Scum Like It Hot

Summary

Lovett or Leave It – “Scum Like It Hot” (June 18, 2026)

Episode Overview

In this lively, humor-packed Pride edition of Lovett or Leave It, host Jon Lovett welcomes comedy legend Bruce Vilanch and RuPaul’s Drag Race season 18 winner Mikey Meeks for an episode celebrating queer history, pop culture, and the best (and worst) of corporate Pride merch. Lovett opens with a brisk satirical monologue about America’s World Cup moment, Trump’s latest antics, the absurdity of political grandstanding, and what makes American culture irresistible and ridiculous to the rest of the globe. The show then flows into a sparkling interview with Vilanch about the evolution of queer representation in Hollywood, followed by a candid, joyful discussion with Meeks about drag, reality TV, and Pride’s meaning today. The second half is devoted to critiquing Pride merch and playfully defending guilty queer pleasures.

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Highlights and Key Segments

1. “What a Week”: America Through the Eyes of the World (02:02–12:38)

• Theme: World Cup tourists discover uniquely American experiences, from oversized waffles to endless soda refills, leading into Trump’s attempt to hijack the nation’s 250th birthday—and ultimately a reflection on the resilience of American absurdity.
• Lovett’s Satire and Voice: Lovett deploys biting satire on:
  • European delight and horror at US food culture: “America rules. And if you don’t feel that way... you haven’t watched a European’s eyes widen in delight after tentatively dipping a French fry into a Wendy’s Frosty.” (02:22)
  • Trump’s self-obsession and outlandish birthday/fight night on the White House lawn: “I haven’t seen a birthday party ruined like this since that kid at my second grade birthday party shat his pants in the ball pit and blamed me for it—because I did it.” (07:55)
  • Absurdity of trying to fix Washington’s algae problem: “That is not how you clean algae. That’s how you cure Covid.” (08:40)
  • Irony of post-Trump Iran policy: “At best, we will end up with a deal that Trump calls the greatest deal of all time, which will look basically like a worse version of the Obama deal, which Trump calls the worst deal of all time.” (11:00)
• Memorable Exchange:
  • On American confidence: “Blaming people for problems is easy. Painting over problems is easy. Actually solving problems is hard. Also hard: Lindsey Graham, watching those pool boys scrubbing the reflecting pool in that hot June sun.” (08:58)
• Takeaway: The segment lampoons US politics and culture with Lovett’s trademark mix of camp, exasperation, and an undercurrent of hope: “America’s greatness is bigger than Trump. The American spirit is a lot like algae. Persistent, resourceful, and up close, it has a weird smell.” (13:14)

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2. Guest Interview: Bruce Vilanch – “Hey Girl, Hayes Code!” (16:45–29:30)

Hollywood’s Closet, Camp, and the Code

• Vilanch’s legendary career: Co-writer of the Star Wars Holiday Special and The Paul Lynde Halloween Special, Vilanch shares hilarious, revealing stories about 1970s TV, drugs, and gay-coded subtext.
• Key Quotes:
  • On the Star Wars Holiday Special: “When the agent called and said the Star Wars Holiday Special, I said, oh, this is going to be the turd in the punch bowl of all time. But I have to be a part of it because—Star Wars!” (17:44)
  • On the 1970s: “If people tell you they remember the 70s, they weren’t there because we were half-baked the whole time.” (17:49)
• Paul Lynde and Queer Erasure: Vilanch explains why flamboyant stars had to stay in the closet: “To be gay was evil. You were a bad person…So when they would see somebody who they liked, like Paul Lynde, who made them laugh…they just pretended.” (20:00)
  • Lovett: “Would it have been different if Paul Lynde didn’t have to…pretend to have a wife?”
  • Vilanch: “That would not be that era of the world…We weren’t living them in real life.” (20:10)
• Camp Cinema Blind Ranking Game: Vilanch ranks the “gayest” Hollywood vintage scenes in a segment packed with inside jokes, snappy banter, and commentary on subtextual queerness:
  • “Nothing says gay like a feather duster.” (25:57)
  • “The title Leave It to Beaver is a gay title.” (27:30)
  • “No hard shell for Bruce Vilanch? …I’m like, you know, a crab in the early days. Eat me while I’m tender.” (29:20)
• Take: Vilanch’s mixture of candor and camp throws light on both the constraints and secret codes of old Hollywood.

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3. Guest Interview: Mikey Meeks (Drag Race Season 18 Winner), with Bruce Vilanch (32:45–44:09)

Modern Drag, Fandom, and the Art of Not Caring

• Drag Evolution and Reality TV:
  • Mikey’s Leadership Philosophy: “Live boldly, love fiercely, and be unapologetically yourself. And be gay. It’s Pride season.” (33:06)
  • On the evolution of Drag Race:
    • Vilanch: “Now winners like this are…the complete performer. And that’s why if you just go on Drag Race, it’s like, if you just go on Shark Tank, you won, because…there’s now a circuit…And that’s all RuPaul.” (38:55)
  • On Fan Culture and Online Hate:
    • Lovett: “If someone is…going to talk about someone else’s body on the internet, they should first have to film themselves doing a military style push-up.” (42:36)
    • Meeks: “At this point, if you’re hating online, you’re a bot…It’s actually Bruce. Bruce sitting on a nickname bot.” (43:26)
• Pop Discourse and Defending Imperfection:
  • Mikey: “Nothing is perfect. You can still be proud of it, but when someone is critical, they’re like, Oh, I can’t believe you didn’t get this exactly right. Well, yeah, I’m a person.” (41:20)
• Fun Anecdotes:
  • Performing Drew Barrymore on Snatch Game, getting invited on Drew’s show, and how Drag Race winners secretly connect (or don’t).
• Memorable Exchange:
  • On Disney fans and drag: “I’ve seen plenty of bears with no pants in my life, so…” (34:33)

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4. Corporate Pride Merch Critique – “When It Rainbows, It Pours” (46:03–54:14)

The Panel’s Snap Judgments

• Lovett, Meeks, and Vilanch riff on major brands’ pride offerings:
  • Old Navy’s “Proudly Me Stand up for Love” T-shirt: Initially positive, rapidly torn to shreds for mixing too many slogans and for unflattering horizontal stripes. “Looks like you’re just hiding hickeys.” (48:04)
  • Target’s circus-pants set vs. caftan: “He looks like he’s having the pride of his life…Looks like an angel with shredded wings.” (49:35, Vilanch)
  • Abercrombie’s subtle rainbow resort shirt: “If you’re DL, this might be the shirt for you. And I am DL, so...” (51:26, Meeks)
  • “How am I supposed to live, laugh, lesbian in these conditions?” T-shirt: Universally acclaimed.
  • Some Like It Hot bird figurines: “It’s also like movie icon stuff, which is basically gay.” (53:34)

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5. “I Don’t Care, I Love It: Gay Edition” – Owning Uncool Queer Joy (54:17–59:08)

Defending Guilty Pleasures

• Corporations’ Rainbow Logos:
  • Lovett: “I wanna live in the world where they’re like, fuck it, let’s do it. I know it’s a little bit cringe. But…hypocrisy at least admits…the right thing. A world where companies are afraid to be pro-gay is much worse than…afraid not to be pro-gay.” (54:43–55:40)
  • Vilanch: “They recognize that they have a whole lot of gay employees…if they are out and proud, bring it to the attention of the company.” (55:46)
• Mikey Meeks: “I love Madonna…Launching a new era at 67 years old, she’s unstoppable.” (56:34)
• Vilanch: “She’s sex positive. She was among the very first famous people to come out and support AIDS fundraising…she’s never wavered in that. So I like her for that reason.” (57:47)
  • On trash TV: “It’s Below Deck. You know, it really is crap. But…and if I like any of them, I can find them on OnlyFans.” (58:34)

