OUTED!

Anybody remember the Outed Posters that showed up sometime in the 1980''s in NYC. (Maybe other cities as well, but I don''t know.) I remember Tom Selleck on one of them. Does anyone know what year that was or any other information about them?

• I remember those. Tom Selleck had a hissy fit.

• You mean these, right?

  http://boyculture.typepad.com/boy_culture/images/out_now_1.jpg

• That was the summer of 1991:

  http://boyculture.typepad.com/boy_culture/2007/01/a_feat_for_clay.html

• Some of the faces are a bit hard to see, does any know who those folks are?

• I remember seeing Merv Griffin, Deborah Winger and Travolta/Olivia Newton John...%0D\ %0D\ I see Jodie Foster, James Baldwin (who was out when he was alive, btw), the actor who played George Jefferson and Whitney Houston in the picture in the link. Who is the woman to the left of Whitney?

• Debbie Reynolds (as the Singing Nun) to the left of George Jefferson!\ \ Not so coincidentally, Debbie''s co-star in that film was her longtime gf Agnes Moorehead.

• r5 on the left Paula Abdul, right not sure. Who is the one below Whitney Houston?

• Was this some Queer Nation folk, or?...

• Speaking of Paula Abdul, did she have an affair with Lorraine Bracco back in the 90''s or am I remembering the rumors wrong?

• R8 it was Michelangelo Signorile - read the link posted at R3.

• The Mel Gibson and Paula Abdul pictures say "Absolutely Het" underneath. %0D\ %0D\ Are there 2 Whitney Houston pics? One is to the right of Paula and the other is just below that.%0D\ %0D\ Is Jamie Lee Curtis below Jodie Foster and to the left of Mel Gibson? And who the heck is the nun on the scooter below that?%0D\ %0D\ Aside from Jodie, that whole top row has me stumped. The second pic looks like Fred Armisen doing President Obama, but of course that can''t be right. %0D\ %0D\ Tom Selleck is on top of Greg Louganis, and that''s probably how it would have worked in bed too - at least that''s my guess.

• As R6 explained, the nun on the scooter is Debbie Reynolds as the Singing Nun. While Debbie has long been rumored to be a dyke (see R6), the real Singing Nun left the convent in the 70s and was really a lesbian.

  Dominique

• All the rumors I''ve heard about Selleck are about him being a bottom.

• Travolta and Newton-John are under Abdul. I can''t read the sign though... "Aboslut Queer something something"

• Could someone who knows who all the people are be kind enough to post a left-to-right list?

• I can see where it''d piss Selleck off if it meant he couldn''t work anymore as an actor.%0D\ %0D\ "Hi, Tom, it''s your agent; listen, no you''re not going in for the hunky lead anymore...listen think of it as like Higgins'' nellier taller cousin.%0D\ %0D\ "You''re going to do character stuff now.%0D\ %0D\ "Hello? %0D\ %0D\ "Hello?"%0D\ %0D

• If you READ the link given to you by r3 you will see that these are "Absolutely Queer" and "Absolutely Het" fliers. And he lists some of the names.

• R11, that is not Whitney under Whitney, I have no idea who it is.%0D\ %0D\ Below Jodie is Debra Winger. Debra is bi-polar and has a history, although she''s not gay.%0D\ %0D\ I think Fran Leibowitz is the 4th one in from the left, top row. Btw, Fran was horrified about the outing scandals -- afraid she might be outed. LOL.%0D\ %0D

• Of the people on those posters, how many have actually come out 20 years later?\ \ Louganis is the only one.

• I actually managed to tear down in one piece one of the ONJ/Travolta ones for a friend in the UK who is a huge ONJ fan.

• Tom Selleck was my neighbor in NYC in the early ''70s. My living room windows were directly across from his bedroom''s. Neither of us bothered with window treatments. I can''t vouch for his being completely straight, but I can assure you he was at the very least bi. I sometimes couldn''t help seeing him "entertaining" women guests- and I saw him with many. If he ever had men there, I never saw even one.

