Actor and author Stephen Fry is a national treasure, there’s no disputing that. He’s won millions of fans all over the world, and this is apparent from his massive social media following, he’s actually one of the 15 most popular LGBT+ celebrities on Twitter.
He’s won his legions of fans from his days acting the comedy Black Adder to hosting the quiz show QI.
He married his husband, Elliot Spencer in 2015, however, a lot of people couldn’t help noticing that there was quite a large age gap between the two lovers. At the time of their marriage, the pair had been dating for around a year and had met in the summer of 2014.
Elliot Spencer was born in 1991 and is a budding standup comic as well as an excellent photographer, which is evidenced on his Twitter account.
CREDIT: David Edwards/DailyCeleb.com | Depositphotos.com
Elliot Spencer was 27 when he married, while Stephen Fry was 57. The age gap between the two is reportedly 30 years and although the age gap between the two partners may seem large, it doesn’t mean that the relationship hasn’t been incredibly successful.
Addressing the age gap and other people’s disapproval of the relationship, Elliot hit out saying, “I don’t care what people think,” he said. “Stephen is the love of my life, the light of my life.
“We laugh all the time,” he continued. “Humour is the binding thing in our life. I think that’s what brought us together.
“It’s been incredible. We met at a house party three years ago after we were introduced by friends. The rest is history.”
Is Stephen Fry gay and what has he said about his sexuality?
(C) BIGSTOCK
Stephen Fry has made no secret of his sexuality and in a video he made for the charity Proud2Be he said, “[I’m] not proud because I think being gay is better than being anything else but I think it’s a wonderful thing to be in love and you follow your heart.
“Desire is wonderful and you follow whatever gland it is that controls your desire.”
He also added: “I would never apologise for being born the way I was and for feeling the way I do.”
A letter signed by Stephen Fry, Will Young and Sadiq Khan and 127 others is urging journalists to stop using the phrase “commit suicide”.
The letter which was signed by 130 celebs, authors, politicians and community leaders is calling on journalists to stop using the terms “commit suicide” when writing about suicide.
Along with Stephen Fry, Will Young and Sadiq Khan, Fearne Cotton, Ed Balls and DJ Lauren Laverne have signed the letter urging media outlets to “portray suicide in ways which reflect our modern understanding of this phenomenon.”
The letter was released on 10th September, which is the World Suicide Prevention Day.
(C) BIGSTOCK
The letter calls for alternatives to be used, such as “died by suicide” as “committing suicide” suggests that suicide is “either a sin or a crime, or both.” Suicide has not been a crime in the UK since 1961. The letter also suggests that “committing suicide” also implies, “that to take one’s own life is a selfish, cowardly, criminal or irreligious act, rather than the manifestation of extreme mental distress and unbearable pain.
Each year over 6000 people in the UK die when they take their own lives – and worldwide this number is a shocking 800,000 people per year.
Reaching out to editors the letter states, “The language and images we see and hear in the media naturally shape our understanding and view of the world. This is why journalism will always be so important – we are influenced by the kinds of stories you choose to cover, the language you use in those stories, and the images that are chosen to illustrate them. This places an enormous burden of responsibility on editors, reporters, photographers, sub-editors, producers, presenters and all of the other people engaged in bringing us news, editorial and comment”.
THEGAYUK.com has updated its style guide and adopting the suggestion by TalkingSuicide.co.uk to change the language it uses and will no longer use the term “commit suicide”.
The Samaritans is available 24 a day on telephone number 116 123 if you are having suicidal thoughts, suffering from depression or anxiety or just need to talk.
Between them, the top 15 gay, lesbian and bisexual actors on Twitter have a reach of over 164 million people across the globe.
To make it on to this list celebrities needed to have at least one million followers. Trans stars are vastly underrepresented in the media and therefore may contribute to the fact no trans actors had enough followers to qualify. However, the most popular transgender star on Twitter is Laverne Cox with 679,000 followers.
Ruby Rose made a name for herself in Netflix’s smash hit Orange Is The New Black. She came out as a lesbian at the age of 12. She now has 1.3 million followers on Twitter.