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Notable Quotes and Moments

• Lovett on American portion sizes: “You have to work your way up to American portion sizes.” (03:23)
• Vilanch on Paul Lynde: “Everybody had a confirmed bachelor in their family, which was code for gay uncle who had never found the right woman...” (20:00)
• On Pride merch: “Where’s the lesbian merch? I want to know that.” (52:54, Meeks)
• On Madonna: “When you hear Like a Prayer, there’s never been a song like it. Not before, not since.” (56:49)

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Timestamps & Segment Guide

• 02:02 – Lovett’s Monologue, World Cup, Trump’s patriotrama
• 16:45 – Bruce Vilanch interview: Star Wars, Paul Lynde, the Hays Code
• 32:45 – Mikey Meeks joins: Drag Race, fan culture, Snatch Game
• 46:03 – Pride merch critique: Old Navy, Target, Abercrombie, etc.
• 54:17 – “I Don’t Care, I Love It” – Defending queer guilty pleasures
• 59:08 – Wrap-up

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Tone and Atmosphere

True to Lovett or Leave It’s DNA, the tone is sharp, irreverent, deeply knowledgeable about both pop culture and politics, and delightfully queer. Jokes fly, sometimes so fast you miss the next one. But between the laughs lies appreciation for progress and a still-vivid queer resilience.

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Overall Takeaway

This “Scum Like It Hot” episode is both a Pride party and a time capsule—a celebration of queer culture’s past, present, and future, all threaded through Jon Lovett’s barbed but loving perspective. Whether skewering politicians, catching coded references in 1930s cinema, or gently mocking capitalist rainbow-washing, the show makes visible the joy, weirdness, and enduring fight at the core of LGBTQ+ life.

Transcript

[A]

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Dr. Horton, America's builder and equal housing Opportunity Builder. What's up Los Angeles? Welcome to Love it or Leave It Live from Hollywood, I'm Jon Lovett, proud to be G and ashamed of everything else. We have got a great show for you tonight. It's part one of our big gay pride show. But first, let's get into it. What a week. Soccer fans from around the world have been pouring into American cities for the World cup, and they've made a big discovery. America rules. And if you don't feel that way right now, it's only because you haven't watched a European's eyes widen in delight after tentatively dipping a French fry into a Wendy's Frosty. Welcome to America. It's not walkable and the bread is chemicals, but just wait until your Norwegian ass tries Taco Bell. Here is a British man discovering biscuits and gravy.

[C]

Get a big chunk of this. Is it bomb.

[B]

Oh, this is so good.

[A]

Sadly, this man did not survive the ambulance ride. I'll say it again. You have to work your way up to American portion sizes. Here's an Italian discovering free refills. I can refill this a thousand times.

[C]

Yeah, but you won't drink a thousand cups of cocoa.

[B]

You don't know me. And it's free. You paid free.

[A]

You paid it once. Slow down.

[B]

Slow down.

[C]

Why?

[A]

That was good.

[B]

Because it's free. Yes, please.

[A]

And what do you call these little shards of a cold glass that make the soda so good? That's called ice, sir. Here's a Swedish guy at a Waffle House.

[B]

He about to eat all of this shit.

[C]

You see how big?

[A]

Who made his waffle rail?

[B]

The one that bought us. It's the best one ever.

[A]

Go, go, go. No one in Sweden will believe him when he returns with tales of food even more delicious than salted fish buried in the snow. For it's the perfect way to mark America's 250th birthday. The world celebrating America and America celebrating the world. And that is in stark contrast to President Trump trying to steal the excitement and patriotism around America's 250th birthday for himself. On Sunday, we had fight night held on the South Lawn of the White House to mark Trump's 80th birthday. But I get why he wanted to have a big party. Birthdays have been a bit lonely for him ever since his best friend, Jeffrey Epstein, died. The event kicked off in the morning with motorcycle stunts in front of a printed White House backdrop to cover the actual White House. I actually thought that was pretty cool until I found out that they were flying over a hogtied and terrified James Comey. The event was also a brazen moneygram for the Trump family. Paramount plus aired commercials hawking commemorative Trump coins. The fighters were paid bonuses in the Trump family cryptocurrency and what was meant to be for everyone turned into a sordid ugly mess for Trump diehards. And lastly, Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right America? It sounds terrible out of context like this, but he was just making sure everyone had the White House WI fi password. The comment was so ugly, in fact, that Lindsey Graham briefly lost his fight night erection. And if that spectacle weren't enough, Trump announced on Monday that the planned July 4th 250th celebration on the National Mall would actually be a Trump rally. I haven't seen a birthday party ruined like this since that kid at my second grade birthday party shat his pants in the ball pit and blamed me for it because I did it. The Fourth of July Trump rally will call attention to the newly renovated reflecting pool, which is, whoopsie daisy, already filled with algae again. An Interior Department spokesperson called this quote residual algae. And I just want to say to that spokesperson, all algae is residual algae. That's how algae works. When you think about it, where do you think the algae is coming from? A little bit of algae. It's not spontaneously new algae, right? What are we talking about here? It's residual. Yeah, man, that's why it's such a big problem. You know, if you have mold in your house and the person who comes to mediate the mold says, oh no, no, don't worry, this is just residual mold. I was like, I don't care about the story of the mold, the making of the mold behind the music of the mold. Get rid of the fucking mold. The spokesperson added. President Donald J. Trump is an expert builder who has fixed the reflecting pool for good, unlike the fail and extremely costly attempts by Obama and Biden. The rest of the statement was a little hard to read, as it was immediately covered in algae. By Tuesday, National Park Service workers were trying to combat the algae by dumping bottles of hydrogen peroxide into the pool. That is so stupid. That is not how you clean algae. That's how you cure Covid. Now, based on the photos I've seen, the crew seems like they're using 12% hydrogen peroxide solution, which is what you might use to shock a hot tub or a small pool. But the reflecting pool spans 8 acres and is filled with almost 7 million gallons of water. For this to work, you'd need several thousand jugs of peroxide, but then the water won't have the same delicious Tang said RFK Jr. Tastes when it's all Right. And of course, the algae came back. Trump would have us believe that what's stopping America from being great is that every previous leader was stupid or weak or scared to break the rules. But maybe, just maybe, the problem is that it's a big, shallow pool in a humid fucking swamp. In other words, life finds a way. Blaming people for problems is easy. Painting over problems is easy. Actually, solving problems is hard. Also hard. Lindsey Graham, watching those pool boys scrubbing the reflecting pool in that hot June sun. Look at what happened with Iran. The US Spent tens of billions of dollars bombing Iran. We lost 14 service members. Thousands have died in the region. And what's the end result? A deal to hopefully maybe reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Open to close to open again. What is this? A Middle Eastern straight or a gay couple that can't accept that they should just break up already? Here's Trump spinning the deal.

[B]

So we had two big moments. When they terminated the jcpoa, that was

[C]

the Obama,

[B]

Barack Hussein Obama deal. And when I terminated that, it was very important because it was a road to a nuclear weapon. It was a horrible deal for the United States. It was a deal where billions of dollars was given to Iran.

