LGBT POV

In advance of his March 27 debut on Broadway in “Promises, Promises,” actor Sean Hayes finally granted The Advocate an interview. Apparently he was quite annoyed when they did a fake interview when Hayes was starring as Jack McFarland as part of the TV phenomenon known as “Will and Grace.”

Here’s an excerpt from the 2,636-word cover story:

“Suddenly everyone wanted to know if Hayes himself was gay and how he felt about playing a gay character. Faced with the very real prospect of jeopardizing his chance at landing straight roles down the road, he started reciting stock answers, variations on what he told the Detroit Free Press early on: “When I play a gay character I want to be as believable as possible. And when I’m playing a straight character I also want to be as believable as possible. So the less that people know about my personal life, the more believable I can be as a character.” And Hayes never pretended to be something he wasn’t; he never walked some pretty woman down the red carpet or faked a straight relationship.

Please click inside to read more of my reaction to the interview.

This afternoon from 4:00-6:00pm, Roots of Equality is hosting a panel discussion on the Gay Press, featuring yours truly and author Mark Thompson, who has a new book out on his days as an editor at The Advocate.

In fact, Mark was my editor when I wrote for The Advocate under the late editor-in-chief, Richard Rouilard in the early 1990s. And boy, do we have stories! This was also the time of ACT UP and Queer Nation – and it was a time when LGBT people of color were rightly pressuring local gay publications such as Frontiers and the Lesbian News to be more inclusive. We will also discuss the future of the LGBT press now that blogging is so ubiquitous. Hope you can join us. Please click inside for more info, including places to park.