I canceled a show once to be with someone that I loved. I had one day. I thought, “You live in another country. I live in another country. This is incredible and I feel amazing.” My manager came up with some excuse. It was the most expensive date I’ve ever been on. But hey, that was a very beautiful day…
I don’t want to blame the government [for not making gay marriage a reality]. I think there’s a stolen faith—an interpretation of what God “says.” That’s your God—I have my God. It’s about civil rights. I’m not telling you what to believe. I wish people understood that love manifests in different ways. Allow me to have my life and I won’t mess with yours. That’s when I struggle and get angry and punch the table. And then I talk. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter”…
Everybody is asking me when I’m going to get married [to my partner ]. People that I don’t know are pushing it. But it’s not something that we’re talking about…”
Bon-bon shaker/international pop star Ricky Martin on love and marriage, in Details magazine
Photos via Viva Glam/M.A.C. AIDS Fund
christopher di spirito
So Ricky Martin cancelled a concert of ticket-paying fans to have a romantic weekend with his partner? How many people had to reschedule and rearrange their lives as a result? 18,000? 25,000? Ricky doesn’t sound particularly professional to me. In fact, he sounds like a child.
SebX
True, I feel disappointed not only that he did it, but also that he admits it. I don’t know really how much they loved each other or if it was just an incredibly hot weekend fuck-fest…. but I must admit that if what he said was true and he did that for me, I’d be the happiest man alive. :p
Xtincta
Most concerts are not 18,000, only a stadium would have that many people. It could have been a convert of 500 people for all we know. With that said I think it may have been in poor taste to cancel a concert but you only live life once, sometimes you have to enjoy life cause you never know what tomorrow might bring. It could have been his last time to see his lover, sometimes you never know…..
Matt
“I canceled a show once to be with someone that I loved.”
Love Ricky more for that.
CJ
“I cancelled a show…” He didn’t say “concert.” Chances are it was years ago and a smaller group of people vs. a monster crowd.
Lefty
Yeah, I think it’s great.
So, loads of people didn’t get to see a concert and had to reschedule.
Who cares?
Love is love. 🙂
Tackle
That was not professional of Ricky. He sure did not take in the consideration of his fans. It wasen’t like his BF at the time was hurt, or on his death bed. And how long is a show or concert. Two maybe three hours at most? And it wasen’t like he knew of the show a week before. He should have known months of advance, giving him time to do the show and spend time with his BF.
Tu Y Yo Ole Ole Ole!!!
Ahh come off it folks. Concert or not, it’s his work and his prerogative to miss work to be with his boo if he wants to. Think of the many relationship that would be void of issues if one another put the relationship ahead of work or what others think!!
I think it was very cute and romantic to do once.. no need to be a workaholic and besides he was honest about it!!
Chill folks nobody perfect!!!
jason
Isn’t Ricky the same man who made a lot of money from the concept of being a raging heterosexual? He surrounded himself with females.
Pickles
@ Jason
Really? Every time? You need new material.
Hephaestion
Ricky is getting better-looking every year! And he is a wonderful, thoughtful man.
Joseph
Love Ricky Martin, amazing artist and incredible human being.
shannon
ROLLS EYES
Babs
You’ve lost me at ” and god”
David
Really Ricky, nobody cares. This was back when you were a closet queen, and apparently he is bisexual but in denial and closeted about that.
William
As soon as he started talking about God I lost him.
Why is it so hard to say your boyfriend? Christ.
stevie Caprio
way to go Ricky and family! So happy for you and you have the talent to do concerts any time. I’m from the Stonewall Area enough said, a very different time.
Diesel69
OH SHUT THE F UP—Now he is the Gay expert—Hiding in the Closet for years while raking in Millions of Dollars on a lie to the Gay Community—Asked and asked about his sexuality and just lied to ALL Gays—-Why not give ALL YOUR MILLIONS YOU MADE ON YOUR LIES..Then we may listen—BUT Till then SHUT THE F UP…
Fitz
That’s the problem with being a social-retard.
He’s making the kinds of decisions that we make
when we are 18 or 19. It’s cute when you’re 18 or 19.
At 45… not so much.
I applaud love. I applaud prioritizing your relationship.
He’s just so late to the game, because of cowardice,
and now he wants to be celebrated for it? C’Mon.
Christopher
@Fitz: @Fitz: I actually don’t see anywhere he mentioned what age he was when he did this. He could have been 19 for all we know, he has been in the business since his early teens.
All he said was that he cancelled a show, I doesn’t say a concert or a stadium, it could have been anything. It could even have been while he was doing Les Mis, and he let the understudy go on….we shouldn’t jump to conclusions. For someone like him, it is basically the equivalent of calling in sick for a day to spend with someone. No not the most professional thing, but certainly something many of us have done.
Just mentioning God isn’t a reason to automatically dismiss what someone says, everyone is entitled to their own beliefs. He doesn’t seem to force it on anyone.
And finally, keep in mind that he was a child when he entered the business, from a very catholic country and background. It was drilled into him that coming out would destroy his career, and the careers of everyone who relied on him for their income.
@diesel69 Since we each have our own path to coming out, it always amazes me that so much venom is spewed at people who didn’t do it according to your schedule. We each have our own path, we should be allowed to follow it without being attacked. He was under no responsibility to anyone to report on his personal life, simply because he was in he public eye.
