Q: With New Hollywood being gay obsessed, what are the truths behind the gay blind items? I have heard ones that could point to Jake Gyllenhaal, Zac Efron, Chace Crawford, Barron Hilton, Bow Wow... How do we know which ones are actually true? Can gay blind items be made up? -- Paul, Toronto, Ontario

A: “Blind items” are gossip items that include no name, but give a few identifying characteristics of the celebrity in question, though never enough to identify the person for sure. They became popular in print gossip columns like the New York Post’s Page Six and have since segued seamlessly to the Internet on gossip websites like Dlisted and Perez Hilton (both of which the Flying Monkey refuses, on principle, to link to).

Can they be completely made up? Sure, but I don’t think they usually are. After all, even gossipmongers have professional pride. Self-respect, no, but professional pride, yes. I think most of these items are based on actual tips.

The problem is this. Every gossipmonger wants to print a scoop like “Jake Gyllenhaal has a boyfriend!” The reason they don’t is because (a) they like to think they have some journalistic credibility and don’t want egg on their faces when a huge story like that turns out to be false, and (b) they don’t want to get sued (while it’s extremely hard for a public figure to sue for libel, it’s possible if they can prove the “journalist” knew something was false and printed it anyway).

But “blind items” let gossipmongers have their cake and eat it too. They can heavily imply that Jake has a boyfriend, drawing attention (and page-views) to themselves. But because these items are written in such a vague way, they have a perfect out if someone accuses them of being factually wrong or threatens to sue. The gossipmonger can merrily dance away from what they wrote, saying, “Oh, I wasn’t talking about Jake Gyllenhaal! I meant someone else!”

In other words, it completely bypasses the ordinary checks-and-balances of basic journalism, the fact-check and verification that most “tips” have to go through before they end up in print, and the very real consequences for recklessly getting a story wrong. So what you end up with is complete rumor. And as anyone who went through the sixth grade knows: every now and then a rumor turns out to be true, but most of the time it doesn’t.

Again, the gossipmonger probably sincerely believes these tips are true. But that doesn’t mean you should.

Q: Please find out if it's true that Captain Jack is leaving Torchwood. If so, the show is dead to me! – Tricia, Washington, D.C.

A: A BBC publicist told me, “We don’t comment on these kinds of stories.”

Nonetheless, you might be interested in this “blind item” about a certain Scottish actor-singer who is still carrying a torch for the television wood where he has recently played with his sci-fi friends.

Hey, give me a break. I’m new to this “blind item” thing.

Seriously, though, this talk of Barrowman’s leaving is almost certainly worthless. That same rumor also said Burn Gorman and most of the rest of the cast were also leaving, something Gorman has said is definitely false in his case. While it’s true Doctor Who frequently changes its lead actor, right now Torchwood pretty much is John Barrowman, who has said he’d be happy to play the part for quite a bit longer. So relax, grab some retcon (in case I turn out to be wrong), and settle back to wait for Season 3 with John as Captain Jack.

Q: There have to be more gay rock stars than those that have already come out, such as Rufus, that member from Styx, what’s his name from that metal 80’s band, and what’s his name Baldry. I’ve heard rumors that Jeff Beck is gay. Is that true and are there any others? – Bill, Amherst, NH

A: First things first. The openly gay rock stars you refer to are Rufus Wainwright, Styx bassist Chuck Panozzo, Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford, and “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling”’s blues singer Long John Baldry.

From left to right: Chuck Panozzo, Rob Halford, Long John Baldry

Other gay or bisexual rock stars include REM’s Michael Stipe; Elton John; the late Freddy Mercury; Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant; George Michael; The Feeling’s vocalist Dan Gillespie-Sells; Scissor Sisters’ Jake Shears, Babydaddy, and Del Marquis; the B52s vocalist Fred Schneider and guitarist Keith Strickland; former Hüsker Dü frontman Bob Mould; Placebo frontman Brian Molko and bassist Stefan Olsdal; Imperial Teen keyboardist Roddy Bottum and vocalist Will Schwartz; and King’s X frontman Doug Pinnick.

Rock stars frequently rumored to be bisexual or gay, but who have denied it or never come out include Morrissey, Mika, Ricky Martin, Sammy Hagar, Joe Jackson, and Jeff Beck. Both Pete Townshend and David Bowie came out at different points (or were quoted as coming out), but then later sort of took it back.