PETA's party for New York Fashion Week was a smashing success, even by Fashion Week standards. Hosted by Project Runway's Tim Gunn and Olivia Munn, the celebrity guests included Taraji P. Henson, Joan Jett, reality stars Lo Bosworth and Stephanie Pratt, and fashion designers Todd Oldham, John Bartlett, and Marc Bouwer, plus many others. They all partied at Stella McCartney's chic New York City boutique while listening to tunes spun by DJ Lady Bunny and munching on delicious vegan hors d'oeuvres.

Co-hosts, Tim Gunn and Olivia Munn

Taraji P. Henson and Lady Bunny

Joan Jett and Todd Oldham

Tim, looking dashing as always, screened the riveting anti-fur video that he narrated for PETA and spoke about how killing animals for their fur is never in fashion. "I'm on a campaign to get as many fashion designers as possible to stop using it," said Gunn. "I'd just like to sit with them and have a talk and ask, 'Is it really necessary?'" And when Tim Gunn talks about fashion, people listen.

Henson, the latest beauty to bare it all for animals, unveiled her sexy new ad and told the party attendees that she stopped wearing fur after channel-surfing and coming across the "I Am an Animal" documentary about PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. What she saw changed her entire perspective on fur, and she resolved to help others see the light."You don't have to kill an animal because you want to be hot and fly," she said. And she promised the crowd to keep on pushing to get fur off the streets.  

Written by Michelle Sherrow  

We know that you love to talk about how much you love PETA (we love you too!), but if some jealous type ever responds, "Dude, PETA's soooo gay," don't get offended, 'cause it's totally true! Here are a half-dozen reasons why: 

1.      Cruelty is a drag. Long before the current flock of RuPaul wannabes ruled the airwaves, PETA enlisted drag divas—including Lady Bunny, Lypsinka, and Flotilla DeBarge—to shed some light (and throw some shade) on animal abuse.

2.      Give a gal a break. PETA has always been a lesbian haven—from Ellen DeGeneres to k.d. lang to Sara Gilbert—even before they come out!

3.      Can you make out our message? PETA's famous make-out tours have not only been girl-on-girl but also guy-on-guy, because all vegetarians make better lovers—no matter whom you love.

4.      Pride in our work. PETA's Oakland office is a fixture in San Francisco's legendary annual Pride Parade, but instead of tossing beads (which wouldn't go with what you're wearing, anyway), they toss literature about the benefits of a vegan diet.

5.      You can hear a name drop. With apologies to Logo, our famous friends include the crème de la crème of the real gay A-list. (Reichen and Rodiney? Girl, please.) Perez Hilton, Martina Navratilova, Lance Bass, and Tim Gunn are just a few of the celebs whose love—of justice for animals—dare speak its name.

6.      Closets are for clothes—as long as they're not made from fur, leather, or wool. The staffs of PETA and the PETA Foundation include plenty of out-and-proud LGBT folks, from yours truly to PETA's senior (but eternally young) V.P. of campaigns, Dan Mathews, who was named one of Out magazine's "Power 50" and whose exploits—including an attempt to turn leather men into pleather men—are detailed in his witty memoir, Committed.

Let's face it: Animals don't care whether people are GLBTQ or none of the above—they just need us to help them. To learn how, take a look at this.

Written by Jeff Mackey

Colonel Sanders has finally met his heavily accessorized, bouffant-wearing, monster-sized match: Lady Bunny. The queen of all queens has teamed up with PETA to create an awesome anti-KFC billboard, which just went up in New York City. The larger-than-life female impersonator's ad advises tourists and commuters that the Colonel's "secret recipe" is cruelty to animals.

Lady Bunny joins other gorgeous pin-ups, including Pam Anderson and Imogen Bailey, who have protested the well-documented abuse of chickens who end up in KFC's deceptively pretty buckets of breast meat. However, only Lady Bunny can talk about there being "more than meets the eye" (regarding animal welfare, of course).

I've cocktailed at enough gay bars to know firsthand what happens "when queens attack"—and it ain't pretty. After all, who wants to upset a burly guy who has spent an hour squeezing into a size 3 dress and a pair of high heels?

Posted by Sean Conner