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{{short description|Canadian artist}} |
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{{Other people|Richard Burnett}} |
{{Other people|Richard Burnett}} |
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'''Richard Burnett''' is a Canadian writer, editor, journalist and columnist. His [[Column (newspaper)|column]] and blog, "Three Dollar Bill", deals with [[gay]] life and [[Sexuality and gender identity-based cultures|culture]] across Canada and around the world. Burnett was also editor-at-large of [[Montreal]]'s [[Alternative media|alternative]] [[newsmagazine|newsweekly]] ''[[Hour (magazine)|Hour]]'' for 15 years until the newspaper published its last issue on April 7, 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://montrealgazette.com/Weekly+paper+Hour+fate/4578485/story.html |accessdate=April 17, 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110411050218/http://www.montrealgazette.com/Weekly+paper+Hour+fate/4578485/story.html |archivedate=April 11, 2011 |title=Weekly paper Hour's fate up in the air|publisher=Postmedia Network Inc.|work=[[Montreal Gazette]]}}</ref> Burnett wrote his ''POP TART'' blog <ref>{{cite web|author= |url= https://montrealgazette.com/author/bugsburnett |title=Richard Burnett |publisher=Montreal Gazette |date= |accessdate=2015-12-04}}</ref> for the ''[[Montreal Gazette]]'' from 2011 to 2016, as well as his weekly ''Seven Days, Seven Nights'' arts column <ref>{{cite web|author= |url=https://montrealgazette.com/author/richard-burnette-special-to-the-montreal-gazette |title=Richard Burnett, Special to |publisher=Montreal Gazette |date= |accessdate=2015-04-25}}</ref> from 2014 to 2016. Burnett is a frequent contributor to the ''[[Montreal Gazette]]'' and other media outlets, is a pop culture pundit on Montreal's top-rated [[CJAD]] 800 AM Radio and is an arts and culture blogger for [[Tourisme Montréal]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tourisme-montreal.org/blog/author/ |title=Our Contributors |publisher=Tourisme Montréal |archivedate=October 2, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161002110817/http://www.tourisme-montreal.org/blog/author/ }}</ref> Burnett has also been a regular writer and columnist for both ''[[Xtra!]]'' and ''[[Fugues (magazine)|Fugues]]'' since 1998. |
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| name = Richard Burnett |
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| image = |
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| caption = |
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| birth_name = Richard Burnett |
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| other names = Bugs Burnett |
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| birth_date = |
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| birth_place = [[Montreal, Quebec, Canada]] |
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| education = [[Concordia University]] |
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| occupation = Writer, editor, [[journalist]], and [[columnist]] |
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}} |
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'''Richard Burnett''', also known as '''Bugs Burnett''',<ref name=":1">{{cite web|author=|date=|title=Richard Burnett|url=https://montrealgazette.com/author/bugsburnett|publisher=Montreal Gazette|accessdate=2015-12-04}}</ref> is a Canadian writer, editor, journalist, and [[columnist]]. He is known as an often controversial fixture of the [[Media in Montreal|Montreal media]], with his writing sometimes attracting attention internationally.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":3" /> His [[Column (newspaper)|column]] and blog, "Three Dollar Bill", dealt with pop culture, art, and [[gay]] [[Sexuality and gender identity-based cultures|life and culture]] across Canada and around the world. "Three Dollar Bill" was the first—and remains the only—syndicated [[LGBT|LGBTQ+]] column in Canadian publishing history, and it ran for 15 years.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=Vaughan|first=R. M.|date=February 16, 2017|title=Mr. Montreal: If Richard Burnett doesn't attend your event, it might be said that it never happened|url=https://www.cbc.ca/arts/mr-montreal-if-richard-burnett-doesn-t-attend-your-event-it-might-be-said-that-it-never-happened-1.3986214|website=[[CBC Arts]]}}</ref> |
