Well, it wasn't Queen Latifah after all. Instead it was country music star Chely Wright who came out of the closet this week. At first, I was like, "Who?" Okay, I'm not the biggest country music fan. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized how much bigger an impact this could potentially have than if Johnny Weir or Anderson Cooper came out. When we read about the troubles our LGBT youth experience in the heartland, like not being allowed to take a same-sex date to the prom or being erased from the yearbook for wearing a tuxedo, I realize this has the potential to be huge. Not in my circle in the liberal Northwest, but perhaps in the circles many of you run in.
As LGBT public relations specialist Cathy Renna says, "Chely reaches an audience that a lot of people in our community often write off, but we must have the courage to be visible in and talk to the Bible Belt. As a country star Chely's coming out will make a lot of her fans realize they actually know a gay person, they just didn't realize it."
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This is cool. I’m sure this is a huge wow for the country music industry.
She’s a Hottie!
I have heard Chely sing but since many of the female singers these days are pretty interchangeable due to showbiz manipulation, I didn’t give it any thought that she could be a lesbian. Real personalities rarely get shown in music videos. It is a bigger deal than if either of the two guys mentioned were to make a public announcement. I have to look up Johhny Weir.
Actually, it could be argued that k.d. lang stole Chely Wright’s thunder on this one, although if Wright does appear at the the San Francisco GLAAD Media Awards on June 5 that will posit her in the activist category.
As I wrote in Stacy’s Music Row Report:
CHELY WRIGHT did not choose to make the first public declaration of her lesbianism on her own Website. As the announcement was timed to coincide with the May 4, 2010 release of Wright’s new album (produced by RODNEY CROWELL) and autobiography, she didn’t want to leave the opportunity for maximum exposure (no pun intended) to chance. (Crowell’s memoir, btw, is slated for January, 2011 publication.)
My first awareness of Chely came when I received a letter from PORTER WAGONER inviting me (his former publicist) to an event at which he would be introducing his young protégé to the Music Row press corps.
There were a lot of ugly rumors coinciding with the invitation (and now I guess we know why Chely put up with them, just as she later did nothing to discourage gossip about a romantic relationship with then-unmarried duet partner BRAD PAISLEY). Wagoner had a predilection for bragging about all of his music industry conquests without regard to his marital status at the time. Depending on which names Porter dropped, the consensus of opinion was that Wagoner was being truthful at times and at other times not, so tongues wagged about why Wagoner would take such a public interest in a young woman who was not part of his own TV and/or stage show. (The Wagonmaster’s primary interest was himself and his own music.)
The story was that Wright had a rich respect for, and appreciation of, traditional country music. So, whatever Grand Ole Opry management thought about Porter’s giving Chely early entre to the Mother Church, it went along with the hype.
Wagoner’s imprimatur got Wright on the charts, but Chely gets the credit for her subsequent, if limited, success as a solo and duet artist.
It’s a shame that the Wright media blitz of the next few weeks will be based on something other than her music, since her music alone would not be enough to interest those who will be making money off of her coming out. Chely must surely realize that this reality cheapens her artistry, but who could be more aware of the reality of today’s marketplace? After all, it was controversy that inspired The Bumper of My SUV and gimmickry that propelled Single White Female to hit status…
This would be more momentous if people actually remembered who she is. I’ve lived in Nashville my whole life, & still had to google her! Not only that, but she just released a new album so the timing is really only about garnering more record sales.
She’s a singer who has a new album so she should use what she’s got to promote it. Others make money using celeb names. I doubt that she “came out” just because of that. She played the game their way and now she is ready to share more of herself which will make her music mean more. There are plenty of female singers vocalizing about heartache but now one more will be singing from a lesbians perspective. Heartache is universal but I for one look forward to hearing her new material with the thought that she is like me. And I will YouTube her previous videos and listen closer. (wink)
I’m glad she came out. If you saw the interview on GMA, or equivalent, she was saying that she had a gun in her mouth 3 years ago because it was so difficult to not be herself. Kids and adults need to know that they aren’t alone. It’s one thing to say “I’m gay” but it’s another to share something so personal as to contemplating killing yourself and having to say it to the world. I’m not a huge country fan, but I would like to hear her NEXT album!
Courage and more courage. Go Girl!
I am glad to see that more and more celebrities are coming out. I was very surprised about Meredith Baxter, but, I have not heard of Chely Wright, as I don’t listen to country music. I must say that she is very beautiful. Back in my day, the fifties, you could not come out. I am glad that I have lived long enough to see women’s rights so advanced.
Its amazing how some folks are never satisfied…they want people to come out and then when they do they question their motives! Or they question WHO comes out! Can’t they just be happy that people are finding their way out at all rather than being so darm judgementa of them?!
Wow. She is a hottie for sure.
Yeah, the country music community has known this for a long time. It’s not news. This is nothing but manipulation of fans and the press to get attention. Chely is not a star and never has been a star, but she happens to have a new album and book out now. Coincidence with timing of announcement? Hardly.
Yeah, the about.com community has known about Reese for a long time. This is nothing but manipulation of the truth and words to get attention. Reese is not a star and has never been a star, but s/he happens to have a new comment out now. Coincidence with timing of his jerkdom? Hardly.