# Kristy McNichol Comes Out **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 8, 2012, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813 "2012-01-08T10:49:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/21 "2012-01-08T17:00:15Z")
From the link: > [@](#): > > McNichol, 49, has lived with her partner for the past two decades. Doesn’t living with your (same-sex) partner count as “coming out”? 😕 ---
**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:** [January 8, 2012, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/22 "2012-01-08T17:09:11Z")
Coming out is kind of like losing your virginity if your a girl. If you don’t do it at least once every 10 years, it grows back. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/23 "2012-01-08T17:17:17Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > … and 87.4% of Americans say “Who?” I was momentarily confused because I thought she was the teacher that was lost in the Challenger disaster. “Wait, _what?_” ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/24 "2012-01-08T17:39:29Z")
> [@sparky\_1](#): > > I’m 36, and I didn’t have a fucking clue. Yeah, but between 30 and 40 was left as a grey area. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/25 "2012-01-08T17:40:55Z")
> [@BeaMyra](#): > > Rest of article at the NY Daily News > > [Kristy McNichol comes out as lesbian to help bullied kids – New York Daily News](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/kristy-mcnichol-lesbian-bullied-kids-article-1.1002314) That guy in the picture has an expression on his face that seems to say “Eww, I’m touching a lesbian…get it off” ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/26 "2012-01-08T17:48:44Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I didn’t know. Didn’t care. The subject of Kristy McNichol’s sexual preference had truly never crossed my mind. +1. she is my age, and I didn’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/27 "2012-01-08T17:49:54Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > I’m always glad to see someone coming out because it always takes guts, but if she’s coming out to take a stand against bullying, the message is kind of weak. > > “Hey, kids who are getting harrassed! Stay strong and keep your heads up high. Like I did! Except, unlike you, I didn’t tell anyone until now, decades after my career had reached its pinnacle and I had already made a name for myself! A name that almost everyone has now forgotten, so it’s not a big deal if I come out! So you can make it through this! You just have to be brave like I was!” Yeah, I’m not sure what McNichol thinks she’s accomplishing by coming out publicly. (I assume she was already out to friends/family.) I respect her decision to leave acting, but this does mean she hasn’t been in the public eye for many years I doubt many teenagers today have any idea who she is. The article linked in the OP cites _People_ as its source, and I was wondering if there was some greater context that had been omitted…[but there doesn’t appear to be](http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20559567,00.html). I had been thinking that maybe McNichol was going to be involved in a documentary about gay youth or had become spokesperson for some relevant charity, but it looks like she just released a statement through her publicist. So while I think it’s nice that she has come out, I don’t think it does much to help gay kids who are being bullied. ---
**Author:** ![BigBertha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@BigBertha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigBertha)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/28 "2012-01-08T18:18:27Z")
No, I never knew, but then again, it was only a few years ago I found out John Waters was gay. I recall her supposedly dating Leif Garret who could’ve turned anyone straight. ---
**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:** [January 8, 2012, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/29 "2012-01-08T19:10:39Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > That guy in the picture has an expression on his face that seems to say “Eww, I’m touching a lesbian…get it off” Actually, he (Richard Mulligan) was gay too; don’t know whether he ever came out though. And that’s a really awful photo of the two girls. They were a lot better looking than that. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/30 "2012-01-08T19:12:13Z")
Yeah, that’s Richard Mulligan. That’s just his face. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/31 "2012-01-08T19:15:04Z")
I remember watching _Family_. I had no idea she was supposed to be gay. I don’t remember that at least. ---
**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:** [January 8, 2012, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/32 "2012-01-08T19:19:23Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > That guy in the picture has an expression on his face that seems to say “Eww, I’m touching a lesbian…get it off” > **[Kristy McNichol comes out as lesbian to help bullied kids](https://www.nydailynews.com/2012/01/07/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out-as-lesbian-to-help-bullied-kids/)** > > Bullied kids have a buddy in Kristy McNichol. The former “Empty Nest” actress has come out as lesbian to help children deal with bullies. McNichol, 49, has lived with her partner for th… Kristy looks as if she’s doing a course of some serious steroids. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/33 "2012-01-08T20:49:54Z")
I used to be a big fan of Empty Nest when I was a kid. I don’t remember if I knew at the time what it meant to be gay or that Kristy is gay, but I can’t say that I am **surprised** that Kristy is gay. Richard Mulligan on the other hand? That’s surprising if that’s verified. I never really had any impression he was gay and it seems from his wiki that he presented himself as straight: [Richard Mulligan - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Mulligan#Marriages) ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/34 "2012-01-08T21:05:14Z")
