Published in Los Angeles (AP), 7th Feb 2007
Some high-profile gay actors have exited the closet recently and the fan reaction has been ... almost nonexistent.
A gay man playing a randy heterosexual on TV? The industry still has its problems but viewers are just shrugging.
On the most recent episode of ABC's "Grey's Anatomy," T.R. Knight's character eloped to Las Vegas with his gorgeous girlfriend. One week earlier, after repeated rounds of vigorous sex, he proposed to her in a scene that was romantic, believable — and groundbreaking.
Knight is an openly gay actor — now. He outed himself to People magazine after co-star Isaiah Washington uttered an anti-gay slur on the set of their ABC series last October. Yet nearly all the attention to the controversy has focused on Washington's transgression.
There's been nary a comment about Knight's own love life. Instead, fans are reveling in the sparks flying between his character and Dr. Torres (Sara Ramirez): "I hope she says yes. I really think he loves her!" said a recent posting about the characters' engagement on the show's chat room. "They're such a nice couple!" raved another.
Clearly these are no longer the days when Rock Hudson had no choice but to feign interest in starlets in order to protect his career.
"Things have changed," Ellen DeGeneres, whose coming out a decade ago was a major cultural moment, told Knight last month on her talk show.
Knight isn't alone in having his sexuality greeted with a public yawn. Last November, actor Neil Patrick Harris described himself in a brief statement to People magazine as a "contented gay man." Past "American Idol" finalist R.J. Helton made a similar announcement weeks earlier, and former N'Sync star Lance Bass did the same last August.
Each became barely a blip on the pop-culture radar.
The mellow response to these celebrity self-outings is a far cry from what happened after DeGeneres'"Yep, I'm Gay" announcement on the cover of Time magazine. Back then, some predicted the end of DeGeneres' career. Ten years later, she's anything but unemployed: She's hosting next month's Oscars, currently helming her own Emmy-winning talk show and serving as one of the celeb faces of American Express.
Strangely enough, some gay actors say that while America's comfort level has improved considerably, the entertainment industry hasn't caught up. It may be 2007, they say, but the vibe inside studio casting offices can feel surprisingly like 1957.
These actors say being outed remains a huge threat to a performer's career, particularly for men. An announcement, even a rumor, can eliminate them from the running for straight roles — the roles that make up the vast majority of available work.
"I have friends in the industry — casting directors, for an example — who are gay, who will not cast another person and the reason given is, `Oh, he's too gay,'" says veteran performer Andre de Shields, an openly gay actor who's earned two Tony award nominations. "A lot of this has to do with self-loathing."
Despite its reputation for leading the world down a hedonistic path, "Hollywood is one of the most homophobic places on the planet," de Shields says. "And these are the folks who could make the biggest difference in artists' lives."
Established gay male stars like Rupert Everett face this kind of bias (as Everett laments in his recent autobiography), as do those still making their mark.
"I was told I was `too light' for `Judging Amy,'" says Kevin Fabian, an openly gay actor who has appeared on episodes of "The West Wing,""Will & Grace" and other prime-time shows. "I looked at the casting director and said, `Have you watched your show?'"
That sort of experience leaves gay actors questioning how much progress has really been made.
"From an actor's point of view, I understand why they are scared to death of saying anything for fear of being pigeonholed," says casting director Matt Messinger. "Gay people are cast as straight all the time. But if you're asking if things have improved for openly gay actors, I can't say it's any easier now."
When Knight revealed his sexual orientation last fall, he offered a brief but pointed statement: "I hope the fact that I'm gay isn't the most interesting part of me."
For actor and singer Kye Brackett, the decision to mention his bisexuality to casting directors comes down to exactly Knight's point: Will industry people be so distracted by the fact that he dates men that they won't see him as a performer?
