By M&C News Jul 28, 2006, 16:08 GMT
Recently television show Access Hollywood wanted to know what happens when stars are forced to declare their homosexuality publicly.
Lance Bass - © Glenn Harris / Photorazzi
It's clear that Lance Bass of ’N Sync took a preemptive strike when reports started bubbling about his P-Town (Provincetown, MA) appearances, he knew that his homosexuality would explode in the tabloids.
“You know once you get in the business you know what you're getting into,” Lance reported to People magazine. “Unfortunately, if you don't want to be in the spotlight, get out of it.”
Meet Perez Hilton. An openly gay blogger, he has lots to say about the profile people who haven’t quite taken the leap to full disclosure.
Perez Hilton started posting articles in September 2005, outing Lance on his Web site. “It upsets me that people think what I'm doing is a bad thing,” Perez told Access Hollywood. “I don't think it's a bad thing. If you know something to be a fact, why not report it? Why is that still taboo?”
Perez intensified his Lance coverage once the 'N Sync star began dating the “Amazing Race's” Reichen Lemkel, giving them the offensive nicknames of “The First Reich” and “Princess Frosty Locks!”
“I know there is some controversy about outing people, but I also believe the only way we're gonna have change is with visibility, and if I have to drag some people screaming out of the closet, then I will. I think that lot of celebrities have an archaic fear that being gay will hurt their career but look at Rosie. Look at Ellen.” Perez told Access Hollywood.
Rosie waited until the end of her talk show, although the tabloids like National Enquirer had long been printing stories about her relationship with partner Kelly.
“I think that before I was able to discuss my family and my life publicly, I wanted to be sure that this was the long term, forever relationship,” Rosie told Access Hollywood.
Then there is popular blogger, Jenny Woo, whose blog on BetUS.com has continuously released odds on which celebrity would be first to come out of the closet. Anderson Cooper and Vin Diesel are her two most "alleged" active entries.
Woo, who has stated she is bisexual, has written on her blog that reporter Mike Rogers at BlogActive refers to a New York Magazine article “that pretty much confirms the scuttlebutt that our man Anderson is ‘family.’"
Actor Richard Chamberlain came out a few years ago. His advice is “be careful.”“Oh it's still dangerous, it's still dangerous,” Richard told Access Hollywood. “If you are a young actor, I would never advise a young actor to come out. Society moves very slowly, you might say glacially. There's a long way to go, especially in America, perhaps only in America.”
“Being gay is not a death sentence for a performer in show business,” Perez said to Access Hollywood. “We need to get out of that mind frame. It's 2006 people!”
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