[A]

But the Trump deal promises Iran as much as $300 billion in reconstruction funds to repair the shit we just spent billions of dollars blowing up. Oh, great use of money, said a defunded medical researcher, throwing out a bunch of boxes labeled possible cancer vaccines. Too much. Here is Pete Hegseth, the Defense Secretary, taking a shot at selling this to us. The document says Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. Won't seek one, won't buy one, won't have one. Jason Pua said that there'll be negotiations to make that final, but they didn't have the threat of military force the way that we do, that Iran respects, in a very way, that their regime is more devastated, more devastating, excuse me, more devastated than it's ever been. The huge difference is we did this from a position of strength. So Obama got the same deal without having to start a war because of how weak he is, which I guess makes sense if you're drunk. So at best, we will end up with a deal that Trump calls the greatest deal of all time, which will look basically like a worse version of the Obama deal, which Trump calls the worst deal of all time. But maybe the Iran war was about the friends we made along the way. Here's Vice President J.D. vance talking about the coolest thing, the coolest thing about the progress we've made over the last few weeks is that you see people within the Iranian system, senior leadership, even IRGC officials, say, you know what, we may have some animosity, we may have some mistrust, but we recognize the way that we've done business with the United States for 47 years is a mistake. Let's try something else. They even gave us a gift, this big, beautiful wooden horse. And we're so excited about it, we're going to roll it right into the White House lawn. Hey, man, I know it seems like they're your friends because you spent so much time together, but they're at work. Trust me, it's easy to make that mistake. And then you text producer Bill to see if he wants to go to the aquarium on Christmas. And then you see the three little dots pop up, then they disappear. And then you get the email from hr. Could you imagine what Republicans would say if a Democrat were so naive and foolish as to believe that the Iranian regime, the survivors, we did not manage to blow up over several weeks of bombing, including the new ayatollah who we maimed after killing his father and family, are cool now? You think the ayatollahs are going to let bygones be bygones? You think Iran doesn't hold a grudge? Iran, this is the Middle east after oil. Grudges are the number one export. And the strait is still not open

[B]

because the strait opens. It's open now, but it opens completely. We have all the mines knock out for the most part. We have a lot of lanes right now already. I think sometime. I think sometime in the very near future.

[A]

Yeah, we got those mines taken for the most part. Feel safe to get in a boat riding through a seaway that says they've got most of the mines out of there. And it's not exactly inspiring confidence oil tankers are going to treat the straight of Hormuz the way Donald Trump treated his son's wedding. Not worth the trip. But here's the good news. Trump may try to turn a celebration of America into a celebration of himself. He may weaken us. He may leave us worse off. But this is still America. This past weekend, per a judge's ruling, Trump's name was pried off the front of the Kennedy center building. The bad news is that the letters were moved over to the new Trump Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. Look, Trump can tear down buildings. He can rip up agreements. He can turn the White House into a monument to his corruption and his greed. But as World cup visitors are discovering, America's greatness is bigger than Trump. The American spirit is a lot like algae. Persistent, resourceful, and up close, it has a weird smell. You can try to paint over it or wash it away, but bitch, it is in the pipes and if you leave even a shred of it behind, it'll come roaring back, said RFK Jr. Yum. All right, and we've got a great show for you tonight. We'll be right back with the great Bruce Valanch. Hey, don't go anywhere. There's more of Love it or Leave it coming up. Love it or Leave it is brought to you by Quo. If your team's communication is messy that shows up in products and services, missed messages, drop threads, slow replies. It's one of the easiest ways to lose momentum in business. That's where Quo spelled Q U O comes in. It's the business communication system built so you never miss a call. Your entire team can handle calls and texts from one shared number, so no more mismatchages or drop conversations. Everyone sees the full thread and can reply faster so customers actually feel taken care of. Quo is the number one rated business phone system on G2, with over 3,000 reviews built for how modern teams work. More than 90,000 businesses, from solo operators to growing teams, rely on it to stay connected, professional and consistently reachable. Quo works where you are right from your phone or computer. Keep your existing number, add teammates in minutes, sync your CRM and let call routing handle itself as you scale. It's easy. Calls, text, voicemails, transcripts and content details are all in one clean view so your team always has the full picture can show up for every customer conversation, ensuring seamless and more personalized experience. Don't let essential business communication slip through your fingers. Always say hello with Quo. Try quo for free plus get 20% off your first six months when you go to quo.com loveit that's Q-U-O.com love it. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. While summer is often associated with endless vacations, pool parties and relaxation, it isn't always a joyful season for everyone. If the longer days and rising temperatures feel overwhelming rather than bright, remember, you don't have to carry that weight alone. BetterHelp is here to support you wherever you need it. With over 30,000 therapists, better help is the world's largest online therapy platform, Having served over 6 million people globally and it works with an average rating a 4.9 out of 5 for a live session based on over 1.7 million client reviews. Better Help therapists work according to a strict code of conduct and are fully licensed in the US BetterHelp does the initial matching work for you so you can focus on your therapy goals. A short questionnaire helps identify your needs and preferences. If you aren't happy with your match, switch to a different therapist at any time from their tailored wrecks. You gotta have therapy. Everybody needs it. I need it. You need it. You don't have to say yes to everything. This summer, find support in therapy. Sign up and get 10% [e-mail] Love it. That's BetterHelp. H E L P.com Love it. And we're back. We'll have Bruce Balanchine, Mikey Meeks out in a moment. But first, a big thank you to our friends of the pod. If you're not yet a subscriber, consider this your midterm reminder. Here's what you get when you subscribe. You get a discount ticket to all day Crooked Con. You get ad free episodes of all your favorite podcasts. You unlock more Pod Save America, including including only Friends, our subscription only show and open tab's newsletter. Plus Dan Pfeiffer's Polar Coaster ad free breaking news episodes and more. Plus your subscription helps support a growing pro democracy media ecosystem working to challenge the right and keep people informed. So Please go to crooked.com friends to sign up. It is the best way to support what we're building here at Crooked Media. All right, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome, he needs no introduction, the living legend himself, it's Bruce Valanch.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

Now.

[B]

Wow. Thank you.

[A]

You have a Bowie B. Arthur.

[B]

I know. She was Ziggy Stardust before Golden Girls.

[A]

That's right, Ziggy.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, I know. It's Bea Bowie. It's. You conflate icons and I have a relationship with her, which I'm sure we'll get into.

[A]

Well, right before we started, I was the. The audience was excited in part because you famously wrote the Star Wars Holiday special in which Bea Arthur has a role played.

[B]

The woman who ran the cantina on Tatooine, you know, da da da da da da da da. That was her gig. Yeah.

[A]

And now you have this book. It seems like a bad idea at the time where you talk about some of these stories when the Star wars special airs and it airs once and then is banished from the air forever. Did you know how soon after it aired did you feel like, wait a second. This is not getting the response I was promised.

