Barry Manilow spilled the beans on his covert operation of concealing his true colors – and we’re not talking about his fabulous collection of sequined stage outfits. The 80-year-old crooner decided to throw open the closet doors and let the glitter fly in a People cover story back in 2017, officially declaring, “Hey world, I’m gay, and I’ve been hiding it like a treasure map in a pirate movie.”
In a recent chit-chat with The Hollywood Reporter, Barry took a stroll down memory lane, recalling the days when he was more closeted than a magician’s rabbit. He spilled the tea on his anxieties about bursting out of the closet like a disco ball at Studio 54.
“I didn’t want my career to pull a disappearing act,” he confessed, as if his career was a Houdini trick gone wrong. “I mean, I love singing into microphones and all that jazz. But keeping my true identity hush-hush felt like lugging around a suitcase full of maracas – heavy and noisy!”
Barry, the maestro of melodious tunes, admitted that he was constantly on edge. “Every interview, I was like, ‘Oh great, here comes the million-dollar question: are you or aren’t you?’ But no one ever popped the question, not even for a game of musical chairs.”
The singer reminisced about a chat he claimed to have had with music bigwig Clive Davis back in the neon-soaked 1980s. According to Barry, Clive tried to steer him away from the rainbow path, warning, “Elton John did that bisexual thing, and look what happened – it was like playing Russian roulette with his career.” (Note: Elton came out as bisexual in 2013 and is still rocking those bedazzled sunglasses).
However, in a surprising twist, Clive Davis threw some shade back, denying ever having that heart-to-heart. “I never had that convo with Barry,” he countered, as if the conversation was just another elusive Barry Manilow hit – a rare B-side, perhaps. “If we had discussed it, I might have said, ‘Coming out is like juggling flaming torches on a tightrope – it’s a bit risky for your showbiz survival.’ But hey, we never went there!”
Barry Manilow’s journey from keeping mum to belting it out in rainbow-colored glory. It turns out, the man who made us all swoon with “Copacabana” had his own secret dance party going on behind closed doors. Talk about a disco inferno!
