"the self-proclaimed 'Queen of Rock 'n' Roll' who changed everything. The first mu­sical icon to exclaim/proclaim the persona of ''bad nigger'' (greasy skin, greasy hair, loud), Richard was a sexual menace too (faggot in eyeliner; big faggot in stretch pants)"

“Baldwin’s work opened up the world for me; it was also precisely because it did do that that it could, if not closely watched, over­whelm any perception I might eventually develop about it and the way we live now.”

“The black Woody Allen, a camera-wielding Sharpton, a gifted charlatan, an inspiration, a generous sort, a media hound (or barker)”

Hilton Als on the creation of what would turn out to be a modern American classic

"Fame makes different things of different people. For the friend (me) who may count success as being sweetest for having n'er suc­ceeded, the friend (Todd) who does eventually becomes unavoid­ably bound to the signs of his fame."