When the next issue of Entertainment Weekly hits newsstands on Friday (and earlier in subscribers' mailboxes), the long-running magazine will dig deep into a subject that many working actors try to keep on the down low (no pun intended). The rise of actors coming out in Hollywood.
Within the last couple of months we've witnessed actors take a different approach to the coming out process. Where Lance Bass, Neil Patrick Harris, Adam Lambert and Ellen DeGeneres used magazine covers to speak about their love for the same gender and how they struggled to balance having a mainstream career with the fear of being blacklisted due to their sexuality, a new generation of actors have found that by just randomly mentioning they are gay in interviews without making a fuss is the best way to go.
So in the EW article, Mark Harris takes an in-depth look inside the new, casual method gay celebrities are using to reveal their sexuality publicly for the first time.
Even if it’s accomplished in a subordinate clause or a passing reference, coming out casually is, in its way, as activist as DeGeneres’ Time cover, although few of these actors would probably choose to label themselves as such.
The current vibe for discussing one’s sexuality is almost defiantly mellow: This is part of who I am, I don’t consider it a big deal or a crisis, and if you do, that’s not my problem. It may sound like a shrug, but it shouldn’t be mistaken for indifference. By daring anyone to overreact, the newest generation of gay public figures is making a clear statement that there is a “new normal” — and it consists of being plainspoken, clear, and truthful about who you are.
Everyone from Zachary Quinto, Andrew Rannels, Jim Parsons, Matt Bomer and a few more have come out as if it isn't a big deal, and personally I think that's the best way to go. Sure you will lose some fans who feel you are nothing but a fantasy instead of an actor who is paid to do a job, but that's their issue not yours. At the end of the day actors need to live their lives without the fear of ridicule or never getting work.
Casually coming out is definitely the new normal, and I still believe we have a long way to go with acceptance. We should also remember that all the actors mentioned came out of the closet once their careers were established. It will really be big news if someone does it in the beginning of their career. Wilson Crus has been out since the very beginning, and i don't see his career on the level of Jesse Tyler Ferguson or even Jeremy Renner. Now if only we could get more people of color (besides Wanda Sykes) to do the same.
I'm definitely looking forward to reading this article and giving my opinion on it when it's delivered to my doorstep.
UPDATE: I just read the article, and while I applaud the fact that 43 years later after the Stonewall riots we are moving in the right direction of getting the equality we deserve. I can understand that many actors and personalities (like Matt Bomer, Andy Cohen, Jim Parsons, and Neil Patrick Harris, to name a few) do not want to be the spokesperson for LGBT issues everythime we are mentioned in the media, but I would also like to see some diversity in the community as well.
Besides Wanda Syles (who is married to a white woman), there are not other known OUT black folks mentioned in the article. Darryl Stephens (Noah's Arc) and Wilson Cruz, the latter who was out in the beginning of his career as Ricky on My So-Called Life wasn't mentioned at all and he came out long before Chris Colfer (who was mentioned in the article as the youngest to come out on a primetime series at 19). So while as the article did mention it is becoming increasingly difficult for closeted celebrities like Jodie Foster, Luke Evans (the Immortals star was out 10 years ago but went back in after getting the gig to star in The Hobbit), Anderson Cooper (who refuses to add LGBT topics on his daytime talk show) and Queen Latifah to hide in the celluloid closet, we should also celebrate those who have made strides in the LGBT community.
As the article states, everyone is entitled to their privacy and people who "worship" celebrities need to learn that actors are just that (and not a figment of your fantasies), but as we climb further into the mainstream (it should also be known that not every homosexual does not want to get married and have children like out heterosexual counterparts) we should be allowed to do what we please as grown adults without being crucified by ignorant hetero reporters, paparazzi and gay mainstreamers who feel every move you make must be perfect because we don't want to scare straight people into not giving us marriage equality and the same rights they've been taking advantage of since the invention of marriage. It's most definitely an interesting read and I would definitely recommend people pick up this week's article.
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