# Has a public figure ever been accused by multiple people of being gay, and it wasn't true? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 27, 2010, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-figure-ever-been-accused-by-multiple-people-of-being-gay-and-it-wasnt-true/555192 "2010-09-27T06:42:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-figure-ever-been-accused-by-multiple-people-of-being-gay-and-it-wasnt-true/555192/41 "2010-09-28T17:00:20Z")
He (and his agent) probably wouldn’t want it to. It’s good for his career. You know the saying, any publicity is good publicity, as long as they spell your name right. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-figure-ever-been-accused-by-multiple-people-of-being-gay-and-it-wasnt-true/555192/42 "2010-09-28T17:14:07Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > You know the saying, any publicity is good publicity, as long as they spell your name right. Yeah look at how great OJ Simpson’s career has been going since he got all that free publicity. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-figure-ever-been-accused-by-multiple-people-of-being-gay-and-it-wasnt-true/555192/43 "2010-09-28T17:18:24Z")
Does “me in High School” count. Serious rumors about me being gay. Kind of a big deal in a small Catholic HS. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-figure-ever-been-accused-by-multiple-people-of-being-gay-and-it-wasnt-true/555192/44 "2010-09-28T17:22:49Z")
There has always been a question of lifelong bachelor and former NYC mayor [Ed Koch](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Koch#Personal_life). When he was running against Mario Cuomo in the 1977 mayoral campaign, signs appeared reading “Vote for Cuomo, not the homo.” Koch has stated that he is straight. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-figure-ever-been-accused-by-multiple-people-of-being-gay-and-it-wasnt-true/555192/45 "2010-09-28T17:24:24Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Does “me in High School” count. > > Serious rumors about me being gay. Kind of a big deal in a small Catholic HS. Well, were you? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-figure-ever-been-accused-by-multiple-people-of-being-gay-and-it-wasnt-true/555192/46 "2010-09-28T18:01:19Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > There has always been a question of lifelong bachelor and former NYC mayor [Ed Koch](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Koch#Personal_life). When he was running against Mario Cuomo in the 1977 mayoral campaign, signs appeared reading “Vote for Cuomo, not the homo.” > > Koch has stated that he is straight. He is one of those mentioned in a recent documentary called _Outrage_, about closeted gays who support anti-gay legislation and/or activities. There were people who appeared on camera claiming personal knowledge that Koch is gay. You would have to see the program yourself to judge how credible these people are. I’m glad you reminded me of that movie. There are quite a few politicians in it who the producers claim are gay, though they deny it. This is a list from the [Wiki page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outrage_%282009_film%29) of those folks: ``` * Larry Craig, former US Senator of Idaho * Ed Schrock, former US Congressman of Virginia * Charlie Crist, Governor of Florida * Ed Koch, former Mayor of New York City * Jim McCrery, former US Congressman of Louisiana * David Dreier, US Congressman of California ``` The OP might want to keep an eye on these folks for future answers to the question. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-figure-ever-been-accused-by-multiple-people-of-being-gay-and-it-wasnt-true/555192/47 "2010-09-28T20:19:24Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > > [@Zebra](#): > > > > Does “me in High School” count. > > > > Serious rumors about me being gay. Kind of a big deal in a small Catholic HS. > > Well, were you? He gawt bettah. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-figure-ever-been-accused-by-multiple-people-of-being-gay-and-it-wasnt-true/555192/48 "2010-09-29T13:09:29Z")
[quote=“Boyo\_Jim, post:46, topic:555192”] > [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > There has always been a question of lifelong bachelor and former NYC mayor [Ed Koch](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Koch#Personal_life). When he was running against Mario Cuomo in the 1977 mayoral campaign, signs appeared reading "Vote for Cuomo, not the homo.\ > > This is a list from the [Wiki page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outrage_%282009_film%29) of those folks: > > ``` > * Larry Craig, former US Senator of Idaho > * Ed Schrock, former US Congressman of Virginia > * Charlie Crist, Governor of Florida > * Ed Koch, former Mayor of New York City > > ``` > > \*\* \* Jim McCrery, former US Congressman of Louisiana\*\* > \* David Dreier, US Congressman of California > > The OP might want to keep an eye on these folks for future answers to the question. For a second, I thought that said Jim McGreevey. ---
**Author:** ![scamartistry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@scamartistry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scamartistry)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-figure-ever-been-accused-by-multiple-people-of-being-gay-and-it-wasnt-true/555192/49 "2010-09-29T13:53:02Z")
If there is no rumour about Shia LaBeouf, Im starting one right now. Ladies and gentlemen “Shia LaBeouf” is NOT a name for a heterosexual. On a serious note though; the biggest “getting out of the closet” moments we can expect to see in near future is probably Will Smith and John Travolta. Even though it is hardly a secret even now, I dont think anyone will be too suprised. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-figure-ever-been-accused-by-multiple-people-of-being-gay-and-it-wasnt-true/555192/50 "2010-09-29T14:25:42Z")
> [@scamartistry](#): > > If there is no rumour about Shia LaBeouf, Im starting one right now. Ladies and gentlemen “Shia LaBeouf” is NOT a name for a heterosexual. [Shia LaBeouf](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shia_LaBeouf): > [@](#): > > “LaBeouf was raised in his mother’s Jewish religion and had a Bar Mitzvah, though he was also baptized. The name Shia is Hebrew for ‘gift from God’.” ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-figure-ever-been-accused-by-multiple-people-of-being-gay-and-it-wasnt-true/555192/51 "2010-09-29T17:39:33Z")
