# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/41 "2012-01-09T08:15:52Z")
[QUOTE=Slithy Tove] Nobody should be blamed for not realizing K McN was gay: hers was an entire generation of gay actresses overshadowed by (straight) Nancy McKeon. [/QUOTE] Who still shocks me. I’m convinced Nancy McKeon fakes being hetero even to the point of marrying and having kids just so she doesn’t have to get a lecture from Lisa Whelchel. (Geri Jewell said she and Whelchel were very close at one point until Jewell got sick of hearing sermonettes on the sins of lesbianism.) Not only was Kristy outed by the tabloids while _Empty Nest_ was on, her lover was said to be Liberace’s niece, Ina. (In fact here’s a [1981 article](http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20080601,00.html) in which she discusses moving in with her as roommates.) I always think of her and her brother with their [matching feather-bangs](http://s11.bdbphotos.com/images/orig/e/k/ekq6a16u8funf8n1.jpg) as official spokesmodels for the late 70s/early 80s. ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/42 "2012-01-09T08:37:39Z")
She makes me think of 70s like yesterday~ once more~ ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/43 "2012-01-09T08:38:52Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > 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!” Oh come on now, Stipe should know better than anyone what an alternate universe the music industry is. Wearing eyeliner and a skirt proves nothing really. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/44 "2012-01-09T09:38:57Z")
Remember _The Pirate Movie_? ---
**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, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/45 "2012-01-09T11:00:50Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > Remember _The Pirate Movie_? It was no worse than “Xanadu” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/46 "2012-01-09T11:08:59Z")
I remember Little Darlings as being very big then, being used as a primary example of our society going to hell. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/47 "2012-01-09T11:44:34Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > hers was an entire generation of gay actresses overshadowed by (straight) Nancy McKeon. Who, it turns out, has grown up very nicely indeed… ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/48 "2012-01-09T12:04:55Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Like any high school kids would even know who she is LOL > [@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. > [@Lamia](#): > > 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. > [@BeaMyra](#): > > I do agree her coming out won’t do much for teens, [In the “Post-Acting Life” section of her Wiki page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristy_McNichol#Post-acting_life) it says: > [@](#): > > Since retiring from the screen, she has taught acting at a private school in Los Angeles and devoted much of her time to charity work. It’s not clear if the teaching thing is current or something she had done some time ago. If she is currently teaching and working with young people, it is possible- even likely- that she is in regular contact with, mentoring, young people who are struggling with various issues related to coming to terms with who they are- issues of sexual orientation and/or a host of other issues that trouble people as they are coming of age. Being in a teaching position she may feel an obligation to be open about the kind of thing she may be hoping to see her students come to terms with. She may even feel a sense that such openess is long overdue. She may have had difficult conversations of the “How can you advise me to do something you’ve never done yourself” variety. If she is teaching currently, I believe my above speculation could closely resemble the source of her motivation to make a public statement. Yes, it is a somewhat detailed speculation considering the lack of facts- still, if she is currently teaching I believe my speculation could have some grounds. If she is not currently teaching . . . yeah, I agree, seems a pretty pointless announcement. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/49 "2012-01-09T12:17:30Z")
I always thought she and Peter MacNicol were siblings, but their surnames are spelled differently. Huh. I can’t say I ever gave much thought to her sexuality though. ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/50 "2012-01-09T12:25:26Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I can’t say I ever gave much thought to her sexuality though. Me too. And I don’t think back in the days of “Family”, “homosexuality” was on the general public’s conscious. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/51 "2012-01-09T16:09:17Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Wearing eyeliner and a skirt proves nothing really. Even Kristy McNichol wore them sometimes, and I’ve heard she’s gay. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/52 "2012-01-09T23:46:35Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > Being in a teaching position she may feel an obligation to be open about the kind of thing she may be hoping to see her students come to terms with. She may even feel a sense that such openess is long overdue. She may have had difficult conversations of the “How can you advise me to do something you’ve never done yourself” variety. I doubt she’s advised any of her students to come out by having their publicist send a statement to _People_ magazine. McNichol could have come out to her coworkers, students, etc., without getting the press involved. I’m not saying she necessarily came out this way just to get attention – she’s been voluntarily out of the spotlight for many years, and she may have decided it was better to issue a statement that she’d prepared herself than have secondhand information wind up on a celebrity gossip blog – but countless LGBT folk do manage to come out without the help of the national media. ---
