Fox News anchor Shepard Smith OUTED

[d59cy6]

From the Washington Blade:

Cooper isn’t the only well-known TV personality hiding his sexual orientation. Shepard Smith, who hosts a popular program on Fox News and received widespread praise for his work covering Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath, also dodges questions about his sexual orientation.

Smith once chatted me up in a New York City gay piano bar, bought me drinks, and invited me back to his place. When I declined, he asked me to dinner the next night, another invitation I politely refused.

We sat at the bar chatting and drinking martinis until 3 a.m., our conversation interrupted only when he paused to belt out the lyrics to whatever showtune was being performed.

Out, out damn celebs!

[TallahasseeGrannie]

1. Not that I really care

but how do we know this guy is telling the truth?

[rpannier]

3. I'm sort of sceptical as well

A guy like Smith would probably be more discreet. The showtune thing also makes me wonder if this story isn't bogus.

[Atlas Mugged]

10. Well....

....3am and sucking down martinis?

Stranger things have happened.

I'm skeptical myself, but, having spent years working in DC nothing surprises me. Case in point: I was at a party with a small, mixed crowd. One of the people was a charming, very plump and VERY gay young man. He was damned funny so I spent a good part of the evening talking to him. Turned out he worked in Jesse Helms' office. I was hammering him with questions, especially since Helms was so vocally anti-gay, but he insisted that Helms was nice to work for and made no issue of gay or overweight employees.

And that's just a minor example. I could tell quite a few eyebrow raising stories, but why bother with the skepticism and challenges for proof?

[rpannier]

14. I believe you

I try to take people at their word and what you say doesn't sound impossible at all. I just thought the showtune comment sounded too much like the stereotypical gays love showtunes thing.

[ronnykmarshall]

24. That's called

selling your soul.

I have NO, NADA, ZERO, ZILCH respect for ANY gay man or lesbian that could work for a son of a bitch like Jessie Helms.

I don't care now fucking "nice" they are.

[koopie57]

5. we think alike

oh, he is copying from a news article. I thought he was talking about himself.

nevermind me, I just got up *hangs head*

[sarcasmo]

2. Outing in public shouldn't be funny, but for some reason this one is funny

These religious freaks on the right who watch Smith would want him to attend their change back to straight class at their church

[kevinbgoode]

4. I'm not too sure about that. . .

for some reason, they never seem to pressure their own to attend conversion therapy. . .maybe its a fear that if their wacky voodoo incantations could work at those clinics, they'd lose all their fundraising capability among the haters and their own children are a sort of "victims of last resort"....hehehe.

[GrpCaptMandrake]

6. There is something about this column

that doesn't pass the smell test.

The opinionist here conflates people like David Dreier, Ken Mehlman and Slithering Scotty McClellan with entertainers/journalists like Cooper, ShepSmith and Jodie Foster.

It doesn't work.

The former triad deserves whatever comes its way because they actively pursue and support gay-baiting, gay-hating agendas. They're like the Sonderkommandos of old, death camp inmates who blithely stoked the ovens while their Nazi overlords stuffed the ovens with their brothers and sisters; in many ways worse than the Nazis themselves.

The latter group however, neither confirm nor deny their orientation. Neither do they actively work to keep others' closet doors closed. They are incredibly public figures trying to preserve some element of privacy.

Does the opinionist not believe in the right to privacy? Note to Wingnuts: you've got another membership card to send out.

There must be a responsilbe nexus for "outting" people. And that nexus lies in the question as to whether a person hides his or her orientation behind a political/religious smokescreen that oppresses others. Those hateful people need to be strapped into a Dorothy dress and shoved into the human parade.

And never mind Anderson Cooper. Someone needs to get the goods on Phlush Phlegmball. He's the biggest closet case in America.

http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/archive.cgi?noframes;read=25908

[TallahasseeGrannie]

8. Well said.

[GrpCaptMandrake]

11. Thanks, Grannie! n/t

[bluedawg12]

15. Well, said. I always wonder if outing a homophobic

isn't just another way of perpetuating shame?

It's like saying nothing is wrong with being gay- and here, your gay aren't you ashamed?

I understand the idea of exposing hypocrisy- but it doesn't seem to come out as hypocrisy- it comes out as let's embarrass someone for being gay. So, what if it's not embarrassing?

