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Sean Hayes Officially Comes Out

Posted by: Natasia Rose on March 8, 2010.

03/08/2010- by Natasia Langfelder

Sean Hayes, best known as Jack from Will and Grace, formally came out to The Advocate. There has been much speculation about Hayes’ sexuality. He was flamboyantly lovable as Jack and while his persona from the show did not follow him off the screen, he still triggered everyone’s gaydar. So much so, that the LGBT community has been slightly frustrated with him for never being “out and proud.” It has been four years since Will and Grace ended and Hayes now has a Broadway show to shill, Promises Promises, so in an effort to gain back his relvalence and rebuild his LGBT audience, Hayes sat down with the Advocate for their April Issue.

In the interview, Hayes explains why he didn’t come out sooner:

Suddenly everyone wanted to know if Hayes himself was gay and how he felt about playing a gay character. Faced with the very real prospect of jeopardizing his chance at landing straight roles down the road, he started reciting stock answers, variations on what he told the Detroit Free Press early on: “When I play a gay character I want to be as believable as possible. And when I’m playing a straight character I also want to be as believable as possible. So the less that people know about my personal life, the more believable I can be as a character.” And Hayes never pretended to be something he wasn’t; he never walked some pretty woman down the red carpet or faked a straight relationship.

Hayes goes on to explain that he really believed that if he didn’t share his personal life, he wouldn’t be typecast. However, studio execs couldn’t get past the “Jack” persona, despite the ambiguity of Hayes’ personal life. The interview also covers the bad blood between Hayes and the LGBT media, including the Advocate who have ran mean spirited stories on him the past, because he had not officially come out. Hayes addresses this:

And there’s the press. To this day he feels burned by a story that ran in this magazine in anticipation of the series finale of Will & Grace. Titled “Sean Hayes: The Interview He Never Gave,” the one-page “Q&A” was a clip job of quotes he’d given to other publications through the years that made him look rather silly for pretending no one knows he’s gay. Hayes’s sexuality had become an open secret in Hollywood, but he’d refused repeated offers to be interviewed by the magazine, and the then-editors of The Advocate felt entitled to the real story. Understandably, that didn’t sit well with Hayes. “Really? You’re gonna shoot the gay guy down? I never have had a problem saying who I am,” he states.

“I am who I am. I was never in, as they say. Never,” he insists.

“People have the right to make personal decisions, and I think for him to deal with it now is exceedingly courageous,” says Howard Bragman, a public relations pro who specializes in advising high-profile clients who are coming out, as he did recently with Meredith Baxter. Bragman has not advised Hayes. “The research says if somebody knows a gay person, they’re going to be more in favor of our civil rights,” Bragman says. “And tens of millions of people know Sean and love him. This is an old friend telling us he’s gay, and it’s going to resonate.”

“He is a private person,” his Promises, Promises costar Kristin Chenoweth says in her friend’s defense. “Just because we’re performers doesn’t mean we are that person. He’s known for his character on Will & Grace, but that’s not who he is. So I’m glad that he feels free to talk [now], but let me tell you something: Sean has never hidden anything. I don’t think he was ever pretending to be anything he wasn’t. And that’s what to respect.”

“I believe that nobody owes anything to anybody,” Hayes says, so worked up that he repeats the line. “Nobody owes anything to anybody. You are your authentic self to whom and when you choose to be, and if you don’t know somebody, then why would you explain to them how you live your life?”

Finally, Hayes gets to his true point: “I feel like I’ve contributed monumentally to the success of the gay movement in America, and if anyone wants to argue that, I’m open to it. You’re welcome, Advocate.”

That sarcasm and anger cover up years of genuinely hurt feelings. “Why would you go down that path with somebody who’s done so much to contribute to the gay community?” he asks. “That was my beef about it. What more do you want me to do? Do you want me to stand on a float? And then what? It’s never enough.

Read the rest of this riveting interview here

Hayes really does seem to have struggled with pleasing his fans and letting down the LGBT community. His funny, vibrant self emerges in the interview and he will most likely win back his fanbase, as well as aquire fans who weren’t crazy about Will and Grace. . Congratulations on coming out of the closet Sean!