> [@descamisado](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > “LaBeouf was raised in his mother’s Jewish religion and had a Bar Mitzvah, though he was also baptized. The name Shia is Hebrew for ‘gift from God’.” :dubious: AFAIK, he pronounces his name as “shy-a”, and I can say from personal experience that that “y” sound does not exist in Hebrew. (My name in Hebrew is spelled the equivalent of _Kayyla_ because it takes a lot of wrangling to write out that sound, and people still mispronounced it constantly.) The name Natanel (Nathaniel) means “gift from god”. The name _Shai_ also means “gift” and is a common Israeli name. But I’ve never heard of anyone named Shia. Maybe his parents misspelled it? ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-figure-ever-been-accused-by-multiple-people-of-being-gay-and-it-wasnt-true/555192/52 "2010-09-29T17:47:24Z")
I was just going by the wiki entry, having no knowledge of Hebrew. Howver, if there’s anything in the entry that’s accurate, his mother’s hippy leanings might apply here. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-figure-ever-been-accused-by-multiple-people-of-being-gay-and-it-wasnt-true/555192/53 "2010-09-29T21:21:38Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > > [@descamisado](#): > > > > :dubious: AFAIK, he pronounces his name as “shy-a”, and I can say from personal experience that that “y” sound does not exist in Hebrew. (My name in Hebrew is spelled the equivalent of _Kayyla_ because it takes a lot of wrangling to write out that sound, and people still mispronounced it constantly.) > > The name Natanel (Nathaniel) means “gift from god”. The name _Shai_ also means “gift” and is a common Israeli name. But I’ve never heard of anyone named Shia. Maybe his parents misspelled it? Double :dubious: I thought Matthew means “gift from god”. ---
**Author:** ![Strassia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e8c25b/32.png) [@Strassia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strassia)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-figure-ever-been-accused-by-multiple-people-of-being-gay-and-it-wasnt-true/555192/54 "2010-09-29T22:07:09Z")
> [@llcoolbj77](#): > > . > > Slight hijack: All CSI units do this. The prosecutor calls and says test this sample for X. We want to find X. They test for X. They do not test for Y or Z. Only X. And the response is yes or no. The NCIS is not a CSI unit. They are more like an FBI for the Navy. ---
**Author:** ![Fang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/96bed5/32.png) [@Fang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fang)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-figure-ever-been-accused-by-multiple-people-of-being-gay-and-it-wasnt-true/555192/55 "2010-09-30T02:26:37Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > that “y” sound does not exist in Hebrew. Not exactly, but it’s pretty closely approximated, as in the word “chai” (life). In fact the Hebrew name “Chaya” pretty much rhymes with how I’ve heard “Shia” pronounced. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-figure-ever-been-accused-by-multiple-people-of-being-gay-and-it-wasnt-true/555192/56 "2010-09-30T03:04:11Z")
> [@Illuminatiprimus](#): > > I thought Matthew means “gift from god”. Maybe in some language that isn’t Hebrew. Let’s see what google says. Ah HA. It does mean “gift from god”, and was originally Hebrew, but has gone through a bunch of different languages. The name “Matthew” as it stands, doesn’t sound Hebrew at all. (Hebrew doesn’t have a “th” sound, for instance.) **Fang** , I thought about that later, and I realized that there is stuff with that sound in it. It’s been a long time since I studied Hebrew now, so maybe I’m misremembering. But when I lived in Israel, I had to spell my name as “קאיילה” and leaving out any of those vowels ended up with people calling me “Keela” or “Kayla”. So now I’m confused. ---
**Author:** ![Peeta\_Mellark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Peeta\_Mellark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peeta_Mellark)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-figure-ever-been-accused-by-multiple-people-of-being-gay-and-it-wasnt-true/555192/57 "2010-09-30T04:34:19Z")
Shia is another form of Yesha’ya. It means “God is salvation”. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-figure-ever-been-accused-by-multiple-people-of-being-gay-and-it-wasnt-true/555192/58 "2010-09-30T07:49:09Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > > [@Illuminatiprimus](#): > > > > I thought Matthew means “gift from god”. > > Maybe in some language that isn’t Hebrew. Let’s see what google says. > > Ah HA. It does mean “gift from god”, and was originally Hebrew, but has gone through a bunch of different languages. The name “Matthew” as it stands, doesn’t sound Hebrew at all. (Hebrew doesn’t have a “th” sound, for instance.) In Spanish it’s Mateo or Matías; any Biblical name varies from language to language, plus you have those cases where it got assimilated/mixed with a similar-sounding name of a different origin. The Jacob / Jacobo /Jacques / Santiago /Diego / Jaime /James /Jaume mess has been mentioned in these boards before, repeatedly. Miriam, Mary, María… John / Johannes / Jean / Joan / Ivan… ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-figure-ever-been-accused-by-multiple-people-of-being-gay-and-it-wasnt-true/555192/59 "2010-09-30T09:20:19Z")
The original Hebrew form of Matthew is “Matityahu”, which does indeed mean “gift from God”. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-figure-ever-been-accused-by-multiple-people-of-being-gay-and-it-wasnt-true/555192/60 "2010-09-30T10:26:43Z")
So… I’m right then? Woo hoo! That hardly ever happens to me on here. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-figure-ever-been-accused-by-multiple-people-of-being-gay-and-it-wasnt-true/555192.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-public-figure-ever-been-accused-by-multiple-people-of-being-gay-and-it-wasnt-true/555192.md?page=4)