Ricky Martin Doesn't Want to Live Lie to Children

Leigh S., Yahoo! Contributor Network
Apr 1, 2010 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."

Ten years ago, Barbara Walters interviewed Ricky Martin. At the time, she asked him about his sexual orientation and Ricky quickly changed the subject. Now he says he didn't feel like answering the question all of these years. After having twins, he's been revisiting that thought. His sons, two years old, have influenced his life and now Ricky says that he came out of the closet because he didn't want to live a lie. Posted to his Official blog on Monday, Martin says he worked on a Memoir that got him "close to the truth." I have to wonder, why did he feel he had to lie before his sons were born?

Other gay celebrity musicians include Clay Aiken, Lance Bass and Adam Lambert. Many of these individuals kept their sexuality a secret for a while and then came out publicly. Many of them often also receive large amounts of money from magazines to do so. The public often wonders why they do this. Is it hard for them to come out of the closet because of their fame? Are they hoping that it won't affect their music careers? Lance Bass once said that he thought his coming out would overshadow the success of his band. Ricky Martin's reasoning was close to Clay's. Aiken also says in People Magazine (Sept. 24 2008), "I cannot raise a child to lie or to hide things. I wasn't raised that way, and I'm not going to raise a child to do that."

I must ask, why does it take the birth of a child to make one come out of the closet? Why do they feel that it is ok to lie to the general public, fans none the less, who are supporting their careers and source of income but not ok to lie to their children? I realize that being homosexual is not the traditional choice, and that each individual has their own views of homosexuality, but heterosexuals don't hide their preference from others, so why should homosexuals? Honesty should start from day one in my opinion. If they don't want to lie to fans, then the person should not mention their sexual preference ever. They are in the spotlight because of their talented musical abilities, not because of their sexual preference. It should stay this way.

The timing of coming out of the closet also makes me wonder. Several of these individuals have dropped from the limelight and allow some time to pass before coming out. Are they doing this for attention? Are they hoping it will increase their fan base? Why not come out to begin with? Ricky says in his blog that "These years in silence and reflection made me stronger and reminded me that acceptance has to come from within and that this kind of truth gives me the power to conquer emotions I didn't even know existed."

Since when are we teaching that lying makes one stronger? It's the opposite. Truth sets you free and makes you stronger, and in my opinion, I don't think being a celebrity makes being honest harder. Honesty isn't a choice; it's a must.

Sources:
Ricky Martin, Official Ricky Martin Blog
David, Caplan, Clay Aiken: I'm a Gay Dad, People Magazine

Published by Leigh S.

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