I’ve known since I was a kid because of a conversation with my mother about Empty Nest. “No, not that daughter. The one played by the lesbian actress from Family.” Though I assumed given her comment that it was common knowledge then. OTOH, I was stunned when Michael Stipe came out recently, because I could swear he did back in the 90s. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/35 "2012-01-08T21:11:23Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Actually, he (Richard Mulligan) was gay too; don’t know whether he ever came out though. Man, then I hope Joan Hackett was gay too, or that was criminal to waste her as a beard. Nobody should be blamed for not realizing K McN was gay: hers was an entire generation of gay actresses overshadowed by (straight) Nancy McKeon. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/36 "2012-01-08T21:35:59Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > OTOH, I was stunned when Michael Stipe came out recently, because I could swear he did back in the 90s. Did he come out recently? I just looked on the “[Personal Life](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Stipe#Personal_life)” section of his Wikipedia page, and it says that back in 1994 he refused to assign a label to his sexual orientation but did state that he’d been attracted to and romantically involved with both men and women. That’s probably what you’re remembering (I remember it too), and it looks like he’s basically continued to say the same thing since then. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/37 "2012-01-08T21:54:12Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > I’ve known since I was a kid because of a conversation with my mother about Empty Nest. “No, not that daughter. The one played by the lesbian actress from Family.” Though I assumed given her comment that it was common knowledge then. OTOH, I was stunned when Michael Stipe came out recently, because I could swear he did back in the 90s. He came out a long time ago. I remember the REM Behind the Music had an interview with Stipe expressing shock that anyone ever thought he was straight: “I was wearing eyeliner and a skirt on stage in 1983. Of course I was gay!” ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/38 "2012-01-08T23:04:48Z")
Maybe the confusion is because people are thinking of when Kelly McGillis came out to no ones surprise? ---
**Author:** ![GovernmentMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9c0ed/32.png) [@GovernmentMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GovernmentMan)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/39 "2012-01-08T23:31:26Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Kristy is delusional if she thinks that she is part of popular culture anymore. No one under 30 has any idea who she is. Anyone over 40 knew she was gay many years ago. I’m in my early 20s and I knew who she was. I just saw Little Darlings a few weeks ago ---
**Author:** ![BeaMyra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2bfe46/32.png) [@BeaMyra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeaMyra)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/40 "2012-01-09T07:11:25Z")
> [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](#): > > I’m surprised at the hate for an actress who purposely stepped away from the limelight and has never made an attempt to attention-whore. I guess someone has to be the #1 box-office star to try to help others. Perhaps I was a bit short, I didn’t mean any hate, I’m sure others don’t too. > [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > I hate stuff like this. I know her name from something but have no idea who she is. Basically, in the mid and late 70s, Kristy was to TV what, Jodie Foster was to movies She won two Emmy awards for “Family,” which was a family drama that was pretty good, but didn’t hold up well in time. We didn’t really have that many dramas back then that weren’t medical or cop show. Her character was not gay but they had a few gay themed shows which was groundbreaking back then. That picture in the link is bad. Kristy was very pretty, especially in the “Empty Nest” era. Kristy and her brother, teen idol Jimmy, also tried a recording career (see link) [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zSVMVvKV0OY/hqdefault.jpg "Kristy & Jimmy McNichol "He's So Fine" (1978)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSVMVvKV0OY) What ever happened to him? I do agree her coming out won’t do much for teens, if she wants to help a cause, she’d be better off promoting the fact she has bipolar disorder. She left a hit TV series because of it. I remember when Patty Duke publicly declared she had bipolar disorder it really brought the illness home and showed how common it really was [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813.md?page=3)