Karl Lagerfeld Muse Baptiste Giabiconi's Naked Wallpaper

The upcoming issue of Wallpaper features a peel-away cover shot by Karl Lagerfeld (and a 27-page inside spread) of his new muse Baptiste Giabiconi. Last March it was reported that Lagerfeld had left behind his frequent muse, model Brad Kroenig, for the French model.

News: Mehcad Brooks, Aral Sea, Christian Bale, Hate Crimes, Utah

Senate to vote on hate crimes bill this week. What you can do. Text 'EndHate' to 69866 to tell Congress to vote YES.

Satellite photos released documenting death of Aral Sea in man-made engineering disaster.

Gaunt: Christian Bale reveals shocking weight, hair loss for new film.

Shooting of transgender Syracuse woman Latiesha Green recounted at hate crime murder trial.

Governor David Paterson pushes for September vote on marriage equality in New York.

Neil Patrick Harris confirmed as host of Emmys: "I’m looking forward to the challenge of the show — adding my own voice to it, while honoring the nominees and the entire year in television. But which voice to choose? I’m torn between gangsta, foppish Brit, and robot. Really proud of my robot. We’ll see what happens on the night."

Illinois man who stabbed neighbor 61 times acquitted using 'gay panic' defense: "Joseph Biedermann fatally stabbed his Hoffman Estates neighbor....On Friday, a Cook County jury acquitted him of first-degree murder, buying his claim that he was defending himself against an unwanted sexual advance, his mother confirmed Saturday. Biedermann, 30, killed Terrance Michael Hauser, 38, early on March 5, 2008, in the Barrington Lakes apartment complex on Hassell Road, where they lived in separate units."

David Beckham flaunts Speedo on holiday.

Karl Lagerfeld, bodyguard Sebastian, and model companion Baptiste Giabiconi take in St. Tropez.

Bouquet thrown at Italian wedding causes plane to crash.

Milwaukee's downtown post office removes historical Gay Pride exhibit after four hours: "Letter carrier Dale J. Schuster resigned last week from his position as chairman of the post office diversity team. Postal rules say he can't talk to the media, but in an e-mail to [Milwaukee Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Community Center director Maggi] Cage he said, 'In light of the controversy over the pride month display being taken down, I had no other recourse than to resign. I believe it is important that everybody is treated with dignity and respect, and that nobody should feel excluded.'"

Daylight floods plane as hole opens in plane ceiling on Nashville-Baltimore Southwest Airlines flight.

Dick Cheney's secret CIA assassination program confirmed.

Awkward: Obama's teleprompter crashes to ground.

Mehcad Brooks lets it all hang out on True Blood (nsfw).

Equality Utah names Brandie Balken interim director.

Amnesty International condemns adoption of homophobic legislation in Lithuania: "The law classifies public information about homosexuality and bisexuality alongside material that portrays physical or psychological violence and the display of dead or mutilated bodies. Also prohibited is material that 'encourages gambling, encourages and suggests participation in the games of chance, lotteries and other games that imply easy win' or 'promotes bad eating, sanitary and physical passivity habits'."

Karl Lagerfeld Leaves Muse Brad Kroenig for Younger Model

New York magazine's The Cut reports that designer Karl Lagerfeld has dumped his longtime muse Brad Kroenig (who was the focus of an entire book of Lagerfeld photographs) for French model Baptiste Giabiconi. Giabiconi, who Lagerfeld shot for the photo above in this month's French Vogue) has become part of Lagerfeld's entourage. They were photographed, along with Lagerfeld's longtime bodyguard Sebastian (who remains Lagerfeld's hottest accessory imho) in New York last November (below).

The Cut writes: "Harriet Mays Powell met Baptiste when she was in France hanging out with Karl in the Chanel showroom. He's a sweet fellow and comes from the South of France. 'He looks like me — well, maybe a better-looking version of me from a long time ago,' Karl told her."

