Out Personalities: March 2008 Archives

It's always so great to see an actual gay person on the cover of The Advocate instead of just a gay-friendly one or someone who plays gay. That's what makes the cover story on Broadway star Cheyenne Jackson (in "Xanadu" through July) all the more exciting.

Here are some excerpts:

"The first time that I knew I was gay -- I think I was, like, 7 -- I was watching this Valentine's Day Popeye cartoon episode that would play every year. There was this scene where Popeye was captured by Brutus, tied up with no shoes or socks on, and Brutus starts tickling his feet. I remember getting a little boner, and I didn't know what it was about that scene that was creating that, but I knew that it was something naughty that I couldn't tell anybody, and I definitely knew it was something that made me different. But every year, I couldn't wait for that episode."

On coming out publicly: "It wasn't something I planned on doing," he recalls, "but I've been out to my family since I'm 19. The interviewer kind of said, 'And you're gay, right?' I didn't even think about it and said, 'Yeah.' I could've, in a frenzy, had people call him to retract it, but I thought, Let's see what happens. People worry about someone who's an up-and-comer and so open about it, but I feel like if I don't make it an issue, it's not going to be an issue. ... To be frank," he says, "I think I've missed out on big parts because I'm open. I've screen-tested on some really big projects, and you can't tell me that behind closed doors big execs aren't like, 'We have Dean Cain or this gay guy who played Elvis on Broadway.' I'm not that naive to think that that doesn't play into it."

On his relationship with the gay media: "Look, I'm not somebody that marches in the front of a gay pride parade, but if I wanted to, I would. I'm not a self-loathing gay; I just feel like being gay is the least interesting thing about me. But I also understand that people want to be represented, and I'm happy to be that for them--to a point."

On coming out to his family: "We called a family meeting," he recalls, "and I said, 'Well, I think families should be close and know everything about each other, so it's time that you knew I was gay.' " Met with both shocked silence and sobbing, his brother began reading a letter Jackson had written detailing his journey and first memories -- "but not the Popeye memory," he adds. After his bomb's fallout dissipated, he and his family didn't discuss the topic for about two years. "I just separated myself from them. I realized that they had to mourn their ideas of what they thought my life would be. I wasn't going to be the first to have kids, which they'd always thought, because I was a Sunday School teacher and the only guy on the block that babysat. So I had to give them time."

On his brother, a regular preacher on The 700 Club: "He thinks that being gay is something that can be prayed away, or that maybe you didn't have strong male influences growing up -- which couldn't be further from the truth for me, because my father is a Native American Vietnam vet, and we were very close. I love my brother dearly, but it's come to a point where we just don't talk about religion or politics. It's the only way that our relationship can work."

To read the entire article, gfo to Advocate.com

Nate Berkus is the host of ABC's new mega-hit "Oprah's Big Give" and I gotta say, I'd rather see the openly-gay Nate host a show anyday than the painful Ryan Seacrest who, I think, has never been worse than he was on "American Idol" last night. But, I'll go off on him more in another post.

AfterElton.com editor Michael Jensen, who is snagging all the great interviews these days, chatted with Nate about the show and other topics. I'm giving you a small nibble below and suggest you go to AfterElton to read the rest and find out about Nate's love life!

On the public's reaction when he came out on television: "To be very frank, you know what was surprising for me when I came out on The Oprah Winfrey Show when we did the show about the tsunami: the feedback that I got from Middle America. I sort of wondered whether or not [they would react positively]. Of course, I didn't care because I went on the show to tell my story and present my relationship with Fernando [Fernando Bengochea was Berkus' partner who died in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami which Nate survived] as exactly what it was. But it was shocking the amount of support that I got from the people that you would least expect it from, from the demographic that you would least expect it from. That was very encouraging for me."

On his family's reaction when he came out at 19: "My parents are both supportive. Initially they went through a process that I can only describe as mourning. Because I feel like any parent who has any goals for their children or any sort of preconceived notion about how their children's' lives are going to turn out, when you tell them something that will alter that, your parents have to deal with the disappointment in that their own dreams and expectations aren't the same as yours. So I was respectful of that, but I was also very strong in saying this is who I am, this is what my life is and I really need you guys to be on board with this because I don't want to be one of those people that feels I can't bring my partner home for holidays and we won't know each other really. It is the difference to me between having an obligatory relationship and a voluntary relationship.

Somewhere in the interview, Nate says he didn't have any gay role models while growing up. What's cool is that he seems like a wonderful role model for the younger generation.

I'm just gonna say it: I am so over Oprah Winfrey. I used to absolutely love her - for decades I loved her - but between Oprah's Book Club, Oprah Winfrey Presents, Oprah's Favorite Things, the upcoming Oprah TV network and tonight's new show: "Oprah's Big Give," I'm starting to agree with a joke Kathy Griffin made a few years ago: Oprah thinks she's Jesus."

However, I am not sick of Oprah's annointed designer, Nate Berkus, a gay man who is the host of "Give" and who heart-breakingly shared the trama of losing the love of his life in the tsunami. According to ABC, the show premieres tonight and defies television convention with the bold idea of people competing to give rather than get. Cast members include host Berkus and expert judges including world-renowned chef and philanthropist Jamie Oliver, NFL star and Boys & Girls Club Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez, and wife of Chris Rock and charity founder Malaak Compton-Rock.