[B]

Well, when the agent called and said the Star Wars Holiday Special, I said, oh, this is going to be the turd in the punch bowl of all time. But I have to be a part of it because Star wars, you have to understand, first of all, it was the 70s, and if people tell you they remember the 70s, they weren't there because we were half baked the whole time that we were doing this stuff. So when they asked me to do it, I thought, this is probably a death sentence. But Star wars, there had been one movie, and it was a year and a half later, and George was about to start shooting the Empire Strikes Back, and he wanted something that would stir the pot while he was waiting for that movie to come out. And he had a bunch of stories and he sold CBS a musical special with the last one of his stories. And I don't think he actually ever watched tv, George. Because he would know that this wouldn't work because he sold them a musical special starring the Wookies. Now, the Wookiees cannot speak, sing, dance, or cross the room without tripping over themselves. And they sound. They speak no known language. They sound like fat people having orgasms. Trust me, I know exactly. I understood every word. But we had to do this thing. And of course we had to have guest stars because also we had to have people translate. And CBS would not let us use subtitles because they said nobody would read them. This was 1978, so everything was translated by Art Carney. People like that would come on, the Wookiee would go, and he would say, oh, I'm sorry you're feeling better today. That's good. It was a nightmare. But fortunately, we had drugs that covered all that.

[A]

Yeah. Simpler time. So you also wrote the Paul Lind Halloween special.

[B]

Yes. Similar.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Around the same time.

[A]

Right. And I'm, you know, Paul Lynde is now kind of like a tragic figure as someone who was so flamboyant.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And. But not able to be publicly gay. Never.

[B]

Well, nobody was.

[A]

Nobody was. But I wonder if you think about what it would have been like to have Paul Lynde as a performer without having to kind of, I don't know, pretend to have a wife in half the episodes, you know?

[B]

Yeah. Well, that would not be that era of the world. That would be this era of the world back then. It's hard to explain to people who weren't there, but to be gay was evil. You were a bad person. You were the guy who committed suicide at the end of the movie or was killed or was a predator. You were not a good person. So when they would see somebody who they liked, like Like Paul Lynde, who made them laugh, or Richard Simmons, or there were a whole bunch of Rip Taylor. They didn't want to think badly of them, so they just pretended. And it wasn't just on television, it was in your life. Everybody had a confirmed bachelor in their family, which was code for gay uncle who had never found the right woman, or it was a girl who was just a little too mannish to find the right man. Those were all in everybody's family, but we all overlooked them and spoke in code about them. And so that was why it would be impossible for those people to have characters that had complete, authentic lives, because we weren't living them in real life. And everything changed after Stonewall and AIDS brought the gay community together just for self preservation and made us a real part of the American tapestry, which we hadn't been before. And I don't think it was that Paul was flamboyant. I think it was more with him because Paul was like this negative character. You know, he was like the evil principal of the high school. He was always in his first show, you know, kids. He sang kids, and he had his son. He said, nobody respects me. And the kids said, I respect you, Daddy. He said, who wants respect from a 10 year old? That was him. I mean, that was his whole character. And you can't. It's hard to build a show around a guy like that. That's an ancillary character. I mean, your main character has to be somebody you like. And then, you know, your main character has to be Mary Tyler Moore, who you love, and you can then bring in Cloris Leachman, you know, as a cunt. That's. Yeah, that's how it's done now.

[A]

Long before you get to the era of Paul Lynde, the studios were cracking down on what they deemed sexual perversion through the Hays Code, which was censorship guidelines in the 30s. And yet gay people existed at the time the whole time, the whole way through. And so we would love to just take you through a few of these moments in a segment we're calling hey girl, Heyes Code. Hey, girl Hayes.

[B]

I think he was the Lindsey Graham of his era, Will Hayes. I mean, you look at footage of him and you think, oh, girl, what are you hiding?

[A]

Really?

[B]

You know, she's got a doll collection locked up somewhere that no one's ever gonna get their mitts on.

[A]

So I'm gonna have you blind. Rank the gayest scenes from early Hollywood cinema. Most of them are from around the time of the Hays Code. Some. A little Bit before some, but all of them are gay as hell. You won't know what scene is coming next. So you have to ask yourself, is something gayer mincing down the road? After this, you'll have five scenes. You'll rank them from five, which is basically straight, to one, the gayest. Oh, okay.

[B]

In other words, we're going down.

[A]

We're going down. That's. That's exactly right, Bruce Flanch. We're going down and having a great time doing it. All right, let's see.

[B]

Haven't we.

[A]

The first clip.

[B]

Have a cigar, you big sissy.

[A]

That was the cigar scene from 1933's Blood Money. Have a cigar, you big sissy. Pretty gay. What do you think? Do you think we've.

[B]

How.

[A]

We have four others that you'll have to rank and wherever you put this.

[C]

Wow.

[B]

That's four.

[A]

You think that's four? You think that's the second to least gay? Okay. All right, so I'm gonna put that as math.

[B]

I'm no good.

[A]

I'm gonna say blood money. Next up, we have the Boys Will Be Boys, the dance scene from 1934's Wonder Bar. May I clock in? Certainly.

[B]

Boys will be boys.

[A]

Boys will be boys.

[B]

Powell was conducting the orchestra behind him. Wow, this is pretty. Number one, maybe. I mean, it's pretty damn gay.

[A]

It's pretty damn.

[B]

Pretty damn gay.

[A]

Pretty damn gay. What do you think? What do you. What do you. What spot? We could go gay or one, two.

[B]

I'll go and I'll give it one.

[A]

One. All right. It's the gayest. We're calling boys.

[B]

It's Will be boys. I mean, it's all in Al Jolson's expression.

[A]

Yeah, that is. Well, that noise he makes. That little.

[B]

Well, that little noise.

[A]

Yeah, that beautiful little.

[B]

Huh?

[A]

Next up, we have the maid dance from 1932's Call Her Savage. I love that.

[B]

It's absolutely amazing. It looks just like a number from the RuPaul movie, which I saw last night.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

It looks like Ginger Minj and her Jujube dancing down the Carter of the Train. Have you seen Stop that Train? It's pretty funny. I mean, it's so gay. I mean, it's so gay. It's negative 2000. It's that gay.

[A]

What do you think?

[B]

Oh, well, that'll be number two, I guess.

[A]

Yeah, that's the maid dance, the Feather Duster.

[B]

You know, nothing says gay like a feather duster.

[A]

And they're really mincing around, but it's

[B]

doing anything but dusting.

[A]

You know, it's called Call Her Savage. And I'm sure there's some other parts of the film that are deeply problematic, which we're not going to show.

[B]

All right, you're Savage.

[A]

Savage. Next up, we have Marlene Dietrich in a top hat and tails, kissing a woman in 1930s Morocco.

[B]

Oh,

[A]

may I have this?

[B]

Of course. All right. Well, that's dikey. Well, you know, we. They have a letter, too. Lgbtq.

[A]

Yeah, they do have a letter. Hey, you're right. They do have a letter. L. They do.

[B]

The.

[A]

From the first one. How'd they get that there?

[B]

Well, because they were. They were running. They were running the world when they came up with it.

[A]

Right.

[B]

You can't fight them when they tell you they're going to do something. Yeah, Yeah. I was on the board of the LGBT center for 22 years, and it was basically run by the women. So not telling any tales out of school there, that, I guess. Well, it's three. I mean, it's undeniable.

[A]

They're undeniably gay.

[B]

I mean, they're. You know.

[A]

That says what?

[C]

This.

[B]

I mean, I thought you'd show me something like Leave it to Beaver. Well, the title is gay, but other than that.

[A]

Yeah, the title. Leave it to Beaver is a gay title.

[B]

It's kind of lesbian.

[A]

Leave it to Beaver.

[B]

That's that. There is a clip of her saying, you were tough on the Beaver last night, Ward. There really is. That was a line. An actual line from the show. This is a collection. My friend has a collection of those of you clips from things like that. They knew that was a joke, of course. I mean, they. They laid it in there. I mean, they were all. They were probably guffawing behind the camera.

