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Barry Manilow opened up about conserving his sexuality a secret due to his fears popping out would jeopardize his career.
During a current interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the 80-year-old singer, who revealed he was homosexual in 2017, shared that he struggled with hiding his sexual orientation for years.
“I didn’t want my career to go away. I love it. I’m grateful for it. But it was a burden to keep it quiet,” Manilow stated. “I was always worried.
Barry Manilow admitted hiding his sexuality was a “burden,” and he was “at all times anxious.” (Martin Schoeller/NBC via Getty Images)
“Every interview, ‘They’re going to ask me whether or not I’m homosexual or not.’ Nobody ever did, by the best way. They by no means requested me the $64 query.”
The Grammy Award winner recalled an exchange that he said he had with Clive Davis in the 1980s during which the record producer noted that music legend Elton John’s career was damaged after he revealed his sexual orientation.
“He stated, ‘You know, Elton John came out as bisexual. No artist should ever do that. It’ll harm your career,'” Manilow told the outlet.
Manilow came out as gay in 2017 and married longtime partner Garry Kief in 2014. (Steve Granitz/WireImage)
John, 76, came out as bisexual at the age of 29 in a 1976 interview with Rolling Stone. The “Bennie and the Jets” singer was a global rock star at the time. When he was 45 in 1992, John said he was “fairly snug being homosexual” throughout one other interview with Rolling Stone.
Davis, 91, revealed that he was bisexual in his 2013 memoir, “The Soundtrack of My Life.” The five-time Grammy Award winner, who was previously married to Janet Adelburg and Helen Cohen, wrote that he has had relationships with men since the late 1970s.
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However, Davis told The Hollywood Reporter he did not recall having the conversation that Manilow remembered.
“We by no means went there,” Davis told the outlet. “Had it come up, to analyze what the impression can be, I might have stated it’s a dangerous proposition to a career. But we by no means had the dialog about whether or not he ought to come out as a result of he by no means stated to me that he was homosexual.”
The singer recalled a conversation he had with Clive Davis about Elton John’s career after coming out. (Bruce Glikas/WireImage)
Manilow met his husband Garry Kief in 1978, and the two married in April 2014. The singer was previously married to his high school sweetheart Susan Diexler. The two tied the knot in 1964 but had their marriage annulled a year later.
The singer explained his decision to hide his sexuality in a 2017 interview with People magazine during which he revealed that he was gay for the first time.
During the interview, Manilow discussed his longtime romance with Kief. In 2015, reports of his sexuality and marriage to Kief first emerged, which he described as “a blessing and a curse.” He told People he kept his sexuality hidden out of fear that he would be letting down his fans.
“I believed I might be disappointing them in the event that they knew I used to be homosexual. So, I by no means did something,” Manilow explained.
However, Manilow shared that his fans were supportive when he came out.
Manilow and Kief first began dating in 1978. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
“When they discovered that Garry and I have been collectively, they have been so joyful. The response was so stunning — strangers commenting, ‘Great for you!’ I’m simply so grateful for it,” he stated.
The New York native advised People he knew he had met the appropriate particular person when he first began courting Kief.
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“I knew that this was it,” Manilow recalled. “I used to be one of many fortunate ones. I used to be fairly lonely earlier than that.”
Manilow said he has always wanted to keep his private life out of the spotlight.
“I’m so non-public. I at all times have been,” he stated.
Manilow feared coming out would disappoint his fans but said their reaction was “stunning.” (Arturo Holmes/Getty Images)
During a 2017 interview with the Chicago Sun-Times, Manilow opened up about being a stepfather to Kirsten Kief, 47, Kief’s daughter from a previous marriage.
“We have a daughter, Garry’s organic daughter, Kirsten, and we raised her collectively all these years,” the “Copacabana” singer said. “Kirsten’s turned out to be some of the stunning and smartest girls you’ll ever meet.”
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In an October interview with People, Manilow shared his joy over becoming a grandfather for the first time after Kirsten adopted a baby girl.
“Garry’s daughter Kirsten adopted a bit woman, and so I’m now a grandfather,” he said. “I’ve by no means, ever considered having a child or having something to do with [being] a father or any of that.
“I’m watching this little girl — she’s 2½ — grow up and learn. This is a brand new experience for me, and I really am enjoying it.”
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