Weekend Review: Excitement in the Kiss-n-Tweet!

Johnny Weir at the podium

at the GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles

April 17, 2010
Love the crinkly nose!

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So Johnny Weir was very busy this past weekend in Los Angeles lending his name and his perfectly gorgeous self to two great causes: The GLAAD Media Awards on Saturday, and an event hosted by Equality California on Sunday.

This, of course, caused the usual frenzy on Facebook, with all of us wallflowers who were unable to attend these events sighing over our boy like we had just sent him off to his first prom--so proud and yet wistful all at the same time--and then frantically trolling the Internet for any glimpse or mention of him: livestreams, photos, videos, twitpics, and, of course, tweets.

And that led us early Sunday morning after the GLAAD gala to these two tweets:

from @JohnnyGWeir: I'm now following @adamlambert because he yelled at me for not following! You rocked tonight darling.

Which everyone loved and hundreds of people reTweeted, which in turn provoked quite a response on Twitter mostly along these lines:

YES!!! My life is complete! @JohnnyGWeir and @adamlambert are FOLLOWING EACH OTHER!!! .

The other interesting tweet was this:

from @GoCheeksGo: Lesson learned from tonight's misadventures: Johnny Weir is not my future ex husband ...though he's great kisser. Everything else? Blurry.

Which created a little bit of an Internet stir, just briefly, and sort of mini-microcosmically like if we all lived on my tiny desk globe and then that volcano erupted in miniature Iceland and led to a couple of flight delays over teensy Europe.

I just thought it was funny. Hello. It's the GLAAD Awards. And there was a party. And Johnny wore what he described as "finger condoms." What kind of tweets were we expecting? "The after-party quilting circle was just lovely. And I so appreciated the beauty of the purity rings that everyone was wearing."

I also wondered, hey, who is this person and how come they got to kiss Johnny? And were there snuffles involved? And possibly alcohol?

So I checked it out and found that GoCheeksGo is a guy whose real name is Brad Bell, and who is kind of a YouTube star who posts videos of himself doing commentary on celebrities and current events, all of which lots of people knew way before I showed up. He's got a pretty good fan base and even an Internet world inspired by him called "Cheektopia" (kind of like Weirlandia). You can read more about him here.

I also found that he's brilliantly, hysterically funny. My two favorite videos: "The People vs. Jamie Oliver" and "Lady Gaga Brain Damage." His impersonation of Kristen Stewart from the Twilight series also is not to be missed.

And I learned that he used to date Adam Lambert, that they have since broken up but did some kind of presentation together that night at the GLAAD Awards, and that some say he's possibly been publicly crushing for a while now on our Johnny, of whom he is a fan.

So I like all that. Cheeks may not be everyone's cup of ... vodka, with a snort of coke?--and neither is Johnny. But ultimately, Cheeks seems to be about openness, acceptance, compassion, creativity, and humor, and that's all good.

So what's the problem?

Well, my guess is that Cheeks' tweet came off to some as a snarky way of "outing" Johnny. And that did NOT go over well.

I understand the concern. Johnny has repeatedly said that people should be seen for who they are, not what they are--a sentiment he echoed at both events this past weekend. He's also said,
"[T]here’s not one thing in my life that defines me except myself."

And he has steadfastly refused to be labeled as gay, despite the best efforts of many, including Chelsea Handler ("What do you like about Russia? Russian men? Or Russian women?" Johnny: "Russian culture") and Outsports ("[C]an’t we at least discern whether Barnes and Noble would put [your] book in the gay and lesbian section?" Johnny: "My hope is that Barnes and Noble will put it in the best-seller section") to super-glue that label firmly to his forehead.

At the Equality California event, Johnny said, "If I wanted to get married tomorrow, to a woman or to a man ... whatever makes me happy, I'm going to try to do it, and I want to have the freedom to do it. Everyone should have the freedom for that."

So since Johnny remains opaque on the subject, did Cheeks step out of bounds?

I think the more interesting question is: Would people have reacted differently if a woman had tweeted this?

Which, in my very humble opinion, exactly illustrates Johnny's point.

It shouldn't matter.

(Although it could be seen as bad manners to "kiss and tweet," whether you're a man or a woman.)

But I really think Cheeks didn't mean this little tweet to be anything other than flattering to Johnny. And possibly just a joke.

And I also think--just my opinion, for what it's worth, I could be wrong, and all other softly offered disclaimers--that having a strongly negative reaction to this tweet might, may I ever so gently suggest, with the greatest care and respect, possibly reveal a very, very tiny and deeply buried discomfort with gayness--so deeply hidden that it might even be unknown to a person.

And I'm not saying that this MUST BE the ONLY reason for a negative reaction nor am I directing this at anyone in particular. No offense to anyone, all opinions are just that--opinions--and again, I could be wrong. And I understand the ferocious protective response that Johnny inspires in so many of us.

But if a woman had tweeted this, would people have angrily interpreted it as Johnny being "outed" as a heterosexual?

I've been pondering that.

Anyway: My daughter found this T-shirt on Cafe Press that she really likes:

 
I like it too.

I'd also like a T-shirt that says:

Love is love.

Kisses are kisses.

People are people.

Labels are for file folders.

 

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Please remember to keep voting for Johnny

as "Most Addictive Reality Star" in the NewNowNext Awards!

Vote here or on Twitter by constantly tweeting #realityWEIR.

Voting ends June 4, which gives us plenty of time

to get Johnny oh, say, ONE MILLION votes!

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copyright 2010 / Binky and the Misfit Mimes / Lynn V. Ingogly / all rights reserved