Big Gay Closet

Lesbian actress Amber Heard has said people in her profession are dissuaded from coming out in Hollywood and end up becoming part of a “detrimental lie”.The Rum Diary star told Women’s Health magazine: “You can’t respect yourself if you’re afraid to be who you are. It requires bravery to do something no one else around you is doing.“But the risk was outweighed by the possibility of playing into this horribly detrimental lie that some in Hollywood perpetuate.”

via Amber Heard: Staying in the closet in Hollywood is a “horribly detrimental lie” – PinkNews.co.uk.

Quinto seems to see himself in transition. He asks if he can record our conversation, for, he explains, “archival purposes … I just find that there’s something about looking back on interviews, whether for purposes of remembering what I said about something or if it’s for posterity when I’m 75 … I find that communication as an actor and person is an important part of who I am … and I’m really drawn into the psychology of those dynamics.

For one thing, he’s willing to unambiguously talk about his sexual orientation. His eight-month role in Angels was both “the most challenging thing I’ve ever done as an actor and the most rewarding” he says. Having to inhabit that terrible lost world, if only in his mind, took a toll. “And at the same time, as a gay man, it made me feel like there’s still so much work to be done, and there’s still so many things that need to be looked at and addressed.”

via Zachary Quinto on His Latest Film, ‘Margin Call’ — New York Magazine.

And from his own blog:

when i found out that jamey rodemeyer killed himself – i felt deeply troubled.  but when i found out that jamey rodemeyer had made an it gets better video only months before taking his own life – i felt indescribable despair.  i also made an it gets better video last year – in the wake of the senseless and tragic gay teen suicides that were sweeping the nation at the time.  but in light of jamey’s death – it became clear to me in an instant that living a gay life without publicly acknowledging it – is simply not enough to make any significant contribution to the immense work that lies ahead on the road to complete equality.  our society needs to recognize the unstoppable momentum toward unequivocal civil equality for every gay lesbian bisexual and transgendered citizen of this country.  gay kids need to stop killing themselves because they are made to feel worthless by cruel and relentless bullying.  parents need to teach their children principles of respect and acceptance.  we are witnessing an enormous shift of collective consciousness throughout the world.  we are at the precipice of great transformation within our culture and government.  i believe in the power of intention to change the landscape of our society – and it is my intention to live an authentic life of compassion and integrity and action.  jamey rodemeyer’s life changed mine.  and while his death only makes me wish that i had done this sooner – i am eternally grateful to him for being the catalyst for change within me.  now i can only hope to serve as the same catalyst for even one other person in this world.  that – i believe – is all that we can ask of ourselves and of each other.

“I have these beautiful children and this extraordinary family and to think in any way shape or form that that’s wrong or that there’s shame in that or that there’s something to hide actually turns my stomach.”

“What would [my daughter] think if I said, ‘Oh honey, you can’t come with me to work because they don’t know I have an adopted daughter and they don’t know that I’m gay.’ My children and our family, I’ve really never been as proud of anything in my life. I couldn’t be happier at this point in my life, and I feel like we’ve created this pretty extraordinary family.”

via ‘Firefly,’ ‘Playboy Club’ actor Sean Maher reveals he’s gay | Inside TV | EW.com.

I’ve long held three basic beliefs about the ethics of coming out:

Gay people — generally speaking — have a responsibility to our own community and to future generations of gay people to come out, if and when we feel that we can.

We should all get to decide for ourselves the “if and when we feel that we can” part of that.

Closeted people should reasonably expect to be outed by other gay people if (and only if) they prey on the gay community in public, but are secretly gay themselves.

I also believe that coming out makes for a happier life, but that’s not a matter of ethics, that’s just corny advice.

via The Maddow Blog – Anchors away.

Rachel responds to the media pick up on an interview she did with The Guardian. They’re reporting that she was criticising Anderson Cooper for not coming out.

“True Blood” vamp Evan Rachel Wood has let it be known: She’s bisexual.

“I grew up in love with David Bowie,” she told Esquire. “So I was always into very androgynous things. Guys, girls … I’m into androgyny in general,” she said, which is why ex-fiance Marilyn Manson was so appealing.

“I’m more kind of like the guy when it comes to girls. Im the dominant one. Im opening the doors, Im buying dinner. Yeah, Im romantic.”

