You Knew This Was Coming: The William Levy Backlash Begins

I've been waiting for two somethings following William Levy's seeming instantaneous breakout on Season 14 of ABC's Dancing With The Stars. When one becomes so famous so fast, first, there's the requisite cover of US or People Magazine... Uh, hello, what's taking so long? Pop culture rags, fulfill your duty, please! People En Espanol has you trumped by years... The mainstream is calling.

Second, inevitably following such mass adoration comes a backlash. And yes, three weeks into the show—in which Jack Wagner was the second contestant eliminated—it's already begun. Wetpaint is reporting that after it was publicized Will would be showing his sexy chesty Monday night, a flush of dumbasses started tweeting en masse that the show is about dancing, not sex appeal. One example: "Judges need to concentrate on his footwork and not his shirtless body. Salsa is meant to be danced, not walked." Of course, these folks (I'm being oh so kind here, instead of the other descriptors that came to mind) need to look a little deeper: Our Sexiest Man Alive has got the moves and the body.

Meanwhile, The Huffington Post offers a story with the show's pro dancer Mark Ballas (who has won DWTS twice) huffing that "it's way too early to start calling Levy—or anyone for that matter—this season's frontrunner." Mind you, how ironic, given that he is teamed with the season's current frontrunner—Barbie doll Katherine Jenkins, whom I have made it clear I'm no fan of.

People, relax! It's TV. The only difference this makes in the big scheme of things is that, twice a week, for as long as he lasts, America gets to lap up the world's sexiest man alive. What's not to love? * 

Movie Trailer Released For Whitney Houston's 'Sparkle'

On Monday, NBC's Today show revealed the movie trailer for Whitney Houston's upcoming movie role in Sparkle, a remake of a 1976 flick that is scheduled to hit theaters August 17. (The YouTube version without commercials is below.)

The film stars Houston as the mother of three girls who form a singing group and struggle with fame and drug addiction.

The trailer below shows the daughters performing, including American Idol winner Jordin Sparks, who plays the title character. Houston is prominent throughout, at one point singing the classic gospel song "His Eye Is on the Sparrow." * See other versions of The Smoking Nun's collage below the jump...

Who Exits 'DWTS' Tonight? | William Levy 1, 2, 3 Weeks In...

William Levy continues to surge with sensual momentum on Season 14 of ABC's Dancing With the Stars, as he and partner Cheryl Burke scored 28/30 points during Monday evening's endless two-hour third episode. Mercy, that was exhausting...

With the public votes in Tuesday night, it's time for a second contestant to say bye bye, following last week's exit of tennis great Martina Navratilova (who was truly likeable, but not much of a graceful lady on her feet).

Before the fact, I'd love to say it'll be cry baby Katherine Jenkins who will be packing her bursting make-up bag—however, she seems to be a judges' favorite and locked in for the long haul. Her waltz last night reminded me of watching The Lawrence Welk Show from 1973 (much like Jack Wagner's hokey week one performance).

So I'm going with the Tuesday departure of either Sherri Shepherd, who dances somewhat like a less rhythmic Dancing Purple Hippo (well, she does!); anonymous, lost-in-the-crowd Melissa Gilbert; or clunky out of place Gavin DeGraw, who continues to look like a bozo with that silly trademark hat. Dude, if you're losing your hair, own up to it.

As always, I bless the great gift of Tivo, for preventing me from ever having to sit through reality TV live... not only the commercials, but those god-awful annoying judges. William, it's all about you, baby! And below, let's review Levy's three weeks of hot stuff... *

Week one...
Week two...

Week three... Ruff!! *

Brooklyn Heights Shoe Master: Then & Now

The Brooklyn Heights Shoe Master at 100 Henry Street, inside the St. George Hotel 2/3 subway entrance, sure looks like it’s been in place for decades, but there’s little public info about its history, other than a few Yelp reviews giving it a thumbs up.