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Burnett was one of the original organizers of Montreal’s internationally renowned [[Divers/Cité]] festival, was the founding president of the Montreal chapter of the [[National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association]], is a regular lecturer and panelist at universities and conferences, co-starred in the first season of the [[Life Network]]’s reality TV series ''Out in the City'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.telefilm.gc.ca/data/production/prod_748.asp?lang=en&cat=tv&g=doc&y=2002 |title=Out à Montréal - Telefilm Canada |publisher=Telefilm.gc.ca |accessdate=2015-04-25 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=http://webarchive.bac-lac.gc.ca:8080/wayback/20061128051051/http://www.telefilm.gc.ca/data/production/prod_748.asp?lang=en&cat=tv&g=doc&y=2002 |archivedate=2006-11-28 }}</ref> and has been interviewed and profiled in publications across Canada, Europe and the U.S., including ''[[Xtra!]]'', ''[[Ryerson Review of Journalism]]'', ''[[Washington Blade]]'', ''[[Masthead (magazine)|Masthead]]'', ''[[Passport Magazine]]'', Australia's ''[[DNA (magazine)|DNA]]'' and the international Dutch magazine ''WINQ''.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100308031048/http://www.zinio.com/reader.jsp?issn=1876-1445&o=ext]{{dead link|fix-attempted=yes|date=March 2020}}</ref> Burnett was named one of Alberta-based ''[[Outlooks]]'' magazine's Canadian Heroes of the Year in their June 2009 issue,<ref>[http://www.outlooks.ca/site_images/issues/Outlooks-June09-WEB.pdf ]{{dead link|date=April 2015}}</ref> was dubbed『Canada’s bad boy syndicated gay columnist』by porn director [[Flash Conway]] and is also listed by Quebec's French-language gay publication ''[[Fugues (magazine)|Fugues]]'' as one of that province's 100 most influential gay Quebecers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://fugues.vortex.qc.ca/Perso_popup.cfm?l=Fr&startrow=1 |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2007-02-11 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930024244/http://fugues.vortex.qc.ca/Perso_popup.cfm?l=Fr&startrow=1 |archivedate=2007-09-30 }}</ref>『As [[Michael Musto]] is to New York City, Richard Burnett is to [[Montréal]],』The ''Montréal Buzz'' stated in April 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tourisme-montreal.org/blog/what-to-see/meet-a-montrealer-richard-burnett/ |title=Tourisme Montréal Blog |publisher=Tourisme-montreal.org |date= |accessdate=2015-04-25}}</ref> |
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In 2017, [[CBC Arts]] wrote that "If you live in Montreal and you go out at night, you know Richard "Bugs" Burnett. Perhaps that's an understatement. If you live in Montreal and go outside, you know Burnett. Existentially speaking, if Richard Burnett does not attend your event, it might be said that your event never happened."<ref name=":3" /> |
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{{Tone|section|date=April 2015}} |
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The column debuted in July 1996 and ran in several alternative newsweeklies, LGBTQ publications and websites, including ''[[Vue Weekly]]'' ([[Edmonton]]), ''[[Uptown (newspaper)|Uptown]]'' ([[Winnipeg]]), ''[[Pulse Niagara]]'', ''[[View Magazine]]'' ([[Hamilton, Ontario|Hamilton]]), ''[[Echo Weekly]]'' ([[Kitchener, Ontario|Kitchener]]), ''[[Ottawa XPress]]'', ''[[Fab (magazine)|Fab]]'' ([[Toronto]]), ''[[Here magazine]]'' ([[New Brunswick]]), ''[[Current magazine]]'' ([[Newfoundland and Labrador]]), the ''[[Tampa Bay Gazette]],'' [[365Gay.com]] and GayWired.com, for 15 years. Three Dollar Bill was the first—and remains the only—syndicated LGBTQ column in Canadian publishing history. |
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== Career == |
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The column first made national news in September 1998 when Winnipeg’s ''Uptown'' magazine dropped the column after one installment ignited a citywide furor over gay sex. |