[moose65]

7. I'm conflicted about this...

On the one hand, the decision to come out is a personal one that should not be foisted upon anyone against their will (with the exception of hypocritical wingnuts who publicly denounce gays.) It took me years to get my own head straight enough (no pun intended) to be able to say "I'm gay" to friends and family. On the other hand, once a celebrity acknowledges that he/she is gay, it almost immediately becomes a non-issue. No one talks about Rosie or Ellen or Melissa being gay anymore... all the speculation is gone and there are no more rumors, and it hasn't hurt their careers ONE BIT. Maybe people like Cooper and Smith relish the controversy. If they came out, the mystery would be solved. In reality, it shouldn't matter if someone is gay or not. So they shouldn't make a big deal out of it either... just say "Yeah, I'm gay.... what's your point"?

[William769]

9. I know for a fact he';s telling the truth.

But I don't kiss & tell.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

12. oooooooohhhh

[mitchtv]

21. also , Granny, this is not the first time

a story by DU'rs about SS has graced these forums. Some have been more credible and documented. Therefore , as stand alone this thread is valuless, but combined with other threads it starts to expose a little glitter in the mascara.

[ronnykmarshall]

26. "Stand Alone" is the key word ....

From what I've heard La Shep STANDS pretty TALL ...... if ya know what I mean.

[ronnykmarshall]

25. I knew you'd sniff this thread out!

:evilgrin:

[LoKnLoD]

13. So that explains all the makeup!

just kidding... but it is really caked on.

[arwalden]

17. It's Not The Mascara That Bothers Me... But That His Eyes Are So FAR APART

It's almost like he could have been a fish... with eyes on both sides of his head.

[IntravenousDemilo]

16. It's a private matter, and I really have issues with outing people

against their will unless they've spoken out against other gay people (especially to further their own careers, like Dave Dreier) or helped to further someone else's anti-gay agenda (Jim/Jeff Gannon/Guckert). After that, the gloves are off, and they deserve what they get.

But as far as I know, Shepard Smith has never done either, which makes it nobody's damn business, especially that of the Washington Blade.

Should Fox fire him because of this, I'd sue them if I were Smith. I might even be tempted to sue The Blade for loss of potential earnings.

[d59cy6]

18. But it has NEVER been a private issue

I never understand the argument of 'privacy' about sexual orientation. Yes, your particular preferred sexual acts or fetishes may be something you want to keep private. But what half of the human race someone is sexually attracted to has NEVER been an issue of secrecy or privacy. Do you honestly think Bush asked the permission of his bedroom sex partner, Laura, whether or not he could 'out' her when he paraded her onstage at the Republican Convention. For that matter, look at the website of any prominant Republican politician. They alway always feature their families and their domestic partners (because naturally they see devotion to their spouse as a matter of values and honor). I never remember once the press or the public complaining when Dick Cheney spoke publicly about his straight daughter and her partner. Do you really think he asked her in advance if he could 'out' her private lifestyle choice by mentioning she has a husband?

Why are gays the only ones expected to keep quiet and shrouded in secrecy? I have never ever met a straight guy who refused to say whether or not he was attracted to woman. In fact quite the opposite. The majority of single straight guys can't shut up about woman they think are hot. Why aren't they concerned with their 'privacy'? When a guy hits on a woman or asks her out in a public setting, does he first ask her if he can 'out' her by asking her (because for all he knows she is lesbian).

We need to stop perpetuating the myth that gay people are nasty and should be kept hidden from children and people with wholesome values. The existence of homosexuals is just a simple fact of life and not a matter of privacy at all. Yes, there are people who discriminate horribly. But that wrong doesn't change reality.

[IntravenousDemilo]

19. First of all, for some reason or other, you're ignoring that I make a

distinction between outing oneself, which is a matter of personal choice, and outing someone else against his or her will.

Second, Bush didn't "out" his wife as heterosexual when he paraded her onstage at the Republican convention. Laura pretty much outed herself when as a young woman she openly dated men, then got married to a man from a prominent, public family in front of a large group of people, registered her marriage with the state, and proclaimed her love of someone from the opposite sex in front of her congregation.

Third, the reason gays "keep quiet and shrouded in secrecy" is that, unfortunately, our orientation is subject to the opprobrium of society at large. That is the current reality of the situation, and I'm sure I don't have to explain to you what kind of bad treatment we have suffered at the hands of straights and the gay quislings who actively support them while keeping their own sexuality hidden.

So if people wish to open themselves up to the possibility of being ridiculed, discriminated against, financially pressured, shunned by their families, beaten up, or murdered, that is their business, and they are very brave to do so. Not everyone is that brave, and not everyone comes out without unpleasant consequences. It's simply not fair to others to expose them against their will, so long as they haven't been traitors to their sexuality by being apologists for homophobes or by directly or indirectly furthering homophobic ends. It's a gross invasion of privacy.

