Complicated legacies aren’t anything new, and when huge cultural icons pass, their lives are examined and judgments are made. We all know people aren’t perfect. Nobody. We also know that grief and remembrance can be an incredibly painful and lethargic experience. In the day and age of social media, with everyone scrambling to get out the first think piece or the first introspective, the time given to the family and friends of those lost to mourn is reduced to seconds in between tweets, news stories, and Instagram tributes.
Oh Boy, Here We Go.
OMFG. Another blaring snafu by mainstream media “outing” this actor because of an ambiguous response he made to a fan. I’m not sure what the point of blasting the air waves with this guy’s sexuality is, but it’s incredibly unprofessional to write an article without researching its, in the words of the great Stephen Colbert, truthiness.
I’m not saying it doesn’t matter if this actor is gay, because I do think actors who come out have some affect, giving confidence to those who are less inclined to disclose their sexuality due to fear of being ostracized or chastised. However, not sharing who you’re attracted to with the masses (or anyone) is also completely fine, because in reality, it’s nobody’s gd business. This obsession with people’s sexuality in Hollywood has taken a turn for the absurd and it’s getting almost offensive the way people write about these actors coming out as if they’re “hiding a secret” or trying to deceive the public. IT’S NOT THE PUBLIC’S BUSINESS. However, it is within the media’s interest to at least fake an actual source and fact check their work. I mean, c’monnnnn.
Anyway, I wish we could just eradicate celebrity news altogether. On many occasions I find myself being able to reproduce details about a celebrity’s life that I don’t even know about my own family’s. Chris, what’s your aunt’s new husband’s name? I don’t know, but I can list all of the relationships Britney Spears has been in since 2003, does that help?
There is definitely more to these coming out stories on a more emotional level, but the way the media handles them just seems problematic. I can’t put my finger on it, but there’s something that feels strange when seeing a headline in huge obnoxious letter plastered above Kimye’s recent photo-op at a CVS like, “American actor Colton Haynes just publicly came out via Tumblr, although his gayness has been an open secret since 2006″ or this line “Well, this is certainly interesting and if true, definitely cool. Colton Haynes may have just come out of the closet while responding to a Tumblr comment about his ‘secret gay past.’ Check it out here!”
It just sounds so demeaning. Maybe that’s just me.
Also, the more interesting story about all of these celebrities coming out is more to do with why they waited in the first place. It’s probably because of the messed up machine that is Hollywood, and this dumb puritanical society in which we live. I’d love to see an exposé on the oppressive nature of Hollywood in general. Maybe I’ll pull on my journalism trousers and ruffle some feathers.
I’m done with rambling for the day. And to Colton Haynes, you do you, boo.
Stop Doing That!
Sometimes I get anxious when I text my friends in fear they’re going to screenshot our conversation and put it on every social media channel.