Just Jack just came out. Four years after ending his run as Will & Grace’s scene-stealing sidekick, Sean Hayes has confirmed the long-swirling rumors of his sexuality by proudly taking this month’s cover of The Advocate. “I am who I am,” the 39-year-old Emmy winner told the magazine. “I was never in, as they say. Never.” As for why Hayes waited so long to speak so candidly about his personal life, well, there’s one simple reason: It was—and despite his sudden forthcomingness, remains—nobody’s business. “I believe that nobody owes anything to anybody,” he said. “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?” And despite his previous reluctance to go on record about his personal life, Hayes still rightly feels he has done more than his part for the community. “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.”

Sean Hayes’s spirited comments from this new Advocate magazine interview continue after the jump …

However, the road to his coming out was long, and Hayes is not without disappointment for those who did their best to out him before he was ready, including the Advocate itself. “Why would you go down that path with somebody who’s done so much to contribute to the gay community?” he asked. “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. That’s the thing about celebrity: It sets you up to fail because the expectation is so high of what’s needed, what’s wanted from you that the second you don’t [meet it], you disappoint people.” As for whether his disclosure will cost the erstwhile Jack McFarland any future jobs, he can’t say. “They know where I am if they want me,” he said. “And if they don’t, that’s fine, too.” Still, Hayes, about to make his Broadway debut alongside Kristin Chenoweth in Promises, Promises, isn’t divulging everything about his private life. While he confirms that he’s in a relationship, that’s about the extent of the details he’s dishing. “I spend time with a special someone in my life,” he said. “That’s it. That’s all I need. I don’t need events. I don’t do a lot. I live my life like an 85-year-old man. I’m just quiet. It’s fantastic.”

While I LOVE Sean Hayes for being so open in this interview, I do take a bit of issue over his contention that “celebrity … sets you up to fail”. Actually, IMHO, people seek celebrity for fame and fortune and they set themselves up for the spoils AND the negative aspects that are bundled up with fame. Celebs need to take responsibility in that respect. But I digress … I’m certain it will be very therapeutic and cathartic for Hayes to get this off his chest. As I said, it comes as a surprise to no one … and now it’s no longer an issue :) Well done, Sean!! Click HERE to read the full online version of Sean Hayes’s interview with The Advocate magazine.

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Most people know Meredith Baxter as Elyse Keaton, everyone’s favorite mom from the hit ’80s sitcom Family Ties. But now the actress reveals to PEOPLE that she’s ready for the world to see her in a different – and surprising – way: “I’m a lesbian mom,” she says. Before Baxter, 62, first started dating women seven years ago, the thought of being gay “had never crossed my mind,” she tells PEOPLE. Having been in three failed marriages to men (most famously to actor David Birney), she says of her many difficult years before coming out, “I was never comfortable with myself.” But she’s quick to add, “That doesn’t mean I was questioning.” Now in a four-year relationship with building contractor Nancy Locke – the couple have lived together for two years – the actress, who continues to act and run a skincare company, says, “I feel like I’m being honest for the first time.” Baxter was open about her new-found identity almost immediately with her five kids. Her son Peter’s reaction, like that of his siblings, was both reassuring and supportive. “I just couldn’t stop smiling,” says Peter, 25, “because she finally figured it out.”

What a great day … I’m sure Meredith feels as if the weight of the world has been lifted off her shoulders. I could not be happier for her … that she feels comfortable enough to share this news with the world proves that she is a very happy place in her life. She is very lucky to have the love and support of her family … and the love and support of a partner who loves her. Family Ties was one of my fave TV shows in the 80’s and I always thought it would be cool to have Elyse Keaton as a mom. Now I’m certain that is it is very cool to have Meredith Baxter as a mom ;)

Meredith Baxter also gave an interview to The Advocate, after the jump, check out some excerpts from her first interview with the GLBT press …

In her first interview with the gay press, which she says can be called nothing other than a “coming-out” interview, Baxter discusses the attention she received from women on the cruise, the impact sobriety may have had on her coming-out, and the cakewalk of telling family and friends she’s gay.

When a celebrity comes out, there is a tendency among some gay people to try to make that person a poster child for activism or hold them up as a spokesperson. Is that a role you’re willing to step into, or is it something you haven’t begun to think about?
Well, two things come to mind. First of all, if they were to look for a spokesperson, you’d think they’d look for someone with a bigger track record behind them — like Ms. Locke here. [Laughs] But the truth is that coming out is a political act these days because it has so many ramifications. I do a lot of speaking engagements and I have my little skin care company, so I go to trade shows and I interact with the public quite frequently. I haven’t been on prime time in many years on a regular basis, so when I’ve gone out into the Midwest or down in Florida or Louisiana, I was really surprised by the extent of attention I got by people who knew me immediately, who responded to me so beautifully and with a great deal of affection. It surprised me. The message I get is that I’m America’s mom. And because research seems to show that people who have someone who is gay in their family — or a friend or just know someone in the community who is gay — they seem to have a more open attitude about gay and lesbian issues. So I can say I’m still that mom. I am still the same person. I’m nonthreatening, I’m very friendly, I’m accessible, and if they can say, “OK, well, she’s a lesbian, maybe that’s not such a scary thing. And if she can come out and say that without too much fear, then maybe I can do that.” If it makes a difference to a couple of people, then I guess it’s worthwhile. I certainly got tired of hiding to the extent that I was.

