Gossip gay Michael Ausiello is reporting that actor Connor Paolo, who plays gay teen Eric on Gossip Girl, has been offered "regular" character status by the show and has refused the contract offer.

It might amount to nothing more than an actor not wanting to be hemmed in by a role that hasn't been giving him too terribly much to do, but of course the Ghost of Gay Teens Past rears its ugly head whenever this kind of thing happens.

I for one hope that Eric isn't going anywhere regardless and that there are no Dekkerian underpinnings to the news.

In its short run, I've learned to be patient with Gossip Girl. I spent a good part of the first few episodes complaining that Nate Archibald was just a boring lump of pretty until the writers figured him out. And ever since he came out last season, I've been a little frustrated that there hasn't been much to GG's gay teen Eric van der Woodsen. But my patience finally paid off in this week's episode, "The Mighty Archibalds".

Find out more about Eric's latest developments and why I'm giving this episode the up arrow after the break.

Every Friday we pick the gays in television who have had the best weeks, and leave it to you, the keepers of the flame, to decide who will be crowned Reigning Gay for the following week. We'll announce the winner on Monday, and that champ will reign until a new set of challengers are introduced the following Friday to try to steal his title.

For the past week, General Hospital: Night Shift's Dr. Kyle Julian has been enjoying the crown ... but today three new players arise to challenge him.

Meet them and make your choice, after the break!

Last night's Gossip Girl (aka the un-gritty Skins) easily hit a high-water mark on the gayness scale ... and thankfully some of that was actual gayness instead of the show's usual implied gayness.

Most importantly, we got to meet Johnathan, Eric's well-mannered but oddly-unstylish boyfriend. We get our first hints about Johnathan (played by Spring Awakening alum Matt Doyle) when Eric asks if he can invite a friend for the upcoming housewarming party and then prefaces Johnathan's debut by introducing him to the family, first Chuck, then Serena. Johnathan is a "blink and you'll miss him" role, but if Eric's introducing him to family, maybe we'll have more chances not to blink.

Eric's new boyfriend, Johnathan

Johnathan doesn't make it to the party, however, as Eric disinvites him after a talk with his stepfather, Bart. Eric tells Serena that he had a change of heart after Bart pointed out that there would be media at the party (he left out that National Coming Out Day was weeks ago). Serena, however, suspects it's all about the conservative clients that Bart invited to the party.

After the break: There was Johnathan, and then there was all the HoYay.

Kevin (Matthew Rhys) parts with one of his dolls in the October 19th episode of Brothers & Sisters

Following this assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear after the jump. Yes, we're serious.

• In today's non-news, Miley Cyrus has reportedly asked that Disneyland be closed for her big birthday party this weekend, leading some hysterical pubs to announce that she's "leaving the gay community out in the cold", as that is part of Disney Gay Days weekend. Never mind that the gays are scheduled to be at a different park that day or that it's pretty hard to leave anyone "out in the cold" in Southern California.

• Alan Ball has a few movie ideas in mind once he's got Season 2 of True Blood written: one's a 1930's screwball comedy and another's a feminist horror comedy "with a body count". Hey, why not do both together? He could call it Adam's Ribs!

• Swingtown, which had its share of fans here, will be heading to Bravo for an exclusive full-series run. The show did get pretty gay-inclusive by the end, and let's face it, what's not to love about some syndicated Tom and Trina Decker?

• Above, from our sibs at 365Gay.com: A report on the recent deposition of an Episcopal Bishop who tried to split the Church after it appointed its first openly gay Bishop.

• Now that Xanadu on Broadway has closed (pauses to wipe away tear), out badunka-hunk Cheyenne Jackson is moving on to other projects, including playing the lead in George Bernard Shaw's The Shewing-Up of Blanco Posnet, a wild west melodrama being mounted as a part of The Project Shaw. Let's hope there are chaps involved.

• Chace Crawford, Ed Westwick and Penn Badgley (all of Gossip Girl) appear on the cover of this month's Details and inside they mourn the media obsession with their sexualities. I may be more inclined to take the discussion seriously were it not sharing front-page space with the headline "Do You Have Douchebag Hair?".

And today's Briefs are brought to you by...

*** Spoilers Ahead! ***

Gossip Girl kicked off its much anticipated second season last night, and the episode had most of the rich kids hanging around the Hamptons for an end of summer last hurrah – the White Party – and if you’re expecting P. Diddy to be in any way involved with this soiree you’re going to be disappointed – the way the show interprets "The White Party" it's pretty much overwhelmingly white and waspy.

Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meister) is a late arrival. She's been in Paris all summer with her two gay dads nursing a broken heart because resident bad boy Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick) stood her up at the airport in last season's finale. Determined to make amends, Chuck arms himself with a bouquet of flowers and heads to the "jitney station" (it's like a bus station only much fancier) to escort her back to Grandma Van der Woodsen's swanky Hamptons mansion. May I say, Ed Westwick is looking vastly better this season. I think it's the new hairdo...

Ed Westwick

Unfortunately for Chuck, Blair is determined to make him jealous so she's brought with her a handsome but bland Georgetown student who she pretends to be madly in love with. Now it's Chuck's turn to be crushed.

Serena & Nate have been pretending too. They've been masquerading as a couple all summer. Serena needs a pretend boyfriend so "all the guys will leave her alone" and Nate (Chace Crawford) needs some cover because he's having a clandestine affair with an older married woman (Madchen Amick). Amick looks great by the way  - her "Twin Peaks" are as perky as ever.

