If you’re going to be a romantic idol and try to get every teenage girl to love you, then you’d be an ass to come out and say you’re gay. Ricky Martin was so smart. He did what he did, made his millions and then he said, ‘Guess what, everybody? I’m gay…’ It didn’t matter anymore because he didn’t have to bring in 16-year-old girls.
—Joan Rivers, whose new autobiographical documentary everybody is losing their minds over, speaking directly to the Taylor Lautners of the world
[via]
Marcus
So why are 16 year old girls going to see Adam Lambert? If the fantasy would be ruined for them, why pay money to see him making out with his male bassist?
Dennis
I’m generally a fan of that tough old broad, but her comment is really more a reflection of her age (78 frickin’ years old) and her generation than any intentional homophobia.
It also speaks to her experience in the reality of show BUSINESS, rather than being a public activist who dabbles as being an entertainer. Still, to this day…the easier, more lucrative path is to stay in the closet, sell your soul to pass as straight, and then come out after your career has ‘peaked’ to refocus attention on yourself, get your People magazine cover, and hopefully rejuvenate your career as an out LGBT performer.
Not saying it’s right, or laudable, but it’s been done soooo many times now, it’s a borderline joke.
michael
I am not a fan of either one but I must give credit where credit is due…there is no way you can compare Adam Lamberts measly little career (that clock is ticking loudly) with the phenomena that was Ricky Martin all of those years ago. He was everywhere, selling out shows on every radio station, duetting with Madonna and Christina Aguilera…. I could go on and on, fortunately I have too much self respect. Unfortunately, Joan is right, being gay does hurt your bank account when it comes to the mass marketing money machine.
brihova
Adam Lambert is nowhere near the cultural Icon Ricky was, nor is he anywhere as successful. BTW William Hung and Taylor Hicks managed to get some moderate success immediately after American Idol too, and look at where they’re at now. I’m not predicting this will happen to Adam but it’s certainly not out of the realm of possibilities.
samthor
more reasons why show biz celebrities should not be taken too seriously as role models.
We let high school students like Constance McMillen fight the battles on the front lines, so Jodie Foster can fell “safe” enough to hold hands in public.
We let the “little people” like trans- woman Duanna Johnson and Angie Zappata die brutally until Ricky Maritn gets rich enough to finally take something of a stand for gay rights.
i suppose we can debate IF entertainers have a responsibility to human rights or should the just stick to their business & craft…. but in the mean time… be your own activist hero.
Correct quote
Advocate: Should young gay performers still keep their sexuality a secret?
Joan Rivers: Itâs part of the game. If youâre going to be a romantic idol and try to get every teenage girl to love you, then youâd be an ass to come out and say youâre gay. Thatâs why Ricky Martin was so smart â he did what he did, he made his millions, and then he said, âGuess what, everybody? Iâm gay, Iâm having this life, and here are my children.â It didnât matter anymore because he didnât have to bring in 16-year-old girls.
http://www.advocate.com/Arts_and_Entertainment/Film/Joan_Rivers_Better_Work/
Realist
I love Adam Lambert, but I didn’t forget that he came out AFTER American Idol.
Realist
Or that Ricky Martin performs since he was 12.
christopher di spirito
Joan Rivers is the product of her ancient generation.
It’s Joan who sees Ricky Martin perform on TV or in Vegas and thinks to herself: “I wonder why he prefers the feeling of boy pussy over girl pussy? I bet Melissa could straighten him out.”
Meanwhile, everyone else watching — under the age of 65, just enjoys his music, voice, handsome face and well-oiled hip motion.
Marcus
@michael:
True, there is a difference between what Ricky achieved and what Lambert is, but as I asked before: if the fantasy is ruined for young girls, hence why a performer would stay in the closet, why are the girls still going to see Lambert? The music isn’t that good yet the Glam Tour is doing quite well.
They still fawn over Jonathan Groff, too.
Girls screeched that he wasn’t gay and when they found out he actually was, they got over it and moved on. And they did the same for Adam.
menlo
Always outspoken, Joan has earned a pass on this one.
james_from_the_great_city_of_cambridge
We fantasize over clearly straight men (I fantasize about Brad Pitt but the man is so clearly straight that in my fantasies we’re in prison and I’m his only outlet) and girls and women would fantasize about a gay dude if he was hot enough. Especially this generation of girls…anything goes with them.
Sorry if my Brad Pitt fantasy was too T.M.I.
Cam
My issue with Ricky Martin was when they tried to bring out that fake girlfriend who claimed they had been together for years, until of course the press started to notice they had no pictures of them ever being in the same place.
If he wanted to lie fine, but Joan needs to look at a few facts..
1. She never put on a fake mustache and pretended to be a man when she was starting out, even though female stand-ups were not booked most places.
2. She never tried to hide the fact that she was Jewish even though back in 60’s that could have been a hinderence to playing some clubs.
so she didn’t hide who she was but it’s fine for Ricky Martin to lie about himself. I just think she’s not being very self aware here.
fredo777
@michael: If anything, Adam is becoming more famous with time + gaining more fans. Even if his “measly little career” does end soon, though (which I wouldn’t bank on), he’d still have experienced more success in that short time frame than you likely ever will.
jason
Society has over-sexualized everything, hence the problems we are now facing. Perhaps we need to go back to the way things were during the 1800’s. At least then you didn’t have this “entertainment industry”, which is simply a euphemism for “using sexuality as a marketing ploy”.
tjr101
@Cam:
I don’t think Joan’s statement of Ricky Martin staying in the closet as being morally right or wrong. Her statement is more of a reflection of the reality of show business and the audience Ricky Martin was cashing in on, and it was teenage girls.
