FACT, FICTION AND FARCE

written by the telegraph

Ricky Martin is a gay man who has spent much of his adult life in the arms of the opposite sex, sang lustily at them (including the soul-cringing She Bangs), and fathered two ruddy boys (with a surrogate mother) to boot. Mr Martin is in august company. Even André Gide and Oscar Wilde happened to do some of the things that the decidedly hunky Latin American popstar did to puff up his image as a lascivious ladies’ man. But alas, an eager interest in women, boosted by suitably macho pep talk in public, cannot save one from oneself.
Things were going well for Mr Martin until he started writing his memoirs, that too at a particularly fallow period in his career when people seemed only too glad to be spared his vigorous musical talent. With two growing boys and a sagging career, Mr Martin was reportedly overpowered by a desire to confess what the media have always insinuated: that he is gay.

Only the sales figures for Mr Martin’s book can tell whether the world is sufficiently impressed by his decision to come out publicly after playing the raunchy Romeo for decades. Chances are, his revelations will be quietly ignored in the West, where being gay is no longer as big a deal as it is in the East. Although stereotypes still prevail (a gay footballer or a straight fashion designer is an oddity even in 21st century Britain), celebrities have already wagered a lot for a happier existence. From pop icons like George Michael (Mr Martin’s hero) and Elton John to actors like Rupert Everett, many have stepped out of the closet. But the media, too, have made it their sacred duty to carry out witch-hunts on the usual suspects (Tom Cruise still tops that list) — which is where the troubles begin.

It is nobody’s business really what individuals, be they politicians, golfers or singers, do in the privacy of the bedroom. Mr Martin is entitled to his personal reasons for keeping his secret, though his silence did help prop up his market value. But more troubling is his claim that he threw caution (from people he loves dearly) to the winds for the sake of truth. He appeared somewhat complacent for having dared to put his hard-earned fame at stake. It would be a sad anti-climax if his disclosures are now welcomed with a yawn by his fans. In the West, consumers seem to have gone beyond bothering about the private lives of celebrities. Stephen Gately (of Boyzone) did not lose one bit of his popularity with the ladies in spite of his openly gay lifestyle.

If celebrities decide to be upfront about their sexuality, they could stand out as models for the less privileged lot, who pay a steep price for being what they are. In India, where homosexuality is still taboo and punishable by law, Bollywood could start taking gay relationships more seriously. Homosexuality, in mainstream films, has the whiff of pornography or wicked fun (which is not to suggest that being gay is a necessarily tragic affair). But the time for half-truths and true lies, dodging facts for fiction, and fiction for farce, is over.

From The Telegraph (india)