Lambert and Queen teaming, Ratner seeks redemption, Gibson officer settles

Adam Lambert announcing that he will be joining two members of the rock band Queen as vocalist during its upcoming summer reunion show in England.

JTA Staff, 6nobacon.com

NEW YORK– It seems like the show will go on for Adam Lambertand Queen.

After a series of rumors about a possible extension of their collaboration, the “American Idol” runner-up finally announced via Twitter that he will be joining guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor this summer at the Sonisphere Festival at Knebworth Park in England. Bassist John Deacon chose not to participate.

Lambert and Queen performed together late last year during the MTV European Music Awards. The performance was highly complimented, which sparked a wave of rumors that Lambert first denied.

Lambert, one of the most eccentric and flamboyant performers in the rock world, also has been active in the Jewish world with versions of Kol Nidre and Shir LaShalom.

Ratner seeking redemption with LGBT video

A few months ago film director Brett Ratner resigned as director of the Oscars broadcast after using an anti-gay slur during a Q&A session about the film “Tower Heist,” which he directed. Ratner angered the LGBT community and others with the slur and, following the outcry, quit the Oscars gig. That in turn led to Eddie Murphy stepping down and resulting in  Billy Crystal moving in again as host.

Last week, Ratner announced that he will be directing a series of public service announcements for GLAAD, the gay and lesbian alliance against defamation.

“Working together with GLAAD has been a very positive and enlightening experience for me, and I could not be more pleased to be developing this crucial campaign to help educate people that we all share the same humanity,” Ratner said in a news release. “I am excited to get to work on this program and hope that minds and hearts are opened by what we create.”

Officer who arrested Gibson reaches settlement

Remember back in 2006 when Mel Gibson was arrested for drunk driving and said the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world? That sort of came back to bite him in the butt, as Gibson has been irrevocably disgraced in Hollywood and is now something of a poster child for modern anti-Semitism.

However, the incident wasn’t a total loss – at least not for James Mee, the Jewish sheriff’s deputy who arrested Gibson and caught his rant on audiotape. Mee claimed that his superiors retaliated against him for resisting pressure to remove the offending comments from the initial arrest report. He then filed a discrimination suit against L.A. County. Police officials denied the charges.

Last week, Mee reportedly struck a settlement deal for $50,000. His attorney, Etan Lorant, told TMZ that “Deputy Mee did not file his lawsuit for money. He filed his lawsuit for the principle of what had happened to him. He strongly believes in his case.”

Amar’e remembers his brother with teardrop tattoo

Last week we reported that Amar’e Stoudemire’s older brother Hazell was killed in a car crash in Florida. Amar’e was in Florida with his family, and his absence was one of the main reasons for the current Linsanity phenomenon, Jeremy Lin’s incredible rise as an NBA superstar.

Amar’e kept his Twitter pretty quiet about the situation, but did share some of his thoughts: “Boker Tov (good am). May Yah (g/d) the El of the people guide us, an take control of our life. 4 we R here as Ambassadors of Yah (g/d). Amen”

Amar’e revealed a new teardrop tattoo in memory of his brother. Last week’s win against the Sacramento Kings was Amar’e’s first game since he lost his brother. He scored 11 points, one more than Lin.