The full online version of The Advocate interview can be read HERE. Again … much love goes out to the entire Baxter-Locke family. Here’s hoping their example of openness will help other families with their own similar personal stories. I wish them much happiness and a life filled with LURVE!

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“I couldn’t be gayer.” As Andy Cohen makes this proclamation, he couldn’t be prouder. It’s 9:30 a.m., and the Bravo executive is in a seersucker suit, seated in a Sirius XM Radio studio in midtown Manhattan. He’s a guest on The Gayle King Show and has been asked to sound off on Whitney Houston’s highly anticipated comeback, a topic he’s thrilled to discuss. From Madonna to Sandra Bernhard to the ubiquitous Real Housewives his network is churning out, Cohen loves his divas. Tieless, the top two buttons of his lavender shirt left open, his hands circling through the air, he is on. His excitement about Whit’s new album is not unlike that of a 15-year-old girl gushing over the Jonas Brothers at her cafeteria lunch table. Then, as if they were tasked with proving Cohen’s previous statement, he and King start to sing along to Houston’s new single, “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength.” Cohen sways in his chair, snaps his fingers, and swings his head back and forth in front of the mike. Watching the silver-haired, impeccably tan, 41-year-old former CBS News producer surrender to his inner pop tart, you’d have to agree — this man couldn’t be gayer.

Ugh .. that’s about all of Cohen’s interview that I could stomach, if you are interested … you can read the rest of it HERE. While I generally love Andy Cohen (something about his crossed/wonky eye is kinda cute), I find that he tends to really irritate me when exposed to him for long periods of time. His late-night talk show Watch What Happens is kinda painful to watch, mainly because he tends to bug. That being said, the man is a reality TV genius … he consistently comes up with really fun programming that I just can get enough of (The Real Housewives, Top Chef, Tabitha’s Salon Make-over, Project Runway). True, some of Bravo’s reality programming sucks balls (Miami Social, Millionaire Match-Maker, The Rachel Zoe Project) but overall, Bravo has become THE home of fun and entertaining reality TV. While I feel that Andy’s fame may be going to his head just a touch, I hope he continues to bring the entertainment … if he starts believing they hype that he’s the star, he may lose his eye for finding great new TV programming. Methinks Mr. Cohen should stay behind the scenes where he’s been more successful rather than in the spotlight where he is decidedly much less of a success.

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I mean … dayum. Matthew Mitchem has to have the sickest bod EVER. Very, very nice. After the jump, check out a few more photos of Matthew that are even more impressive than these are, trust me — you’ll know what I mean when you see them …

MMMM … I wish my body could bend like this. Actually, I wish David’s body could bend like this … LOL :) Seriously, these have to be the hottest photos of an Olympic diver, like, ever. They may not be as entertaining as Michael Phelps’s most recent photo but these photos are deffo more enjoyable :) What do y’all think?

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Here’s an exclusive sneak peek at the upcoming issue of The Advocate which features a stunning set of photos and profile of Australia’s gay gold medal-winning Olympic diver Matthew Mitcham. Mitcham talks of the dive that was the highest-scoring in Olympic history: “I remember the things that I was thinking on the platform before the dive, and I remember what happened as soon as I hit the water. The dive itself is a bit vague. It felt good, although I wasn’t exactly sure. I did wait underneath the water a bit, thinking, I wonder…I wonder…I wonder… Then I popped my head out and the crowd was going wild…It was the most far-out experience. It just completely took me over and I just lost it.” He also talks about recently accepting Australia GQ’s Sportsman of the Year Award. “I think the last thing I said onstage there was, ‘Oh my God, I’m a homo and I just won the sports award.’ People just pissed themselves and thought it was hilarious.” Photo by Adam Pretty. The issue hits newsstands next week.

Wowzers. Swimmers have, like, the sickest bodies around … and Matthew Mitcham is a very good ambassador for hawt swimmers the world over, don’tchathink? This coverphoto is just … wow. I can’t wait to see the rest of the mag’s photos from this coverstory. After the jump, to tide y’all over ’til the other photos make their way to the Internets, check out a couple photos of Mitcham from the last time he appeared within The Advocate’s pages last August …

Hawt AND cute … what more could you ask for in an Olympic athlete? He may not have as many Gold Medals as, say, Michael Phelps but IMHO he’s deffo the hotter of the two. What do y’all think? And, if someone could please enlighten, what the hell is in the water down in OZ that makes the men and women so beautiful? Anyone?

