# Who were you most surprised to see come out of the closet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 18, 2008, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-were-you-most-surprised-to-see-come-out-of-the-closet/464150 "2008-09-18T14:56:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-were-you-most-surprised-to-see-come-out-of-the-closet/464150/101 "2008-09-22T13:27:17Z")
Greg Louganis? ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-were-you-most-surprised-to-see-come-out-of-the-closet/464150/102 "2008-09-22T14:33:40Z")
I was most shocked when I learned from someone who had met them that some of The Village People _weren’t_ gay. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-were-you-most-surprised-to-see-come-out-of-the-closet/464150/103 "2008-09-23T01:32:28Z")
After reading the related Pit thread… **Lissener** , I was wrong to say what I did. I was snarky and insulting in a post where I did not need to behave like that, as the point was the link to “The Gay Thing”. I really am sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2008, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-were-you-most-surprised-to-see-come-out-of-the-closet/464150/104 "2008-09-23T02:13:08Z")
> [@Sarahfeena](#): > > I remember once when she & Ellen were first together, they were on Oprah. Anne insisted that before she met Ellen she “wasn’t gay.” Good ol’ Oprah tried to help her out by saying something like, “you mean, you didn’t know you were gay,” and Anne insisted that no, she wasn’t even a little bit gay and never thought of women that way until she met Ellen. And Ellen just sat there like that was the most normal thing in the world. It was weird. In Anne Hech’s case, she may just be a confused bisexual who is generally more attracted to men then women. But while it’s not exactly _normal_, it’s not unheard of for a woman to come out as an adult and say that she’d hadn’t been “in the closet” but really just hadn’t felt attracted to women before. I’ve personally known a few women for whom this was the case, and I’ve seen it remarked upon in books about gay and lesbian issues. It’s a bit of a mystery and there are all kinds of theories as to why this sometimes happens with women but never seems to with men, but this thread isn’t the place to get into all that. My point, and I do have one ;), is that Ellen may have known other lesbians who told her basically the same thing as Anne and so didn’t think it was especially weird. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-were-you-most-surprised-to-see-come-out-of-the-closet/464150/105 "2008-09-24T00:26:50Z")
I have one that’s in the “DUH!” category… [Clay Aiken comes out of the closet](http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h88VUqAk-dW1JWAbdV4iCWFsNDcQD93CNLPO0) ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-were-you-most-surprised-to-see-come-out-of-the-closet/464150/106 "2008-09-24T00:59:37Z")
> [@Darth\_Nader](#): > > After reading the related Pit thread… **Lissener** , I was wrong to say what I did. I was snarky and insulting in a post where I did not need to behave like that, as the point was the link to “The Gay Thing”. I really am sorry. Thanks, no need to mention it; was not a big deal. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-were-you-most-surprised-to-see-come-out-of-the-closet/464150/107 "2008-09-24T01:59:10Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I have one that’s in the “DUH!” category… > > [Clay Aiken comes out of the closet](http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h88VUqAk-dW1JWAbdV4iCWFsNDcQD93CNLPO0) About damn time. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-were-you-most-surprised-to-see-come-out-of-the-closet/464150/108 "2008-09-24T02:29:40Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > Chuck Palahniuk surprised me. _Choke_ was a whole book about a guy who was addicted to fucking women, with no homosexual content at all, but maybe Palahniuk also fucks women too. But I read he was living with another man. This is the one I was going to say. His work contains so much machismo, and so much hetero sex (his latest novel, _Snuff_, is literally about one long porno movie gangbang) to his work that this was one that really surprised me. I had a completely false image of him as a macho, womanizing sort. Turns out he’s openly gay (although he wasn’t always open), and has a longtime partner. There’s a bit of a funny story about how he outed himself. A few years ago he was interviewed for _Entertainment Weekly_, and had made some off the record comments about his boyfriend. For some reason, he later came to believe that the reporter was going to publish the personal information in her article, and basicallu out him without his permission. Palahniuk went crazy on his blog about it and posted an audio recording of himself going off on a rant, bitching out the reporter, but also revealing that he was gay and had a live-in partner. When the article was published, Palahniuk’s anger turned out to be unfounded. The reporter had not outed him after all, but only said that he was unmarried. Palahniuk then took the rant back down from his website and apologized. When some fans thought he had taken the rant down because he was ashamed of his sexuality, he said he had taken it down because of the attacks against the reporter, not because he was ashamed of being gay. He is now openly gay, but doesn’t make a big deal out of it. As far as i know, he’s not particularly activist or political about it, and it’s not much of a theme in his writing (he writes about hetero sex way more than gay sex), but he doesn’t try to hide anything. I’m guessing that his publisher probably wanted to keep his sexuality quiet back then to avoid turning off the kin of young, male audience that would be drawn to _Fight Club_. ---
