Originally Posted By leemac Sorry folks but felt the need to rant. So was checking the latest cricket score between England and Pakistan on BBC Sport and this link caught my eye: <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/30/clare-balding-lesbian-complaint-gill?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter" target="_blank">http://www.guardian.co.uk/worl...=twitter</a> Clare Balding is a popular BBC Sport presenter in the UK - she focuses on horse racing (strong family background) and the Olympics. She is an excellent presenter but it seems that a Sunday Times columnist made some comments that she felt were derogatory - so she complained to the Press Complaints Commission. Then I noticed on her Twitter feed the need to applaud this: <a href="http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/bizarre/3076084/Joe-McElderry-admits-that-he-is-gay.html" target="_blank">http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/ho...gay.html</a> Joe won the last season of The X Factor in the UK. I'm not a fan of the show at all but it always seemed fairly obvious to me that he was gay (even if he didn't realize it himself until very recently) so why does it need to be front page news? Granted The Sun (a Murdoch rag like The Times) loves this type of celebrity gossip but I can't even begin to fathom why it is so important. Joel hasn't even come out voluntarily as it appears there were stories being compiled about his homosexuality. Coupled with other (former) high profile folks like Ricky Martin I really wonder if we will ever have the day when people really don't care.
Originally Posted By Labuda I think that maybe in another 20-30 years it may no longer be news... keep in mind that places like here in the US, it's still big news, too, for some stupid reason, but I think as the world matures (hopefully) a bit more, maybe it'll stop being news and people can just live their lives and not worry about whether they're out to the whole world or not.
Originally Posted By skinnerbox I agree, Lee. I don't get it, either. But then, there's much about pop culture and entertainment that escapes me. I just don't find it all that interesting. << I'm not a fan of the show at all but it always seemed fairly obvious to me that he was gay (even if he didn't realize it himself until very recently) so why does it need to be front page news?>> Especially when it's not exactly "news" to those paying attention. Case in point: Sean Hayes. I loved Sean in Will & Grace. He's a terrific performer and fantastic pianist. I enjoyed him as host of the Tonys this year. But seriously... who the heck actually believed this guy was straight? Come on now. Look at Eric McCormick. He was my least favorite performer on the show. He didn't have to defend his heterosexuality to the entertainment press... it was painfully obvious which street he cruised on. But Sean Hayes? Please. No one is THAT good of an actor. ;^)
Originally Posted By gadzuux For people who have some ability to discern these things, gay celebs are usually obvious long before they officially 'come out'. Last year we had Adam Lambert - they just don't get any gayer than that. But for the entirety of the AI season, they danced around the topic like it needed to be kept a big secret. I suppose this is because there are large swaths of the country where this presents a problem - or at least a juicy scandal - and so everything needs to be scrubbed up and dumbed down for them - the lowest common denominator. Before Lambert was Clay Aiken, and even Sanjaya wasn't exactly a tough nut to crack. George Michael finally had to make a public statement after his series of arrests. Same with Ricky Martin, Boy George, Elton and a whole host of other famous and semi-famous people. And the only people who are surprised are the ones that don't matter anyway.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer I saw Sean Hayes years before Will & Grace in a movie called "Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss". I thought it was funny that he came "out" in 2010 when he was in a romantic comedy about a photographer (played by Hayes) who is trying to figure out if a model he is attracted to is gay or straight. It's a really good movie, and it's a great performance from Hayes. Not over the top or flamboyant. Sean Hayes didn't really come out because I don't think he was really in. The movie is well worth checking out, by the way.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 "Sean Hayes didn't really come out because I don't think he was really in." I think that pretty much covers Boy George too.
Originally Posted By DAR I've also noticed that it seems to occur when the career isn't at its peak, Ricky Martin or the girl from Roseanne who just came out this week.
Originally Posted By DAR And as a kid I had no idea: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIgZ7gMze7A" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...Z7gMze7A</a>
Originally Posted By gadzuux She did. But now she has a daily talk show that will air opposite the View. Same idea - a table of women sifting over the day's issues, with Julie Chen and some other women that I don't recall or didn't know who they are.
Originally Posted By Labuda What I find funny now is looking back at myself when Culture Club first hit - I honestly thought Boy George DID look like a girl back then. When I look at pictures from then now, I wonder how sheltered I was. lol (For the record, VERY - I was a Catholic daughter of a Conservative Republican Daddy)
Originally Posted By gadzuux Think back about how long it took people to catch on to Freddie Mercury. The guy always looked like he just walked out of a gay bar, and he even fronted a band called 'Queen', but teenage boys thought he was badass. We will - we will - ROCK YOU! The mind can be a wonderfully self-serving organ.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt Unless it's a married politician I honestly don't think that most people really care one way or the other. It's the media that cares. Best thing to do is ignore it.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >Think back about how long it took people to catch on to Freddie Mercury.<< Back in high school, I had a friend who insisted that Freddy Mercury could not be gay. Why? Because his mustache was way too manly, no gay man could grow a manly mustache like that. LOL! And he was really serious.
Originally Posted By u k fan Why Joe coming out was front page news I'll never know. As Lee said it wasn't news to the rest of us anyway. I suppose it's easier to come out than to constantly dodge questions, but really - who cares?!!!
Originally Posted By beamerdog Same with me, DAR. I have the worst gaydar in the world. Maybe because I just don't care about stuff like that.
Originally Posted By Lisann22 Another big shocker - Sara Gilbert, Roseanne show daughter Denise. There's already been news about her partner having a baby and then her. However for some reason I read last week she came "out." I mean really did anyone watching the show back then not figure she wasn't hetreo?
Originally Posted By leemac <<Case in point: Sean Hayes. I loved Sean in Will & Grace. He's a terrific performer and fantastic pianist. I enjoyed him as host of the Tonys this year. But seriously... who the heck actually believed this guy was straight? Come on now. >> Completely agree. I was a huge fan of both him and Megan Mullally (the latter is a wonderful singer too - I just hope the Karen - The Musical works). I also loved him in Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss (and I really despite gay-themed movies in general like the cliched In & Out). I didn't even know he wasn't "out" until I saw the Advocate piece. I just couldn't work out if it was just to sell him in Promises, Promises. And then we had the ridiculous Ramin Setoodeh controversy - I just didn't understand why people had to get up in arms about it. It was a poorly written piece that didn't deserve the attention it got. It was an Op-Ed piece - I didn't agree with its contents but he had a right to express his views even if they were heavy-handed. <<Look at Eric McCormick. He was my least favorite performer on the show. He didn't have to defend his heterosexuality to the entertainment press... it was painfully obvious which street he cruised on. >> This was the downfall of the show IMHO. They made his character so cliched that I genuinely wanted him to walk in front of a bus or something by Season 6. His character was so superficial and weak. No subtlety to it either. I don't know whether it was the direction that Kohan and Mutchnick wanted to take the show or that Eric is just a bad actor. I think that is one reason why I love Brothers & Sisters so much - the portrayal of Kevin and Scotty just seem so much more natural.
