Oprah: would she say if she were gay?

Cafe Society
#1

*Oprah Winfrey and her friend Gayle King want to be clear: they’re not gay. In the August issue of O, the Oprah Magazine, the talk-show host explains that some people misunderstand her close friendship with King."

“The truth is, if we were gay, we would tell you, because there’s nothing wrong with being gay,” says King.*

‘Not that there’s anything wrong with it’ - how can people say that with a straight face after Seinfeld? :slight_smile:
Anyway, my question is, would she really let people know if she were gay? Might she not risk alienating some of her fanbase? What is the demographic of her fans?

#2

I don’t believe that she’d tell. She’s had too many instances of playing the Stedman card and building a rep to come out. Same-sex relationships aren’t viewed as universal the way opposite-sex relationships are so everything she ever said before or would say in future would be treated as suspect by a huge chunk of her fan base. she may say there’s nothing wrong with being gay, and she may even believe it, but if she is gay she knows that she wouldn’t have become a billionaire by talking about it.

#3

I saw Gayle King mention the same thing during the True Hollywood Story about Oprah, that if Oprah were gay she would have no problem telling people. I have to agree with Otto, I just don’t see her saying anything. I hadn’t thought about it before but perhaps Steadman is a beard.

Of course she has enough money to live on a few times over even if she were shunned for being gay.

#4

That’s a very tough call. Would she had risen to the top if she had been out from the beginning? Absolutely not. But the world has a picture of Oprah as a hetrosexual in a long term relationship with a close best “girlfriend.” If she changed that relationship now, it’s a tossup whether it would affect her image and if so, how much.

#5

I think it’s pathetic that two women can’t have a close friendship without people calling them gay. They don’t owe anyone an explanation because it’s no one’s damn business!

#6

Poor Oprah.

If she’s gay, she’s been publicly straight for so long that coming out now will be very difficult for her. People will say she’s been lying, and she’ll alienate a significant part of her audience.

If she’s straight, the rumors will continue following her for the rest of her career. Public gossip about her will probably be as nasty, or even nastier, than it would if she just came out.

It’s not really fair.