TheBacklot was originally known under the name
AfterElton and was founded by
Sarah Warn, Michael Jensen, and
Brent Hartinger. Warn initially served as editor-in-chief of both AfterElton and AfterEllen. Jensen became Editor in Chief of AfterElton in November 2005 and served in the position until September 25, 2011. Dennis Ayers, formerly the site's managing editor, took over as Editor in Chief. The site was not affiliated with
Elton John, although its original name refers to the milestone for gay men when John publicly
came out. The site featured television, film, music, books, and celebrity news. It published articles, regular columns, reviews, and recaps of television shows with gay and bisexual characters, and maintained several blogs, including the "Meme" by Ed Kennedy. AfterElton (along with AfterEllen) was acquired by cable television channel
Logo in 2006. On January 12, 2012, the site announced that
Louis Virtel had been hired as its West Coast entertainment editor. On January 31, 2013, Dennis Ayers announced that AfterElton would be changing its name to TheBacklot.com in April. The change was motivated by a desire to separate the website from its "AfterEllen's little brother" origin and to reflect the general "focus on Hollywood and the film and television industry". ==Hot 100==