Ricky Martin: People told me if I came out it would end my career

Tonight with awesome Trevor.

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The promotional tour for American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace rolls on. The gorgeous Ricky Martin, who plays Versace’s partner Antonio D’Amico, stopped by The Daily Show on Tuesday to discuss his role on the show.

Wearing oddly fitting pants, not like I was looking in that area, Ricky briefly plugged the return of his Vegas residency, All In, which runs in Sin City from March until July. He enthused “I’m really excited…Vegas has been amazing for me.”

Ricky then discussed his work on ACS. When Daily Show host Trevor Noah pointed out that the story of Versace shines a spotlight on how people treat the LGBTQ community, he responded, “That’s one of the reasons I said ‘Yes, I want to be a part of this.’” He added that, “There’s a lot of injustice in the Gianni Versace story” and said he wanted to work with Ryan and the cast to tell the story of the compelling case which, as he puts it, “It’s not how he died, it’s why he died, why did we allow that to happen?”

Back in June, Ricky told Entertainment Weekly that a scene in the show, where his character is admonished by Gianni not to touch him in public lest the paparazzi catch them, “took me back to eight years ago when I was in the closet and it just moved me.” Ricky, who is now (an ageless) 46, didn’t come out until he was 38, worried that his career would take a hit. He recalled that “It took me a while … I was surrounded by friends that were telling me, ‘Don’t! Don’t come out. That will be the end of your career.’” The friends were coming from a place of compassion, noting that they were “people that love [him], people that mean well and people that were just victims of homophobia.”

Thesinger added, “I grew up in this culture that told me that my feelings were horrible, that my feelings were evil. And if you add to that, you know, that I was like a heartthrob, like a sex symbol…everyone was telling me that it was going to be the end of my career.” It took becoming a family man, with the birth of his twin boys, Matteo and Valentino, to finally encourage him to be his true self. He admitted that coming out was “extremely painful,” but knew it had to be done, asserting, “I said, ‘I can’t take it anymore. It’s all about me now, it’s not about what’s happening outside, it’s about what I need in order for me to be happy.’ I had my kids and then I said, ‘I have to come out, I’m not going to lie to these beautiful kids.’”

Since then, Ricky has found love, marrying artist Jwan Yosef earlier this month, and has helped to raise over $5 million to aid in rebuilding Puerto Rico after the devastating effects of Hurricane Maria. He pointed out that “there are still 1.4 million people in Puerto Rico living without electricity or without running water. Kids aren’t going to school because obviously there’s no electricity or running water in the schools.” His goal is to work with Habitat for Humanity to build homes for those who lost them in the storm and added that, “My foundation and hundreds of men and women that were volunteering since day one to make Puerto Rico a better place is something that I’ll always be so thankful for.” If you enjoy handsome men and a great interview, check this out.

A gorgeous man, a great dad, a generous philanthropist and, from what I’ve heard, an underrated actor. I think the LGBTQ community has a great spokesperson here, and I hope he continues to fight the good fight. If I had to equate how I feel about Ricky, I think WGN reporter Ana Belaval is my spirit animal. Her fangirl freak-out game makes mine look weak.

75th Golden Globe Awards - Arrivals

The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Premiere

Premiere of FX's 'The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story' - Arrivals

Photos: Instagram, WENN.com

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21 Responses to “Ricky Martin: People told me if I came out it would end my career”

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  1. Maya says:

    All the good men are either taken or gay.. deep sign..

    I love Ricky and his music and I am glad he is succeeding in life.

  2. Lucy says:

    I am so happy for him and all he has achieved, I truly am.

  3. Lizzie says:

    he is so handsome it hurts. he’s always been hot but he has never looked better. he is aging so beautifully. just beautiful inside and out.

  4. Astrid says:

    What a great person!

  5. SilverUnicorn says:

    I always loved him and continue to love him at this day, gay or not. Wonderful person and he always impressed me in his interviews.
    It’s a pity I cannot check this TV series (I have no cable)

    @Corey pet-peeve of mine, but “LGBTQ community” should be “LGBTQI community”, intersex people exist!! 😉

  6. Snowflake says:

    Omg, he is so handsome. My forever crush. And his partner is good looking too.

  7. H says:

    I’ve loved Ricky since he was on General Hospital. Saw him in concert on the Livin’ La Vida Loca Tour and he’s amazing! I want to go to Vegas to see him. Thanks, Corey for dropping that news. I’m saving for a house, trying not to spend anything extra, but for Ricky?

    As for what Ricky said about Puerto Rico, he’s entirely correct. Nearly 40% of the island still doesn’t have electricity and water. I have new neighbors who are Puerto Rican and lost everything in the hurricane. They said people wait in long lines for food everyday since there is no refrigeration you have to eat the food you buy that day, and then go back and get in line the next. He says it’s getting quite desperate for food, water and the crime rates are going up especially at night, it’s dangerous. I hugged him and apologized for our government. Maybe our president still doesn’t realize since the plight of Puerto Rico isn’t on Fox News daily, but Puerto Rico still need our help.

  8. SM says:

    I am so happy for him. Not a fan of his music, but I sure want to look at him so will watch the show. He sounds like such a great human. Personally to me the concept of disregarding someone’s opinion, art or work because of their sexual orientation is so foreigh, I just accept that some people (a lot of them) are like that without trying to rationalise that. It’s great he overcame that fear.

  9. Nev says:

    My number one. RICKYYYYYYY. SWOON.

  10. Chaine says:

    Love him! Glad that he is happy in his life. He seems like a genuinely good person.

  11. PIa says:

    Love him on American Crime Story, surprising acting on his part!

    Also check out hi Architectural Digest feature on YouTube, such an interesting home he has (and partner too!).

  12. Molly says:

    I want nothing but happiness and good things for Ricky Martin. Also, his husband is smoking hot.

  13. Kelly C says:

    That is one, no, two handsome men. Yum. Yep, I am objectifying.

    I still remember the amazement of the celeb audience at the Grammys (?) when he did “Living the Vida Loca”. He owned them and got a standing ovation.

  14. Reef says:

    Does anyone remember that blonde woman he used to trot out as his long term ex for literally every televised interview? I always wondered about that woman and what the deal was with her.

    • H says:

      I read Ricky’s biography. That was his long-term girlfriend he met while on a Mexican soap opera. He did love her but also had feelings for men. I think at the time he thought he was bisexual. He discovered later he preferred men.

  15. Milla says:

    Well the same thing was said to George Michael. And it was one of the reasons he went to Court with Sony and it was the end of him as a person.

    I hope that young people can embrace their sexuality and not use it, but just be happy with their honesty. I know people hate millennials, but i am proud that my generation is mostly very open minded and we just don’t care if you are gay, straight, bi, we care less about religion, we are trying to fix previous messes… Which is hard, considering the 90s and 2000s and present day.

  16. serena says:

    Awesome man <3.

  17. raincoaster says:

    It’s so shocking how recently coming out was a death knell. I really think it was Ellen that took the poison out of it. In Canada we had a great star who was gorgeous like Ricky, talented like Ricky, and had huge hits on mainstream radio. The minute the word got out that he was gay, it was over for him. He even had a fake marriage.