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Burnett began working as a writer in the 1990s for several magazines and newspapers.<ref name=":3" /> |
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"After the column was published a local radio personality read excerpts over the air as an example of the kind of material easily accessed by Winnipeg children," Toronto-based ''Masthead'' magazine reported in its Nov/Dec 1998 issue. "Reaction was swift and ferocious. Uptown managing editor Jason Nichol says he was "inundated" with angry phone calls and letters; advertisers were chagrined and large-scale distribution points were jeopardized. Nichol says he had no choice but to kill the column. There wasn't a peep of outrage in Edmonton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Ottawa or Montreal where other publications carried the same column." |
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His [[Column (newspaper)|column]] and blog, "Three Dollar Bill", dealt with pop culture, art, and [[gay]] [[Sexuality and gender identity-based cultures|life and culture]] across Canada and around the world. He often spoke frankly about topics that were considered [[taboo]].<ref name=":3" /> "Three Dollar Bill" was the first—and remains the only—syndicated [[LGBT|LGBTQ+]] column in Canadian publishing history, and it ran for 15 years.<ref name=":3" /> In an interview with [[CBC News|CBC]], Brunett said the column was averaging more than 1 million readers at its peak.<ref name=":3" /> |
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"Three Dollar Bill" debuted in July 1996 and ran in several alternative newsweeklies. The column first made national news in September 1998 when Winnipeg’s ''Uptown'' magazine dropped the column after one installment ignited a citywide furor over gay sex. ''[[Montreal Gazette]]'' columnist Bill Brownstein reported about this incident in his July 26, 2006 column on the 10th anniversary of "Three Dollar Bill".<ref name=":4">{{cite web|date=2006-07-26|title=A decade of speaking up - with effect|url=http://www.canada.com/story_print.html?id=eb470448-be7e-49b1-8cbc-52e15bc19e69&sponsor=|url-status=dead|publisher=Canada.com|accessdate=2015-04-25|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160119021822/http://www.canada.com/story_print.html?id=eb470448-be7e-49b1-8cbc-52e15bc19e69&sponsor=|archivedate=2016-01-19}}</ref><blockquote>Over the last decade, his column has been dropped by a Winnipeg weekly after complaints about its graphic content, and underwent an investigation by the [[Royal Newfoundland Constabulary]] for being 'pornographic'. Current [[Parti Québécois]] leader [[André Boisclair]] is no fan of the man, after Burnett outed him [in 1997] - not out of malice but because Burnett felt that Boisclair, a PQ cabinet minister at the time, was being hypocritical and hurtful.<ref name=":4" /></blockquote>Brownstein also wrote that "Burnett has interviewed celebs from diva [[Cher]] to author [[Anne Rice]]. He has crossed swords with [[B.B. King]] and [[Mordecai Richler]]. He has outed [[Ricky Martin]]—again for hypocrisy—and outraged [[Cyndi Lauper]]. And he's had [[death threat]]s."<ref name=":4" /> |
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=== Other work === |
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Brownstein also writes, "Burnett has interviewed celebs from diva [[Cher]] to author [[Anne Rice]]. He has crossed swords with [[B.B. King]] and [[Mordecai Richler]]. He has outed [[Ricky Martin]]—again for hypocrisy—and outraged [[Cyndi Lauper]]. And he's had death threats." |
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Burnett was one of the original organizers of Montreal’s internationally renowned [[Divers/Cité]] festival, was the founding president of the Montreal chapter of the [[National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association]], is a regular lecturer and panelist at universities and conferences, and co-starred in the first season of the [[Life Network]]’s reality TV series ''Out in the City''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Out à Montréal - Telefilm Canada|url=http://www.telefilm.gc.ca/data/production/prod_748.asp?lang=en&cat=tv&g=doc&y=2002|url-status=dead|publisher=Telefilm.gc.ca|accessdate=2015-04-25|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20130101033029/http://www.telefilm.gc.ca/data/production/prod_748.asp?lang=en&cat=tv&g=doc&y=2002|archivedate=2013-01-01}}</ref> |
