Ricky Martin explains why he waited to come out
By Ross Semple
Ricky Martin has spoken candidly about his coming out experience in a new interview.
Ricky was rumoured to be gay for years before coming out in 2010, but the singer had always kept his private life to himself.
He told CBS Sunday Morning that he waited until 2010 to come out because he was afraid of what his fans would think. “I was afraid of rejection,” he said. Ricky went on to say that “for many years everyone, a lot of people told me that my feelings were evil — ‘What you’re feeling is not godly.’ I’m not a good person. If I’m feeling this, I’m not a good person.
It was when Ricky got past those feelings that he was able to share the truth. “Not more of that. I’m a good person. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with me. No. No. Enough. Not more of that.”
Ricky has no regrets about coming out, which he did through a message on his website to his fans. “When I finally sent that tweet and I shared with the world my sexual orientation, I was like, ‘Oh, my God, this is it?’ Perfect. Perfection.”
He told the interviewer that his children, who were born in 2008 via a surrogate, were a major factor in his decision to come out. “If I am not honest with my kids,” Ricky said, “what am I teaching them? I’m teaching them to lie.
“I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am.”
Ricky is currently headlining his own show at that Park Theater at Monte Carlo in Las Vegas. He admitted that the casino crowds can be a little difficult to manage. “It’s a tough audience,” he said.
“You have these high-rollers. All of a sudden, if they’re not having a good time, they go straight to their phone. And I’m like, ‘Hey, hey, shh, come here! Come back!’”
He will soon make his way to television after landing a role in the Ryan Murphy series American Crime Story.
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