• [r13] If that''s so it convinces me that he is straight because it sounds like someone wanted to be nasty in "outing" him. Like the gerbil legend. "Whisper. Whisper. Snicker. Snicker. Not only is he gay but he takes it up the ass. He''s less than gay. He''s a big fem." \ \ And yes, I am very versatile before you even go there.

  Spare me.

• Ron Reagan isn''t gay (he''s just a former ballet dancer) and Olivia Newton-John isn''t (she just once referred to one of her "girlfriends" --meaning a female friend-- once on Johnny Carson and he ran with it).

• [quote] (she just once referred to one of her "girlfriends" --meaning a female friend-- once on Johnny Carson and he ran with it).%0D\ %0D\ %0D\ Close but not accurate. She came right out and told Carson that she was bi. He got a shocked look on his face and had no time to say anything when an ad came on. After the ad, ONJ was gone.

• R21, more on Selleck, please. What was he doing, exactly, with the gals?

• Their hair, R25.

• [quote]Close but not accurate. She came right out and told Carson that she was bi. \ \ Link please.

• Can some do a row by row, left to right summary of the people on the poster for those of us not as culturally knowledgeable?

• So how accurate are these outings?

• Top row: Jodie Foster; Merv Griffin; can''t make out who it is #1; can;t make out who it is #2; Ron Reagan Jr.; Tom Cruise \ \ Middle row down: Can''t make out who it is #3 (but what a queeny pose); Mel Gibson (identified as het); Tom Selleck; Paula Abdul (identified as het); Whitney Houston; Gertrude Stein\ \ Bottom row: Debbie Reynolds; Sherman Helmsley; can''t make out who it is #4; Olvia Newton-John with John Travolta; can''t make out who it is #5; James Baldwin

• can''t make out who it is #4 is Greg Louganis

• Shortly after these posters, didn''t Tom Selleck release a press release stating that he was "not a homosexual"? Which doesn''t mean that he''s not bisexual. Still, I''ve heard he is strictly gay and was lying in his press release. Richard Gere and Cindy Crawford also went the press release route a year or so later. They''re both bi, though.

• Here''s a little bit bigger pic, maybe some of you will recognize some of the previously unrecognizable?

  http://boyculture.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/out_now_1.jpg

• That''s hysterical, R31! No. 4 is Fran Lebowitz! I wonder if the two have ever been mistaken for each other before this??

• CMWII#3 looks sort of like Gerald Ford, but that can;t be right...

• [quote]"Close but not accurate. She came right out and told Carson that she was bi." - Link please.%0D\ %0D\ Oh sure! I have the link from a TV moment from 30 years ago right at my fingertips. I''m delighted to post it here for you. %0D\ %0D

  D.I.Y.

• Thank God someone finally outed Gertrude Stein.

• Maybe #4 is Dan Dailey in his Governor & JJ costume?

• On second thought, #4 might be Barry Diller. %0D\ %0D\ If they have Debra Winger, there''s some truth, maybe not 100% gay. Same with Olivia NJ. This info wasn''t gathered from old Johnny Carson show, please.

• Helen Reddy and Olivia Neutron Bomb were luvvahs for several years in the 70s.

  Boze Hadleigh

• [quote]This info wasn''t gathered from old Johnny Carson show, please.%0D\ %0D\ Oh, please, where did ANYONE say the info for these posters was gathered from old Johnny Carson shows?

• The 3rd from the left, top row, is Marlon Brando.

• Last one, top row, is Little Richard.

• Middle row far left is Debra Winger\ \ Top row next to Merv is Gore Vidal

• Top row far right is Tom Cruise from Risky Business.

• [quote]Oh sure! I have the link from a TV moment from 30 years ago right at my fingertips. I''m delighted to post it here for you. by: D.I.Y.\ \ No, you''re the one who claimed it happened. As a result, the burden of proof is entirely on you. \ \ I knew you couldn''t prove that bullshit urban legend, chump.

• R26=Dorothy Szbornak

• The one underneath Whitney is another Whitney. I guess she''s such a big lez that she needed 2 posters.

• Didn''t Sherman Helmsley come out with in the last few years?