[A]

Yeah. Just mincing around, laughing at the little joke they put in there. And finally, we have Peter lorre's entrance in 1941's the Maltese Falcon.

[C]

See, Mr.

[A]

Speed, I'm trying to recover ornament that, shall we see, has been mislaid. Mm. I thought and hoped you could assist me.

[B]

God, he's about to suck that cane.

[A]

Yeah, he eats the end of that cane.

[B]

He really is.

[A]

He really does.

[C]

I know.

[B]

I think Bogey's thinking, I'll go home and Betty will do something like this to me. That was Bacall's real name. Betty Lauren Bacall. I'm so inside, you just know her as Betty.

[A]

I'm so inside you know her as Betty.

[B]

I knew her. She was a killer. She literally. I mean, I think she actually had bodies buried somewhere. She was very Tough.

[A]

Lauren Bacall, was she ever tough to you? Did you ever give you tough?

[B]

No. She was always great with me because I thought she was funny. I mean, she couldn't pull anything. And she finally said, yeah, you know what you're doing, Which I thought was the highest compliment that she could. Everybody else was an idiot. And I think that when Bogart died, she was very young when Bogart died and she had two kids. And I think she never really recovered from it. And she created this hard shell around her after that. But this is just me doing my, you know, my. My dime store psychology. But it works.

[A]

No hard shell for Bruce Valanche?

[B]

No, no, no. Are you kidding? I'm just. I'm like, you know, a crab in the early days. Eat me while I'm tender.

[A]

And on that note, here are our final rankings. We have had five. The least gay, the straightest of them all. We have Peter Lorre sucking on the

[B]

end of a. Yeah.

[A]

Of a cane in Maltese Falcon. We have a cigar, another phallic symbol, a lesbian cigar and blood money. We have a lesbian kitsch by Marlena Dietrich. And then we have the maid dance by those flouncing Nancys in Caller Savage. And finally, Wonder Bar boys will be boys with Al Jolson. Bruce Valanche, everybody. And we'll be right back. Hey, don't go anywhere. There's more of Love it or Leave it coming up. Love or Leave it brought to you by Bombas. The weather is warming. The days are longer. We're saying yes to more plans. And finally getting outside. Running, hiking, moving again. It's the perfect time to upgrade your everyday go to footwear with Bombas. Bombas are cushioned where you need it. Sweat wicking. They don't slide around so you're not constantly adjusting your socks. And with the weather warming, it's time to add Bomba sandals to your footwear collection. Their Friday slides are made with this super lightweight and waterproof Eva that's soft but still supportive. I love my Friday slides. In fact, just for fun, I was looking the other night. Irrespective of them being a sponsor and deciding do I want another pair because they're comfortable and I could get a different, brighter care because I wear them to Pilates all the time. But maybe I want an everyday pair that I'm not wearing to the gym. You know what I mean? Maybe I get a second one just for fun. You can slip them on and go when you're doing errands, lounging outdoors, comfy and casual. I love Mambas I wear Mamba socks every day. Wear the slides every day. They're the best. And for every item you purchase, an essential clothing item is donated to someone facing housing insecurity. One purchased one donated with over 150 million donations and counting. Head over to bombas.com love it and use code love it for 20% off your first purchase. That's B O M B A S.com love it code love it at checkout. Love it or leave it is brought to you by AG1. Summer is for loosening up, letting things slide a little. That's the point. That's part of the fun. But you can still cover your nutritional bases this season without putting a damper on summer fun with AG1. Just. Just one scoop plus eight ounces of water every morning. AG1 is a daily health drink with a multivitamin, pre and probiotic, superfoods and antioxidants. One scoop 8 ounces of water. The next gen formula delivers 75 plus ingredients backed by four clinical trials clinically shown to support gut health, fill common nutrient gaps, and improve key nutrient levels within three months. Late nights, long weekends, spontaneous plants life happens. AG1 helps you keep the one thing consistent. High quality nutritional support every single day. No matter where you start your morning, AG1 is great. You can start every day, get a good bunch of probiotics and antioxidants and vitamins, and then, you know you're on a good path. No matter whether, you know, yesterday you decided, hey, I'm going to have McDonald's at 5 o', clock because my show's at 6 o', clock, I have an hour, and it's McNuggets time. You know, nobody can stop you. But you had a vitamin in the morning. You know, you've had your healthy thing in the morning, so you're good with the Lord. Visit drinkag1.com love it. To get a free morning person hat and free AG1 flavor sampler in your welcome kit. With your first AG1 subscription and $82 value, that's drinkag1.com loveit. And we're back. Please welcome to the stage Drag Race royalty, the winner of season 18 of RuPaul's Drag Race. She's gorgeously stupid and stupidly gorgeous. It's Mikey Meeks.

[B]

Ooh.

[C]

Wow.

[A]

Hi. Hi. Thank you for being here. Hi, Bruce.

[C]

Right here.

[A]

Park it right here, John.

[C]

I got all dressed up for you.

[A]

You look fabulous.

[C]

Thank you. And Bruce, when I found out you were here, I painted my toes.

[A]

Yeah, you're the reigning queen Of Drag Race.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

What would you say is your philosophy as a leader?

[C]

Oh, bold question. Live boldly, love fiercely, and being apologetically yourself. Yeah. And be gay. It's Pride season.

[A]

Oh, I try to be apologetically myself.

[C]

Yes, you should.

[A]

That's really been my feeling.

[C]

Please be sorry for what you do now.

[A]

You came out of the Orlando drag scene.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

How does that compare to LA's? How many true Disney freaks are you dealing with on a daily basis?

[C]

You know, it's funny a lot. My. My sister from my season, Briar Blush, started a rumor that I started drag by disneybounding. Disney Bounding is when you go to the theme parks, you can't come in costume, but you can dress like the characters. So she's saying that's how I started drag, was dressing like the characters. And so Disney fans have followed me because of that reason. And I want to say that's not true, but I do respect your lifestyle.

[A]

That's so beautiful.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Wait, so there's a difference between you can dress like a character, but you can't be in costume. That's a. What is the distinction?

[C]

Well, say, like, you want to be Winnie the Pooh. You can't come in a full bear costume, but you can wear a red T shirt.

[A]

No bottom. I was gonna say maybe just nude waistband.

[C]

Maybe wear the pants. I don't know, but. And then maybe a pot of honey. But I've seen plenty of bears with no pants in my life, so.

[A]

But rarely at Disney World.

[C]

Well, you'd be. You'd be surprised.

[A]

Pride Night. They have Pride Night.

[C]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

So was it crazy shooting the multiple endings? And, like, how does that actually feel? Because you have to. Because now in RuPaul's Drag Race, where Bruce was a judge in one of the early season scenes.

[B]

Guilty. Yes.

[A]

The winner got out. And so ever since, they have filmed everyone winning, and you go through the whole thing, and then you don't actually find out till it airs. Is that what happened with you?

[C]

I love my NDA.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

No, I mean, it's pretty well known that, yeah, they film multiple endings of the show so that no spoilers come out. And you do have to wait the whole process, the whole year of knowing that you made it far without knowing if you take the crown. So you have to kind of mind your P's and Q's as the season goes along. And there, if you search on YouTube, you could see the genuine reaction of us finding out who wins. And it was a gag. It was. It was.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

It was amazing. It was amazing.

