Ricky Martin says he still suffers "PTSD" from a Barbara Walters interview questioning his orientation

[Midnight]

The King of Latin Pop graces the cover of People's second annual Pride Issue.

He speaks about the things going on in his life, his new single dropping on June 10, his married life and his upcoming tour with Enrique Iglesias.

He also opened up about an interview he did for Barbara Walter back in 2000. The interview as many may recall where she questioned him about his s***** orientation. 

The event still haunts Ricky as he states.

 

"Still, rumors persisted about his ***uality. Like a lot of LGBTQ people, an unspoken question — "Are you…?" — hovered in the air all the time, in every interaction. Sometimes anticipated, sometimes inferred, sometimes imagined, sometimes self-interrogated, it was just there — an invisible cinderblock teetering on the edge, ready to fall.

Martin lived with the question until he was 29. Then, in 2000, Barbara Walters asked it on national television. This was a year after the radio dominance of "Livin' La Vida Loca" and 10 years before he came out publicly on his website. "You could stop these rumors," Walters implored. "You could say, 'Yes I am gay or no I'm not.'" Martin was visibly stunned. He finally retreated, answering with "I just don't feel like it." 

He says the moment still haunts him. "When she dropped the question, I felt violated because I was just not ready to come out. I was very afraid." Martin's entire body shifts. He clears his throat and takes a deep breath. "There's a little PTSD with that."

 

What are your thoughts on this guys?

I find this story to be very important especially since it is Pride Month.

How was your experience growing up LGBTQ?  Did you experience things like this?

 

[PokemonSpears]

I think it's awful that people have to go through that, I mean, being demanded an explanation about their private lives, but then it's even worse to know that his career or his success, sadly, depended on whether he was gay or not.

Though there's still much to do, times were even worse back then, and especially he, whose career really exploded back in Mexico, it would've ended right there if people knew he was gay.

 

[Look But Don't Touch]

His naked a s was so hot in American Crime Story about Versace 

[ObsessedBritFan1]

21 minutes ago, Look But Don't Touch said:

His naked a s was so hot in American Crime Story about Versace 

Man after my own heart

[DearBritney00]

I can get it if they are strangers. It's really offending but he is a celeb. If he is famous enough he has to deal with these questions. He can always lie and years later tell the truth. I think some celebs don't know what thier job is.

[boyinthemirror]

I just want to give him a hug 

He didn’t owe anyone an answer. And he still managed to be as honest to himself and the world as he could, not denying it. That’s brave in my book.        

[Ritatdad]

People need to stop throwing around words like ptsd unless they actually got diagnosed with it. Just say that it haunts you.

[Stefani]

This sounds like an exaggeration that Demi would say. PTSD is real, but I really doubt that Ricky Martin suffers from it just because Barbara Walters asked him a personal question. 

[HoneyBooBoo]

[mythology]

Barbara Walters is a pos for asking him this, completely unprofessional.  **** her.

[Brat]

And people wonder why gays need to “come out”,  it’s because of the never ending questioning 

[Naes614]

People forget how different the times were back then and what was considered acceptable to ask. Barbara Walters is not a horrible human because of this and would never say this in today’s climate. Me being a gay man I have said things 15 years ago I would never say today. Humans deserve the opportunity to grow and not be canceled all the time. Plus she is from a different generation than all of us.

[Spicechinodiva]

15 minutes ago, Naes614 said:

People forget how different the times were back then and what was considered acceptable to ask. Barbara Walters is not a horrible human because of this and would never say this in today’s climate. Me being a gay man I have said things 15 years ago I would never say today. Humans deserve the opportunity to grow and not be canceled all the time. Plus she is from a different generation than all of us.

She's also suffering from Dementia, her health isn't that great..

 

But, to be fair. 

 

Allegedly he was out in his private life, but not as Ricky Martin the public figure life..

 

Back then you got to have two sides, however Social media killed the private life since everybody shares everything now. 

[bitbitboi]

8 hours ago, PokemonSpears said:

Though there's still much to do, times were even worse back then, and especially he, whose career really exploded back in Mexico, it would've ended right there if people knew he was gay.

