veronikka said:

She's one hot chick who, I believe, was fulfilling her role as his dutiful beard. That sums it all up.

paintedlady said:

I've heard that homosexuals have a hard time in Jamaica, but I didn't know about P.R. Are hate crimes against homosexuals common in the Caribbean period? Do lesbians have a hard time, or is it just gay men?

PurpleJedi said:

I was pretty tired when I typed that.

Identity said:

Ricky (age 12) is the one in the pink.

Timmy84 said:

Hot damn it, that Moonbeam couldn't help it!

BklynBabe said:

...nor did Little Richard OR Richard Simmons.

TonyVanDam said:

My scathing hatred of Fuggie and Beyonce even can't compete with my utter disdain of all things Ricky Martin.

Anyway, I strongly believe that he will suffer a considerable drop in sales from now on, I mean, he'll have to battle against homophobes and disappointed female fans...

jeami said:

I think in many of the Latin/ Carribbean countries are predominantly Catholic/Christian and old world values (machismo) are still a standard in society. Many men are killed and deaths go unsolved if the men/women were openly gay. The thought is that many have death "coming to them" because of their "sickness" . Its no wonder many gay Latinos stay in that closet locked up tight. Many gay men marry have children and keep a boyfriend on the side on the low-low.

hey ricky, so am i!

TonyVanDam said:

Yes little richard did. I read that when he was a young solo artist and was flat out asked if he was homosexual he answered "I'm just carefree and gay." Supposedly LR coined the term "gay" as in "queer" as in "homosexual". You know Little Richard invented everything in the world and no body ever gave him a damn thang!

He also said at one point that he didn't practice who he was anyways. This was sometime during the '80s or '90s he said this.

Timmy84 said:

That statement does sound familiar. Wasn't he on Bev Smith's show when he said that and also said he wanted to have a child? damn the stuff you remember sometimes. I think he was promoting that "why do fools fall in love" movie about frankie lymon. It had Viv Fox and Larenz Tate in it.

DesireeNevermind said:

"Carefree and Gay" had quite a different meaning in the 50's and before (...it was similar to the expression: "Footloose & Fancy Free"), though neither directly referred to homosexual activity. So if Richard ever responded to a question in that manner when he was a young solo artist, I'm sure he was just making a play on words (as he's known to do). But I wouldn't refer to that comment as officially "Coming Out". Can you reference the material you read (I realize that may be nearly impossible at this point), because I'd like to review it.

I knew Little Richard personally for a brief period in the 80's, and while he certainly had a sexual interest in men, that interest did not involve physical contact. He was more of a voyeur. Although I suspect he had adjusted his sexual behavior by that time in light of the status of the AIDS epidemic in Los Angeles in the 80's. But even then (...or now, for that matter), I don't recall he ever claimed to be "gay" (...as in "homosexual").

.
[Edited 4/1/10 5:26am]

JoeTyler said:

True,but does he really sell alot of records these days,anyway?

On the Little Richard tip... we had a family friend who recently passed away who was a dead ringer for Little Richard, especially in terms of personality. He grew up a poor black man in the south and came to New York City in the 1950's. He never married. As far as anyone knew, he never had a relationship with anyone. He mentored some young guys but never made a move on them physically. I can't say for sure what was in his heart. He was the closest I ever saw someone to being "asexual". There are plenty of asexual people in the world, but given how strong a sex drive is, what do asexuals do to replace it or ignore it?

Priest, widows, the elderly, and various homosexual and heterosexual people just forget about ever being with someone else.

What kind of a life can that be?

In our friend's case, it was a life filled with alcoholism and loneliness. Yet he died in his 90's.

I'm glad Ricky finally came out and no longer has to hide. Imagine the toll that would take on someone...it practically killed Michael Jackson.

Alasseon said:

Masturbation is wayyy underrated! And wtf? You think Michael Jackson was gay and in hiding and it practically killed him?

I find it quite stereotypical of people's response in that "oh he HAD to be gay.....LOOK at him". Is it because he had some metrosexual look about him? Are only unkempt, average joe, flannel wearing men allowed to be straight and not allowed to keep up their appearance? It's a stupid idea.

Prince fans have a fucking shit fit when someone accuses him of being gay or bisexual, or that he's too girly. "But he's in touch w/ his feminine side!" they yell. WTF does that even mean anyway???? Does every guy who is in touch w/ their alleged fem side immediately seen as a fop and a dandy like Prince? "Yeah, but Prince is a genius" At what? Dressing like a chick? I'd LOVE for Prince to come out wearing a pair of jeans, a pair of loafers, and a college sweater or a regular turtleneck that hadn't been dipped in a vat of glitter and Get Wild perfume. No one knows his waist size, but we know if he was a girl he'd be a size 6 (according to Dave Hill).

Yet if Ricky Martin, a masculine, hairy, tanned, tall, good looking, well dressed, and successful Latin man comes out as gay, then it's "oh well OF COURSE he is, LOOK at him. You can tell." You can tell? REALLY?

