Chicago, IL -
On September 24 the New York Post's infamous "Page Six" published an item about a couple of celebrities who met at a party and left together. What made this item noteworthy was the fact that both celebs are men: "Should we be preparing for a commitment ceremony? Us Weekly is reporting that ‘Queer Eye For The Straight Guy' Fab Fiver Kyan Douglas and ‘Queer as Folk' actor Robert Gant were ‘smitten' with each other after meeting last weekend at the Entertainment Weekly pre-Emmy party. The pair ‘retired to a quiet corner to chat alone,' and stayed until 1 a.m.- leaving in the same car for whereabouts unknown." By the way, the last we heard, Douglas and Kyan were still seeing each other, though a "commitment ceremony" is a long way off (if ever).
Gay men have been gossiped about for decades, mostly by other gay men. But, on the whole, gay gossip has been about outwardly heterosexual celebrities who were secretly gay or bi. This time, however, the scuttlebutt was about two out and proud gay men who did an out and proud gay thing: cruise each other and go off together. This is a refreshing change of pace from the days when all we could talk about was Tom Cruise's wives, John Travolta's children, or the women that Sean Hayes took to the Emmys. Even the Advocate, which in the past featured "straight" celebrities who used the opportunity to deny that they are gay, now showcases out stars like Esera Tuaolo and B. D. Wong.
Though most gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered celebrities still keep their sexual or gender orientation to themselves, more and more stars are coming out of their Tinseltown closets. Even if we limit our scope to the stars of prime time television shows, they are many: Queer Eye for the Straight Guy's "Fab Five" (Ted Allen, Kyan Douglas, Thom Filicia, Carson Kressley, Jai Rodriguez); three of the boys from Queer As Folk (Robert Gant, Randy Harrison and Peter Paige); and the two "gay dads" on It's All Relative (John Benjamin Hickey and Christopher Sieber), whose presence is that awful show's only redeeming feature. Meanwhile, after winning The Amazing Race (with ex-partner Chip Arndt), Reichen Lehmkuhl has gone on to appear on episodes of Frasier and The Young and Restless; while Ellen DeGeneres - whose romance with Anne Heche gave us gay gossip before it was fashionable - continues to shine on her new, daytime talk show.
None of those people - except DeGeneres - are "A-list" or even ‘B-list" celebrities. But their current newsworthiness has taken them beyond gay bar rags and Billy Masters's "Filth" column into the pages of People, Us and Entertainment Weekly. Hardly an issue goes by where we don't read an item about Melissa Etheridge getting married, Rosie O'Donnell getting children, Nathan Lane getting a Tony, Bruce Vilanch getting a shave, Sir Elton John getting new outfits or Rupert Everett getting plastic surgery (that last one is just a rumor).. Carson Kressley can't go to Provincetown for the weekend without being mobbed by his fans and making the news; while half the queer men in New York claim to have done the deed with the prolific Kyan Douglas. Richard Chamberlain is not the only fallen star who tried to make a comeback by coming out of his closet. (It didn't work in his case.) Meanwhile, Blair Boone, who was Queer Eye's Culture Vulture before he was dropped in favor of Jai Rodriguez, went on the Howard Stern radio show, where he made headlines by telling Stern and his audience that he was a top (unlike, I presume, the current Fab 5).
Of course, this doesn't mean we will stop dishing the dirt about Jodie Foster or Dean Cain or Esai Morales or David Hyde Pierce (not that they are gay or anything like that). Some things are just too precious to ignore. But the days when "gay celebrities" meant porn stars or Harvey Fierstein are behind us; and I am glad that they are. And while it is unlikely that Boy Meets Boy's James Getzlaff or Wes Culwell will ever become superstars, being out is no longer an impediment to getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Hopefully, this will encourage other, still-closeted celebrities to take that next step, and admit what half the world already knows.
Gay men have been gossiped about for decades, mostly by other gay men. But, on the whole, gay gossip has been about outwardly heterosexual celebrities who were secretly gay or bi. This time, however, the scuttlebutt was about two out and proud gay men who did an out and proud gay thing: cruise each other and go off together. This is a refreshing change of pace from the days when all we could talk about was Tom Cruise's wives, John Travolta's children, or the women that Sean Hayes took to the Emmys. Even the Advocate, which in the past featured "straight" celebrities who used the opportunity to deny that they are gay, now showcases out stars like Esera Tuaolo and B. D. Wong.
Though most gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered celebrities still keep their sexual or gender orientation to themselves, more and more stars are coming out of their Tinseltown closets. Even if we limit our scope to the stars of prime time television shows, they are many: Queer Eye for the Straight Guy's "Fab Five" (Ted Allen, Kyan Douglas, Thom Filicia, Carson Kressley, Jai Rodriguez); three of the boys from Queer As Folk (Robert Gant, Randy Harrison and Peter Paige); and the two "gay dads" on It's All Relative (John Benjamin Hickey and Christopher Sieber), whose presence is that awful show's only redeeming feature. Meanwhile, after winning The Amazing Race (with ex-partner Chip Arndt), Reichen Lehmkuhl has gone on to appear on episodes of Frasier and The Young and Restless; while Ellen DeGeneres - whose romance with Anne Heche gave us gay gossip before it was fashionable - continues to shine on her new, daytime talk show.
None of those people - except DeGeneres - are "A-list" or even ‘B-list" celebrities. But their current newsworthiness has taken them beyond gay bar rags and Billy Masters's "Filth" column into the pages of People, Us and Entertainment Weekly. Hardly an issue goes by where we don't read an item about Melissa Etheridge getting married, Rosie O'Donnell getting children, Nathan Lane getting a Tony, Bruce Vilanch getting a shave, Sir Elton John getting new outfits or Rupert Everett getting plastic surgery (that last one is just a rumor).. Carson Kressley can't go to Provincetown for the weekend without being mobbed by his fans and making the news; while half the queer men in New York claim to have done the deed with the prolific Kyan Douglas. Richard Chamberlain is not the only fallen star who tried to make a comeback by coming out of his closet. (It didn't work in his case.) Meanwhile, Blair Boone, who was Queer Eye's Culture Vulture before he was dropped in favor of Jai Rodriguez, went on the Howard Stern radio show, where he made headlines by telling Stern and his audience that he was a top (unlike, I presume, the current Fab 5).
Of course, this doesn't mean we will stop dishing the dirt about Jodie Foster or Dean Cain or Esai Morales or David Hyde Pierce (not that they are gay or anything like that). Some things are just too precious to ignore. But the days when "gay celebrities" meant porn stars or Harvey Fierstein are behind us; and I am glad that they are. And while it is unlikely that Boy Meets Boy's James Getzlaff or Wes Culwell will ever become superstars, being out is no longer an impediment to getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Hopefully, this will encourage other, still-closeted celebrities to take that next step, and admit what half the world already knows.