A few more photos of Baptiste, AFTER THE JUMP...

News: Tom Brady, Gay Bashings, Obama Threat, Providence, XBox

Chicago man targeted Obama with letters containing HIV-infected blood?: "In the weeks leading up to Obama's inauguration, Saad Hussein, an Ethiopian refugee in his late 20's, sent an envelope addressed to 'Barack Obama' to offices of the Illinois government in Springfield, Ill., according to court documents. The envelope contained a series of unusual items, including a letter with reddish stains and an admission ticket for Obama's election-night celebration in Chicago's Grant Park."

A wealth of new Wolverine images.

Tom Brady says "I Do".

Skip Bayless stands by Troy Aikman gay rumor.

New York gay group expresses optimism over marriage equality chances this year.

Rihanna photographed in Mexico for first time following Chris Brown attack.

Same-sex marriage arguments heard in Providence, Rhode Island.

Openly gay Liverpool City Councilman Steve Radford speaks out about acquittal verdict in hate crime killing of teen Michael Causer: "The question has to be asked whether the 10-2 jury not-guilty verdict into Gavin Alker means Merseyside society thinks it’s acceptable to beat up gay people? Because, if the evidence was so clear and the people involved acknowledge their part in the attack, we need to ask if the real problem is in Merseyside society. This signals that being gay means you don’t have the right to be free on the street, that’s the sad fact."

Trial to begin for Jonathan Russell Gunter in brutal beating of gay man in Oak Lawn neighborhood of Dallas: "Dean, 43, is awaiting yet another surgery to repair and replace teeth, but perhaps the most devastating  impact of the brutal gay-bashing he suffered seven months ago has been psychological. Once a very active, fun-loving person, according to his friends, Dean said he now has little energy and suffers from depression. 'Anybody who’s been around me before and gets around me now is going to realize that I’m different,' Dean said recently...Jonathan Russell Gunter, 32, is charged with aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony punishable by five to 99 years in prison." 

Vigil set for Seattle gay bashing victim at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 28 by the pillars on Boren Avenue and Pike Street.

Rehab for Jonathan Rhys-Meyers.

Microsoft stands by as lesbian harassed on XBox 360.

PBDs, McAllen, Texas gay bar, celebrates 25 years: "The bar, located at 2908 N. Ware Rd., has done some re-inventing since owner Drew Clark on February 18, 1984, choosing to brand it with the acronym for his nickname, poor baby Drew."

Fred Phelps and the WBC to be counter-protested at Chicago-area university this Sunday. Incidentally, River Forest is this blogger's home town.

Supreme Court ruling suggests Casper, Wyoming may never have to accept Fred Phelps' hateful Matthew Shepard in hell monument.

Karl Lagerfelt finger puppet does New York Fashion Week.

Pro-gay Catholic Brazilian priest suspended for supporting free distribution of condoms: "The Rev. Luiz Couto has been suspended from his work in the northeastern state of Paraiba. Archdiocese spokesman Eisenhower de Albuquerque says the church took the action because of Couto's public stance 'in favor of the use of condoms, his support of gay marriage and his opposition to priestly celibacy.' Couto spokesman Jose Moreira says the priest is not a gay-marriage advocate but is an opponent of discrimination 'including discrimination against homosexuals.'"

Homophobic workshop held in Uganda: "Stephen Langa, Executive Director of a Ugandan group, Family Life Network, has announced that his group will be holding a workshop from March 5th to 7th to provide insight on the causes and treatment of homosexuality; provide practical tips on how to prevent homosexuality behaviour in youth; expose the homosexual agenda, their tactics, strategy and methods of recruitment; and provide information and guidelines on how to respond to the homosexual agenda in an organization, community or nation."