One factoid: A phone number in a lighted box above the store is no longer relevant: 852-2016. Has the joint been there long enough to have had a 212 exchange? (Current tele is 718-243-2355.) Oh, and… psych! The image above was digitally aged to look as if it’s from a bygone era. See the actual April 2012 image below the jump. *

'DWTS' Week 3: Watch Will Levy Do What Comes Naturally: Salsa!

Week three of DWTS was awfully painful to watch... two hours of personal "inspirational" anecdotes intended to collectively moisten the audience's eyes—including a real pity party from Barbie doll Katherine Jenkins... as the judges gushed and screeched with annoying bravado. That earned she and partner Mark Ballas the high score of the evening: 29 out of 30. Ugh...

Ah, and then there's William Levy... doing what comes naturally to the hottest man alive. Below is his SALSA with partner Cheryl Burke, to the tune of Celia Cruz's "La Vida es un Carnaval." The duo scored 28 out of 30, including a 10 from judge Bruno, 9 from Carrie Ann and 9 from Len. And as far as Levy taking off that pesky shirt and showing off his real moves: an 11! *

We Love Sports: Gold Medalist Olympic Gymnast Danell Leyva

Miami-born gymnast and Gold Medalist Danell Levya (whose parents exiled from Cuba) is a best bet among the U.S. gymnastics team to win gold again at the 2012 Olympic Games this summer in London. We can certainly see why the 20 year old is made of the stuff that wins medals.

Levya is among only five men representing the 2012 United States gymnastics team, and with a glance at his buff body and those made-for-porn full lips, there might actually be a reason to tune in to sports, for heaven's sake. Who'd have imagined that was possible? *

Survey Says: Facebook Makes You An Idiot

A new study reveals that if you're between 16 and 40, Facebook could be making you a paranoid idiot. Baltimore’s Sheppard Pratt commissioned a study that says among 600 people surveyed, 51% reported that seeing photos of themselves on Facebook "makes them more body-conscious and 32% feel sad comparing Facebook photos of themselves to their friend’s photos."

Altogether now: Oh, waaaaaah. Dr. Steven Crawford, associate director of the Center for Eating Disorders at Sheppard Pratt offers, "On Facebook they are actively comparing their photos to their friends; 44% feel they have to be camera ready whenever they go out in public—if their picture ends up getting taken it will be okay if it ends up on Facebook."

Mind you, the survey also reports that 75% of those surveyed are already unhappy with their bodies, which means the entire study is a bunch of bunk. "Crawford recommends taking a break from Facebook if you can’t escape feelings of jealousy and sadness," the report says. The Smoking Nun adds, stop eating so many fucking cheese fries and chocolate cupcakes if you're so envious of your lean friends. Good god. *

Check Out The Smoking Nun's New WILLIAM LEVY Blog!

Good googamooga! The Smoking Nun has co-opted three years of dedicated coverage to William Levy to a new sub-blog: William Levy Ultimate Fans.

You can access it here! The site is also available by clicking the photo announcing the blog at the top of the Nun's home page, to the right.

All archived photos, collages and posts regarding the Sexiest Man Alive can now be found in one big package. Please check it out! *

'80s Flashback: Debbie Gibson

Nope, never been a huge fan of realty TV. Aside from a few seasons of American Idol, The Real Housewives of New York The Millionaire Matchmaker and this year's Dancing With The Stars, I'd rather floss with my toenails than sit through all the hype and bravado of most of these overblown ego-driven series.

However, (of all folks) my tax man (who knows my love for pop music) told me about Debbie Gibson appearing on this season's Celebrity Apprentice, and how business-minded and smart as a whip she is. That brought Debbie Debs to the front of my iTunes playlist for the 48754674983th time, with my Taylor-Made 26-track best-of, including such timeless nuggets as "Electric Youth," "Lost In Your Eyes," "Foolish Beat," "Silence Speaks A Thousand Words," "Out of the Blue," "No More Rhyme," "Sure," "Anything Is Possible," "Only Words" and "This So-Called Miracle." Ah... yes... the beautiful 1980s (and '90s).

