Barry Manilow Has Come Out as Gay After 40 Years

You know how you always thought it was common knowledge that Barry Manilow was gay? Well, now he has come out of the closet!

For many, Barry Manilow is that guy who sang about showgirls at the Copacabana and reminded us all of Vegas. But really, he’s probably that guy whose music played on your mother’s iPod and made you question everything about your existence.

The thing about Barry is that he’s one of those guys who we always assumed was gay and no one really put through the effort of searching the internet to see if it was true. So today, when the news came out, the response was positive.

According to People, Barry didn’t come out because he thought that it would disappoint his fans. Which is a little insane in this day and age but also, he’s been a musician for quite sometime. It wasn’t as wildly accepted when he first began and for someone like Manilow, he might have thought his fans would turn on him if they knew the truth.

But luckily for us all, we all welcomed this news with open arms! Because really, we all just want Barry to be as happy as possible. Because a happy Barry means a happy mother for most of us. When he spoke about his fear with People, it was nice to see that he was warmly received by his fans! Here’s how he put it:

"“I thought I would be disappointing them if they knew I was gay. So I never did anything. When they found out that Garry [Kief, his husband and manager] and I were together, they were so happy. The reaction was so beautiful — strangers commenting, ‘Great for you!’ I’m just so grateful for it.”"

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We here at Culturess are happy that Barry is finally out and proud! Congratulations Barry! Unfortunately now we all have “Mandy” stuck in our heads!