Jane Fonda was so moved by a question she cried. Josh Groban recalled the moment he learned about his big bear following – and how he mistook them for a sports team. And Sarah Paulson opened up in a candid conversation about her sexuality. Here’s a look back at the most memorable words from some of Hollywood’s hottest gay-adored celebs:
“When I sent that tweet a few years ago just letting people know that I am gay it was the most amazing day of my life after the birth of my kids.” – Ricky Martin
“I'm so excited. What a big day. It's a huge step toward equality. Everyone should be able to be who they are, love who they want and marry who they want. It's 2015; for us to still have judgment about people being gay is ridiculous, so I can't believe it's taken this long. It's definitely a big day in history, and I'm just so excited.” – Hilary Duff, on June 26, the day the Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality
“I find the question so moving that it makes me cry. I had never thought of it before, and it makes me so moved.” – Jane Fonda when asked why there’s always been a place for older women in the gay community
"I was at some kind of shop, and I was walking around with someone – it was probably my girlfriend. And this guy comes up to me and goes, 'Hey, I just want you to know, the bears love you.' I'm like, 'Excuse me? What?' And I didn't know what that meant! I'm like, 'Are you a baseball team?'" – Josh Groban
“All I can say is, I've done both, and I don't let either experience define me. I don't let having been with a man make me think I am heterosexual, or make me want to call myself that, because I know I have been attracted to women – and have lived with women. So, for me, I'm not looking to define myself, and I'm sorry if that is something that is seen as a rejection of or an unwillingness to embrace (my sexuality) in a public way, but it's simply not. It's simply what's true for me, and that's all I can speak to.” – Sarah Paulson
“It was the LGBTQ community that inspired me to be the kind of person I wanted to be. I wanted to be authentic and courageous, and for so long I wasn't.” – Judith Light
“I think everybody does, no matter who they are. I do, yeah, of course. Absolutely. I think it's healthy to gain a perspective on who you are deep down, question yourself and challenge yourself; it's important to do that.” – Selena Gomez on questioning her sexuality
“For me, having kids and being married, it was important to maintain the integrity of those relationships and not teach my kids that this is a shameful secret and that my husband (Simon Halls) has to be waiting in the wings all the time.” – Matt Bomer reflecting on coming out
“What a child needs when they're growing up is support and love, mainly love. … And if they do happen to be gay, that's going to be a harder hurdle to get over. What a parent needs to do more than anything is jump in there with love and support. You made 'em. They're a gift from God. Love 'em as they are.” – Reba McEntire
“I just hope she finds love. It took me a while, man. And there was a lot of heartache throughout those years. You know, as long as she's happy, I don't care either way, and neither does my husband. And we have two other kids as well, and we don't care either way for all of them.” – Kelly Clarkson on how she’d feel if one of her kids were gay
“I do feel like I occupy – not in any self-aggrandizing way – a space where I have looked to my peers and looked around me and said, ‘Well, who else can I look to?’ And there isn't anybody else. That to me is significant and personally gratifying as I consider my own journey to self-acceptance.” – Zachary Quinto on the lack of LGBT action heroes
"You always have to take their stories with a grain of salt. It's like when there's a traffic accident and you ask five witnesses and they tell you five different stories." – director Roland Emmerich on the Stonewall film controversy
“I would like to think I changed lives – I mean, I get lots of emails saying, "Seeing 'Torch Song' changed my life, seeing this changed my life,’ and that's wonderful. But I don't need to worry about if I'm gonna be remembered. I ain't gonna be here to know if I'm being remembered or forgotten!” – Harvey Fierstein
"When we got marriage equality and there was a celebration for that in New York City, it was an honor to be a part of that. I can't explain it. There are some performances that you do and you're like, ‘That was cool, that was fun.’ That one was different fun. It was so memorable and an incredible thing to be a part of." – Carly Rae Jepsen
“What I like to say is that being unique and original is what makes me happy, and I think that rubs off on them. My sons did nails just the other day, and the only reason was because their nails were so disgusting! Like, they were in the mud and I was like, ‘We have got to do your nails! Why don't we do 'Nail Salon'?!’” – Gwen Stefani
Chris Azzopardi is the editor of Q Syndicate, the international LGBT wire service. Reach him via his website at www.chris-azzopardi.com and on Twitter (@chrisazzopardi).
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