Ben Cohen is a Cuddle Master: PHOTOS

Anti-bullying champion, rugby star, and LGBT ally Ben Cohen has been hired as a model in a new "Cuddle Mastery" campaign from Comfort Zone UK, an ecologically-friendly laundry fabric conditioner, and shared a few photos from the campaign via Facebook.

We'd say he's mastered it.

A couple more shots, AFTER THE JUMP...

News: Iran, Lone Gunman, Rhode Island, 'The Gay All Black'

From The Guardian, a first-hand account of growing up gay in Iran: "I struggled. I was sure that I was sick. I thought all these desires were unholy and sinful. I sought a thousand different ways to rid myself of these thoughts, but alas it was not possible. They were the inescapable desires of the body and the soul."

Colton Brugger, the anti-gay activist who does the National Organization for Marriage's web work, designed the new webpage for opponents of equality in France. One can only assume that NOM, well aware they're facing a losing battle here, thinks their hateful ways will play better overseas.

Justin Theroux looks dashing at the Calvin Klein Collection show in Italy.

And here's Glee star Chris Colfer strolling around New York City.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z reportedly spent $200,000 on their daughter's 1st birthday party, setting a very troubling precedent for their accountant.

Destiny's Child will indeed perform during the Super Bowl half-time show.

Sex and the City, drag edition.

An interview with gay actor Andrew Rannells about his roles on HBO's Girls.

The United States is giving France tactical support in the country's battle against militants in Mali, a former French colony.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr is convinced that his uncle, President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated by more than one person: "The evidence at this point I think is very, very convincing that it was not a lone gunman."

Writing in the New Zealand Herald, University of Auckland Business School professor Dr. Mike Lee opposes the campaign asking a closeted member of the All Blacks rugby team to come out: "If any All Black was to come out as a homosexual, he would probably be known as 'the gay All Black', rather than an exceptional rugby player and individual. And that could create exactly what human rights groups in New Zealand surely don't want - a step backwards to a time when sexual preference was more of a big deal."

From Israel: "An Israeli gay couple married 10 months ago in New York has asked an Israeli family court to validate a spousal support agreement. Elad Aflalo Farber and Roni Farber Aflalo on Sunday asked the Ramat Gan Family Court to recognize their agreement -- the first time a legally married gay couple has done so, according to Haaretz. Previous recognitions of same-sex spousal support agreements involved common-law spouses."

A great read: "The Unbearable Invisibility of White Masculinity: Innocence In the Age of White Male Mass Shootings"

The Rhode Islanders United for Marriage coalition will hit the ground running on Monday as they lobby lawmakers and voters to get behind marriage equality in The Ocean State.

Changing attitudes toward gay people in Singapore: "A nationally representative survey in the Southeast Asian city-state found that in 2005, 68.6 percent of adults had negative attitudes toward gay people, while 22.9 percent had positive views and 8.5 percent were neutral. By 2010, fewer adults in Singapore had negative attitudes toward homosexuals (64.5 percent), while more expressed positive attitudes (25.3 percent) or were neutral (10.2 percent), the survey found."

Conservative Christians in Hong Kong protested new laws that would outlaw anti-gay discrimination there. Like their counterparts here in the States, they claim such legislation would impede their free speech rights.

Former Rugby Player Nick Youngquest Graces Gay Mag's Cover: PHOTO

Growing increasingly loud about his support for marriage equality, former Australian rugby player Nick Youngquest shows it off on the cover of gay magazine Dorian. Pro-equality activism sure has a pretty face.

[Via BuzzFeed]

Gareth Thomas Talks Mickey Rourke, Marriage, and Role Models

A few choice quotes (and a stunning photo by Suki Dhanda) from Gareth Thomas from an interview in The Observer:

Mickey Rourke can almost finish my sentences. He understands where I have been because he has been there, too. There's a lot people don't know about him and it's the same with me. That's why he's the right person to play me [filming on a biopic of Thomas's life starts in April].

Other sportsmen have confided in me that they're gay. The advice I give is that coming out is great for you as a person, but that you also have to remember you're a role model. As a sportsman you take the money and the glory, but you also take the responsibility that comes with it and make sure the stories that follow are positive.

Neither my ex-wife nor I regret getting married. There was so much good in the seven years we spent together. The regret for me is the hurt I caused not just her but my parents, too.

More here.

Ben Cohen Gets Stripped Down and Oiled Up for 2013: VIDEO

A behind-the-scenes video of Ben Cohen's 2013 calendar to benefit his anti-bullying StandUp Foundation has hit the web.

Check it out, AFTER THE JUMP...

And you can order it here.

18-Year-Old Welsh Rugby Player Describes Coming Out to Mom, Team in Emotional Video: WATCH

Thomas “Bozzy” Bosworth, an 18-year-old rugby player from Wales, came out of the closet earlier this month to his mother, and his team. He also explained why he did so an emotional Facebook post and a follow-up YouTube video, Outsports reports.

As the captain of his rugby team in Quaker Yards, Wales, Bosworth was trying to reconcile being a macho jock with being gay and finally decided to tell the world who is he.

In the video, Bosworth talks about coming out to his mom and team, and the reaction to his Facebook post.

Watch the emotional and inspiring video, AFTER THE JUMP...

Bosworth's Facebook post read, in part:

To clear all the gossip up and shit that has been going around about me. Yes I am gay and I never choose this and it’s the hardest thing Iv ever had to deal with in my life. It’s the hardest thing to come to terms with when you don’t want it but you can never get rid of the feeling . I know it may come as a very big shock to people. I had planned to slowly tell people but as rumours have come out I had to tell my family and the thoughts and feeling you have are the hardest and most guilty and disappointed feelings I have ever had.

So if you have any questions or a problem please mail me or delete me if you don’t like it. I am sorry but it is the real me. I would really like to thank my close friends and especially my rugby team as I honestly thought I would be to ashamed to ever carry on playing rugby. But the boys have showed and proved to me that my thought of them were wrong and I’m so grateful they are the best bunch of players and true friends that i could ask for.

I’m am honoured to have the friends I have from school and rugby and truly can’t believe how supportive they are. This is the hardest thing I have faced but it has to be faced as rumour do spread. I just felt like this was the easiest was for people to know the truth and not have to explain to everyone separately. If anyone is going through the same thing never ever be afraid to contact me I know how hard it is and I will never ever share what you tell me.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...