Is being gay still so “taboo” and “out there” that a fucking Z-list celebrity like Meredith Baxter coming out is front page news??? Seriously?? What the fuck?
I could see it being news if some A-list sex-symbol who was in the public eye , like Brad Pitt, Angelina etc…,came out playing for the other team only because they are known for their sex appeal but a Z-lister like Meredith Baxter (who has Clint Eastwoods mouth and eyes)? Sulu from ST?
Jesus Christ people. When is this going to end??? It’s annoying.
I suppose that given Baxter’s well-known past relationship with David Birney, the late-in-life revelation that she’s a lesbian has some intrinsic interest. It’s not critically important news, true, but then show-biz news always seems to be on the front page these days. Blame the public who are attracted to such things.
Because she starred on a show called “Family Ties” it proves that every suburban housewife is probably a closeted lesbian. And I think we can all agree that’s pretty big news.
Exactly my fucking point. Who cares? I just don’t get it. She’s gay. Good for her and her partner. More power to them. But how this is news, and requires her to “address the issue” by hitting the talk show circuit is beyond me. She is WAY down the chain of celebrity’s that anyone gives a shit about.
I want to add that this is not a bash on MB but on the circus that arises every time someone “comes out”. It’s not her fault and I’m not pitting her. I’m pitting the world because the world seems to feed this shit.
Don’t blame the world. Blame Baxter’s demographic, which seems to be the over-60 crowd who grew up with her on television. She endorses no-questions-asked life insurance and some cell-phone company aimed at people on a fixed income; i.e. seniors. She’s remarkably successful at what she does, so I’m sure she felt she owed it to her fan base to address the rumors about her. I have to give her a lot of credit for confirming the rumor instead of denying it, however.
Most people in my age group (I’m 48) know who she is. She was on a couple of very popular TV shows. “Bridge Loves Bernie” and of course, “Family Ties”. So to a certain demographic, she’s more or less a “B” list celebrity.
The demographic might be over-60 now due to the endorsement stuff she does, but the overall demographic skews much younger.
When I first saw the story, the evening before the publicity pitch on morning TV, it said she was getting out in front of TMZ and Perez Hilton, rather than letting those leeches control the story. IMNSHO, if she took even a penny out of either of those scumbags’ pockets, good on Mrs. Keaton.
I saw her talking about it, awkwardly, on the Today Show. For no particular reason, I thought, out of the clear blue sky, she made her Big Announcement, and I thought “huh? why? why now? is she just trying to get attention? WTF? and who cares?” ??? I posted this on another board and was promptly informed she had been on some kind of gay cruise and a tabloid was going to, or did, have the dirt on her sexual orientation. She was announcing this pre-emptively, to get this information out there to the public, before the tabloids, Perez, etc. did.
Because older celebrities coming out makes for a good human interest story. For most of us, the fact that Meredith Baxter had to hide who she was for years on end is a sad commentary on what the world was like not so long ago. I once watched a documentary about older adults who had hidden their sexuality for their entire lives - they weren’t even famous people, but it was a facinating watch. Throw in the “known her since childhood” aspect of a TV celebrity, and I’m not at all surprised that people would want to know Baxter’s story.
Meredith Baxter is TV royalty. She was a household name in the 70s. The reason her coming out is of higher than average interest is that, besides that, she’s one of very few Hollywood women who took on her husband’s name when she got married. At the height of her fame, she was Meredith Baxter Birney. So she was very visibly married, and will always be so in many people’s minds. So to a whole generation of people, her coming out is a huge WTF moment.
Also, the “Who gives a fuck???” of the OP is oddly refreshing. 20 years ago, even a “Z list” celebrity coming out the closet would’ve been HUGE news. The fact that we’ve gotten to the point where a solipsistic teenager doesn’t give a fuck is progress of a kind. I guess.
Over 60?! She was the matriarch on Family Ties which was a top 10 family-friendly show across all demographics from 1982-1989. I’m 36 and have very clear memories of the show, I’m sure people a couple of years younger than I am remember it quite well too.
She has renounced her one-time bisexuality as “dabbling” now and claims to be hetero. Rather condescendingly, might I add, which is yet another reason I find her distasteful.
Because you can’t get to the point where nobody gives a fuck that a celeb or former celeb is gay until more celebs and former celebs are openly gay. I’m happy for it to be met with a shrug.
After Neil Patrick Harris “came out” (he was never in, just no one had asked), all of these public outings really have no point.
After some tabloid rag posted something about NPH being gay, his publicist put out a statement saying “He is not of that persuasion.” Harris turns around and fires her bigoted ass and releases this statement:
Honestly, nothing else needs to be said on the subject ever. You either shouldn’t give a fuck or you should walk around with the words “I am a bigot” tattooed on your forehead.
It’s also further proof that NPH is a god among men.