[A]

Boy, to win is so cool because you're afraid you're gonna go home first. And then that happened to me on the thing I did. But then for you. And that was. That was because you really only think about two scenarios, right? You think about going out first and winning, but you got the good one.

[C]

I did get the good one. I'm very happy about that. You know, it's funny. I had a little different experience because I was like, I don't want to go home first. I mean, it is kind of iconic to go home first, though, right?

[A]

Yeah, that's a good point.

[C]

Trying to win brownie points here. But then It's. We have 14 contestants. It's kind of when we got to top eight is when I went, okay, I could feel a little bit more relaxed here. And then once we got to the final three, I said, bitch, you can't tell me anything.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Now, you had paid homage to Olivia Newton John in the 80s ladies challenge, and let's so. And this look was not received as you had hoped? Hope so. What, did you. Did you see some merit in what they were saying? Did you completely disagree? What do you think about it now?

[C]

Yeah. Of all the looks, you wanted to

[A]

show that I think you look awesome.

[C]

Well, I appreciate that. The category was 80s ladies, and we had to pull images from Getty Images. I found this of Olivia new and John, and I said, this is hilarious. A pink catsuit with purple character shoes. Love it. I'm doing a one for one. They read me down. They read me down. They hated this. They said, how could you wear character shoes on the Runway? And in my mind, I'm like, did we not see the image? Like, I thought. I thought I was doing a good job here, but, you know, I said from the show, like, Olivia Newton John. When she put this outfit on, she said, 40 years from now, a drag queen named Mikey Meeks is going to put this exact outfit. Outfit together and wear it on the main stage of RuPaul's Drag Race. And that's exactly what I did. So.

[A]

Wow. Maybe she's from the future.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Now, Bruce, you were on Drag Race, and you were there, like, as it was evolving. Like, I remember watching early seasons of Drag Race, and it was really a. Like, it was. It was more cutthroat, and it was really about. It was really about winning the show because the show wasn't that popular. It was on Logo. It hadn't yet really made a name for itself. And over the years, it's become a bigger Deal. Huge.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

What was it like being there in the early seasons of it?

[B]

Well, it was. They brought me in as a comedy mentor, and I would, like, coach the drag queens of the comedy. And at the time there and then Santa Claus, one year, one unforgettable year, there I was. Oh, I'm much heavier there. I'm so happy now. The Ozempic is working. Hello. Nice. The problem was that the drag queens of that era were either gorgeous girls who lip synced and could not talk and never did any kind of comedy, or you had people like Bianca Del Rio, who worked a club every night in Fire island and was hilarious and could do all of that. And they were pitted against each other. And I said, it's apples and oranges. You can't ask these girls who've never done anything like that to be funny. All of a sudden, that takes. You know, you have to learn, so. But what happened was all the young queens to be. Were watching it at home, and they realized to win the thing, you have to do everything. You have to be funny. You have to be able to speak, you have to make your own clothes. You have to be able to live in a motel with the other queens for two. That's true too, which is really the test of all. And so now winners like this are. Are the complete performer. And that's why if you just go on Drag Queen, it's like, if you just go on Shark Tank, you won, because you can then get booked all over the place, and there's now a circuit of places that will play drag things. And there used to be a club here, maybe a club there, and now it's everywhere, so. And that's all RuPaul. That's all Rue's fault.

[A]

Mikey, what was the. Like, I feel like I can't imagine something more intimidating than doing Snatch Game. Knowing that it's Snatch Game, what was it like?

[C]

I had a great time. I had a great time. That was the one challenge I was kind of. I was looking forward to. I performed Snatch Game as Drew Barrymore. Drew Barrymore. And it went over very well, actually. It's funny you say that, because that that outfit I wore was the same challenge as your. As Snatch Game. And I think that's what cost me the win. But it went over pretty well that I got invited to the Drew Barrymore show to do the impression for her, and she loved it. She was amazing.

[B]

Did she touch you?

[C]

She touched this close. I was like, I'm not wearing enough makeup for you to be that close to My face, but she was amazing. But the Snatch Game, I was. I'm used to that improv style, so I was pretty ready.

[A]

Do. Are the winners on some kind of a text chain? Is there, like, a text chain where there's, like, a group of, like, just. We're all the winners and, like, it's just us here so we can, like, let our hair down and be honest?

[C]

I wish. If anything, they're hazing me.

[A]

Are you getting hazed?

[C]

I know. I'm just kidding. That's plain Jane and all that. No, there's no group chat, but I. There is a camaraderie. I did see Nymphia win. Who was the winner of season 16? We ran into each other in San Francisco this weekend, and, you know, it's. There's relatability there. We could talk about certain aspects of expectations and the online fan base and all that.

[A]

How is that?

[C]

Oh, I love this. This is the most sane and reasonable fan base of any reality TV show.

[A]

Such a smart point. I agree. I just want to say that I agree. I agree.

[C]

We love it. And, yes, your opinion is right. Whatever you think is correct. Even if you've never done drag, you are right, my love.

[A]

Well, I was talking about the, like, online fandoms with a friend of mine that works for a streamer. And it's. When you're. And it's true of critics, too, that, like a lot of online criticism, it never starts with, I know you didn't want me to hate this, but I, you know, it never. Or, like, I know you were. Or it never starts with, I know this probably wasn't as good as you wanted it to be either, so I'll be generous. It always starts from a place of the assumption that what you did or how you performed was exactly what you wanted it to be, 100%. And, like, maybe you're. You know, nothing is perfect. You can still be proud of it, but when someone is critical, they're like, oh, I can't believe you didn't get this exactly right. Well, yeah, I'm a person.

[B]

Right.

[C]

That's exactly it. And the circumstances around Drag Race, specifically the circumstances around the amount of time you have. What's against you? With what? Every design challenge, you have a specific amount of time, and maybe it's an unconventional design challenge. You don't have everything you need to pull off a sickening outfit. Now, that is what makes it so special. When someone can look at Nymphia, for example, she's able to make treasure out of trash. Me, baby. That's the garbage. That's the garbage receptacle. Okay.

[A]

Yeah. I always feel like if someone is going to talk about someone else's body on the Internet, they should first have to film themselves doing a military style push up. This was part of our. We talked about this last week with Kel Crype. But also if someone. Basically, I think as a rule, you can be anonymous on the Internet. I believe in anonymity, people's freedom of speech should be protected. However, you must legally post a picture of the room from which you post that. If you're gonna tell. If you're gonna sit in judgment of all of planet Earth, you're free to do that. And I want you to have that experience. But first we get to see the room you're in. Because I do think people will be a bit more humble and a little less judgmental if we saw the posting location. And I think that's a simple compromise we can all agree on.

[C]

I agree. I also think at this point, if you're hating online, you're a bot. Like, you're not real, because who does that? Bots.

[A]

Bots exclusively. That's how I think about it.

[C]

It's actually Bruce.

[A]

It's actually Bruce. Bruce sitting on a nickname bot. I just think that's a good. Like, it's. Oh, wow. You think, oh, boy. Boy, what a strong opinion you have. No, what's your desk look like? What's the chair?

[B]

Well, it's. Everybody gets to publish their first draft. You know, I mean, the only person I know in the world who gets to film their first draft is Woody Allen. I mean, and you see some of the movies and you go, you really should have had an editor. You really should have had somebody come in and say, no, don't do that. Don't make this picture about another. An old Jew loving young girl. Don't do that.

