Barry Manilow Concealed His Homosexuality for Decades Fearing That Fans Would be 'Disappointed'

Barry Manilow (image: Weatherman90 CC by 3.0)

Barry Manilow has been happily (gay) married for years. Now, he’s coming out to the world at age 73 against fears of ‘disappointing’ fans.

Barry Manilow’s inner circle and dedicated fans have known it for years. Even decades. But today, the longtime pop icon officially told the world, ‘I’m gay’.

And the best part? He did it at age 73, despite fears that his largely older, female audience wouldn’t accept him anymore. “I thought I would be disappointing them if they knew I was gay,” Manilow told People. “So I never did anything.”

Sadly, this shouldn’t be a big deal, especially in 2017. But it is. And in all fairness, Manilow grew up in a far less accepting era. As in, the ‘we’re going to kick your ass because you’re gay’ era.

Many of Manilow’s longtime fans are also older, perhaps fueling the fears that they’d ditch the singer. But none of that seems to be happening, at least from what we can tell. “I have not read one negative response,” Manilow told Entertainment Tonight. “To me it is so moving, it is so deep for me, that these strangers were so happy that I was happy, that I wasn’t alone.”

But wait: what if this GROWS Manilow’s audience?

Hey, maybe some intolerant fans will stop listening to Manilow after the coming out. But then again, there’s the distinct possibility that he’ll start attracting a lot more gay fans. And the best part: a lot of those gay fans absolutely love over-the-top ballads and pop music, not to mention Vegas venues.

Actually, Manilow married his longtime manager, Garry Kief, back in 2015. But the two have been in a relationship for decades. It was just a longtime secret that was really nobody’s business. In fact, the pair never planned on making their relationship or marriage public, partly out of aforementioned fears but also because it’s genuinely a private matter.

Either way…

Congrats Barry!