I have a long, wondrous history with Debs, thanks to my years as a writer and columnist at Billboard, during which I sniffed out all things '80s. Her publicist David Salidor is a pal of mine, so I was granted access to Gibson numerous times... including seeing her Broadway turn in Cabaret, watching her rehearse for a club show (and interviewing her, then attending the show) and seeing her at one-off concert stops over more than a decade.

Gibson continues to be mighty relevant today; she's certainly more than a faded teen pop star. In addition to more than a dozen Broadway shows (Les Miserables, Grease, Gypsy, Chicago), in 2011 she starred with "teen pop rival" Tiffany in the tongue-in-cheek SyFy flick Mega Python vs. Gatoroid (featuring a fab catfight) and had a cameo as Katy Perry’s mom(!) in the music video for "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.).” She's also a longtime friend of the gays, with five of her nine top 40 hits also crossing to the club chart.

To this day, the 41-year-old Debbie holds the record for being the youngest artist to write, produce and perform a No. 1 single, "Foolish Beat," at the age of 17. And that beat, to this day, makes me oh so happy. (Photo collage: Homorazzi) *

Ryan Seabreast Continues To Inhabit Every Minute Of Your Life

If you hear the sound of thunder Tuesday morning, that would be the rumble of heterosexual Ryan Seabreast’s continuing world domination. While NBC’s "Today" show is stunting tomorrow a.m. with Sarah Palin as a "guest host"—to counter Katie Couric’s week-long guest co-anchor stint on "Good Morning America"—"Today" executive producer Jim Bell tweeted to the world Sunday evening that Seabreast, who is not gay, will also appear live on "Today" Tuesday morning to “make a big NBC announcement." Perhaps Ryan and Sarah are a last-minute entry to the 2012 G.O.P. ticket?

More likely, there’s news about the high-profile report that surfaced in December predicting Seabreast, a straight man, will become a co-anchor on "Today" (potentially replacing Matt Lauer or the flailing Ann Curry)... or that he might commandeer the 9 a.m. hour… or, suggests the Tampa Bay Times, a co-host NBC’s Olympics coverage… or at the least, take on a high-profile production role with the a.m. info-tainment program. The Washington Post reminds us that NBC is owned by Comcast, which also owns E!, the throne of Seabreast’s "E! News" and his posse of gruesome reality shows, a la the Kardashians and "Shahs Of Sunset."

Seabreast, who is a breeder and not a homosexual, obviously still has two or three minutes left in his schedule, alongside his hosting duties on "American Idol," his syndicated KIIS-FM Los Angeles morning show, "On Air with Ryan Seacrest" countdown and the face of ABC’s "New Year’s Rockin’ Eve." Good thing he hasn’t yet turned 40 (Ryan John Seabreast is 37). *

Hot In The Heights: CBS' 'Golden Boy' Theo James Filming This Week

Stalker alert! Filming for CBS’ upcoming TV series Golden Boy will take place this Thursday and Friday in Brooklyn Heights, just a block from my apartment. Yee-haw!

The upcoming hour-long drama about “about one cop’s meteoric rise from officer to detective to police commissioner,” stars Downton Abbey hottie Theo James (as Commissioner Walter Clark), alongside Pushing Daisies’ Chi McBride and True Blood’s Kevin Alejandro. Equally handsome Ryan Phillippe was originally set to lead, but withdrew after doubts of committing to a weekly series. Tsk, tsk! *

William Levy Preps For Week Three Of 'Dancing With The Stars'

Following William Levy's somewhat awkward ballroom "quickstep" serenade on week two of ABC's Dancing With The Stars—where poor Martina Navratilova was the first contestant eliminated—week three is right up Will's alley. Overnight star (har har) Levy and pro partner Cheryl Burke are slated to steam up the ballroom with a sexy, spicy Salsa, their second Latin dance of the new DWTS season. This follows his well-received gyrations in week one with a tailor-made Cha Cha Cha.

Gather.com notes that the actor has yet to achieve a perfect 10 from the fussy judges, "but he's certainly getting perfect scores from voters, who didn't allow his virtually unknown status in the U.S. to lead to an early competition departure." Week three airs April 2 at 8 p.m. Meanwhile, E! news will feature a profile of William on Thursday, April 5! *