Tom Selleck says playing gay TV reporter in “In & Out” helped end gay rumors about him

We all remember that long kiss Tom Selleck planted on Kevin Kline in In & Out, right?

There were plenty of people who advised the Magnum PI and Blue Bloods star against taking the role.

‘I was playing a closeted gay television reporter and a tabloid had said I was gay just a few years earlier,’ Selleck says in the current issue of TV Guide.

But after starring in the box office hit Three Men and a Baby and its sequel, Selleck was keen to do another good comedy and In & Out fit the bill.

It was about midwestern teacher (Kline) who questions his sexuality after a former student makes a comment about him at the Academy Awards. The film also starred Joan Cusack, Debbie Reynolds, Matt Dillon and Bob Newhart, among others.

Says Selleck: ‘I said, "I’ve been trying to do ensemble comedy forever and this is one of the best ensembles I’ve ever seen." Because I had sued several tabloids for falsely saying I was gay, people were saying I was anti-gay.

‘Playing the role ended both those rumors.’

Selleck has been married to actress Jillie Mack since 1987 and they have a daughter.