Visionary gay designer Alexander McQueen and Miss Jackson at the opening of his new L.A. store

In a continued effort to bring you all that is important in the world of gay entertainment and ensure that you are being spoon-fed images of gorgeous, commoditized manflesh, we present the newly-minted AfterElton Briefs. Following the usual assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear after the jump. Yes, we're serious.

• Gossip Girl's Chace Crawford is cool with the gay rumors, saying that it means he's "made it" in Hollywood. (Yes, but made it with whom?) In related news, congrats! We've all made it in Hollywood!

• Here's the strangest press release for a faux memoir of a self-obsessed gay hitman who tangles with art thieves, alien invasions and "would-be vampires" that I've seen all week. (the novel is called Renaissance Killer)

• Hey, As the World Turns fans: Luke actually popped up out of the blue in one scene at the end of today's episode to tell Holden what happened between him and Noah on Monday. What, Holden doesn't have TiVo? Sheesh...

• The in-production prison romance I Love You Phillip Morris is getting some serious promotion already at the in-progress Cannes Film Festival. (Cinematical via Towleroad)

• A recent advertising study focusing on brand loyalty of gay consumers tells us what we already know: we prefer companies that don't ignore us or treat us like dirt. A spokesman for the firm that conducted the study noted that "gays and lesbians are fiercely loyal customers to brands they perceive as reaching out to them". Well, at least he said "fierce".

And today's Briefs are brought to you by...

You didn't think we'd go into Mother's Day weekend without paying tribute to those wacky ladies (real and otherwise) that gave birth to our fabulousness, did you?  If you can't surprise your Mom with Sunday brunch or a T-shirt with your face on it, be sure to call her/them and express your love and gratitude for raising such a fierce child. 

It is, after all, Mother's Day so just remember, kiddies ... without Mothers there'd be no frakkers; without Mamas there'd be no Mia's, and the most important lesson of all: those lovely ladies that brought you into this world can take you out just as easily (sorry, I had to), so celebrate them!

Sit back and relax as I honor some of my favorite real-life Moms, as well as those from television and movies that represent the good, the bad and the ugly of memorable mamas.

THE NEWBIE
Lily Van der Woodsen (Gossip Girl)

Gossip Girl's Lily Van der Woodsen is a complex character who wants to be a better woman, Mother and lover than her upper crust gal pals and family will allow and I currently heart her. Sure Lily will marry any Tom, Dick or Bart for their money and she'll go to great lengths to save face amongst the Upper East Side elite and yes, she had a mini-meltdown when evil Georgina outed her son Eric at the dinner table but she came around in the end! Kelly Rutherford has taken what could have been a one-note rich bitch and made her a woman to root for. PFLAG will never be the same.

THE SEMI-OLD PRO
Nora Walker (Brothers & Sisters)

Nora Walker meddles and occasionally messes with her children's lives but she's always best friend and supporter to her gay son Kevin Walker (Matthew Rhys) on ABC's Brothers & Sisters.  Sally Field is a powerful presence on screen and she can dominate the drama like no one else but she always let's her character live and breathe the world of her children (often to a fault) and she's really embraced Kevin's relationship and soon to be marriage to Scotty (played by Luke MacFarlane).  Nora could teach Lily a thing or two about patience and acceptance.

THE TRUE OLD PRO
Debbie Novotny (Queer as Folk - US)

Debbie (or PFLAG The Clown as my friend Armando likes to call her) could school all other Mother's on how to support your gay child and every fey friend that makes up his/her gay gang.  She's been crazy involved in her son Michael's (played by the adorable Hal Sparks) social and sex life so if you have questions on which gay clubs to haunt or which lube works best she's your go-to-gal.  Debbie does the gays proud and I salute her efforts and enthusiasm in grounding the sometimes outrageous Queer as Folk.

THE LEGEND
Anne Bancroft (Torch Song Trilogy's Ma Beckoff | Home For The Holiday's Adele Larson )

Anne Bancroft played two of the most memorable Gay Movie Moms from two of my favorite films with gay characters. In the classic Torch Song Trilogy she was the conflicted, confused, and sometimes pain in the ass Ma to Harvey Fierstein's Arnold Beckoff. In the end she realized that no matter how you raise them, sometimes kids really do "come that way."  In Jodie Foster's Home For The Holidays, she was the Mom most in need of a Silkwood shower and a neurotic nag to her gay son Tommy (Robert Downey Jr.) but she was never anything but amazing.  Rest In Peace Anne Bancroft (1931-2005).

THE ASS KICKER
Sandra Gangel (Beautiful Thing)

Sandra's the kind of woman that's not afraid to stand up to an abusive Father, knock out a whacked out Mama Cass lovin' neighbor, and encourage her gay son to make his own kind of music. Linda Henry's multi-layered performance in Beautiful Thing has always forced me to stand up and cheer.  She's funny, intense, and ruthless but encouraging and nurturing to not only her gay son Jamie but his teenaged lover Ste.  The final scene of the film is one of endless hope and utopia made even more amazing by Sandra's fearless efforts to accept her son.

I'm sure you're familiar with the TV junkie's version of Murphy's Law, where you finally get your friends to check out that show you love only to see the worst episode to air. Last night's Gossip Girl disappointed me that way. Where many of us became addicted to the CW's soap opera about absurdly precocious teens because of the inner demons that drive these characters, the last few episodes have traded pathos for cattiness and bon mots ... including in how the show revealed its gay character.

Find out who the gay Gossip guy is and the circumstances surrounding his multiple outings after the break...