Barry Manilow recently opened up about the reasons why it took him decades before publicly coming out as gay.
In 2017, the “Looks Like We Made It” singer came out at the age of 73, and at the time, he told People that he didn’t disclose his sexuality for decades because “I thought I would be disappointing them [his fans] if they knew I was gay. So I never did anything.”
More recently, Manilow talked about it in more detail during his appearance on Max’s ‘Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?’.
“Well, in the ’70s, you know, you didn’t [come out]. It wasn’t the same as it is today. Now being gay is no big deal. But back in the ’70s, it would have killed a career,” he stated.
He also noted that he wasn’t comfortable about sharing something “too personal” anyway, explaining:
“The public was not ready for anybody to come out. And, frankly, it was just too personal. I just didn’t want to talk about my personal life anyway. I never did that. I was happy talking about music. But talking about my personal life was just kind of creepy to me. So I never did.”
Despite being in the closet for decades, the 80-year-old American singer-songwriter said that he “never thought about” feeling like he had to hide who he truly is prior to coming out.
“Honestly, Chris, it was a non-event. And when we came out, it was — I think everybody knew that Garry and I were a couple all those years,” he further expressed.
Garry Kief is Manilow’s manager and husband, and the two of them have been married since 2014.
Sources: ew.com, people.com
I’m just happy he felt comfortable telling the world he’s gay. Sadly there were great musicians who never came out as gay in their careers Luther Vandross comes to mind but I’m sure there was a lot more.