Report: Country Singer Chely Wright 'almost Certainly' Coming Out as Gay on May 5th

Based on a tip from a source at People magazine, gay news and entertainment website queerty.com is reporting that country singer Chely Wright will come out as gay on national television on May 5^th, contradicting an earlier Gawker report that Shelby Lynne is the one planning to come out of the closet.

On April 21, Queerty reported that super-publicist Howard Bragman has a celebrity client prepared to come out as gay on May 5^th. The celebrity is reportedly booked for guest spots on The View and possibly Larry King Live on that date, as well as the cover of that week's People magazine. Queerty reports that both shows booked the guest without even knowing the identity of the celebrity.

Who is coming out as gay on May 5th: The rumors begin
After the initial reports that a celebrity is planning to come out as gay, rumors began to spread that the celebrity is both a female and a musician. This led many observers to speculate on who the individual might be.

On Friday, gossip website gawker.com published a report that folk-rock singer Shelby Lynne was the celebrity preparing to come out as gay. But this report was nothing more than a guess, based merely on the fact that when Gawker asked Lynne's publicist for comment, the publicist did not give a definitive yes or no answer.

Who is coming out as gay on May 5th: Evidence it may be Chely Wright
On Saturday, Queerty received a one-line email from a source at People that mentioned the name Chely Wright. Queerty notes that Wright has both a new album and a memoir coming out on May 4, the day before the scheduled announcement. Based on this information, Queerty suggests Wright is "almost certainly" the celebrity coming out as gay.

Wright's memoir is titled Like Me: Confessions of a Heartland Country Singer. Is one of those "confessions" that she is a lesbian?

Queerty notes that the site has no definitive proof that the gay celebrity will be Chely Wright and that their report is based on circumstantial evidence.

Whoever the celebrity turns out to be, he or she will become the third celeb to come out in the past two months, following pop singer Ricky Martin and Christian singer Jennifer Knapp.

Who is coming out as gay on May 5^th: Reaction to Chely Wright possibility
Many commenters on the Queerty article expressed disappointment that Chely Wright might be the one making the big announcement, believing that Wright isn't famous enough for her revelation to make any sort of cultural impact. "Who? I have never even heard of this woman!" read one comment on the site. Another read, "I'm still disappointed it wasn't someone with better name recognition."

Wright has only had moderate chart success over the years. She's had 15 top 100 entries on the country singles chart, but only one top 10 hit - "Single White Female," which reached #1 in 1999 and featured harmony vocals from Trisha Yearwood.

If the report turns out to be true, it remains to be seen how Chely Wright's presumably conservative country music fan base would react to the news of her being a lesbian.

Who is coming out as gay on May 5^th: Summary
Since the Queerty report is speculative, we'll have to wait until May 5 to find out for sure which Chely Wright is indeed the celebrity coming out as gay.

Who is coming out as gay on May 5^th: Sources
www.queerty.com/country-singer-chely-wright-is-almost-certainly-may-5s-big-celebrity-coming-out-20100501/
gawker.com/5528271/is-shelby-lynne-peoples-big-gay-reveal-update-probably
www.queerty.com/howard-bragman-is-booking-may-5s-big-gay-celebrity-coming-out-anonymously-20100426/
www.billboard.com