You can say whatever you want about why people choose to stay in the closet, but I can not let this absolutely false statement stand. In any standard you choose to use, Ellen Degeneres, Out Lesbian, is far more successful in her career than Ellen Degeneres, Closeted Lesbian."
Actually, it's not a false statement. After she came out, and after her show got cancelled, she went through a depression for many reasons. One of them was because it was hard for her to get work. She has stated this in past interviews, therefore it is not a false statement.
Now, she is succesful, thanks to her talk show, but look at the years before.
"If you want, for some reason, to perpetrate the myth that to be successful in Hollywood you must pretend to be a heterosexual, you may do so. I myself do not think this is true, but that is merely a matter of opinion."
It is an opinion, mainly because I am living that life that you say is a myth. If you did your research on Hollywood, you would know that this has been happening since the beginning of time.
1928
"America's Sweethearts" of the 1920's, Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell, co-stars in twelve films, were careful to keep their homosexuality out of the public spotlight."
1933
"Charles Laughton's obesity was the result of a glandular condition. His wife, Elsa Lanchester (The Bride of Frankenstein), insisted that she had no idea he was homosexual until he confessed years later."
1934
"(Claudette) Colbert claimed that her longtime marriage to an Arizona physician was a success because she and her husband retained seperate residences. A bisexual, she counted the ubiquitous Marlene Dietrich among her lovers."
1942
"Agnes Moorehead's greatest fame came with her role as Endora in the TV series bewitched. Off-camera the rumor mills had her romantically linked with her devoted, early protegee, Debbie Reynolds."
All taken from "The Academy Awards" by Gail Kinn and Jim Piazza
"Do you know what pledge time is, Andrew"? said the PBS Executive.
"Yes", Lloyd Webber replied. "My 50th birthday special must be one program that gets done a lot."
"No", mused the man from PBS heedlessy. "Not so much. Our Stephen Sondheim Carnegie Hall concert. That's a big one."
Spoons, forks and knives seemed suddenly to suspend their motion in horror, all around the table.
