# Jim Parsons is out (and in the New York Times, no less) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 24, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-parsons-is-out-and-in-the-new-york-times-no-less/623000 "2012-05-24T20:21:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [May 24, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-parsons-is-out-and-in-the-new-york-times-no-less/623000/1 "2012-05-24T20:21:13Z")
[Interview here](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/27/theater/jim-parsons-prepares-for-his-lead-role-in-harvey.html?hpw). And in other words, the sun came out this morning. ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-parsons-is-out-and-in-the-new-york-times-no-less/623000/2 "2012-05-24T20:53:13Z")
Pastor Charlie Worley has a fence for him… ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-parsons-is-out-and-in-the-new-york-times-no-less/623000/3 "2012-05-24T21:33:51Z")
[This is my shocked face.](http://b.imagehost.org/0352/etrade-shocked-face.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-parsons-is-out-and-in-the-new-york-times-no-less/623000/4 "2012-05-24T21:49:03Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > [Interview here](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/27/theater/jim-parsons-prepares-for-his-lead-role-in-harvey.html?hpw). I had to read that article twice before I found mention of it. Somehow I doubt it will affect his career. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-parsons-is-out-and-in-the-new-york-times-no-less/623000/5 "2012-05-24T21:53:45Z")
Let’s all say it together. _“I thought he had already come out.”_ ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-parsons-is-out-and-in-the-new-york-times-no-less/623000/6 "2012-05-24T22:01:17Z")
About as “shocking” as when David Hyde Pierce came out. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-parsons-is-out-and-in-the-new-york-times-no-less/623000/7 "2012-05-24T22:01:27Z")
I just find the situation humorous. If ever there was a reason in real life for two TV characters to not so much as hold hands (let alone anything else), I’m guessing the combination of “gay” and “orthodox Jew” ranks right up there. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-parsons-is-out-and-in-the-new-york-times-no-less/623000/8 "2012-05-24T22:11:41Z")
> [@Antigen](#): > > I had to read that article twice before I found mention of it. > > Somehow I doubt it will affect his career. It’s on page 3 and is just an aside. I’m not even sure I really call it coming out–it seems there was an assumption that everyone already knew. > [@](#): > > “The Normal Heart” resonated with him on a few levels: Mr. Parsons is gay and in a 10-year relationship, and working with an ensemble again onstage was like nourishment, he said. As the production was ending last summer, he heard that the Roundabout Theater Company was considering a revival of “Harvey” — initially with John C. Reilly under consideration for Elwood — and last November the play’s director, Scott Ellis, asked him and Ms. Hecht to do a private reading of the work in Los Angeles. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-parsons-is-out-and-in-the-new-york-times-no-less/623000/9 "2012-05-24T22:27:22Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > . . . I’m guessing the combination of “gay” and “orthodox Jew” ranks right up there. How about [“gay” and “orthodox rabbi”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Greenberg_%28rabbi%29)? And he’s hardly the only one. ---
**Author:** ![kevja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@kevja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevja)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-parsons-is-out-and-in-the-new-york-times-no-less/623000/10 "2012-05-24T22:43:31Z")
Why do str8 people take such joy when a gay person comes out? Where does the pride come from/ Because you all have such great gaydar. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-parsons-is-out-and-in-the-new-york-times-no-less/623000/11 "2012-05-24T22:47:19Z")
> [@kevja](#): > > Why do str8 people take such joy when a gay person comes out? Where does the pride come from/ Because you all have such great gaydar. Why do some people have such difficulty spelling basic words like ‘straight’? ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-parsons-is-out-and-in-the-new-york-times-no-less/623000/12 "2012-05-24T23:40:10Z")
> [@kevja](#): > > Why do str8 people take such joy when a gay person comes out? Where does the pride come from/ Because you all have such great gaydar. You need haiku lessons, yours is a mess. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-parsons-is-out-and-in-the-new-york-times-no-less/623000/13 "2012-05-24T23:44:05Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > [This is my shocked face.](http://b.imagehost.org/0352/etrade-shocked-face.jpg) Was hoping it was a video! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-parsons-is-out-and-in-the-new-york-times-no-less/623000/14 "2012-05-24T23:46:36Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Let’s all say it together. > > _“I thought he had already come out.”_ +1 ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-parsons-is-out-and-in-the-new-york-times-no-less/623000/15 "2012-05-25T00:06:37Z")
