Stephen Gately In Gay ‘Blackmail’ Plot And ‘Third Man’ Flees
STEPHEN Gately Watch: the former Boyzone singer is fondly remembered by The Sun.
In 1999 Stephen showed huge courage in coming out as gay. He endured a homophobic backlash for the rest of his short life – The Sun
No kidding. The Sun has more to say on Stephen Gately, who was, in case you missed it, gay. As The Sun wrote in 2008:
IT seems like only yesteryear when boybands were ordered not to have girlfriends and coerced into hiding homosexuality so they could sell more records.
But things have changed. And they have changed thanks in part to The Sun:
Stephen, who just a week ago attended a London awards bash before singing at a cabaret night in Soho, shocked the showbiz world in 1999 when he was the first boyband star to bravely come out as gay. He took the decision to “out” himself in The Sun in June of that year.
The Sun headline was “Stephen: ‘I’m gay and I’m in love’”.
Thanks to Anorak reader Karen we are offered a reason as to why Gately chose to come out in The Sun:
In a May 31, 1999 article entitled: “MY SON WAS BULLIED INTO ADMITTING HE IS GAY; Mum blast The Sun over ‘blackmail’”, Stephen Gateley’s mum Margaret offered her version of events:
Cleaning lady Margaret Gately hit out at what she called “blackmail” by The Sun – who persuaded Stephen to admit his secret sexuality by saying a member of the band’s roadcrew had approached them to sell the story…
Stephen wasn’t ashamed about his sexuality – but he never wanted people to know about it.
“Because it was always his own business, and that is the way it should be. I think what has happened is blackmail. I always thought my children should never be pressurised. “But Stephen has been bullied into doing this.”
She went on:
“The Sun has destroyed so many lives. There was Lenny Henry and there was Sophie Rhys-Jones. Now it’s my son – and us.”
The Daily Mirror told its readers what had occurred:
The Sun claimed in an editorial yesterday that Stephen had approached them to ask for their help in coming out. But it is now established that the paper approached Stephen to tell him his gay secret was going to be revealed by a roadie. They suggested to him that the best way to deal with this was to go public in an exclusive interview.
The Mirror had missed a scoop, but believed it had The Sun over a barrel.
The paper’s behaviour flies in the face of a pledge earlier this year never to out gays. In a hypocritical declaration of intent, the paper announced: “From now on The Sun will not reveal the sexuality of gays – men or women – unless we believe it can be defended on the grounds of overwhelming public interest. f gays choose to come out, we will report it if we feel it is newsworthy or relevant. Otherwise, we will not invade the privacy of gay people. Why are we doing this? Because we recognise that public attitudes are changing.”
As Gately told Smash Hits magazine that year.
SH: What stopped you from admitting you were gay before now?
SG: (Thinks) I was at an age where I wanted to be successful, and unfortunately, if people know you’re gay they think twice about you. I was determined to be famous and I didn’t want people judging me. Plus, I was still finding out who I was, I genuinely don’t think I could’ve handled this before.
Luckily a lot has changed. And we duly begin our round-up of Stephen Gately in the news, starting with the Scottish Sun’s Martine Maxwell:
In “Nothing Moir than prejudice” she tells readers:
WRITER JAN MOIR has been asked to justify her homophobic article on STEPHEN GATELY.
Her silence can perhaps be explained by the fact she’s still out of breath from dancing on his grave… before he’d even been laid to rest in Dublin on Saturday.
There’s making your mark by being controversial and then there’s outing yourself as someone so detached from the real world, the last thing you should be given is a column by the Daily Mail to air your views.
Or maybe it’s the very thing you should be given.
Jan Moir senses an “unnatural death, the coroner says otherwise, and Martine observes:
He’s only got medical qualifications and years of experience behind him – Jan’s got a lifetime of blinkered prejudice.
You can get the facts from Martine, who earlier told her readers:
But it’s for something he did ten years ago that he was truly exceptional. Faced with a blackmailer who threatened to out him as gay, Stephen came to The Sun to get there first.
Or did they come to him with an offer he could not refuse? Hurrah for The Sun, which had earlier also told us:
BOYZONE’S Stephen Gately died after a wild eight-hour binge, The Sun can reveal.
Now the paper of record has more news:
The Sun: “Bulgarian in Gately tragedy ‘has fled’”
THE Bulgarian student at the centre of the STEPHEN GATELY death probe “fled to the mountains” yesterday.
Fled? Like a wanted man? Who is this mysterious third man. Who wants him? Maybe The Sun, which earlier told us:
Last night Georgi was trying to tout his story to Spanish TV stations for £70,000.
Too rich for The Sun, which now reports:
Georgi Dochev, 25, left after refusing to discuss the night before the gay BOYZONE star died.
So he said nothing?
Unemployed Georgi insisted in Pont d’Inca, Spain: “I didn’t get intimate with him. What happened is what happened. We know the autopsy results. He died a natural death. We were just partying but I can’t really tell you why I went back to their house. I don’t think this is a normal story.”
The Belfast Telegraph arrives to deliver this tasteful headline:
“Stephen Gately’s husband Andrew Cowles can’t go back to death house”
Other organs looks for a Stephen Gately theme:
My son died suddenly like Stephen Gately – Belfast Telegraph
Irish Independent: “Stephen Gately’s sudden death was tragic — but not unusual
Olivia Hanevy, a mother of four, knows only too well the pain and shock being experienced by Stephen Gately’s loved ones right now.
The 3am Girls speculate with no-news news:
Boyzone to appear on X Factor in tribute to Stephen?
Irish Central looks at the facts:
“Stephen Gately’s husband to get the Boyzone star’s fortune”
Stephen Gately’s husband Andrew Cowles will get the Boyzone singer’s €11 million ($16.4 million) estate, and the Gately family reportedly has no intentions of challenging the decision.
The mourning Gatelys, who live in Dublin, consider Cowles “one of the family,” and have said: “Stephen loved him with all his heart and made my son happy.”
In his last interview, Stephens Gately spoke with Reveal magazine, telling how he made up with his mum:
“There were tears and I told her I loved her very much and I’d always be there for her. I told her I was wrong and I should never have let it get that far.”
A young man dies. But it’s not news enough. And the media set about owning his remains and setting the agenda…
Stephen Gately Gives Jan Moir Her Susan Boyle Moment
How ‘Loathsome’ Jan Moir Buried Herself And Stephen Gately
Jan Moir’s Statement On Stephen Gately ‘Gay Bashing’ Article in Full
Stephen Gately’s Death Becomes A Tale Of Gay Sex, Homophobia And ‘Murder’
Posted: 21st, October 2009 | In: Celebrities, Key Posts Comment (1) | TrackBack | Permalink