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Burnett was also editor-at-large of [[Montreal]]'s [[Alternative media|alternative]] [[newsmagazine|newsweekly]] ''[[Hour (magazine)|Hour]]'' for 15 years until the newspaper published its last issue on April 7, 2011.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|title=Weekly paper Hour's fate up in the air|url=https://montrealgazette.com/Weekly+paper+Hour+fate/4578485/story.html|url-status=dead|work=[[Montreal Gazette]]|publisher=Postmedia Network Inc.|accessdate=April 17, 2011|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110411050218/http://www.montrealgazette.com/Weekly+paper+Hour+fate/4578485/story.html|archivedate=April 11, 2011}}</ref> Burnett wrote his ''POP TART'' blog for the ''[[Montreal Gazette]]'' from 2011 to 2016,<ref name=":1" /> as well as his weekly ''Seven Days, Seven Nights'' arts column from 2014 to 2016.<ref name=":2">{{cite web|author=|date=|title=Richard Burnett, Special to|url=https://montrealgazette.com/author/richard-burnette-special-to-the-montreal-gazette|publisher=Montreal Gazette|accessdate=2015-04-25}}</ref> |
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Burnett was quoted about rising new [[HIV]] |
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| ⚫ | Burnett also got the last-ever sit-down interview with [[James Brown]] before Brown died on December 25, 2006.<ref>{{cite web|title=James Brown - Audience with the Godfather - Hour Community|url=http://www.hour.ca/music/music.aspx?iIDArticle=11069|url-status=dead|publisher=Hour.ca|accessdate=2015-04-25|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091116044652/http://www.hour.ca/music/music.aspx?iIDArticle=11069|archivedate=2009-11-16}}</ref> |
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Burnett's 2004 ''Hour'' cover story interview with Jamaican dancehall performer Sizzla <ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web |url=http://www.hour.ca/music/music.aspx?iIDArticle=3876 |title=Sizzla - What happened to "one love"? - Hour Community |publisher=Hour.ca |accessdate=2015-04-25 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110205081626/http://www.hour.ca/music/music.aspx?iIDArticle=3876 |archivedate=2011-02-05 }}</ref> |
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Burnett has been writing for the Montreal-based LGBT magazine [[Fugues (magazine)]], since 1995. |
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Burnett made more |
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As his career has progressed, he has devoted a significant amount of his writing into covering [[opera]].<ref name=":3" /> |
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Burnett also riled many Canadians when he critiqued the medals of Vancouver's [[2010 Winter Olympics]]. "The gold and bronze medals look like melted chocolate someone pulled out of their back pocket," Burnett told the [[Associated Press]]. "The silver medal looks like it still has foil wrap on it." |
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== Controversies == |
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Burnett also got the last-ever sit-down interview with [[James Brown]] <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hour.ca/music/music.aspx?iIDArticle=11069 |
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He is known as an often controversial fixture of the [[Media in Montreal|Montreal media]], with his writing sometimes attracting attention internationally.<ref name=":4" /> |