**Author:** ![BeaMyra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2bfe46/32.png) [@BeaMyra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeaMyra)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/53 "2012-01-10T09:10:26Z")
> [@brittekland](#): > > Me too. > > And I don’t think back in the days of “Family”, “homosexuality” was on the general public’s conscious. Actually it did. I was little, but even I remember Anita Bryant and her “Save The Children” campagin > **[Save Our Children](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Save_Our_Children)** > > Save Our Children, Inc. was a political coalition formed in 1977 in Miami, Florida, U.S. to overturn a recently legislated county ordinance that banned discrimination in areas of housing, employment, and public accommodation based on sexual orientation. The coalition was publicly headed by celebrity singer Anita Bryant, who claimed the ordinance discriminated against her right to teach her children biblical morality. It was a well-organized campaign that initiated a bitter political fight between... Around 1976 till the age of AIDS, gay characters were coming more common, though they were still a big deal. AIDS pretty much threw it back a lot. You had “Three’s Company,” with a pseudo-gay character, “Soap” with a gay character that was really all over the boards. Jodie was gay, he was a transvestite, wanted a sex change, etc. It was definitely out there. AIDS shoved it back into the closet for most of the 80s ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/54 "2012-01-10T13:28:59Z")
I’m of the age group that remembers her from Family. I never really watched the show except occasionally when she was featured because I thought she was pretty cute. Same goes for Little Darlings (Foxes was a \*much \*better, more serious film BTW). And until reading it here just now I had no idea she was a lesbo. She quite show business like 25 years ago. The last thing I remember reading about her was that she was crazy (bi-polar or clinical depression or something) and that had to be like 20 years ago… ---
**Author:** ![Chicagojeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@Chicagojeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicagojeff)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/55 "2012-01-10T14:16:10Z")
> [@BeaMyra](#): > > And the world says, “Were you in?” > > 🙂 > > 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) > > I guess better late than never, but ever since I can remember, everyone has always said she was gay. > > Did anyone not know this? > > That s > aid, I did love her as Buddy and she was a riot as Barbara on “Empty Nest.” Actually her and Dinah Manoff were a great team as the bickering sisters DAMN!!! And I always was a Kristy girl.. siding with her over Tatum O’neal in little darlings!!! I just hope the poor woman is happy and enjoying mental health.. ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/56 "2012-01-10T15:25:37Z")
> [@BeaMyra](#): > > Actually it did. I was little, but even I remember Anita Bryant and her “Save The Children” campagin > > [Save Our Children - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Save_Our_Children) > > Around 1976 till the age of AIDS, gay characters were coming more common, though they were still a big deal. AIDS pretty much threw it back a lot. > > You had “Three’s Company,” with a pseudo-gay character, “Soap” with a gay character that was really all over the boards. Jodie was gay, he was a transvestite, wanted a sex change, etc. > > It was definitely out there. AIDS shoved it back into the closet for most of the 80s True. However, for example, I don’t think celebs were “coming out” publicly back then nor the “homosexuality” subject as large a subject in American psyche as it is today. I don’t think people sat around pondered whether their favorite celebs might be gay back then. From my memory, ‘gay’ subject didn’t carry anywhere close to today’s prominence. Entertainment industry’s gay characterizations were light and whimsical as were on your examples of Three’s Company and Soap. I guess we were on the verge though in hind sight. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/57 "2012-01-10T16:46:47Z")
I remember way, way back when she was in a sickeningly wholesome, cheap-shit Waltons knockoff called _Apple’s Way_. Then a few years later she was in _Little Darlings_ and I thought, wow, she got un-wholesome in a hurry. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/58 "2012-01-10T19:29:54Z")
I might be thinking of somebody else, but it seems like there was a movie with Kristy in it where another girl (or maybe it was her to another girl) telling her to put rouge on her nipples so they’d show up better. Anybody remember this, or am I going senile? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/59 "2012-01-10T21:36:39Z")
It’d be interesting to see her paired with “been there and back again” Tatum O’Neal in a vehicle. (Perhaps a _Little Darlings_ update, this time with 50-ish cougars who make a bet.) ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813/60 "2012-01-11T05:14:24Z")
> [@Duke\_of\_Rat](#): > > I might be thinking of somebody else, but it seems like there was a movie with Kristy in it where another girl (or maybe it was her to another girl) telling her to put rouge on her nipples so they’d show up better. > > Anybody remember this, or am I going senile? _Two Moon Junction_. She tells Sherilyn Fenn about it. Video here. Obviously, very NSFW. [spoiler][http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2948584476026609951&hl=en[/spoiler]](http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2948584476026609951&hl=en%5B/spoiler%5D) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kristy-mcnichol-comes-out/608813.md?page=4)