Question in Salon:
Is John Travolta’s sexuality our business?
Short answer: No. Eww.
Longer answer: Outting someone just because you can is an invasion of their privacy. It has nothing to do with whether or not you think being gay is a good or a bad thing; it’s neither. It just is. The only time someone’s sexuality should be examined is if they are in a position to cause harm by denying people their rights or livelihood based on their sexual orientation when they themselves are hiding their own. Hypocrisy, especially for political or financial gain, opens the closet.
As far as I know, Mr. Travolta has never done anything to harm the LGBTQ community except break a few boys’ hearts when he was forty years younger and only attainable through a Saturday Night Fever poster. And other than be accused of unwanted advances to a masseur — which should be dealt with through legal channels — there’s never been a reason for anyone else to think about it. If he is dealing with his sexuality — and it’s not unheard of at his or any age — then he needs to do that on his own terms, not those set by the tabloids. After all, how would you like it if it was you they were talking about?