LGBTQ+ in Hollywood

[GoldenFleece]

So, Andy Cohen and former NHL star Sean Avery have been a couple for a year...is this an announcement or did I miss something?

[Deleted]

Just Jared says, it's a "bromance" and commenters say Sean isn't gay. Who knows... It's funny, though. Whenever there are gay rumors, people always seem to forget the existence of a little something called bisexuality.

[GoldenFleece]

Mar 24, 2013 12:43:50 GMT -4 @mulva said:

Just Jared says, it's a "bromance" and commenters say Sean isn't gay. Who knows... It's funny, though. Whenever there are gay rumors, people always seem to forget the existence of a little something called bisexuality.

I'm pretty sure there was nothing about a bromance there at first and Jared referred to them a "couple". That's what I get for not copying and pasting.

Anyway, a ton of people don't think bisexuality actually exists--that the guys who say they are are just in denial about being gay, while famous women are accused of playing into male fantasies of girl-on-girl action, or else it's a Amber Heard situation where skeptics say she's really a lesbian but wants male fans to feel like they have a shot. They're going to need a much younger and hotter celebrity than Clive Davis actually talking about sexuality in a real way, and being seen in convincing relationships with a guy and then a girl (or vice versa) for the Average Joe to begin to be convinced.

[Witchie]

I'm not sure in this instance if Jared & his slack editors didn't assume something that wasn't true. They've screwed up posts and had to come back and edit them after posters have called them out on something. I know Sean is a gay advocate, but if he & Andy were dating for over a year, wouldn't he have been on vacation with Andy, Anderson, and Anderson's boyfriend?

Who knows? Maybe Sean is bisexual and didn't want his business out there on JustJared.

[Mutagen]

NBC's Jenna Wolfe and Stephanie Gosk have been together for two years and are having a baby. Is this old news? I had no idea. Either way, they are an attractive couple.

P.S. DO NOT read the comments at that link.

[Shalamar]

I didn't listen to you. I read the comments. *cries*

[chonies]

Anyone have any thoughts about this? Link: NFL player considering coming out

I really have no clue about NFL, so I have no guesses, but I think the possibility is really important.

[GoldenFleece]

Mar 28, 2013 21:29:22 GMT -4 chonies said:

Anyone have any thoughts about this? Link: NFL player considering coming out

I really have no clue about NFL, so I have no guesses, but I think the possibility is really important.

I searched it on Twitter a couple of days ago but mostly saw cracks about Tom Brady. Seriously, though, it's been a pretty hot-button issue in the NFL for the past year: You have NFLers actually speaking up about their support for gay marriage. The Manti Te'o fake dead girlfriend scandal led to questions about his sexuality and how that could affect his position in the NFL draft. Before the Super Bowl, a player from the San Francisco 49ers was pretty emphatic about not only not wanting to have a gay teammate, but saying that gay players needed to wait ten years after retiring before coming out, which started up more talk about the subject. Then it emerged that during the combine, teams really wanted to know if players were gay and tried to find out by asking different prospects if they were married, engaged, or "Do you like girls?" which the NFL, to its credit, was quick to condemn. There's just been more conversation than ever about the possibility of an out NFL star, so it would make sense in a way if someone decided that 2013 is the time.

[chonies]

Thanks for the background, GoldenFleece. I really had no idea, and when of my students mentioned it tonight, I thought it was going to be a long-retired player, or someone who was third string or someone who might not be anyone I've heard of. The odds are still good on that, because I can name about ten players, and most of them because their names are pleasing to my tongue (Troy Polamalu and Scott Fujita among them).

But to realize it's a current player with an actual career, that's something else. And frankly, since NFL is arguably the alpha USian sport, it would be really interesting to see what happens next. I hope it goes well for the athlete and he isn't coerced or manipulated into coming out.

[GoldenFleece]

On one of the sports shouting shows, the hosts were saying the rumor/reports that a current NFL player would come out soon had happened in the past but never materialized. That might be the case again, but it feels like the football world has been wrestling with the issue in a real way over an extended period of time, to the point where a player could feel like he could come out and not lose his job. Not that there will be 100 percent support, of course, but given how the NFL was quick to say it was not cool for teams to ask players about their sexual orientation, a team owner won't be able to publicly play the "values" or "It will ruin the locker room!" cards without being slapped down hard by the commissioner and sports media. If anything, I think a team would be hesitant to cut the guy brave enough to come out, at least not right away, for fear of facing a ton of speculation and media backlash that they just dumped the guy because he was gay.

I used to think it would be a superstar who would be the one to willingly come out, but now, I think it's more likely to be someone who is just good but not a household name (yet) or even a player on the margins. There will be a lot of threats and distraction but being that first NFL guy who came out while playing will majorly elevate his legacy and he will be judged a better player than his actual on-the-field talents might merit. Though I'm kind of rooting for it to be a defensive player with a rep for being tough/brutal just to shatter any misconceptions.