“You can’t change the way you are or who you fell in love with … We support Uncle Poodle and all the other poodles in the world too.”

— TLC reality star Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson in a statement publicized by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation on Oct. 19, Spirit Day, when people were encouraged to wear purple to oppose anti-LGBT bullying. Alana’s gay Uncle Poodle, aka Lee Thompson, gave an in-depth interview to GA Voice in our Oct. 12 issue. (GLAAD.org, Oct. 19)

“Being gay in the South, people don’t like it. Why? You have homophobes who want to beat you and bully you and name-call you … I am wearing purple today to let every youngster and teen know that is OK to be who you are. Don’t let nobody change that.”

— Lee Thompson, “Uncle Poodle,” in a video for Spirit Day recounting how he had been bullied “day in and day out” in school for being gay, but remains grateful for the support of his family. (GLAAD.org, Oct. 19)

“People always talk about the double entendres. There was not one double entendre in the music.”

—  David “Scar” Hodo, the construction worker in the ‘70s band The Village People, in an interview with other band members claiming songs like “YMCA” and “In the Navy” had no gay meaning. (The Sun, Oct. 22)

“I knew that I was a gay boy fairly early; what was interesting to me was that my mother didn’t know. … I said, ‘Mom, I don’t like direct sunlight, I don’t like bugs, I don’t like grass, and I’d rather be in the house playing with your fabric samples.’”

—  Interior design television host Nate Berkus, promoting “The Things that Matter,” his semiautobiographical book, in an interview with Joy Behar. (HuffingtonPost.com, Oct. 21)