The Glee actor came out in 2018 on Twitter and is a brand new entry to this list. He has over 1.35 million followers on Twitter. Apart from GleeKevin McHale has also starred in the E4 panel show, Virtually Famous.
American Horror Story and Arrow actor Colton Haynes has managed to create a nice following for himself with nearly 2 million followers (1.96 million) In 2016 he had 1.76 million followers.
The Glee actor has 1.8 million people following her every word on Twitter, this is slightly down from a peak in 2016 at 1.92 million. Since Glee finished Jane Lynch has appeared in numerous TV shows including, Manhunt: Unabomber.
The Star Trek original George Takei continues to be a Twitter favourite with 2.82 million followers. He’s actually had a huge uptake in followers since 2016 by over a million people. He is the oldest member on our Twitter Power list at 81-years-old.
Another Glee alumni, Chris Colfer has 2.36 million followers thanks to his advocacy, acting and range of children’s books – called The Land Of Stories. He has also seen a drop in followers from 2.56 million in 2016.
At 3.92 million followers Sir Ian McKellen is showing that age and technology should be no barrier. He has grown his following from 3.28 in 2016. Sir Ian is famous for his roles in the X Men films, The Hobbit and Lord Of The Rings. He is the second oldest on our list after George Takei who is 81.
Stephen Fry has had a love-hate relationship with Twitter but that doesn’t stop him from being an incredibly popular actor on the platform. In 2016 he had 9.55 million followers, today he has 12.8 million followers. Stephen Fry is a much loved English broadcaster, author and actor. He left twitter in 2016 after receiving abuse on the social platform.
Model/ actor Cara identifies as bisexual and has been in movies like Valarian and Suicide Squad. She has over 10.3 million followers on Twitter, making her one of the most influential bisexual women on the planet.
Since his starring role in The Assassination of Gianni Versace,Ricky Martin can definitely be included in our actors’ power list. The entertainer who is properly most famous for his singing career in the early 00s has amassed 20.5 million followers.
Reaching far out ahead is Neil Patrick Harris with over 21.7 million followers although he has seen a massive decline in followers since 2016 when he had 24.1 million followers. Neil Patrick Harris famous for playing Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother and Doogie Howser in the show with the same name.
At the top of the tree, Ellen DeGeneres has a massive following of fans with 76 million of them. That’s nearly 20 million more since 2016 when she had 57.8 million. Since 2003 her talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show is one of the US’s most successful syndicated shows in history and is now in its 15th series.
British actor and comedian Stephen Fry revealed on Friday he has been battling prostate cancer, adding that he was currently “fit and well”. The 60-year-old wrote on Twitter that over the last two months he had “been in the throes of a rather unwelcome and unexpected adventure”.
What makes a gay icon I hear you ask? Well, there’s not actually a specific set of rules, if someone is an icon, it rarely needs to be said, it’s just known. But there are some celebrities who try desperately hard to obtain the status, and they are laughed at for the most part. I’ll start with these cases first. The ones who so desperately crave a “YAAAASSSS QUEEN” off the gay community, but mostly fall short. A gay icon is created without the need for effort. For the list, I’ll be concentrating on the icons who are currently alive, with an honour roll of icons past at the end.
1. Any member of the Kardashian/Jenner clan.
There I said it, I can hear the wails of anger already. To some, they are the epitome of an icon, but to most, they are shallow, money-hungry, low rent TV reality stars who only got famous after one of them slept with Brandy’s brother and had the tape “leaked”. No one can actually point out specifically what they do. They are famous, merely for being famous. The only good thing they have going for them is they know exactly how to exploit that. Not even Caitlyn Jenner can rescue them. Her “struggles” with coming out as transgender are so far removed from the actual hell that transgender people go through that she is almost universally hated by the LGBT community. These are not people to look up to.
2. Tori Spelling
When someone feels the need to boast about their gay icon status, they are not a gay icon. While a vocal supporter of the gay community, she is far removed from icon status. Having her friends tell her she’s a gay icon doesn’t count. She’s not exactly well known, and it’s unlikely she could command much of a crowd at any event. Yeah, she used to be in Beverly Hills 90210, but who really gives a shit?
