Out Actor Kevin McHale Reveals Washboard Abs After 12-Week Transformation

Former GLEE star Kevin McHale

Whoa.

For years, Kevin McHale played wheelchair-bound TV geek "Artie Abrams" on the hit series, GLEE.

Well, check him out now.

McHale surprised folks this week as he revealed he’s gone from ‘high school geek’ to gaining pounds of muscle and shedding layers of fat.

In an interview with US Magazine, the 30-year-old says he was struggling with an intestine and digestion issue that left him “constantly in pain.”

After trying several elimination diets, he found his weight ballooning as his confidence began to spiral down.

The actor, who came out earlier this year, eventually found his way to a personal training studio in Los Angeles called Ultimate Performance.

Powering through 4-5 workout sessions a week, McHale was soon on the road to an amazing physical transformation in only 12 weeks.

Key to the amazing progress McHale made was having a personal trainer who pushed him past his perceived boundaries in the gym and into results mode.

(image courtesy of Ultimate Performance)

And, nutrition became a new obsession. In addition to learning to eat a balanced diet of healthy fats, vegetables, complex carbs and proteins, McHale learned to keep a food diary, tracking every bite he took.

“I became obsessed with logging my food,” McHale told US. “I’d also be rating my energy, sleep and digestion each day.”

Sundays became “meal prep day” as McHale would take the time to plan for the week ahead, ensuring there would be tasty food at the ready.

Happy with his new physical condition, McHale echoed the sentiments of many who have put in the work to get on the road to better health.

“[Before,] I felt bad about my body,” he shared. “When you’re investing your time and energy into yourself in this way, it changes so much of your life.”

Check out the report from EXTRA below.

Totally ripped! Check out #Glee star Kevin McHale's jaw-dropping body transformation! https://t.co/qDWmy7ix1s@druidDUDE @UPFitness pic.twitter.com/C9Qw1xJa6f

— ExtraTV (@extratv) August 27, 2018

News Round-Up: May 13, 2018

Some news stories you might have missed:

• A mother who is "against people being gay" wrote to Dear Abby saying her 43-year-old daughter just came out as lesbian. Abby knew just how to handle this one...

• A Texas teacher was accused of "promoting a homosexual agenda" when she showed students a picture of herself and her wife dressed up as Disney characters on the first day of school.

• Starbucks has now adopted an open-bathroom policy following an incident in Philadelphia last month were two black men were arrested while waiting for a business colleague.

• An Oregon school allegedly forced an LGBT student to read the Bible as punishment...?

• GLEE star Kevin McHale says of his recent coming out: "I think there was zero surprise. People knew."

• The Trump administration continues its attack on the trans community by rolling back prison protections.

Is GLEE Star Kevin McHale Flirting With Coming Out Or Just Flirting With The Inter-Webs?

Kevin McHale (image via Instagram)

GLEE star Kevin McHale has the folks on the inter-webs wondering if he just came out?

Or he's simply being mysterious?

Yesterday, he shared a photo on Instagram of two male hands captioned by the American Sign Language symbol for "I love you."

Many fans have speculated the other hand belongs to McHale’s When We Rise co-star Austin McKenzie, who starred in the Deaf West Theater production of Spring Awakening which featured ASL extensively.

Was McHale trying to come out?

🤟

A post shared by Kevin McHale (@kevinmchale) on Mar 12, 2018 at 12:19am PDT

Today, McHale shared a shirtless pic of him reading a book with another guy facing away from the camera in the background captioned: “My favorite way to be anti social #tb“.

I remember in my college days when folks were confused they would jokingly say, "It's meaning is the same."

I don't know what the meaning is here, but McHale has certainly has folks attention.

My favorite way to be anti social #tb

A post shared by Kevin McHale (@kevinmchale) on Mar 12, 2018 at 10:08pm PDT

GLEE Star Mark Salling Dead At 35 Of Apparent Suicide By Hanging

Mark Salling

GLEE star Mark Salling, who recently plead guilty to possession of child pornography was found dead in a baseball field near his home, according to TMZ.

Police say it appeared he had been dead for some time.

A family member went to a Los Angeles Police Department station at 3AM reporting Salling as missing.

The 35-year-old actor was awaiting sentencing in March. He was expected to receive 4-7 years in prison. Prosecutors had shared that he had over 50,000 photos of prepubescent children on his computer.

In August, TMZ reported that Salling had cut his wrists in an apparent suicide attempt.