Wood, 23, stars in HBOs “Mildred Pierce” with Oscar winner Kate Winslet, whom she said she’d marry if she could. She also stars in Robert Redford’s “The Conspirator” and George Clooney’s upcoming flick “The Ides of March.” You might have also seen her in “The Wrestler” or “Thirteen.”

“I’m constantly changing, I’m constantly growing. I think I’m a little controversial?” Wood said. “I just try and keep some mystery, so hopefully people can’t really put their finger on it.”

The actress said she doesn’t do drugs, recently quit smoking and doesn’t drink much. But it was her affinity for tattoos and androgyny that she kept revisiting for the mag.

“I’m up for anything. Meet a nice guy, meet a nice girl,” she teased.

Perhaps she’s following in her costar Anna Paquin’s footsteps, who last April famously announced her sexual preferences in a PSA with Cyndi Lauper and Clay Aiken.

via True Bloods Evan Rachel Wood says shes bisexual, into androgyny in general | Ministry of Gossip | Los Angeles Times.

Glee star Jane Lynch said that she was unsure when, if ever, gay actors would land romantic leading roles because of the profit imperative in the film industry.

Lynch expressed her doubts in an interview with AfterElton.com that was picked up by outlets including The Hollywood Reporter.

“I don’t know when or if that will ever happen,” said the lesbian actress, according to THR. “…This is a business of projection and desiring people from afar … so there has got to be some truth to it, in terms of, ‘I could see myself with that person.’ Because the leading man and lady are the person we want them to fall in love with, and most of the audience is straight. So for right now, we can only use straight actors.”

Jane Lynch Doubts Lead Roles for Gay Actors | News | The Advocate.

This is kind of weird. I mean, all Jane Lynch has to do is look across the set at two of her openly gay co-stars who are regularly stalked (and one was once held hostage in an elevator by young women) to see that people will still become infatuated with an actor who is not perceived as available to them.

Maybe that’s all new. Bring on the future, and let’s stop letting the stupid past ruin everything.

This is possibly the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. It’s an audio interview with Gayle King, and Chris (who plays Kurt on Glee) talks about how his family have simply accepted him, without the need for a big announcement. He also talks about the bullying he experienced in school.

And I’ve been wondering for a while, because I’ve read very early pieces where Chris’ parents say that they didn’t know if he was gay or not, that it’s not something they’d all discussed just yet.

There was later some confusion over comments he’d made, since he’d never actually announced he was gay, that maybe he was “back in the closet.”

Gayle King: Interviews – Chris Colfer on ‘Glee,’ Fame, and the Golden Globes.

All the girls loved Jordan. I — always different — loved Jon. He only solo’d one song, I think. That didn’t bother me though because I didn’t really like NKOTB that much anyway.

First Doogie Howser, now Jon Knight. If Roch Voisine comes out, my childhood crush trifecta of gay will be complete!

“I have never been outed by anyone but myself! I did so almost 20 years ago. I never knew that I would have to do it all over again publicly just because I reunited with NKOTB! I have lived my life very openly and have never hidden the fact that I am gay! Apparently the prerequisite to being a gay public figure is to appear on the cover of a magazine with the caption I am gay. I apologize for not doing so if this is what was expected!”

via New Kid on the Block Jonathan Knight Comes Out of the Closet | Rolling Stone Music.

Of course, this hit the tabloids two years ago too.

Speaking to Attitude magazine, he said: “The relationship I have with my mother is amazing but it has grown stronger and stronger.

“The day my mother asked me if I was gay, she asked me if I was in love with a man or a woman. Oh God. For this woman to make it easier for me… this is really cool.

“But she struggled with it. She went there. She opened that door. That’s a mother’s love. Then she hurt. She said: ‘I love you, my son, I’m so happy for you. Bring it on. I’m right behind you.’

“And then, suddenly, I think she thought ‘Oh my god, it’s Kiki [his family nickname]. It’s his career.’ I’m sure every mother reacts to this in different ways.”

via Ricky Martin: My mother helped me come out – Pink News.

I have long held the belief that those of us who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender have been given an extraordinary gift. We are forced to go inside ourselves and determine, once and for all, that we are good. If we have anything at all to give the world, we are going to find it somewhere along that journey. We are going to show it to the world in a declaration of brilliant defiance against society and its rules. We only go looking because our sexuality forces us to. How lucky are we? But, it’s easy to forget the pain that forces us to go searching in the first place.

via Actor Chad Allen’s Coming Out Story – In His Own Words | dot429.