During the Q&A session at a recent reading given by the legendary gay activist/novelist Armistead Maupin, the issue of outing was raised.
The crux of the question centered on Maupin’s views about the outing of celebrities, and this is what he said: “I firmly believe in outing. I think it’s wrong for celebrities to make money off the illusion of being straight. Every constant denial sends the same message – that it’s something to be ashamed of, something that’s wrong; something to hide.”
Maupin the activist talks the straight dope. His most famous outing was of his personal friend, Hollywood heart throb Rock Hudson. When the press asked him about Hudson, Maupin says he simply told the press Hudson was gay, because he was not going to perpetuate the stigma – the buck stopped with him. Interestingly, in that same Q&A, when the actress Jodie Foster’s name came up in relation to outing, Maupin said he respected Foster’s decision to simply not talk about her private life, period, and as a strategy it seemed to work well. However, it is arguable that by simply refusing to comment, it’s not exactly sending a positive or affirming message either.
At least that’s how Kevin Naff, editor of the American gay paper, The Washington Blade, saw it, when he lambasted both Foster and the debonair blue-eyed CNN anchor, Anderson Cooper in his editorial:
“When rich, famous, wildly successful Americans refuse to acknowledge their sexual orientation, they contribute to keeping us at the margins of society and send a message that homosexuality is somehow shameful. There is nothing more ridiculous than a public figure refusing to reveal whether he or she is straight – no heterosexual person would deny being straight.”
A year later, Out magazine backed up Naff’s sentiments when it featured models holding Jodie Foster and Anderson Cooper masks on the cover of their 50 Most Powerful Gay Men and Women in America issue of 2007, because neither Foster nor Anderson would appear themselves. (For the record, even without confirmation of their sexuality, Foster came in at 43 and Cooper, number 2.)
In the fallout that followed, it was business as usual for both Cooper and Foster, who continue to remain steadfastly silent on the issue of their sexuality. Foster did, however, make headlines again when in June 2007 she made the single largest individual donation in the charity’s history to The Trevor Project, an organisation (started by Foster’s close friend, Randy Stone, who died of heart failure in February 2007) providing 24-hour suicide prevention hotline services to GLBT and questioning youth.
According to respected gay US journalist Michael Musto, Foster lives in what he coins ‘the glass closet’. Musto argues the glass closet is a perfect fit for a lot of celebrities who live and work in an increasingly more tolerant entertainment world. “These stars can enjoy actual relationships, they don’t have to constantly dredge up opposite-sex dates (other than their mothers), and after a day of pretending for the cameras they can go back to almost being themselves,” says Musto, who concludes that the glass closet is perfect for “stars who aren’t willing to make the jump to being officially labelled queer and all that it represents in the business”.
When discussing Foster’s motivations for remaining silent, however, it is worth noting that in 1981 when John Hinckley thrust her into the world’s consciousness via his assassination attempt on President Reagan – an act he described as “the greatest love offering in the history of the world,” – it is reasonable to accept that her motivation for wanting to fly under the radar might not have anything to do with sexuality.
A brief tour of the Australian entertainment industry does provide an inkling of hope – Anthony Callea being the most recent celeb to stop ‘not talking about my sexuality’ and take Maupin’s advice that ‘the stigma buck stops with me’ – although such commendable behaviour was prompted when Callea was “accidentally” outed on breakfast radio.
On the lesbian front, however, things are less rosy. While currently there is at least one big celebrity on our small screen that is a bona fide larger than life dyke tending to favour the glass closet, for some reason her management believes the world won’t take her seriously if she comes out. Whatever the reasoning, given this closeted dyke is always in the company of women, it’s only a matter of time, although, it would be preferable to read about it in CHERRIE rather than New Weekly or Famous.
In the meantime, we’ll keep checking the list of donors to worthy Australian GLBT causes and keep you posted.
*What do you think? Should queer celebs come out? Comment here.
During the Q&A session at a recent reading given by the legendary gay activist/novelist Armistead Maupin, the issue of outing was raised. 
Show/Hide comments
Show/Hide comment form
