Scene: Wilson Cruz, Suede, Michael Lucas

Wilson Cruz and Out's Matt Breen

Project Runway's Suede (left)

Michael Lucas in Bottega Veneta

Photos by Rae Votta

Scene: Backstage with Cheyenne Jackson and Adele

Photos by Rae Votta

Scene: More quickies from the red carpet

> Cheyenne Jackson has gotten the most response from red carpet so far.

> Heather Matarazzo wins award for longest red carpet run. Thirty minutes strong!

Scene: The party begins!

The party has barely begun and already we have a few tidbits to report:

> Charlie Herschel from Survivor: Gabon (who attended with the Advocate's Jon Barrett) is beginning his evening with an Absolut and soda with a splash of cranberry.

> Designer Richie Rich (of Heatherette fame) tells us the Out 100 is one of his favorite parties of the year.

> Three blonde drag queens (one who must be at least 6’7’’) stormed the VIP area and headed straight for the bar.

The lost Betsey Johnson post

Photo: Getty Images

This is a picture of Betsey Johnson, but it's not from the Out 100 2007, or 2006. It's from somewhere else.

So last year Betsey Johnson came to the blog area, just like Tim Gunn and Ari Gold and such. Like all good sports she sat down to write a blog post. Thirty minutes later she wandered away without so much as a goodbye, and a three word post. I figured she'd come back and try again, so I deleted what she wrote, but she never did come back.

Betsey didn't come again this year. And with that her short post was gone forever. :(

 

Two thousand words from backstage

Our roving photographer, Rae Votta, has finally made it back to the blogging station with her amazing memory card full of goodies.

Here's the first small batch, more to come soon...


Gina Gershon, Bebe Neuwirth, Mary-Louise Parker (and hugely heavy Out 100 award)

Richie Rich and Tori Spelling

Exclusive: Tim Gunn also concerned about typos

Tim Gunn is standing RIGHT HERE. Like, at my elbow. He already gave me a super-sweet interview for Out.com, which you'll be able to see next week. But right now I'm going to let him take the wheel.

Tim Gunn says, "This is THE most fabulous and celebrity chock-a-block event in which I've ever participated, including the Oscars!  Thank you, OUT, for honoring me and 99 other more deserving individuals!  XOXOX"

(He also made me make sure his spelling was perfect. Which of course it was.)

The inimitable Annie Lennox

Photo: Getty Images

Annie Lennox -- who I feel obligated to point out is our Editor in Chief Aaron Hicklin's hero, he told me (possibly in confidence) -- showed up to accept Humanitarian of the Year.

Gina Gershon introduced her -- calling out the few ladies in the audience who were looking as swank as the boys -- and then Annie got super serious, and sounded super Scottish. She had a commanding presence and actually managed the impossible -- made a room full of drunken homosexuals shut the hell up.

Or at least get a little quieter and give each other guilty looks when they kept gossiping as she showed "Dark Road," a video about her work to fight AIDS in Africa. But in the end it was sweet!

(Thanks to Mark from MTV Tres for watching my back, by the way. Literally! It's hard up here in a crowded room for a couple of bloggers.)

Mya

One of the best parts of the Out 100 is all the free booze. People can't get enough of it. But when Mya took the stage  the place fell silent, she sang Lady Marmalde and it was a veritable noise riot.

Photo: Getty Images

The guy from the Keith Olbermann show is here!

Michael Musto, the guy from the Keith Olbermann show, was just spotted in the VIP area.

Keith Olbermann, the guy who does an awesome news show on MSNBC, that Michael Musto goes on sometimes, is standing behind a Bill O'Reilly mask. P.S. Bill O'Reilly is in the lead for the Out 100 poll on the gayest person ever! (Photo: Getty Images)