Michael Stipe Confirms He is Gay
LOS ANGELES, March 18 (UPI)
Michael Stipe, the front man for the U.S. alternative rock band R.E.M., has revealed in an interview with Spin magazine that he is gay.
“It was super complicated for me in the ’80s,” he told the magazine. “I was totally open with the band and my family and my friends and certainly the people I was sleeping with. I thought it was pretty obvious.”
Usmagazine.com said the singer, 48, usually dodges questions regarding his sexual orientation. Stipe told Spin that was because he “didn’t always see” how revealing that information could benefit other people.
“But I see now, of course, that’s the case,” the singer said. “I’d just never felt strongly enough about a particular relationship to say, ‘Yeah, he’s my boyfriend, that is what it is.’ Now I recognize that to have public figures be very open about their sexuality helps some kid somewhere out there.”
Stipe has directed several of his band’s music videos and has served as executive producer on the films “Velvet Goldmine,” “Being John Malkovich” and “Man on the Moon.”
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What? Michael Stipe is Gay? ha ha – no fake surprise here
I don’t think this news surprises anyone but it would have been nice if he had came out in the 80’s. He’s right it would have helped a lot of people. My dad was gay and came out in the late 70’s. The only people I was aware of then were the very flamboyant gays. My dad wasn’t flamboyant and I had nothing to compare it too. Not that Michael Stipe could have changed that alone but 20 years is a long time. I thought things had changed more but I know there are still a lot of guys doing what my dad did because they thought they had to and they were afraid.