http://new.music.yahoo.co...exual-man/

Ricky Martin: 'I Am a Fortunate Homosexual Man'
Posted Mon Mar 29, 2010 2:48pm PDT by Access Hollywood in Stop The Presses!

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- After years of keeping quiet about his personal life, pop star Ricky Martin has announced that he is gay.

"I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man," Ricky said in a message posted on his offical Web site. "I am very blessed to be who I am."

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Ricky said writing his memoir and thinking about his two twin sons led him to go public.

"To keep living as I did up until today would be to indirectly diminish the glow that my kids where [sic] born with. Enough is enough. This has to change. This was not supposed to happen 5 or 10 years ago, it is supposed to happen now. Today is my day, this is my time, and this is my moment," he wrote.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: The 'Vida Loca' Of Ricky Martin

Though the 38-year-old kept his sexuality private throughout most of his career, Ricky said he drew strength from that time.

"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," he continued. "What will happen from now on? It doesn't matter. I can only focus on what's happening to me in this moment. The word "happiness" takes on a new meaning for me as of today. It has been a very intense process. Every word that I write in this letter is born out of love, acceptance, detachment and real contentment. Writing this is a solid step towards my inner peace and vital part of my evolution."

Earlier this month, Barbara Walters told The Toronto Star that her 2000 interview with the "Livin' La Vida Loca" singer, where she grilled him about coming out, was a misstep on her part.

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"In 2000, I pushed Ricky Martin very hard to admit if he was gay or not, and the way he refused to do it made everyone decide that he was," she told The Toronto Star. "A lot of people say that destroyed his career, and when I think back on it now, I feel it was an inappropriate question."

Ricky also Tweeted a link to his coming out announcement on his Web site, simply writing, "my life."

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In an earlier Tweet on Monday, the singer posted a quote attributed to the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. M.L.K.Jr.," he wrote.

"This was not supposed to happen 5 or 10 years ago [when it might have possibly hurt my booming career], it is supposed to happen now [that nobody cares about me anymore and I can squeeze a bit of press out of the news]. Today is my day, this is my time, and this is my moment [before I have to humiliate myself on a reality show]" he wrote.

NDRU said:

hmmm

ten years ago there was this ditzy chick at work who was in love with him, thought he was the hunkiest thing ever. I thought that was funny as hell.

abigail05 said:

Why is it funny? He does have a great body. Did back then, and does now.

Looks like someone else started it first: http://prince.org/msg/8/333412

ernestsewell said:

OMG he was SOOOOO hot!

tinaz said:

He's STILL hot.

No one should ever have to hide who they are. Love everyone for who they are.


... unless they're fams.

Acrylic said:

Spot on.

ernestsewell said:

I havent seen him in a while.... Im gonna have to look him up!

NDRU said:

But it would have hurt his career. Sad but true. It would have been great if he had come out then, but I don't blame him for not doing it

tatocorcu said:

Perhaps.

But he is more or less a one hit wonder. Maybe if he was more honest it would have translated to a less superficial image and added a dimension

tinaz said:

I got turned off after seeing his bony feet...meh... *letdown emoticon here*

NDRU said:

He's not a one hit wonder, he had loads of hits in the Spanish-speaking market and in Europe before Living la vida loca

tatocorcu said:

you mean my white American perspective is not all-encompassing?

NDRU said:

No, I just mean that he was famous in a lot of countries before he was famous with white America. And I genuinely believe that in the mid 90s he wouldn't have been so popular in many of those countries if he had come out.

tatocorcu said:

I got that, I was just joking around. I should have realized I had one perspective, but there were others. I think maybe you're right it might have hurt his career.

It's easy for me to say as an outsider, but maybe that's all the more reason he should have come out. It's everyone's personal choice, of course, but a major star like that could have made it just a little easier for someone else struggling with the same issue.

tatocorcu said:

I do. It's a cowardly way to do things. Plenty of gay artists have had incredible success based on their talent, not who they're shagging. He achieved the height of any fame he'll ever have, and then he comes out. Seems backwards to me. Yes, he's living honest and open now but at this point, who cares? If he wanted to be fortunate, come out after "The Cup Of Life", and see how many fans would still stick by his ass for "La Vida Loca" - he still would have been just as popular.

NDRU said:

I realised you were joking after I sent the message; I'm a bit slow these days

did i fall into a time machine?

ernestsewell said:

I can't agree with you. You come out when you are ready, and after you take everything into consideration.
I wish that George Michael had come out when I was growing up with virtually no gay public figures and when all the girls in my class fancied him; and I wish that Ricky Martin had come out just before I did, at the peak of his fame. But I didn't come out until I was ready, and doing it any earlier would have been a huge mistake. For that reason I don't think anyone has the obligation to come out until they want to.

tatocorcu said:

Although I'm not sure of your age, when GM hit the scene as a solo artist, I was 19 and in the Navy. I couldn't come out. GM thought he was, and lived as, a straight man until he was 28, which is about 1991. He finally came out, despite the situation, when he was 35. Martin is 38 right now. So same age, but highly different circumstances. For years after GM came out, he always said he never hid his sexuality (if anyone listens to the Older album, it's all but coming out - there's a lot of pointed songs on there about who he is, and very honestly), and never wanted to fess up to some reporter in search of a story. He wanted to do it on his terms (as Martin did). I love that GM made a huge funny video around it, and just went with it. Martin hid it, denied it, and stepped around the question when asked.

I'm 42 as of a few days ago, and I too wish I had someone a bit more out there as a kid. Man, the things I'd have done differently. I needed a shock to my sheltered Baptist system. Boy George came out in a way on an awards show, saying "It just goes to show people know a good drag queen when they see one," but that never really meant anything to me. It wasn't personal; not something I could identify with. I was coming into my own around the time GM was outed, so I was happy to empathize with him.

I don't think anyone has an obligation to come out. But when they are hiding it for the sake of their career, it's cowardly, especially if they're a celebrity where being gay is as normal as blinking.

[Locking duplicate thread - - June7]