Jay-Z Tells David Letterman He Cried Happy Tears When His Mom Came Out as Gay | Vogue

Contents:

• JAY-Z SPEAKS TO DAVID LETTERMAN ABOUT HIS MOTHER COMG OUT AS GAY: ‘I CRIED BEE I WAS SO HAPPY’
• JAY-Z SAYS HE WEPT WH JOY WHEN HIS MOM CAME OUT AS GAY
• ‘BT SHOW’ STAR JOHN MICHAEL HIGGS: I WOULDN’T PLAY A GAY MAN AGA TODAYTHE LAST LAUGHMAARTEN BOER/NBC VIA GETTYJOHN MICHAEL HIGGS TELLS “THE LAST LGH” PODST ABOUT ANGERG DAVID LETTERMAN, GETTG TYPEST AS GAY, AND PLAYG A NEW MR. BELDG ON PEACK’S “SAVED BY THE BELL” REBOOT.MATT WILSTESENR EDORUPDATED DEC. 01, 2020 12:41PM EST / PUBLISHED DEC. 01, 2020 4:50AM EST JOHN MICHAEL HIGGS NEVER SET OUT TO BE A EDIAN, BUT HE WAS SO GOOD AT THAT STUCK.“THE ONLY REASON I’M STILL WORKG AS A EDIAN IS BEE I HAVE NEVER APPROACHED THE JOB OF EDY AS A IC,” HE SAYS ON THIS WEEK’S EPISO OF THE LAST LGH PODST. “I JT PLAY THE SCEN. I JT PLAY THE NEED AND THE BIGGER THE NEED EDY, THE FUNNIER IS.” THE 57-YEAR-OLD CHARACTER ACTOR MAY NOT BE A HOEHOLD NAME, BUT HE HAS AN UNMISTAKABLE FACE—PECIALLY FOR FANS OF HIS WORK CHRISTOPHER GUT’S FILMS, STARTG WH BT SHOW. IN THAT MOVIE, HIGGS PLAYED THE YOUNGER AND MORE FLAMBOYANT HALF OF A SHIH TZU-OWNG GAY UPLE WH MICHAEL MCKEAN, A PART HE DOUBTS HE WOULD BE ASKED TO PLAY TODAY.BUT 20 YEARS AFTER THAT FILM’S RELEASE, HE HAS SOMEHOW TRANSFORMED HIMSELF TO THE EDY WORLD’S GO-TO OVER-THE-HILL WHE GUY. WHICH IS HOW HE END UP PLAYG THE NEW MR. BELDG—AKA PRCIPAL RONALD TODDMAN—ON 2020’S BIG SAVED BY THE BELL REBOOT, STREAMG NOW ON PEACK. “I’M BASILLY A DUNK TANK CLOWN,” HIGGS SAYS OF HIS LATT ROLE. “I’M THE BUTT OF A LOT OF BASEMENTS. I GET MY STAT LOWERED A LOT, YOU KNOW, AS ALL GREAT EDY DO.” IT WAS THE NEW SERI’ SHOWNNER—AND FORMER 30 ROCK WRER—TRACEY WIGFIELD WHO OFFERED THE PART TO HIGGS AFTER STG HIM AS A SIARLY OUT-OF-TOUCH NEWS ANCHOR ON HER SHORT-LIVED, BUT BRILLIANTLY FUNNY S GREAT NEWS.“I TOLD HER TOWARD THE END OF GREAT NEWS, IF YOU LL THEN I’M G,” SAYS HIGGS, WHO GOT HIS BIG BREAK PLAYG DAVID LETTERMAN THE 1996 TV MOVIE THE LATE SHIFT. HE LLS WIGFIELD’S WORK “THE BT TELEVISN WRG” HE’S EVER HAD THE PLEASURE OF PERFORMG. “HER NSISTENCY AND HER ABILY TO WRE JOK, THAT IS EXCG FOR A IC PERFORMER LIKE MYSELF,” HE ADDS. “BUT WHAT’S REALLY EXCG IS HOW EP THE LGH N BE, BEE ’S ABOUT BASIC HUMAN NEEDS, DIGNI AND THGS LIKE THAT.”“I THK SHE ME AS A B OF A PUNCHG BAG,” HIGGS ADMS. “I AM AN OLD WHE MAN AND I’M FISHED. IT’S OVER. THE TI HAS RECED AND I’M STANDG THERE NAKED. AND I’M REALLY HAPPY TO LIVER THAT THE LATER PART OF MY REER.”HIGHLIGHTS OM OUR NVERSATN ARE BELOW AND YOU N LISTEN TO THE WHOLE THG RIGHT NOW BY SUBSCRIBG TO THE LAST LGH ON APPLE PODSTS OR WHEREVER YOU LISTEN TO PODSTS. ADVERTISEMENT WHAT DAVID LETTERMAN THOUGHT OF HIS PERFORMANCE ‘THE LATE SHIFT’“HE MA NO BON ABOUT WHAT HE THOUGHT OF MY PERFORMANCE. HE SAID EVERY NIGHT ON THE SHOW AND BEAT ME UP REALLY SOUNDLY, WHICH WAS SURREAL. BEE WHEN I TOOK THE JOB I WAS A STAGE ACTOR WH VERY LTLE MONEY. I WAS LIVG NEW YORK. I WAS EATG RAMEN AND SUDNLY I WAS BEG ATTACKED BY ONE OF THE MOST FAMO RICH PEOPLE ALIVE EVERY NIGHT. MY IENDS WOULD LL ME UP AND SAY, ‘DID YOU HEAR WHAT HE SAID ABOUT YOU LAST NIGHT?’ AND I HADN’T EVEN FISHED THE MOVIE YET! I ACTUALLY DON’T BLAME HIM. HE’S A PRIVATE PERSON. HE DIDN’T LIKE THE PROJECT. AND I WAS THE EASY TARGET BEE DIDN’T MATTER WHAT HAPPENED TO ME. IN HDSIGHT, I DON’T HAVE MUCH ANIMOSY OR BLAME FOR DAVID LETTERMAN. HE’S A PUBLIC PERSON SO HE SHOULD EXPECT TO HAVE SOME KD OF REPRENTATN THE MEDIA, WHICH HE DO. HE JT DIDN’T LIKE THIS ONE BEE SHOWED HIM AT HOME. HE DON’T WANT TO BE SEEN AT HOME, I DON'T BLAME HIM. I DON’T WANT TO BE SEEN AT HOME.” ON HIS HANCY TO PLAY A GAY CHARACTER ‘BT SHOW’“CHRIS [GUT] LLED ME UP AND HE SAYS, ‘LISTEN, I WANT YOU TO DO THIS MOVIE ABOUT DOGS UP VANUVER.’ AND I WAS LIKE, GREAT, THAT SOUNDS REALLY FUN. AND HE SAID, ‘THERE’S A GAY UPLE THE MOVIE AND I WANT YOU TO DO THAT.’ BEE I HAD JT DONE THIS GAY CHARACTER FOR THIS OTHER THG. I HAD DONE A LONG SERI OF GAY ROL ON STAGE NEW YORK. AND I HAVE NOTHG AGAST GAY AT ALL. IT’S JT THAT AS AN ACTOR, YOU WANT TO MOVE AROUND A LOT. I HAD JT DONE FOUR PROJECTS. AND ’S NOT LIKE GAY PEOPLE ARE ALL THE SAME. I WANT TO SPREAD MY WGS A LTLE B OR TAKE A BREAK AND THEN DO AGA. IT WAS ALSO A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT TIME. THE ATMOSPHERE NOW IS VERY DIFFERENT. SO I DOUBT THAT I WOULD EVEN BE ST AS A GAY CHARACTER BEE WOULD SEEM NOT PC OR SOMETHG LIKE THAT. THERE ARE SO MANY GREAT ACTORS OUT THERE WHO ARE GAY. IT WOULD FEEL FUNKY THE DAYS, I THK, AND PROBABLY SHOULD.”WHAT HE LEARNED OM WORKG WH THE LATE FRED WILLARD ADVERTISEMENT “IT’S A GREAT LOSS. AND A BIG FLUENCE ON ME, ON MY OWN EDIC REER. AND TO SOME EXTENT, I N’T SAY I’VE HERED A MANTLE, BUT I’M VERY MUCH HIS WAKE AND HIS FOOTSTEPS BEE OF THE TYP OF THGS I‘VE BEEN DOG. THERE’S A GREAT LE THAT MART MULL SAID, WHICH IS FRED DIDN’T E HIS TURN SIGNALS. AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT HE WAS AN CREDIBLY POSIVE PERFORMER. AND THAT WAS ALWAYS NTRAST TO THE ABSOLUTELY RIDICULO THGS HE WOULD SAY. YOU WOULD HAVE TO NSTANTLY BE SQUARG THE TWO. HE LOOKED LIKE A PATG OF A PESTRIAN. IF YOU GAVE AN 11-YEAR-OLD A PENCIL AND SAID, DRAW A MAN, THEY WOULD DRAW FRED WILLARD. SO WAS BETIFUL TO WATCH HIM WORK. HE WAS A VERY GENTLE, A VERY LOVELY, WARM PERSON. SHY, AS MANY GREAT EDIANS ARE. AND HE HAD A VERY HIGH BAR FOR HIMSELF. HE WANTED EVERYTHG TO FIRE. I N’T IMAGE WHAT KD OF A PICKLE THAT WOULD PUT HIM . HE RO VERY WELL. WHEN I GIVE MYSELF A HIGH BAR, THAT EVERYTHG HAS TO BE GREAT, ’S WEARG. IT’S VERY HARD TO STA AND FRED DID . HE PUT THAT BAR UP AND HE CLEARED EVERY SGLE TIME. IT’S A GREAT REER.”NEXT WEEK ON THE LAST LGH PODST: STAND-UP EDIAN JSI KIRSON. MATT WILSTE
• DAVID LETTERMAN GAY RUMORS?ONLE POLL SHOWS 77 PERCENT DON’T BELIEVE HE’S GAY
• IS DAVID LETTERMAN GAY
• ANRSON COOPER TALKS WH DAVID LETTERMAN ABOUT BEG GAY
• GAY GROUP DEMANDS LETTERMAN APOLOGIZE FOR MOCKG TRANSGENR APPOTEE AMANDA SIMPSON

