Even though I was performing eight times a week in a show about the importance of self-expression and the danger of sexual repression, I kept my relationship with my ‘roommate’ a secret. [At age 21] I was still very scared and insecure about being gay. I did the stupidest things. And I went to great lengths to keep my cast and crew from asking me about my ‘roommate.’ For example, I never had him come to the theater, and I never invited him out after the show. Opening night was tricky because he was there, but I worked it out, so all the pictures that night were group shots, and I’m not even standing next to him. When the Tony Awards came around, he attended, but I didn’t bring him as my date. He sat at the back of Radio City [Music Hall].”
— Jonathan Groff in his acceptance speech for receiving the Point Horizon Award for being a young LGBT trailblazer on Monday in New York, during which he remembered his closeted days while starring in Spring Awakening
H/t: Gold Derby
Chad Jason
Who is Jonathan Groff?
dhmonarch89
wow- what a shitty bf- hope he dumped you!
UltimateSin
I was indifferent to him before,but after reading this article I have no desire to see him i anything ever again.
Realitycheck
Here he is naked, not my cup of tea.
http://www.gaysexblog.net/images/Jonathan_Groff_Naked_lg.jpg
kayakriver
I’m glad he’s so open now. Kudos and much success.
Billy Budd
He is/was cute but has a small dick.
Pistolo
@Billy Budd: He looks about average to me. He’s also flaccid, he’s also on what is probably a chilly set (as sets often are), and he’s not hung like a button- it’s not OUTRAGEOUSLY small.
Faulk
@dhmonarch89
Why exactly is he a shitty boyfriend?
@UltimateSin
And why is that? Because he was insecure in his sexuality, was afraid of what people would think of him he worked with? With 21??? Jeez, give him a break..
Why are you so judgemental? Shouldn’t you be more open, except people, allow them to make mistakes?
onthemark
@Faulk: Why? Uh… maybe because he was born in 1985 (not 1945) and he’s referring to the Tony Awards (!!!) of 2007 or so? I wonder how annoyed the bf was at Groff’s bad treatment. Maybe he was more out than that, at a typical office job? Hardly unusual even way back in the olden days of 1980s New York.
It’s one thing to be closeted at work in your early 20s if you’re on an oil rig off the coast of Louisiana. Or even at an office job. (After age 30 or so people figure you out anyway.) But what’s the excuse if you’re already an actor in Broadway show and nominated for a Tony? That’s just weird.
Faulk
I still don’t get it why it makes him a bad person, or bad boyfriend exactly?
So, if i am with in a relationship and he can’t come out yet, has his personal struggles, but he loves me and we are happy together, and i don’t have a problem with this fact, who are you, or someone else to say that my boyfriend is a bad person who doesn’t live to your expactations?
I just don’t get it why so many on here are so damn judgemental, although it doesn’t affect you in any way, and 90% on here are hiding behind their internet accounts…
David Tillman
Its happened to all of us.
Desert Boy
Strange guy. Bet he’s Catholic.
Merv
Did he not realize he was an actor working on Broadway? I could maybe understand if he was an auto mechanic in southern Georgia.
Alan down in Florida
It certainly goes a long way towards explaining his character on Looking.
LandStander
@Pistolo: It’s like people forget that the penis grows when it gets hard, and think anything under 8 inches is “small” lol. I’d agree with your “average” appraisal 🙂
onthemark
@Faulk: You keep using the word “judgmental.”
OK, we don’t know if the bf was pissed off, or disappointed or whatever at not being acknowledged as Groff’s date. But it’s a reasonable assumption.
onthemark
@Faulk: ” it doesn’t affect you in any way,”
This is from “his acceptance speech for receiving the Point Horizon Award for being a young LGBT trailblazer” – Does that affect anyone? If it doesn’t affect anyone there’s no point to the award!
“hiding behind their internet accounts…”
Red herring. Degrees of outness. HUGE differences between:
– out to literally 6 billion + including every homophobic lunatic in the world
– working in a gay-friendly field vs. working in a homophobic field
– out to co-workers who have probably figured out you’re gay anyway
– out to nuclear family vs. elderly family
Etc.
Probably everyone here could totally understand Groff not being out back then to, say, his grandparents.
Joseph Molnar
So, he isn’t the first he won’t be the last.
Billy Budd
@Pistolo: Maybe he is a Grow-er, not a show-er.
Cam
Just a hint to any young guys not out of the closet yet who want to stay in the closet. Probably not a good idea to get a job doing musical theater if you don’t want people speculating on your sexuality. 😉
The sad thing for Groff is that the entire cast probably knew and figured they just wouldn’t say anything about it until he brought it up himself.
Len John
Perhaps it’s time for all you pathetic bitchy queens to get a life. So sad.
SteveDenver
@Chad Jason: Why are you proud of your ignorance — and your inability to use Google?
Jon Groff was huge Off Broadway in Spring Awakening. High school and college-aged girls would pack the theater every show to see him. I imagine he was scared of jeopardizing that popularity.
I’m glad he’s out now. I don’t doubt most of his female groupies claim they “knew he was gay” and still love him. He’s a sweetheart.
