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Joel Grey comes out publicly at 82!

Love that he’s done this.

Joel Grey, who won the Academy Award for his performance in Cabaret FORTY TWO years ago, has come out publicly as a gay man.

‘I don’t like labels, but if you have to put a label on it, I’m a gay man,’ Grey tells People Magazine.

‘All the people close to me have known for years who I am,’ he adds. ‘[Yet] it took time to embrace that other part of who I always was.’

Grey, 82, has the staunch support of his daughter, actress Jennifer Grey of Dirty Dancing fame.

‘I feel very happy for my dad that he has come to a point in his life where he feels safe and comfortable enough to declare himself in a public way as a gay man,’ Jennifer Grey tells the magazine.

‘Mostly because the more people are free to own their true nature and can hopefully come closer to love and accept themselves as they really are, no matter what age, no matter how long it takes, to finally be free of the lies or half truths, it is freedom.’

Grey is also the father of a son, James Grey, who is a chef. They are the children from his 24-year marriage to Jo Wilder which ended in divorce in 1982.

He recalls as a kid ‘hearing the grownups talk in the next room, my mother included, talking derisively about ‘fairies’ and men being dragged off to jail and even worse for being who they were.’

It was at this time ‘I came to realize, along with being attracted to girls, I had similar feelings for boys.’

Grey is best known for portraying the Master of Ceremonies in both the stage and film versions of the musical Cabaret. He has won the Academy Award, Tony Award, and Golden Globe Award for the role.

FILE UNDER: Coming Out

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4 Remarks

  1. Well, don’t know about anyone else, but I’ve known this for decades.

  2. Good for Joel Grey! That’s wonderful. As for knowing about this for decades, I can ponder or guess, but I don’t assume to know anyone’s sexuality unless they state it.

  3. I’ve always suspected it. He’s an amazing talent, and I’m glad he’s in a place where he’s more comfy in his own skin!

  4. He’s a brave man and this is a great thing. Growing up when he did the pressure was even stronger than it is today to stay in the closet, especially when you’re a celebrity. It shows you’re never too old to be true to yourself and be an inspiration:)

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