Over the past two years, I've supported the outing of conservative hypocrites who either advocate or work for the advocates of anti-gay agendas. But now, the
Washington Blade has decided it is time to out such media celebrities as Fox News Shepard Smith and CNN's Anderson Cooper.
NATIONAL COMING OUT Day came and went last week without any public declarations from celebrities or other public figures long rumored to be gay, but who simply refuse to acknowledge their sexual orientation.
It's a long and varied list, from A-list Hollywood celebrities to popular television anchors to prominent politicians.
<cut>
ANDERSON COOPER MAY be the most ubiquitous personality on cable television these days. Popping up on a best-dressed or most-beautiful-people list, profiled in magazines or penning a column for Details magazine, Cooper gets a lot of ink. But in all the fawning stories about his good looks, sartorial smarts, family wealth and status as one of TV's biggest rising stars, one key detail is always missing.
Cooper, the popular CNN anchor, coyly refused to answer "the question" in a recent lengthy profile in New York magazine. Though long rumored to be gay -- he once suggested he is gay in comments made at a GLAAD Media Awards event -- Cooper chooses the closet over honesty.
"The whole thing about being a reporter is that you're supposed to be an observer and to be able to adapt with any group you're in," Cooper told New York magazine, "and I don't want to do anything that threatens that."
Does he believe that female and African-American reporters lack credibility to cover stories since their minority status is showing? Should any heterosexuals who let it slip that they're married to someone of the opposite sex be kept off the air, or does his rule apply only to gay journalists?
<cut>
Cooper isn't the only well-known TV personality hiding his sexual orientation. Shepard Smith, who hosts a popular program on Fox News and received widespread praise for his work covering Hurricane Katrina's aftermath, also dodges questions about his sexual orientation.
Smith once chatted me up in a New York City gay piano bar, bought me drinks, and invited me back to his place. When I declined, he asked me to dinner the next night, another invitation I politely refused.
We sat at the bar chatting and drinking martinis until 3 a.m., our conversation interrupted only when he paused to belt out the lyrics to whatever showtune was being performed.
Kevin Naffs then turns his fire on politicians.
Congressman Mark Foley (R-Fla.) became the poster child for closet cases when he refused to answer questions about whether he is gay. In 2003, the Express Gay News, a Fort Lauderdale paper affiliated with the Blade, and an alternative weekly in West Palm Beach published stories saying Foley is gay.
Foley refused to confirm or deny the paper's report. He later ended his bid for the U.S. Senate, citing family reasons.
When Rep. David Dreier's (R-Calif.) name was floated as a replacement for indicted House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, then promptly withdrawn, speculation swirled that anti-gay conservatives had quashed his promotion because of rumors Dreier is gay. Dreier has similarly refused to answer "the question."
This might be a little bit of red-faced time for Fox, but I'm sure, like the White House and the RNC, Fox will look the other way. As for Cooper, so what? He's not working for homophobes or a network cheers them on. I think advocates need to be more discerning