I don't think that's true. There's a lot of hypocrisy in every society because WE ALL KNEW HE WAS GAY, at least deep inside. With him and so many more artists (most of them, actually; entertainment is at least 75% gay, all over the world). So why are we pretending that, by not saying the words, he's somehow still straight? I think his career would have ended back then if he had decided to dance on a strip pole half naked with other shirtless male dancers like Lil Nas X is doing now, but not by being the way he's always been.

If anything, people prefer to keep this subject behind closed doors (still to this day) because many aren't sure about themselves either, so it's not a conversation that they are ready to take part in. And when an artist releases a song or a video or makes interviews or appears on TV or whatever, and that artist is gay or talks about it, they are somehow pushing the topic on the public. Also, many straight men had a ***ual exploration phase in their early years that they wouldn't like to bring back not even with their thoughts. I think conversations like this should be had from families and communities TO the stage, not the other way around. Like, no Lil Nas, I don't want to see that, stop grabbing your crotch in front of me, what the...? And why does that have to be gay or a sign of it? (and please nobody tell me "he's expressing his s/xuality" because s/xuality is a private matter, people don't f/ck in the streets)

[Jordan Miller]

I feel for him but DAYUM

 

 

[bitbitboi]

4 minutes ago, Jordan Miller said:

I feel for him but DAYUM

 

 

I'm still waiting for people to mention his age... This man is 49 and he looks like he's 30. Him and JLo MUST be drinking blood from virgins when no one's watching, this is insane.

[Peanut]

I wouldn't DARE to come out in my social circle, identifying like that would be the most humiliating (and it has been) thing. I prefer to keep private and I am happy like that! Thankfully I not a celebrity. 

[PokemonSpears]

53 minutes ago, bitbitboi said:

I don't think that's true. There's a lot of hypocrisy in every society because WE ALL KNEW HE WAS GAY, at least deep inside. With him and so many more artists (most of them, actually; entertainment is at least 75% gay, all over the world). So why are we pretending that, by not saying the words, he's somehow still straight? I think his career would have ended back then if he had decided to dance on a strip pole half naked with other shirtless male dancers like Lil Nas X is doing now, but not by being the way he's always been.

If anything, people prefer to keep this subject behind closed doors (still to this day) because many aren't sure about themselves either, so it's not a conversation that they are ready to take part in. And when an artist releases a song or a video or makes interviews or appears on TV or whatever, and that artist is gay or talks about it, they are somehow pushing the topic on the public. Also, many straight men had a ***ual exploration phase in their early years that they wouldn't like to bring back not even with their thoughts. I think conversations like this should be had from families and communities TO the stage, not the other way around. Like, no Lil Nas, I don't want to see that, stop grabbing your crotch in front of me, what the...? And why does that have to be gay or a sign of it? (and please nobody tell me "he's expressing his s/xuality" because s/xuality is a private matter, people don't f/ck in the streets)

well, hypocrite or not, but Mexico was, and still is, very close minded in that aspect, and back in the 90's when his career exploded, especially in the tv network where he started, Televisa, he wouldn't have had all the opportunities he had, from starring in soap operas, to appearing in the most important tv show that propelled the career of singers like him, Shakira and many others (Siempre en Domingo)

I'm not saying it's ok or that I agree with it, but it's the reality. As ridiculous as it is, many actors have had to stay in the closet for years for the fear of losing the chance to star in soap operas or land a record deal, even if it was the worst kept secret. At least in the closet to the public, even if within the industry all the producers and coworkers know their truth, for which in many cases they have to endure everything from bullying to threats. It wasn't until relatively recently that many actors and actresses started to come out within the Mexican entertainment scene, and even much more recently that soap operas and such started to feature gay couples and topics like that in their stories, yet I can't think of an openly gay actor that is currently getting the starring roles though. 

Maybe he wasn't ready or interested to talk about that, but even if he was, we can't pretend he wouldn't have preferred to stay silent about his ***uality knowing perfectly well the impact it would've had in his early career, simply because those were other times. Maybe not in 2000 when he already got international fame, but when he was first starting in Mexico, before the crossover, it would've been unthinkable. And that's what sucks.

But as I said, at least in recent times it seems to be more aperture to this, yet I think there's still a lot of homophobia within the people in general. 

 

[EmzLadybrit2]

Well I Love him, and ready to be a bo**om

[SloppyToppyGoddess]

26 minutes ago, EmzLadybrit2 said:

Well I Love him, and ready to be a bo**om

I've always gotten the sense that he was the bottom