• [quote]She came right out and told Carson that she was bi. He got a shocked look on his face and had no time to say anything when an ad came on.\ \ Urban legend. Believe me, I watched Carson every time ONJ was on -- and nothing remotely like this ever happened.

• Look, the upper right hand corner cannot be both Little Richard and Tom Cruise. I mean I can understand how some can say the third from left is either Brando or Gore Vidal...but at least those are two bald-headed crackers. %0D\ %0D\ I''m with R43 that it''s Little Richard.

• It''s DEFINITELY Cruise in Risky Business.

• To the right of Merv, is Barry Diller.\ \ Mel Gibson has always been bi and a big mess.

  Zak

• Not Olivia N-J, but here''s Johnny being raunchy.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6iKgQbWTRA&feature=related

• Look at it this way: Olivia is as gay as George Clooney is gay. Any questions?

• I remember hearing in college (late ''70s) that ONJ had come out on the Johnny Carson show...and said that her gf was Karen Carpenter. And no, I never saw any reports of it in the media anywhere else, just heard about it from friends. If it had happened, someone would have put it up on YouTube by now. So that''s one urban legend with legs.

• c

• Olivia Newton-John was married to Matt Latanzi, who was as gay as they come. Theirs was a lavender marriage.

  Moviola

• ONJ has been known for many years to have had a female companion named Pat ...

  Qantas Flight Attendant

• R53, you imbecile, it says Absolutely HET under the very heterosexual asshole, Mel Gibson.

• The last guy looks like JJ Walker

• or james baldwin

• I think the one under Whitney is Sylvester.

• This was a Queer Nation-related action. Signorile became famous for outing people in his columns, but this was done by others. Wheatpasting for either ACT UP or QN was rampant, and really turned the streets into a kind of radical work in progress. Even if I was impossible to get the paste out of your hair and clothes.

• I find it odd that that small photo is the ONLY photo of those posters I can find on the web ANYWHERE.\ \ Those pictured (particularly the bigger names at the time, like Selleck and Foster) must have had their ''people'' ERASE all images from the web.

• [quote]Those pictured (particularly the bigger names at the time, like Selleck and Foster) must have had their ''people'' ERASE all images from the web.\ \ You mean just like someone said James Caan has "his people" do EVERY DAY for his son Scott?

  yeah, like that''s believable either

• Marlon Brando is NOT in any of those posters. Dream on.

• So Debra Winger, any rumours?

• I don''t get the point of the ones labeled "absolutely het". Paula Abdul who is labeled that way confirmed to Howard Stern that she''s been with women before, btw.

• And there''s NO WAY Mel Gibson hasn''t been with a man, no matter how much protesting he does.

• \ "I think the one under Whitney is Sylvester."\ \ Oh Noes! Sylvester was GAY??? Whoda thunk it?\ Yooooooo maaaaake meeeeeeee feeeeeeel, miiiiiiggttyyy reeeeeeeeallll....

  Disco Is Dead

• Waiting in line at the supermarket yesterday I noticed the cover of National Enquirer. Their annual "Who''s Gay" issue.

• Wait a sec. Isn''t Paula Abdul actually Bianca Jagger? Nobody cared about Paula back then.

• Other way around R73. R3 notes these posters date to 1991. Paula was already on her second hit album by then. Bianca Jagger''s relevance had long since faded to the 80''s new wave generation.

• [quote]ONJ has been known for many years to have had a female companion named Pat ...\ \ Her girlfriend''s name was Bull Putch.

• R71 I learned on that t.v. show "Unsung" that Sylvester was always out and did not get a darned who knew it. That fellow was quite ahead of his time if anything.

• Did Tom Selleck create the "clone" look?

• I thought it was pretty well common knowledge about Tom Selleck''s involvement with another man in Hawaii during Magnum.

• ISN''T TOM UNCUT AND HUGE?

• I don''t know about the posters, I just know Tom Selleck is gay.

• I for sure saw ONJ come out as bi on The Tonight Show.