Former GLEE Star Mark Salling Agrees To Plead Guilty To Child Pornography Charges

(image via Flickr - Kristin Dos Santos)

Former GLEE star Mark Salling is facing 48 to 84 months in prison after agreeing to plead guilty on charges of possession of child pornography.

From Billboard:

Under the plea deal, Salling will register as a sex offender and participate in counseling or psychiatric treatment.

Salling admitted to using the Internet over several months in 2015 to download thousands of images of child pornography. Investigators executed a search warrant on Dec. 26, 2015 and found about 25,000 still images and 600 videos of child pornography and 29,000 images of child erotica.

Salling will pay $50,000 to each victim seeking restitution and also agreed not to have any communication with any person under the age of 18 unless the legal guardian is present or has been notified of this conviction. (This doesn't include waiters, cashiers or other vendors that he'd encounter in public.)

Under the plea agreement, prosecutors are recommending a sentence of 48 to 84 months imprisonment followed by 20 years of supervised release and a fine in an amount to be determined by the court.

GLEE Star Dean Geyer Kills It In "I'm A Celebrity - Get Me Out Of Here" Challenge

best challenge so far https://t.co/5UbJp4qy89

— dean geyer (@geyerdean) February 2, 2016

Out Music: GLEE's Alex Newell "This Ain't Over"

GLEE's Alex Newell, who played the ground-breaking trans character "Unique," drops this lead single from his upcoming EP POWER.

The video, "This Ain't Over," opens with a bit of "Rocky Horror Picture Show" homage as Newell's voice cuts like a laser through the disco/dance/pop tapestry.

The lyrics also speak to personal power:

“No doubt you wrote me off long ago / But now I won’t give up / This ain’t over / And each time you let me off, cut the rope / I just come back harder / This ain’t over.”

The single is out now; POWER will be available February 19th.

Newell hits the road with Adam Lambert February 23rd in Huntington, NY.

GLEE Star Mark Salling Arrested For Possessing Child Pornography

Mark Salling, former star of the FOX series “Glee,” has been arrested for possessing child pornography according to TMZ.

We’re told the LAPD’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force obtained a warrant and served it Tuesday morning, as first reported by the TV show “Crime Watch Daily.”

We’re told cops searched Salling’s computer at his Sunland home and found hundreds of images.

At the time of this post, Salling is being taken to the police station for booking. Our sources say an ex-girlfriend of Salling’s tipped off cops and they investigated before the raid to make sure it wasn’t a revenge allegation.

TMZ updated their post saying over 1,000 images of "child sexual exploitation" were found on Salling's computer in his home.

Stars Of GLEE & ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK Set To Join THE WIZ LIVE Cast

New casting news about the upcoming The Wiz LIVE:

Orange Is The New Black’s Uzo Aduba will play "Glinda the Good Witch" and GLEE's Amber Riley will play her sister, Addaperle.

Musicals are not a new environment for either with Aduba having starred in the short-lived 2011 Broadway revival of Godspell and Riley appeared in the 2014 Hollywood Bowl production of Hair.

Check out both singing from the musical theater canon below.

First up, Aduba singing "Lily's Eyes" from The Secret Garden with Rachel Bay Jones at Broadway Backwards, followed by Riley's GLEE performance of "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going" from Dreamgirls.

(via NewNowNext)

GLEE Weddings - "I Am A Work In Progress"

GLEE heads toward it's series finale, I am reminded that at one time I was a big Gleek and loved how fresh the show was.

I haven't watched GLEE regularly in years, but every now and then I catch an episode and remember how much the series has done to bring LGBT lives into America's living rooms.

This past week was no exception as Kurt & Blaine and Santana & Brittany exchanged wedding vows in a surprise double ceremony.

And look - Gloria Estefan made it to the weddings!

GLEE: "I Know Where I've Been" Performed By Coach Beiste, Unique & 200 Transgender Singers

Dot-Marie Jones as "Coach Beiste" on GLEE

Last month it was revealed on the TV series GLEE (now in it's final season) that the character of "Coach Beiste," played by 3-time Emmy Award nominee Dot-Marie Jones, would transition as a man upon the revelation that he was transgender.

Last Friday saw the return of "Coach" where he encountered mixed reactions to transitioning. In the end, transgender character "Unique" welcomed "Beiste" back with a powerful rendition of the song "I Know Where I've Been" from the hit musical Hairspray - accompanied by a 200 member chorus of transgender singers.

