In a new interview with the LA Times, out actor Sean Hayes addresses some of the personal battles he fought being a closeted actor during his time on the LGBT inclusive TV series Will and Grace:
“I was so young. It made me go back in the closet [with the media] because I was so overwhelmed at 26 or 27. I didn't want the responsibility, I didn't know how to handle the responsibility of speaking for the gay community,” Hayes told the Los Angeles times.
“I always felt like I owed them a huge apology for coming out too late. Some people in the gay community were very upset with me for not coming out on their terms. They don't stop to think about what's going on in somebody's personal life, and the struggles that they're having. It was all very scary. We got death threats. It was a really rough time for me, but I was also having the time of my life.”
Hayes has a new series that's currently struggling with ratings and the critics. You have to wonder if this is a bit of outreach to the LGBT community coming a bit too late? And perhaps to help his struggling series?
I do get irritated when many in the gay "community" demand that someone come out. We can't decide when the right time is for others to make that step, and I'm sure glad I had the opportunity to come to that place on my own terms. The only exception I can think of is the closeted individual who is an intentional detractor of LGBT individuals. Then, IMHO, he/she has opened that door.
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