Have These Two Not Entirely Out Actors Outed Themselves By Posing With Larry Kramer At His Gay Play?
Here’s a Chinese riddle of sorts: if you’re famous, like boys and live openly gay in your personal life, but don’t announce your gayness on a magazine cover or talk show, does that mean you’re closeted? Let us ponder that while we gaze upon this photo of Big Bang Theory‘s Jim Parsons and Pushing Daisies’ Lee Pace, both currently acting in the revival of Larry Kramer’s A Normal Heart, a gay play by a gay guy about gay guys being gay. What would Mr. Kramer have to say about their silence? Does it equal death? Or is this their artistic way of coming out?
Surely the fact they’re acting in Kramer’s gay play about gay is more daring than being photographed with him. Being photographed with him is entirely unsurprising if they’re both acting in his gay play about gay.
Asking whether acting in his gay play is tantamount to coming out amounts to “actor plays A Gay… must be gay” – which is nonsense.
So the answer to the headline is: No.
Btw, Lee Pace looks totally do-able with that tache.
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Daniel, this was a hilarious post. And your Chinese riddle is an excellent distillation of debates that have happened on Queerty and other sites.
Indeed, who defines what “out” means? Instead of out vs. not out, I’d say there is actually a spectrum of outness.
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Attention Spike and the other “defenders:” It’s a question of irony. These alleged/rumored to be gay men are acting in a famous gay play that deals with, among other topics, gay men fighting to save their community, taking a stand, dealing with the trials and tribulations of being gay men, in the ’80s, which was written by a courageous, great man, albeit abrasive to some, who had the balls to stand up and fight for his community. They also posed for a picture with him. The current production does feature other out actors – Luke MacFarlane, et.al., who apparently are proud of who they are and have acknowledged the same. Just kinda sad, IMO, but to each his own. JeffR
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@Cam,
Jim Parsons thanked his boyfriend at the Emmys. He said his name – what more do you want.
Honestly, Parsons doesn’t do that many interviews, and they never focus on his sex life. Mainly because his character is so not a sex symbol, that it never comes up. He doesn’t seem in the closet like others, or even in the glass closet like Cooper.
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@Cam: Having closet cases running around, particular of the A-list variety, is an annoyance yes.
However, Mr. Pace and Mr. Parsons are not closet cases. Closet cases claim to be straight. Simply not discussing ones sexuality is not the same as actively denying it.
Secondly, celebrities in the closet do not hold back our rights. Increased visibility is always good but do not kid yourself into thinking the world would suddenly explode into a cacophony of rainbows and acceptance if Cruise or Gyllenhaal dropped the acts.
Politicians hold back our rights, not actors.
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@Jimmy Fury: So true – well said. Attack those that beard and affect our rights, not those trying to earn a living and living their lives as they see fit! No one tells us what to do in our professional lives, who are we to demand that actors behave a certain way. The best actors are those whom keep their personal lives private. Nothing worse than celebs parading their love lives or babies on magazine covers.
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Why should actors or entertainers of all people have to be role models,surely one of the reasons serious actors do not want to go into detail about their private lives is that they enjoy playing different roles without having the audience focusing on them and not on the character they are portraying.
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I dont need my favorite actor, Sheldon, to announce that he is gay. I know he is. He has not denied that he is (unlike ammm Tom Cruise). As long as he is not
1) denying it
2) hiding it by having a beard
3) opposing/neutral about gay rights
Then I am fine leaving his private life private.
Same with my favorite opinion news guy, Anderson Cooper. He is pro-gay rights and lives alone or with his partner. I don’t need him to come out and announce to the world. I just need him to announce to the world that he is madly in love with me!
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Jim Parsons already came completely out at the Emmys last year…he’s out.