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EDITORS & PUBLISHERS
Reuters Drops Article
About 'Gay' Merv Griffin
By E&P.com from the
Web, August 18, 2007
NEW YORK -- It started
innocently enough with a story about late entertainer/talk show host Merv
Griffin, who died this week, at The Hollywood Reporter's web site. It's
opening line: "Merv Griffin was gay."
Then things got really interesting. The Reporter pulled the story -- by
regular Ray Richmond, who once worked for Merv -- for awhile, then re-posted it
under the heading, "Griffin never revealed man behind the curtain." What
next? Reuters picked it up in its normal entertainment feed and then,
after protests (presumably), it pulled the story, with this explanation:
"This was a story from The Hollywood Reporter that ran as part of a Reuters news
feed. We have dropped the story from our entertainment news feed as it did
not meet our standards for news. GBU Editor."
By this time, of course, Yahoo had carried the story, via Reuters, with the
frank headline, "Merv Griffin died a closeted homosexual." And a Reuters
blog still carried the first two paragraphs, along with reader's comments, such
as: "I was just reading the article about Merv Griffin being a closeted
gay. Wow! What a way to punch a dead man in the stomach!"
Many obituaries this week had noted, in passing, that Griffin had been sued by
men a few years back, one for palimony and the other for sexual harassment, but
left it at that.
The story currently posted at The Hollywood Reporter follows. It is
currently the #1 most popular story on the site. Hollywood Reporter is a
sister publication of E&P.
* * *
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? We can refer to it casually
in conversation, but the mainstream media somehow remains trapped in the Dark
Ages when it comes to labeling a person as gay.
Maybe that helps explain why Griffin, who died of prostate cancer Sunday at 82,
stayed in the closet throughout his life. Perhaps he figured it was
preferable to remain the object of gossip rather than live openly as "one of
them." But how tremendously sad it is that a man of Merv's renown, of
his gregarious nature and social dexterity, would feel compelled to endure such
a stealthy double life even as the gay community's clout, and its levels of
acceptance and equality, rose steadily from the ashes of ignorance.
I'm not at all insinuating that Griffin had a responsibility to come out.
That was up to him.
But what a powerful message Griffin might have sent had he squired his male
companions around town rather than Eva Gabor, his longtime good friend and
platonic public pal. Imagine the amount of good Merv could have done as a
well-respected, hugely successful, beloved and uncloseted gay man in embodying a
positive image.
As it was, I loved the guy, finding him charismatic and charming. And I
had more than a passing acquaintance with him, having worked on "The Merv
Griffin Show" as a talent coordinator/segment producer in 1985-86 as the show
was winding down. Around the office, Merv's being gay was understood but
rarely discussed. We knew nothing of his relationships because he guarded
his privacy fiercely, and we didn't pry.
Merv's secret gay life was widely known throughout showbiz culture, if not the
wider America. It gained traction in 1991 when he was targeted in a pair
of lawsuits: by "Dance Fever" host Denny Terrio, alleging sexual
harassment; and by assistant Brent Plott, seeking $200 million in palimony.
Both ultimately were dismissed.
Over the past 16 years of his life, however, Griffin deflected the sexuality
questions with a quip, determining that his private life remained nobody's
business. He certainly didn't owe us an explanation, but maybe he owed it
to himself to remove the suffocating veil he'd been forced to hide behind
throughout his adult life. Then again, Merv carved his niche in the
entertainment world at a time when being gay wasn't OK, when disclosure was
unthinkable and the allegation alone could deep-six one's career.
If you're Griffin, why would you think a judgmental culture would be any more
tolerant as you grew into middle and old age? Even in the capital of
entertainment -- in a business where homosexuality isn't exactly a rare
phenomenon -- it's still spoken of in hushed tones or, more often, not at all.
And Merv's brush with tabloid scandal no doubt only drove him further into the
closet.
While it would seem everything has changed today, little actually has. You
can count on the fingers of one hand, or at most two, the number of high-powered
stars and public figures who have come out. Those who don't can't really
be faulted, as rarely do honesty and full disclosure prove a boon to one's
showbiz livelihood.
Nonetheless, the elephant that was his sexual orientation never really stopped
following Griffin from room to room. He could duck it for a while, but it
would always find him. It's disheartening that Merv had to die to shake it
for good.
(Emphasis Added)
E&P Staff (gmitchell@editorandpublisher.com)
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