**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-were-you-most-surprised-to-see-come-out-of-the-closet/464150/109 "2008-09-24T02:41:49Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > > [@astro](#): > > > > Luther Vandross (posthumously outed) > > I’m more surprised to find out he’s dead. Me too! ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-were-you-most-surprised-to-see-come-out-of-the-closet/464150/110 "2008-09-24T03:00:58Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I have one that’s in the “DUH!” category… > > [Clay Aiken comes out of the closet](http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h88VUqAk-dW1JWAbdV4iCWFsNDcQD93CNLPO0) That’s what I came in here to mention. Seriously…he was IN the closet? ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-were-you-most-surprised-to-see-come-out-of-the-closet/464150/111 "2008-09-24T03:25:47Z")
Ooo, the ladies at work are gonna be _really_ riled up over that one tomorrow. Personally, I’m not surprised. (His baby is…um…breathtaking.) ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-were-you-most-surprised-to-see-come-out-of-the-closet/464150/112 "2008-09-24T04:50:56Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I have one that’s in the “DUH!” category… > > [Clay Aiken comes out of the closet](http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h88VUqAk-dW1JWAbdV4iCWFsNDcQD93CNLPO0) The baby’s mother is named Jaymes? That’s all kind of mixed up. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-were-you-most-surprised-to-see-come-out-of-the-closet/464150/113 "2008-09-24T05:22:27Z")
What I want to know is how many of these people mentioned really ARE publicly out of the closet, and whether any are listed just because the post author heard something or has insider info or “just thinks so.” After the Queen Latifah thing, I’m really cautious. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-were-you-most-surprised-to-see-come-out-of-the-closet/464150/114 "2008-09-24T05:26:26Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I have one that’s in the “DUH!” category… > > [Clay Aiken comes out of the closet](http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h88VUqAk-dW1JWAbdV4iCWFsNDcQD93CNLPO0) Damn. That’s a shocker. Not that he’s gay but that he came out. Did he even stop to _think_ what this will do to Kathy Griffin? There’s no fun in talking about “out” gay entertainers. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-were-you-most-surprised-to-see-come-out-of-the-closet/464150/115 "2008-09-24T06:26:31Z")
Biggest surprises for me in this thread were Chuck Palahniuk and Reginald VelJohnson! (Carl Winslow? Really?) Was also a bit surprised to learn that Lily Tomlin is gay. When I was younger and more naive, I was just starting to listen to jazz standards, and was _shocked_ to read an article about Cole Porter that mentioned that he was gay. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-were-you-most-surprised-to-see-come-out-of-the-closet/464150/116 "2008-09-24T06:33:01Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I have one that’s in the “DUH!” category… > > [Clay Aiken comes out of the closet](http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h88VUqAk-dW1JWAbdV4iCWFsNDcQD93CNLPO0) Duh, but still a surprise: I thought he was gonna ride the denial train all the way to Michael Jacksonville. ---
**Author:** ![BigBertha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@BigBertha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigBertha)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-were-you-most-surprised-to-see-come-out-of-the-closet/464150/117 "2008-09-24T07:19:48Z")
sigh. You think you were clueless. My answer is John Waters. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-were-you-most-surprised-to-see-come-out-of-the-closet/464150/118 "2008-09-24T11:41:12Z")
I gotta say [Lindsay Lohan](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7632968.stm). ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-were-you-most-surprised-to-see-come-out-of-the-closet/464150/119 "2008-09-24T14:16:36Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > I gotta say [Lindsay Lohan](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7632968.stm). Is she gay or just an attention whore? (sorry if that offends and it is certainly not meant to be derisive towards being gay or coming out AT ALL. Just that, given her track record, she seems to care more about tabloid celebrity and provoking more inches of press that sincerely making certain life choices, IMHO…carry on.) ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-were-you-most-surprised-to-see-come-out-of-the-closet/464150/120 "2008-09-24T14:33:42Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Duh, but still a surprise: I thought he was gonna ride the denial train all the way to Michael Jacksonville. Did he ever really actively deny it? I thought he always just refused to comment one way or the other. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-were-you-most-surprised-to-see-come-out-of-the-closet/464150.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-were-you-most-surprised-to-see-come-out-of-the-closet/464150.md?page=7)