Rufus Wainwright: ‘Gay men have terrible taste in music’

Rufus Wainwright has claimed he is glad not to have a large gay fanbase.

The singer-songwriter – who won acclaim for his 2006 concerts and subsequent album in tribute to the legendary 1961 live album recorded at New York’s Carnegie Hall by gay icon Judy Garland – attributed this to his belief that “gay men have terrible taste in music”.

Wainwright, 41, also said in an interview with The Times this weekend that he believes that he would have been more successful in the US if he had not been so open about being gay.

“If I had been somewhat more strategic and less honest and gone with an asexual or bisexual persona, I think I would have been given a lot more opportunity and attention,” Wainwright said.

“But that being said I feel that my public, who have been with me a while now, have been grateful and appreciative of my honesty and are loyal.”

Earlier this year, the ever outspoken Wainwright described himself as “Liza Minnelli’s recurring nightmare” – find out why here.