Tom Gabel of Against Me! announces plans to change gender; more John Travolta accusations

By Jen Chaney

A morning mix of entertainment headlines...Tom Gabel, frontman for the band Against Me!, has come out as transgender and announced plans to become a woman. In an upcoming interview with Rolling Stone, Gabel says she has a condition called gender dysphoria, will begin taking female hormones and may undergo gender reassignment surgery. The 31-year-old — whose band is best known for the rock hit “Thrash Unreal” — plans to remain married to her wife, but will change her name to Laura Jane Grace. This revelation comes just as Against Me! embarks on a U.S. and European tour and recently performed an unreleased song called “Transgender Dysphoria Blues.” (Rolling Stone via Associated Press )

Yesterday afternoon a second masseur joined the lawsuit against John Travolta , also alleging that the Academy Award-nominated actor committed sexual battery and harassment while receiving a massage. Travolta’s attorney, Marty Singer, continues to deny the claims as “totally false and fabricated.” The masseurs, who have not publicly revealed their identities, are seeking $2 million each in damages. TMZ has published a photo of Travolta in New York on Jan. 16, 2012, the day the first “John Doe” says the actor was receiving a massage in Los Angeles. (People; TMZ)

Jessica Simpson is really enjoying motherhood. Last night she tweeted the following about her daughter:The celebrity line-up for the new Fox dating show “The Choice” has been revealed. And it includes such famous single-person names asThe Situation and Pauly D of “Jersey Shore,” Joe Jonas, Dean Cain(oh, Superman, really?) and Carmen Electra. All of the celebs will sit in spinning chairs, a la “The Voice,” and decide which dating pitches to accept. Worth noting: women only get to sit in the chairs during one episode; the rest of the time, this will be a male-dominated exercise. Jezebel, surely you’re on this already? (Entertainment Weekly)

“Iron Man 3” casting update: Jessica Chastain out, Rebecca Hallpossibly in? (Vulture)

“Kick-Ass 2” might be happening: Universal is in talks with Matthew Vaughn, who directed the first movie and is producing the sequel, which he wrote. If the deal gets done, Aaron Johnson, Chloe Moretzand Christopher Mintz-Plasse are expected to reprise their roles as Kick-Ass, Hit-Girl and Red Mist, respectively. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Bugeyes, who may or may not be a real person and is probably part of a marketing campaign for “Men in Black III,” has accused Arianna Huffington of being an alien. He did this on the Huffington Post in a sponsor-generated post, so I am pretty sure the media mogul is not, as Bugeyes alleges, creating a GPS map of the human soul. (Huffington Post)