It all seem hypocritical from the people who list "straight acting, no femmes" in their adam4adam or gay.com profile, yet are the first to pick an apparently queer from the crowd, like Ricky Martin.

Yes we know Clay Aiken was gay. Every time he opened his mouth, the fall collection from Louis Vuitton fell out.

Shouldn't the gay-sided response be more "I'm GLAD he's gay, because I want to fuck him. And knowing he's gay fulfills my lonely gay fantasies I have at home when no one is around" ???

Should the straight-sided response be, "I'm glad he's gay because his uber masculine image threatened my fragile straight ego, and I want to think I'm better than him and can get more women - now I don't have to feel threatened by someone who doesn't even know I exist." ???

But was Ricky Martin THAT feminine? Fuck no, he wasn't.

PDogz said:

I agree that carefree and gay had a different meaning as did queer once upon a time but that just seems an odd way to respond to a question about whether you are homosexual. In the 50s I'd imagine if someone was asked if they were homosexual then they would simply say "yes" or "no" emphasis on the "no". I would reference the source material if I could but I read that like 15 years ago. I remember that it was an article on contributions of gay blacks or someting of that nature and they also talked about langston hughes and angela davis if that helps. It only sticks out in my mind because LR for a period of time was always talking about how he never got credit for this or that and in retrospect, if he was coining the therm gay in the 50s when it was not used to refer to homosexuals, then he should be viewed as the man who invented the slang term "gay". So does gay no longer mean carefree? Man that's kind of fucked up that we change the meaning of words rather than just invent new ones.

ernestsewell said:

^ didn't i see this post in another thread?

DesireeNevermind said:

Yes, but I thought about the other thread possibly being locked for being a dupe, so I put my response over here after I put it there.

DesireeNevermind said:

I think his point would have been to neither confirm nor deny. He wouldn't have answered a question like that "No", because he knew that would be lying, and he wouldn't have answered "Yes", because he wouldn't have wanted to confirm what everyone knew in their heart. In his day (...our day as well), it was hard enough just being NEGRO. Plus, Little Richard just has this thing about speaking in riddles & rhymes.

DesireeNevermind said:

Yeah, I agree. And on THAT note, I actually think the way the kids are using the word "gay" today has meaning that goes far beyond homosexuality. For them, it seems to mean "lame" or "stupid". Just like the N-Word has shifted it's meaning through time, for the people who choose to use it.

Yes, I really do think that Michael Jackson was not only gay, but had suppressed or sublimated that part of himself so much that it changed his life for the worse.

The loneliness and desperation caused him to be very unhappy, contributed to his insomnia, and ultimately led to his death.

I've worked with people who had this experience before; they did electroshock treatments or had therapy to deal with the fact that they were "sick". They cut themselves, spent money they did not have, took all sorts of drugs, and tried to kill themselves, all because they were desperately unhappy. Straight people, of course, do these things too, but in their particular cases, it was because they were gay in a straight world. Being black in the 1960's and 1970's, being famous, and being a Jehovah Witness were environments extraordinarily hostile to homosexuals.

Michael's sexuality was part of the reason he died. But again, that's only a supposition. You can say he was completely well-adjusted, happy with his life, 100% heterosexual, and the end result is the same; my childhood hero is gone.

ernestsewell said:

Ricky Martin was a masculine pretty MFer.

@ ernestsewell

I can see where you're coming from. When Ricky Martin crossed over to mainstream America, I just thought that he was a pretty boy at first. Although he has come out of the closet, he gives off this "I'm attracted to females" vibe. Then again, I don't posess the gift of gaydar, so what do I know?
I also hate the fact that so many jealous men are the first to call a good-looking guy a homosexual. I know some ugly gay men, so I know that's a lie. These men need to get over the fact that they don't have a snowball's chance in hell with the fantasy women that they want to have sex with.

Maybe some people(i.e. boring White Americans) feel this way because of the cultural barriers. Ricky is Hispanic, so of course he's going to do things differently. Are there any Latinos on the board that can add their 2 cents? Do closeted homos act differently than straight people?
[Edited 4/1/10 15:30pm]

Alasseon said:

Em I completely disagree... There is no indication he was gay anyway. Let's face it he was asexual at best and a potential or actual paedophile at worst. Plus his addiction to painkillers can lead easily to the desperation, weird behaviour, insomnia etc
[Edited 4/1/10 16:35pm]

Cinnie said:

Straight, Bi, Gay--who freakin' cares! Just look at that eye-candy!

Alasseon said:

I have to say I disagree. I don't believe Michael was gay or a pedophile. I feel there were other reasons for his isolation, sometimes off behavior (being abused as a child, being taken advantage of, being completely sheltered from the world as a child and as a teenager)

bboy87 said:

Yeah I kinda feel that way too. I mean if it were me I wouldn't have paid no lying, scheming ass people 20 million but other than that...people can't really support those pedo rumors. I think he had trust issues and self-esteem (beauty) issues that led to his isolation. When you think about it....his family and friends were a tad leechy so why not isolate yourself? Shit if I had a father like Joe Jackson I'd be up on murder charges.

Identity said:

I made a GIF from that first photo a while ago