> [@kevja](#): > > Why do str8 people take such joy when a gay person comes out? Where does the pride come from/ Because you all have such great gaydar. Why do gay people come out? Straight people don’t put “straight” bumper stickers on their cars or have straight pride fests or announce to the public that they not gay. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-parsons-is-out-and-in-the-new-york-times-no-less/623000/16 "2012-05-25T00:14:49Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Why do gay people come out? Straight people don’t put “straight” bumper stickers on their cars or have straight pride fests or announce to the public that they not gay. Well, I will come out and say it: I’m straight, and proud of it. Now, I know this might upset some of my gay friends, but they’ve got to face the facts: some of us are straight. I know it’s a bit icky when a man and a woman get together, and have sex. But what goes on in the privacy of our bedrooms (and living rooms, bathrooms and kitchens) is just our own business. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-parsons-is-out-and-in-the-new-york-times-no-less/623000/17 "2012-05-25T00:27:18Z")
I might go see him in Harvey, one of my favorite movies and I think he’ll be good as Dowd. But seriously, he didn’t come out in that article, he’s been openly gay. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-parsons-is-out-and-in-the-new-york-times-no-less/623000/18 "2012-05-25T00:31:47Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > Well, I will come out and say it: I’m straight, and proud of it. Now, I know this might upset some of my gay friends, but they’ve got to face the facts: some of us are straight. I know it’s a bit icky when a man and a woman get together, and have sex. But what goes on in the privacy of our bedrooms (and living rooms, bathrooms and kitchens) is just our own business. I knew it! Anyways, what I was going for was that it’s a big hurdle (presumably) for one to overcome to come out in public (whether that person is a celebrity or not) and I think the reason for straight people getting full of joy when someone comes out is two fold. First off it’s a sort of congrats, like you would say to someone when that graduate college. They overcame an obstacle in their life. But I think a small part of it (for some people, obviously not all) is to show that they don’t have a problem with gay people. When someone announces that they’re gay, they’re (the person being ‘full of joy’ for them) is doing the opposite of being grossed out or staying away. They’re saying “good for him/her” instead of “that’s wrong”. Does that make sense (without being insulting, which isn’t what I’m trying to do, at all)? Besides, there’s very little a celebrity can do without some amount of fanfare anyways. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-parsons-is-out-and-in-the-new-york-times-no-less/623000/19 "2012-05-25T00:32:41Z")
> [@kevja](#): > > Why do str8 people take such joy when a gay person comes out? Where does the pride come from/ Because you all have such great gaydar. I have teriible gaydar. Everyone I think is gay isn’t, and everyone I never would suspect, is. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-parsons-is-out-and-in-the-new-york-times-no-less/623000/20 "2012-05-25T00:43:30Z")
I mentioned it yesterday by[bumping this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=557748&page=8)since I wasn’t sure it would even get enough attention for it’s own, but, looks like it did. My takeaway wasn’t the gay part (which I think everybody who much cared already knew) but that he’s in a 10 year relationship. That’s pretty impressive for a young guy in Hollywood. (I knew that he took his partner to awards shows, which I’ve always applauded.) As a gay man, I really do think it’s wonderful seeing an actor on a hit series letting it be known he’s gay and in a relationship and not feeling the need to have a Rock Hudson or Richard Chamberlain beard relationship. Plus, since Parsons isn’t your typical romantic lead, I don’t think it will do any career damage. (I still think it would torpedo the career of an A-List romantic lead.) Compare-contrast this to Anderson Cooper’s interview with a member of ‘Horribly-homophobic-church-du-jour’ last night. As with _all_ interviews he conducts with the less educated/loose cannon/non-media savvy folks, he did not interview her live but showed her on tape; he is not going to risk somebody making reference to his gayness in spite of the fact there’s nobody who doesn’t know it. I know his excuses, but, ultimately, I think it makes him a phony (and his hag-of-choice Kathy Griffin, who will not refer to his gayness but loves to out others). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-parsons-is-out-and-in-the-new-york-times-no-less/623000.md?page=2)