8895: Tuesday Turnarounds.

Turning around the news in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Tracy Morgan has done a complete turnaround, now partnering with Russell Simmons and GLAAD to rebound from his anti-gay comedy routine. “Of all the sicknesses, there is probably none more abusive than homophobia,” said Morgan. “What I am most sad about is the comments I made about kids and bullying. I would never want any young person to think that I wasn’t on their side and if any young person thinks they can bully a young gay kid, come see me at 30 Rock. On the corner, I would be happy to meet you. Or Brooklyn if you can’t make it into Manhattan.” Great, now he’s picking fights with homophobic bullies.

• Wendy’s/Arby’s Group is seeking to split and go in separate fast food directions. The majority stake of the struggling Arby’s brand is being sold to Roark Capital Group, a private equity firm in Atlanta. Guess the accountants at Arby’s have not been in a Good Mood Food mindset.

8703: Apps And Ass.

Late-Breaking News in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Apple is hyping the upcoming release of the White iPhone 4. Sure, the company can’t meet iPad demands, but there’s no problem delivering the White iPhone.

• Kobe Bryant will officially contest his $100,000 fine for directing an anti-gay slur at a referee, saying the appeal is “standard protocol.” Well, Bryant better hope the judges don’t go to the replay to make the final call. Bryant also said, “The comment that I made, even though it wasn’t meant in the way it was perceived to be, is nonetheless wrong, so it’s important to own that. … The concern that I have is for those that follow what I say and are inspired by how I play or look to me as a role model or whatever it is, for them not to take what is said as a message of hate or a license to degrade or embarrass or tease. That’s something I don’t want to see happen. It’s important for me to talk about that issue because it’s OK to be who you are, and I don’t want this issue to be a part of something or to magnify something that shouldn’t be.” Don’t worry, Kobe, the public has always known you’re an immature prick with a mean streak.

8700: Kobe Bryant’s Foul Language Call.

From The Chicago Sun-Times…

NBA fines Kobe Bryant $100,000 for gay slur

NEW YORK — Kobe Bryant has been fined $100,000 by the NBA for using a derogatory gay term in frustration over a referee’s call.

NBA Commissioner David Stern announced the disciplinary action Wednesday, saying the distasteful term used by Bryant should never be tolerated.

TNT coverage showed Bryant using the slur when he couldn’t get Bennie Adams’ attention as he came to the bench after getting hit with a technical foul during the Lakers’ 102-93 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.

Bryant punched his chair before taking a seat on the bench and threw a towel on the court near his feet in frustration after picking up his fourth foul in the third quarter. He got his 15th technical of the season for arguing the call. If he gets another technical foul in the season finale at Sacramento on Wednesday, an NBA-mandated, one-game suspension would be for the first game of next season.

“What I said last night should not be taken literally. My actions were out of frustration during the heat of the game, period,” Bryant said in a statement issued through the Lakers on Wednesday. “The words expressed do NOT reflect my feelings towards the gay and lesbian communities and were NOT meant to offend anyone.”

Gay-rights groups issued statements denouncing Bryant’s actions.

“What a disgrace for Kobe Bryant to use such horribly offensive and distasteful language, especially when millions of people are watching,” the Human Rights Campaign, a leading gay-rights group, said.

Jarrett Barrios, president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, said in a separate statement that slurs have no place on or off the court.

“Professional sports players need to set a better example for young people who use words like this on the playground and in our schools, creating a climate of intolerance and hostility,” Barrios said. “The LA Lakers have a responsibility to educate their fans about why this word is unacceptable.”

8018: That’s So Pro-Gay.

Wanted to briefly overreact to the AdweekMedia Real Time Advertising Week coverage of the GLAAD Media Awards in Advertising event. Specifically, the story’s headline reads:

Levi’s, Progressive lead pack at GLAAD awards honoring pro-gay advertising

Why use the “pro-gay” qualifier? Granted, Madison Avenue has produced advertising that some deemed anti-gay, but those instances usually resulted from cultural cluelessness versus covert or blatant bias. Are minority agencies creating work that should be labeled pro-Black, pro-Latino, pro-Asian American, etc.? Is the typical Mad Ave shop pro-White?

8016: Gay Is Beautiful…?

Levi’s was among the honorees at the GLAAD Media Awards in Advertising event, picking up a prize for essentially ripping off a standard Black History Month concept.

7842: CBS Makes GLAAD Glad.

From The New York Times…

CBS Adds 3 Gay Roles

By Brian Stelter

LOS ANGELES — For years CBS has lagged behind other television networks in its inclusion of gay, lesbian and transgender characters. In the season that starts in September, however, a gay character will join “The Good Wife,” a lesbian character will join “Rules of Engagement” and a gay character will appear in the new sitcom “$#*! My Dad Says.”

Speaking last week to television reporters, Nina Tassler, CBS entertainment president, said the network was adding the characters to its prime-time programs “because we’re very disappointed in our track record so far.”

That record has been scrutinized by Glaad, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. For four years, the group’s Network Responsibility Index has assessed the quantity and quality of gay and lesbian representation on TV, and the results have not been positive for CBS. For the first two years, CBS was labeled adequate; for last year and the current one it was labeled failing.

In its most recent study, released in July, Glaad said that 7 percent of CBS’s prime-time hours included content that was “L.G.B.T.-inclusive,” for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, far fewer hours than the CW (35 percent), Fox (30 percent), ABC (26 percent) or NBC (13 percent) networks. “For several years,” Glaad said in the study, Ms. Tassler “has publicly promised greater L.G.B.T.-inclusion in scripted programming and has consistently failed to deliver.”

This year, though, Ms. Tassler announced the addition of the three characters, saying that when it became clear that none of CBS’s new shows included gay or lesbian characters, the network looked for other opportunities to “improve the numbers we have represented in the casts.” She added: “So we’re going to do that, and then we’ll continue to focus on it as we go into the development season. We’re not happy with ourselves.”

Rashad Robinson, senior director of media programs for Glaad, said there had been no change in tactics that may have prompted Ms. Tassler’s announcement, and no protest in the works. “I think this was part of the ongoing pressure that we’ve kept on CBS,” he said.