The Gist

Gay-Married and Closeted?

We're used to secretly gay people getting into heterosexual marriages as part of their denial and cover-up. But this item about Queen Latifah raises a whole new issue: closeted gay people in closeted gay marriages!

Sure, the source quoted is the National Enquirer, so you take the news here -- that she is going to get married -- with a grain of salt. But the rest isn't news: Latifah has never outright denied she is a lesbian -- she just wants her privacy, she says -- and the rumors have long been discussed in the media re: her being in a relationship with her personal trainer, Jeannette Jenkins, pictured here. So, if it is true that she is going to get married, does she have any right to continue this charade and tell people her sexual orientation is none of their business?

A state-sanctioned marriage is a public record, so even a non-public figure would have no legal right to claim an invasion of privacy. But more than that, if people like Latifah are going to partake of the rights that we openly gay people have won, isn't it time she, a very privileged woman, stop this ridiculous cover-up? It's bad enough we have to deal with closeted gay single (or heterosexually-married) celebrities, but I'll be damned if I'm going to stand for closeted gay and lesbian celebrities who are secretly in gay marriages!