Let's take Tom Cruise as an example. If he is gay and doesn't wish to say so because it will adversely affect his income and his status as a movie star, it's not up to us to condemn him. As far as I know, he's never referred to gay people as bad or unclean or anything of the sort. If he has done no harm to gay people as a homosexual himself (and I'm not saying he is), then it's churlish and ignoble to wish him harm. And you know, what if he IS straight? Do you think it's right to imply otherwise if doing so will hurt him or his career?

Outing people isn't going to "stop perpetuating the myth that gay people are nasty". Education, enlightenment, and time are the only things that will do that. Are we so insecure that we can't have the strength of our convictions without having to swell the number of open homosexuals against their will? That's not pride to me. We shouldn't be so desperate for self-validation if it's at the expense of innocent people. After all, if there were only ONE gay in the entire world, it wouldn't make his or her sexuality any less of a blessing.

[d59cy6]

20. I slightly disagree...

"Laura pretty much outed herself when as a young woman she openly dated men"

But that is what Shepard Smith is doing. Also, specifically when Cheney 'outed' his straight daughter in an interview and referred to her opposite-sex bedroom partner (aka husband) it had not been widely known that she was heterosexual. Any more than the lesbian daughter Mary who is living openly with her lover Heather Poe in Colorado. Yet the press glossed over the 'outing' of the straight daughter and condemned the mention of the lesbian daughter. Yet both were already equally public about their so-called intimate bedroom lifestyle (I find that an offensive term. But if straights use it to trivialize our lives then it should apply to theirs).

Also, I agree totally that the prejudice and hardships you mention exist. But again that does not change reality. You cannot honor the dishonest and harmful framework created by the oppressor. Blacks don't stay in underground protective bunkers because they might experience discrimination when someone suddenly sees their skin color.

"Let's take Tom Cruise as an example. If he is gay and doesn't wish to say"

This does not make sense. Tom Cruise is already completely open about his sexual lifestyle choice. He has said repeatedly he is straight. He is not concerned about some kind of so-called 'privacy' surrounding his identity. He has no problem introducing his female bedroom sex partners to the public as he has done repeatedly. He has 'outed' himself thousands of times.

"without having to swell the number of open homosexuals against their will? That's not pride to me."

Again, this is a myth. Gay people aren't required to have any more special pride than straights. It is another stereotype that staights only want superstar goody-two-shoes gays to come out (ie excellent students, business stars, military heroes). Gays have just as much right to be boring, stupid, beer-drinking couch potatoes. Gays can even be felons and druggies. It doesn't have any bearing on the fact that gays still exist in every type.

"if he has done no harm to gay people as a homosexual himself (and I'm not saying he is), then it's churlish and ignoble to wish him harm."

I don't agree that the truth about someone's sexual orientation should be used as a weapon as you suggest against someone who has done harm to gay people. I see orientation as a simple human characteristic like gender or skin color. Yet by your own standard, then Sheperd Smith should definitely be 'outed'. Fox is by it's own admission a GOP and Bush Administration outlet. Have you ever read the Republican Platform? It specifically condemns and demonizes lgbt people. Did you know that Bush insists that the Constitution itself should be changed forever to specifically strip gays of the right to marry? Sheperd Smith is an enthusiastic member of that group. It's like saying you can belong to the KKK, but have your own private non-racist views.

[ronnykmarshall]

27. Let's NOT take La Cruise.

I really hope that motherfucker is NOT gay. Which is not the case as rumors 'round these parts go.

IF and IF he were to ever come out ..... he would be as welcome in the gay community as a compelete ban of Broadway Cast CD's.

Miss Cruise can keep her sorry ass in the closet forever as far as I'm concerned.

[Chovexani]

22. One problem with this article

Anderson Cooper isn't hiding shit. He just believes in keeping his private life to himself, and that it's none of anyone else's goddamn business. Which I completely agree with.

Too many media personalities, no matter what their orientation, make TMI into an artform.

[ronnykmarshall]

28. I got something for Anderson to hide.

:evilgrin:

[ronnykmarshall]

23. I hear he's a power bottom.

[terrya]

30. I know at Datalounge that "Shep" is referred to as "The Tripod"

Just some gossip. Take it for what it's worth. :-)

[ronnykmarshall]

31. Mmmmmmm Hmmmmmm!

That's what I heard too.

[khashka]

29. Actually this is not news

They published this story some time ago (not naming names).

I'm not really in favour of outing people.... but if you accept money from misogynistic, homophobic monsters, you're not entirely pure.

And if you don't want people to know what you're doing... maybe you shouldn't be doing it? Just a thought.

Khash.