Speaking with Katie Couric, Manti Te’o addressed rumors that this whole dead girlfriend hoax was all just a ploy to cover up his sexuality.
Couric shoots straight from the hip asking Te’o, “Are you gay?” to which the Notre Dame linebacker chuckles and says , “No. Far from it. Faaaar from it.”
And everyone laaaaaughed uncomfortably and Manti Te’o died a little more inside.
CM79
Okay…?! Don’t know why his denial of being gay is news worthy or why some are so bent on it being so. I don’t even know why some find this fake dead girlfriend thing so fascinating. He lied about his personal life and got caught. He’s in good company, because millions of people do that every day in some way or another.
Lefty
He doesn’t really do himself any favours by being so emphatic about how straight he is.
If he’s so faaaaaaar into the heterosexualist lifestyle then why would he need to get involved in either creating a fake girlfriend or some dodgy internet hoax?
At the end of the day though, it’s his business surely?
Dionte
Thank goodness, now do like all the other folk in the closet. Get you a real
girlfriend, marry her and cheat on her like everyone else does. Your only human, it’s
expected.
Eric Auerbach
You people are depressing. The guy says he’s not gay and there isn’t an iota of evidence to suggest he’s lying. Why are some of you so hellbent on insisting that he’s in the closet?
Lefty
@Eric Auerbach: What’s so depressing about suggesting someone might be gay? There’s nothing wrong with the being of gay.
Meowzer
He’s faaaar from gay. I think he doeth protest to much.
If he’s so straight, then why did he not only never hook up with girl (maybe that’s his choice, who knows) but never even meet her. Even though 2 opportunities arose that they were in the area together, they still never made arrangements to meet. This from a man who says he’d spend “hours” on the phone with her. Yet no desire to meet her. Even after her cancer diagnosis, still no trip to console her. No surprise from him to lift her spirits.
I think he’s closeted because his family is very religious. He went to Notre Dame. His father would send his “girlfriend” bible passages for them to discuss.
He created a fake girlfriend. I know before I came out, I did the same thing. All of my co-workers knew I had a “girlfriend”, we just never were able to work out a schedule for all of us to meet. Then, when I met my boyfriend/Partner/now husband,she conveniently took another job out of state and the distance was too much for our relationship. Not long after that I came out.
I think he thinks he was living the lifestyle he thought he should be living and the lie just got away from him. I believe he was in on the hoax with the help of the other guy. Probably his real boyfriend.
Eric Auerbach
@Lefty: If you really believed there’s nothing wrong with being gay, you wouldn’t feel so threatened by another man’s heterosexuality.
Lefty
@Eric Auerbach: I prefer to be threatened by heterosexuality of the non made-up variety, dear.
Spike
To quote Michael K . . . Zac Efron wants his cardigan sweater back.
The guy looks like he showed up for an audition for High School Musical – Polynesia . . . rather then a high profile damage control TV interview.
Spike
@Eric Auerbach: It’s called Gaydar, that and EVERTYTHING else connected to this story that doesn’t add up, oh yea, and the Mormon thing, have you not noticed . . . anything involving the Mormon thing doesn’t end well.
RomanHans
@Eric Auerbach: Most of the heterosexual men that I know want to, you know, MEET their girlfriends. Maybe after a year or two they’ll think, “Hey, I’ve got a girlfriend, so maybe I should start having heterosexual sex,” especially if they have millions in the bank for plane fare.
IzzyLuna
I don’t know much about this particular story or who he is or what…but just from the clip on its own: his uncomfortable laugh after gives it away. He’s a flamer. I give it 4 months before he officially comes out.
alterego1980
I admit, I’ve been following this story. I can’t help it, I’m fascinated. Out of everything I’ve heard, it seems to me that Manti is probably not gay. But what’s funny is that, this story has unfolded in such a way that it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if he did come out as gay. But that wouldn’t happen for years to come. He’s already hurt his NFL Draft prospects, knocking him out of the first round and costing him millions. If he came out as gay now, many question if he will be drafted at all. Talking about how messed up that is should be a whole separate conversation.
Anyway, My gut tells me if he ever does come out, It will be a few years from now after he’s failed to make it in the NFL. Then like a douche, he’ll try and blame the social constraints of his religion and football as reasons for all the lies.
LadyL
@Meowzer: Yeah, your theory sounds pretty plausible to me. I mean, if he’s not gay what’s his deal? Straight people don’t go through all these bizarre shenanigans. They don’t have to. The most logical explanation is that he’s gay, the dying girlfriend fiction got away from him (and his “friend”), and he’s terrified of the consequences with family and career if he owns up. Poor guy.
FunMe
I would agree with him. He is far from being “gay” … as in HAPPY. He is so in the closeted. that he can’t be gay about life and being true to himself.
He brought this upon himself by pretending to have girlfriend for 3 years and never have met her, nor having any real life girlfriends. I mean college years you get horny, and if you are a football player, you are the guy that can have most any girl you want. Problem here … Teo did NOT want any girlfriend since he already had a BOYfriend.
Lies, closet & Mormons … oh my!
Nikkidane
Who cares? I really don’t know how this story got any traction to begin with. My suspicion is that he’s a closet case but really that is his business. Sad if he is gay that he’s so afraid to admit it.