Barry Manilow
Remember, Barry Manilow lived through not just the HIV/AIDS crisis, but also many anti-gay waves in the 90’s and so much more. Thus, he only came out to fans in 2017. He’s been married to Garry Kief since 2014. However, he told PEOPLE that he didn’t come out sooner, since “I thought I would be disappointing them if they knew I was gay. So I never did anything.”
Barry Manilow
Harvey Fierstein
Actually, Harvey Fierstein is one of the first openly LGBTQ celebrities in Hollywood who didn’t really need to come out. Maybe you know him as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray, the hilarious mother or for his Tony winning Kinky Boots. During his 1983 interview with Barbara Walters, he spoke about his work promoting gay-themed Broadway shows as a gay man. Then in 2012 he told CBS, “I never came out…I didn’t knwo what it was to be ‘in,’ so I was never’out.'” Fierstein was openly gay before many celebrities were, and has been an advocate for many years.
Harvey Fierstein