Outspoken: Cynthia Nixon, Glenn Close and more…

“I would like to offer from the bottom of my heart the fullest and most heartfelt apology for my recent use of an anti-gay slur.  When I used this word, I was not mindful of the demeaning connotation that this has in the gay community.”

—  “Real Housewives” Marlo Hampton, apologizing the next day on her website, noting that her first act after the incident was to ask forgiveness of her close friend and assistant for eight years. (VIBEvixen.com, Jan. 30)

“For me, it is a choice. I understand that for many people it’s not, but for me it’s a choice, and you don’t get to define my gayness for me.”

— Actress Cynthia Nixon in an interview with the New York Times after her recent remark that “I’ve been straight and I’ve been gay, and gay is better” drew criticism from some LGBT activists. (ABCNews.com, Jan. 24)

“While I don’t often use the word, the technically precise term for my orientation is bisexual. I believe bisexuality is not a choice, it is a fact. What I have ‘chosen’ is to be in a gay relationship.”

Cynthia Nixon in a written statement clarifying her remark. (Advocate.com, Jan. 30)

“In some ways, gender should be irrelevant. It shouldn’t matter who someone is connected to and finds love and a life with. I hope [full federal equality] will come to be a reality for the LGBT world.”

— Actress Glenn Close, who plays a woman who lives as a man in 19th century Dublin in her new film “Albert Nobbs.” (Windy City Times, Jan. 25)

Top photo: Marlo Hampton (via Facebook.com/marlohampton)