Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/87061
Coming Out Stories … 1 2 7 5 9 1. Talk show host and comedian ELLEN DEGENERES declared she was gay in a Time magazine cover story on April 14, 1997. She said in a 20/20 interview that year, "I made the decision … that I wasn't going to live my life as a lie anymore." 2. CYNTHIA NIXON of Sex and the City and The Big C came out in 2004 by replying to questions from the New York Daily News: "My private life is private. But at the same time, I have nothing to hide. So what I will say is that I am very happy." 3. How I Met Your Mother star and Tony Awards host NEIL PATRICK HARRIS revealed he was gay in a statement to People magazine in November 2006: "I am a very content gay man living my life to the fullest." 8 4. Recording artist RICKY MARTIN, star of the Broadway musical Evita, came out through a post on his website in March 2010: "I am a fortunate homosexual man." 5. Modern Family star JESSE TYLER FERGUSON has always been out in his personal life, which he carried over to his career as an actor who happens to be gay. 6. Actor and comedian WANDA SYKES came out at a 2008 rally for marriage equality: "We shouldn't be out here demanding something that we automatically should have as citizens of this country." 7. In February, White Collar star MATT BOMER came out by thanking his partner and their children while accepting an award for his work in the fight against HIV/AIDS. 8. JIM PARSONS of The Big Bang Theory casually told the New York Times in May that he never considered himself in the closet, per se, but was simply a private person. 9. Talk show host and newsperson ANDERSON COOPER came out in July through an eloquent letter: "The fact is, I'm gay, always have been, always will be, and I couldn't be any more happy, comfortable with myself, and proud." 6 3 4 SAGAFTRA.org | Fall 2012 | SAG-AFTRA 23 1. Time; 2. Ken Regan/Showtime; 3. Cliff Lipson/CBS; 4. Heather Wines/CBS; 5. Monty Brinton/CBS; 7. Neilson Barnard/USA Network; 8. Monty Brinton/CBS; 9. John Paul Filo/CBS