Details Takes On Al Reynolds?

By Keith Boykin, in pop culture
Thursday, June 1 2006, 4:28PM

Details Magazine is already notorious for exploring the gay elements behind controversial public figures and personalities. The magazine got into a lot of trouble for its "Gay or Asian?" feature two years ago and sparked a lot of discussion with its "Gay or Rapper?" feature last year. But now Details is exploring another topic. This month's back page feature is titled "Gay or Talk-Show Diva's Husband?" It's not hard to guess who they're talking about.

Here's what the piece says: "One is red-carpet arm candy, and the other needs a little sugar, Daddy. Whether you're hitching your wagon to a star or lying back while someone else brings home the bacon, the key is to keep your million-dollar baby happy. So bow down and prepare to primp, pluck, and deny, deny, deny."

But there was something different about this picture? I know the model. He's my friend Samuel Roberts, who also goes by Samuel Kobina.

I asked Samuel if he had any qualms about portraying such a controversial role in the magazine. "No I loved it," he replied. "I thought it was hilarious because of this DL issue. How appropriate to bust this whole thing." He wasn't necessarily trying to bust Star Jones-Reynolds's husband, Al Reynolds. I think he was trying to raise awareness of the issue of black gay men. (You can see the full piece by clicking here.)

I met Samuel 5 years ago when I first moved to the Big Apple. Born in New York and raised in Switzerland, Samuel spent much of his early modeling career jet setting from Paris to Milan, New York, Miami and other locales. So what is he up to now? "I just did a book cover for a romance novel and I'm working with a German group called Brother's Keeper on a music CD project," he said. Samuel also has a CD of his own.

We'll be hearing more from Samuel in the days to come. And I have a feeling we haven't heard the last of this story yet.

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