JAY-Z SPEAKS TO DAVID LETTERMAN ABOUT HIS MOTHER COMG OUT AS GAY: ‘I CRIED BEE I WAS SO HAPPY’

JAY-Z rapped about his mother g out as gay on the “4:44” track “Se, ” and he explas to Letterman jt how happy the experience ma him. ” The rapper adms he knew beforehand that his mother was gay, but that she never opened up to him about one on one until last year. In a preview for the Friday episo of Netflix’s My Gut Needs No Introductn Wh David Letterman, the mician reflects back on his mom’s cisn to e out as gay later life.

JAY-Z SAYS HE WEPT WH JOY WHEN HIS MOM CAME OUT AS GAY

”Jay-Z went on to say that he knew his mom was gay, but that was “the first time we had the nversatn and the first time I heard her say she loved her partner. In that movie, Higgs played the younger and more flamboyant half of a Shih Tzu-owng gay uple wh Michael McKean, a part he doubts he would be asked to play 20 years after that film’s release, he has somehow transformed himself to the edy world’s go-to over-the-hill whe guy.

‘BT SHOW’ STAR JOHN MICHAEL HIGGS: I WOULDN’T PLAY A GAY MAN AGA TODAYTHE LAST LAUGHMAARTEN BOER/NBC VIA GETTYJOHN MICHAEL HIGGS TELLS “THE LAST LGH” PODST ABOUT ANGERG DAVID LETTERMAN, GETTG TYPEST AS GAY, AND PLAYG A NEW MR. BELDG ON PEACK’S “SAVED BY THE BELL” REBOOT.MATT WILSTESENR EDORUPDATED DEC. 01, 2020 12:41PM EST / PUBLISHED DEC. 01, 2020 4:50AM EST JOHN MICHAEL HIGGS NEVER SET OUT TO BE A EDIAN, BUT HE WAS SO GOOD AT THAT STUCK.“THE ONLY REASON I’M STILL WORKG AS A EDIAN IS BEE I HAVE NEVER APPROACHED THE JOB OF EDY AS A IC,” HE SAYS ON THIS WEEK’S EPISO OF THE LAST LGH PODST. “I JT PLAY THE SCEN. I JT PLAY THE NEED AND THE BIGGER THE NEED EDY, THE FUNNIER IS.” THE 57-YEAR-OLD CHARACTER ACTOR MAY NOT BE A HOEHOLD NAME, BUT HE HAS AN UNMISTAKABLE FACE—PECIALLY FOR FANS OF HIS WORK CHRISTOPHER GUT’S FILMS, STARTG WH BT SHOW. IN THAT MOVIE, HIGGS PLAYED THE YOUNGER AND MORE FLAMBOYANT HALF OF A SHIH TZU-OWNG GAY UPLE WH MICHAEL MCKEAN, A PART HE DOUBTS HE WOULD BE ASKED TO PLAY TODAY.BUT 20 YEARS AFTER THAT FILM’S RELEASE, HE HAS SOMEHOW TRANSFORMED HIMSELF TO THE EDY WORLD’S GO-TO OVER-THE-HILL WHE GUY. WHICH IS HOW HE END UP PLAYG THE