3. Katie Hopkins
Oh, Ms Hopkins, you may want to be a gay icon, but this you never shall be. While some gays may like your no nonsense mouth, to most you’re just a loud mouthed harridan who revels in spewing vitriol and trying to be as controversial as possible. It takes class to be an icon, and Katie Hopkins is severely lacking in that. You need a certain gravitas to be able to pull off being a bitch and still be beloved.
4. Perez Hilton
His disgraceful Celebrity Big Brother stint pretty much destroyed any small hope he had of achieving icon status. Gossip monger by trade, he has always tried much too hard to be a gay icon, and it comes across as crass and disingenuous. He has a knack for really pissing people off, and like Ms Hopkins, he doesn’t have the proper qualifications for being bitchy and getting away with it
5. Milo Yiannopoulos
An avid Trump supporter and self-proclaimed “dangerous faggot” Yiannopoulos tries to shock and offend as much as possible and has said incredibly offensive things about transgender people. He is the ultimate in petulant, self-obsessed, narcissistic, nasty, vindictive and hateful gays. And while some people may agree with some of the things he says, he comes across as smarmy and greasy.
6. Nick Jonas
Yes, he’s got a hot body, and a bulge for days, but being a gay tease does not an icon make. People are starting to see through the blatant attempt to appeal to the gay community by posing in very little clothing and playing TV roles that involve man on man action, I’m half expecting his nudes to “leak” at some point when he needs a boost of gay male interest in an upcoming project.
7. Miley Cyrus
Her post-Hannah Montana days shenanigans were mildly entertaining at first, but then it all became rather desperate looking and uncomfortable. She fell out of favour fairly quickly with gay fans, and she never really achieved the status of icon in the first place, despite being an advocate for LGBT rights. She seemed to be desperate for the gays to love her and it riled a lot of people.
And now for some of the true gay icons. In no particular order. This is a difficult list to narrow down because many people are considered gay icons. But there are some who stand out above the rest as the ultimate in enduring gay icons. You can’t hear their name without thinking “gay icon”
CREDIT: kathclick /BigStock
1. Dolly Parton
The queen of cheap and tacky, but amazing with it. Her look, her quirky southern charm, her infamous ahem assets and her attitude are forever endearing to the community. There will always be a Dolly tune you can rock out to, or find solace in. She is a true icon without having to be boastful. She is grateful and loving and supportive. That makes us love Ms Parton.
2. Sir Ian McKellan
Come on people, he’s Gandalf and Magneto, and a massive advocate for the gay community. He’s the true stately homo, with dignity and class, and his bromance with Captain Picard makes the nerd in us scream with excitement. He also loves attending Pride events, and has been known to be found at 3am outside a club, smoking and hobnobbing with fans. A proper British institution.
3. Cher
The big kahuna herself, and when the apocalypse happens, there will be only three things left, Cockroaches, Twinkies and Cher. Not much needs to be said as to why she is a gay icon. She’s bitchy, fabulous and a drag queen’s dream. Her costumes, stage performances and films and TV appearances bring out the queen in all of us. Plus she’s so famous she doesn’t need to know how to order pizza (according to Kathy Griffin) and no one cares. She is one of the ultimate gay icons. She’s Cher bitch!!
4. Betty White
If there’s anything better than sliced bread (she was born before it was even invented) it’s the only remaining Golden Girl herself, Betty White. She’s the matriarch of gay icons, and at 95, she is still rocking and beloved by all. There really isn’t anything bad you can say about this woman, and long may she continue to entertain us. And as the younger generation find out about The Golden Girls, they too will fall in love with Rose Nylund.
5. RuPaul
The drag mother himself, RuPaul has entertained fans for many years. Never one to mince words, RuPaul found fame in 1993 after the song “Supermodel” came out, but it was 2009 that saw his star truly rise when a little show called RuPaul’s Drag Race came thundering onto our screens, and nearly 9 seasons later the show goes from strength to strength, and also reintroduced us to RuPaul’s cohort, Michelle Visage, who is somewhat of a gay icon herself, due to her unwavering vocal support of a community who took her to their hearts.