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| ⚫ | Burnett's 2004 ''Hour'' cover story interview with Jamaican dancehall performer [[Sizzla]] was reported on national newscasts in Canada,<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web |url=http://www.hour.ca/music/music.aspx?iIDArticle=3876 |title=Sizzla - What happened to "one love"? - Hour Community |publisher=Hour.ca |accessdate=2015-04-25 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110205081626/http://www.hour.ca/music/music.aspx?iIDArticle=3876 |archivedate=2011-02-05 }}</ref> and made international headlines—including in Jamaica's national newspaper [[Jamaica Gleaner|''The Jamaica Gleaner'']]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20040930/cleisure/cleisure3.html |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20041028103702/http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20040930/cleisure/cleisure3.html |archivedate=October 28, 2004 |title=And now, 'homofibia'(Part 1) |date=September 30, 2004|first=Melville |last=Cooke |publisher=Gleaner Company Ltd.}}</ref>—after Sizzla told Burnett, "[Homosexuality] is wrong! Once we stoop to sodomites and homosexuals, it is wrong! ... Burn all things that are wrong. Burn it... We must get rid of [[Sodom and Gomorrah]] right now."<ref name="autogenerated1" /> In response to Burnett and British gay activist [[Peter Tatchell]]'s criticisms, Sizzla wrote the 2005 song "Nah Apologize" in which he repeats in the chorus "Rastaman nah apologize to no [[batty boy]]!"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hour.ca/columns/3dollarbill.aspx?iIDArticle=19036 |title=Three Dollar Bill - Public enemy - Hour Community |publisher=Hour.ca |date= |accessdate=2015-04-25}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lyricsmania.com/nah_apologize_lyrics_sizzla.html |title=Sizzla - Nah Apologize Lyrics |publisher=Lyricsmania.com |date= |accessdate=2015-04-25}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | In 2005, Burnett was quoted about rising new [[HIV]] infections in a ''[[POZ (magazine)|POZ]]'' cover story called "Bite the Bullet" as saying that "If you want to play God, [deliberately] spread HIV and ruin other lives in the process—then do us all a g------ favor and put a f------ bullet through your head instead.”<ref>{{cite news|last=Evans|first=David|date=August 2005|title=Bite The Bullet|work=POZ|url=http://www.poz.com/articles/265_2017.shtml|accessdate=2008-05-21}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | Burnett made more headlines when he criticized the [[Federation of Gay Games]] decision to revoke Montreal's 2006 Gay Games after the FGG's acrimonious split with Montreal organizers.<ref>[http://www.outsports.com/forums/index.php?s=978c5813714cc34600b51ffeb1fa92c9&showtopic=3660&st=240&p=309860&#entry309860 ] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606025547/http://www.outsports.com/forums/index.php?s=978c5813714cc34600b51ffeb1fa92c9&showtopic=3660&st=240&p=309860& |date=2011-06-06 }}</ref> "If the Gay Games are the Uganda of the sports world, then the FGG is [[Idi Amin]]," Burnett wrote.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hour.ca/columns/3dollarbill.aspx?iIDArticle=687 |title=Three Dollar Bill - We built this city - Hour Community |publisher=Hour.ca |date= |accessdate=2015-04-25}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | Burnett also riled many Canadians when he critiqued the medals of Vancouver's [[2010 Winter Olympics]]. "The gold and bronze medals look like melted chocolate someone pulled out of their back pocket," Burnett told the [[Associated Press]]. "The silver medal looks like it still has foil wrap on it."<ref>{{cite news |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110116225627/http://wintergames.ap.org/story.aspx?st=id&id=8a2aa801e86e4d51a21945d76d0be26f |archivedate=January 16, 2011 |url=http://wintergames.ap.org/story.aspx?st=id&id=8a2aa801e86e4d51a21945d76d0be26f |title=Critics poke fun at wavy look of Vancouver medals |date=February 14, 2010 |first=Leanne |last=Italie}}</ref> |
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== Cultural impact == |