Ricky’s target market was teenage girls not the LGBT population. Had he come out sooner he may not have been as big.
Realist
“…but it’s fine for Ricky Martin to lie about himself”
Is it Ricky Martin’s fault that gay people are discriminated and that world is full of ignorant homophobes?
Did Ricky lie because he enjoyed his life in the closet or because he wanted a career a straight man would have?
"Liar"
At last nightâs stunningly good Songwriters Hall of Fame induction show, Desmond Child told me that heâs producing Rickyâs big comeback albums. There will be twoâone in Spanish, one in English, with some overlapping tracks. Desmond tells me that one of them, called âLiar,â prompted Martinâs big coming out this spring.
âHe was working on the song, and he said, I canât live this way anymore.â The next day, he made his announcement.â
http://www.hollywoodnews.com/2010/06/18/ricky-martin-reunites-with-producer-desmond-child/
P.S. Desmond Child is gay and has two sons with his partner.
slobone
May have been true back in Joan’s day, when it was literally illegal to be gay. Liberace probably would have destroyed his career if he came out, even though any non-moron knew he was gay.
But I don’t see much evidence it’s still true today. It hasn’t hurt Elton John any to come out. The average ticket price on his latest tour is $120, more than just about anybody.
j
@jason: ROFL, I knew it was you, even before I’d finished the first sentence. If I were that predictable it’d pain me alot actually.
james_from_the_great_city_of_cambridge
@j: At least he’s toned it down from his Jesse Helms days. The medication must be working…
Michael
@fredo777: and that’s the goal in life? to become famous? Silly me and my career that I have worked my ass off to have. I’m clearly a failure because I’m not famous. This is what you think the measure of ones life is about? fame?… oh my
Phil
You’re actually taking offense to this?
counterpoll
Joan Rivers knows the world of comedy, maybe not music. But, we need to realise she’s talking about RM’s career when he was at his peak. That was at least a decade ago.
It’s true that Ricky Martin would probably, back in his heyday, not have reached such a level of success —particularly in Latin America — if he ‘d come out at that time.
What we’re ultimately left with is that if even RM never sold another CD, he would still be comfortably well-off.
We also need to remember that the man can sing, compose, write, and dance.
Entertainment is entertainment. Joan still can fill a room, so can Ricky.
jason
Remember how George Michael used to heterosexualize his videos? They always seemed to have long-legged females models in them, the narrative being that these women were in various states of relationship with the casanova George. ROFL….
It’s a pointer to how homophobic and heteronormative the music industry has become. It’s truly an awful industry, probably one of the most homophobic in the world.
Cam
@Realist: said..
No. 16 · Realist
“âŠbut it’s fine for Ricky Martin to lie about himself”
Is it Ricky Martin’s fault that gay people are discriminated and that world is full of ignorant homophobes?
Did Ricky lie because he enjoyed his life in the closet or because he wanted a career a straight man would have?
_________________
But he kept the lie up long after he was rich, adopting children, and not putting out music.
Cam
@jason: said..
“”Remember how George Michael used to heterosexualize his videos? They always seemed to have long-legged females models in them, the narrative being that these women were in various states of relationship with the casanova George. ROFLâŠ.””
__________
Jason, even worse, when George was first outed he made a statement ASSURING his fans that songs such as Careless Whisper WERE written about women.
Realist
“But he kept the lie up long after he was rich, adopting children, and not putting out music.”
In the last 6 years Ricky didn’t beard, he didn’t use a beard to have kids, he supported Christian ChĂĄvez when he came out in 2007 and he wrote this after Jorge Steven Lopez’s brutal murder:
“The murders of James Byrd, Matthew Shepard, Jorge Steven Lopez, Marcelo Lucero, Luis Ramirez and countless others who were victims of violent “hate crimes” should be completely unacceptable to every human being; because we’re all human beings. It’s up to us to change the paradigm. I hear the world “tolerance” thrown around in the media when it comes to cases like the ones I mentioned above. One of the meanings of tolerance is “the capacity to endure pain or hardship.” Another is “the act of allowing something.” To me, those don’t seem to encompass acceptance, by any definition. So how about this? Instead of saying “we need to tolerate diversity” why not say, “we need to accept diversity.”
http://www.towleroad.com/2009/12/ricky-martin-denounces-homophobia-and-hate-crimes.html
fredo777
@Michael: I couldn’t care less if everyone or noone knew who you were, frankly. My real point was that you’re being a hater. Not to mention a hypocrite, since your comparison of Adam’s “measly career” to Ricky’s obviously took into consideration the level of Ricky’s fame/international renown. Either fame is important or it isn’t. You can’t have it both ways, slick.
Correction
@Cam: Ricky didn’t adopt children, he had the children via gestational surrogacy.
joeyblwy
Until a top black entertainer comes out and is accepted by both the white gay community and the black community, I won’t accept that real progress has been made.
jason
Joeblwy,
If a black male entertainer came out, the black community would drop him like a hot potato. The black community is exceptionally homophobic and backward.
The entire black music industry is predicated on the sleazy straight guy fantasy, and is aided and abetted by appalling black women.
IveHadIt
Ricky sucks. Black homophobics too.
Ivan
These days, being an out, gay performer seems to be a much bigger deal for those 78, than for anyone who’s 16.
Senator Lindsey Graham
@IveHadIt: Ricky rocks!