[C]

Yeah, right.

[B]

Not right.

[A]

Yeah. I just have gotten the sense that he's not getting great feedback over the years.

[B]

You heard that? Yeah, I know.

[A]

All right, thank you to Mikey Meeks. See, you're on season 18 of RuPaul's Drag Race. And you go to mikeymeeks.com for tickets. See you're on tour. And we'll be right back. Hey, don't go anywhere. There's more of Love it or Leave it coming up. Love it or Leave it is brought to you by cookunity. Eating out at restaurants is great, but it's also expensive. The good news is you can actually get that level of culinary satisfaction at home for Way less than a night out. CookUnity is the first chef led meal delivery service that makes your meals in small batches inside local kitchens across the US not factories. So every dish arrives with the kind of freshness you get at the restaurant itself. We're talking meals from Michelin starred chefs, James Beard winners and Food Network stars. Go to cookunity.com lowly or use code LOWLY before checkout for 50% off your first week. I love CookUnity. I use it all the time. I have it all the time. This is what I got this week. I got the night market chicken which is great. Got a carne asada breakfast burrito which was great. Chicken and broccoli pasta, soy roasted shrimp chow mein. I got the Mediterranean braised chicken. I like to get ones that have a protein, a carb and a vegetable. You know, get my cover, all my bases. And I get six meals a week, which means just a couple times a week I know I don't have to cook dinner or I don't have to get takeout or I don't have to eat something bad. I have a healthy delicious thing waiting for me. So I highly recommend it. Taste what happens when real award winning chefs make fresh small batch meals just for you. Go to cookunity.com lowly or enter code lowly before checkout to get 50% off your first order. That's 50% off your first order by using code LOLI or going to cookunity.com lol I cookunity.com LOLI Nobody does it

[B]

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[C]

preferred a card that's preferred for a reason.

[A]

Cards issued by JP Morgan, Chase bank and a member FDIC subject to credit approval terms apply. And we're back. The time has come for a segment we're calling when it Rainbows it pours. Every year we take a look at the best worst in the bagious pride merch and decide gay or nay. Okay, is it Mikey and Bruce approved or are we leaving it on the rack next to the rainbow mesh tank tops? Let's decide. First up we have Old Navy's and I by the way, haven't seen these Till now. Old Navy's Proudly Me Stand up for Love Ringer T. Proudly Me Stand up for love Ringer T. Mikey, what do we think about this one?

[C]

I don't think it's. I think it's great.

[A]

I think it's good, too.

[C]

Yeah, I think it's cute. I think it's simple and it says what it needs to, which I love. It's not like, fuck me, I'm gay. Can I say that?

[A]

No. Yeah, you can definitely say that. I don't think the Target collection can say it, which is a shame.

[B]

I'm offended by horizontal stripes. I think when I wear them, they could land airplanes on me. So you want something that slims you down. Not that makes you. You can be proud, but thin. It's okay.

[C]

Right?

[A]

I see. I sort of. Yeah, I guess I do think that runs counter to the message of the shirts.

[B]

Exactly. Right?

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Also stand up.

[B]

Wow.

[C]

Ableist, isn't it?

[A]

I think we're turning on the shirt. And by the way, I also don't like this shirt because it's two shirts. Guys, I know. We're having a meeting and we're brainstorming Pride merch, and someone says, what about proudly me? And what about standing up for love? And then someone's like, could we put them both on the shirt? Sure. What about a horizontal rainbow stripe? Well, it's. That's slimming. That's the wrong thing to say in this meeting. And then like, well, what about a heart, too? So it's a rainbow streaked cart comet where you're proudly yourself, but also standing up for love. Which are completely independent things to do.

[C]

I agree.

[B]

And red piping. Looks like you're just hiding hickeys.

[A]

Yeah, that's true. Yeah. It's a no. It's a nay. Yeah, it's gone. It's gone. That's right.

[C]

It's not serious. All right.

[A]

Yeah, sorry. Old Navy. More. Yeah.

[C]

I love Old Navy and I'm happy for any sponsorship.

[A]

Such an important point, and I just want to be clear. We all love Old Navy and they're doing great work over there. I don't know if the dog is still involved.

[B]

I personally love Young Navy, but.

[C]

Oh, seamen.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Next up, we have the Target. The Target. Rainbow fringed denim vest and circuit pants. Circus pants.

[B]

Now here we have vertical stripes.

[A]

Yeah, There we go. So now we're in the market. Bruce's market. The print also comes in a caftan.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

So can we go back to the. I'm a little bit. I'll just.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

No, this is a no. What's happened?

[B]

I'm a little confused. Mardi Gras.

[A]

It's Mardi Gras. It's Mardi Gras. I mean, I just feel like these

[C]

are two statement pieces put together.

[A]

That's right.

[C]

We need a little subtlety. Or not. I'm not here to judge, but I'm gonna judge this outfit. To me, it's a boot. It's a boot.

[A]

I just feel like. I feel like the pants and the fringe, they're in two separate. You know, they're having two different. We're in two different movies. You know what I mean?

[C]

Like the color gradient, though, of the fringe.

[A]

I like both. I like both. I like both.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

I just don't think they go together. That's what I'm saying. I'm saying he looks like he's having fun.

[C]

He's having the pride of his life right now.

[B]

Looks like an angel with shredded wings.

[C]

Yes. Okay.

[B]

Sad story.

[A]

Really.

[C]

It is sad.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So, Nay, what do you think? Yay, Nay. Bruce Gayer.

[B]

Name is this. We haven't commented on the bathrobe or whatever that is.

[A]

Well, that's the Cav tan version. Let's go to the caftan version.

[B]

Let's go to the cat.

[A]

I think that's good. No, you're.

[C]

No, No, I love it. I. I say yes to any caftan.

[A]

I think we're a yes on the caftan

[C]

because imagine, imagine me wearing that. Imagine Bruce wearing that. Imagine John wearing that. We would all look fabulous and having a great time and I would stone mine.

[B]

I was wearing it. It would look like I walked away with the tent.

[A]

Stop it, Bruce. It's pride saying these things about yourself.

[B]

You can't love yourself. Who the fuck.

[A]

That's right. If you can't love yourself, who the fuck are you gonna love? That's as the famous saying goes.

[B]

Now

[A]

next up.

[C]

Love it.

[A]

Next up, we have Abercrombie and Fitch resort shirt. If you zoom in real close, can we zoom in on the little tiny pride stripe? Is this part of their Pride collection?

[B]

That's the thing on the pocket.

[A]

That right there is Pride themed. There's a little rainbow there and the logo is rainbow. So this is for pride, for. In case you have a lot of conservative and short sighted relatives. You know, this is for Thanksgiving with people with very thick glasses.

[C]

This is a shirt that you say, it's just a smudge.

[A]

It's just a smudge. It's just.

[C]

It's just a smudge. Honestly, this is a shirt I'd probably wear now the little line of stitching of rainbow. I mean, it's cute. I mean, if you're DL, this might be the shirt for you. And I am DL, so.

[A]

Wow, that's so sad. This day and age.

[C]

I live a very hard life.

[A]

Yeah. It's funny. It's sort of the era. Maybe the era of Paul Lynde isn't over. Bruce Blanche.

[B]

It could be. It's very subtle. I think it's exactly right for people who don't want to announce themselves but want to show that they're somehow aligned.

