ORLANDO, Fla. -- He gave us No. 1 singles like "Mandy," "I Write the Songs" and "Looks Like We Made It," before capping off the 1970s with the Top 10 hit "Copacabana."
Nearly four decades removed from the nationsl spotlight as the piano-playing crooner withe the puppy dog eyes, Manilow has been thrust back into the spotlight, "outed" as a matter of fact, as gay by the supermarket taboid, the National Enquirer.
In its April 20 edition, the Enquirer didn't pull any punches with its in-your-face bragging spread on the 73-year-old Manilow's personal life, writing in part:
Reaction was mixed among Central Floridians who responded to a Facebook posting by Headline Surfer that read: NOT FAKE NEWS:
Are you surprised Barry Manilow 'outed' as gay by National Enquirer?
Lillian Andreuzzi of Deltona answered: "I truly don't care -- just that he lied to everyone for many many years."
That response did not sit well with Jeff Allebach, who shot back: "He never lied to everyone. Besides does it even matter who he loves?"
Tracy Archer Dillon, a morning on-air redio personality with The Rock of Daytona (104.7 WROD FM), whose music genre is "hard" or "classic rock," said Manilow's confession was "no surprise." She added a link with her posting to a recent People magazine interview Manilow did where he first acknowleged he was gay and married to a man.
"He made the announcement himself over a month ago," Dillon explained. "Barry Manilow didn't come out for decades; feared disappointing fans."
Patrick McCallister of Lake Helen responded, "Barry Manilow is gay. That was ever news?"
And Catherine A Kershaw of Daytona Beach, who works in public relations, rounded out the comments on Manilow with "Does anyone really care?"
Well, some people must care as in those who support the singer, who continues to perform to this day.
As People described situation, "the pop legend and his longtime partner Garry Kief were outed after news of their secret wedding broke in 2015, and Manilow opened up about his marriage and sexuality for the first time in an exclusive PEOPLE cover story in April. Now, he’s discussing his last month of living out and proud since the story went viral."
Manilow himself saidtold media outlets Tuesday at the BMI awards, he's pleased with the way things are now.
“It’s turned out to be just great," Manilow said. "I’ve really enjoyed it, most of all because the fans and the public have been so supportive. I thought, ‘Oh, man, I’m gonna get a lot of negative stuff.’ Not one negative letter, comment — anywhere,” Manilow said Tuesday at the BMI Pop Awards in L.A. “These people, these strangers — they care for me. Isn’t it odd? I’m just a musician who sings. And these people care about my happiness — and that’s what’s been going on. It’s been a beautiful, beautiful experience.”
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