• I saw that, too r81. She came on right after the leprechaun that bought out an actual pot of gold, and a mother fucking rainbow. ONJ then sang a song.

  let bi-gones be bi-gones

• R82 Was that the one where Johnny Carson rode onto the stage on a unicorn and delivered his monologue?

• "She came right out and told Carson that she was bi"%0D\ %0D\ I don''t think so!

• R56, I first heard that story in the 70s too.%0D\ %0D\ It''s amazing how something like that can take hold without any more compelling evidence than people who swear they saw it on the Tonight Show.

• I''m sure Tom is bi, not gay. How extensive his relations are with women I don''t know. I never saw him romantically involved with one, but he had female friends. He''s still very handsome and when I knew him in the 70''s he was one of the handsomest men I ever met. He was charming and beautiful, very sexy, made you feel like you were his best friend in the world. What a smile and fun to talk to. It was easy to fall in love with him and everybody did. He did not invent the clone look at all, but he had it in his genes.\ \ He is very loyal to his friends and never forgets them.

• R81 reminds me of the early days of DL. Back then the subject of ONJ would come up every few months and there was a always a contingent of people who insisted they saw her come out on the Tonight Show. Although their stories conflicted (some said that the show quickly cut to a commercial after she came out; others said she walked off the stage) they were very specific and detailed about their memories ("A group of us watched the show in my college dorm room and we all remember it," "I was a kid watching the show with my mother and she got flustered and told me to turn the TV off and go to bed," etc.) Obviously this event never happened...yet how strange that so many people claim to "remember" it.

• Last December I was with three friends who had been part of a larger group that witnessed ONJ saying that she''s bisexual. We were talking about how times have changed. We were totally floored by her comment and how she was so casual about it. That was the first time we ever heard anyone mention their sexuality on an entertainment talk show. It just wasn''t done in that era so we were discussing it with other friends for the next few day. %0D\ %0D\ Strangely, none of the gossip columnists picked it up. Was it because they didn''t discuss such things or they didn''t want to get attacked for revealing the true image of a popular star?%0D\ %0D\ Of course there are always people like r87 who, like Sherri Shepherd, still think the Earth is flat and will never believe it''s round until they go into outer space and look back. Let the fools wallow in their ignorance.%0D

• ONJ addressed the rumors a number of years ago in The Advocate -- including the Johnny Carson incident and what really happened.

  http://books.google.com/books?id=gmMEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA60&ots=nvndPntzoU&dq=did olivia newton-John come out on johnny Carson?&pg=PA61#v=onepage&q=did olivia newton-John come out on johnny Carson?&f=false

• R88 is exactly the kind of poster I was talking about. He distinctly remembers the ONJ event, has "friends" who recall the same thing, yet doesn''t quite tell us what ONJ said. And then "strangely," none of the gossip columnists or newspapers pick up the story. IF ONJ had come out as gay/bi, it would have been a big entertaintment news story, would have been reprinteded in all the gossip columns and magazines, and would continue to be reported today. Every time one of the tabloids run their "Who''s Gay?" round-ups, they reach all the way back to Angelina Jolie or Drew Barrymore admitting their bisexuality. Believe me, if ONJ had once discussed it -- on TV, no less -- she''d be mentioned in those articles as well.

  87

• That wasn't Olivia Newton-John that was ELTON John

• Parkinson asked her about those rumours too. Olivia said it wasn't true and it was getting out of hand. A crazy woman had broken into her home and was waiting naked in her bed. This was around the end of the 70s.

• For the record, the posters linked in R2 are of: TOP: Jodie Foster, Merv Griffin, Barry Diller, Fran Liebowitz, Ron Reagan, Calvin Klein MIDDLE: Debra Winger, Mel Gibson (het), Tom Selleck, Paula Abdul (het), Whitney Houston, Gertrude Stein BOTTOM: Debbie Reynolds, Sherman Hemsley, Greg Louganis, Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta, Whitney Houston (again), James Baldwin

• I don't think that's Whitney again. Ron Reagan is not gay nor is Tom Selleck, nor Paula Abdul. The rest are gay or bisexual (ONJ and Debbie Reynolds)

• Why would anyone consider Barry Diller back in 1991 worth outing?

