When two
curiously panicky news outlets scrapped an editorial
expressing sadness that
entertainer-turned-entrepreneur Merv Griffin remained
closeted until his death, they inadvertently proved that
"gay panic" is alive and well in Hollywood.
The dustup
started last Friday, when The Hollywood
Reporter published an editorial by columnist Ray
Richmond decrying the system that required Merv
Griffin to lead a "stealthy double life" until his
death at 82 on August 12. It was the last in a series
of complimentary articles by Richmond, who was a friend and
former colleague of Griffin's. The piece ran in the
print edition as well as Richmond's personal blog,
Past Deadline, which is owned by the Reporter. It
began:
"Merv Griffin was
gay. Why should that be so uncomfortable to read? Why
is it so difficult to write? Why are we still so jittery
even about raising the issue in purportedly
liberal-minded Hollywood in 2007?"
Several hours
after Reuters picked up the editorial in its normal
entertainment feed it pulled the piece, with a disclaimer
that it "did not meet our standards for news."
That same day,
radio personality and blogger Michelangelo Signorile told
his radio show listeners that the column had been removed
from the Hollywood Reporter site and urged them to
call its office. Later that day, the Reporter
did another 180 and restored Richmond's column.
Reuters still has not restored it.
Ironically, the
rhetorical questions Richmond posed where given closer
attention when it appeared that outing a dead man, even by a
friend, even in 2007, was taboo.
"[Merv Griffin's
sexuality] was so insignificant in the overall scheme
of things, which makes it so weird that the reaction by both
news outlets was over the top," blogger Pam Spaulding,
editor of Pam's House Blend, told Gay.com. "I think it
shows the gay paranoia that's still out there."
Behind-the-scenes
machinations are unclear, as both the Reporter and
Reuters are not talking. Signorile and other bloggers
theorized that Hollywood Reporter editor
Elizabeth Guider was leaned on by various Hollywood
titans, advertisers, and lawyers for one of Griffin's
companies and may have been told to pull it by the
Reporter's parent company, Nielsen Business
Media.
A talk show
host-turned-entrepreneur, Merv Griffin
presided over an array of business endeavors. He sold
Merv Griffin Enterprises to Coca-Cola Co. for $250
million in 1986 and was reported to have a net worth of $1.6
billion at the time of his death. Many obituaries noted that
Griffin had been sued by men in the past--one
for palimony and the other for sexual
harassment--but none, except for The New York
Times, mentioned his sexual orientation, which had been
an open secret in Hollywood circles for decades.
Blogger Kevin
Allman told Gay.com that Griffin's money and power, not his
celebrity status, may have led to his "straight-washing" in
the media. "One point six billion dollars is a
lot of money and a lot of power. What I want to know
is whether and how that power got exerted [in killing
the article]."
Richmond, who is
still employed by the Reporter, described the irony
of the media panic in an interview with Allman on
Monday. "It seems that scotching the post gives the
appearance of liability when there isn't any,"
Richmond said. "It was simply a factual, very informed
discussion of the larger issue of the media' s
difficulty in allowing someone to be labeled as gay in
the mainstream, as if that is somehow a huge shame. My
whole reason for doing the piece for the Reporter was
to shine a light on that fact. Unfortunately, that
appears to be the case--even internally."
Pam Spaulding
told Gay.com that Reuters's move was more disturbing.
"The Hollywood Reporter is beholden to its
masters in Hollywood, so they have to make nice to keep
their access. But if a mainstream news service pulls a
piece like this due to pressure, it makes you wonder
who else can lean on Reuters and have an influence on
them on other issues, like on the Iraq war."
If The
Hollywood Reporter wanted the "Merv was gay"
issue to go away, it found that the opposite has happened.
On Monday, Richmond's story was the most e-mailed story on
the Reporter's Web site. (Larry Buhl, Gay.com)
