. And as the younger generation find out about The Golden Girls, they too will fall in love with Rose Nylund.
5. RuPaul
The drag mother himself, RuPaul has entertained fans for many years. Never one to mince words, RuPaul found fame in 1993 after the song “Supermodel” came out, but it was 2009 that saw his star truly rise when a little show called RuPaul’s Drag Race came thundering onto our screens, and nearly 9 seasons later the show goes from strength to strength, and also reintroduced us to RuPaul’s cohort, Michelle Visage, who is somewhat of a gay icon herself, due to her unwavering vocal support of a community who took her to their hearts.
6. Ellen DeGeneres
Her reminder of “be kind to one another” strikes a chord in the community and her warmth and generosity towards others can only make people smile. She rose from a little-known stand-up comedian to one of the most watched women on TV. People love Ellen, and her gay icon status is very much deserved. She doesn’t take herself seriously and proves that it’s OK to be gay and live a normal life without shame or guilt. A truly inspirational woman.
7. Stephen Fry
I would be hard pushed not to put bitingly witty, intelligent, charming and all round fabulous person Stephen Fry on this list. From the days of Blackadder to the presenter of QI, Fry has been an icon for a long time. He has been voted numerous times as an ultimate gay icon and it’s not hard to see why. His eloquent way of speaking and conducting himself appeals to many fans alike.
8. Madonna
Anyone who can bring voguing into the mainstream deserves a place among the icons. The Queen of Pop and reinvention herself has been popular for 30 years, and to this day still commands massive crowds. Gay fans flocked to Madonna and her ridiculously catchy dance tunes will still get many a gay on the dance floor, and while she may not be as popular as she once, there’s still only one Madonna.
9. Diana Ross
With a gay anthem like “I’m coming out” Diana Ross with all her glittery outfits, and diva-like behaviour screams gay icon. Having a career that’s lasted since God’s dog was a puppy also helps. She’s also probably the only woman to shut down West Hollywood so she could film a music video with RuPaul and 200 drag queens. Gay Icon certified.
10. Bette Midler
Miss Midler was performing in gay venues in the 70s after seeing the positive reaction from the LGBT crowd, and then in 1993, she achieved gay cult status as Winifred Sanderson in Hocus Pocus. Her glittery stage presence and music is always a hit amongst the gay crowd, and while occasionally she has put foot in mouth, her iconic status cannot be refuted.
Some of you may ask why I haven’t included people like Britney, Beyonce or Lady Gaga, Well I’ll explain. The icons I chose have been talking points for a very long time, and I can see them still being talked about long after they are no longer with us. Gaga et al, still have a way to go before true icon status is achieved, and while they have an icon-like following, in my eyes they aren’t legendary…yet!
Honour roll of past gay icons
Carrie Fisher
Joan Rivers
Bette Davies
Joan Crawford
David Bowie
Bea Arthur
Quentin Crisp
Divine
Judy Garland
Donna Summer
Harvey Milk
Marsha P Johnson
James Dean
Marlon Brando
Marlene Dietrich
Lucille Ball
Freddie Mercury
George Michael
Whitney Houston
Alan Turing
Marilyn Monroe
Mae West
Jackie Onassis
Opinions expressed in this article may not reflect those of THEGAYUK, it’s management or editorial teams. If you’d like to comment or write a comment, opinion or blog piece, please click here.
It’s fair to say that ‘Believe’ singer Cher is not a fan of the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump after likening him to Adolf Hitler on Twitter.
Speaking to her 3 million followers on Twitter the iconic singer posted a picture of a two similar portraits that feature both Donald Trump and Hitler. The picture with Donald Trump features him wearing the same clothing as Hitler and with the swastika emblazoned on his arm.
She captioned the picture,
“I Will Make Germay [sic] Great Again!! I Will Make America Great Again!! I Would (love) 2 Know LAST TIME HE THOUGHT (the US) WAS GREAT”
I Will Make Germay Great Again‼️I Will Make America Great Again‼️I Would 💖2 Know LAST TIME HE THOUGHT 🇺🇸 WAS GREAT‼️ pic.twitter.com/rdwkDp1IqK
She went on to blast Trump by calling him a “coward” after claiming that his father managed to get his son deferments from the Vietnam war.
“TRUMPS A COWARD,WHOSE RICH DAD GOT HIM 4 DEFERMENTS,WHILE BRAVE MEN DIED !! TRUMP SAID HIS VIETNAM WAS SCREWING (emjois of chicks) , WONDER WHAT HIS PTSD WAS!?”
TRUMPS A COWARD,WHOSE RICH DAD GOT HIM 4 DEFERMENTS,WHILE BRAVE MEN DIED‼️TRUMP SAID HIS VIETNAM WAS SCREWING🐥🐥, WONDER WHAT HIS PTSD WAS⁉️
“I don’t think he wants the job, or I don’t think he actually wants to do the work. I think he wants the job because it’s the ultimate deal, and he’s the ultimate ego. I don’t know that I’ve heard or seen anybody like him, and I also never thought that Americans would go for someone like him, a person of his quality.”
Never one to shy away from expressing her feelings global super star Cher has dumped on Trump calling his campaign out as a joke.
The Believe singer who turns 70 this year, questioned whether GOP Presidential candidate Donald Trump actually wanted the top job and all its responsibilities, but rather wanting the job because it is the top job.
“I don’t like anything about Donald Trump. It’s a joke at a time when you really need serious people.
“I don’t think he wants the job, or I don’t think he actually wants to do the work. I think he wants the job because it’s the ultimate deal, and he’s the ultimate ego. I don’t know that I’ve heard or seen anybody like him, and I also never thought that Americans would go for someone like him, a person of his quality.”
-minute tram ride away from my musical destination and an appointment to see none other than Cher! 