6. Ellen DeGeneres
Her reminder of “be kind to one another” strikes a chord in the community and her warmth and generosity towards others can only make people smile. She rose from a little-known stand-up comedian to one of the most watched women on TV. People love Ellen, and her gay icon status is very much deserved. She doesn’t take herself seriously and proves that it’s OK to be gay and live a normal life without shame or guilt. A truly inspirational woman.
7. Stephen Fry
I would be hard pushed not to put bitingly witty, intelligent, charming and all round fabulous person Stephen Fry on this list. From the days of Blackadder to the presenter of QI, Fry has been an icon for a long time. He has been voted numerous times as an ultimate gay icon and it’s not hard to see why. His eloquent way of speaking and conducting himself appeals to many fans alike.
8. Madonna
Anyone who can bring voguing into the mainstream deserves a place among the icons. The Queen of Pop and reinvention herself has been popular for 30 years, and to this day still commands massive crowds. Gay fans flocked to Madonna and her ridiculously catchy dance tunes will still get many a gay on the dance floor, and while she may not be as popular as she once, there’s still only one Madonna.
9. Diana Ross
With a gay anthem like “I’m coming out” Diana Ross with all her glittery outfits, and diva-like behaviour screams gay icon. Having a career that’s lasted since God’s dog was a puppy also helps. She’s also probably the only woman to shut down West Hollywood so she could film a music video with RuPaul and 200 drag queens. Gay Icon certified.
10. Bette Midler
Miss Midler was performing in gay venues in the 70s after seeing the positive reaction from the LGBT crowd, and then in 1993, she achieved gay cult status as Winifred Sanderson in Hocus Pocus. Her glittery stage presence and music is always a hit amongst the gay crowd, and while occasionally she has put foot in mouth, her iconic status cannot be refuted.
Some of you may ask why I haven’t included people like Britney, Beyonce or Lady Gaga, Well I’ll explain. The icons I chose have been talking points for a very long time, and I can see them still being talked about long after they are no longer with us. Gaga et al, still have a way to go before true icon status is achieved, and while they have an icon-like following, in my eyes they aren’t legendary…yet!
Honour roll of past gay icons
Carrie Fisher
Joan Rivers
Bette Davies
Joan Crawford
David Bowie
Bea Arthur
Quentin Crisp
Divine
Judy Garland
Donna Summer
Harvey Milk
Marsha P Johnson
James Dean
Marlon Brando
Marlene Dietrich
Lucille Ball
Freddie Mercury
George Michael
Whitney Houston
Alan Turing
Marilyn Monroe
Mae West
Jackie Onassis
Opinions expressed in this article may not reflect those of THEGAYUK, it’s management or editorial teams. If you’d like to comment or write a comment, opinion or blog piece, please click here.
Stephen Fry is back on Twitter after he left the social media networking site back in February over an uproar over a “bag lady” comment made about costume designer Jenny Beavan, who was collecting a Bafta, for which Fry was the host.
The backlash against Fry started almost immediately and he released a statement saying,
“So just a word to the tragic figures who think calling Jenny Bevan a bag lady was an insult. She’s a dear friend and she got it. Derrr.”
Another tweet said,
“Will all you sanctimonious f***ers f*** the f*** off Jenny Beavan is a friend and joshing is legitimate. Christ I want to leave the planet.”
However this after it appears as though the actor is back on Twitter.
In a blog on his site, told his fans,
“After five months of life away from social media I have reactivated my Twitter account.
“From time to time you will now be able to read news of what I am up to, along with occasional redirects to causes important to me.
“I started work on a comedy series for CBS television in the US this week and I will certainly keep the @stephenfry feed up to date with information and pictures about this exciting new project as well as, perhaps, subjecting the world to a mini-blog or two on my website.