Check out the very powerful performance below:

Watch: "Coach Beiste" On GLEE Comes Out As Transgender

In this scene from GLEE's 3rd episode of the season, three-time Emmy Award nominee Dot Marie Jones ("Coach Beiste") comes out as transgender to Sam (Chord Overstreet) and principal Sue Sylvester (out actor Jane Lynch).

I applaud the show approaching a very important subject. Some fans of the show, however, point out that this story arc conflicts with who the character has professed to being in the past ("deep down I am still just a girl").

I think the challenges transgender folk face are real, and very important, so I look forward to seeing how this is handled during the Fox series' last season.

I think with Dot Marie Jones handling the acting duties, the arc is in great hands.

News Roundup - January 17, 2015

Dot Marie Jones as "Coach Beiste"

A few news stories you might have missed:

• GLEE's Dot Marie Jones ("Coach Beiste") revealed this week that her character will transition from woman to man in a transgender story arc in the series' final season.

• Climate change deniers should take note: 2014 was the hottest year in recorded history.

• Fox has announced "Grease: Live" - a live TV adaptation of the hit musical - will star Julianne Hough (“Dancing with the Stars”) as "Sandy," and Vanessa Hudgens (“High School Musical”) as "Rizzo."

• A pastor in Denver has attempted to ensnare a pro-LGBT baker with charges of discrimination because she wouldn't bake a cake in the shape of a Bible with the words "God hates fags."

Teaser: 6th and Final Season Of GLEE

First teaser for the last season of GLEE is here. Looks like Rachel and Kurt head back to McKinley High to resurrect the GLEE club.

Can they find the magic again? Can Rachel find time to sing "Let It Go?"

We shall find out with the two hour premiere on January 9, 2015 on FOX

Max Adler returns to GLEE for final season

I wandered away from GLEE a couple of seasons ago as the show seemed to settle into a rhythm that seemed "same old, same old."

But I may have to tune in again as I hear that Max Adler, who played reformed bully and gay football player, Dave Karofsky, is returning for the Fox musical's final season. Word is his character will be “romantically entangled” with Blaine. Adler will appear in at least 4 of the final 13 episodes.

Glee co-creator Ryan Murphy told reporters in April that the final season would feature a time jump and focus more on the core original cast members.  From the Hollywood Reporter:

"The final season is really its own story and its own location, and while the New York stuff will be alive, the final season is not New York-centric at all," Murphy said. "It really [will be] a lovely, fitting season that … dwells on the original people that were on the show and what happens to them and how they give back. That really is the last season. .… We'll revisit some of the new kids that came and went. There's a return of the Jane-Matt characters in a big way. It's really interesting, a very sweet, satisfying ending to the story."

This all sounds like just the fix the show needs as those were the characters that were always the most compelling.

Music: Lea Michele "On My Way"

In what could be an ironic nod to her GLEE character "Rachel Berry," Lea Michele is at times somewhat infatuated with herself (see screen capture above) in this new music video for her single "On My Way" from her debut album LOUDER. When she's not focused on herself, she's smoldering at us the audience. Nothing wrong with it really, but it feels like she's trying pretty hard here.

The video seems to be a road trip with girl friends out having fun until she meets the scruffy, blond guy who seems to drive her to her "blackout state of mind."

Catchy enough song with lyrics about taking chances.

Jane Lynch - "It Got Better"

You might know her best for her role on Glee, but Jane Lynch wasn't always about song and dance.

Jane shares what it was like growing up with an "affliction", and how New York's piano-bar scene changed her life.

Says Jane, "I found my people."

Dan Savage and Lisa Kudrow serve as executive producers on this project.

Shirley MacLaine to guest-star on GLEE

Photo: Dante Di Loreto

According to TVLine, Oscar winner Shirley MacLaine is set for a multi-episode appearance on GLEE that ties into Darren Criss' move to the big city:

MacLaine, whose limited TV resume includes a recurring role as Lady Grantham’s mother Martha on Downton Abbey, will portray a powerful New York socialite intent on turning recent Big Apple transplant Blaine into a superstar. Her first episode is slated to air later this month.

"Defying Gravity" gets the GLEE treatment for episode 100

For the highly anticipated 100th episode of GLEE, the hit show will feature WICKED's 'Defying Gravity' performed by Amber Riley, Chris Colfer and Lea Michele.

Take a listen...

Dance: "If you are in a shell" Harry Shum Jr. of GLEE

Glee's Harry Shum Jr. has a choreographed message for those with something bottled up inside, who might feel shy or have been bullied into silence.