REM singer Michael Stipe says he’s 80 per cent gay or so
REM singer Michael Stipe says he’s 80 per cent gay but “hates” the term bisexual.
Speaking to the Observer, the 51-year-old singer said: “On a sliding scale of sexuality I’d place myself around 80-20, but I definitely prefer men to women. I had sex with, and enjoyed sex with, women until I met someone that I fell in love with, and who is now my boyfriend.”
He also revealed that he felt frightened in the 1980s by AIDS and where he fitted in.
He said: “I wasn’t troubled or confused, but I just felt there wasn’t a place for me. I hate and refuse to apply the term bisexual to myself. It doesn’t seem appropriate. It feels like just another label.
“For a time I was conflicted by how I was represented, and then AIDS came, and that’s an era that has still be to be spoken about in depth by people of my age. It was a very difficult time to be honest and frank about one’s sexuality. And a very scary time for people like myself, who were not able to be tested anonymously without some concern.”
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