“While I won’t be burdening you all with personal observations or visiting the Direct Messages page, Twitter can still reward with its marvellous uses as a bulletin board and information exchange.
“Had anyone suggested that such a service might exist ten or fifteen years ago I would never have believed them.”
Celebrities and activists have condemned this week’s announcement from NHS England that it will not fund PrEP, a pill that is almost 100% effective in preventing HIV.
Stephen Fry led the movement of celebrities rallying for PrEP to be made available to those at risk of HIV.
Stephen, a patron of Terrence Higgins Trust, said:
“I have been a supporter of HIV charities for 35 years and seen remarkable medical and social breakthroughs in treating infection and stigma. But I never imagined I would be alive to see the day when a pill was created that could actually prevent HIV.
“It is remarkable and thrilling to witness so tremendous an achievement, but deeply frustrating in equal measure to discover that our national health service has pointedly refused to provide it to people at significant risk of infection from HIV.
“Surely this must be challenged: if not in the name of humanity then in the name of economy and plain common sense.”
His sentiments were echoed by Dr Christian Jessen, an ambassador for National HIV Testing Week, who said,
“As a doctor, this makes no sense to me. There should be no ‘controversy’ – this is a drug that works, it will halt HIV, and it is cost-effective. Condom use has prevented tens of thousands of HIV infections and remains a cornerstone of HIV prevention, but it’s not enough on its own. PrEP could have been the last piece of the puzzle.”
Christian Jessen (C) Monty McKinnen
The UK now has the worst HIV epidemic of any large country in western Europe, having overtaken Spain, France and Portugal. Every day, seven men who have sex with men get HIV.
The HIV sector has been united in its outrage following NHS England’s announcement on Tuesday. In an unprecedented move, the UK’s HIV charities and organisations have now joined forces and announced they will march together at London Pride on 25th June for the first time in Pride history, under the banner of #United4PrEP.
In a letter to The Times, the coalition of over 20 HIV organisations called the decision “a dark day for the NHS.”
The letter was signed by National AIDS Trust, Terrence Higgins Trust, Gay Men Fighting AIDS, British HIV Association and many more.
They said,
“Our Government seems to have no idea who is responsible for funding the drug that could help end the HIV epidemic, with departments passing the buck and no-one taking charge. The broader implications of that chaos should worry everyone.”
Rather than making PrEP available to high-risk groups, the NHS has agreed to provide PrEP to just 500 gay and bisexual men.
“The tokenistic offer to provide PrEP to 500 gay men over two years is arbitrary and inadequate,” continued the letter in the Times.
“It won’t scratch the surface when 2,500 gay men get HIV each year, let alone other groups such as trans women and black Africans.”
Other celebrities joining the outcry have included Coronation Street actor Charlie Condou, who said:
“Anything that can stop people getting HIV can only be a good thing, and that’s why I was so disappointed that the NHS has refused to fund PrEP. Despite what lots of people think, HIV hasn’t gone away. It’s an incurable health condition affecting thousands of people – and I believe that if there’s a way of stopping it in its tracks, our health service should be grabbing that opportunity, not letting it go to waste.
“I understand it costs money to provide PrEP, but in the long term, it will be cheaper for the NHS to prevent at-risk people from getting HIV than to fund a lifetime of treatment for them.”
Sir Elton John has previously voiced his support for PrEP. Writing in the New York Times in 2014, he said,
“Many view the drug Truvada — often used in pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP — as a miracle drug that will end AIDS. I share in this excitement, and have great hope for PrEP — and praise for leaders who advocate its wider use.”
The Prime Minister David Cameron has publicly spoken out about the benefits of PrEP, saying,
“There’s no doubt there is a rising rate of [HIV] infection. These treatments can help and make a difference.”
Now HIV activists and organisations are calling on him to show leadership and see this game-changing drug provided to those most at risk.
This article was written by Terrence Higgins Trust but was edited to meet THEGAYUK’s style guide.
Disney’s new film Alice Through the Looking Glass hit theatres this weekend and it’s bound to be another huge moneymaker for the studio.
