Custom Closet Experts

A friend of mine linked on Facebook to a story claiming that "Queen Latifah Comes Out of the Closet (Finally)."  The best part about it is the automated advertisement (it may not be there when you click through) that reads "You Imagine, We Build and Guarantee! Custom Closet Experts Since 1985."

The story, not so much.  It's a gossip site, and the core of the story is something that had already crossed my digital path about a week ago, that Latifah is going to headline a Pride festival in Long Beach.  Apparently even participating in a Pride event is a first for her, but it isn't coming out.  Lots of straight friends, relatives, supporters, allies, and celebrities have done as much.  Call me old-fashioned, but coming out means saying "Yeah, I'm gay" or the equivalent.

Comments on the story are even worse, the usual "I have never understood why gay celebs are forced to come out" kind of crap.  Or the "its the gay advocate extremists that want to force celebs out with hopes that they will become a new voice for their agenda. The rest of us dont really give a dayum" kind of crap.  A couple of people talk sense, most talk trash.  We've been through all this before; I've written about Queen Latifah before, in 2008 when similar rumors were circulating about her.

But I'm not being fair to Queen Latifah.  She hasn't claimed that she's come out -- it was the gossip-monger who posted the story, who apparently is working through a personal vendetta of her own: according to the writer, she was "the first to break the scoop" that Latifah had broken up with her longtime girlfriend and "began dating a choreographer."  The blogger says that her "scoop resulted in Latifah yanking advertising for her television projects" from her site, which apparently gives her license to spread a false story.  Her source carefully avoids making any claims about the significance of Latifah's appearance beyond its being "a tremendous testament to the popularity of our celebration and to the strength of our community."  And to all my friends, read beyond the freaking headlines of stories like this.

I was going to add some snide remarks about President Obama's late-breaking endorsement of same-sex marriage, but I'll save them for a separate post.