• This is a funny memory circa 1991/92 - thanks for posting. The posters were all over NYC... not sure about other major cities.

  G'

• "I think the one under Whitney is Sylvester." Sylvester was gay? My GAWD I'm shocked! SHOCKED!

  Mighty%20Real

• Below Whitney must be Tim Curry in Rocky Horror Picture Show. Google images of Tim in that role. Sure looks like a match.

  Time%20Warp

• [R24] You are so off/wrong! That would have been mainstream news. I have access to EVERY Carson show and have all the ones with Olivia on it, including a 76 show w/Helen Reddy as guest host. Carson said "How do you spend yr. free time" and she says "I have alot of girlfriends and I tour so much that when I AM home, I try to catch up with them for cooking nights... blah, blah, blah and then on to her animals. Carson did want to smirk, but it was innocent and he let it go. Olivia stayed on the ENTIRE,(then 90 minute show with the other guests - William Holden and Truman Capote. If I could be effed, I'd put it up on youtube. The gayest thing about ONJ was her husband,Matt. After their divorce, ONJ was off the pop charts, doing her charity, getting next to no attention. Without anyone looking after her personal life, she dated two men and then a third, who she is now married to. I wouldn't bet that she has NEVER swum in the lady pond, but her g/f Pat was her singing partner who married ONJ's producer,(still married 30 + years), and they remain friends to this day. THE CARSON STORY IS JUST THAT - A STORY ...not that there is anything wrong with it though :-)

  G'

• Tom Selleck is indeed gay.

  J.%20Mack

• Don't know if Selleck is gay, but his wife is fugly.

• I don't understand the point of this. It's like when Queer Nation went on Arsenio to complain about not having openly gay guests like Harvey Fierstein on, and Arsenio let them have it and the whole thing backfired. Did they really think any of these celebrities were going to come out because of a poster?

• In the context of the times, it was understandable - the silence, lack of funding re AIDS, and zero celebrities that were out.

• r103 is right

• [R103] See your point to a degree. I feel that celeb or not,nobody should be outed. The sentiment about Travolta, Cruise, Jackman and a few others is that they are so despicable, so fake that you DO want them outed. Amazingly though, Travolta in that freeking odd wig of his, was on the "Regis and whoever that talentless thing is" show,this week and the house fraus gave him a standing ovation when he entered and when he left. Middle America doesn't want process this info. In Travolta's case, he has the "I lost my child" (I have my feelings on how /why that went down),sentiment on his "side". Cruise, Travolta, Will Smith, Jackman will always ride over the wave of these stories. I am guilty of wanting them outed. Mixed feelings though, as nobody has the right to tell, except those who have had encounters with these men or have escaped their advances. In the case of Olivia, nobody cares, but my post above is 100% accurate and it is at best, a celeb urban legend.

  G'

• Thanks to the posters who have written about ONJ. I've always heard the rumors so I've wondered. I can see how the rumors started. There's a semi-celebrity who I read gay rumors about on this board pretty regularly, and yet I'm 99% sure she is straight. But sometimes the truth isn't as much fun as the rumors!

• name?

• Ah, Debbie Reynolds. America's Sweetheart was screwing Samantha's mother. It's funny how people have forgotten a far more recent affair with Megan Mullally (which Mullally blabbed about at a number of dinner parties in the early 00's).

• R93 has the line-up correct, per the Star tabloid article. For some reason, Whitney was doubly gay! Or maybe the group who took credit for posting them, OutPost, just thought Whitney was doubly closeted. I have an older friend who kept copies of a few of the originals, as well as the Star article. If he can find any of it, I'll try to post some of the fine print under the pictures. Some of it was funny. He showed me a bunch of it, years ago. There was a Tom Cruise at that time and, a little later on, Keanu Reeves and Leo posters. Those last two shocked me. Not that they might be gay but these posters were very early in their careers. They must have been pretty indiscreet from the start.

• [quote]Arsenio let them have it What did he say, r102?

• Instead of outing people, today's gay organizations give awards to people who were dragged out of the closet after cowering there for decades.