Alice Through the Looking Glass sees the return of the same actors who played the same characters from the 2010 film. Alice (Mia Wasikowska) travels back in time to try to save the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp). Along the way she reconnects with her friends including the White Rabbit (Michael Sheen), Absolem (the late Alan Rickman) the Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry), twins Tweedledee and Tweedledum (Matt Lucas), the White Queen (Anne Hathaway) and of course the Mad Hatter. We’re also treated to a delicious turn by both Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen (and Alice’s sister) and Sacha Baron Cohen (as Time).
Alice has spent several years sailing the high seas (and following in her father’s footsteps). When she returns to London, she is asked (and demanded) to sign away her ship to her ex-boyfriend James (Ed Speelers). When she attends a meeting with him and her mother (Lindsay Duncan), she goes to an upstairs room and steps through a mirror, and through this mirror Alice takes a journey (literally through the looking glass) to Wonderland. It’s here where she sees all of her Wonderland friends, but something is not right with the Mad Hatter. She needs to turn to Time to correct things in the past that will make the Mad Hatter’s life better. Alice ends up taking a device called the Chronosphere, which allows her to travel back in time. She sees ways where she can help the Mad Hatter, but also comes across the events in her own life, which include a lie that she told as a young girl that tragically affected her sister the Red Queen. It’s all told, as expected from Disney, in very visual colors and 3D.
There was no way that anyone could top Tim Burton’s 2010 film, but James Bobbin (The Muppets and Muppets Most Wanted) successfully manages to bring the story back to life, with the help of screenwriter Linda Wolverton (who also wrote Alice in Wonderland). But no film would be as good as this if it were not for the excellent cast. Wasikoska does her bit as Alice as well as she did in the 2010 film, but it’s the addition of Cohen as Time that adds a fun element to the film, where he, and the Red Queen, live literally in time. And it’s Carter as the Red Queen who steals every scene she’s in. With a huge head, and a huge head of hair, and makeup that’s expertly applied on her face to give her a highly unusual look, Carter chews up every scene she’s in (and in my opinion it’s an Academy-Award worthy performance, though it’s rare for a performer to receive one in a Disney movie – however, Meryl Streep was nominated for Into The Woods – but of course it was Streep!).
Expect Alice Through the Looking Glass to make lots and lots of money (though it doesn’t help that Johnny Depp is currently embroiled in a nasty separation with his wife Amber Heard)
Between them, the top 25 gay, lesbian, bisexual or trans celebrities we could find on Twitter have access to the eyes of up to 132,000,000 people.
They range from a news anchor to YouTube stars, singers to actors. The average age of these stars is 46 years old, YouTuber Troye Sivan being the youngest at 20 and George Takei being the oldest at 78. Some have made their celebrity status through reality TV, like Adam Lambert (American Idol) and some have played the long fame game, like singer Ricky Martin and actor Neil Patrick Harris.
To make it on to this list celebrities needed to have at least one million followers. Trans stars are vastly under represented in the media and therefore may contribute to the fact that only one trans person had enough followers to qualify.
Zachary Quinto came to fame during the Heroes TV show created by Tim Kring. He’s since gone on to star as Spock in the latest series of Star Trek films.
24) Rylan Clark-Neal, Presenter, 1.34 Million @Rylan
CREDIT: Channel 5
Rylan made his name during X Factor UK – and quickly became a reality TV favourite after he was snapped up by Celebrity Big Brother producers who put him to the house. Despite only becoming recently famous at that point he won that series of CBB. He now presents Big Brother’s Bit On The Side.
Ellen Page is a Canadian actor who came out in February 2014 during a speech at the Human Rights Campaign’s Time To Thrive conference. She stars in the X Men series of films.
22) Samantha Ronson, DJ and Producer, 1.51 million, @SamanthaRonson
For some time I have been of the opinion that any old celeb is declared a gay icon these days. It appears that all people have to do now is pander to the gay community, remove their clothes, camp it up and/or say they love the gays in order to be awarded gay icon status.
Then there are those who declare their interest in being gay icons (yes, I’m talking about you Katie Hopkins). No. Just no.