News: Eartha Kitt, Holiday Inn, Kanye West, Swimming, Rocco Dispirito

Tennessee hotel employee David Hill says he was fired for being gay: "They literally said to me because of my orientation and my alternative lifestyle, that I was not a fit for the hotel. The owner (Tarun Surti) said, 'I don't give a damn. They can sue me. I will not have any of the gays in leadership roles in my hotel.' And that's a quote."

Karl Lagerfeld lets you see all the way through to Marlon Teixeira for Dior Homme.

The day Eartha (Kitt) stood still.

In case you were wondering what Rocco Dispirito's packing.

Lesbian couple invited on Inaugural Whistle Stop Tour: "Today the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee announced the names of 16 families who will join President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Biden on their Whistle Stop Tour to D.C. the Saturday before the inauguration. Lesbian couple Lisa Hazirjian and her partner Michelle have been invited to join the Whistle Stop Tour and appear onstage with Obama and Biden during events. Hazirjian, who is from Ohio, serves as an at-large board member of Equality Ohio, as a member of the Cleveland Stonewall Democrats and as a volunteer for Cleveland Families Count, an organization formed to defend the new domestic partner registry in the city."

Four-yolk egg found.

UK Sun: Sacha Baron-Cohen sure to piss off religious groups with Bruno film. "The gay fashion correspondent from Austria, played by Sacha looks set to infuriate religious groups with one of the key characters a black model called Jesus who wears a loincloth and a crown of thorns. Test audiences in the US have seen an early edit and the more religious members at the screenings failed to see the funny side."

Kanye West is pretty sure he'll pose naked in the next two years.

A preview of Kelly Clarkson's new single "My Life Would Suck Without You." Here's the album cover art, BTW.

Police hunt gay basher near Manchester, UK: "Police are hunting a hompohobic thug who beat up a man outside a Preston takeaway. A man made anti-gay taunts towards the 19-year-old student in the Spice of Bengal in Friargate at 3am on January 6. He then repeatedly punched the teenager outside the takeaway, leaving him needing hospital treatment for cuts and bruises to his face. The offender, who fled in a taxi, is described as about 19, 5ft 8in, slim and blonde."

With a Z: Liza Minnelli to join Neil Patrick Harris on Saturday Night Live?

Obama bringing Wii to the White House.

The running Jake.

Charles Peyton (aka Jeff Stryker) at war with his neighbors: "Peyton’s complaints boil down to his allegation that the folk club generates Studio 54–type pandemonium normally associated with large late-night urban venues: noise, drugs, unruly patrons, vandalism, graffiti, public urination and parking headaches. And because, among other infractions, Kulak was cited several years ago for not having a sound wall or offsite parking plan, Peyton habitually describes himas a criminal operating an outlaw club. In the past, Peyton also has claimed that noise from the club interfered with his attempts to write an autobiography in his next-door office."

Scientologist Cruise on Jett Travolta death: "I just don't have the words for it."

16-year-old smashes decade-old Ian Thorpe swimming record: "Kenneth To took almost half a second off the Australian Age boys 16 years 200m individual medley record with a 2min 04.31sec swim on Wednesday night at Sydney Olympic Park. The record had stood at 2:04.58 since 1999 when a teenage Thorpe was obliterating his opposition."

Karl Lagerfeld's Fur Defense: Animals Would Kill Us if They Could

Karl Lagerfeld has defended the use of fur in his garments in an interview on UK Radio 4:

"German-born Lagerfeld, 75, a contemporary of the late Yves Saint Laurent, said that he did not himself wear fur. But he defended the practice, saying there was 'an industry who lives from that'. Hunters in the north 'make a living having learnt nothing else than hunting', he said, 'killing those beasts who would kill us if they could.' Animals should be killed 'nicely' if at all possible, said Lagerfeld, who admitted to being queasy about eating meat. 'I can hardly eat meat because it has to look like something what it was not when it was alive,' he said. He concluded: 'In a meat-eating world, wearing leather for shoes and clothes and even handbags, the discussion of fur is childish.'"