[A]

Now. They also have a Brokeback Mountain tank top. So you know that that's like a 10 out of 10. That's a 10 out of 10. That'S A MUST. It's sold out. It's sold out. It's sold out. Of course.

[C]

Sorry.

[A]

Abercrombie and Fitch, I would say.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I also like Abercrombie and Fitch holds a special place in my mind from my childhood because it was like.

[C]

You couldn't get. This.

[A]

This segment is over. Because they. Because they would really. They. That was like. They had the. The. These like the hottest guys in the world and they'd like, have them like. It was like such a thing that it was like. But it was never gay.

[C]

No.

[A]

They were just hot guys playing football shirtless. But it's not gay. No, this is not a gay thing. So I think we're a yes on this.

[C]

It's a yes. Yeah.

[B]

Gay. Yeah.

[C]

Love it.

[A]

And then we have the American Eagle Pride two piece set.

[C]

What?

[A]

What? No, that's a no for that.

[B]

That just looks like stains like she's been working. Where.

[C]

Where's the lesbian merch? I want to know that.

[A]

Great question. Here it comes. We have. How am I supposed to live?

[B]

Laugh.

[A]

Lesbian in these conditions?

[C]

Yeah, that's. Yeah, that's a win. That's a winning with. Sure. For me.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That's gay as hell. Let's do one more. The Some Like It Hot bird from Target. That's just. Wait, that's gay. That's the day of the Some Like It Hotbirds.

[B]

Well, I know. I know the scene. It's the end of the movie.

[A]

It's the end of the movie. Spoiler alert for Some Like It Hot.

[B]

Some Like It Hot.

[C]

They turn into birds.

[B]

Jack Levin's a guy like Marilyn Monroe, though. That's the problem.

[C]

Oh, God. I mean, it's cute.

[B]

It's also like movie icon stuff, which is basically gay.

[A]

Anyway. Gay.

[C]

I love it.

[B]

What were that sort of. And pepper or were they just. We don't know.

[C]

No, I think a little.

[B]

A little trinket for your breakfront. I get it.

[A]

Yeah, that's right.

[B]

For your.

[A]

Maybe to put above the. Put above your kitchen cabinets, you know, next to a little horse and buggy kind of a thing. You know, a little fake plant or sort of something Tuscan.

[B]

For your credenza.

[A]

Yeah, it's for your credenza. Or perhaps a console, which you don't hear about anymore.

[C]

Yeah, a davenport.

[A]

That's right. Put it in the davenport, perhaps. All right, this segment's over. We'll be right back.

[C]

And we're back.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Pride is a time where we share our love for all things queer. Septum, piercings, jock scraps, shorts that are either way too big or way too small. Both are gay now. But before I let you two go into that queer good night, we're gonna share a few things we know we shouldn't love but absolutely do in a segment we call I Don't Care, I Love It Gay Edition. I Don't Care, I Love It

[C]

Remix.

[A]

All right, I'll kick it off.

[C]

Sure.

[A]

I think it's good when the corporations have a gay little Pride logo. Was that really yours?

[C]

I was gonna say that. I agree with you.

[A]

You know, it's like. I know we make fun of it and it's like, oh, capitalism is American Airlines with a rainbow flag. But you know what capitalism is gonna be? Capitalism. Either June is gonna have a rainbow flag for American Airlines or it's not. I wanna live in the world where they're like, fuck it, let's do it. You know what I mean? Like, I know it's like it's a little bit cringe. Obviously it's a cringe thing. But I feel like. Haven't we learned that, like, in the same way that, like, hypocrisy is a kind of, like, half. Like, hypocrisy at least admits to the fact that you know what the right thing is. Like a world where corporations are performatively pro gay, even if their policies ultimately aren't as gay as they should be and they're rapacious, monstrous kind of world grabbers. Like, at least they know the right thing to say there was some value in showing people what the right thing to do is. I don't know. I feel like companies being afraid to be pro gay is much worse than companies being afraid not to be pro gay. That's my feeling.

[B]

I'd just like to point out. I think a lot of that comes from the fact that they Recognize that they have a whole lot of gay employees.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

And the gay employees, if they are out and proud, bring it to the attention of the company that, you know, we're a segment of American society, just like every other denomination. We're there and the corporation responds to it because they say, well, you know, we want to keep the employees happy. I mean, Disney's been doing it. They were one of the early ones to do it, and they were the least likely because they are a family business. Their brand is so family oriented. And this is when the idea of gay people in families were just anathema. You couldn't compare them.

[A]

Yeah. And then they made all their villains gay for fun.

[B]

Well, I know that was. That was because the gay people did that at Disney.

[A]

It was the gays.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

For the gays, it was the gays. All right, Mikey, what's something that you love that others hate?

[C]

I. Well, I don't know if she's hated. I don't care. I love. I love Madonna. I love Madonna, and I think makes the noise for Madonna.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[C]

Madonna, especially right now. She's launching a whole new era at 67 years old, and she's unstoppable.

[A]

I love it. I do, too. Was so exciting seeing her at. Was it Coachella? Where she came out with Sabrina. With Sabrina. And like, man, like a prayer you hear Like a prayer, you're like that. There's never been a song like it. Not before. Nonsense. Yeah. So cool.

[C]

And I just enjoy the fact that she is still at this point, trailblazing for. For pop artists to say, she's not done. She is still going and going strong.

[A]

I remember when there were the reports that Madonna was using these vibrating plates to work out on, and she would, like, stand on this kind of vibrating platform to work out on. And then in L. A. There was one of those places with a vibrating plate that opened up, and I said, I'm going to go to the Madonna plates and stand on the vibrating plate thing and, like, get the experience that Madonna gets. I'm gonna work out on the vibrating plate. I don't know how that woman is standing on one of those plates, because I stood on that vibrating plate for three seconds, and it's like this poop is just gonna fall right out of me. It's unbelievable. You might as well put me in a fucking centrifuge. Bruce, is there something you. What I like?

[B]

Yeah, she's sex positive, which I've always liked about Madonna. That's the thing. And. And, you know, I'm Old enough to know that she was at the. She was among the very first famous people to come out and support AIDS fundraising and charities. She started the Gay Men's Health Crisis by donating proceeds from one night at Madison Square Garden. A million dollar donation. This is back then, which would have meant a lot more than it does now. And so she was right there at the beginning. Of course, she had so many gay friends who got sick and died, and she's never wavered in that. So I like her for that reason and that she's sex positive because there's something that I like which is terrible. I mean, it's below deck.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

You know, it really is crap. But. And, you know, it's gar. You know, it's all. I mean, they're doing everything in front of cameramen who happen to be on the boat with them. And the boat's running because there's crew that actually runs the boat and there are people who actually cook those meals and all that. So it's all totally. The first brutal reality of television is nothing is real. But I get a kick out of it because they're beautiful people and I love watching them carry on and screw up and all that. And if I like any of them, I can find them on OnlyFans.

[C]

Hello.

[A]

And that's our show. Thank you so much to Bruce Vilange and Mikey meeks. There are 139D until the midterms. We'll be back on Friday with Oscar Costco, Brendan Scannel and Ashley Ray. Thank you all for coming out and have a good night. Love it or leave. It is a Cricket Media production. Our show is produced by Kendra James, Bill McGrath, Kelsey Gante, and me, John Lovett. Our production team includes Hallie Keeper, Sarah Lazarus, David Tols, Claudia Shang, Jay Banks, Gavin Purcell and Matt De Groat. And our staff is proudly unionized with the Writers Guild of America East.