Cam
@Len John: said… “Perhaps it’s time for all you pathetic bitchy queens to get a life. So sad”
________________________
Yes, because if you want people to listen to you and to NOT think that YOU’RE a pathetic Bitchy Queen, you should make sure to call them that like you’re an angry little 3rd grader.
miltonjustice
Many of us understand the reluctance to come Out. It was not so many years ago we wouldn’t be employed if it were suspected we were gay. It’s quite remarkable that we’ve come so far. That said, when the owner of a Pizza Parlor gets $1 million in donations, based on their refusal to cater pizza at a gay wedding, you can see how far we have yet to go. Mind you, I don’t know any homosexual [or straight person for that matter] who would have pizza at a wedding … but Jonathan could definitely not get a job as a pizza delivery boy in Indiana!
Russ J Ottley
What a bunch of nasty bitchy fucking queens in the comments for this….didn’t like his character in Looking… But ..wow…no wonder we get bashed right?
Russ J Ottley
Homophobia probably should have a place in this world…read the comments the creatures have left on this post……GFYS
JennyFromdabloc
He’s beautiful
Cam
@Russ J Ottley:
What a sick pathetic person you are. So let me get this straight. Some people don’t like an Actor you like, and that is a defense against broup-wide bigotry directed at all gays?
You seriously need to review your life.
AtticusBennett
i remember him then, actually. we were at a party and i asked what his situation was and a friend said “oh, he’s not gay. he’s pretty much asexual, he’s not really into anyone”
and i thought “yeah, that’s how i pretended to be before i came out, too”
but he came out. spectacularly. so well done 🙂
Doughosier
There’s more pressure on actors to stay in the closet, even on Broadway. Even right this minute.
jjose712
@Cam: No, you are the pathetic one who is distorting what people say.
This has nothing to do with like Groff or not, it has to do with stupid overreactions about what he was at 21. Some people seem to forget he is out since 24.
I assume people who are such critic are out since 13 and never had doubts, and is openly gay to his colleagues from minute one.
This is only a demostration about how much suck being an openly gay actor (or singer), if you are not exactly how some bitchy queens expect you to be you are dissected on comments sections.
He was honest about how scare he was of coming out, a feeling that all of you should be able to relate, but of course not, because you live in your high tower of internet annonimity that allows you to be judgemental of everything
Cam
@jjose712:
Your comment did nothing to alter my original comment. That other guy said that Homophobia was understandable because of some of the stuff people said about Groff. I pointed out how pathetic he was, for saying that bigotry was acceptable against an entire group because somebody didn’t like the same actor he liked.
And now here you are, going on and on about Groff, and doing the same thing.
It is ok to be a fan of somebody’s work, but that other level of obsession really means somebody needs to reevaluate some things in their life.
lauraspencer
Interesting this article was posted a day after Max Von Essen’s story about being an out Broadway actor. He has been on Broadway for years and has always been out.
I agree with many of the posters not understanding why a Broadway actor like Groff in 2005 NYC (or even 1995 NYC) couldn’t be out. A bit hypocritical too seeing what SPRING AWAKENING was all about.
WMW
According to comments on another website, Max von Essen has not always been out, either. So let’s not get judgmental. It’s not a competition or a race. The important thing is that he’s out now, and so is Jonathan Groff.
Queerty took the featured quote from GoldDerby.com; Google and read the original article. Groff himself points out his own hypocrisy in appearing in a musical about being sexually open and then being closeted in his personal life. Groff has been out since he’s been 23, and he gave this speech where the Point Foundation was honoring him for his past 7 years of being a strong advocate and leader for the LGBT community.
Finally, Groff was addressing an audience that included many LGBT students. He was honest enough to share how he used to be scared, living in the closet, and hoped to inspire young gay people who might relate. Between his 2 seasons of ”Looking” and appearing in the TV film of ”The Normal Heart,” plus the many interviews he’s given as an openly gay actor, Groff has done a ton of stuff for the LGBT community.
Chris
I’ve known lots of gay couples who, by mutual consent, hid their relationship from family, friends and coworkers. Sad….but those days are rapidly coming to an end.
YouGoGurl
@Pistolo: Average? Dude, visit NYC … Jon’s is small!
UltimateSin
@YouGoGurl: I agree, definitely small. Not saying it is a bad thing, just calling it what it is.
pscheck2
I can fully understand his reluctance to come out at that time in his life. He was an aspiring actor, developing his skills as an actor and in that rarefied atmosphere of Hollywood/Broadway, a misstep could mean a end to that career! He , no doubt, felt insecure and somewhat paranoid,,in taking that step to come out and made the call to stay ‘in.’ No doubt his lover agreed with his stance, as there was no indication that the lover was pressuring him to acknowledge him in their social life. Those posters who be-cry his ‘denial’ have no idea what most of these celebs go through in protecting their careers from homophobic reactions! It appears that his actions may have saved his career (who knows?)and coming out later showed his strength of character, as a person, endeared him to his fan base!
He has a personality that immediately makes him likable to both str8s and gays.