Rosie O’Donnell is. Brad Pitt isn’t. And rumors persist that other Hollywood celebrities are, but they just won’t confirm it.
Being a gay celebrity can make or break a person’s career. Some capitalize off of their homosexuality; others keep it under wraps for fear of public backlash. But in honor of National Coming Out Week, Ohio State’s office of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Student Services is embracing those celebrities who have come out of the proverbial closet.
GLBT hosted a panel discussion Wednesday night featuring openly gay celebrities. The “Being an Out Celebrity” panel, made up of comedian Suzanne Westenhoefer, local meteorologist Chuck Gurney, and “MTV Road Rules” alum Sophia Pasquis, focused on the their experiences in the entertainment industry.
All agreed that coming out in the media was a difficult experience. Gurney declared his homosexuality in the early ’90s and said that the climate was not as forgiving to gays then as it is today.
“I was freak boy,” he said. “There was no ‘Will and Grace’ back then.”
Westenhoefer, who came out around the same time, said media representations of homosexuals have improved, but the success of shows like “Will and Grace” and “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” doesn’t mean that gays are equally represented. Lesbians and gays who are part of minority groups are still lacking positive media exposure, she said.
“I am happy to see gay people on television, but do I sit back and say we’re done?” Westenhoefer said. “No way!”
She said that when these groups are shown in the media, they are often stereotypical representations. This is something Westenhoefer said she takes offense to.
“I don’t even own a flannel shirt!” she joked.
Pasquis said the toughest thing about coming out to a national television audience was having to represent both homosexuals and black people. She said she felt that sometimes she could not be herself for fear of portraying one or both of the minority groups in a negative light.
“If I had a problem with someone I had to ask myself, do I say something and be myself, or do I let it go so as to not give people a bad impression of black people or lesbians,” she said.
The goal in selecting the celebrities was to create a diverse panel, said Brett Beemyn, coordinator of GLBT Student Services.
“We wanted people of color and people who show ‘different ways to be gay’ within their profession,” Beemyn said.
Westenhoefer’s comedy act draws heavily on her lesbian experiences, while Gurney’s and Pasquis’ gay lifestyles are portrayed more low key, he said.
Beemyn said having positive gay role models to look up to can help those individuals who are afraid to come out of the closet. But he also said it is important for heterosexuals to become involved in gay issues and he encouraged them to attend functions like the panel discussion.
“People in Columbus have a lot to learn about GLBT issues,” he said.
