HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Ricky Martin says his decision to come out as a gay man earlier this year via a message on his Web site was a long time coming.
"I couldn't take it anymore," the 38-year-old singer told Oprah Winfrey Tuesday. "It was too painful."
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Ricky Martin says his decision to come out as a gay man earlier this year via a message on his Web site was a long time coming.
"I couldn't take it anymore," the 38-year-old singer told Oprah Winfrey Tuesday. "It was too painful."
LOS ANGELES — Ricky Martin is coming clean and that means coming out of the closet.
After years of sidestepping questions about his sexuality, the Latin star revealed Monday that he was gay in an emotional message to his fans.
"I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man," declared the 38-year-old singer on his official Web site. "I am very blessed to be who I am."
Martin said he was advised to hide his sexuality for many years by those closest to him, but "today I take full responsibility for my decisions and my actions." He said writing his memoir and having twin sons made it the right time to go public.
"To keep living as I did up until today would be to indirectly diminish the glow that my kids were born with," he wrote. "Enough is enough. This has to change. This was not supposed to happen 5 or 10 years ago, it is supposed to happen now. Today is my day, this is my time, and this is my moment.
"These years in silence and reflection made me stronger and reminded me that acceptance has to come from within and that this kind of truth gives me the power to conquer emotions I didn't even know existed.
"What will happen from now on? It doesn't matter. I can only focus on what's happening to me in this moment. The word 'happiness' takes on a new meaning for me as of today. It has been a very intense process. Every word that I write in this letter is born out of love, acceptance, detachment and real contentment. Writing this is a solid step towards my inner peace and vital part of my evolution."
After Martin's announcement, the Gay, Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation issued a statement in support of the pop star.
"When someone like Ricky Martin comes out, hundreds of millions of people now have a cultural connection with an artist, a celebrity and, perhaps most importantly, a father who happens to be gay," said Jarrett Barrios, President of GLAAD. "His decision to model this kind of openness and honesty can lead to greater acceptance for countless gay people in U.S., in Latin America and worldwide."
Martin's declaration comes just weeks after Barbara Walters admitted she was wrong to drill the singer about his sexuality during a 2000 interview.
"In 2000, I pushed Ricky Martin very hard to admit if he was gay or not, and the way he refused to do it made everyone decide that he was," she told the Toronto Star. "A lot of people say that destroyed his career, and when I think back on it now, I feel it was an inappropriate question."
The Puerto Rican star first rose to fame as a member of the Latin boy band Menudo. In the early '90s, he launched a solo career, which has included such hit songs as "Livin' la Vida Loca" and "She Bangs."
Martin became a father in August 2008 when his twins were born via a surrogate mother, later calling the moment a turning point in his life.
"I'm so happy!" he told People magazine after his sons were born. "Everything they do, from smiling to crying, feels like a blessing. Being a father feels amazing. This has been the most spiritual moment in my life."
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Ricky Martin is now the proud father of twin boys, who were born in recent weeks via a surrogate mother.
LOS ANGELES — Latin singing sensation Ricky Martin is facing fresh speculation over his sexuality after his good friend, skin care specialist Ole Henriksen, "outed" the star in a recent magazine interview.
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