# What celebrities are homosexual, but are often thought not to be? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 23, 2005, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927 "2005-03-23T20:00:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/121 "2005-03-31T13:28:41Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > A > One that surprised me: Graham Chapman. You know. King Arthur and Bryan, the Messiah. > > I was quite shocked. > > I mean, I saw his pee pee on the Big Screen. > > I was quite a moment for me. šŸ˜ƒ Ainā€™t the same on a ā€œsmall screenā€, is it??? šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/122 "2005-03-31T20:19:27Z")
This is perhaps a hijack, but anybody know the truth about Michael Stipe? Which way does he lean? I know that, for many years, he was rumored to be gay and while never exactly denying it, heā€™s always talked around the issue and never made a clear statement one way or the other. Then, I recall reading in the New York Post (not always the most reliable source of info) that heā€™d admitted having a longtime boyfriend. Donā€™t have a cite though. Can anybody confirm or refute this? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/123 "2005-03-31T20:32:14Z")
How about the other way around ā€“ people who are assumed to be gay, but arenā€™t? There are three public radio hosts ā€“ Scott Simon (N.P.R.'s ā€œWeekend Edition Saturdayā€), Terry Gross (N.P.R.'s ā€œFresh Airā€), and Ira Glass (P.R.Iā€™s ā€œThis American Lifeā€) ā€“ who are often assumed to be gay ā€“ in fact, Terry Gross tells a funny story about it ā€“ but all three are straight. ---
**Author:** ![Hamish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Hamish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamish)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/124 "2005-03-31T20:36:36Z")
If weā€™re including bisexuals, Iā€™d say Kurt Cobain. He actually came out as bi. Tell this to most of his fans, and they just tell you he was trying to shock people. I figure that if someoneā€™s out as something, that ought to be accepted unless thereā€™s a damn good reason to think otherwise. Why is it ā€œinnocent until proven queer?ā€ And if it isnā€™t ā€œinnocent until proven queer,ā€ why arenā€™t we taking signed confessions? Iā€™m a fan of his music, and I think there is a certain queer sensibility to it. Nor is every queer person in music doing electronica-pop. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/125 "2005-03-31T20:39:54Z")
> [@Art Vandelay](#): > > This is perhaps a hijack, but anybody know the truth about Michael Stipe? Which way does he lean? I know that, for many years, he was rumored to be gay and while never exactly denying it, heā€™s always talked around the issue and never made a clear statement one way or the other. Then, I recall reading in the New York Post (not always the most reliable source of info) that heā€™d admitted having a longtime boyfriend. Donā€™t have a cite though. Can anybody confirm or refute this? I myself had heard that heā€™d officially came out[sup]\*[/sup] a few years back. Here are some cites, though: [http://www.gay-news.com/article04.php?sid=181](http://www.gay-news.com/article04.php?sid=181) [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/showbiz/1329994.stm](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/showbiz/1329994.stm) [sup]This is no way related to the story of the time that I called him a cocksucker to his face[/sup] ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/126 "2005-03-31T20:47:33Z")
A search on google does not bring up the article, but it does seem to bring up the fact that it does exist and that Michael Stipe is bi. Re: straight people assumed to be gay: Working from stereotypes only:), Richard ā€œSimmonsā€ Milton appears to be gay, but [he beat up a guy](http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0525042milt1.html) who was bugging him about a year ago, so he is definitrly straight. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/127 "2005-03-31T20:49:07Z")
I typed that in wrong. Richard Simmonsā€™s real name is Milton Simmons. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/128 "2005-03-31T21:20:42Z")
Where did Cobain come out as bi? In the _Advocate_ interview, he said he _could_ have been bi. He _did_ say he wished he was gay, ā€œto piss off homophobesā€. But he claimed more than once that he was heterosexual. The repeated line in ā€˜Negative Creepā€™ ā€“ ā€œDaddyā€™s little girl ainā€™t a girl no moreā€ doesnā€™t sound to me like gender confusion ā€“ it sounds like he was trying to piss off his homophobic father, with whom he had major problems. > [@Hamish](#): > > If weā€™re including bisexuals, Iā€™d say Kurt Cobain. He actually came out as bi. Tell this to most of his fans, and they just tell you he was trying to shock people. > > I figure that if someoneā€™s out as something, that ought to be accepted unless thereā€™s a damn good reason to think otherwise. Why is it ā€œinnocent until proven queer?ā€ And if it isnā€™t ā€œinnocent until proven queer,ā€ why arenā€™t we taking signed confessions? > > Iā€™m a fan of his music, and I think there is a certain queer sensibility to it. Nor is every queer person in music doing electronica-pop. ---
**Author:** ![Hamish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Hamish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamish)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/129 "2005-03-31T21:39:06Z")
> [@F. U. Shakespeare](#): > > Where did Cobain come out as bi? In the _Advocate_ interview, he said he _could_ have been bi. He _did_ say he wished he was gay, ā€œto piss off homophobesā€. But he claimed more than once that he was heterosexual. Well, he never says heā€™s heterosexual. He says heā€™s _more_ attracted to women than to men. Iā€™ve heard the same thing from bisexual friends. But he also says, "If I wouldnā€™t have found Courtney, I probably would have carried on with a bisexual lifestyle. " That sounds like a coming-out, to my ears. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/130 "2005-03-31T21:52:37Z")
