Out lives up to it's name
Out lives up to it's name
#1Out lives up to it's name
Posted: 4/6/07 at 6:15am
Foster's Sexuality Under Attack Again in Gay Magazine
Actress Jodie Foster's sexuality is under attack again - this time from one of America's top gay magazines. The bold editors of Out have put an image of two models holding masks of Foster and CNN newsman Anderson Cooper over their faces on the cover of the upcoming May issue, over the headline: "The Glass Closet: Why the stars won't come out and play." The lifestyle magazine's May issue features a list of America's most influential gay men and women, but editors couldn't resist taking a swipe at Foster, who has been the subject of lesbian rumors for years. According to the editors, the controversial cover image is "a sly commentary on the way that semi-closeted celebrities hide in plain sight." The accompanying article, penned by leading gay writer Michael Musto, sets out to challenge stars like Foster to address the sexuality issue that dogs them, rather than simply avoid the question. Musto writes, "It's true that stars are free to put up whatever walls they want in order to maintain boundaries with the public." Meanwhile, entertainment mogul David Geffen tops Out's gay power list.
http://imdb.com/news/wenn/2007-04-06/
I know people are divided on whether or not celebs should come out or not, but I think this is wrong of Out. There are more deserving gay powere people who they could have put on their cover without causing a stir. Why are they focusing on people who wish to remain private and not on the ones who work tirelessly for AIDS research and pro-gay iniatives? B/c they're not looking for the true "powerful" gay leaders, they are looking for sales. This is crass, IMO.
vmlinnie
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/19/06
#2re: Out lives up to it's name
Posted: 4/6/07 at 7:07amSomeone posted a picture of the cover on the 'Gay Actor WIns Oscar' thread. Funny looking thing.
deep-delving, dark, deliberate you would say
browsing on spire and bogland; but today
our sky-blue slates are steaming in the sun,
our yachts tinkling and dancing in the bay
like racehorses. We contemplate at last
shining windows, a future forbidden to no one.
Derek Mahon
"Maybe all one can do is hope to end up with the right regrets."
Arthur Miller
#3re: Out lives up to it's name
Posted: 4/6/07 at 8:46amHow can anyone call Foster closeted? She has a partner and they have two sons. So, she didn't stand up at the Triangle Ball and make a big announcement... Why should it have to be a public thing? She wants her private life private. Her sons won't be the ones with their own reality series when they are in their late teens.
Borstalboy
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/9/04
#4re: Out lives up to it's name
Posted: 4/6/07 at 9:19am
Who does Musto and his pathetic sea donkey spawn Perez Hilton think they are empowering when they out celebrities against their will?
Has anyone else noticed how most celebrity gossip mongers AND paparazzi are mostly gay men? Why do you think that is?
#5re: Out lives up to it's name
Posted: 4/6/07 at 9:32am
Celebrities come in two varieties. Those who love their work, and happen to become famous and those who want to become famous and accomplish it through their work.
Stars that use their personal lives and activities outside of their work do it to become more famous. And they like the attention. Look at the dozens and dozens of celebrity couples making sure their courtships and marriages are dutifully chronicled in press and on TV.
Private celebrities don't talk about their relationships, don't have their kids photographed for People magazine and don't have their homes invaded by Barbara Walters or Architectural Digest. But it’s the publicity loving stars that set the standard by which the press deals with all celebrity.
So there are certainly many private straight performers as there are gay. The issue of gay celebrities coming out is one of political clout within the gay community, and a desire to have accessible gay role models for the straight world to relate to.
We're living on the cusp of a time when some famous people are coming out and continuing to have mainstream careers. Would CNN fire Anderson Cooper if he came out? Of course not. Would he stop doing the kind of work he's doing? No. Would Jodie Foster lose work at this point if she was out? No.
But would both of these public figures help shape a positive perception of "Gay" America if they did? Of course they would. And this is where I have a problem with people of any clout in our society not being out. Even the most private public figures will often be outspoken about a social cause or crusade they care about. To believe being a gay celebrity in 2007 is a personal matter that shouldn’t play any role in the public’s perception of them is disingenuous.
How much faster would we have federally protected rights if every closeted gay politician, actor, civic leader and CEO collectively came out? I appreciate people wanting their privacy, but celebrity has its own special benefits that can cut both ways. This isn’t an issue about sex gossip. It's one of politics.
SueleenGay
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/9/03
#6re: Out lives up to it's name
Posted: 4/6/07 at 9:35amWow, how brave of them to publish a cover that is gauranteed to sell like hotcakes! I might take this a bit more seriously if it were someone other than MUSTO writing the article, say a Kushner or a Signorelli?
Borstalboy
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/9/04
#7re: Out lives up to it's name
Posted: 4/6/07 at 9:37amI agree that the public may or may not care but the business is so retrograde in their thinking that I think it would hurt people's careers if they came out. Look at Rupert Everett.
#8re: Out lives up to it's name
Posted: 4/6/07 at 9:37amTouche Sueleen!
SueleenGay
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/9/03
#9re: Out lives up to it's name
Posted: 4/6/07 at 9:52amAre they doing a Broadway version next? Who's masks would they use? I wonder if it would be "CURTAINS" for all of those careers, too! Oh, forget it, it would just be a "misbegotten" issue anyway.
#10re: Out lives up to it's name
Posted: 4/6/07 at 11:09amIf they do, they should do the try-out in Oklahoma City.
#11The Glass Closet article
Posted: 4/6/07 at 2:54pm
If anyone wants to read the article.
http://www.out.com/detail.asp?id=22392
#12The Glass Closet article
Posted: 4/6/07 at 3:18pm
Oh Sueleen whoever do you mean?
Please--is there anyone who didn't know Jodie was a lesbian? And furthermore, is anyone disappointed?
skingdom
Broadway Star Joined: 6/29/03
#13The Glass Closet article
Posted: 4/6/07 at 6:44pm
are they trying to suggest that anderson cooper is gay?
because that is ridiculous. what is it with some gay people thinking the whole world needs to be or is?
oye.
skingdom out.
#14The Glass Closet article
Posted: 4/6/07 at 9:55pm
I agree skingdom.
Anderson Cooper is no more gay than I am.
PalJoey OUT!
#15The Glass Closet article
Posted: 4/6/07 at 11:06pm“Anderson Cooper has finessed it where straight women who have a crush on him think he’s straight and gay men actually think he’s out.”
-Kad
"I have also met him in person, and I find him to be quite funny actually. Arrogant and often misinformed, but still funny."
-bjh2114 (on Michael Riedel)
skingdom
Broadway Star Joined: 6/29/03
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