The world appears to be saturated with ‘gay icons’ in these modern times. I’ve heard people proclaiming the likes of Nick Jonas, Gemma Collins (who I had to Google because I had no idea who she was) and Dan Osborne as gay icons. While I have great, and purely shallow, admiration for Nick Jonas and Dan Osborne, they are not gay icons. They may frequently take their clothes off to the rabid cheers of gay men, but what have they actually done for the gay community other than cash in on us?
Then we have our beloved Kylie Minogue. Let me put it out there that I’m a bit of a stereotype in that I’m a huge Kylie fan. However, in my opinion she isn’t a gay icon. As fabulous as Kylie is, what has she actually done to help further gay rights? I can get on board with her campness and her words of wisdom, such as “When in doubt, add more glitter”, but for all Kylie’s fabulousness, she is not a true gay icon. This is because my idea of a gay icon is someone who has contributed significantly to LGBT causes and issues. People who have broken down stereotypes and challenged perception are also gay icons to me. So here is my list of people who I believe are genuinely gay icons.
Madonna
This is a totally obvious one, but the truth is that Madonna really is a gay icon. She has long stood up for gay rights and was an active champion of our cause in the days when it wasn’t really cool. Even in recent years, Madonna has stood up for gay rights by turning up at a GLAAD event dressed as a boy scout in protest at the scouts in America not allowing gay people to join and protesting against Russia’s treatment of gay people whilst touring in the country. This led to a court summons for Madonna and she was branded an “ex-whore” by someone in the Russian government. What I like about Madonna is that she knows exactly what she is doing. She knows that her profile as one of the most famous people on the planet will draw attention to the issues that she chooses to highlight. Then there’s Madonna’s video for her song Justify My Love, which features man on man action and lesbian cross-dressing sexual games. Nobody else was doing things like that in the early 90s. We have a lot to thank Madonna for.
Skin
Skin is the lead singer of Skunk Anansie, who are one of my favourite bands. Skin is a bald headed black bisexual female who makes heavy rock music. At the time Skunk Anansie rose to fame, black women were put into boxes as RnB singers and the idea that a black female would make hard rock music was absurd to the music industry. But Skin stuck to who she is and carried on, eventually becoming massively successful with her band. Over twenty years since Skunk Anansie released their first album, Skin remains one of a kind. Never one to flaunt her sexuality or claim to be any kind of gay icon, she has simply remained true to herself throughout an amazing career. So for me Skin is not only a gay icon, but an icon for black people and more simply, an icon full stop.
Stephen Fry
While being delightfully entertaining, Stephen Fry has also actively campaigned for many years on things such as HIV/AIDS, mental health and gay rights. He also championed a number of LGBT causes, often using Twitter to tell his 11 million followers about the important work of certain LGBT charities.
Lady Gaga
Although another obvious choice, Gaga has done a lot in terms of raising awareness of LGBT issues and speaking out against discrimination. It’s well documented what Gaga has done for LGBT people, from speaking out about the suicides of gay teens in America to marching on the White House to get the controversial Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell rule abolished. If you forget about the circus act that surrounds Lady Gaga, it’s plain to see that she is an example of an amazing human being.
Sir Ian McKellan
Not only is Ian McKellan one of the most well-known actors in the world; he is also probably the most high profile out gay actor. With a large pull at the box office, on stage and on television, Ian McKellan has still got it. However, it’s not just being an out actor that’s got him onto this list. He has also been active in the campaign for gay rights since the 1980s and even helped to found Stonewall.
Other people I view as gay icons include Ben Cohen, Jimmy Somerville, Ellen DeGeneres, Peter Tatchell and Tony Blair. Perhaps my list is predictable and there are not many people on it who differ from the typical roll call of gay icons. However, I see everyone listed as a true gay icon. They have actually done something significant to help further gay rights and break down stereotypes. That’s what a gay icon is, right?
Opinions expressed in this article may not reflect those of THEGAYUK, its management or editorial teams. If you’d like to comment or write a comment, opinion or blog piece, please click here.