NEW MR. BELDG—AKA PRCIPAL RONALD TODDMAN—ON 2020’S BIG SAVED BY THE BELL REBOOT, STREAMG NOW ON PEACK. “I’M BASILLY A DUNK TANK CLOWN,” HIGGS SAYS OF HIS LATT ROLE. “I’M THE BUTT OF A LOT OF BASEMENTS. I GET MY STAT LOWERED A LOT, YOU KNOW, AS ALL GREAT EDY DO.” IT WAS THE NEW SERI’ SHOWNNER—AND FORMER 30 ROCK WRER—TRACEY WIGFIELD WHO OFFERED THE PART TO HIGGS AFTER STG HIM AS A SIARLY OUT-OF-TOUCH NEWS ANCHOR ON HER SHORT-LIVED, BUT BRILLIANTLY FUNNY S GREAT NEWS.“I TOLD HER TOWARD THE END OF GREAT NEWS, IF YOU LL THEN I’M G,” SAYS HIGGS, WHO GOT HIS BIG BREAK PLAYG DAVID LETTERMAN THE 1996 TV MOVIE THE LATE SHIFT. HE LLS WIGFIELD’S WORK “THE BT TELEVISN WRG” HE’S EVER HAD THE PLEASURE OF PERFORMG. “HER NSISTENCY AND HER ABILY TO WRE JOK, THAT IS EXCG FOR A IC PERFORMER LIKE MYSELF,” HE ADDS. “BUT WHAT’S REALLY EXCG IS HOW EP THE LGH N BE, BEE ’S ABOUT BASIC HUMAN NEEDS, DIGNI AND THGS LIKE THAT.”“I THK SHE ME AS A B OF A PUNCHG BAG,” HIGGS ADMS. “I AM AN OLD WHE MAN AND I’M FISHED. IT’S OVER. THE TI HAS RECED AND I’M STANDG THERE NAKED. AND I’M REALLY HAPPY TO LIVER THAT THE LATER PART OF MY REER.”HIGHLIGHTS OM OUR NVERSATN ARE BELOW AND YOU N LISTEN TO THE WHOLE THG RIGHT NOW BY SUBSCRIBG TO THE LAST LGH ON APPLE PODSTS OR WHEREVER YOU LISTEN TO PODSTS. ADVERTISEMENT WHAT DAVID LETTERMAN THOUGHT OF HIS PERFORMANCE ‘THE LATE SHIFT’“HE MA NO BON ABOUT WHAT HE THOUGHT OF MY PERFORMANCE. HE SAID EVERY NIGHT ON THE SHOW AND BEAT ME UP REALLY SOUNDLY, WHICH WAS SURREAL. BEE WHEN I TOOK THE JOB I WAS A STAGE ACTOR WH VERY LTLE MONEY. I WAS LIVG NEW YORK. I WAS EATG RAMEN AND SUDNLY I WAS BEG ATTACKED BY ONE OF THE MOST FAMO RICH PEOPLE ALIVE EVERY NIGHT. MY IENDS WOULD LL ME UP AND SAY, ‘DID YOU HEAR WHAT HE SAID ABOUT YOU LAST NIGHT?’ AND I HADN’T EVEN FISHED THE MOVIE YET! I ACTUALLY DON’T BLAME HIM. HE’S A PRIVATE PERSON. HE DIDN’T LIKE THE PROJECT. AND I WAS THE EASY TARGET BEE DIDN’T MATTER WHAT HAPPENED TO ME. IN HDSIGHT, I DON’T HAVE MUCH ANIMOSY OR BLAME FOR DAVID LETTERMAN. HE’S A PUBLIC PERSON SO HE SHOULD EXPECT TO HAVE SOME KD OF REPRENTATN THE MEDIA, WHICH HE DO. HE JT DIDN’T LIKE THIS ONE BEE SHOWED HIM AT HOME. HE DON’T WANT TO BE SEEN AT HOME, I DON'T BLAME HIM. I DON’T WANT TO BE SEEN AT HOME.” ON HIS HANCY TO PLAY A GAY CHARACTER ‘BT SHOW’“CHRIS [GUT] LLED ME UP AND HE SAYS, ‘LISTEN, I WANT YOU TO DO THIS MOVIE ABOUT DOGS UP VANUVER.’ AND I WAS LIKE, GREAT, THAT SOUNDS REALLY FUN. AND HE SAID, ‘THERE’S A GAY UPLE THE MOVIE AND I WANT YOU TO DO THAT.’ BEE I HAD JT DONE THIS GAY CHARACTER FOR THIS OTHER THG. I HAD DONE A LONG SERI OF GAY ROL ON STAGE NEW YORK. AND I HAVE NOTHG AGAST GAY AT ALL. IT’S JT THAT AS AN ACTOR, YOU WANT TO MOVE AROUND A LOT. I HAD JT DONE FOUR PROJECTS. AND ’S NOT LIKE GAY PEOPLE ARE ALL THE SAME. I WANT TO SPREAD MY WGS A LTLE B OR TAKE A BREAK AND THEN DO AGA. IT WAS ALSO A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT TIME. THE ATMOSPHERE NOW IS VERY DIFFERENT. SO I DOUBT THAT I WOULD EVEN BE ST AS A GAY CHARACTER BEE WOULD SEEM NOT PC OR SOMETHG LIKE THAT. THERE ARE SO MANY GREAT ACTORS OUT THERE WHO ARE GAY. IT WOULD FEEL FUNKY THE DAYS, I THK, AND PROBABLY SHOULD.”WHAT HE LEARNED OM WORKG WH THE LATE FRED WILLARD ADVERTISEMENT “IT’S A GREAT LOSS. AND A BIG FLUENCE ON ME, ON MY OWN EDIC REER. AND TO SOME EXTENT, I N’T SAY I’VE HERED A MANTLE, BUT I’M VERY MUCH HIS WAKE AND HIS FOOTSTEPS BEE OF THE TYP OF THGS I‘VE BEEN DOG. THERE’S A GREAT LE THAT MART MULL SAID, WHICH IS FRED DIDN’T E HIS TURN SIGNALS. AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT HE WAS AN CREDIBLY POSIVE PERFORMER. AND THAT WAS ALWAYS NTRAST TO THE ABSOLUTELY RIDICULO THGS HE WOULD SAY. YOU WOULD HAVE TO NSTANTLY BE SQUARG THE TWO. HE LOOKED LIKE A PATG OF A PESTRIAN. IF YOU GAVE AN 11-YEAR-OLD A PENCIL AND SAID, DRAW A MAN, THEY WOULD DRAW FRED WILLARD. SO WAS BETIFUL TO WATCH HIM WORK. HE WAS A VERY GENTLE, A VERY LOVELY, WARM PERSON. SHY, AS MANY GREAT EDIANS ARE. AND HE HAD A VERY HIGH BAR FOR HIMSELF. HE WANTED EVERYTHG TO FIRE. I N’T IMAGE WHAT KD OF A PICKLE THAT WOULD PUT HIM . HE RO VERY WELL. WHEN I GIVE MYSELF A HIGH BAR, THAT EVERYTHG HAS TO BE GREAT, ’S WEARG. IT’S VERY HARD TO STA AND FRED DID . HE PUT THAT BAR UP AND HE CLEARED EVERY SGLE TIME. IT’S A GREAT REER.”NEXT WEEK ON THE LAST LGH PODST: STAND-UP EDIAN JSI KIRSON. MATT WILSTE