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Burnett was named one of Alberta-based ''[[Outlooks]]'' magazine's Canadian Heroes of the Year in their June 2009 issue,<ref>[http://www.outlooks.ca/site_images/issues/Outlooks-June09-WEB.pdf]{{dead link|date=April 2015}}</ref> and was listed by Quebec's French-language gay publication ''[[Fugues (magazine)|Fugues]]'' as one of that province's 100 most influential gay Quebecers.<ref>{{cite web|title=FUGUES - Qui est Qui?|url=http://fugues.vortex.qc.ca/Perso_popup.cfm?l=Fr&startrow=1|url-status=dead|accessdate=2007-02-11|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930024244/http://fugues.vortex.qc.ca/Perso_popup.cfm?l=Fr&startrow=1|archivedate=2007-09-30}}</ref> "As [[Michael Musto]] is to New York City, Richard Burnett is to Montreal," The ''Montreal Buzz'' stated in April 2010.<ref>{{cite web|date=|title=Tourisme Montréal Blog|url=http://www.tourisme-montreal.org/blog/what-to-see/meet-a-montrealer-richard-burnett/|publisher=Tourisme-montreal.org|accessdate=2015-04-25}}</ref> |
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Throughout his career, Burnett has been known as a prominent figure in Montreal's [[nightlife]] scene. In 2017, [[CBC Arts]] wrote that "If you live in Montreal and you go out at night, you know Richard "Bugs" Burnett. Perhaps that's an understatement. If you live in Montreal and go outside, you know Burnett. Existentially speaking, if Richard Burnett does not attend your event, it might be said that your event never happened."<ref name=":3" /> |
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== Influences == |
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Burnett cites the late Montreal newspaperman [[Nick Auf der Maur]] and ''[[The New York Times]]'' bestselling author [[Felice Picano]] as his two mentors.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hour.ca/2011/04/07/au-revoir-kind-of-6/ |title=Three Dollar Bill - Au revoir, kind of - Hour Community |publisher=Hour.ca |date= |accessdate=2015-04-25}}</ref> |
Burnett cites the late Montreal newspaperman [[Nick Auf der Maur]] and ''[[The New York Times]]'' bestselling author [[Felice Picano]] as his two mentors.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hour.ca/2011/04/07/au-revoir-kind-of-6/ |title=Three Dollar Bill - Au revoir, kind of - Hour Community |publisher=Hour.ca |date= |accessdate=2015-04-25}}</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{ |
{{reflist|30em}} |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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Richard Burnett
| |
|---|---|
| Born | Richard Burnett |
| Other names | Bugs Burnett |
| Education | Concordia University |
| Occupation(s) | Writer, editor, journalist, and columnist |
Richard Burnett, also known as Bugs Burnett,[1] is a Canadian writer, editor, journalist, and columnist. He is known as an often controversial fixture of the Montreal media, with his writing sometimes attracting attention internationally.[2][3] His column and blog, "Three Dollar Bill", dealt with pop culture, art, and gay life and culture across Canada and around the world. "Three Dollar Bill" was the first—and remains the only—syndicated LGBTQ+ column in Canadian publishing history, and it ran for 15 years.[3]
In 2017, CBC Arts wrote that "If you live in Montreal and you go out at night, you know Richard "Bugs" Burnett. Perhaps that's an understatement. If you live in Montreal and go outside, you know Burnett. Existentially speaking, if Richard Burnett does not attend your event, it might be said that your event never happened."[3]
Burnett began working as a writer in the 1990s for several magazines and newspapers.[3]
His column and blog, "Three Dollar Bill", dealt with pop culture, art, and gay life and culture across Canada and around the world. He often spoke frankly about topics that were considered taboo.[3] "Three Dollar Bill" was the first—and remains the only—syndicated LGBTQ+ column in Canadian publishing history, and it ran for 15 years.[3] In an interview with CBC, Brunett said the column was averaging more than 1 million readers at its peak.[3]
"Three Dollar Bill" debuted in July 1996 and ran in several alternative newsweeklies. The column first made national news in September 1998 when Winnipeg’s Uptown magazine dropped the column after one installment ignited a citywide furor over gay sex. Montreal Gazette columnist Bill Brownstein reported about this incident in his July 26, 2006 column on the 10th anniversary of "Three Dollar Bill".[2]
