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Celebs Have Easier Time Coming Out These Days, Says 'Entertainment Weekly'
The cover story of this week's Entertainment Weekly, "The New Art of Coming Out in Hollywood," explores the changing ways that celebrities are choosing to come out.
The story is informed in part by Jim Parsons' (The Big Bang Theory) recent decision to reveal that he's gay. Parsons quietly came out in a May 23 interview with the New York Times, in which reporter Patrick Healy noted halfway through a profile of Parsons that "Mr. Parsons is gay and in a 10-year relationship, and working with an ensemble again onstage was like nourishment, he said."
The EW story goes on to note that the new normal for coming out appears to be just what Parsons did: a simple statement of fact, implying (correctly) that being gay is just one more facet of a celebrity's life.
Granted, it's way, way, way too soon to say that coming out in America is not a big deal, or that people in parts of the country that are perhaps a little less tolerant will not potentially suffer greatly -- or even face physical danger -- should they choose to tell their community that they're gay.
But progress is progress, and accepting stars for who they are is a step in the right direction.
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