MAHMOUD SWINGS Etheridge(Photo: Getty Images)

On Tuesday night, Melissa Etheridge single-handedly debunked Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's claims that Iran doesn't have homosexuals like the U.S. does. The 46-year-old singer-songwriter played a concert at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square to promote her new album, The Awakening.

"I had been in the house of God sometimes when I was young and they told me that I was not welcome," Etheridge said, "so I went to Iran. That's a place to go to."

Later, in a nod to Al and Tipper Gore, who were repping the straight contingent in the front rows, the Oscar-winner proclaimed, "Al Gore is the secret president, like the 007 president." Nearby were Rolling Stone honcho Jann Wenner and his fashion designer beau Matt Nye, Rosie's partner Kelly O'Donnell, and actress Tammy Lynn Michaels.

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