”On his hancy to play a gay character ‘Bt Show’“Chris [Gut] lled me up and he says, ‘Listen, I want you to do this movie about dogs up Vanuver. And he said, ‘There’s a gay uple the movie and I want you to do that. ’ Bee I had jt done this gay character for this other thg.

I had done a long seri of gay rol on stage New York. And I have nothg agast gay at all.

DAVID LETTERMAN GAY RUMORS?ONLE POLL SHOWS 77 PERCENT DON’T BELIEVE HE’S GAY

And ’s not like gay people are all the same. So I doubt that I would even be st as a gay character bee would seem not PC or somethg like that.

There are so many great actors out there who are gay.

After Paris Hilton was ught cricizg the gay muny an d rerdg, she apologized, sayg, "Gay people are the strongt and most spirg people I know. Acrdg to reports, she was the r wh a gay man who was showg her the gay datg app, Grdr.

IS DAVID LETTERMAN GAY

In the d, you n hear Hilton say, "Gay guys are the hornit people the world. I would be so sred if I were a gay guy. "Her publicist nfirmed that the rerdg was fact Hilton but emphasized the sociale was not homophobic.

In an apology statement, Hilton said, "I am so sorry and so upset that I ed pa to my gay iends, fans, and their fai.

ANRSON COOPER TALKS WH DAVID LETTERMAN ABOUT BEG GAY

Gay people are the strongt and most spirg people I know. Sarah Silverman ed a gay slur a 2010 tweet. I ed to say 'gay' all the time like, 'That's so gay!

I have gay iends.

GAY GROUP DEMANDS LETTERMAN APOLOGIZE FOR MOCKG TRANSGENR APPOTEE AMANDA SIMPSON

I jt say gay. Emem has been cricized for g gay slurs his songs, but he sists he isn't homophobic. "This wasn't the first time rapper had been cricized for g a gay slut.

Emem, however, sists he is not homophobic. "Anyone who's followed my mic knows I'm agast bulli — that's why I hate that f---g bully Tmp — and I hate the ia that a kid who's gay might get s--- for .

Mel Gibson mocked how gay men act the early '90s.