Over the last decade, his column has been dropped by a Winnipeg weekly after complaints about its graphic content, and underwent an investigation by the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary for being 'pornographic'. Current Parti Québécois leader André Boisclair is no fan of the man, after Burnett outed him [in 1997] - not out of malice but because Burnett felt that Boisclair, a PQ cabinet minister at the time, was being hypocritical and hurtful.[2]
Brownstein also wrote that "Burnett has interviewed celebs from diva Cher to author Anne Rice. He has crossed swords with B.B. King and Mordecai Richler. He has outed Ricky Martin—again for hypocrisy—and outraged Cyndi Lauper. And he's had death threats."[2]
Burnett was one of the original organizers of Montreal’s internationally renowned Divers/Cité festival, was the founding president of the Montreal chapter of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association, is a regular lecturer and panelist at universities and conferences, and co-starred in the first season of the Life Network’s reality TV series Out in the City.[4]
Burnett was also editor-at-large of Montreal's alternative newsweekly Hour for 15 years until the newspaper published its last issue on April 7, 2011.[5] Burnett wrote his POP TART blog for the Montreal Gazette from 2011 to 2016,[1] as well as his weekly Seven Days, Seven Nights arts column from 2014 to 2016.[6]
Burnett also got the last-ever sit-down interview with James Brown before Brown died on December 25, 2006.[7]
Burnett has been writing for the Montreal-based LGBT magazine Fugues (magazine), since 1995.
As his career has progressed, he has devoted a significant amount of his writing into covering opera.[3]
He is known as an often controversial fixture of the Montreal media, with his writing sometimes attracting attention internationally.[2]
Burnett's 2004 Hour cover story interview with Jamaican dancehall performer Sizzla was reported on national newscasts in Canada,[8] and made international headlines—including in Jamaica's national newspaper The Jamaica Gleaner[9]—after Sizzla told Burnett, "[Homosexuality] is wrong! Once we stoop to sodomites and homosexuals, it is wrong! ... Burn all things that are wrong. Burn it... We must get rid of Sodom and Gomorrah right now."[8] In response to Burnett and British gay activist Peter Tatchell's criticisms, Sizzla wrote the 2005 song "Nah Apologize" in which he repeats in the chorus "Rastaman nah apologize to no batty boy!"[10][11]
In 2005, Burnett was quoted about rising new HIV infections in a POZ cover story called "Bite the Bullet" as saying that "If you want to play God, [deliberately] spread HIV and ruin other lives in the process—then do us all a g------ favor and put a f------ bullet through your head instead.”[12]
Burnett made more headlines when he criticized the Federation of Gay Games decision to revoke Montreal's 2006 Gay Games after the FGG's acrimonious split with Montreal organizers.[13] "If the Gay Games are the Uganda of the sports world, then the FGG is Idi Amin," Burnett wrote.[14]
Burnett also riled many Canadians when he critiqued the medals of Vancouver's 2010 Winter Olympics. "The gold and bronze medals look like melted chocolate someone pulled out of their back pocket," Burnett told the Associated Press. "The silver medal looks like it still has foil wrap on it."[15]
Burnett was named one of Alberta-based Outlooks magazine's Canadian Heroes of the Year in their June 2009 issue,[16] and was listed by Quebec's French-language gay publication Fugues as one of that province's 100 most influential gay Quebecers.[17] "As Michael Musto is to New York City, Richard Burnett is to Montreal," The Montreal Buzz stated in April 2010.[18]
Throughout his career, Burnett has been known as a prominent figure in Montreal's nightlife scene. In 2017, CBC Arts wrote that "If you live in Montreal and you go out at night, you know Richard "Bugs" Burnett. Perhaps that's an understatement. If you live in Montreal and go outside, you know Burnett. Existentially speaking, if Richard Burnett does not attend your event, it might be said that your event never happened."[3]
Burnett cites the late Montreal newspaperman Nick Auf der Maur and The New York Times bestselling author Felice Picano as his two mentors.[19]
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