MAMBA GOSSIP

Lance Bass’s fine taste in men

Mamba Mansions is united in applauding former boy-band member Lance Bass for his superb taste in men. First there was the dreamy Reichen Lemkuhl, and now there is Pedro Andrade. The Brazilian model and Lance were declared an official item after the singer confessed to People magazine that they are indeed a couple. The two met on a flight from Vienna, he revealed. “He was asleep in the back of the plane…I was like, ‘He’s really cute,’” Lance gushed. Cute? Now there’s the understatement of the year. Speaking about his love life since breaking it off with Reichen, Lance said, “It’s the first time I’ve ever been able to date, so it’s nice to go out and get to know people and not jump into a relationship right away, which I usually do.” We know all about it sister! Lance is set to make a comeback to performing by appearing in the Broadway version of the musical Hairspray in August.

Rent premiere a celeb snooze-fest

The premiere of Rent in Joburg this week was something of a disappointment in terms of celeb watching. Oh yes, there were the usual theatre has-beens, who no-one under 35 would recognise, but there was little fresh celeb meat. DJ Stuart Hillary’s ex boyfriend Guy Raphaely was there to support his sister Sivan, who stars in the play. Also present was Terence Bridget – he of the Polka ad and myriad soap operas. Most scintillating of all was actress Samantha Peo fresh from her run in Popcorn looking absolutely gorgeous (in fact we’re overly suspicious, about her so very fresh looks, if you take our meaning). She told us that she’ll be appearing in a new season of Chicago early next year. As for Rent itself, look out for puppy dog blonde Shaun V. That boy can sing…

Enrique spills the beans about his gay performance

We recently reported on Enrique Iglesias’s performance at G-A-Y in London, in which he proceeded to serenade and hold a gay male fan on stage. Now the yummy singer has talked about the show in question. “It was my first time performing at a gay club. But I didn’t know what to expect. You get nervous, you have this adrenaline, you’re going to perform for 3,000 gay men – you don’t know if they’re going to be silent, if they’re going to boo you. I loved it. It’s funny, the owner called my manager and said, ‘We figured Enrique is probably going to say no….’ And I said, ‘Yeah. Are you kidding me?’ I know the gay audience is very loyal. The guy that I work with, produce all the records with, he’s gay. The first person I called was him. I was like, ‘Man, guess what we’re doing.’ He was like, ‘We gotta do it. It’s going to be great.’ When I went on stage, they were singing so loud I couldn’t hear myself. My ears were ringing for two days, I promise.” Ain’t he sweet?

Isaiah Washington takes on the Bionic Woman

Recently fired from Grey’s Anatomy for his homophobic slurs, Isaiah Washington, has found a new job surprisingly quickly: He’ll be appearing in the new Bionic Woman series. “I’m humbled by this opportunity,” Washington told The Associated Press, adding that the furore around his anti-gay comments was “an unfortunate misunderstanding for everyone”. The actor is also said to be working on the development of a new action show with NBC Universal Studios.

Britney shooting a music video?

The train wreck that is Britney Spears is never far from the pages of the tabloids and gossip blogs. The latest rumour, according to Extra TV, is that the clearly delusional Britney is shooting a music video for a new track called Get Back. If this one is true, we can’t wait to see the undoubtedly hilarious results.

Harry Potter’s leather fetish

While we’ve seen pictures of Daniel Radcliffe near-naked to promote the West End play Equus, who knew that the Harry Potter star looked so good in oh-so-gay leather. The actor seems determined to break out of his clean-cut teen image, and recently posed for men’s magazine Details in a dark and steamy Steven Klein photo shoot. The star confesses in the accompanying interview that he’s never been to a nightclub because of the paparazzi and that his best friend is his 40 something dresser on the Harry Potter films, Will Steggle. So, what about dating? Daniel admits that this can be a problem in his line of work. “I think it would be very hard to go out with an actress, because they’re mad. Some actresses are just insane,” says the apparently very heterosexual Daniel, who is worth an estimated £17 million. We’ll be dignified and refrain from saying anything about his “magic wand.” (Oops, too late!)

Winona Ryder talks shoplifting

After years of avoiding the limelight following her embarrassing shoplifting scandal, the once-rising star Winona Ryder appears ready to stage a comeback. The 35 year old actress spoke about the career-killer peccadillo to Vogue; an interview set to appear in the August issue of the magazine: “I didn’t have this tremendous sense of guilt, because I hadn’t hurt anyone. Had I hurt someone in any way … had I physically harmed someone, I think it would have been an entirely different experience.”

Ian McKellen’s nudity banned in Singapore

Some might breathe a sigh of relief at news that acting legend Ian McKellen has been barred from dropping his drawers on stage. The 68 year old gay icon has been going nude in a scene in his portrayal of King Lear in the UK, but he has now been asked to keep his clothes on when he performs the role in Singapore. “Call it censorship, call it advice, it gets in the way a little bit. I think it’s a little bit silly.” said Ian. While in the country, he also spoke out against Singapore’s anti-gay laws. “It would be impertinent of me to comment on Singapore society but this happens to be a law that I find personally offensive and I don’t think it should be on the statute books because it inhibits my free behaviour as an openly gay man. I feel free to comment on behalf of people who do have to suffer laws which the British Empire invented and left behind,” he said. What can we say, the old coot has style.

RECENTLY SPOTTED

Sacha Baron-Cohen (that’s Borat to you) in Malibu wearing a T-Shirt emblazoned with “Sorry Girls, I’m Gay.” Does his fiancé know?

Grey’s Anatomy’s cute gay star T.R. Knight, looking quite dashing, at a screening of a documentary at the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.