IIRC, he claimed to be heterosexual in his journals, not in the _Advocate_ interview. My post wasnā€™t clear on that. Your interpretation may be right ā€“ I canā€™t claim to know what he was thinking. But if someone doesnā€™t feel safe telling it like it is to the _Advocate_, theyā€™re either _very_ conflicted, or just posing. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/131 "2005-03-31T22:00:20Z")
> [@CBCD](#): > > Wait - **Rula Lenska** is gay? Wait - **Rula Lenska** is a celebrity? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/132 "2005-03-31T22:26:29Z")
I only found out recently that one of my favorite writers, Douglas Coupland, is gay. (In fact, he just came out recently ā€“ though why a gay writer nowadays would be in the closet in the first place baffles me.) ---
**Author:** ![Hamish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Hamish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamish)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/133 "2005-03-31T23:02:03Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I only found out recently that one of my favorite writers, Douglas Coupland, is gay. (In fact, he just came out recently ā€“ though why a gay writer nowadays would be in the closet in the first place baffles me.) It was an open secret for years, though ā€“ like Rosy, or Ellen, etc. I first found out about five years ago. I think he may have come out late, though, to himself. I sometimes think that ā€œBug Barbecueā€ (the one who didnā€™t figure until he was gay until he was 30) is a bit of an autobiographical character ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/134 "2005-04-01T01:01:03Z")
[Kurt Cobain speaks for himself.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5855366&postcount=8) ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/135 "2005-04-01T17:16:00Z")
> [@Art Vandelay](#): > > This is perhaps a hijack, but anybody know the truth about Michael Stipe? Which way does he lean? I know that, for many years, he was rumored to be gay and while never exactly denying it, heā€™s always talked around the issue and never made a clear statement one way or the other. Then, I recall reading in the New York Post (not always the most reliable source of info) that heā€™d admitted having a longtime boyfriend. Donā€™t have a cite though. Can anybody confirm or refute this? This is pretty much proof positive that he is gay. Have you _ever_ heard a celebrity waffle on the issue of his/her sexuality and then later be confirmed as 100% straight? Itā€™s a sad fact that straight celebrities, even those who donā€™t like to air their relationships or are very sympathetic to homosexuals in Hollywood, have no reason not to just say ā€œIā€™m straightā€ when being harassed by rumours and media attention. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/136 "2005-04-01T17:38:55Z")
You know, **Cat Fight** , I DID post two links that confirm your thoughts. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/137 "2005-04-01T17:55:59Z")
[Michael Stipe speaks for himself](http://buttmagazine.com/Issues/9_Stipe.html): > [@](#): > > **You never declare yourself gay as suchā€¦** > > I donā€™t. I think thereā€™s a line drawn between gay and queer, and for me, queer describes something thatā€™s more inclusive of the grey areas. There are people that very strongly identify themselves as gay and then lesbian, and then I think there are a lot of people who are kind of some percentage or some version of that. But itā€™s really about identity I think. The identity that Iā€™m comfortable with is queer because I just think itā€™s more inclusive. > > **It kind of needed an advancement almost. Probably in ā€™69 it was fine to say ā€œIā€™m gayā€ because it included everything other than the mainstream, but nowadays gay has become sort of a different kind of gay mainstream, maybe.** > > Yes, but itā€™s also become the opposite of straight, and I think thereā€™s all these gradations and all these shades. I really like women, but I definitely like men more. But I canā€™t say that I was experimenting or I didnā€™t know who I was when I dated women in the past. I happened to find someone whom Iā€™m crazy about, and heā€™s a manā€¦ the Mister. [Interview](http://www.dragonwinds.com/natalie/reviews/stipe.shtml) with Michael Stipe and Natalie Merchant in _The Independent_: > [@](#): > > **Natalie Merchant:** After that meeting in Buffalo I went home on a high. I felt that Michael had began to understand why Iā€™d sought him out, and he must have thought I was pretty cute, because we went on to become lovers. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/138 "2005-04-01T18:06:21Z")
Jorja Fox? Mrrrrowr. šŸ˜‰ Graham Chapman? Maybe he was secretly checking out the Black Knight or Tim the Enchanter? I knew that Portia de Rossi was dating Ellen Degeneres, but Kevin Spacey and David Hyde Pierce are completely new ones for me. Whoa. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/139 "2005-04-01T18:20:45Z")
Jorja Fox? Cite please. Donā€™t get me wrong, Iā€™d love it if she were a fellow member of the Dark Side, itā€™s just that this rumor is news to me. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2005, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927/140 "2005-04-03T01:28:44Z")
I donā€™t have a cite, but a site: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List\_of\_famous\_gay%2C\_lesbian\_or\_bisexual\_people](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_famous_gay%2C_lesbian_or_bisexual_people) It was mentioned earlier in this discussion. She is on it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-are-homosexual-but-are-often-thought-not-to-be/295927.md?page=6)