When read that Ricky Martin had come out of the closet, I was not terribly surprised. Nor was anyone.
Glenn Reynolds said this was the “BOTTOM story of the day,” and quipped,”Who’s next — Elton John?”
Don’t laugh. People are still guessing about Richard Simmons. Will such pesky rumors never cease?
As to the merits, I have to agree with Glenn. Ricky just does not strike me as a top.
But — since the specific details are subject to speculation, can’t we at least play Name That Party? I think the general lack of attention paid to this story is probably evidence that Ricky is not a Republican, and even though he was once excoriated for performing at the White House “when Bush was on top,” the fact that no one is accusing him of “hypocrisy” probably clinches it. A cardinal rule of modern politics is that if you are a Republican, all sexual activity outside of strict missionary-position-sex between a husband and a wife constitutes “hypocrisy” of the worst sort.
Plus, he said this:
President Obama got the Nobel Peace Prize! That’s fantastic! Foreign relations sucked! Obama brought the world together in many ways
Well, I’m sure glad foreign relations no longer suck! I’m sure the Israelis are too.
MORE: Ann Althouse calls Ricky’s coming out “only a play for our attention, after all else has failed.”
All the more reason for him (and his agent) to consider the benefits of registering Republican and then outing himself.
Come on, Ricky! I absolutely guarantee you’d get more attention!
Comments
4 responses to “It would take more courage to come out as a Republican.”
Regarding the mention of Richard Simmons, you *really* need to see the episode of Whose Line that he starred as a guest on. No guessing needed; much of the humor came from him having the hots for Wayne Brady, but the whole episode was pretty hilarious. And that’s just the regular part; who knows if they had outtakes from that episode they wouldn’t dare air.
Enrique Martin es a menudas.
In other news, Obama came out as a flaming Socialist. But neither news was very unexpected.
I think Althouse often has a shrewd sense of these things, but in Martin’s case, that doesn’t ring very true to me. I always got the sense that the super-huge success he had for a while after that performance at the Grammys a decade ago was a surprise to him, and that everything that was subsequently expected of him made him uncomfortable. He was pushed relentlessly on the public by his label for two or so more albums, and he went along with it, obviously, but I never got that genuine fame-whore vibe off him. (As I understood it, he was one of those celebs who genuinely tried to stay away from the reporters and photogs during his private time, rather than doing that pretend-to-be-scandalized-and-run-away-down-the-beach thing that a lot of them do.)
That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if the efflorescence and then deliquescence of his popularity did have something to do with his coming out now. Once your attention isn’t being pulled in a million different directions by people wanting a piece of the It Boy, presumably all you’re left with is yourself. If you’ve felt like a big phony for years, it makes sense that you might want to set the record straight as a way of starting over.