BubbasBack
Oh shucks, this man is boooring. After “Glee”, well, where do you go from there? Hehehe. Burp.
please
@BubbasBack: Jealousy isn’t sexy.
HM
Wow. wow.
It’s winter and it looks like about a dozen trolls need to warm up with a beach and some mai tais.
Half the child stars out there grow up to be train wrecks. We’ve watched Ricky grow into a confident, honest, and now obviously very well balanced man.
I’m heading back into the bar. You guys come back when you’ve composed yourselves….
Gigi
@christopher di spirito: Actually it’s you my friend who sounds like a child. Ricky’s been working since he was a little boy. Doing as he was told, always trying to please the people around him. And he did this for a very long time. I think it’s great that he took time be with someone he cared about. I did that when my man and I first got together. We’d spent the night making love, sleeping, waking up and talking and then making love some more. The next day I had to work but I blew it off. Made an excuse. I couldn’t stand the thought of not spending the rest of the day with him. And you know what? The world didn’t end. Life went on. And next month we’ll celebrate 23 years to togetherness. Sometimes you just have to say: what the fuck!
christopher di spirito
@Gigi: Gigi, you sound as child-like as Ricky.
So blowing off hundreds, possibly thousands of ticket-paying fans, as well as musicians, dancers, lighting people, and concession stand workers, just so you can get some nookie is acceptable to you? Seriously? I guess if you’re a professional “temp” office worker like yourself, such immature behavior is perfectly acceptable. But someone at Ricky Martin’s level should know better.
Christopher
@christopher di spirito: the musicians, dancers, lighting people would have all been payed, they are under contract, and unionized, which is probably why he referred to it as expensive, he would have had to cover those costs. IF it was a concert, i am sure it was rescheduled, as required by a standard performance contract. Regardless, have you never played hookie from work? Never? Why is is understandable if someone else calls off for a day, but not Ricky Martin? Becoming a musical performer doesnt require that you be held to some higher standard than anyone else, usually the reverse.
Again, we don’t know what kind of show, when, how old he was at the time, etc. So saying he should know better implies that you know when he did this. Do you know for a fact that he didn’t do it in his late teens, or 20s? Do you have a flawless record from that time period of your life?
Everyone has done something like this at some point in their lives, unless they have led a completely joyless existence.
Phantom
To the people who thinks Ricky is being unprofessional, let’s say you are world famous celebrity who plays a lot of shows for your fan. Now you also have a partner that you love very much, would you take a time off to spend time with your partner or ignore your partner and play a show to fans that you wouldn’t have special time with anway? I do not blame the fans being disappointed, but I do not see it unprofessional. After all, he did explain why when he could have not said nothing and leave the fans in the dark. I am not a fan of Ricky and I do not follow anything he does, but I do have respect for him choosing love over than playing a show to a fan that Ricky would never meet in person.
Nat
“I do not blame the fans being disappointed, but I do not see it unprofessional.”
Blowing off work is the very definition of unprofessional.
That’s not to say Martin was wrong in this instance to do so. But any time you subvert your work responsibilities for your personal ones, you are being unprofessional.
All Seeing Eye
Well I think it’s bad taste and irresponsible to paying fans for Ricky Martin to give them the brush off so he can go get sodomized. Just not the Christian thing to do.
Phantom
@Nat: Entertainment is not same as work.
TJ
This guy is an untalented uneducated self absorbed lying douche. He panders to the gay community now, because his alleged ‘career’ is over. Move on to someone (of relevance) new!
Jaroslaw
No wonder the world is a mess. To all the nasty commenters – I can see some of the negativity before it was explained that he came from a very Catholic country and culture and that he has been in the business since he was a young teen. As stated, he has been pleasing people and working hard for a long long time. It seems glamorous to travel the world, but after a while, (a very LONG while) living out of hotels has got to make one yearn for a more stable life. As the Indian saying goes, walk a mile in my moccasins….and one more thing, Details magazine asked him for an interview, right? So he gave his opinion, it is not like he needs to pander to the Gay community. Things are probably pretty fine where he is at.
dsp
@Christopher: comment 20 and 27, Well said.
One thing I will say of Ricky Martin is since he has publicly come out, I find him to seem much happier, more confident and looking great! I am not a big fan of his and have not folloewd his career to much but he does seem happier!
JR
He canceled his concert at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater outside San Antonio a few years ago and at the last minute. I know because my friends and I had tickets. We drove to S.A. from Austin, got a hotel for two days, drove up to the concert venue and was told at the gate that the concert had been cancelled. They said Ricky had “thrown out his back.” I jokingly said he must have shaken his bon bon too hard. Little did I know. Anyway, it was hugely inconvenient since we were committed to the hotel rooms, so drove back into town and enjoyed the clubs. This could easily have been the concert he mentioned. I will say that the venue did refund the tickets. Btw/ the Verizon seats up to 20,000, but I doubt that he had sold that many. This was around 2006 or 7.
KARUADAM
Ricky, sweetheart I am yours and will love you forever XOXOXOX you hot sexy and most LATINO, M`m M`m come take me.
KARUADAM
@Phantom: No in Entertainment is not as work!! you make more money.
KARUADAM
@All Seeing Eye: Fuck you and your Christianity, shit you mother fucker..