Arts & Entertainment
Joel Grey says ‘horror of homosexuality’ kept his identity secret
Broadway legend goes in depth about his life story
(Screenshot courtesy of YouTube)
Joel Grey opened up about his sexuality, family and career during an in depth interview with the New York Times.
Grey, 83, publicly came out in an interview with People Magazine last year. Speaking with the New York Times, he discusses his memoir “Master of Ceremonies,” which was released this month, saying that the time had come to evaluate his life and career.
“I think it was a kind of coming-of-age — a late coming-of-age,” Grey says. “Finally feeling on top of it; ready to accept all the good stuff; I wake up joyous looking out at the water, feeling so lucky.”
He says that homosexuality was taboo when he was growing up and it affected his decision to hide his identity.
“There was so much early input about the horror of homosexuality,” Grey says. “I remember hearing the sound of my family talking about ‘fagelehs’ — Yiddish for little birds — and hearing all the other words, like ‘faggot.’ I remember I heard very early in my life about men being entrapped. I thought, this is bad. And we didn’t know any gay people, except a pianist that my father hired. They loved him — but he was marked.”
The actor, who is the father to “Dirty Dancing” star Jennifer Grey, says that one of his goals had always been to have children.
“I always wanted children, to be a dad,” Grey says. “That was as important to me as being an actor.”
Grey has had an extensive Broadway career in productions such as “Chicago,” “Cabaret” and “Anything Goes” among others.
Celebrity News
More than 1 million people attend Madonna concert in Rio
Free event took place on Copacabana Beach on Saturday
An estimated 1.6 million people on Saturday attended Madonna’s free concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach.
The concert, which was the last one as part of Madonna’s Celebration Tour, included a tribute to people lost to AIDS.
Bob the Drag Queen introduced Madonna before the concert began. Pabllo Vittar, a Brazilian drag queen and singer, and Anitta, a bisexual pop star who was born in Rio’s Honório Gurgel neighborhood, also joined Madonna on stage.
Congresswoman Erika Hilton, a Black travesti and former sex worker, and Rio Municipal Councilwoman Mônica Benício, the widow of Marielle Franco, a bisexual Rio Municipal Councilwoman who was assassinated in 2018, are among those who attended the concert.
“Madonna showed that we fight important fights for the human rights of Black (people), young (people), women and LGBTQIA+ people, and against all injustice, discrimination, and violence,” said Associaçao Nacional de Travestis e Transexuais (National Association of Travestis and Transsexuals), a Brazilian trans rights group known by the acronym ANTRA, on its X account. “What they call identitarianism’ is our subversion to the retrograde and conservative tackiness that plagues the country.”
The Associated Press reported the concert was Madonna’s biggest ever.
The DC Center for the LGBTQ Community, SMYAL and Rainbow Families sponsored Gay Day at the Zoo on Sunday at the Smithsonian National Zoo. The Smithsonian observed International Family Equality Day with special exhibits and an event space.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Covering Gay Day at the Zoo for @WashBlade . Here at @NationalZooDC pic.twitter.com/LqgGNOOAiM
— Michael Patrick Key (@MichaelKeyWB) May 5, 2024
Photos
PHOTOS: Taste of Point
Annual fundraiser held for LGBTQ youth scholarship, mentorship organization
The Point Foundation held its annual Taste of Point fundraiser at Room & Board on May 2.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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