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With Transporter 3 now in theatres, the director of the first two films is claiming the sex scenes between Transporter star Jason Statham and actress Natalya Rudakova in the latest installment are misleading — because the character Statham plays in the films is gay. Lou Letterier, who directed the first two films in the franchise, outed the character of Frank Martin in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. “If you watch the movie and you know he’s gay, it becomes so much more fun. It’s so great — the first gay action movie hero!” He continued, “Action fans in general are pretty homophobic. You see these tough guys who say, ‘The Transporter, that’s such a great movie!’ If they only knew they’re really cheering for a new kind of action hero.” Letterier pointed to a scene in the second film in which a character played by model Amber Valetta makes a play for Martin, only to be rebuffed by the line “It’s because of who I am.” “That’s him coming out,” Letterier said. Though Letterier has yet to see the latest installment, which is directed by Oliver Megaton, he said he recently went back and watched the first films and realized they weren’t as gay as he had originally intended. “I was sick over the weekend and my 2 Transporters were on, so I watched them and in fact they aren’t that gay,” Leterrier wrote in an e-mail to the Times. “But it makes for fun movie legends.”

See … I knew there was a reason that I loved the Transporter movies so much. In Transporter 3, Valentina accuses Frank Martin of being “the gay” which he brutally rebuffs a couple of times … and then it is implied that couple have sex. I found that whole exchange really forced and not at all in character with the way Frank Martin usually operates in these films. To say that he is gay is also misleading … it is never really discussed and we never see Frank get romantic with anyone (except for this third movie and, as I said, we still don’t see anything happen). I quite love the idea of Frank Martin as a gay man … kickin’ ass as a bona fide action hero. It also puts all of those half-nekkid scenes of Jason Statham in fine context, I think. As I said the other day, I didn’t really love Transporter 3 … but I may have to get out my Transporter and Transporter 2 DVDs out for another look ;)

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The latest issue of The Advocate features icon Harvey Milk on the cover, but a minor icon of geekdom, Tom Lenk (who played Andrew on Buffy the Vampire Slayer), also makes news by officially coming out in the issue … It probably doesn’t come as that big of a shock to fans of Buffy that Tom is gay, which probably isn’t fair, as no doubt Lenk is capable of playing a wide-range of characters. Nonetheless, Lenk pinged quite a few gaydars including Buffy creator Joss Whedon, who told The Advocate that Andrew hadn’t been planned as gay, but when Lenk auditioned they decided to take the character that way since “Tom has a bit of a fey thing going on in his persona that, you know, you can’t really deny.” … Lenk says his coming out now was supposed to be timed to coincide with his first television same-sex kiss. The Buffy alum had been cast as the boyfriend of Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s character on Fox’s Do Not Disturb. Alas for Lenk, DNR didn’t make it past its second episode before Fox showed mercy on us all and canceled the sitcom. Lenk also discusses his less-than-pleasant childhood growing up in Camarillo, California, a town north of Los Angeles, where he was “constantly tormented”, how theater was his escape, and how, post-Buffy, he learned his own management company was mocking him behind his back for being less than butch. Despite the setbacks, Lenk stays optimistic about his future. And as Whedon says about Lenk, “He’s very, very f**king talented.” Here is hoping Lenk finds the right vehicle to express that talent.

I have actually been very fortunate enough to know Tom for a couple of years now. We met casually just before I moved to LA and got to know each other very well since that time. He is seriously one of the funniest people I know. While I am very proud of him for stepping forward and coming out so publicly in this way, I’m not at all surprised that he decided to make this announcement in this way. It cannot be easy to consider that coming out as a gay person could greatly impact your livelihood but Tom is a resilient man and I am confident that his talent will outshine the simple matter of his sexuality. Folks who have been reading by blog for years may recall that I have talked at length about how much I love Tom’s Buffy character Andrew. I still contend that Andrew and Anya (Emma Caufield) are the absolute funniest characters on BtVS. Much props and respect goes out to Tom Lenk for making this brave step out of the closet. I never thought it would be possible to care for my friend more … I guess I was wrong :)

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I have to say, I’m not normally a fan of the grey hair … that being said, I don’t really look at Anderson Cooper as a man with grey hair. Because it’s entirely silver, it just looks like a different hair color and not merely like grey hair. I think a touch of grey can add a bit of distinction to some men but not in every case. Whether or not such matters are worthy of an entire magazine coverstory is beside the point … I suppose the “age of the Silver Fox” needed to be discussed at some point. Who else but Anderson Cooper would be chosen as the spokesmodel? After all, wasn’t the term Silver Fox named after him?

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