Ricky Martin felt ‘violated’ by gay question in infamous Barbara Walters interview
"I was very afraid", says Martin of the notorious 2000 interview.
Words: Jamie Tabberer; picture: Sony Latin
Ricky Martin has said being quizzed about his sexuality by Barbara Walters in an infamous 2000 interview left him feeling “violated” and with “a little PTSD.”
The former Attitude cover star came out publicly as gay on his website in 2010 and is now a dad to four kids along with husband Jwan Yosef.
However, rumours swirled about his sexual orientation from his 1995 breakthrough hit ‘Maria’.
And now-retired journalist Barbara went in on the speculation 21 years ago.
“You could stop these rumours,” she told Ricky in the video interview. “You could say, ‘Yes I am gay or no I’m not.'”
Ricky replied: “Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to express the rumours but for some reason, I just don’t feel like.”
“If you hide it, it’s a life-or-death situation”
Speaking to People in a new interview about the interaction, Ricky said: “When she dropped the question, I felt violated because I was just not ready to come out. I was very afraid. There’s a little PTSD with that.”
The ‘She Bangs’ singer continued: “A lot of people say, what would you do differently? Well, maybe I would have come out in that interview. It would’ve been great because when I came out, it just felt amazing.
“When it comes to my sexuality, when it comes to who I am, I want to talk about what I’m made of, about everything that I am. Because if you hide it, it’s a life-or-death situation.”
In 2010, Barbara admitted the question had been “inappropriate”.
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