By Billy Masters

"What the hell? Since when did I become the spokesperson for nappy-headed hos?"

—Wanda Sykes explains to Jay Leno that her hair is not nappy — it's curly! By the way, we'll show the entire clip on our Web site.

I have let you down, my faithful fans. When we first proposed this very column to the national gay publications, they laughed and said, "That's not our thing." Funny how "things" change. Instead, we became the first column syndicated exclusively to regional gay publications. When we hit the Web (due to the insistence of the beauteous Trev), many of our papers were still receiving the column via fax! But not our readers—hits on our site have steadily grown. For the past 11 years, you've looked to Billy Masters to be at the forefront of the gossip game. These days, it seems everyone with a bad dye job is a "writer" or, at the very least, a cut-and-paste-er! The fans have been asking for something new. Well, the wait is over. Whether you are a longtime reader or a veritable newcomer, head on over to www.BillyMasters.com for our new feature. We'll leave it at that.

The big news this week is Rosie O'Donnell. Oh, we're not talking about The View—we'll get to that. Rosie has her eye on a prize even more coveted than a co-hosting seat in the Cryptkeeper's Lair: a Bloggers Choice Award (found at www.BloggersChoiceAwards.com). For the past year, Rosie's Web site (www.Rosie.com) has grown by leaps and bounds. The best feature is her daily Video Blog, which delivers O'Donnell's uncensored "view" of current events, in addition to answering live questions. Given her cyber-presence, Rosie wants to win the award, which will be announced on June 2 (ironically, a week before the Daytime Emmys). Since Ro doesn't want to put a link on her Web site or campaign blatantly because she thinks it's "tacky," we'll post the link on BillyMasters.com. At this writing, she is far ahead of the second-ranked "celebrity"—Wil Wheaton!

Speaking of video blogs, check out my buddy Ben Patrick Johnson's at www.BenPatrickJohnson.com (it's also available on YouTube, iTunes and linked to our MySpace page). Benji is a distinguished presence in the gay community, and a big-time voice-over announcer. His slick daily video blog (produced from his own in-home studio) could give Katie Couric a run for her money—assuming she still has a job!

Now let's get to The View. You all know Rosie signed a one-year contract because, frankly, she didn't want to be locked in for multiple years. Networks never sign single-year contracts, but Barbara Walters strong-armed ABC into complying—keep that point in mind. Come renewal time, Rosie was happy to sign another one-year contract. The network wanted three. They'd go as low as two years, but O'Donnell wasn't budging. An impasse was hit, and Rosie walked away from the table. Rumor has it, ABC could still swoop in with a one-year deal at the last minute. In the interim, Rosie could go after her dream job—replacing Bob Barker on The Price is Right. But since she wants to stay in NYC, she's opting for a return to Broadway, either in a play with Danny Aiello or in Les Miz (I kid you not).

Finally, my kinda headline—"I was Larry Birkhead's secret gay lover!" Phew—for a second, I was starting to think my gaydar was on the fritz. This explains the highlights! Former male model Kerrick Ross claims to have dated Larry in 2000 back when Birkhead still lived in Louisville, Ky.—and he's got a photo with Larry to prove it. Oy! The boys dated for two months and had sex about 10 times—so obviously they never traveled to Atlanta. In an exclusive interview with the National Enquirer, Ross states that although he stole Birkhead away from another guy, Larry was also dating women throughout their torrid two-month tryst. Legally speaking, none of this means anything or takes away from Larry's parenting skills. It simply means it's not the first time he's been a daddy! I'll run photos of the ambiguously gay duo, as well as some of Kerrick solo, on BillyMasters.com.

Speaking of hot daddies, we just got a bunch of photos of a very buff shirtless (and wet) Hugh Jackman playing with his kids on Sydney's Brontë Beach—obviously named after Emily and Charlotte. Fans of a real man can enjoy these snaps on our Web site.

Our first "Ask Billy" question comes from Randy in Kentucky: "Did you read that story about Anderson Cooper showering in his underwear? Tell me he's not that much of a freak!"

That story originated from my sister-in-gossip, the irrepressible Janet Charlton. Her report (on www.JanetCharltonsHollywood.com) stated that when Andy works out at Equinox in NYC, he showers in tight boxer briefs to avoid any surreptitious cell phone photos of his privates. Of course, he could just go home and shower like a normal person. Anyway, a spy for www.Towleroad.com (run by the multi-talented Andy Towle, who used to like me) reports that the undies are gone when behind the confines of frosted glass. Phew!

The next question comes from Gary in Baltimore, who writes: "I was just in London and in the airport they were hanging a poster of a stunning hunk in a towel advertising some candy. Could you find out who he is and what the candy is?"

The hunk is Jason Lewis, previously on Sex and the City and currently on Brothers and Sisters (playing gay, incidentally). The candy is Aero Bubble from Nestlés, and Jason not only cavorts in the print ad, but also shows quite a bit of skin in the TV commercial, which a U.K. fan sent us. We'll post both on BillyMasters.com. By the way, you may not have recognized him since he's sporting his natural hair color—something Larry and I rarely do.

Could it be that the publicist for a certain small-screen star has been working overtime? That in itself wouldn't be surprising given his client's track record. But this mouthpiece was able to get a police record not only suppressed, but expunged. A sizeable donation to the right people did the trick. Remember: The more you party with paramours who charge by the hour, the more chance you have of "dating" an undercover cop!

When our rug-munching Romeo is caught in cuffs, it's definitely time to end another column. But wait, I haven't told you the big news. For the third consecutive year, Billy Masters will be hosting L.A. Pride. And, we're not talking about one day, we're talking all weekend! On June 9-10, I will be joined by the lovely and talented diva Momma for two evenings of entertainment on the Washington Mutual Main Stage (I'm assuming someone sent a check). Buddies Marcellas Reynolds and Ben Patrick Johnson will be hosting during the day (I'm more of a night owl). You can go to www.LAPride.org for the complete schedule. While online, head to www.BillyMasters.com. If you've got specific questions, or tips, drop a note to Billy@BillyMasters.com and I promise to get back to you before Anderson (or Larry) shows up at Pride! So, until next time, remember, one man's filth is another man's bible.